Heaven's Golden Finger - Chapter 5: Chapter 5

The path away from Leifeng Sect's mountain was quiet and still, this early in the morning. Spring air carried intriguing scents, some heady, some not quite so pleasant. All new and different and a distinct pleasure after spending three years in the chill antiseptic environment of a hospital. Shirong strolled happily along, listening to birds and gazing interestedly at the plants. Just like a xianxia movie, he felt. All the way down to the flowing robes and hair.
"What was your name before," Shu Shun asked suddenly.
"Song Shirong. Though it's just as well not to use it, Shixiong."
Shu Shun shifted uncomfortably, gazing fixedly ahead. "You're not really my Shidi, you know."
"I know. But everyone thinks I am. It'll seem strange if I don't call you that." Shirong smiled, adding, "And you can continue calling me stinky brat, if you really want."
A slight snort escaped Shu Shun's iron control. "At the moment I'm more likely to call you idiot. Have you given any consideration to how difficult this is going to be? The Revered Predecessor wanders all over the place. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be."
"If nothing else, it keeps me away from the sect. Besides, if I'm right, I'll find what I need to." It occurred to Shirong that he might have found what he needed back at the sect as well. Except that'd keep Shu Shun there and now he was certain that was the worst place for the man ever.
The look on his Shixiong's face the night before had proved it to Shirong. That moment when the older boy realized what his fate was supposed to be had been devastating. Those dark eyes had almost filled with tears. Those elegant lips had trembled. And every good intention in Shirong's head towards staying away had broken. He couldn't save Shu Shun from his bad luck, but he'd damn well try to mitigate it.
He'd wondered at one point if he was wasting his time, trying to protect someone who might just be a character in a novel. Except he couldn't think of anyone here as just characters. From their Shizun, whose worried glances at Shu Shun revealed his deep concern for his grandson, to cute and aggravating little Xiaojing, to Shu Shun, devastated and desperately acknowledging his fate, they were all people.
Maybe he couldn't save Shu Shun from becoming the Demon King. But he'd damned well try. And if he failed, he'd do his best to make sure the rest of the prophecy turned out safe for him. The more he watched his Shixiong, the more sure Shirong was that he could not, would not, become something evil.
"Well, well, well. What have we here. A pretty little girl and her boyfriend on a walk." Several men came out of the woods ahead of them. More showed up behind. Ten in all, dressed in rough clothes, heavy weapons in hand, faces hidden behind strips of cloth,.
A low growl escaped Shu Shun's lips. "Girl?"
Shirong quickly wrapped his arms around Shu Shun and pretended to cower. He'd pay for this later, he knew, but he hoped his Shixiong would have the forbearance to play along. He let his voice rise an octave. "Please, misters. Xiaoshi is scared. Xiaoshi will faint!"
The bandits stopped. Stared. One muttered, "Hell. That's the girl?"
Taking advantage of the men's moment of confusion, Shirong whispered, "Tossing you left," into Shu Shun's ear. Then, as the man relaxed into his grasp, he picked him up and flung him off into the trees. That made everyone look in Shu Shun's direction, giving Shirong a chance to leap off the path the other direction.
Old Shirong wasn't a swordsman. When he'd bothered to work towards foundation, he'd done so through meditation. Moreover, he'd barely established himself a month earlier. His cultivation wasn't at a level that'd let him do much more than set the ground shaking. Shirong would save that for later.
Instead, calling on other memories and hoping his new body could handle the stress, Shirong dropped his weight and raised his hands in front of him. "I should warn you," he told the bandits coming his way. "I know kung fu, aikido, karate, and forty-seven other dangerous words."
They sneered, the biggest stepping towards him, dagger at ready. He dodged. Stepped sideways. Caught the man's wrist and sent him flying into the nearest tree. A sharp kick to the next man's knee followed, sending his victim sprawling. "Oh, and I took silver in the last World Aikijitsu Championships."
On the other side of the path, someone shouted, "She's a cultivator!"
"I. Am. Not. A. Woman!"
Shirong grimaced. Yes, Shun was pretty, but really, it wasn't that hard to tell he was a man. He'd understand if these men were from his original time. Men didn't usually wear long hair and long silky robes in the twenty-first century. But here in whatever ancient Chinese land this was? They should know better.
The last three men attempted to grab for Shirong simultaneously, but he dodged, twisted and used one to break the other two's attacks. Swift strikes to the sides of their neck dropped them to the ground. It'd been three years since his last randori but some things one never forgot. Good thing, too. He'd probably be dead, otherwise.
