PebHmong Discussion Forum
Creative Corner => Creative Writing => Topic started by: Surikoo2078 on September 03, 2014, 11:08:56 AM
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TITLE: Enter the Past (I might change it in the long run...)
GENRE: Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural, Action, Drama
SUMMARY: An assassin couple and a wanted criminal accidentally traveled into another dimension full of mortals, fallen immortals, gods, and demons. During their time in the trapped dimension, they must try to survive and their choices will determine the fate of that world.
NOTE: It contained profanity, sexual/mild violence.
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This is a Chinese story so just letting all the readers know ahead of time. O0 I've posted this story in other sites too, but this one is for my Hmong brothers and sisters to enjoy and ready. Now the big thing. *Nervous* I've drawn stories but have never written one in my life. So, I decided to take one of my comic stories and write it out. This will be my first attempt so forgive me if there's some grammatical errors. I don't have great English competency skills but I'm learning. I would love to hear your positive feedback/comments/critiques of my story and hope to continue in writing as best as I can.
Enjoy.
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CHAPTER 1: HISTORY’S GIFT
The sun rose high on a cleared blue sky over the vast forest of Mystic Mountain. This forested mountain was no ordinary mountain, but one of wonder and allure, made more pronounced by the thick mist that enveloped it. The land covered over hundreds of acres far and wide, filled with numerous of tall trees, rich green plants and wild flowers, and wild creatures called it their home. It had a rich ancient history that dated back to thousands of years ago. Some believed that the gods once lived on earth before they ascended to the heavens. Others believed that it was a gateway to where the gods lived. Whatever it was back then, the Forest of Mystic Mountain was a place that attracted thousands of visitors each year. It welcomed its beauty and history to the public in exchanged for deep respect. When given in return, only then Mystic Mountain would reveal its deep secrets that many had wondered for many centuries ago.
That exactly happened one day when a hiker and his group led an expedition deep into the enchanted forest. They stumbled upon a white object that protruded through the mystical soil a few feet away in front of them. The hikers thought that somebody must have tried to bury something, but as they got closer, this white object turned out to be something else. Curious, the hikers took out whatever tools that they have and started to dig through the earth’s soil.
Minutes turned to hours as they continued to dig. Curiosity overcame them that they had forgotten of their purpose in the first place. As the sun rested for the night, their source of natural light became dimmer, making it harder for them to see. They stopped what they were doing and stepped back to see what they had uncovered. To their amazement, what they found seemed to be a historical treasure. The object was huge, about 7x7 feet. It looked like a top-squared base made out of white sand and clay. On the side, there were strange hieroglyph writings. The hikers knew what to do. They contacted the National Museum of Science and Research and told them about their discovery.
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Two Months later. Song Shan Mountain was one of the five great sacred mountains in Henan Province. Like Mystic Mountain, it had a rich history that became homes to Taoists and Shaolin monasteries for over many centuries ago. Its massive vertical heights made out of rocks and foliage, and ancient temples, and statues of gods everywhere, became a breathtaking site for anyone to see.
Up on a lofty cliff, two thrill seekers stood at the edge wearing their wing suits, helmets, and parachute backpacks. One signaled to the other by a nod, and then it happened. Both of them extended their arms and jumped off the cliff together. They started to glide with the wind across the ancient plain like they were flying. As they got close to the ground, they deployed their parachutes and gracefully landed unharmed onto the earth’s soil. They took off their parachute backpacks and helmets to reveal their identity-a man and a woman.
They turned and smiled at each other from the adrenaline rush that they had just experienced. The man came and hugged his female companion from the side, “That felt great!” he exclaimed.
She nodded, “Next time, let’s jump from an airplane.”
“I’m up for it Cici.”
He quickly gave her a kiss on the cheek, making her chuckled a bit from his physical contact.
As they rolled their parachutes back into their backpacks, Cecilia’s stomach growled for attention. “Kai, Let’s go grab something to eat.”
He smiled and nodded. After they finished packing, they walked back to the car with their belongings to end their day.
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Along their way back, they saw five tall and slender men in black suits stood waiting around their car. Kai and Cecilia’s smiles disappeared and wondered what these men wanted.
“Mr. Cho wants to see the both of you,” said the bald headed man.
Kai smirked and stood cool with his hands on his hips. “Cici is hungry so tell him to wait.”
They took a couple of steps forward and two the men in black blocked their way. “Come with us,” said one of the men.
Kai slightly pushed the man to the side so they could get through. The man felt threatened and grabbed Kai by the arm. Kai’s defense instinct kicked in and quickly grabbed his fingers and bent it. The man yelped in pain and then he punched the man on the face. The other men quickly rushed in to join the fight. One by one, Cecilia and Kai fought and injured them until the last man fell to the ground. Kai then wrapped his arm behind Cecilia’s waist and they calmly walked away from the scene as if nothing had happened. They got into their car and drove off.
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CHAPTER 2: THE ASSIGNMENT
That night after dinner, the couple went back to their condos. Kai slowly walked Cecilia to her door. “Our three year anniversary is coming up, what would you like to do?” he asked.
She crossed her arms in front and slightly tilted her head up to think. “What about a romantic dinner at my place,” she proposed.
“That’s it? Nothing exciting?”
She shook her head and smiled, “Not this year. Let’s do something different.”
He turned to face her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Alright, but I’m cooking because your cooking skills suck.” He started to laugh which got her offended.
She playfully punched him on the shoulder for mocking her. “Excuse me if I don’t cook often!”
“Ok…ok…” he laughed some more.
She was about to give him another punch, but he grabbed her fist to stop her. “Aren’t you afraid that if you keep on hitting me like this, I can end up in the hospital?” he joked.
She yanked her fist out of his grip and crossed her arms in front again. “That is what you get for teasing me.”
He came forward and hugged her. Her rosy scent from her body overpowered his nose, making him enjoy the sweetness on her. He pulled back and kissed her soft tender lips. Then he whispered, “Goodnight.” She smiled and replied softly back to him, “Goodnight.”
Kai let her go and stood there while she turned around to unlock the condo door. Upon success, the door creaked opened to welcome her back home. Cecilia turned to look at him one last time and waved at him. He waved back and she finally went inside. He turned around to the other condo door right across from hers and entered his.
Cecilia walked inside to her place and the lights automatically turned on. She jumped in surprised to see a couple of unexpected visitors stood silently in her living room.
She recognized the two men. One was a man that she and Kai had encountered earlier this morning. He had a band aid on his nose and a purple bruise on his cheek. She grinned to see how pitiful he looked. Next to him was an older man in his 50’s-cleaned cut type of guy that has a thick ash mustache, and wore a black expensive suit.
She stared at the old man and scolded, “Mr. Cho, you know that breaking into someone’s place is a crime right?”
“I am your boss…” he replied.
“WAS…” she corrected him.
His cornered lip curled up as if it was funny to him. “Right…WAS your boss…Anyway, I won’t be long...”
The doorbell rang. He directed his left hand to her front door. “Answer it,” he said with a devious look on his face.
She became suspicious of this old man. Why is he here? What agenda does he have for her this time? Without questioning him, she slowly walked to the door.
When the door opened, she was surprised to see Kai with the same four men from this morning. They had him in an arm lock from behind. Kai’s shirt was missing some buttons and was half tucked in his pants, revealing his bare, muscular chest. He also had a couple of red bruises nearby his left cheekbone and right jaw. The other men were in more worsen condition than Kai. Their lips had been busted opened, showing a small tint of blood on the side, and parts of their faces were red from the punches. She knew that the boys just had gotten into a brawl not too long ago.
Kai smiled at her and said, “Hi,” like nothing had happened.
She got upset at Cho San and turned around to stare at him rebuked. “Really? Do you have to go this far?”
Cho San smirked and walked steadily toward them as he spoke. “You two didn’t need to beat your ex-colleagues this morning. All you had to do was come with them peacefully.” They stopped a few feet away in front of Kai and Cecilia.
Kai looked at the man next to Cho San and remembered him from this morning. He was the one that grabbed him by the arm.
“Well he started it,” he sneered.
Cho San shook his head in disappointment . He ordered his men to release Kai. They released him and pushed him inside Cecilia’s place. Kai staggered forward and Cecilia caught him before he fell to the ground. The men closed the door behind them and guarded it in case Kai and Cecilia decided to escape.
Cecilia crossed her arms in front and stared coldly at their ex-boss, “So, what do you want from us then?”
Cho San raised a yellow enveloped in front of him for them to see. “I have a proposition for you two…I know that you two had resigned from the Black Ops Force, but I have no one else for this kind of mission except you two. Do you want to hear it?”
Cecilia scoffed sardonically, “Well, we don’t have a choice do we?”
Cho San laughed, “It is up to you both if you want to take this mission or not.” Then he purposely taunted them by waving the envelope at their face, “Ten million dollars can go to…someone else…”
Both were surprised by the huge amount of money. Kai clarified, “What did you just say?”
Cho San grinned knowingly that he finally had their undivided attention. “You heard me. So, what do you say?”
“This mission must be very dangerous to be worth that much. Am I correct?” asked Cecilia.
“Correct. You two were my top agents that had shown very high success rate in all of your missions. With your talented skills and tactics, you two can assassinate these guys.” Then he waved the yellow envelope in front of them again, “So?”
Kai turned to nudged Cecilia on the arm and had a big closed smile on his face. She knew what he was thinking and it was the same vibe that she had also. She smiled at Cho San and answered excitingly, “Alright. We’ll take the mission.”
Cho San was happy to hear their answer. “Take this and read it thoroughly.”
Kai quickly took the envelope from Cho San’s hand and was stunned by it’s heavy weight underneath his hand. Cho San’s men opened the front door and left. As Cho San walked down the narrow hallway, he shouted back at Kai and Cecilia, “Welcome back guys,” and laughed happily. Cecilia closed the door and made sure it was locked from the inside. Like their ex-boss, she didn’t want any more uninvited guests over.
