Spring Winds

"You useless girl!" Screaming Madam Qiu threw down a teacup at the feet of Xia Jiu Ji. As the shards of the porcelain and the hot tea splashed against her legs, she bit her lip to silence her pain.

Xia Jiu Ji had lived in the Qiu Residence for about three years now; however, it didn't mean that all her years here have been warm.

Qiu Wu Han was deeply in love with her; however, she could say the same for her mother-in-law and brother-in-law. After foolishly giving them the unique recipe, Xia Jiu Ji's treatment had rapidly declined. Though it's not like they mentioned it to Qiu Wu Han, and they made sure that she didn't utter a word about it either.

It's not like he could help at the moment for the time being. He was away with Old Master Qiu on a business trip.

"Please calm your rage, Mother…" Xia Jiu Ji apologized meekly. She didn't understand why Madam Qiu seemed to hate her so.

Unfortunately, Xia Jiu Ji didn't know that the Qiu couple had ulterior motives, from the start. After Xia Jiu Ji's father had developed the unique pigment formula, the couple began to scheme their way into possessing it. After all, who wanted to stay as a chicken when one could become a phoenix. Old friendsh.i.p.s and promises fade when they are worthless in the face of money.

Not wanting to lose face, or have their son become suspicious for the disappearance of his bride, they plotted a way to have her leave instead. To scare her enough that not even the desire to stay by Qiu Wu Han's side would be enough for her to endure.

And for the most part, they did damage substantively; torturing the young girl physically and mentally, they did it all.

From forcing her to sleep in the woodshed to flogging her for the smallest of mistakes, they made it their mission to make Xia Jiu Ji wish she was dead. Even the maids pitched in the torture. Venting out their frustrations, the treated the girl like a punching bag. It was truly a dog eats dog system. If servants found one of their masters weak, they would scheme behind their backs.

All of while Qiu Wu Han was forcefully kept away from home and had no way of contacting his wife.

While in his trips, the only daughter of the local governor caught sight of the hard-working and kind Qiu Wu Han.

"Father, I want to marry him!" The young girl said bashfully.

The governer was surprised since his usually headstrong daughter never shown any interest in marriage until now. "I'll have your mother enquire about his marital status."

When the Qiu couple heard about Governer's proposal, they were delighted as now they had an opportunity to become in-laws with nobility. However, it would only make Xia Jiu Ji even more of an eyesore to the couple.

Enlisting the help of their second eldest son, on one cold winter night, they chased the girl out of the house. Xia Jiu Ji repeatedly begged for the family to let her stay, that she wouldn't say anything about what happens to Qiu Wu Han. That she only wished to remain by his side as his wife. The couple ordered had some strong servants, to grab Xia Jiu Ji. The servants dragged her outside the suburbs and into the freezing night.

Now cold, tired, and in pain, Xia Jiu Ji stubbled through the cold. She found herself in the local shrine with a fox statue placed inside. Women tended to worship the fox sprint as it helped unfortunate women and Xia Jiu Ji hoped that this spirit would at least offer her a hand.

Delirious and cold, she slumped against the shrine.

"Poor girl. Do you wish for me to help you?" A calm and seductive voice called out.

"Are you the fox spirit?" she called out weakly.

"yes, child, Tell, me what trouble you so?"

"My husband Wu Han, I didn't even get to see him one last time." she cried. "I don't think I'll ever get to see him."

"Hmm, let's see him then," the voice said and to showed the Qiu Residence decorated in red.

"What?" Xia Jiu Ji voiced weakly. "Who's getting married?" The scene shifted over to Qiu Wu Han, dressed in wedding garb. "Wu Han!" Xia Jiu Ji cried out mournfully. Was he going to get married?

"Brother," a little girl's voice called out. It was Qiu Wu Chou. "Are you going to get married to the Governer's daughter?"

Qiu Wu Han stared out into the snow sorrowfully. "I don't have a choice. Mother is ill, I've already lost Jiu Ji to that same ailment. I can't lose another mother too. By marrying the governor's daughter, at least I can ensure a good doctor can treat mother before its too late."

