Chapter 10

Blood and Steel

Similar to the invasion of Guinam, they came out of nowhere. The Jade Knights. The destruction that overtook Zhouhei in the next few moments was unlike any scene Hari had ever seen in the books. For the first time, Hari thanked Bakhtam's poetic and unrealistic writing style. Invasions were much worse seen in person than through books.

Hari watched as the knights ripped dozens of people through the streets, blood raining and guts splattering. Their black horses made thunder-like sounds as they galloped, as if their hooves were lightning and storm clouds. Hari stopped, there was a child in the middle of the street and a horseman was riding towards her. Hari had to act, she needed to save the child. But her legs didn't move. Hari closed her eyes.

Then, a sound of steel cutting through flesh.

"Do not stop. Run!” Jien yelled, as he jumped on two knights, clearing the way for Hari and Captain Fushi to continue. Jien's voice worked like a punch, which made Hari wake up and move again. Hari couldn't even see Jien’s fight as she was too scared to look back. No, she didn't want to look back, afraid that maybe, Jien had lost to the Jade Knights.

All of Hari's fears were reborn as she threw herself towards one of the less crowded corners of the city. Leaving the great hall, Hari was slow to notice that she was not in her usual side of town. She was in the 'noble' region, if she could call streets less muddy and buildings not falling apart noble.

Now, what lit up the night was not the paper lamps, but the fire started by the Jade Knights. The screaming was not from the vendors, but from the dozens of deaths happening simultaneously. Hari didn't know if the scent of blood stuck in her nostrils, or if the city now stank of iron and steel.

As she ran, she could hear Jien's battle dying out, getting further and further away, and then nothing more. Tired, she and Fushi stopped. They looked at each other, and for the first time Hari saw Fushi as a human being. He seemed just as terrified as she did. Hari wondered what kind of pathetic expression she was making right now. Her hands and legs were shaking so badly that no winter would be able to provoke that same reaction.

“We need to keep going.” she said, between paused breaths. Captain Fushi nodded and they both started running again. At the end of the street, she spotted two knights, dressed in the same dark green and black as her nightmares. They carried huge glaives, bigger than they were. It was truly a scene out of a terrible dream.

“Hari, this way!” Jien shouted, pointing to a back alley. He was alive! But covered in blood. Lots of blood, which didn't look like his. Thankfully. Hari let out a relieved groan, scrambling down the alley, the wounds from the fight blocking her breath and the residual pain slowing her movement.

"What do we do?" she asked, panting, and laying down on the floor to rest. At this point, all she was thinking about was how to save as many orphans as possible. Luckily, the Alcove had protection, and the Pit was not easily accessible. Perhaps the children could escape this unharmed. Hari mentally begged the goddess for that wish to come true. “There are children in the Alcove and some of them are in the Pit.” she concluded.

Jien sighed, he looked as shaken as she was, but something in his eyes conveyed the feeling that something else was going on. Something more dangerous “We need to separate. One of us must go to Alcove, the other to the Pit.” Jien said. "It's our only chance to save as many of them as possible."

“The Pit is impossible. You won't be able to get there.” Captain Fushi said, joining the conversation and sneaking behind a wall. "They came from there, they were in the Pit."

"How?" Hari asked. How could they have infiltrated so easily? They had horses and weapons.

Captain Fushi sighed. “Some of them disguised themselves as sponsors. They had hundreds of weapons hidden in carriages and carts.” he punched a wall. “They tricked us. Sponsors were the first to die. I only escaped because I had left.” he punched the wall again. Fushi looked frustrated that his survival was somehow tied to the incident between Hari and Gojo. “We are in their hands. This attack must have been planned a long time ago.”

“And the sponsors have free access to the Pit. They could bring as many weapons and as many horses as they wanted. Nobody would investigate because they were sponsors.” Jien concluded.

"Exactly." Fushi replied.

But why today and why now? Hari didn't understand the moment of the attack. What was so special about tonight? She pondered. Heavens, of course, her fight against Gojo. Half the city was in the Pit tonight to watch the spectacle, it was the perfect opportunity to overthrow Zhouhei and control the Lakes Region.

"There must be some way we can get in there." Hari snapped. Yaozu and the girls were in the Pit. She needed to get there.

“There is not, I told you. They know all the secret passages.” Fushi paused. “Also, at this point, everyone in the Pit must be dead.”

Hari jumped on him. “Take back what you said.” she pressed him against the wall.

"It is true. You may not want to believe it, but the Fist Maker knows it's true.” he said and stared at Jien. Hari looked at him too, but Jien looked away. He didn't need to say anything for Hari to understand what that meant. Jien also believed that there was no hope.

“There has to be a way.” Harry yelled.

“The Jade Knights kill anyone who opposes them. If you are not a woman, you are useless. That's their policy. This is how they establish fear and dominance. You should know that more than anyone else.” Jien said.