Kai and Cecilia didn’t wait a single moment of their precious time and went straight to work. They quickly ran to sit down next to each other on the living room couch and Kai pulled the thick documents out of the yellow envelope. Out came a bunch of thick packets mixed with papers, photos, and USB disk. They quickly went to their computer and inserted the disk.
Appeared on their screen was the Special Black Ops Force’s logo. Kai clicked on it and an automatic video played onto their monitor screen.
CHO SAN’S VOICE:
Special Agent Kai and Special Agent Cecilia. Welcome back to Black Ops Force. This mission was assigned to us from a third party’s request by CCIA. The mission is simple. Eliminate the two dangerous criminals, Tsui Man and Alex Wong (Their pictures showed on computer screen) on June 24th.
“That is a week from today!” Kai became bummed. “Oh well, I guess that will be our anniversary present then.”
Cecilia nudged him on the arm. “Well you wanted another exciting year, so there you have it,” and the both of them chuckled.
CHO SAN’S VOICE CONTINUED:
According to the informer, Tsui Man and Alex Wong are meeting at Mystic Mountain that night (A picture of Mystic Mountain appeared in replaced of the two criminals). Enclosed is more information of the assignment. I wish the both of you luck.
The Special Black Ops Force’s logo popped up on the screen again and then a female voice started to speak.
The disk will be destroyed in 3. 2. 1.
The monitor screen showed the logo being dissolved and then everything one the screen turned black. Kai took out the USB, and to make sure no information existed, he took it to the fireplace and turned on the fire. The flames came out automatically like a gas stove and burned the USB until it became charcoal. He turned the fireplace switch off and the both of them went back to the couch.
Kai spread the documents across the coffee table. Most of the photos were pictures of the two men that they were assigned to find. She noticed that in one of the two men’s photos, the man had a permanent scar on his left eyebrow. For sure, that will help them identify him easily from the rest of the crowd. Cecilia grabbed that man’s profile packet and started to read it.
“Tsui Man…32 years old, 5 feet 8, 180 pounds, medium-built, short black hair, brown eyes…”
Then his skills caught her attention and she showed the profile to Kai.
“Look at this. Tsui Man was an ex-Black Ops also. He was an ex-sergeant in the military and in the Bomb Squad for over ten years…”
Kai took the profile packet from her to read it, while she picked up another stapled packet. “No wonder this mission is worth ten million dollars,” said Kai.
Kai saw a cut out newspaper clip that was dated two months ago. The heading read, “Hikers Found Treasure at Mystic Mountain” and showed it to Cecilia. They saw that a sentence was highlighted in yellow and read it.
“Hikers found an unknown, white object in the deep forest of Mystic Mountain and is being excavated by Professor Choi and his team of archaeologist from National Museum of Science and Research. At this time, the area is closed to the public until further noticed.”
Curious of what this had to do with their mission, they searched through the documents for more information. Cecilia came across a stapled packet that had a small picture of the other man and read his profile. As she read the general demographic information of the guy, she came upon something intriguing and got excited.
She quickly showed it to Kai. “I think I’ve found the connections. This guy, Alex Wong, is a fanatic in Antiques. I guess there is something in Mystic Mountain that he wanted.”
“Well whatever it is, that place must be heavily guarded, or else, Tsui Man wouldn’t have been involved then.”
She agreed with Kai and nodded.
They studied for a couple of more hours and then Cecilia got tired and yawned. She placed the papers down on the coffee table and got up to stretch.
“I’m going to go sleep now…”
There was no response from Kai. She turned and saw him still reading Tsui Man’s bio. She felt ignored and slightly punched him on the shoulder.
“Hey! I’m tired, so aren’t you going to leave?”
He turned and glanced at her with a cheesy grin on his face, “I can’t. The boys and I made a big mess in my place so…I may have to spend a night in yours.”
“You boys sure love to destroy things…”
He shrugged.
She shook her head and sighed, “Alright, I’ll get a blanket and pillow for you then.” She got up and slowly walked into the bedroom to go grab the stuff.
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Hey bud, great job so far. I get the sense that you're wanting to make this story a fusion of Hmong/Han-Chinese(or other) so I hope that you'll indulge us with a bit more history and culture. I take it you want this fusion of cultures not just so you can use the names, but also so that you can capture the romance which is seen in many traditional Wuxia stories. I think you should let your imagination roam free and base this story off of an event that happened in Chinese history. That's just my recommendation to helping you capture the feel of Wuxia. Great story though, hoping for more.
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*sorry, I've pasted the wrong ch. from the other 'not updated' site.
In this chapter, it gets more intimate with the two lead characters. Just to forewarn that there is profanity and minor sexual violence.
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CHAPTER 3: AN EARLY GIFT
The next morning, Kai went downtown to Lu’s Jewelry Store. It was a small, family-owned business that sold unique gemstones, gold, and diamonds. Besides selling, they specialized in making custom designed jewelries. He entered in and saw the owner rearranging gold rings behind the glass counter.
The owner was a cute, little old man in his late 60’s-half bald with his white hair slicked back. He wore a little brown with white striped bow tie to compliment his matching brown, wool blazer. Kai heard about him through his mutual friends that he was the master of making designed jewelries. He had seen some of his unique works and loved it.
Kai walked toward him and stood a couple feet away from the owner. “Good morning Mr. Lu,” he greeted.
The owner looked up and saw Kai. “HEY! My number one customer!” Mr. Lu excitedly came over to Kai and shook his hand, while his other hand patted his shoulder. He leaned toward Kai with a big grin on his face and whispered loudly, “It’s finally finished…wait here.”
Mr. Lu went around the counter into another room while Kai waited patiently for his return. A couple of minutes later, Kai saw Mr. Lu coming out with a small black box and started to get anxious of what was inside. Mr. Lu stood in front of him and lifted the lid off for Kai to see. Inside, was a 10-karat, white diamond engagement ring. The huge diamond sparkled when the ceiling lights reflected on it. The band was made out of platinum that was designed into multiple unique swirls, giving off an old Victorian look. It gathered upward to where it held the diamond in place. Kai stared amazed of its beauty that he quickly took it out from the box to have a closer look.
After a careful examination of the ring, he said excitingly, “She will love it!”
Mr. Lu was happy, knowing that he had satisfied another customer. Curious, he asked, “When are you going to propose to her?”
Kai placed the ring back in the black box while he answered him. “Our three year anniversary is coming up in a week from now…” After the ring was in the box, he closed it and looked at him, smiling. Then he continued, “I’m planning to propose to her then.”
Mr. Lu was joyful to hear the news and teased, “She is a lucky woman to have a guy like you; smart, romantic, and with great looks.”
Kai chuckled from his compliment and replied, “No, I’m the lucky guy to have her in my life.” The old man laughed and nodded in agreement.
At the corner of his eyes, Kai saw something that caught his attention. He turned his head and saw a heart shaped necklace displayed inside the glass counter. On the silver lining of the shaped heart were tiny diamonds, sparkling for him to see.
The owner saw that he was intrigued by it. “Mr. Yang, that necklace will compliment well with the engagement ring. Why don’t you buy it?”
He thought about Cecilia and started to reminisce about the first time he met her and knew that she was the one for him.
He was nine years old when he came to the orphanage. Since he was a newcomer to the place, boys that were around his age bullied him daily, making him felt worthless and weak.
One day during recess, the bullies cornered him and started to tease him, saying that he was a ‘weak sissy’. Then they pushed him a couple of times until he fell to the ground and cried. Suddenly, one by one, the bullies were being hit by a stick. The next thing he knew, they too were on the ground, hurting and crying. He heard an angelic voice hovered above him saying, “Don’t cry,” and looked up to see a tiny hand in front of him. Then he saw the heroic angel. A tiny girl with hair braided on each side, smiling warmly down at him. He grabbed her hand and she pulled him up by using all of her strength. When he got up, she turned and stared at the bullies coldly with her arms crossed in front, while holding the big wooden stick in her hand. The bullies saw her and quickly got up, crying for mercy. She told them to leave, and they did without fighting back. That was when he knew his angel’s name.
Cecilia Lin-A six year old little girl that came to the orphanage when she was a fresh newborn. She was quickly loved by the staff and children from her cute baby face; but, physical appearance was nothing compared to her personality. She was fierce and brave. She didn’t tolerate bad people and stood for the weak. Children called her a heroine; but to him, she was his angel.
He wanted to give back to her for helping him, so he did her chores, did whatever she said, and even got in trouble with her.
One time in the backyard, there were pretty flowers blooming in the rose garden. Cecilia took him to go and pluck rose petals with her. She plucked one and smeared the rose petal all over her arms, neck, and face, and said that it was to ward off bad people. She handed him one and forced him to do it also. He thought that was silly, but didn’t hesitate and did what she told him to do. He only wanted to see her happy.
She wasn’t like the other girls in the orphanage where they love to play with dolls and dress up. In fact, the only girly thing about her was the scented rose on her skin. She never understood why people would still want to be close to her when it was supposed to scare people away. As a six years old child, her mind was so full of imagination and creativity that it made everyone enjoyed being with her.
Kai had a huge grin on his face after reminiscing their childhood years and decided to buy the necklace. Happy, the owner quickly took the necklace out from the glass counter and put it in a small, red velvet box that has a white bow on top of it. Kai paid Mr. Lu and then left the store excited and anxious in giving the gift to her.
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Cecilia sat down to read some of Tsui Man’s criminal activities across the countries and had the television turned to the news channel. Suddenly, something caught her attention from the news and stopped what she was doing.
News lady anchor: “Two months ago, a group of hikers stumbled upon an object and reported to National Museum of Science and Research. Professor Choi and his team of archaeologist went to the site to excavate it. What they found was so extraordinary that it may question our history.”
