“Eustacia healed.” That’s what people say now. It took three years, but peace finally returned.

In a bright sunny morning, a group of children lined up to hop on a bridge on one foot. There were six of them, aged twelve to fourteen. Four boys and two girls.

“I’m bored… Tell me some stories. Hmm… Bamboo Stick, you told a story last time, so how about you, Fat Face?” The first child in line asked without turning his head backward. He started hopping on top of the bridge playfully.

“S-sure… My mum told me about this before. Three years ago, Hero Curt defeated Drey, the head of the Cosmic Variance faction…” A chubby child standing fourth in line said.

“You’re really as stupid as a pig! I know this story. Everyone knows this! Curt defeated Drey and went missing! I know all of this already! Argh… I told you to tell me an interesting story, not test my memory, idiot!”

“W-wait, I haven’t finished! My mum said that Drey had something left behind…”

“The Parallel Scripture, right? O’Legend has it that the reason why Drey was so strong and conquered so many factions is because of this scripture. When he was defeated three years ago, the definitely-real-and-not-fake scripture went missing. God! Can you get more boring?” The boy hopped toward the chubby child behind him and pushed him off the bridge.

The chubby child was pushed into the water without much resistance. Because of his chubby figure, it looked more like a balloon being thrown into water instead of a person. The boy who pushed him laughed.

“You went too far this time, Krun.” The boy at the furthest back spoke out.

“Woohoo! Mr Justice here wants to defeat the big baddie. Oh no! As the baddie, I’m so scared!” Krun mocked. “Bo, if you’ve got something to say to me, walk up here and say it to my face.”

Bo stopped standing on one foot, and started walking toward Krun. As he walked past the girl who was fifth in line, the girl lightly grabbed his arm.

“Bo, don’t do this,” she whispered. “You know how Krun is like.”

“I’ll be fine, Pesh.” Bo tapped on her shoulder to reassure her.

“But…”

“Don’t worry.”

“I’ll trust you then.” Pesh looked at Bo with soft eyes.

Of course, Krun saw all that. He couldn’t hear their exchange, but he saw their faces. At all times, Pesh was affectionately looking at Bo, and that made Krun jealous. Very jealous.

“Whatever, I don’t care now. Congratulations. You’ve successfully made my day better, Mr Justice.” Krun said out loud. “Why don’t you take Pesh as your little wifey and live somewhere in the mountain? That way people like me can’t interrupt you two. While you’re at it, why not gather some hay and make a hay bed to seal the deal, huh?”

Pesh turned very red. “W-w-what are you saying? W-we are not like that!”

Originally, Krun wanted to get back at Bo, but he felt even more bitter after seeing Pesh’s reaction.

“I don’t mind you insulting me, but how can you harass Pesh like that?” Bo lashed out. “Apologise. Now!”

Krun clicked his tongue. He hated this. He just wanted to get out of here. “Whatever, yeah, yeah. Sorry Pesh. I shouldn’t have said anything bad to you. A million sorries. And Fat Face down there! Sorry that I pushed you into the river! Even though it was funny! Happy, Mr Justice?”

Krun’s half-heartedness was clear as day, but he apologised nonetheless, so Bo decided to be the bigger man and let it go.

“Are you fine Pesh?” Bo asked Pesh.

“Y-yeah. I-I’m fine.” Pesh blushed even harder now that Bo was looking at her directly. “Thanks, Bo…”

Still one-legged, Krun hopped over to Bo and asked him for a handshake. “Back to being friends, okay?” Krun asked with a grin.

Bo stared Krun’s palm for a long time, thinking whether he should take Krun up on the offer. “The worse he can do is throw me down the water. I’ll be fine.” Bo thought as he accepted the handshake.

Contrary to his expectation, Krun didn’t use the opportunity the drag him down the water. Instead, Krun leaned forward and whispered to Bo. “Meet me here tonight at 9pm. We’ll have a man-to-man fight.” Krun smiled at Bo.

“Alright, everyone! We’re back to being friends! Friendship hooray!” Krun hopped away on one foot.

The children hopped across the bridge one by one. They played for another hour and went home separately.

Should he go? Should he not go? Bo debated inwardly while he was walking back home.

*

9pm. It was midsummer so it wasn’t cold at all. In fact, the breeze was gentle and warm. The cosy mist lightly layered the sky, making the starry night hazy, and more to be desired. In a broken hillside temple rest two white-robed girls.