Of course, she knew. She had tasted it herself. The Jade Knights were instructed to strike terror into any cities that resisted them, as a way of forcing their enemies to surrender out of fear. However, this never applied to regions under Hyperia's rule, as Hyperia would never surrender to the Immortal. Hari had heard about how the Ice Queen was too proud. And Zhouhei's leaders were under the control of the Queen, so Zhouhei was doomed to the same massacre that Guinam suffered eleven years ago.

A bitter feeling still lingered in Hari's mouth. She couldn't abandon anyone. But what could she do? The wounds from the fight still limited her and fighting a Jade Knight was out of question. Heavens, she didn't even know how to use a weapon. But, something still didn't make sense in Fushi's story. If there was no way to escape the Pit, how was Captain Fushi here, and how had he escaped?

Hari pressed Captain Fushi against the wall again, but her arm lost strength when she felt a twinge in her rib area, causing her to taste blood. She ignored the pain. “If all entrances are blocked, how did you get here?”

Captain Fushi smiled. “You should put yourself in your shoes, orphan.”

Hari pulled Captain Fushi's dagger from its sheath and placed it against his throat. "I asked you a question."

“Fist Maker, please—”

“She asked you a question.” Jien said, and Hari felt relief. For an instant, she feared he would side with Captain Fushi. Fortunately, Jien still seemed to have her head on straight.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Fushi's expression changed from confident to terrified. He sure as hell didn't expect that to be Jien's answer.

Certainly, Fushi knew what they were talking about and Hari was tired of lies and manipulative games that endangered the lives of others. Hari pressed the dagger even harder against his skin, causing blood to flow. "Spit it out."

Jien approached, putting his hand on the dagger. “Calm down, Hari. Be careful not to kill him.”

As Jien said it, Hari noticed that his hand shook, causing the sword to slowly sink into Captain Fushi's throat. Even Jien was trying not to kill Captain Fushi. In a way, that made Hari happy. For a long time, she thought that Jien didn't care about the children and just wanted to use them for his own benefit.

And while that possibility might still be true, at least he wanted to protect them now. Yet, Hari still remembered that he was the one who didn't want to evacuate the orphans in the first place. But this was not the time to dwell on the past. She lowered the dagger. Captain Fushi breathed a sigh of relief, but Hari didn't give him space to get comfortable, she continued to stare at him.

Captain Fushi was the kind of person who loved being in power and felt good when others were below him, Hari had noticed. When that didn't happen, he became nervous and lost confidence. It made her wonder if all captains and authority figures in Hyperia were like that. She hoped not.

Many of those who lived in the Lakes Region did not have a good relationship with the citizens of Hyperia. But between being dominated by the Jade Immortal, the Demon Emperor, or the Ice Queen, they all readily snuggled around the Queen like desperate children.

Hyperia was the hope of those who, like Hari, longed for some peace in this war-torn world. That's why people like Captain Fushi were so disgusting. They tarnished the idea of ​​hope that Hyperia carried. What little hope was left.

“Thank you, Fist Maker.” Fushi said, clearing the blood from his throat and coughing. The figure that had once caused Hari to fear looked nothing but pathetic now.

“Do not thank me yet. You shall proceed to tell us everything.”

After nearly torturing him to get an answer, Captain Fushi finally began to speak. He told of a personal secret passage in a place that was supposed to be a clothing store, but in fact it was just a cover for one of the opium outlets he had in the Lakes Region.

Despite the few laws, the sale and consumption of opium and other drugs—tobacco, gray stone—was still illegal in Zhouhei, so Fushi was wary of telling about the place. He made Hari and Jien swear they would never tell anyone about the drug sales. According to Fushi, Hyperia tolerated the consumption of these substances so poorly that the Ice Queen herself could sentence him to death.

Hari just felt disgust. Even in the midst of a Jade Knights’ invasion, Fushi didn't seem to care about people at risk, but rather only about his clandestine business.

"I'm going to the Alcove, you and Fushi should proceed to the Pit." Jien said. "I have an atrocious feeling about this invasion."

Hari had nothing against Jien's decision, she herself wanted to go to the Pit first. However, they both knew that the Pit was the most dangerous mission. If Captain Fushi's information was correct, most of the Jade Knights would be there. So why did he want to go to Alcove? Hari shook her head. She had decided to trust him. And Jien seemed to know something she didn't.

“Wait, Fist Maker. You cannot leave me with this girl. I came back because I thought you could protect me.” Captain Fushi said, but Jien shrugged. "You must protect me." Fushi cried out.

“You will go with Miss Wancheng, Fushi. If both make it back unharmed, I will make sure you can leave Zhouhei safely. So make sure she does not get hurt.” Jien looked at Hari. “Be careful, Miss Wancheng. With luck, we will be able to save many of them.” Jien concluded, disappearing into Zhouhei's dark alleys.

Hari glared at Fushi, pointing his dagger in his direction. "What are you waiting for? Lead the way.”