The scene faded away to Qiu Wu Han, and the governer's daughter completing the marriage ceremony and being officially husband and wife.

"What…this can't be!" Xia Jiu Ji cried. "I married in as his first wife. I was officially married to him! How could they do this?"

"What do you intend on doing now, child?" the fox questioned.

"This- this isn't fair! How dare they live out their lives peacefully, while making mine a living hell!" Xia Jiu Ji shouted vengefully. How dare they, do this to her and betray her father's trust. How dare that they trick her into giving the last thing her father had given her.

"yes, yes, how do you want to punish them…" the fox spirit egged on.

"I want those who wronged me know at least a fraction of my pain. I want them to feel the pain that I've endured for the rest of their lives!"

"Yes, yes, child. I'll make that happen." the voice coaxed. "Also, I'll make sure that Qiu Wu Han will be with you. You want to be with him as his wife, correct?"

"Yes, I want to be with him forever, but I don't want to hurt him." Xia Jiu Ji calmed down a little bit, her heart hurting things about him.

"Don't worry child; I won't cause any harm to him. Soon enough, he will be yours." the voice said. "All for a price, of course. Your soul"

"My soul…" Xia Jiu Ji thought about having to give up her soul for revenge. However, when she recalled the pain, the torment she went through, she thought it was worth her soul if it guaranteed the suffering of those who did her wrong.

"Deal. Make the ones involved feel the same pain that I have felt and my soul will be your payment." Xia Jiu Ji answered in a voice filled with hatred and resentment towards her tormentors.

"Deal." The fox spirit cackled, and next day, Qiu Jiu Ji's body was found frozen and burned into ash by the local monks.

The following weeks would only spell out doom for the Qiu Residence. Some would wake up from night terrors and others would die from fright. It was a living hell for the majority of the residence in the months to follow.

As for the governer's daughter, she ended up leaving the residence out of fear for her life.

"So, so this is what they did." Zhu Na Ran called out to Xia Jiu Ji, or what's of her spirit. The young girl only nodded silently.

"Thank you for showing this to me," she said, and the shadow of the young girl disappeared as the surrounding area slowly faded to black.

—-

"So, you're finally awake," a certain cold voice called out.

Smiling, Zhu Na Ran, stilled herself pretending to continue sleeping. "Ahh, this must be a dream…"

"Puha, how shameless! How long do you intend to sleep for?" Ye Lian Hua called out.

"Ehh, five more minutes." Zhu Na Ran shamelessly shifted her head in a more comfortable spot on her senior sister's lap.

Sighing, Ye Lian Hua delivered a slight smack to Zhu Na Ran's forehead.

"Ow!" she instantly opened her eyes and sat up. "How could bear be so rough to me, Senior Sister," she sobbed.

"If it hurts, good. Then that lets me know that something can get through that thick skull of yours," Ye Lian Hua got up and brushed the invisible dirt from her robes.

"Ahh, Senior Sister, did you worry about me?" Zhu Na Ran teased.

"Yes, how could you be so careless!"

"I had it kinda under control. Sort of.." Zhu Na Ran shrugged.

And this earned Zhu Na Ran another bump on her forehead.

The two, told the Qiu Family, that the source for their problems where outside the residence, and that they needed to do more investigation. The couple thanked them for their time, and the two sisters headed out of the home.

"You know, Senior Sister. That family isn't completely innocent." Zhu Na Ran said as they hiked up Mount Ji Mo towards the Qiu family graves, where Qiu Wu Han was laid to rest.

"Tell me."

Zhu Na Ran would recount the life of Xia Jiu Ji and her maltreatment and the deal she made with the fox spirit.

"I can't believe that they would do that to a young girl! She and father had done so much for them, and for them to betray them like that, it-its just unforgivable!" Zhu Na Ran ranted.

"Eh, it's not fair," Ye Lian Hua agreed, "but it's not uncommon either."

The two walked on with a damped mood until they stopped at a stone that read 'Qiu Family Graves.'

"We're here."