In hindsight, they looked like two beautiful sisters travelling, but they were in fact two of the very few martial artists who belonged in the White Mist faction. They completed their training and went to find the Parallel Scripture.

The one with the rather thick eyebrows and medium-length hair, which gave her an androgynous, refreshingly cool look, was Opal. After completing her training at the unprecedented age of nineteen, she brought her junior, Mew, along with her to find the scripture.

The sixteen-year-old Mew had long black hair with a golden yellow hairstick on top of it. The inconspicuous layer of makeup gave her the glamour of a young lady a few years beyond her actual age.

“Opal, did we go too far with the people in the restaurant?”

Opal sneered at Mew’s words. “They deserved it.”

Mew nodded. She never went against Opal. Opal’s words were absolute, just like their master’s, but even so, the scene in the restaurant floated in her mind.

A dozen or so corpses laid on the floor, all impaled mercilessly either in the throat or heart. Because some drunkards decided to harass the two girls. No one in the restaurant was spared alive. Even the people who had nothing to do with it, even the owner who watched in terror, even the family who wanted to run away. All who witnessed was killed.

“Mew, steel your heart. You must allow nothing to come in our way. Doesn’t matter if the enemy is your friend, the emperor, or an innocent child. Kill them if they’re in the way.”

“I understand. Thank you for your teaching.”

“Let’s discuss what to do now,” Opal spoke in her usual calm demeanour. “The fight between Curt and Drey took place in Barlon, but Curt was last seen in Trec. Do you remember what we’re supposed to do?”

“Yes. We should look for the Prill family who housed Curt at that time. We’ll kindly ‘ask’ for information.” Mew smiled bewitchingly when she said the word ‘ask’.

“Very good. It’s a one-month trip from here. I’m sure the Prills had already received intel that we’re coming. There might be people on the way to stop us. Be cautious at all times. Don’t hesitate to kill if you think someone was suspicious.”

“Understood.” Mew smiled happily after being praised by Opal.

As they were going on about the details of their trip, suddenly a voice from out of the temple alerted them. The two white-robed girls immediately hid beside the entrance of the temple and brandished their swords. They carefully controlled their breathing and movement to not make a sound.

“There’s the temple, Mr Justice.” Krun skipped with his hands in his pockets.

“Why should we go here again?” Bo asked rigidly.

“Idiot! Fighting in the water is just two brats brawling. But fighting in the temple is cool… It’s like we’re having a battle! Hahaha!”

“Sure… Remind me why we should fight.”

“Winner gets to be with… with…” Krun blushed and softened his voice. “With… Pesh…”

Was that even Krun? At first, Bo was still reluctant to fight, but after seeing Krun like that, he decided to honour the fight.

The two boys stepped over the threshold of the temple entrance. Woosh. Two swords cut through the air and resided next to the two boys’ neck.

“How much did you hear?” Opal demanded an answer.

Meanwhile Bo was still figuring out what was happening, Krun shouted. “Nothing! I didn’t hear nothing!”

“Mew, kill them. This will be your first lesson.”

Mew went silent. Was she going to kill children? Even if they heard about their plans, they wouldn’t do anything.

“Mew. Kill them.”

But her words were absolute. Mew must listen to her. After making the decision, the relaxedness returned to her expression. It wasn’t that difficult to make a choice like that after all!

However, in Krun’s mind, gears were turning at great speed. In the two girls’ exchange, he already spotted the power dynamic between them. The androgynous chick was clearly the long-haired chick’s superior. What more was that the long-haired chick seemed to be inexperienced.

“I understand,” Mew said, as she raised her sword, ready to swing at Bo.

“Wait!” Krun shouted. “I have something to tell him before I die.”

“Mew!” Opal gave Mew a stern look.

“Is it not fine to just let him say what he wants before he dies?” Mew very politely asked.

“… Fine.”

“Thank you! You two are beautiful angels.” Krun smiled as he walked over to Bo slowly.

Mew chuckled a bit after hearing Krun’s compliment, but she immediately stopped herself after meeting Opal’s furious gaze.

By now, Bo had recovered from shock. “What was Krun trying to do?” Bo thought, as he saw Krun slowly approaching him. “Is he using me as a decoy? Is he going to plead for his life?” Bo stood still as a statue, trying to gauge what Krun was trying to do. As he was thinking, Krun was already beside him.

Krun leaned in and whispered to Bo’s ear. “I won the fight.”

“The fight? What fight?” Bo didn’t understand. But before he could even speak out his thoughts, Krun kicked Bo with all his strength. Bo was sent flying over to a dense bush and started rolling down the hill.

