Two Faces

"You're not even going to wait for mother?" Little Yan shouted; watching as her the younger wolf made his way towards the trees.

Her brother hesitated for a breath of a second, then ambled on.

Hurt flashed in her silver eyes. Without a second thought, she turned to leave in the opposite direction. "Where are you going?" Her father asked in a soft voice.

"I have work to finish." She didn't look back.

Her cousins followed her lead; making their exit as quiet as possible. A sniffling weight was present in the air of the clearing. The older wolf sighed and sat alone; waiting for the arrival of his mate.

Yun Da Xia held onto Little Ju's neck tightly. When she had been carried into the depths of the woods by his sister, she had been half-conscious and unable to comprehend the great speed the beasts had. Cold air rushed towards her face; causing her eyes to dry.

"Little Ju, are there any piei trees nearby?" She asked in a loud voice. The wolf flinched, and from the aura she could sense; it was annoyed with her. 'You don't need to yell. My ears are sensitive.' His voice echoed within the chambers of her mind. It was just as unusual and invasive as before.

Since the situation was less severe than last time; Yun Da Xia was curious about the telepathic link her spiritual beast displayed.

"Can you…" Yun Da Xia trailed off. 'Hear me like this, too?'

'I can.'

The girl raised her brows, 'I've never heard of spiritual beasts being able to communicate to others internally.'

'That's because most can't. As far as I know, only those in my family have this skill.'

Yun Da Xia let out a hum; thinking back to the different books she had read. Little Ju's appearance was that of an incredibly large wolf–it's size and bearing the only differences from the simpler counterpart. Compared to a fire qilin or four-winged roc, he and his kin did not have a fanatical reputation behind them.

'You have this skill I've never heard about and you were born a Sacred Beast. I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of every creature, but I'm fairly informed. Every race that could have their blood attain the status of spirit beast from birth have all had legends that spoke of their name. Where's yours?'

The wolf stiffened beneath her.

'Maybe there were some written about us. Maybe they were erased through time.'

Though she wasn't certain, there seemed to be a hint of vindication in his words. If so, she wouldn't question him any further, but an inkling of curiosity planted itself in her heart. At the end of the day, there was a large library she had yet to devour in its entirety within her master's inter spacial ring. She didn't need to pester her spiritual beast and strain their relationship in its early stages.

'So, the piei trees?' She repeated.

'They're close to the outer perimeter. We'll be near them soon.' Little Ju replied. Weren't piei trees poisonous to humans? He stifled an inquisition; attempting to place trust in the idea that she wouldn't do anything stupid.

With their unrelenting speed, a three-day journey on foot to reach the inner perimeters of the forest had been reduced to two hours. The sun slowly began to peek through the treetops; warming the sky.

When Little Ju stopped, Yun Da Xia had to hold a hand over her mouth. Riding a gigantic wolf at full speed was not something easy on the gut. She grabbed a tiny pill from her inter spacial ring to alleviate the nausea and thought about the slowly dwindling number of boluses within. She would need to acquire a pill-refining furnace soon.

Before her were yellow barked trees with trunks coated in a thick, black substance. She had seen their effects in the past. Flawless skin would end up becoming an unrecognizable mass of red bubbles. The chemical properties of the poisonous material were similar to that of poison ivy.

She took out a glass vial from her inter spacial ring and carefully collected the dark matter. It would be useful in the future.

Once full, she capped it and took out a small box. It was time to get what she came here for.

The uniqueness of the piei tree was that it grew right next to its own antidote. The masiura plant was tiny and flourished in between roots. If harvested correctly, the leaves nullified the effects of the poison.

Yun Da Xia scanned the ground; skilfully reaping orange-tinged leaves. Little Ju watched silently as she demonstrated her proficiency; astounded by the fact. Soon enough, the box she carried in her arms was filled to the brim with near perfectly intact leaves.

She wiped her forehead with the back of her arm. One ingredient down, two more to go. It was likely that she could cure her mother by the end of the year. There was the possibility of her getting another from within Zhan, but the second ingredient didn't show any traces of being native to the kingdom. She'd have to scour the marketplace for any imports from the kingdoms by the ports.

A twig snapped interrupted her train of thought; the sound coming from far across her and Little Ju.

Not again, Yun Da Xia thought.

Before Little Ju could move to investigate the noise; a figure emerged from the trees.

It was the silver-eyed wolf.

In-between its jaws was a man. Blood trickled down his mouth.