The video clip then switched to Mystic Mountain where the site was being excavated. An old gentleman in his late 60’s was being interviewed on scene.
Prof Choi: “What we’ve unearthed is something that we have never seen before. As you can see here…”
The camera panned to the right where the excavation was. It showed an exposed entrance of a cave on the ground and next to it, was a huge, white pillar. Around the pillar were strange hieroglyphics carved in rows. It filled the whole pillar and in the middle, was a huge carved celtic-like, diamond symbol.
Prof Choi: “…are hieroglyphics that are not from our writing system or from the Egyptians as well. Who are these people and where exactly are they from? We do not know. It will remain a mystery for now.”
She was astounded by the excavation; but at the same time, it made her even more curious of Alex Wong’s motive. The doorbell rang and startled her, making her chuckled a bit. She placed the papers back on the coffee table and went to answer the door. She opened and saw that it was Kai; he waved at her.
“Hi beautiful,” he said with a cheesy grin.
She crossed her arms in front, noticing that he was in a very good mood. Curious, she asked, “Ok, what are you hiding?”
Kai simply shrugged his shoulders and made his way inside to her place without saying anything. Cecilia hated it when he does that to her. It annoyed her greatly for not knowing what he was hiding from her. But to him, he loved it. He loved to drive her nuts in curiosity and found it very entertaining; especially when she gets feisty at him.
He walked straight to the living room and sat down, while she closed the door behind her. Kai picked up a packet of papers to read, but she quickly came over and snatched it out of his hands. Then she slightly punched him on the shoulder and sat down next to him. Her hazel eyes bulged as she stared intensively at him.
He smirked, “What?”
“Why are you such in a good mood?” she asked curiously.
He laughed, “Why can’t I be in a good mood?”
Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and scoffed at him. Since she was in a good mood also, she let his sneaky behavior slide and focused on the mission. Cecilia told him about the excavation at Mystic Mountain.
“What do we know about this Alex Wong guy?” he asked.
“According to his criminal background, he stole some ancient scriptures and antiques back in 2013 from the Shang Gala. He also stole an infamous antique painting from another Gala show in 2008.”
Kai thought about Tsui Man’s manpower and Alex Wong’s antique fetish. “So, we’re dealing with a terrorist and a thief. I guess Professor Choi must have known that Alex Wong was going to stir up trouble at the site. He must be the third party who teamed up with CCIA in this mission then.”
“I believe so,” She asked.
“Well, this will be fun then,” he said sarcastically.
She nodded and grabbed some photos on the table to look. While she was doing so, he quietly took the velvet red box out of his back jean pocket and placed it on the coffee table close to her. She turned her head and saw the box.
“What is it?”
“Just open it,” he insisted.
Excited, she picked up the box and lifted the lid off to see a diamond necklace neatly placed in there. “It’s beautiful…”
“Happy Anniversary,” he said.
She looked at him confused, “But our anniversary is not until next week.”
He smiled, “I know. I wanted to give you an early present.”
“So this is why you’re in such a good mood!” She pursed her lips and punched him on the shoulder. “You’re so devious!”
He laughed. “Here, let me help put it on you.”
She handed him the box and he took the necklace out. She lifted her long, black hair up and he placed the necklace around her small neck. After he finished, she let go of her hair. Cecilia touched the heart necklace, feeling the smooth diamonds on her fingers tips and smiled happily.
Kai saw her face glowed and complimented, “Cici, it looks beautiful on you.”
Then she pouted. “I feel bad that I didn’t get anything for you.”
He thought for a second and then he had an idea. “I know what you can give me,” he said teasingly.
She grinned, “What?”
“A kiss!”
She thought about it and nodded, “Alright.”
Happy and excited for the kiss, he puckered up and closed his eyes. She leaned forward to his lips; then with quickness, she kissed him on the cheek instead. Surprised, he opened his eyes and looked at her in disappointment .
“Hey! That’s not where I wanted!”
She laughed at him, “You didn’t specify where.”
“For that, I am going to tickle you until I get it then!” He began to tickle on her sides. She laughed so hard that she fell on the sofa cushion along with Kai. He was on top of her and stopped tickling her. They gazed into each other’s eyes as if they were hypnotized. His fingers stroked through her silky hair, loving how it felt between his fingers.
Then he whispered, “I love you Cici.”
His eyes sparkled when he said those words and she knew that he meant it from his heart. Her heart fluttered and replied, “I love you too Kai.”
He slowly leaned forward and passionately kissed her on the lips. While kissing, he carefully laid his body on top of hers until their bodies became so close that they could hear each other’s heartbeats. He smelled the rosy scent on her and started to move his lips down to her chin. He kissed it, making her enjoyed his sensual pleasure. Then he slowly made his way to her right neck and found where the strong rosy scent was. He kissed it and then licked the area to taste it. She loved the way how it felt; but was ticklish, and she started to giggle. He pulled his lips away from her neck and giggled with her. Then he made his way back to her lips and kissed her more.
Kai slowly pulled his lips away and leaned his forehead to hers so their noses could touch. He stared at her as he continued to stroke her hair.
“Stay alive for us,” he said softly.
As a secret agent, the person never knew if one would make it out alive from a mission. For Kai and Cecilia to make it thus far was a miracle because of those encouragement words. One has to stay alive for the other no matter what the circumstances were until the end. They also had made a promised that if one did died, the other have to move on with his/her life until it was the person’s last breath on earth. Life was too precious to be wasted when grieved.
She smiled and nodded. He kissed her again on the lips and then laid his head on her breast. She held him in her arm as he listened to her heart beat. Cecilia stroked his short, black hair and felt them poked her fingers. She let out a sigh and thought about the mission.
“After this mission, let’s move somewhere far away from here.”
He knew that she was tired of this kind of work. Although the work was full of hardcore action and high adrenaline rush that they loved to experience, both were also afraid of losing each other. There were times when one of them would be seriously injured from the missions-getting beaten, shot at, and stabbed multiple of times, but survived. Out of all the missions that they had encountered, there was one in particular that scared them the most; it was also their last.
It was on a cold, winter night in a secluded place out in Moscow, Russia. They were assigned to assassinate a Russian terrorist group before a missile was launched. During their assassination attempt, they were captured and detained in a secret base.
Kai hung from the ceiling by his feet with heavy chains wrapped tightly all over his body. Underneath him was water in subzero temperature. His face was barely unrecognized from all of the beatings-eyes swollen shut that he could barely see, and blood gushed out of wounds from his nose, head, and mouth. A few feet away from him was Cecilia, hanging by the arms above on land. Cecilia wasn’t beaten as badly as he was, but was shot on the shoulder.
The leading terrorist, Vadim Kubyshkin, came over to Cecilia and grabbed her cheeks with his large fingers; his eyes full of rage.
“It’s time to payback for what you have destroyed!”
Then he gave her a lustful smile and she knew what he was going to do next. She tried to struggle free from his grip. “The more you struggle, the more I’m going to make sure you get f***** hard by me and my men!” he threatened. His men started to laugh and whistle in the background.
She decided to stop struggling and he let go of her cheeks. “Good girl, now give this daddy a kiss.”
She spat him on his face and his men became silent in disbelief. Vadim got upset. “You B****!” and punched her hard on the stomach.
She gasped in excruciating pain and coughed. Then he grabbed her hair close to her scalp hard. She felt the roots being pulled out and yelped in pain. He turned Cecilia’s head toward Kai and taunted him.
He took a sniff of her by her neck. “Your girlfriend smells so sweet…” and licked her neck up to her face. She was too weak to fight back and limped there.
Enraged, Kai struggled around like a dangling fish to get free, so he could come and help Cecilia. He threatened, “I’m going to kill you!”
They laughed at his little threat.
“By the time I f*** your girlfriend, you’re already dead.” Then Vadim ordered his men, “Release the rope!”
The rope that held Kai from the ceiling was released and his body plunged into the frigid waters. Cecilia yelled his name in horror and started to struggle to get free again. Vadim grabbed her shirt and tore it off, exposing her blood soaked bra. Then he groped her breast hard, licking and sucking her neck and bloody chest like a wolf devouring its prey. His men got excited and walked closer to them, wanting a piece of her meat for themselves as well.
Meanwhile, Kai struggled to get free from the frigid waters. The heavy chains were too strong for his body to get out. Then his body started to numb from the cold…and then air. He started to panic and tried to gasp some air, but all that entered in his body was cold water-Gulping it down one mouthful…and another.
This was the end. This was the last that he would see Cecilia-her smile, her kiss, her warm body next to his…He took his last breath and his body stood silently as the heavy chains dragged him deeper into the abyss.
Suddenly a hand grabbed onto his body and tried to pull him up. His body moved upward to a familiar face; it was Cecilia. She pulled him up close to her bare shoulders and held onto him. She fought with all of her strength to swim up to the surface as the heavy chains tried to drag the both of them down. Finally, they reached to the surface and she gasped for air. Quickly she pushed Kai’s cold body out of the water and onto the cemented floor. Then she got out and leaned close to him.
Kai’s face was blue and she began to worry. She cried out, “Don’t you dare leave me, YOU HEAR!”
She blew air into his mouth and thrust his chest numerous of times while tears strolled down her face. Her tears dropped into his mouth while she blew air, and it dropped onto his icy cold body while she thrust down his chest. She did this for a while but realized that it was too late. He was dead. Her heart sank in dismay.
“KAI!!!!” and hugged him tightly, crying and burying her face in his.
Seconds later, Kai’s face started to turn to a peach color and then his fingers started to move. He began to cough out water from his mouth and nose. Cecilia felt his movement and lifted her head up to be in total shocked. He was alive! Full of joy, she quickly hugged him as tears strolled down her cheeks. Her hug was so tight that he didn’t have air to breath.