Krun quickly ran the opposite way, but before he could take another step, he felt something sharp pressed against his back. He knew what that meant. Those legs that were meant to carry him to safety halted to a stop.

“I’ll look for the other boy. Kill this one, Mew.”

“Sorry, boy.” Mew raised her sword.

“You won’t know it if I died!” Krun shouted, just before the sword reached his throat. Krun slowly turned around to see Opal and Mew, who were expecting an answer. “I know where the other boy went. You won’t find him easily because we used to hide there.”

Opal furrowed her brows. “Tell me.”

“Don’t be so impatient! They always say patience is a virtue. You know, if people had more patience, the world would run a lot smoother and with a lot less conflict. Don’t you agree? So, for example…”

“Are you trying to buy time?” Opal pressed her sword against Krun’s chest.

“No, no, no! I just want you to calm down! See, I’m exchanging information for my life here. I’m negotiating!”

Opal sneered and let out a grin. “I think you’re misunderstanding something, kid.”

“It’s Krun.”

“What?”

“My name.”

“I don’t care. You’re still going to die no matter what. But if you spill where the other kid went, I’ll let you die a painless death. I know many ways to torture a human without killing them.”

“Okay! Okay! Don’t be so bitchy about it! I’ll tell you.” Krun crouched and picked up a nearby tree branch and started drawing things on the ground.

After a while, a poorly drawn map was seen. Krun pointed at a few weird crosses and said, “So you have to go through this, this, and this. Because our hideout is in a cave, you have to descend, and that’s the only way down. You should be able to see markings on the trees, so you’ll know that I’m not lying.” Krun looked up to see an expressionless face. Opal’s menace caused him to involuntarily gulp.

“So, continuing from there, there is a very small lake. Just follow the lake downstream and you should see the entrance to the cave. There’s fruit and a clean source of water. He’ll be hiding there for a few days until you’re nowhere to be seen.”

“Why do you know so much about what he’s going to do?”

“We’re best friends! We said that if there was an apocalypse and got separated, we’ll meet up there!”

Opal was still doubtful, but she had already lost valuable time by not immediately chasing after Bo. Was that the kid’s plan this whole time? No, no, no. That kid didn’t seem to be lying. Opal had been around that area, so she knew the geography made sense. She was even sure that she saw that lake.

“I’ll look for the kid. You stay here and keep an eye on him. Tie him up. I’ll have my ways with him if I can’t find the kid.” Opal dashed away, leaving Mew and Krun.

“Huh. ‘I’ll have my ways with him.’ That’s lewd. Right, Ms Beautiful Angel?”

Mew didn’t respond to him. She used some overgrown vine in the temple to tie Krun up.

“Ms Beautiful Angel? Can you tell me your name? Is it Mew again? Can I call you Mew?”

Silence.

“Don’t be like that, Mew. I’m gonna die anyway. I just want to have someone to talk to before I die! Say, why do you still stick with that bitch?”

Now Mew could not ignore Krun’s remark. “She’s not a… b-bitch. She’s my senior! I respect her a lot!”

If Krun hadn’t been tied up, he would have made a gut pose. He got her to talk! As long as there’s a conversation, Krun had chance of surviving.

“Hmm? She’s nothing but a bitch the way I see it.”

“That’s not true!” Mew raised her voice. “She’s really strong! And she takes care of her juniors well! I didn’t have siblings nor parents, but she has been beside me the entire time!”

“Really? So she is like a sister-figure to you?”

“Yes! Yes! Precisely!”

“I understand you! My parents died when I was very young. My sister was the one who brought me up! I respect her a lot too. Now that you said it, the short-haired woman looks a bit like my sister. They are both cool and imposing, like you can’t defy their words! You can’t help but look up to them!”

That was a complete lie. Krun was a single child. His parents were still well and married to each other happily. But Mew didn’t know that. She simply smiled at Krun’s words, but what Krun said next took away her smile.

“But she… died a year ago. She ate the wrong food, and… and… I should’ve stopped her!” It should be noted that dying from food poisoning was common at the time. Krun curled up into a ball as he told the lie he was proud of.

“Ouch!” Since Krun was tied up tightly, the slightest movement caused excruciating pain. But he had to endure to put up a good act.

“I… I’m sorry.” Mew said sorrowfully. “I couldn’t imagine what’s like losing such a dear family member. I don’t know what I’d do if I were to lose Opal.”