The sound of swirling water drew Shirong's attention. Ah, this was what happened when you attacked one of Master Quan's senior disciples. You risked being tossed into a metaphorical lake created by Shu Shun's attribute. The bandits weren't really drowning, but they surely felt like they were. Meanwhile, Shu Shun himself was standing atop the water, perched elegantly atop a swirling spire of fire. He tilted his head, smiling pleasantly. "Are you done?"
"Shixiong, I think they have to be. They seem out of screams at least."
The lake array faded, along with the fire, leaving the bandits who'd gone after Shu Shun flat on the ground. "They do appear to have fainted," he agreed.
Shirong checked the bandits nearest him. They weren't carrying much. So little, in fact, he was half-tempted to leave them some silver just out of pity. Except he didn't have any money and he was pretty sure Shu Shun wouldn't offer any.
"This one has a spatial ring," Shu Shun said suddenly, tossing it to Shirong. "Don't look at me like that. You're the one with the luck. Or are you objecting to stealing from bandits?"
It was just that Shirong hadn't expected Shu Shun to be quite so generous. Had learning he was fated to become a demon and always come out worst against Shirong's damned good fortune broken him? Shirong hoped not. He took the ring and tried to remember how one activated it. "Shouldn't it still be under its owner's command?"
"You have to be a cultivator to use a spatial ring," Shu Shun told him, not particularly patiently. "If that bandit was a cultivator, he would have been able to protect himself from me. So likely he lucked out, killed the owner and didn't know what he had. Bleed on it and see."
Old Shirong's memories showed Shirong what to do. He bit his finger enough to draw blood and let it drop on the surface of the spatial ring. Focusing his attention on the thing let him 'see' its contents. "Shixiong? I'm not sure my good luck is helping here."
"Why?"
"Because there's a dead body inside."
They left the bandits where they lay and found a quiet place to examine the contents of the ring. Shirong freely admitted to be shaking in his soft cotton boots. He'd known, from the moment he'd fully comprehended where he was and what sort of world it was, that he'd be seeing death sooner or later. He'd hoped it'd be later. Much, much, later.
"If you throw up on me I'm going to dump you in my Lake."
Shirong didn't tell Shu Shun that he actually wouldn't mind. He liked to swim, after all. But right that moment he was busy trying to keep from freaking out. He couldn't tell much about the body when he'd 'looked' inside the ring, but he didn't need to, to know it was a corpse. One usually couldn't keep living things inside such rings.
"Sorry, Shixiong."
Shu Shun eyed him. "I'm not your Shixiong."
"I'm in this body. This body is Xu Shirong and this idiotic one is a junior disciple of your sect. What else am I supposed to call you?"
After a moment of hesitation, Shu Shun sighed. "All right. Fine. Are you going to throw up as soon as you pull that body out?" He paused. Added sarcastically, "Shidi?"
"I'm going to try not to," Shirong promised. Then, as quickly as he could and trying not to look at the thing, he caught hold of an ankle and dragged the corpse free of the ring. It dropped to the ground with a thud and lay sprawled. Not that Shirong looked at it. He was perfectly happy to leave that task to his Shixiong. He kept his gaze on Shu Shun and waited to hear what they were dealing with.
To Shirong's surprise, Shu Shun looked a little green about the edges. "A demon. It's... it was... a demon."
Knowing what they did about Shu Shun's purported future, Shirong couldn't blame Shun for feeling a little sick. He looked down at the body himself, frowning. "You're sure?" The body was taller than most people by a bit, but she had the right number of limbs and a fairly normal looking face, half-hidden by a mass of wild dark hair. The thin clothing - sheer fabric in bright shades of green - made it easy to see her gender, barely hiding her bust and hips.
"Scales."
Shirong looked more closely. "Oh." They were faint, more an iridescent pattern than anything else, but now he looked, he could see them along her throat and cheeks. "She looks so human, except for them."
"The more powerful ones do. She probably has fangs, too." For some reason Shu Shun's voice cracked as he spoke. But when Shirong eyed him curiously, he just waved down at their find. "As human as she looks, she's probably nobility. She'll have a pattern somewhere on her. Go ahead and check."
Shirong didn't particularly want to touch the body but he was afraid something might go wrong if Shu Shun did so instead. What if coming into contact with this corpse set off the events leading to Shu Shun becoming Demon King. It was obvious from Shu Shun's expression that that was what he feared as well.
At least the body wasn't partially decomposed, or badly damaged. If anything, the demon woman looked asleep. Her thin, loose, robes made it easy to see the skin beneath so at least Shirong didn't have to strip her down to examine her. If she'd been alive, some men might have enjoyed the opportunity. Since she wasn't alive and since Shirong wasn't attracted to women, however, all he could be was nervous.
When she suddenly opened her eyes and grabbed him by the throat, nervousness fled to be replaced by outright terror.