Dao of Cooking

“Do you think Big Brother Lei will come for us?” Stone asked, staring up at the ceiling towards the cracked face of the cavern, his lips dry and his voice barely a whisper.

Snake wished he had the answer, but he was starting to realize that they might stay inside the dark much longer than he had thought. Still, he nodded and managed a smile on his lips.

“He will, don’t worry. Did he ever leave us alone? I’m sure he is close, searching for us. We just have to wait.”

When Stone lay his head back against the wall, Snake sucked in a deep breath. That corpse of a man did something to his leg, and it wasn’t stinging anymore, but it was still sore around where the rope held him tight.

It was one of those things, Snake thought. He just had to push enough, and it would come loose. He’d tried so many times that he lost count, but even when his eyes got teary from the pain, the rope held tight.

They were alone now. After he sent the thug away, the old man lingered for a few moments before trudging miserably out of the cave, muttering to himself that he was sick and tired of dealing with brainless mutts.

“He isn’t coming, is he?” Stone croaked beside him. “Those beasts… I’m not sure he can do anything against them.”

Snake stared silently at the bruise around Stone’s arm, all purple and bloody. The screams of his Little Brother were still ringing in his ears. He’d watched from a few inches away. That was the only thing he could do. Just watch as his Little Brother screamed over and over again.

He wondered if he’d ever have a say in his life. It seemed to him that he’d been nothing more than a witness to everything that had happened over the last few weeks. Like a leaf caught in the breeze, he couldn’t do anything but watch while the currents swept him into the storm.

It was lonely here, in the storm, but not silent. He found his mind full of thoughts, directed solely at him, sharp words hacking viciously at his own self. Worthless and desperate. There was a time when he’d been more than that—a carefree child dashing across a field of wheat. He didn’t know back then how life could be this cruel.

“You were right,” Stone said with a rasping voice. He tried to clear his throat, but his voice came out hoarse. “I should’ve tried harder. I had all the chances, but I decided to do nothing. Chased after candies like a little kid. I should’ve—“

“Stop it,” Snake said, glaring at him. “This isn’t our fault. And we will survive. That’s the only choice. Little Mei and the others are waiting for us. We can’t just let Big Brother Lei take care of them all alone. We need to be there, by his side. We need to be there—”

The cave started shaking. A deep sound echoed from beneath their feet, as if the earth was groaning in pain. Stones rained down. Water dripped in big droplets. A light flickered beyond the mouth of the cave, shaking, casting dancing shadows over the walls. There was nothing there. Nothing but the sound of rocks grinding against each other.

“What’s happening?” Stone asked, his eyes wide open, staring about in panic.

Snake shook his head and frowned at the ceiling. There was a big rock there, sliding slowly down as the cave trembled violently. It was right above them, a big rock—bigger than the one Stone hefted on that day. It seemed loose and dangerous. Enough to crush them both.

He pulled with all his might, strained against the rope binding him tightly from his torso and legs, clenching his teeth when the pain became too much. But it wouldn’t budge. That big rock was inching dangerously toward them, but the wall behind their backs stood still.

“They are waiting,” Snake muttered, the rope biting into his skin. He choked out a scream as sweat poured down his face. Once. Twice. Thrice. He pulled and pushed, kicked the ground with his legs, but nothing worked.

Then Stone joined him, eyes half-closed and blood trickling from where he bit his lower lip. Together they screamed, pushing with everything they had. That big rock freed itself from the hold of the stone wall, crunching down toward them, getting bigger in Snake’s eyes as it closed the distance.

“Pull!” Snake roared, and Stone pulled, the rope tearing through their worn robes, cutting a bloody streak across their chests. It felt so close. The world was spinning. Snake’s head was blurry, and his thoughts distant. He blinked through the pain, clasped his fingers around the rope, mind reeling with blinding lights.

The tight rope went loose just as the big rock crashed down upon them, brushing against their skin and smashing into the wall behind them. Snake lurched forward, dragging Stone with one hand as they floundered out of the cave, breath hissing in his throat.

Once outside, the light of the glowing spheres welcomed them. They shook violently. Wind whistled into his eyes, but Snake raised one hand over his face, the other hand clutched around Stone’s arm. He dragged his Little Brother through the stony hall.

