Curse of the Supreme Blood

'Maybe we should-----' Zhang Wei started but froze in mid-sentence, his eyes widening.

'Lei Chen!!!!' he screamed as he frantically ran forward. The others turned to follow him, baffled at the reason for his abrupt stop mid conversation. They all equally ran forward on seeing the half-dead figure of Lei hen lying just by the edge of the river. They had each traversed this route several times without seeing anyone. They were sure he must have been washed ashore or managed to swim ashore.

'Brother!' shouted Lei Yun as he got to the prone figure of his twin and cradled the still body in his arms.

Zhang Wei pushed the sobbing Lei Yu away and inspected the body carefully. He heaved a visible sigh of relief on seeing the minute sign of a pulse still beating in his neck.

'He is alive' he assured Lei Chen and the others as he pulled out lei Chen's legs that were still in the waters and then saw the several wounds on his body. On turning Lei Chen to the side, they all gave an audible sigh at the sight of the deep gash that was obviously a knife wound below his ribs and another gash of his thigh.

'Who could have done this? Asked Mei Ming angrily as she walked back quickly in front of the others to grab her sack which she began ransacking.

Li stood in angry silence as he watched the still figure of Lei Chen as the others fused over him. He knew in his heart that Gao and his group were responsible for what had happened to Lei Chen. His gut instinct had already warned him against them and not the sight of Lei Chen was proving his paranoia right.

The rocky overhang near the waterfall provided scant shelter, but it was the safest place Zhang Wei's group could find after dragging the unconscious Lei Chen from the edge of the freezing waters. His skin was pale, marred by deep bruises, jagged wound on his thigh and an obvious knife wound that needs special attention quickly.

Li quickly tore off part of his robe and used it to bind the wound, the cloth quickly became blood-soaked after being wrapped tightly around the gash. Still, it failed to stop the oozing blood. Lei Yun's eyes were red from crying and the others were worried but also furious. Lei Chen was as white as a sheet as it was obvious that he had lost a lot of blood. Li quickly got a fire going and they all took off their outer robes to cover him with in order to provide warmth.

Mei Ming knelt beside Lei Chen, hands trembling as she ground as she squeezed a leaf of the Hibiscus Bloom, they had got some days earlier from the basilisk's cave. Its shimmering, emerald-green leaves was still emitting a faint glow after being enclosed for a few days, evidence of its potent healing properties.

"Hold him steady," she commanded, her voice strained but firm.

Zhang Wei positioned himself behind Lei Chen, bracing his shoulders as Mei Ming applied the herbal paste directly onto the wound. Lei Yun, his face etched with worry, held his brother's hand tightly, silently willing him to survive.

Lei Chen's body jerked in reaction to the herb's intense burning sensation, and a hoarse groan escaped his lips. His eyelids fluttered but didn't open.

"This will help him heal, right?" Yu Chen asked anxiously, clutching his sword as if ready to defend against an unseen enemy.

"Yes, but…" Mei Ming paused, wiping sweat from her brow. "The plant works by drawing from the patient's life essence to regenerate tissue. He must rest… and eat. Otherwise, the herb will drain too much and…" She didn't finish.

Silence settled over the group, broken only by the sound of rushing water and distant forest noises.

Zhang Wei exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. "We're staying here until he wakes up and is strong enough to move."

Li nodded firmly. "It's too dangerous to move about the forest with an unconscious person anyway."

They then laid him down properly on the ground after covering him up

'Lei Chen, search near where he crawled out of the river for any sign of his storage bag. Lei Chen is in safe hands with Mei Ming so you needn't be worried about any mishap'. Instructed Zhang Wei

Lei Yun tried to protest but seeing Zhang Wei's expression, decided to hold it in as he stood up and grudgingly went about the task assigned to him.

