Stratagem Four 以逸待劳: Use Retreat to Replace Labor
- The Thirty-Six Stratagems, Ancient Chinese Proverbs and Military Text
The journey home in broad daylight was much more pleasant than her midnight escape. It felt joyful to race along trails covered in bright fall foliage, through patches of sunlight and shadow with anticipation of seeing her sisters and mama soon. Early afternoon, Autumn passed a stand of persimmon trees which littered the ground with ripe fruits. She gorged on the hone-sweet bounty before continuing her journey.
After she summited the Fragrant Mountain, she passed by the clearing where Prince Jin had set her free. As she walked around the log he sat on that night, Autumn detected the scent of smoke on the breeze which sent a shiver down her spine. Her mama had told Autumn stories about wildfires that burned through the mountains. A particularly harrowing one occurred when her mama was a kit, leaving her with a life-long fear of flames and smoke. The den Autumn grew up in was built close to a stream so there was always somewhere to escape to.
Hoping it was just a small blaze, maybe a campfire that wasn’t put out properly. Autumn pushed onward. She made sure to leave a wide berth around the camp of the young hunters. Prince Jin had told her to hide for three days, and she had been gone for four, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Soon she was traveling through the woods she recognized. She had often explored here in search of rodents, honey and berries. She was only one ridge over from their home territory. Autumn raced up the red maple covered hill eager to see her family.
As she crested the top of the hill, her heart dropped. What laid before her was nothing she had ever seen. Instead of a carpet of gold and crimson, filled with birdsongs, the valley before her was blackened. Trees that had been there since there were foxes in the valley were smoldering blackened stumps. A breeze swept up the hill with an intense acrid smell which made her choke.
What happened here? Autumn thought frantically. Where was her family?
She raced to the ash covered grounds. Her paws sank through black, brittle charcoal burning her paws and making her cough. It was hard to figure out where she was. All the familiar landmarks had disappeared. Finally, by following the stream, Autumn recognized a stump which resembled the base of the willow tree under which her mama had made their den.
Whimpering Autum dug with her paws at where the opening of her home should have been. Soon, soot covered her belly and snout. The cloud of ashes she kicked up choked her. Not caring, she dug deeper and deeper, until suddenly she felt the opening to her den. Autumn wiggled herself through the hole.
The inside, the walls and floors of her home were warm with an intense odor of smoke, but the tunnels she had grown up in were damp and still intact. She checked every chamber, and they were all empty. Finally, she left through the secret exit next to the stream.
Autumn drank thirstily. She was thankful that no one was trapped inside the den. Hopefully they left before the fire got out of control. But then why hadn't they returned to check on what happened?
Seeing her soot covered face in the stream gave Autumn an idea. The ash made it easy to see if anyone had entered or left the area. By placing her back paws in her front paw prints, Autumn carefully walked back to the edge of the blackened territory and searched along its perimeter, looking for any sign of tracks coming or leaving the area.
The fire must have died out recently as some pockets of ashes were still hot and singed her paws. Autumn pushed away her fear, holding on to the hope that her mama and sisters escaped before the fire got going in earnest.
After she walked almost halfway around, Autumn saw an opening in the woods that she wasn’t familiar with. She crept slowly toward it, scanning the trees, alert for any noise. But the forest was eerily silent.
Berry bushes, brambles and several trees had been cut down to make a large clearing. A giant fire pit had been built in the center with stones from the stream. Looking closely at the trampled ground, Autumn could see indentations where tents might have been pitched. Her heart began to pound when she saw blackened crescent moon hoof prints.
Did the hunting party track her here when they saw her empty cage? She had not bothered with covering her trail the day she left her den to look for honey. The wind shifted and blew away the acrid smell of ashes from Autumn's face. A scent of cooked meat reached her instead. Autumn slowly glanced up from where she stood.
There, two meters above the firepit, four small carcasses, tied up by their feet, hung from a rope, swinging in the wind.
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Autumn willed herself to transform into her human form. Unsteady on two feet, she stumbled to the tree that the rope was tied to. She fumbled with the rope before figuring out how to untie a knot. Finally, the rope loosened, and the bodies dropped to the ground with a soft thump.
Slowly, Autumn walked toward the bodies. She knew in her guts whose body they were, but she still needed to see. Autumn’s vision blurred by unfamiliar moisture in her eyes. she wiped at them with her sleeves and realized she was crying. As she came closer, she saw the four stiff, small bodies were all a deep shade of marron. It’s dried blood, she realized. They have all been skinned, their fur taken from them. Princess Ling was looking for her and when they couldn’t find her, her mama and sisters paid the price.
Autumn fell to her knees. Something was struggling to escape from inside of her, a wild, fanged beast clawing up her esophagus. Unable to contain it any longer, she raised her face to the sky and let out an ear-piercing scream that didn’t stop. The creature inside of her morphed, teeth and nails became flames and heat. Her throat burned but she couldn’t stop while it was still inside.