It was dark here, and the air felt heavy as a wool blanket, weighing down his shoulders. The walls seemed dangerous, groups of rocks crumbling all around him. Stones nicked his skin, the rotten stench hanging low in the air making him wince. Even against all that, he persevered, trudging silently along the way.

“We need to be quick,” Snake told Stone, squinting back to his Little Brother. “This cave will collapse soon.”

Stone nodded weakly, lurching out a step and nearly losing his balance. Snake pulled him by the arm, cradled him under his shoulder, and hauled him onto his back. He was heavy. But he could push through. He had no other choice.

They followed the stony hall lit by the glowing spheres, the dancing light tinkering with Snake’s mind. Dancing shadows reminded him of those beasts. Hulking, hideous creatures of mangled flesh and blood. The stone hall was full of their smell, but even though the shadows flickered, there was no creature in sight. Just him and his Little Brother, and a hall that was about to collapse.

Soon it became harder to blink. His eyes teared up as he kept checking his Little Brother to see if he was breathing. Stone’s eyes were closed, but Snake could feel his heart beating against the side of his back. Weak, but he was still breathing. His Little Brother was still alive.

He stooped through a half-broken arch of stone, came out rasping on the other side. There was a door there. A towering door glimmering with silver light. The exit. Hope. Its shadow was high and mighty on the ground, stirring ominously right beyond his feet. Snake made nothing of it, instead pushing toward the gate.

“Bold and selfless,” came a voice, an old voice hissing into his ear. “It looks like even with your tainted blood, you’ll be a worthy offering for the Master. Good! It’s hard to find promising candidates like you here on the edge of the world.”

Snake stared frantically around him as the voice dinned inside his ears. It was that man’s voice, sinister like that of a snake. But he was nowhere in sight. The voice came from all around him—deep from inside the walls, right underneath his feet, carried along by the wind whistling past his face.

“Why?” Snake roared. He couldn’t take it anymore, sweaty palms straining to hold his Little Brother in place. He ground his teeth and hauled him once again, kept his eyes on the ground as he made for the gate. There was nothing to do. Nowhere to go.

Shadows writhed, twisted, and turned into the shape of a crooked man, yellow teeth stark against the black robe that seemed alive with thousands of bugs. Worms squirmed in the hood of the robe, shading half of the old man’s face, leaving out that sick smile and nothing more.

“You two look tired,” he rasped, then hissed out a laugh as he raised a wrinkled hand. “Now rest. You’ve proved yourself—”

A thump at the door. That was the first thing. A thump at the door, the shaking of the ground, the silver light flickering weakly upon the gate. Then came another one, with more force, insistent. The old man frowned back at the door, pulling out a yellowish staff from inside his robe. He raised it high and started whispering words.

A hand punched a hole through the gate.

Snake blinked through the blur. Twisted shapes stood just beyond the boundary, their faces bleak and distant. He dragged himself back and wiped the tears from his eyes, peering wide at the gate. Then he saw it. A weak smile blossomed on his lips. They came. Hope was here.

………

Lei winced up his feet, breath wheezing in his chest. He didn’t expect Zhu Luli would break the damned thing. It near crumbled over them when she punched a hole through the gate, choking the narrow passage with clouds of dust.

He waved them off as he squinted past the gate, toward what seemed like a dark shape writhing in shadows. There was a crooked silhouette, with a set of yellow teeth hacked straight into the skull, all rotten and worms squirming between the cracks. The figure held a staff in his hand, a twisted thing resembling a bunch of branches mashed together, a glimmering diamond cocked on top of it.

Looking at that staff made his [Spiritual Sensitivity] buzz against his mind. Dangerous. That was the feeling he got. Dangerous and lethal. That thing was something sinister.

Lei was about to check it when he saw a little face staring wide-eyed toward them, tears running down his eyes, one hand clenched tightly around another body. He leaned forward as if making for a run, then stumbled a step and lurched sideways before he crashed down.

“Snake!” Lei said, rage throbbing in his veins. They found them. A few paces away, both lying still behind that shadowy figure, all bloodied and broken. They found them alright, but the sight of their faces made Lei’s stomach sick.

“You fucking bastard!” Fatty Lou roared past him, steel sword glinting under the trembling lights. He jumped over a broken piece of the door, landed with strength and lunged at the shadows with sword raised high.

