Ludi

The Return.

It was already getting dark, when the monks began to gather in the main garden, in front of the door of the temple. According to the old man, there were 12 monks who were to return from the village, and another eight who were in the hands of The Army. 

WuFei was sitting on a bench in the garden, facing the doors. He was very serious and thoughtful. Concern showed on his face. His aggressive presence was not tolerable, so no one came near him. Even Quatre, who was watching from the doors of his room, didn’t approach him. He was terrified of being close to him. Since he had mentioned to the representative of The Army his attitude had changed dramatically. 

He decided to take a bath before the monks arrived. They would surely arrive exhausted, and sick, so he had to prepare to help. According to what he had read in the blogs about Sandrock, she used to eat large quantities before any mission, since according to the old man, when she was unconscious, she was paralyzed and her body consumed herself. However, he did things while unconscious. For all of them, he acted differently than he would have in previous lives. So, they weren't sure how to proceed. 

The water was at its point, he had put some aromatic oils in the hope of relaxing due to the aggressive aura that filled the temple. He had put on a pillow towel and managed to relax, when he felt someone watching him, and he quickly got up a little scared, taking a dagger that was next to him among the bottles of oils and soaps. 

WuFei was standing watching him, and out of nowhere his aggressiveness vanished. 

“Master Quatre! I'm sorry... it wasn't my intention... I just wanted... the monks are on their way...” 

Quatre lowered the dagger and sat in the tub with a long, loud sigh. 

“… what was that?” 

"It's... one of my skills... sorry, I didn't mean to scare you..." said the guard as he got to his knees on the ground. 

“I'll go right away.” 

“Do you know how to use a dagger?” 

“Yes... I had to learn” Quatre said as he got out of the tub and dressed under the watchful eye of the guard. He was kind of embarrassed that he watched him so much being naked “mm... this is a little awkward...” 

“Oh! I'm sorry... I... I'll wait outside...” 

WuFei was blushing, he stood up and as he turned, he felt something tug at one of his sleeves. The young master stood on tiptoe and gently kissed his lips. 

“You are here already.” 

WuFei smiled and pulling him hard around the waist, he kissed him for a few minutes, while his free hand caressed his face. 

“Master…” 

“We must go.” 

They both left the room, and WuFei quickly changed the aggressive atmosphere that reigned in the temple. He just had to be alert, and nothing else. 

As soon as the doors opened, a group of monks entered the temple, barely. Other monks helped them in and once they closed the doors, Quatre and WuFei approached the group, who, seeing them, tried to revere them. 

“It’s ok” Quatre said “I want to help you. We’ll do our best to make you feel better...” 

“Master Sandrock” said the old man approaching “three monks are missing.” 

“Elder... they were too weak... they were bedridden in a hut, on the property of the regent...” 

“I’ll go for them master Quatre...” WuFei said coming forward “it’ll be a matter of a couple of hours.” 

“Be careful.” 

Those two words echoed in a permanent echo inside his head. No one, absolutely no one, had told him to be careful until now. His heart skipped a beat, and a strange heat filled his chest. It was strange and reassuring. 

He signaled to a couple of temple soldiers, spoke to another, and after waving goodbye to Quatre, left. Then the soldier with whom he spoke approached the young master and presented himself kneeling before him. 

“Master Sandrock, my name is Terion, I’ll be with you until Master Chang returns.” 

Quatre nodded and began to order the monks to lie down and attend the wounded monks in the middle of the garden. They were exhausted, injured, and was best to take care of them on site. They fed them purified fruit, but only caused them discomfort since nothing came out of their bodies. 

“Elder, what’s happening...?” 

“They were exposed too long in the village gardens, and surely, they didn’t take care of them, so they have no strength... I think they will not be able to recover as it happened with the other monks...” 

“Elder... something I read in the library... I think there’s an object that can be used, a spike.” 

“She used that in extreme cases, and she knew how to handle it... we don't know what could happen to you.” 

“Please bring it. I'll be fine.” 

The younger monk knew what it was about, and went off to look for it. He soon returned, and in his small hand he wore a kind of ring with a long, fine nail-shaped tip. Quatre took it and put it on his thumb. 

"Excuse me for what I’m going to do," he said to the monk as he punctured his wrist and raised it to his lips. 

