“The wolves have sent somebody, prince Lin. He urgently wants to see you. ”
A soldier came running to inform Lin.
” Who might have they sent? I will be back in a minute Nana. See if you can make anything out of this. ”
Lin had been busy trying to join loose ends.
He had been trying hard to figure out ways to stop the evil spirit of Jin from causing havoc in the outskirts of the palace.
He had also been keeping an eye on the movements at the human kingdom.
Something about the water breather being at the human king’s place didn’t seem to make much sense. Besides he could not even trace the human who had come in as the messenger.
He had meant to visit Xie and the wolf king but he could hardly make time out given the grave circumstances around. The spirit of the evil curse was wrecking havoc everywhere.
” OH! Xie. How have you been. I have been meaning to visit you. ”
He greeted his brother-in-law with a warm hug.
” How is Mia? ”
Xie enquired.
” It’s been quite a few days since I felt her underwater. Since the evil is running rabid on our grounds, I can confidently confirm that it has not been able to go track Mia. Or even if it has , it hasn’t found a way to infiltrate the southern waters. She surely is secure. ”
” That’s great. But we will need to find some concrete plans to stop the damage being caused to commoners. Their lives and properties. Moreover , before all this causes a mass panic and chaos. ”
” You are correct. We have been trying to locate the pendant. But from what Mia could tell me, Nana has not yet figured out how Mia could escape Jin. Or how she even used the pendants’ power without having it. She only has assumption about it. ”
“What assumption? ”
Xie asked Lin.
” Mia might have absorbed it’s power as a child. That is, it’s inside her. Even if we go by taking this as correct, we don’t know how to retrieve it from her. Nana can’t go in the water with her health condition. We cannot bring Mia above on the ground. Even if the two meet, Nana is yet to figure a way out to retrieve the pendant from a person’s inside. It is our only way to stop the beast. ”
Lin looked very tensed.
” Father sent some things that might be of use against the fightings. They are our ancient warfare artefacts. And father also sent some of Uncle Jin’s old belongings. ”
” His belongings. Why? ”
Lin was a little surprised.
” He asked me to give them to your Nana. He said she would know how to use those. The weapons, I have given to your father, the king when I first visited him.
Shall we? ”
Xie asked, pointing his hands in the direct of Nana’s place.
Nana’s hands trembled and she let it pass over the items spread over her bed.
” They still have his aura. Even the smell still lingers. ”
The boys stood silent as they watched.
Lin could not fathom how some old armour, comb, perfume bottle, scarf and knife could be of any practical use. It could only serve one purpose that was make Nana reminisce the past. She was already suffering. This would make her more sad.
” Let me put these away. The wolf king might have mistaken. ”
Lin came forward to take those away as tears started dropping from Nana’s downcast eyes.
” STOP BOY. ”
Nana held Lin’s wrist with a firm hand.
” These are tears of lament. Not weakness. The king didn’t nothing wrong. These are the only thing that will help us avert the ongoing attacks on the commoners. ”
” How can they be used? ”
Xie asked, also intrigued.
” I will have to extract and mix the essence of these belongings of his. I might even add a few more that I have. It will then need to be cultivated with the help of our troops. The more the merrier. Even better if the wolves could join in too. The essence will be made to transform into a mist form with the help of the cultivation. We will then be able to use it a territorial marking. ”
The boys looked at each other. Baffled. Then looked back at Nana.
” You mean like animal piss? ”
Lin sounded disgusted.
” Not real piss but yes , the like of it. Since it has reached an evil beast form, it is driven by its animal instincts. We could confuse it by giving it the notion that all the lands belong to him. ”
” What happens then? ”
Xie asked.
” What do you mean? ”
Nana looked at him.
” What will the beast do after it is confused? Will it sit idle? Go back and lock itself up in it’s lair? ”
Xie had a genuine point.
” You are correct boy. We are just buying ourselves sometime. This confusion will only make him retreat momentarily. It will even drive him more wild. But we will have to come up with something bigger by that time. Something that will be enough to end that thing. ”
” How can a spirit be ended. Not even a spirit. A grudge. ”
” If only we could locate where his other part is located, may be we would hope for some backup. ”
Nana walked slowly towards the window.
” If only things had been different, he would not have to bear this fate. If only I could find the missing part of you Jin, may be we could end this together. ”
She talked to the moon it seemed, staring outside.
Xie and Lin, slowly felt her to her feelings and walked towards Lin’s chamber.