The gnarled staff swatted the blow away, then turned and caught Fatty Lou from the back, sending him sprawling to the ground. His brother-in-arms grunted in pain and tried to crawl back to his feet when the staff flickered with ominous light, forming a sharp translucent edge that inched dangerously toward him.

Zhu Luli bolted off, eyes blazing, Little Yao squeeking from over her shoulder. They both made for the shadows and reached them before the staff could strike. Zhu Luli’s punch crunched against the gnarled weapon, then slid off as she jabbed with her other hand. Her fingers vanished into the shadows, making her blink in surprise. Before she could pull her hand back, the staff slammed into the side of her cheek.

Lei choked out a breath as Zhu Luli crashed to the ground while Little Yao tried to distract the shadows with her claws. But her claws might as well have been slashing through a puff of air from the way the figure stood still and strong.

“There was a saying,” came a hissing voice from all around them, drilling painfully into Lei’s mind. “A mantis trying to stop a chariot, is it? Yes. What a foolish mantis it was, unable to see the reality with those blind eyes. But I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, eh? This world is full of them, after all.”

“Who are you?” Lei snarled, inching slowly toward the man, ladle clenched tight in his hand. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Curious, are you?” the voice said as shadows coalesced into an old man’s figure. He pulled back the hood of his dark robe with one wrinkled finger, revealing a hideous, rotten face dripping with pus. One eye blazed green, while the other was a deep, dark yellow. Below them was a flat nose, cut halfway through the bridge, leaving only two holes barely stirring as the man took easy, short breaths.

The man shook his head as he gazed down at Zhu Luli and the squirrel before poking Fatty Lou with his bare foot. They tried to get away, but something seemed to have bound them to the ground. “They look lonely, don’t you think? Would you be kind enough to join them?”

Lei frowned deeply at the words, his gaze snapping toward the two boys when Snake’s feet stirred, and then back at the old man. He handled Zhu Luli with ease, which meant that Lei had no chance whatsoever against this bastard.

“Come,” the man hissed again, beckoning him with a sick smile as he lowered the staff toward Zhu Luli. “Or you’ll have to witness—“

Just then, Zhu Luli turned and yanked at the staff, giving Lei the chance to bolt forward and plant the ladle right round the face of the old man. The worn cookware hissed at the touch of rotten flesh, straining in Lei’s palm as he pushed with all his worth.

The old man managed to wrench the staff away at the last second, ladle still hissing on his cheek. He wobbled a step back and used it to deflect Lei’s blow. Green light shimmered as pus dripped hot against Lei’s hand, eating into his skin. Lei jerked his head back as more pus poured from the tip of the staff, barely missing his face as it splashed across the ground.

Lei clenched his teeth, pulling Fatty Lou by the collar of his robe while Zhu Luli floundered to her feet. His brother-in-arms groaned in pain, still smarting from that blow, but other than that, he seemed fine.

“You have a good ladle in your hands, young man,” the old man said. He stuck a finger into the diamond of the staff and smeared green pus on his right cheek, letting out a little smile as he pointed that finger toward Lei’s ladle. “But it looks old and worn. I daresay it’s about to break. Shall we test it?”

Lei heard a buzz in his ears, ringing deep in his mind as the ladle started trembling in his hand. He tried to hold it tight and near his chest, but the damned thing shook so violently that he had to toss it away just to stop his fingers from hurting. It fell with a sickening crunch, then shattered into thousands of pieces.

"Now, that’s better," the old man said with pleasure. He then turned slowly toward the pair of boys, clutching his chest as if in pain. "Oh, you're here for them! Of course, that had to be the case. But we can't let you have them, now, can we? Not after you’ve seen everything. And now that you're here as well, let me play host for you. I’d say there's enough room for all of us here. What do you think?"

"You sick bastard," Lei spat through clenched teeth.

"He's strong," Zhu Luli said from the side, blood trickling from her old wound. "And that staff is not normal."

"Uh," Fatty Lou grunted his agreement.

Shaking his head, Lei decided to check the man with Yellow Maiden’s Eyes. Heat shot up to his head as he focused on the man.

[Elder Huang - Mortal]

What?

"Those eyes," Elder Huang said, staring deeply into Lei's face. "I didn’t expect to see them here. But they can’t see everything, eh? Not here, at least."

He raised the staff and closed his eyes. Green light burst forth from the diamond.

.......