'Li, follow me to search the surroundings for any lurking wild beast that might have attacked Lei Chen and is hiding nearby' Zhang Wei said

'We all know that Lei Chen was not attacked by a four legged animal but by a human. Those two wounds on his thigh and lower ribs are obviously knife wounds which could only have been inflicted by a human' grumbled Li as he followed behind Zhang Wei.

'I know Li, but I just want to eliminate all other avenues. If it was an animal, then we may not be safe here. And even if your suspicion and mine, happen to be the case, then we also need to be careful so that we are not ambushed' explained Zhang Wei

Li and Zhang Wei searched the surroundings but did not see anything suspicious, either human or animal. They then decided to back up from where they initially started.

'Zhang Wei' Li called out 'come look at this.'

Li was standing by the edge of the river close to where the waterfall falls into the pool and looking at a scuffle mark at the edge of some bushes. Zhang Wei bent down and looked more closely at the mark. He then got up and sighed softly.

'Exactly what we thought' he said. 'Lei Chen was ambushed by at least two people as he was either about to get into the water or about getting out'.

'I think this must have been done by Gao and one or two members of his gang. Him and his entire gang had been looking longingly at Lei Chen after he got that plant. They must have ambushed him, left him for dead and stolen his storage bag' Li said while pulling a fist in anger. His eyes had on the red hue of his blood coming to the fore.

'Calm down Li' cautioned Zhang Wei 'we can't be too sure it was them.'

'I am sure' replied Li with quiet intensity.

'Anyways, let's head back to the others. We've been here long enough and they must be getting worried' Zhang Wei said as they walked back to the camp in companionable silence.

The fire crackled softly, casting flickering shadows against the jagged rock walls. Lei Chen rested fitfully, his breathing steadier but still shallow.

Zhang Wei stood watch, sharpening his blade with slow, deliberate strokes. His eyes burned with restrained fury as he stared at Lei Chen's figure.

"They took everything," he growled. "And they left him for dead."

'We have to be patient and allow him regain consciousness, then we'll know exactly what happened and who did this to him' said Mei Ming.

Li sat across from her, staring into the flames, fists clenched. "Whoever did it will pay, that's for sure."

Mei Ming emerged from the shadows, her expression grim. "We can't let this go." Her voice trembled slightly but carried unwavering resolve. "Not after what they did."

Lei Yun spoke for the first time, his voice rough and filled with suppressed emotion and anger. "We kill them."

Zhang Wei's eyes met his, reflecting the same hardened determination. "Agreed. We track them down… and end them."

Lei Chen was unconscious for two days. The others grew fearful of his survival after his fitful thrashings the second night. Mei Ling assured the others that he would survive as the Hibiscus Bloom could cure anything apart from death. Just that Lei Chen was weakened due to the loss of blood through his thigh wound. Lei Yun did not leave his brother's side as he fed him broth and water all through the two days.

The third day, Lei Chen stirred for the first time, eyes fluttering open. He struggled to sit up, wincing from the sharp ache in his thigh.

"You're awake!" Mei Ming rushed to his side, pressing him back gently. "Stay still."

"What… happened?" His voice was hoarse, cracked from days of disuse.

"We were waiting for you to tell us," Zhang Wei said, stepping closer. "You crawled out of the river by the waterfall and lost consciousness. Thank heavens for the Hibiscus bloom that brought you back to life."

Lei Chen's eyes darkened with memory. "The herbs… they took them. They took my storage bag"

'Who?' asked Zhang Wei

'Gao Fen and Wu Han. They ambushed me as I was bathing and tried as much as I could to escape them, Gao Fen stabbed me in lower ribs and thigh. Then he pressed me down to drawn in the water. I had to feign death else would have actually drowned' Lei Chen explained painfully, still clutching his lower ribs.

Li crouched beside him. "We'll get them back."

"We'll do more than that," Zhang Wei added coldly. "We'll make sure they never hurt anyone again."

Lei Chen's gaze shifted from one determined face to another. The fire of vengeance burned in their eyes, unwavering and resolute.