In Thece, near the capital:

  YeFeng stepped into a town, a day after he first stirred. The buildings he passed here were built out of the same trees that made up the incredible forest that grew on the mountainsides, as a contrast to the stone buildings of the ruined village.

  The wood in the old village, or what was left of it, was much less impressive a material than the wood that was used for these constructions.

  Perhaps something made the trees grow better from then to now? Yefeng asked himself. Those trees are definitely abnormally healthy.

  The citizens watched YeFeng, curious, but also wary of the young boy wearing knives. To them, he seemed to hold an ominous quality, and a few shivered as they glimpsed his eyes, vacant of meaningful emotion.

  YeFeng didn't understand them. He felt emotion. He just didn't feel it like them. His was better. For other people, their emotions were in control. YeFeng, though, was different. He was detached, unlike a child. Never prone to emotional outbursts, never expressing his emotion. He was separated from them.

  One of the townspeople seemed especially disturbed by the first glimpse of YeFeng he saw, before he turned, taking a letter from his pocket. He read it, quick glances upward scattered throughout, and every time he looked upwards his eyes were slightly wider. He finished the letter, and set it down, mouth agape in sheer bewilderment, before he stood, and turned to run.

  Unfortunately, a guard captain noticed the terrified man, and turned his gaze to YeFeng. He seemed confused for a moment, as if debating whether what he saw was truth or a misinterpreted scene, before his eyes fell upon the knives, and a series of emotions circled through his face. Disbelief, fear, even abject horror were all present before anger and determination set in.

  "Men!" He called, to his subordinates scattered through the area. "That boy is an escaped thief! I recognize him!"

  The guards halted whatever business they were occupied with, and turned their attention fully to YeFeng.

  Damn. Did I do something before I lost my memory? He thought, as the guards began to approach. Oh well, I'll just have to deal with it now. For now, I have to get out of here.

  He took off sprinting, hearing voices shouting for him to stop and give himself in, as the guards began chasing after him.

  YeFeng ran, and noticed that he was easily outpacing any of his pursuers, despite his small stature. Even the captain, who was significantly faster than his soldiers, was falling behind.

  The captain split off from the main group of guards, and went into an alley, just as YeFeng approached a section of the street where several forks in the road intersected, and civilians walked, obstructing the way.

  He pushed through the civilians, as the obstacle slowed him, and watched for the missing captain as he broke through the crowds.

  Suddenly, a figure jumped down from the roofs above, and was now running slightly ahead of him to the right, cutting him off. YeFeng was forced to enter the first alleyway to the right, lest he come into contact with him and be forced to clash with him.

  He came to a dead end, as the guards followed, and, turning, recognized that he would not prevail unscathed were he to fight in these close quarters. Instead, he chose to jump upward, catching himself up a windowsill before jumping off up to a roof, continuing his escape on higher ground.

  The commander vaulted himself upward just as YeFeng had, and the others followed more slowly.

  The commander then drew back his hand, holding a knife, and threw. YeFeng dodged sideways, but the knife somehow twisted its path midair and grazed his arm.

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  YeFeng glared backwards, before a sudden onset of sluggishness began to overtake him. He jumped down to the street again, catching himself, and ran, hoping to escape before he was incapacitated.

  He sprinted, but the captain was able to overtake him, carefully keeping his distance, hoping to herd YeFeng back.

  YeFeng was forced to turn backwards, but moved slower and slower, until, numb, he collapsed, and the guards apprached.

  They ensured he was incapacitated, then tied his arms together. The captain stepped close, and took his knives.

  The captain picked YeFeng up, and began carrying him. He turned to his subordinates. "I'll handle this case myself now. You make sure to keep order here."

  "But sir-" A guard protested.

  "I said that I will handle it!" The captain said, glaring at the soldier.

  "Yes, sir!" The soldiers said, apprehensive, and scattered.

  Once they had left, the captain jumped down into the street, and began walking away, carrying YeFeng with him.

  Eventually, he approached a building with stone walls and entered it. Inside was a desk with a soldier sitting at it, and cells further in the building.