“I thought I lost you,” she cried happily.
He coughed out more water. “I thought I would never see you again,” and smiled.
Kai raised his hand to her cheek and wiped her tears. Then she leaned toward him and kissed him on the lips. They could feel their warm breaths as they exchanged air and their warm tongues as it touched. Their cold bodies were now warmed from the kiss.
CCIA-Black Ops Force finally found them and saw dead bodies everywhere. They helped Kai and Cecilia up and gave them warm blankets to cover their bodies.
Now that they took another mission because of the lump sum of money, they wanted to make sure they disappeared for good. No more hounding down from Cho San and his men, CCIA, and Black Ops Force. There was going to be only Cecilia and Kai, living peacefully from the chaotic world forever.
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@ minorcharacter: Thanks. It's fanxia (fantasy wuxia). I wanted it to be different and not use actual historical contents, so I use dimensions instead...(You'll figure out later in the story O0) and boy, my brain does roam REALLY free in what I wanted to tell.
@MidnightMoon: Yeah, I forgot to warn all of you that it is long. For now, I'll just post up to ch. 3. I wish there was a better way to make it easy to read by just clicking on the links to the chs. I'm still a rookie on that. :-[
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@ MidnightMoon: I have a couple of links to the story. Like I said before, no comments/critiques from others. That is why I'm here for ya'll to help me. ::)
One link that I posted my story in:
http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php/38469-Enter-the-Past#.VAdDbGNED2k (http://www.spcnet.tv/forums/showthread.php/38469-Enter-the-Past#.VAdDbGNED2k)
but the only thing is that you cannot comment it if you're not registered. That is why I posted it here to hope to get some feedbacks. But yeah, here it is if you want to look further into this story. If you are a wuxia fan, you will like this forum I've linked too.
The other one is: http://writefanfics.com/storypage.php?id=142 (http://writefanfics.com/storypage.php?id=142) This one you can comment as unregistered.
There are other sites too but the links I've typed above are are more active.
**My pen name on both forums is skoo78**
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@ minorcharacter: Thanks. It's fanxia (fantasy wuxia). I wanted it to be different and not use actual historical contents, so I use dimensions instead...(You'll figure out later in the story O0) and boy, my brain does roam REALLY free in what I wanted to tell.
@MidnightMoon: Yeah, I forgot to warn all of you that it is long. For now, I'll just post up to ch. 3. I wish there was a better way to make it easy to read by just clicking on the links to the chs. I'm still a rookie on that. :-[
Fanxia, never heard of that term before. Thanks, I'll keep it handy from now on. I'm a big fan of metaphysics when it comes to dimensions and alternate universes(I think that's what you meant?) so I'll be catching this here and there. Keep up the good work.
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Thank you MidnightMoon. The chs from my other links (ch 8 -26) are not revised yet. I'm still finding some errors, but I'm slowly revising it as I go. Should I still continue to post my chs here since I've given the links to it?
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@ MidnightMoon: I don't mind posting up on here. ;) I'll post it slowly up to ch 7 (where I stopped revising) so it won't overwhelm readers :D Thank you.
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Fanxia, never heard of that term before. Thanks, I'll keep it handy from now on. I'm a big fan of metaphysics when it comes to dimensions and alternate universes(I think that's what you meant?) so I'll be catching this here and there. Keep up the good work.
Thank you. correction: it's actually fanta-xia or chinese call it "xianxia". sorry about that. I'm a big fan also :D My story was inspired by these going to the past tv series/movies.
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Ok. for MidnightMoon and fast readers. I will continue until ch 7. O0
In this ch, forgive me if the fighting is lame in details. It's my first time writing an action scene and need major help on this. LOL. but enjoy though. :D
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CHAPTER 4: UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT
Up in the puffy white clouds, Cecilia flew gracefully like a heavenly fairy as her white, long dress trailed behind by the wind. She giggled like a child as the cool breeze brushed against her face. Up ahead, the clouds started to move to the sides and revealed a mystical paradise. It had gigantic mountain peaks covered with green foliage, and numerous of waterfalls poured out from the center of the mountains’ mouths, like clouds, into the deep blue sea. As she got closer, she saw transparent plants and flowers that glowed neon colors. It wasn’t like any other scenery that she had seen before. It was magical.
She landed on the paradise and felt the soft green grass underneath her bare feet. Excited, Cecilia ran through a field full of beautiful transparent flowers, laughing and twirling around. Blue butterflies started to fly around her and she became amused by its friendly gestures. One of the butterflies landed on her hand and felt it tickled in her palm, making her giggled.
Suddenly, everything that was once beautiful faded into darkness. In seconds, plants and flowers around her started to wither away, waterfalls poured out thick blood, butterflies vanished into thin air, and the animals around the valley morphed into horrific demons. Their teeth became razor sharped and their pupils turned blood red.
From distant, shadowy figures lurked from the dark forest. They stared intensively at her with their glowing red eyes, making her feel very uncomfortable and scared. She turned around and tried to fly, but her body wouldn’t let her. It grounded her on land, making sure she cannot escape. Then she heard an evil laugh from behind. It got louder…and louder…as if it was right beside her. She panicked and covered her ears tightly with her hands so she couldn’t hear it, but it was too late. The evil laugh had already embedded into her mind. All of a sudden, the mystical paradise disappeared underneath her feet and she started to fall into the dark abyss, screaming in horror.
She quickly woke up, screaming from the top of her lungs and breathed heavily as she tried to catch her breath. Then she looked around and realized that she was in her dark bedroom. Relieved, she let out a sigh and realized that it was only a dream. It had been a long time that she had nightmares, so why now? She shivered from the thought of it and quickly got up to put on her robe.
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In Kai’s place, he was awaken by the doorbell and forced himself to get up from his bed. He stood up and yawned while stretching his arms. Kai looked at the clock and saw that it was only three o’clock in the morning.
The doorbell rang again. “I’m coming!” he shouted being annoyed by it.
He dragged his tiring body to the door and opened it. To his surprise, he saw Cecilia stood there, dressed in her white cotton robe and trembled in fear. Worried, he helped guide her inside to his place. Kai closed the door and as he turned around to face her, she had already hugged him. Her hug was so tight that he felt her body shaken in him. He wrapped his arm around her and stroked her back to comfort her.
---
She lay next to him on his bed, staring at the bright stars from his opened window. Kai held her in his arms and pondered of a similar scene from their childhood years.
In the orphanage one night, he felt something pressed down next to him on the bed as he was sleeping. His little body started to tremble in fear, thinking that it might be a ghost. He wanted to sneak a peek at it but was too afraid that it may stare back, grinning at him. Then a familiar floral fragrance filled the air around him and he knew who it was. Cecilia. He opened his eyes and saw her tiny, silhouette body asleep next to his. Relieved, his body tension lessened; but at the same time, he was puzzled by her strange behavior. He didn’t want to wake her up, so he let her slept next to him through the night.
The next morning, the boys saw them sleeping on the same bed and they didn’t dare to question them. After she left, they gathered around Kai and told him about her strange behavior. They told him about a boy who came into the orphanage a month ago prior to his arrival. He didn’t have a name, so they called him ‘Nameless’ and became Cecilia’s older brother.
One day, there was a ruthless boy who came into the orphanage and started trouble with all of the children. On one fatal afternoon, she and Nameless snuck up to the roof to eat some candies that they had stolen from the staff lounge. They met the bully there and he started trouble with them. He stole their candies and started to call them names. Then the bully pushed Cecilia and she fell to the ground, scraping her knees and cried in pain. Nameless got upset. He ran up to the bully and tussled with him. Since the bully was a bigger boy, he pushed Nameless away from him and he staggered backwards uncontrollably . Then Nameless’s small body fell off the cement rail and plunged to his death.
Nobody knew what happened next, but all they knew was that the bully was hospitalized after the incident. The staff and police questioned her about it, but she was too shocked and couldn’t remember what happened. At the end, they could only rule it as an accident.
After the incident, it was hard for her to go to sleep. She woke up in the middle of the night, screaming in terror, waking everyone up in the girl’s unit. There were many times when she snuck out of the unit to go sleep on Nameless’s empty bed as if he was still there to comfort her. As months went by, her nightmares lessened and so were her nights sleeping next to Kai. Although he missed her presence, he was happy that she was healing inside from the trauma. That was what he wanted for her anyway; to get better. If she was happy, he was also happy.
Tonight, he was surprised that she had nightmares again and wondered what triggered it this time. He snuggled closed to her to get comfortable. “Do you remember when we were young; you would come to my bed and sleep? It was the only way that you felt safe and protected,” he explained.
Those were the good old days. Just like ‘Nameless’, Kai was like her older brother who took care of her. He protected her, never judged her, and never asked questions. He made her forget her grief, her guilt, and her night terrors. Her eyes started to get heavy and yawned. The next thing he heard was her breathing heavily. She had fallen asleep and he smiled.
He leaned close to her ear and softly whispered, “When we’re married, I will promise to protect you with all my life. Then you won’t have any more nightmares…my lovely Cici.” He kissed her on the back of her head and continued to cuddle her until he fell asleep also.
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The day of the Mission.
It was a clear night at Mystic Mountain. Only billions of stars shone in replaced of the moon to be its light. Tsui Man and five of his men stood outside in front of the forest, waiting for the other parties to show up. A couple of minutes later, they heard faint footsteps and turned to see Alex Wong and his five men walked toward them. Comparing to him and his men’s outfits-black muscle shirts and camouflaged pants, Alex Wong and his men all wore expensive suits as if they were going on a business trip. The most ridiculous thing was that out of all the men, Alex Wong stood out the most, wearing his bright white suit. Tsui Man placed his hands on his hips and scoffed by their outfits. He felt like he was working with bunch of newbies that needed to be taught.
“Tsui Man, you must have waited for a while,” Alex Wong said as he and his men stopped in front of them.