“It’s alright. Maybe that’s fate.” Krun looked up to the sky solemnly. “I hope she’s doing well up there.”

“I’m sure she is. What’s her name?”

“She’s called… Pesh.” Krun immediately regretted choosing this name. “Pesh? Really? Out of the hundreds of names, I chose Pesh? What the hell am I saying?” He thought.

“You must have loved your sister so much.”

“I… I…” Krun blushed. “Yes… I like Pesh very much.”

“What am I doing!? Getting all blush-y over here? I’ve got to find a way to stay alive,” Krun snapped out of his embarrassment. He lowered his head and let his hair cover his eyes.

“Please… Don’t abandon me… Can you two take me in? Opal looks awfully like my sister… I promise I’ll be a good brother! I won’t let big sister worry about me! I’ll do my best to be a good brother!”

His plea tugged Mew’s heartstring. “Krun must be suffering. He’s trying to hide his tears from me, but I know he is hurting…” (But he wasn’t.)

“I… I’ll see if I can do something about it.”

“T-thank you. Can I call you big sister Mew? Please?”

“Yes.” Mew suddenly jumped. “B-but just when we’re alone, alright?”

“Thank you, big sister Mew.”

Mew felt a surge of warmness in her heart. She never knew having a brother could make her feel that way. She felt very calm when Krun looked at her with those teary eyes.

However, inwardly, Krun was…

“Hahaha! Stupid bitch! How’d you like my sob story? I’m too much of a genius. This legendary me shall not have his journey ended here! I’ve got too much to live for! Screw Hero Curt. I’m the one who’s the real deal! Hahaha!”

It was at this time that Opal returned.

“Kid!! How dare you lie to me! I’ll cut off your tongue first and then break each of your finger one by one!”

“Opal, did you not find the other boy?”

“No! This little brat lied!”

Of course she couldn’t find anything. That cave was discovered by Krun and he never told anyone.

But before Opal could even reach Krun, Mew stood in between them. Opal was shocked and angry.

“What are you doing, Mew?!”

“I… I…” Mew didn’t meet Opal’s gaze.

Krun was desperate. He thought Mew would retaliate against Opal, but he overestimated Mew’s will.

Krun cried, “I can’t believe that bastard betrayed me!”

The two girls looked at him. As if talking to himself, Krun kept at it. “I told the bastard to wait for me there! He… he must have run away without waiting for me! That coward!”

Opal let out a cold laugh. “You’re the one who betrayed him first. And now you’re the one calling him a coward? Funny!”

“Fine. I don’t want to live any more. Quick, finish me off. There’s no one in this world who cares about me. Not him! Not Pesh!” Krun stared at Mew angrily. “Not you!”

A wave of guilt hit Mew. Didn’t Mew let Krun call her his sister? Was she going to abandon his own little brother?

“Opal… Maybe we can take him in our trip.”

Opal couldn’t believe what she heard.

“Y-you know. Uh… Right! We have heavy baggage. He can carry those for us. Also, after I’ve… interrogated him, I learned that he had no family. He has no places to escape to.”

“And you’re saying taking him in is better and easier than just killing him. Why are you defending him?”

“I’m not defending him. Killing him is certainly easy, but…” Mew was thinking of convincing reasons. “He can also… also scout places inconspicuously! He’s just a child so people won’t be suspicious. We can use him to infiltrate the Prill family.”

Opal’s eyebrows twitched. She looked down and contemplated. In Krun’s eyes, she looked like a beautifully sculpted statue. A masculine, androgynous yet extremely alluring goddess. If someone had told Krun that the same person Krun was staring at now mercilessly killed dozens of people just a few hours ago, he wouldn’t have believed it.

“That might prove to be useful. Good idea, Mew.”

Mew breathed a sigh of relief.

“Weird. Usually, Mew would be ecstatic after I complimented her,” Opal thought. “Whatever. If there is any strange thing going on, I’ll just kill that boy… And possibly Mew.”

“Krun. You’re now our servant. You’ll listen to no one except for us. Understand?”

“Yes, Opal.”

“Ms Opal, that is.”

“Understood, Ms Opal.” Krun then turned toward Mew and smiled. “And Ms Mew as well.”

 

New series! I'm very excited to write a character like Krun, who is very different from a classic martial arts main character. I've already had plans with Krun's development and I can't wait to put it down on paper. If you like this story, check out my other story "The Account of the Golden Bamboo", which is also a martial arts story but with elements of rebellions and nobility and betrayal. Please kindly give this a vote and comment if you like the story! It really helps me going.