The time is one-thousand five-hundred years ago;
The place is Ancient China;
The character is a young girl;
This is her story. . .
Written by: Son Pan
The sky overhead rumbled with thick clouds, yet no rain fell on the land. It was rapidly approaching dusk, and what small amounts of light filtered through the dense clouds was decreasing swiftly. Lightning darted from one smoky black cloud to another, yet no bolt strayed to the land side. It was almost as if even the lightning was afraid of the tragedy about to occur below.
A caravan of darkly dressed men slowly plodded across the land. Each rickety old wagon was pulled by two worn mules. The beaten beasts hung their heads as they wearily hauled their burden. The front wagon was lead by a wise old man, who sported a long gray beard. By his mule walked two guarded men. The next two tattered wagons carried other folks men, and behind the lest wagon lead a procession of people. The last wagon before the band of people boasted bars. Inside the wagon sat a tired man, apparently whipped and beaten. He held the bars with his hands, hanging his head in shame as people snickered at him.
Pushing through the crowd came a small form, shrouded in a dull cloak. A brief look at the size and curve of the form beneath the cloak, it was apparent that whomever hid in the cloaks depths was female. She shivered despite the cover the cloak offered. Looking up, the girl made her way to the last wagon, where the man was being held. She matched the wagons pace and reached out to touch the man’s hands. He looked up at her.
She pulled the hood of the cloak back to reveal her face. He was met with dark blue eyes, and radiant red hair, spilling down her back. Instantly he recognized her. She glanced at him and smiled. He weakly returned gesture.
"Do not worry." She softly whispered. "I will free you."
He shut his eyes and the looked at her hard. "Please, do not risk your life for me." He answered. She reached out and put her hand over his mouth.
"Shhh." She cooed, removing her hand. "I will not fail." And with that spoken, she replaced the hood and slipped into the crowd of people.
After much walking, the caravan stopped at a place shrouded in a light fog. The people murmured amongst themselves, and the man in the last wagon was left alone. The sky darkened more, and soon it was night. The people lighted torches and fires to illuminate the area. Slowly the fog lifted.
The caravan had stopped at the top of a large cliff overlooking a great many small pools. Now the people were making their way down to the otherwise inaccessible springs. Shortly, two guards arrived at the last wagon to retrieve the man. In the shadows of a crop of rocks, the young red headed woman watched them angrily. They dragged the man out of the ‘cage’ and harshly pulled him along, and began the decent to the springs below. The young girl stealthily trailed them.
The guards stopped at the nearest pool. Already the crowd of people had gathered around the spring. A second rate stage had been poorly constructed, and now the wise old man who had ridden in the first wagon stood upon it. The guards brought the broken man before the stage. The crowd murmured as the wise man cast his gaze at the ‘unworthy’ one below him.
Slow the wise man descended the steps of the stage and crossed to the spring that everyone had surrounded. The crowd hushed while everyone craned their necks to see. The captive man watched the old man carefully. He knew what awaited him; and he was prepared to take the punishment for his ‘crime’ like a man.
It was customary, and somewhat common for a procession like this to transpire. The accused one would travel for several days to a foreign spring in a caged wagon, while his peers and elders humiliated him along the way. Once the leader of the procession came across a pool, lake, or spring he deemed worthy, the caravan halted and the punishment took place.
Now the wise old man knelt by the foreign spring, and ladled a small amount of water into a wooden bowl. The guards brought the accused man forward, and made him bow his head before the wise man. In the shadows, the young girl watched and readied herself to make her move.
One guard came forward carrying a sheathed sword. The two guards holding the man forced him to his knees. The sword bearer took the bowl of water from the wise man. Likewise the wise man took the sword from the guard. He unsheathed the sword, and held it up. The fire light from the torches danced on the sharp blade. The man on his knees swallowed tightly, but held his pride. The wise man began his speech.
"Tonight, the accused kneels before me, awaiting his punishment for the wrongs he has done. With this foreign water, I shall douse my sword. The water shall purify the blade and remove the blood of this death from my hands. This water is foreign water, and knows nothing of our people. It cannot lie, and may only tell the truth." He looked down to the man, still speaking loudly. "If you are innocent of the crimes you are accused of, this blade will cleanse your soul of your sins, so that you might travel beyond this world onto the next level. However, if you are guilty of your crimes, this blade will see the truth, and you shall die dishonorably." The wise man held the sword out, while the guard poured the foreign water over the blade. Once the blade was doused, the wise man raised it above his head. The accused bowed his head forward, looking towards his next life.
Finally from above in the dark shadows, the girl came to life. She leapt forward, leg extended. The crowd spied her and tried to prevent her from attacking, but no one was fast enough. She soared forward and collided with the old man, knocking the sword out of his hand and into the spring. She landed, and delivered a punch to the old man’s stomach. He lurched forward in pain and she brought her elbow cracking down on his skull. The guard nearby threw the water bowl down and leapt towards her. She turned and side kicked him. He flew back and fell into the spring, splashing around wildly.
The accused man, realizing who was attacking, stood up. The two guards holding him, baffled by the girls arrival, easily succumbed to him. He dropped and ground round-housed one of the two, knocking him flat on his rear. The second guard reached for his head, and he ducked, lunging for the mans middle. Both the guard and the accused man flew backwards. The guard caught himself, splashing up to his calves in the spring.
The girl kicked down the first guard who was trying to get up after the accuse man had knocked him to his rear. She turned and saw the accused man and the second guard fighting in the water. The accused man finally pulled the guard out of the water, and the fight insured on the dry land. The girl ran around, behind the guard, wrapped her hand around his neck, and brutally snapped it. The guard fell like a wet rag.
The crowd rushed the man and girl, crying outraged. The girl grabbed the accused man’s wrist and pulled him. They ran along together, narrowly avoiding the great many other springs nearby. The crowd seemed to draw closer, yet the girl thought they could get away. Out of each spring rose a perfectly straight bamboo shoot. She wordlessly pointed out the shoots to her companion, and released his hands. Instantly she leapt up to the bamboo shoot, and then continued fleeing, hopping from shoot to shoot. The man with her did the same.
Behind them, the wise old man had recovered. He furiously watched the two flee. Reaching down to his boot, he removed a wicked dagger. He knelt by the nearest spring quickly, and swished the blade in the water. Then he took hold of the blade, and drew his arm back, aiming for the fleeing girl. He let the dagger go and it howled as it curved though the air. The girl arched her back as the blade hit its mark. The crowd hushed, and watched breathlessly.
She frantically tried to reach behind her to pull the dagger out, but that merely upset her balance on top the bamboo stalk. She flailed her arms about erratically to no avail. Moments later her foot slipped and she plunged head first into the spring below. The water rushed up around her, splashing around the sides. The pool rippled and then slowly settled. The young girl did not surface until much later.
They pulled her floating carcass from the pool the next day. Only then did the procession of beings realize they were amongst the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyou. They quickly departed realizing they, themselves has contributed to the cursed springs the night before.
They had added the Nanniichuan.
The Spring of the Drowned Girl.
Whoever drowns their now takes the body of a young girl.
The End