Chapter Four: The Girl Who Moves Like A Cat

The guard forcefully shoved Jade into a dank prison cell that stank of dirt and urine. A small cloud of dust rose as Jade fell to her knees. With a smirk, the guard shut the cell door and left.

This is all a mistake, Jade thought as she picked herself up. Dusting the grime off her trousers, she yelled, “I didn’t steal anything! You’ve got the wrong girl!”

She ran to the cell door and started banging until her fists went numb. “THIS IS A MISTAKE! I AM INNOCENT!” How the hell could Jin abandon her?

It was true that she didn’t know him well enough. Now that she thought about it, why on earth did she even think that he could be trusted? Was it because she thought him handsome? No. That mustn’t be it. She wasn’t that shallow. Or was she? But Jin did save her, didn’t he? If it weren’t for him, she could be dead. Besides, didn’t he also promise that he would help her find her way home?

Angry, frustrated, and afraid, Jade gave one last cry before slumping down to the floor. Then, she began to sob.

“Crying won’t help.”

Startled, Jade looked up and turned to the direction of the voice. “Who’s there?”

“Probably your only ticket out of here.” A figure materialized in the dim light of the prison cell. It was a woman who looked to be just a few years older than Jade.

“Who are you?”

The girl extended a hand. “I’m Mei.”

Jade stood up, took Mei’s hand, and shook it. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice you. I thought I was alone.”

Mei smiled. “It doesn’t matter.”

“You said that you can get us out of here. How?”

Mei gave a sly grin and proceeded to tell Jade of her plan. It was a very simple plan—in theory. However, Jade thought that it was foolhardy as well. Looking at Mei, Jade found it hard to believe that she could take down an entire band of prison guards. Her tiny frame lacked any hint of strength and toned muscle. But something about Mei scared her. Perhaps it was the fiery confidence Jade saw in her eyes. Whatever it was, it was enough for Jade to trust Mei completely.

“Remember, you just have to pretend that you’re in pain,” Mei said. “Leave everything up to me.”

Jade nodded. According to Mei’s plan, all they had to do was wait for one of the guards to come by. Preferably, once their food ration was delivered. Jade was to lure the guard to enter their cell. Once the guard was inside, Mei would attack.

Planning out how to execute their escape was surprisingly easy. It was the waiting that was hard. Both women were about to fall asleep when they finally heard the heavy footsteps announcing the arrival of the guard. Suddenly alert, they both fell into position—Mei behind the door, and Jade at the farthest corner of the cell.

The footsteps stopped in front of the door, and the guard called out, “Fall back!” After a few seconds, the door swung open. On cue, Jade gave a pained whimper.

“Please, help me,” Jade said, feigning injury. “I… I think I broke my leg.”

“That’s not my problem,” the guard said, barely glancing at Jade. He laid down the bowl of rice gruel on the floor and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Jade rushed forward and grabbed the guard’s leg. “Please… I think the wound has festered.”

The guard wriggled his leg away from Jade’s grip and turned to face her. “What do you mean the wound has festered?” he said, clearly irritated. “What the hell are you—”

Before he could finish, he felt an arm wrap tightly around his neck and a hand cover his mouth—it was Mei.

“Shhh…” Mei whispered. She ran a finger across the guard’s throat. A moment later, he fell to the floor wriggling and clutching his neck as blood spurted from his throat. Mei kept a firm hand on his mouth, muffling his screams effectively. Soon, he stopped moving completely. After making sure that the guard was dead, Mei motioned for Jade to follow. “Let’s go!”

Jade was careful not to step on the small pool of blood surrounding the corpse on the floor. She averted her eyes, still shocked. That was the first time she had seen someone kill in cold blood. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“Faster!” Mei hissed. Moving faster, Jade followed Mei out of the cell and into an empty hallway. As they reached the end of the hallway, Mei raised her hand in a stopping motion. Jade noticed that Mei’s fingernails seemed longer than she remembered—in fact, they didn’t look like a normal human’s fingernails. Aside from being unusually long, they were curved, too—like the claws of a cat.

“Stay here,” Mei said. “I’ll give a signal when it’s safe to follow.” Two guards were patrolling the corridor that followed the hallway. Mei took down the first guard by slashing through his neck with her claws before moving on to the second guard. She moved so swiftly and silently that the second guard didn’t even notice her before it was too late. As Jade watched, she couldn’t help but compare Mei to a hunting tiger—agile, quiet, and precise.

“You’re really good,” Jade said in admiration right after Mei had made her tenth kill.

“Practice makes perfect.”

The entrance to the prison was unguarded, and Jade was relieved when they finally made their escape.

Mei lived in a small hut, just at the outskirts of the capital. She told Jade that she was put to prison because she was caught trying to hustle some money from the citizens of Yong through a card game.

“I’m not proud of it,” Mei said as she prepared a modest meal of rice porridge and sweet potatoes. “But sometimes, you’ve got to do what you have to do to survive, am I right?”

They ate their meal in silence. When they were done, Mei pulled out some linen and set them on a cot for Jade to sleep on. “I don’t know what you’re used to, but I hope this is enough,” Mei said, gesturing at the makeshift bed.

“It’s perfect,” Jade said with a smile. She settled herself in and waited for Mei to settle herself in her own bed.

“Something bothering you?” Mei said as she laid down.

“Yes.”

“Care to share?”

Jade was thoughtful for a moment. She wanted to ask about Mei’s fingernails. But for some reason, Jade was afraid that the topic might offend her. Deciding that her curiosity needed to be satisfied, she went ahead and posed the question, “What’s wrong with your nails?”

“What’s wrong with my what?” Mei looked completely confused. Then, it dawned on her. “Oh, you mean this?” Mei raised her right hand and spread out her fingers—like a cat baring its claws. In a moment, her fingernails had grown back into the deadly hooks that it was back in the prison.

Jade gasped. Mei spread her fingers again, and her fingernails were back to normal.

“You have…claws.”

“Yes.”

“B-but, how?”

Mei laughed, amused at the look of bewildered shock on Jade’s face. “It’s a special skill I’ve had since… since…” Mei’s smile vanished. She seemed to be hesitating about something.

“Since?” Jade prodded.

“Well, you see,” Mei continued. “I’m sure you’ve heard about the beast gods. Well, I’m actually one of the seven stars of a beast god.”

“WHAT? I can’t believe it! Which holy beast?”

Mei raised an eyebrow, “Bai Hu.”