Without forcing the wound, he began to suck in through his mouth, and a black substance began to come out along with drops of blood that rolled down the monk's wrist. It tasted horrible, it burned his tongue, it made him drop a couple of tears, but he kept going until it didn't come out anymore. According to the writings, he had to do it at once and thus prevent the affected person from becoming weaker. 

By the time WuFei returned, he was watching a group of monks take the newcomers one by one to their rooms, but another larger group watched what was happening, forming a huge riot. They approached the other 3 monks on makeshift stretchers that they took from the village, and he realized they were all looking at Quatre, who had the hand of one of the remaining monks glued to his lips. 

He dropped the monk's hand and turned, his face stained with blood, his skin gray and his eyes lost, as in a kind of trance. Next to him were the old man searching a couple of books within his reach, and Terion holding a large pot. 

A couple of monks took the one Quatre had taken care of, and he motioned for them to approach the next one. 

“What's going on?” 

“Master Chang!! Master Sandrock hasn’t stopped of...” 

In that Quatre beckons Terion and he approached the pot, where he throwed up a thick black substance, almost dry. Then he motioned again for them to approach the next, while Terion wiped his mouth. 

“I'll be fine” Quatre managed to say in a raspy and very weak voice “I just have to finish...” 

A pair of soldiers approached one of the newly arrived monks and placed him in front of him. He was very pale and his clothes were very ragged. You could tell he hadn't eaten in days and his hands were torn from plow the soils. WuFei approached Quatre and stood behind him to place his hands on his shoulders but the young man motioned for him not to. 

“Master Quatre…" 

“If you do it now” he whispered “I’ll pass out... just wait a little.” 

The guard fell to his knees behind him, clenched fists, trying to bear to see the master, wear himself out with every monk he helped. With the last one, Quatre fell exhausted and Terion helped him to approach the vessel to expel the last thing that was concentrated in his stomach. 

WuFei picked him up and carried him to the temple infirmary, where the last three monks were being cared for, as they were the most critically ill. 

“Master Chang, what shall we do? the master is too weak, and tomorrow morning The Army will arrive...” 

“I need you to bring me the krionite needles and the silk threads. Also, black fruits for the master. Meanwhile, feed the newcomers, and don't forget to incinerate the pot.” 

The monk left the room and two others came to help WuFei move the beds, and put them next to each other so that they were facing him. He ordered all of their upper bodies to be uncovered, and neat, as he needed their skins to have nothing that would hinder his actions. 

They prepared a huge cushion in the middle of the room and lit new candles, so that it would not darken at any time. Soon the monk returned with a long box wrapped in cloth and a small leather sack and placed them next to a large bowl of water in front of the cushion, where WuFei sat, and setting his sword aside, he rolled up the sleeves of his clothes. , and washed his hands, to later remove the fabrics and discover a beautiful wooden box very smooth and shiny. Inside was a row of long, very fine-pointed, transparent needles, each tied with a fine silk thread, drawn from the small leather sack. Once he finished, he approached the convalescents and in each of them stuck needles in the wrists, over the heart, in the jugular and in the forehead in the middle of the eyes. 

He took each thread, and gently without pulling, held them in his hands, as he sat back on the cushion, and began to meditate with the threads between his fingers. 

“Master Chang, are you sure? There are four people... and Master Sandrock will need more attention...” 

“So, I will use the needles. Prepare food for when they wake up. It will take a few hours.” 

While WuFei meditated with the threads between his fingers, the monks brought bowls with different preparations, clean clothes, and black fruits for Quatre. Some of the candles were completely consumed, and in the dim light, the threads seemed to be seen to have their own light, as were the fine needles. 

The monks, one by one, woke up and were warned to stay still until Quatre woke up, as they could interrupt the flow of energy. 

By the time the last candle went out, Quatre woke up. 

WuFei released the threads, which disintegrated when they touched the ground and put his hands on the ground, so that he could stretch his back. He was exhausted. A couple of monks washed their hands in the same bowl as him, and began to remove the needles from each person, and after carefully cleaning them with a damp cloth, they put them in the box. 

One of them took back the box and the small leather sack, while the others attended Quatre and the monks. 

“Master Chang... soon it will be morning... you should rest a little.” 

“Yes. I'll go to my room... let them sleep a little more. Please wake me up in an hour.” 

Upon reaching his room, WuFei stretched out on the bed, and felt how every muscle in his legs ached from being flexed for so long. He needed to sleep, just that. 