Autumn wasn't sure how much time had passed, but finally she collapsed on all fours. The creature had turned from fire to hatred. Vain. Stupid. Ugly. Evil. What right did the bitch have to take what was not hers? Because she was born a goddess? A princess? Beautiful? She had enough cloth to keep her warm and food to eat. What right did she have to want more?
A red mist descended over Autumn’s eyes. Why hadn't Prince Jin stopped them? She thought he was a good person! He saved her but was willing to let her family die.
No. Not just her family but everything that had lived here, that had called these woods their home.
Does being more beautiful make you more worthy of living? She wondered bitterly.
Autumn wished they were still here. She wanted to strip them of their beauty. To take what they treasured most from them. Like what they had done to her. She screamed at the sky again. Maybe they are still close by, she thought. Now she wanted them to hear her, to come back. She wanted to attack them with her teeth and her claws. So what if she died? She didn’t care so long as she got her revenge.
Suddenly a twig snapped behind her, Autumn spun around. A man stood at the edge of the clearing, a few feet from her, a large woven basket on his back. Autumn just had time to notice his brilliantly blue tunic before she saw the telltale glows of a god.
Good. Autumn thought as she ran toward him. He must be someone from the hunting party who was left behind in case she returned. She will take care of his face first. Fueled by anger she forgot she was in the shape of a boy. She had fingers, not claws; teeth, not fangs.
The man was caught off guard, and Autumn’s wiry body slammed into him. She swung her arms wildly about, hitting the intruder. He stumbled back a few steps as Autumn’s blows landed but he quickly found his balance and used his longer arms to hold Autumn off, preventing her fists from reaching him. Thwarted, Autumn grabbed the man's hand and chomped down hard, sinking teeth into flesh.
Autumn heard him yell and felt a surge of triumph. She stiffened her body, expecting retaliation. Instead, she saw magic wrap around him. Maybe he was a lesser god and didn’t have the power to fling her about, but any minute someone might come to his assistance. This was her only chance to inflict upon her enemies a sliver of the pain they caused her. She called up every last bit of strength she had in her and kicked him as hard as she could. She smiled as she felt her shoes connected with his leg, then darkness descended upon her, and she collapsed into a heap on the ground.
***
Master Cang Hai looked down in surprise at the body of a small fox. He ripped fabric from his robes to wrap around his bleeding hand and winced at the pain in his shin as he squatted down to examine the kit. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw its ribcage rose and fell steadily under matted fur. Good. He had been careful to only use defensive magic so he had been surprised when the boy collapsed suddenly and even more so when it dropped its disguise. The fox child must’ve used up all of its strength attacking him. Master Cang frowned. It looked too young to have gained the power of transformation on its own.
Master Cang came to the Fragrant Mountains frequently to collect medicinal herbs, although he avoided this part of the woods due to its proximity to the hunting grounds. These Mountains were far too mysterious and distant from human settlements for all but the most experienced hunter to visit. Such a man would never dare to set a fire and call upon himself the wrath of the local earth god. Master Cang had been confused when he smelled smoke this afternoon and followed first the scent, then the screaming, to this clearing. Looking around, he could guess what happened. This degree of damage could only have been wrought by some young gods.
Standing up, Master Cang walked over to where the fox child had been kneeling when he first saw it. His breath caught when he saw the skinned carcasses on the ground.
"Poor little thing," he whispered in pain.
Master Cang walked back to the small fox and took the collecting basket off his back. He retrieved a large blue silk handkerchief from his robe and lined the basket with it, using the greenery inside as cushioning. Gently, he lifted the little limp body with both hands and placed it inside the basket. Standing up, he hoisted the basket and walked back the way he came.
Master Cang traveled the rest of the day and into the night, stopping only to refill his water gourds and to eat. He dripped some water droplets into the mouth of the fox child, but it didn't wake. He slept for a few hours and took off again at dawn. Even so, it took most of the next day before Master Cang reached his destination.
The path from the mountains leveled and then wound through thick bamboo forest. Before too long, the path widened, and he saw the whitewashed walls of a large estate. An ancient willow stood outside the walls, its branches rising from its crown to drape gracefully toward the ground, swaying with the breeze in the fading light. Walking up to the willow, he bowed deeply. A gentle breeze caused the branches of the willow to sway, and a doorway appeared in the wall. As he walked through, a woman in a pale blue silk robe walked forward to greet him.
She walked as if she floated over the path, tall and willowy with an elegant gait. Her face was perfectly oval with exquisite almond eyes and a radiant smile. A sweet scent wafted from her as she waved a graceful hand in welcome.
"Master Cang, welcome back to the Blossom and Willow Park."
This chapter was more visceral/graphic/violent than previous ones. Most chapters are not this gritty but some will be. Do you guys want me to add a trigger warning in the front of those chapters?