Tsui Man smirked, “Let’s cut to the chase. Where is my money?”
Alex waved his hand to signal one of his men to come forth. The man came up to the front with a black leather suitcase and opened it to reveal millions of dollars in cash in front of Tsui Man. Tsui Man’s face lightened of excitement from the amount of money. The man closed the suitcase and handed it to him. Tsui Man took it and gave it to one of his men.
“Alright, now that’s done. Let’s go in shall we?” said Alex Wong.
Alex Wong and his men started to enter into the forest, but Tsui Man stopped them. “Wait, don’t rush in there too quickly. You may need these.”
One of his men handed Tsui Man a night vision goggle. It looked like a pair of small binoculars that had a band wrapped around it to secure it in place. “We need to see in the dark, and at the same time, be invisible for the cops…” Alex Wong thought that was a genius idea and happily nodded.
Then Tsui Man stared down at Alex Wong’s expensive white suit. “I suggest that you change also. You will attract the cops with that fancy outfit of yours.”
Alex Wong put his hands on his hips and scoffed upsettingly. He thought about what Tsui Man said, and then stared at one of his men.
“Give me your clothes.” His man didn’t hesitate and did as he was ordered.
After the exchanged of clothing and putting on their night vision goggles, they were ready to enter into the forest. They stepped inside, and a gust of wind blew at their face as if the forest was angry at them for disturbing the peace. They weren’t bothered by it and continued to move inward.
Tsui Man was curious of Alex Wong’s agenda. All he knew was that Alex Wong came to him for help. “Tell me, what so interesting about this pillar and cave shit?”
Alex Wong smirked, “As an antique collector, I have stolen many old scriptures. There was a scripture that talked about this Mountain thousands of years ago. It said that this place holds mystical places to different dimensions and the pillar is a gateway to it. So if I get my hands on that pillar, I can travel to other dimensions as pleased.”
Hearing his ridiculous reason, Tsui Man started to laugh out loud. “You are full of shit do you know that?”
Alex Wong huffed angrily and pulled out his gun to aim at him. Both of their men pulled out theirs also and aimed at each other.
Alex Wong stared dead straight at Tsui Man with his cold eyes and Tsui Man knew this crazy fool was serious. “Dare to laugh at me again shithead? Just remember who have the upper hand around here,” warned Alex Wong.
Tsui Man huffed angrily and replied coldly, “Just remember this too. I am your source of getting what you want. If you kill me and my men, then you get nothing.”
Alex chuckled and nodded. “This is what I like about you Tsui Man. You fear nothing.” He lowered his gun down and the rest of the men did the same also. Then he continued, “If I didn’t have to worry about these shitty cops, I wouldn’t need you. But since I know this is going to be big, I do.” They continued to walk through the dark forest.
Tsui Man wanted to know more about his fairytale. “So, what are you trying to achieve with this then?”
Alex Wong smirked. “Fortune and Power.”
Tsui Man raised a brow. Alex Wong saw his confused look and smirked. “Just imagine the endless possibilities…selling it to the highest bidder or go and rule other dimensions…” He grabbed something underneath his shirt and pulled out a necklace. On the necklace was a circular pendant made out of the purest green gemstone, and carved on it was the celtic diamond-shaped symbol. “I stole this pendant five years ago at Mu Gala. According to the scripture, this pendant was Princess Ru Lan’s of the Celestial Realm. If I am correct, this little thing is the key to that dimension and more.” he explained excitingly.
Tsui Man contained his laughter by not wanting to upset the crazy fool, so he nodded instead. He didn’t really care what Alex Wong’s purpose was, but he knew that the pendant was a rare piece of jewelry that may worth a fortune and would love to get his hands on.
---
At the excavation site, twenty mixtures of CCIA agents and police officers guarded the whole premises, making it impossible for anyone to enter in. A bomb went off two hundred yards away from the excavation site, alarming the officers and agents. Some of them ran to check it out while others stayed behind. Then another bomb went off on the opposite side and more ran to check it out, leaving a few of them to guard the site.
One of the officers scoped around the area when suddenly a bullet pierced through his forehead killing him instantly. His body dropped to the ground, alarming the other officers and agents. They quickly raised their guns to aim at the dark forest and saw nothing. Suddenly, a couple more bullets came out of the dark and shot two more officers dead. The other agents ran for cover and tried to figure out where the shots were coming from. They started to shoot in the dark in hoping that they hit something, and then they stopped. From the distance, they heard gun shots fired and their colleagues’ dying cries; they knew that they were ambushed.
One of the Agents that hid behind a tree yelled out to the dark forest, “COME OUT AND SHOW YOURSELF!”
Suddenly, the agents heard footsteps coming out of the forest, crushing the dead leaves and twigs as the person made his way toward them. The agents came out of their hiding place with their guns aimed at the person. It turned out to be Alex Wong. He walked calmly toward them and took off the night vision goggle.
They saw that he had a gun in his hand. One of them yelled, “Drop your weapon and put your hands up!”
Alex Wong smiled and did as he was told. He dropped his gun onto the ground and put his hands up for them to see. As the agents got closer to him to make an arrest, out of the blues, shots were fired from the dark. Bullets went through the agents’ bodies, killing all of them on site. Alex Wong snickered at the dead bodies on the ground and thought that it was too easy. His men came out of the dark with their night vision goggles and guns in their hands.
Seconds later, Tsui Man and his men ran out of the dark forest toward them after killing the others. He saw dead bodies on the ground and turned to Alex Wong. Impressed, he clapped his hands sarcastically, “Not bad.”
Alex Wong smirked and then they turned to look at the excavation site. They were amazed by its massive size. The cave was nine feet high and ten feet wide. The team of archaeologists had done a great job in digging that the cave and the pillar were fully exposed from the ground up. Excited, Alex Wong ran to touch the pillar and felt the rough sand texture.
“This is amazing!”
Tsui Man walked toward the pillar and looked at the carvings. “Do you know what these shapes mean?”
“No. All I know is that it’s not from this dimension,” he answered.
Alex Wong took off his the necklace around his neck and felt the pendant’s smooth gemstone against his hands. He compared the two symbols from the pillar and the pendant and saw its similarities; he began to laugh excitingly.
Tsui Man looked around and asked, “So, where’s your portal then?”
Alex Wong stared at Tsui Man and smiled, “Inside.”
They each took out their flashlight from their belts and turned it on. Tsui Man turned to his men, “Keep a watch outside while we go in.”
“Yes boss.”
Tsui Man’s men watched as their boss and the others engulfed by the cave’s darkness. Suddenly, they heard deadly cries echoed inside followed by some shots fired. Out came Tsui Man and Alex Wong from the cave, stumbling backwards as if they were hit. Both men fell onto the ground and the pendant was dropped close to Tsui Man. He saw the pendant and quickly turned to see if Alex Wong noticed it. Alex Wong was still busy trying to get up, so he quickly grabbed the pendant and put it inside his back pants pocket.
From the dark cave, came out Kai and Cecilia. They stood cool with their cornered lips curled up. Tsui Man recognized them and grinned, “So it’s the love birds, Yang Kai Li and Cecilia Lin.”
Alex Wong was surprised to hear Tsui Man knew their names and turned to look at him, “You know them?”
Tsui Man nodded, “I use to work for the Black Ops so I know everything.”
Alex Wong thought about his pendant and searched his neck area. He started to panic. “My pendant! Where is it?!” He started to search around on the ground like a mad man while Tsui Man secretly smirked at him.
Kai and Cecilia glanced at Alex Wong strangely, wondering what this ‘pendant’ that he was desperately trying to find. Enraged, Alex Wong stopped searching, pulled out his gun, and shot at Kai and Cecilia. They dodged the bullets in time and quickly pulled out their guns and shot back at them multiple of times. Tsui Man, Alex Wong, and two of Tsui Man’s men dodged the bullets, but the other three men weren’t as lucky. The bullets had pierced through their head and chest areas, killing them instantly. All of them ran for cover and exchanged gunshots through the night until there were no more bullets left.
Tsui Man took out a small bomb that he made and threw it at them. They saw what it was and quickly dodged it, but the bomb exploded in mid air, forcing Kai and Cecilia to fly a couple more feet away. They landed hard onto the ground and became dazed by the explosion. Kai got up, but Tsui Man was already in front of him. He punched Kai’s stomach a few times and then threw a side hard punched to the right cheek. Kai staggered backwards and met Tsui Man’s other two men. The men teamed up with Tsui Man and continued to fight with him.
Meanwhile, Cecilia and Alex Wong exchanged fist fights. Alex Wong swung a couple of punches at her but she swiftly dodged them. Then she punched his abdominal followed by an upper cut to the chin. Alex Wong flew backward and hit the ground. He became dazed by the blow and shook his head to refocus. As he got up, small tint of blood was on his cornered lip, so he wiped it with his thumb.
Upset, he charged toward her. They exchanged more punches and kicks, bruising each other along the way. Then he secretly pulled out a big pocket knife from his back pocket belt and slashed her side arm. It started to bleed but that didn’t stop her. She ignored the pain and continued to dodge his knife strokes. He tried to stab her in front, but she grabbed a hold of his wrist and hit his chest area a couple of times. Weakened by her hits, she finally grabbed the knife from his hand and slit his throat. Blood started to ooze down as he made gargling sound. Then she ended it by stabbing him on the stomach with his own knife. He fell to the ground dead. Cecilia saw that Kai was still fighting with the three men and ran to join the fight. She jump kicked one of the men from the back and he fell uncontrollably to the ground. She helped Kai fought one of the men while he fought with Tsui Man and the other.