Quatre had been instructed not to move while the needles were removed. He heard WuFei give orders and then go to rest. His throat ached when he spoke, so he preferred not to do so until he felt sure that they would listen to him. He ate black fruits until the taste could no longer bear it, and he ate everything else that was offered. He would have to repeat it soon, hoping that all the monks would return. 

He got up and checked the condition of the newcomers. He didn't understand what WuFei had done, but he felt much better than before, and the monks were in better shape than they had arrived. 

As soon as the morning came, a monk went to wake WuFei, while Quatre went to the main garden to wait for those who should arrive. 

“Master Quatre, you have better color.” The guard noted as he approached the young man. 

“Thanks to you... I don't know what you did, but I feel much better.” 

“Soon you will no longer need my help, Master Quatre.” 

“I always will” the young man said without thinking, and blushed noticeably “... I... I'm sorry...” 

“Don't apologize, master... I'm glad to hear that.” 

They both smiled as the monks opened the temple doors to let the taken monks in, guided by The Army representative, Trowa. 

"You can’t enter the temple, Mr. Barton, entry is prohibited." WuFei pointed out as a pair of temple soldiers blocked his path. 

“I already entered once, in addition I would like to speak with master Sandrock, to have a conversation with him.” 

"Only the monks will pass" he insisted, placing his hand on the handle of his sword. 

“Okay, I guess I'll wait for you to visit the village.” 

“And making a caravan, he turned around and left, leaving the monks to enter the temple. 

All of them were in much better condition than the others, since according to the old man, they had been captured a little before Quatre was taken to the temple, so they only required food and rest. 

During that day Quatre appeared before the newly arrived monks, and WuFei coordinated the departure to the village, which would be the following day. Everything had to go well, since Trowa's excess interest in Quatre had him very uneasy. Once finished, he went to his room to rest. He had to regain strength after having transmitted so much energy to four people at once. He felt a little queasy and drowsy, but it was nothing compared to how it felt to see Quatre in such extreme exhaustion. 

He tried to get some sleep, but it wasn't until he saw Quatre enter his room that he managed to feel some relief. 

“WuFei, can I come in?” 

“Yes... excuse me master Quatre, I needed to recover a little before our departure.” 

“That is why I brought something that perhaps can help you” the young man sat on the edge of the bed, and smeared his hands with something similar to oil, then rubbed it on the guard on the temples, and part of the neck “it’s something that my mother used to do me, when I had nightmares and migraines. It helped me relax and sleep.” 

WuFei could smell the strong, fresh scent of the oil. It seemed to be peppermint. 

He felt the master's fingers gently run his temples, and his neck, causing him to relax deeply, and when he opened his eyes, the master was no longer there. The oil was on his nightstand, and the room was dark. He could see the moon through the window, and a blanket that was not his own at the foot of his bed. 

He got up at the sound of the kenghlin, which sounded very soft in the echo of the hallways. It was a nostalgic melody, highly charged with emotion. He left his room and saw Quatre playing the instrument in the middle of the garden. He was wearing his sleepwear. 

He couldn't help but sneak up on him and hug him from behind, causing him to drop the instrument, and turned to smile at him with tears in his eyes. 

“Master ... are you okay?” 

“I'm sorry... I had a nightmare” Quatre said while drying his face with his sleeve “I couldn't sleep, and sometimes this helps me.” 

WuFei hugged him tightly against his chest, while kissing him on the head. 

“Master Quatre... you know that I'm here... and that everything is fine. Everything will be fine on our expedition.” 

“I read many of the books that you have in your library... they tried to take Sandrock so many times that I lost count. And their guardian risked their life so many times, that it makes me think the worst... I could not bear to see or know that something like that... I could not bear to live without you... it’s so overwhelming, that I find it hard to breathe just thinking about it...” 

“Master Quatre, I’ll do what you ask me.” WuFei framed Quatre's face in his hands and looked at him closely “today you said ‘be careful' and in my life, no one has told me those words, because the monks taught us that our lives are not important. You said ‘be careful’ and I did. Because now I know that I’m important, even if it’s only for you. And I also could not bear hurt you by my absence. I’ll always be careful. I’ll take care of myself, and of you, because although I don’t remember, I know that what we feel is much more intense and older than ourselves.” 

Quatre gently dropped the kenghlin and bow, and hugged the guard tight.