  The leader nodded to the soldier at the desk, and carried YeFeng farther in, as feeling began to return to his body.

  He spoke to a guard. "I'll ensure he has no weapons. Then you can take him off my hands."

  The guard nodded, and YeFeng's captor took him into a side room.

  YeFeng turned away, simply hoping for the ordeal to end so he could leave the town.

  The soldier raised his hand, and YeFeng caught the glint of his own knife in the air, reflecting the light, raised high.

  YeFeng threw himself sideways to dodge the knife, but the man reached out an arm and caught YeFeng before he was able to escape, though the knife missed.

  The soldier drew it back to strike again, but the door opened, revealing a man in elegant garb, with one of the guards, who had helped chase YeFeng earlier, standing behind him.

  The man in elegant clothing spoke. "Death isn't an appropriate punishment for theft, Vatoris."

  "Lord Daero! I was simply defending myself. This boy attacked me."

  "With what? His knives that you confiscated, in his bound hands?"

  Vatoris turned, and saw his subordinate. "You disclosed information about a case? There are military proceedings you should not speak about!"

  "Vatoris. Enough. That guard is under my charge, now."

  "Apologies, Lord Daero, but this boy is dangerous." Vatoris, YeFeng's captor, said, as he stabbed his knife downwards again.

  Suddenly, a spirit much like woven roots in the shape of a humanlike figure appeared, and its outstretched hand grew forward. The dagger embedded itself within the roots, and Lord Daero spoke.

  "I told you that death was not acceptable, Vatoris. Do not attempt that again."

  Vatoris withdrew the dagger, his face shadowed. "Of course, my lord. It shall not happen, again."

  He turned to leave, but, just as he stepped in front of Daero's vision, he dropped the dagger, which turned towards and hurtled itself toward YeFeng.

  At the last moment, though, a root, growing upward from the ground, tore YeFeng's bindings apart, and YeFeng managed to dodge the weapon despite the numbness of his body.

  At the same time, Vatoris attempted to stab Daero with the other of YeFeng's knives. Daero struck at the weapon with the back of his hand to block it, casting the knife away, where it fell, unfortunately away from YeFeng.

  "That was your last mistake, Vatoris." Daero said.

  "Wrong! It was YOURS!" Vatoris shouted, taking a wooden case from his clothing, before opening the lid and flinging its contents forward.

  Inside were tens of small metal needles, and they began whirling around the room as if in a wind. YeFeng took the dagger from where it had fallen, and moved forward, dodging the points that were aimed to kill.

  Roots grew from the being at Daero's side, deflecting any needles that came close, while the strange man himself only watched YeFeng.

  YeFeng approached, as the dagger in his hand tried to force itself backwards, strangely. A needle cut at Yefeng's back, and another glanced off his knuckle as he ran.

  YeFeng dodged or deflected the needles that moved towards him, and the needles coalesced into a single wave that aimed to overwhelm YeFeng. He jumped sideways, before shoving himself off of the wall to dodge the scattered needles.

  "Do I hurt or kill?" He asked, questioning Daero.

  "Leave him alive to question." The lord replied.

  "YOU WON'T DO EITHER!" Vatoris screamed, and the weapons converged into a field around him before exploding outward with incredible speed and force.

  A needle embedded itself into YeFeng's shoulder, and YeFeng flipped his dagger to his uninjured side, and stabbed Vatoris' shoulder.

  Vatoris gasped in pain, before YeFeng struck his head with the hilt of the weapon, and he fell unconscious.

  YeFeng swayed slightly, but moved forward, and picked up his other knife from where it lay discarded.

  "That poison is still numbing your body. You should rest." Daero said.

  He picked up Vatoris' unconscious form. "You follow or wait here. My spirit will watch you if you're too worn out to follow."

  YeFeng sheathed his blades, then moved to follow, but hesitated as another wave of numbness and fatigue suffused him.

  He instead sat, resting in the room that would have been his death.

  Daero moved to leave, but stopped at the door. "That was a good showing." He said.

  YeFeng curled up on the ground, plucking the needle from his shoulder, and took a long-awaited rest.