As Kai was fighting with them, Tsui Man took out his huge knife that hung from his side belt and slashed Kai on his collar bone and chest area. Tsui Man then tried to stab him, but Kai got a hold of the knife and knocked it out of his hand. The knife dropped to the ground and then Kai did a couple of combo hits on Tsui Man’s chest area, forcing him to stagger backwards. The other man charged at Kai, so he quickly picked up the knife from the ground and threw it like a dagger. It flew with great speed and pierced into the man’s chest. He fell to the ground and died instantly.
Cecilia was punched a couple of times on the face and body by the man and fell to the ground. As she was trying to get up, he picked her up by the neck and lifted her tiny body off the ground. Losing air circulation, she tried to pull his fingers out from her neck but his grip was too strong. Then she gave a hard kicked to his groin and he instantly let her go. She fell to the ground gasping for air while the man held onto his groin in pain. She saw that this was her opportunity to kill him, so she quickly ran behind him and wrapped her arm around his neck in a lock. She tightly squeezed his neck with her arm and the man started to lose air circulation. He raised his arms to try to grab her but couldn’t, and his vision started to blur. She then yanked her arms to the side hard and heard a ‘SNAP’. His neck broke and died.
Cecilia let go of the dead man and was sore and exhausted. She turned to see that Kai was getting beaten badly by Tsui Man, so she ran to help him. She intervened and started to fight with Tsui Man while Kai recuperated for a bit. Tsui Man finally kicked her and she flew, hitting the pillar. She bounced off of it and was on the ground, bleeding from the mouth by the hard impact. Kai saw that she was injured and charged toward Tsui Man. Although Cecilia was seriously injured, she got up and ran to join the fight.
All three of them got into a lock position, unwillingly to release each other’s grip. Suddenly, the hieroglyphic writings from the pillar glowed a bright white light, and where the celtic diamond-shaped symbol was, it glowed a bright green light. They turned and stared at the bright lights, frozen in awed. The lights became so bright that they began to squint their eyes. Then their bodies started to shine as bright as the lights until no outline of their human form were left to see. A couple of seconds later, the lights disappeared and everything was back to normal. However, the three of them had disappeared.
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CHAPTER 5: ANOTHER WORLD ANOTHER TIME
White clouds hovered slowly across the blue sky like floating cottons in the Valley of Mystic River. This river ran southward to all kingdoms, becoming one of the largest and deepest channels. It has a massive waterfall that was more than five hundred feet drop. Mortals called it, Mystic Falls that was knowingly by its enchanted beauty and destruction. Its clouded mists soared from the bottom like heaven, yet lied hidden beneath were deadly rocks, making it hard for anyone to survive if fallen. In the horizon, heavenly mountains filled the whole valley’s background like a huge painted canvas, making it breathtaking to be viewed. Different wildlife of species ruled this valley. Some were unknown and hidden in the eyes of Mortals for they do not want to be found, while other were friendly or curious lurkers when saw an unfamiliar face.
Up in the blue sky, it sliced opened by an invisible sharped object. A bright beam of light shone down at the raging river and spat Cecilia, Kai, and Tsui Man out into the Earth’s surface. At the same time, a huge surge of invisible energy shot across the blue sky. It was so powerful that the clouds moved away from the area with great momentum. The light disappeared and the opened sky mended itself closed.
The three of them splashed into the raging river and struggled as they swam to fight the current, but it was useless. Their tiny bodies meant nothing to the massive river, so it took them wherever it wanted them to go. Since Tsui Man was closer to the shore, he saw a dead tree laying at the edge of the river and quickly swam with all of his strength toward it. He grabbed a hold of the end of its trunk with one of his hands right before he passed it, and pulled his heavy body towards it. Finally, his body got close to the trunk and he quickly hugged it tightly with his dear life.
As for Kai and Cecilia, they were in the middle of the river, so their percentage in being saved was slimmer. Up ahead, they saw the huge waterfall and knew that they were in deep trouble. Their anxiety amped up and they started to panic.
Kai tried to find Cecilia in fear that I may be the last time he would see her; however, splashes of water kept covering his face repeatedly, forbidding him to reach her. Minutes later, the raging river threw them off the edge of the earth. It was a long drop, but it felt like seconds as they splashed into the water beneath them.
Underneath, Cecilia’s right side of the head hit hard on a sharped rock and opened a huge gash. Blood spurted out from her side head and mixed with water, creating a red trail with the current. She lost consciousness and the current swept her unmoving body away.
Kai survived the ordeal and slowly swam to shore. He pulled his drenched body out of water, and helplessly plopped onto the earth soil as he tried to catch his breath. He could smell the moist from the green grass and was relieved that he survived. Exhausted and weak, his vision began to blur and slowly slipped into unconsciousnes s as well.
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At the Black Forest of Wu Mountain, there was a tiny, yet long piece of red string tied from tree-to-tree all across the entrance of the forest. It acted as a fence barrier to forewarn anyone who stepped into its forbidden territory. It extended miles away through the vast forest, so wherever the forest stopped, that was where the red string would end also.
Up in the sky, the invisible surge of energy traveled to Black Forest and instantly broke the red string. Massive amount of demons in forms of different colors of ball trailed-smokes shot outward from the forest in every direction like missiles and disappeared.
A middle-aged man in fine red and gold clothing, along with his cohort of warriors, flew in front of the Black Forest and started to cast the “Wu Sealing Spell” on it. They did a hand scrutinized formation and out came a glowing yellow light along with a circular shaped seal from their hands. Inside the circle, it was divided into eighths and in each section were different strange-looking symbols. The seal expanded as it came out from their hands and blanketed the forest to trap the remaining demons. It was a struggle at first between them and the demons, but a couple minutes later, the forest was resealed again and the broken red string snapped together like magnets. Everything was back to normal, but puzzled faces grew among the group as they tried to figure out what just happened.
A broad shouldered man with scruffy beard walked toward the middle-aged man. “Your Majesty, what caused the string to break?”
The middle-aged man, Wen Jian Tao, was the King of the Wu Tribe in Zu Mountain. He wore the Wu crown made of gold that wrapped around his head to secure his long black hair, framing his squared face. In the middle of the crown, was the Wu’s tribal symbol of two red swirls that vertically mirrored the opposite from each other.
He has two trusted Chiefs that helped him run the Wu tribe. One was his blood cousin, Chief Wen He Ping, a very loyal and dedicated man in his early forties that oversaw the Wu people’s well beings. The other one was Chief Li Kang-the broad shouldered man with the scruffy beard. He was a loyal and ambitious man in his late forties that oversaw the Wu warriors and borders of Black Forest.
Jian Tao replied, “I don’t know. But whatever it was, I am afraid that most of the Demons had escaped from the Black Forest. Priest Grandmaster Huang will need to be informed about this.”
Jian Tao turned to his Chiefs and ordered, “Chief Wen, I want you to go check on the Demon Realm’s Seal and report it to me. I also want you to gather a couple of men and come with me to Mount Songgao.”
Chief Wen bowed his head, “Yes.”
Then He turned to Chief Li and continued his order, “Chief Li, I want you and the Wu warriors to guard the border of Black Forest while we are gone.”
Chief Li bowed his head also, “Yes.”
Jian Tao patted them on the shoulders and the Chiefs and the Wu warriors quickly walked back to the Wu tribe to prepare the orders. Jian Tao stood silently as he looked at Black Forest and pondered, “What would be that powerful to break the red string?”
It took ten years to finally capture every demons trapped in the Mortal Realm for the Realm to become peaceful again. Now that most of the demons had escaped, it was unknown if among, were some of the strongest and most powerful ones. He started to get worried, knowing that this was going to be another chaotic time for mortals again. He let out a big sigh and slowly paced himself back into the black forest to Wu Tribe.
---
Inside the secluded and hidden place of the Black Forest, Chief Wen stood in front of the thick vines that were filled with thorns and poisonous snakes. He waved his hands sideways at the area; the snakes slithered away quickly while the thorny vines opened like curtains to welcome him. He walked inside the area and the thorny curtains closed behind. Chief Wen reached to a dark area where there was no plant or animal life anywhere. There were only tall dead trees that looked like creepy creatures and dirt that was dark as night. It reminded him of how Demon Realm may have looked like from the stories that he had heard as a child-a place only cold and darkness existed. There was no life or rules. Death and sorrow was all that was there, making it one of the most tortured realms of all.
He finally reached to a lake that was filled with blood-like waters. They called this lake, “Bloody Devil Lake” because of its color and like the Demon Realm, there was no existence of life in the water also. As he got closer, a cold gust of wind blew onto his face and his hairs on his skin rose. Bravely, he focused on his task to now let fear take over him.
To see the Demon Realm’s portal, Chief Wen used the “Wu Eye Enhancement Spell” to open the hidden spiritual realm. When activated, he looked down at the Bloody Lake and saw the invisible portal. It was a circular-shaped sealed that had a gold-glowing light over it. He looked closely at the seal, observing to see if he found anything unusual. There was nothing odd from his observation, so he deactivated the spell and left the area to go back to Wu tribe.
Underneath the sealed portal revealed a small and well hidden crack that he had missed.
---
In the Wu palace bedroom, Jian Tao was getting ready for his departure. His queen, Fan Li Hua, walked in and saw him putting on his common robe. She was a woman in her late thirties, but looked far younger. Beautiful as a peony flower, she walked elegantly by taking small strides as her long red robe trailed on the ground behind her.
She came toward him and fixed his clothes to make sure he looked presentable to his people. He stared at her and smiled warmly while he stroked her soft porcelain cheek lightly with his fingers. She finished his clothes and raised her hands to grab his, feeling his warm flesh against her cheek one last time before he departed.
“Be safe out there my king,” she said.
He pulled her close to his chest and held her in his arms. He could smell her sweet mixture of floral fragrance from her body and already, he missed her. He held her even tighter as he kissed her on the forehead and replied, “I will, my love. Watch our people while I’m gone.” She smiled and nodded.
---
In the front of the palace, the Wu warriors and Chiefs stood patiently with the four horses. Jian Tao and Li Hua came out of the palace and were greeted by their men. Chief Wen walked in front of Jian Tao and bowed his head to report.
“Your Majesty, I didn’t see any signs of the Demon Realm’s seal being disturbed.”
Jian Tao nodded in relief. “That’s good news then. Let’s not waste any more time now.”
“Yes,” said Chief Wen. He turned to his side and extended his arms to direct his King down the steps to his horse.
Jian Tao turned to Li Hua and bid his farewell. Everyone bowed their heads and wished their king a safe journey. Then he walked with Chief Yao to join with the other two guards and rode off to Mount Songgao.
-
CHAPTER 6: MYSTERIOUS BEAUTIFUL STAR
“Stay alive for us…”
Cecilia woke up from hearing Kai’s voice. She tried to sit up on the bed, but was dizzy and plopped back down again. It took her a couple more tries until she finally sat up. She inspected the room and founded herself in an unfamiliar setting. The room was small and didn’t have much-only a wooden square table with four long rectangular chairs placed on each side, on the opposite corner were a couple of big wooden chests placed neatly against the wall, next to it was a blue blanket that covered the doorway, a window made out of squared rice paper, and the hard bed that she was on.
Then she started to have migraines. It felt like someone had taken a hammer and pounded hard on her head. She touched her right side of the head and felt a sharp pain. She yelped, and at the same time, felt a cloth wrapped around it.
Confused, she pondered, “What happen to me?”
Suddenly, a young man entered through the blanketed door carrying a tray with a small bowl on it. He saw her sitting up on the bed, “You’re finally awake,” and smiled.
Her eyes fixated on him, trying to figure who he was. The men looked as if he was in his early 20’s, slim body, and have an elongated face with sharped cheekbones. His black hair tied highly up into a bun and as for his clothes, he wore a brown rugged shirt tied with a black sash, and black pants.
“Where am I?” she asked.
He walked to the table and placed the tray there.
“You’re in the Yu residence of Chu Kingdom.” Then he picked up the small bowl and carefully walked toward her.
Her brow raised, “Chu Kingdom?”
She tried to recollect her thoughts, but her head hurts. The man sat next to her on the bed and handed her the bowl. “Here, drink this medicine while it’s still hot. It will minimize the headaches.”
Cecilia glanced down at the bowl and then back at him, hesitant in taking the medicine. He saw that she was unwilling and understood.
“I mean no harm, Miss.” He took a spoonful of medicine, blew to cool it down, and then sipped it to show her that he didn’t tamper it.
“See?” and gave her a big, goofy grin.
Cecilia searched deep into his umber eyes to see if she could find any faults in him, but there was none. He seemed harmless and took the bowl from him. She blew the medicine to cool it down and then sipped it. Her face scrunched up from the bitter taste.
He saw her facial reaction and chuckled, “I guess you’re not the type that likes to drink medicine.”
Then she did the unexpected. She placed the spoon down on the bed and forced herself to down the drink fast like a thirsty beast.
He got worried, “Be careful, you may burn your mouth.”
She ignored his warning and continued to drink from the bowl. Her mouth and throat burned as she took each gulp, but it was the only way she could taste the bitterness all at once. He was in awe to see a daring woman that would drank hot liquid down in seconds and didn’t retract. She handed it back to him and wiped her wet lips with her sleeves.
She cleared her throat. “How did I get here?”
“I found you unconscious nearby the shore and took you in,” he answered.
Unconscious? She pondered.
“My name is Yu Xing Fu. May I know your name Miss?”
She was going to answer him, but somehow she couldn’t. Her mind was blanked and couldn’t figure out why. She looked at him in distraught.
“Wh…why can’t I remember my name?”
She began to panic and grabbed a hold of his right arm tightly with her hands. His cheeks flushed red and felt his body getting hot.
In desperation, she demanded, “What’s my name?!”
Xing Fu didn’t know what to do. “D…Don’t worry. Physician Wei will be coming here shortly to check up on you, ok?” That was all he could say to comfort her.
He lightly grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her hands off of his arm, but her grip was too strong. She noticed what he was trying to do and immediately let him go.
“I’m sorry…” she shied away.
He shook his head and smiled, “It’s ok,” and rubbed his arm where she held.
Then an old man entered in the Yu residence, carrying a wooden box full of medicine on his back. He looked around and saw no one.
He stroked his grey beard and shouted, “Xing Fu, are you home? …Xing Fu!”
Back in the bedroom, Xing Fu heard a familiar voice calling his name and got excited. He turned to Cecilia. “He’s here. Wait here while I go get him.” He quickly got up and walked out of the room.
A few minutes later, Xing Fu came back in with the old man. She saw them and stared at the man to see if she recognized him, but nothing came to her mind.
They stood at the side of the bed. “This is Wei Li Yi. He is the Mu Village’s physician.”
“It’s my pleasure to finally see you awake,” said Physician Wei.
She gave a nod to acknowledge his presence. Xing Fu explained to Physician Wei of Cecilia’s situation and his eyes widened in surprised.
Stroking his beard, he asked politely, “Miss, may I check your pulse please?”
Cecilia didn’t hesitate and extended her arm. He placed his index and middle fingers on her wrist and focused on her pulse. Shocked by what he found, he quickly let go of her wrist and openly stared at her, wondering who she really is.
His stare made her nervous and uncomfortable. She gulped and asked, “Is something wrong with me?”
He brushed off the thought and answered, “Your injury to your head caused you to lose your memories. That is why you didn’t remember who you are,” he explained.
Appalled by what she had just heard, she slumped against the wall. She felt pain from the impact but didn’t care. The pain actually made her felt relieved, knowing that she wasn’t dreaming all of this.
Concerned, Xing Fu turned to Physician Wei, “There must be a way for her to regain her memories right?!”
Physician Wei noticed that Xing Fu seemed to care a lot for the woman’s wellbeing and had a huge grin on his face. “There are some ways…” he paused for a second and then continued, “…One thing you can do is to take her around the kingdom to see if her memories triggered anything.”
Xing Fu thought Physician Wei’s suggestion was brilliant and smiled excitingly. “I will do that!” Physician Wei laughed at Xing Fu’s enthusiasm and stroked his beard again.
Then he looked at Cecilia. “Flashbacks of your memories will come to you unexpectedly, so my suggestion is for you to record it on paper if can. It may help you on your journey to recovery. I will come once in a while to check on your progress. Make sure you drink the medicine that Xing Fu provides for your headaches daily.”
She nodded and thanked him for his help. Xing Fu happily escorted him out of his residence. While they were gone, Cecilia tried to recollect her thoughts again, trying to remember her name and how she got injured. Nothing came up in her mind, so she slammed her fist on the bed in frustration.
“What happened to me?!”
Xing Fu came back into the bedroom and saw her frustrated look. He walked and sat next to her.
“Don’t worry, you will regain your memories again,” assured Xing Fu.
She glanced at him and saw his warm smile. She relaxed and thought to herself, if he hadn’t found her on the shore, she would have been dead. She owed her life to him and slowly nodded.
“Good. I have a pair of clothes for you to get changed in.” He quickly walked to one of the wooden chests and opened it. Xing Fu grabbed a yellow folded outfit out of the chest and walked back to hand it to her.
“This was my late sister’s that I’ve kept. It’s never been worn by her. Take it”
She took the outfit from his hand. “Thank you.”
“I’m going to step outside so you can change. After you’re done, come out and eat.”
He turned around and left the room. One by one, she unfolded parts of the outfit and was baffled by the design. The clothes looked unfamiliar to her, so she let out a big sigh.
Thirty minutes later, she came out of the bedroom wearing the yellow outfit. From a distance, she saw Xing Fu setting the table with plates full of delicious meat and vegetables. She could smell the different aroma sauces that were used to prepare the food and was heavenly taken by it.
Xing Fu glanced up and saw her stood across the room, wearing his sister’s outfit. The sunlight snuck through the opened windows and shone uupon her, illuminating her whole body. He stood frozen and speechless with the last plate of food in his hands, wondering if he had saved a heavenly fairy instead. He snapped back to reality and placed the plate on the table.
He quickly walked toward her with a big smile on his face. “My sister’s outfit suits you well.”
She shyly thanked him for his compliment. Xing Fu then escorted her to the dining table and had her sat down. She stared at the colorful food and her mouth started to water.
“You’ve cooked all of this?”
He proudly admitted, “Yes I did.”
“It looks delicious,” she complimented.
Then her stomach growled, loud enough for Xing Fu to hear. He chuckled and she felt a bit embarrassed.
“I don’t blame your stomach for crying. You’ve been unconscious for a couple of days.”
She was in disbelief for being unconscious that long. Xing Fu noticed she was bothered by it and changed the subject. “Let’s eat.”
Each bite that she took from various dishes mesmerized her. The taste of herbal spices from the meat and the vegetable’s sweet sauce were delicious. Xing Fu watched her gobbled down each plate like nothing, and laughed slightly from her unlike lady behavior. As they ate, he kept glancing at her.
She caught him staring, and with her full mouth of food, she asked, “What?”
“I was wondering. I can’t call you ‘Miss’ all of the time, so how about giving you a name?”
She swallowed her food. “What name do you have in mind?”
Xing Fu started to think for a while, and then he got a name for her. “How about…XIAO in ‘Beautiful’ XING in ‘Star’…Xiao Xing. What do you think?”
She thought about the name, “Xiao Xing…” then she nodded, “I like it.” She gave him a big smile, showing her teeth, and was happy to finally have a name.
Xing Fu laughed joyfully, “Great!” He picked up some more vegetables from the dish with his chopsticks and put it in her rice bowl. “Here Xiao Xing, eat more.” She nodded and started to eat the vegetables that he had given her.
---
Cecilia stood in the center of all-white scenery, wearing her ivory satin nightgown. All she saw around her were thick white fogs and wondered where she was. As she slowly paced through the fog, she looked around to try spotting anyone that might come to view, but there was no one. She was alone.
Suddenly, images of her past memories projected from the fogs in front of her like a movie. She saw the time when Yang Kai Li kissed her on the cheeks, him putting the diamond necklace on her neck, them laying on each other’s shoulders, their passionate kiss, and his words “I love you”. However, in all of these images, their faces were blurred and unrecognizable for her to tell who they really were.
Then the images abrupt in flames and she jumped in sudden fright. The deadly flames began to spread everywhere around her. Frightened and disoriented, she tried to find an exit but it was too late; she was trapped. Flames got closer… and closer…until it finally engulfed her by its fiery wrath. She shrieked in agonized pain as it crept its way inside of her, devouring her flesh and tissue organs.
Cecilia woke up and quickly sat up on her bed, expelling in shuddered breath as a pool of sweat dripped down from her face and onto her clothes. She started to check her body for flames and found nothing. Relieved, she realized this was just a dream.
---
The rooster crowed, alarming everyone of a new day. Xing Fu woke up and sat on his bed half dazed. He yawned and stretched his arm. Then he sensed something was on his bed and quickly glanced to his side to see Cecilia sleeping there. He jumped back and hit his body against the wall, covering his mouth with his hands, and tried not to scream. He was bewildered by her strange behavior, but at the same time, stared at how peaceful and cute she looked sleeping. Careful not to disturb her, he got off the bed. Upon success, he pulled the blanket up to cover her and grabbed his day clothes. As he headed out of his bedroom, he turned one last time to look at her and thought about his reaction a while ago. He thought it was funny and chuckled silently. Then he turned around and left the room.
Hours later, Cecilia woke up from her peaceful slumber and looked around. There were more stuff in the room-painted pictures hung from the walls, more chests, a couple of bookshelves against the walls, and the on the bed, it was more decorative with white and blue cloths. She realized that she wasn’t in her room and panicked. She got out of bed and left the room in a hurry. As she opened the blanketed door, she recognized the parlor, relieved she was still in the Yu’s residence.
Questions started to float in her head as she tried to figure out how she slept in Xing Fu’s room. Then she remembered her nightmare from last night and how she felt afraid. Cecilia concluded that she must have come into his room and slept there, knowing that she felt safer being with him, than alone in her own bedroom. Xing Fu entered in from outside and saw her stood there in silence. Cecilia turned and saw him at the doorway. In his hands, he held a basket full of different fresh herbs that he picked up.
Embarrassed by the bed scene, she apologized. “I didn't mean to sleep in your room.”
“Don’t worry about it. You have your reasons. Now go and get wash up. After that, I will dress your wounds.”
She was surprised to see how nonjudgmental and calmed he was. She shyly nodded and walked straight to her room. Thirty minutes later, she came out and saw Xing Fu pounding the herbs he picked earlier with a pestle in a small, clayed mortar.
He glanced up and saw her stood there and stopped pounding. “Come here and take a seat,” and continued to pound the herbs.
She walked over and sat down next to him. The pungent smell from the herbs quickly stung her nose, so she leaned back and covered her nose with her hands.
“I know the smell is strong, but it is very effective to treat open wounds like yours,” he said.
“Are you also a physician as well?” she asked.
He laughed and shook his head. “No. Physician Wei had taught me some surviving skills when young.”
She became curious and wanted to know more about him. “Where’s your family?”
He stopped pounding and thought for a bit about his life. He responded in a sad tone of voice, “They died from sickness…Physician Wei tried to save them, but there was nothing he could do.” He continued pounding the herbs while talking to her. “After my parents and sister died, he took me in and taught me basic medicine skills to survive.”
“I’m sorry to hear of your losses, but why didn’t you stay with him in Mu Village?”
He finished pounding the herbs and grabbed a cleaned white cloth from the side. He laid it flat on the table and started to scoop the mixed herbs on top of it.
“I wanted to enjoy a simple life of being independent,” he answered while scraping the rest of the herbs from the mortar onto the cloth.
She understood and respected his decision. Xing Fu finished and turned to her. “I wish I can ask you about your life, but due to your circumstances, I know you cannot.”
She felt bad and sat silently with her head tilted down.
“Don’t worry about it.” Then he pointed at her and stared straight into her hazel eyes. “That is why I’m going to help you regain your memories. Now, let me replace the old herbs from your head wound,” he said.
She sat still while he came behind her. He carefully unrolled the cloth from her head. After it was off, he gasped. His eyes widened in shock and his body shuffled away a step or two from her.
His voice trembled and stuttered to find words. “H…How c…could this be? Y…Your wound…”
She saw Xing Fu’s face was white as a ghost and started to freak out. “You’re scaring me! What is it?”
“Your wound…the stitches…are gone…”
It was her first time feeling her bare wound so she raised her hand to touch the side of her head. She felt a long bump on her scalp and traced her fingers on it. There were no stitches and only a linear scar.
Her brows rose in confusion and affirmed, “Are you sure that there were stitches in the first place?”
His bobbled his head. “That day when I found you, your wound was opened and you had lost a lot of blood. Physician Wei came over and stitched your wound together. Since then, we’ve only applied herbs on it.” Then Xing Fu remembered her other wound and pointed at her arm. “You had a wound there also.”
She looked down at her arm and touched it puzzling. She shook her head, “I didn’t recall any wound there. In fact, after yesterday, my body didn’t ache anymore…”
“What about your headaches?”
She shook her head again, “No…it’s gone”
He looked dumbfounded and collapsed onto a nearby chair. He thought to himself, “How could somebody healed so quickly?”
He couldn’t explain it and stared at her, trying to figure out the cause. Feeling uncomfortable, she looked down to avoid his eye contact.
“Let’s go visit Physician Wei,” he said promptly.
-
CHAPTER 7: THE SWORN BROTHER
Mu Village was a place that had everything-from small vendors on the side streets, restaurants and inns for people to dine and stay, to different entertainments for the crowds to watch. Although it was a small village, visitors from different ethnicities loved to travel there to experience the leisure lifestyle and foremost, their infamous 10,000 years old wine from Plum Blossom Inn.
Amazed by all of this, Cecilia pointed out little things shouting, “Look at that!” or “I can’t believe that!” to Xing Fu to see. She was like a little child experiencing the outside world for the very first time, making him enjoyed her company.
“So far, do you see anything that looked familiar to you?” he asked.
Looking around, she scratched her head sadly. “No.”
“Cheer up, this is only the beginning. We still have the world to venture off to,” and gave her a big smile, showing his teeth.
They finally reached the open gate entrance to Physician Wei’s clinic. She stared at the huge red signage that hung above and saw the some strange writings on it. She pointed at it, “What does that say?”
He glanced at where she was pointing; then he turned to her surprised. “You can’t read?”
Feeling dumb, her smile quickly faded to a frown and tilted her head down. He placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
“Don’t worry. I can teach you how to read and write then.”
Her head rose up immediately from his words and was happy. He pointed his finger at her and gave her a serious look. “But promise me, no more frowning ok?” She gave an easy wide grin and nodded.
“Good.” He pointed at the characters from the signage and read it to her. “It says Wei.Chen.Clini c.” She carefully analyzed the strokes of the characters and repeated it a couple of times.
“Wei. Chen. Clinic.”
She clasped her hands together in excitement that she could read and Xing Fu chuckled at her reaction.
“So, shall we go in?” he said. She nodded happily and both of them walked inside the entrance gate.
As they walked through the front courtyard toward the clinic, Cecilia saw a young man sitting down across from an older woman. She saw that this man was youthful, possibly in his late teens at the most. The young man wrote something on a piece of thin paper. After he finished writing, he handed it to the old lady.
“Here is the prescription for your arthritis. Make sure to drink the medicine three times a day and come back for treatments.” The old lady thanked him and got up to leave.
Cecilia slightly turned her head to Xing Fu and whispered, “Who is he?”
“His name is Chen Guo Jing.”
“Chen Guo Jing…Isn’t he a little too young to prescribe medicine for patients?” she asked curiously.
Xing Fu laughed and she gave him a blank stare.
“He’s in his forties,” he answered.
Her jaw dropped, stunned by the young man’s age. She shook her head in disbelief. “Stop lying. He is NOT in his forties.”
“Trust me, he is. He aged very well.”
She crossed her arms in front and commented, “Too well!” as if she was a bit jealous of his youth.
Guo Jing saw Xing Fu and Cecilia stood a few feet away from him. He got up and walked gracefully toward them. As he got closer, she saw his skin-flawless to perfection with high cheek bones, his hair was longer than hers-silky jet black and half tied up with a silver head band, and his eyes-amber like wolf’s eyes. He was the most beautiful creature that she had ever seen. They met half way and the young man greeted them formally, extending his folded hands in front.
“Greetings Mr. Yu” and then he bowed his head at her and greeted, “Greetings Miss.”
Xing Fu greeted him back while Cecilia stood there speechless in awe of his beauty.
“She is a friend of mine, Xiao Xing. Xiao Xing, this is Chen Guo Jing, Physician Wei’s sworn brother.”
“It is my pleasure to meet you Miss Xiao. You can call me Physician Guo.”
He gave her a charming smile and she saw those dimples. Her heart thumped loudly and quickly covered her chest with her hands, hoping that he didn’t hear it. Guo Jing could tell that she was intrigued by his great looks and gave her a wider smile. Her eyes turned slightly away to avoid his stare and took a deep breath.
Then he looked at Xing Fu. “She must be the ‘Miss’ that lost her memories.”
Cecilia blinked profusely, surprised that her presence was already known by him. Anxious, she asked hastily, “How did you know?”
Guo Jing and Xing Fu laughed at her. “Brother Wei told me,” Guo Jing replied.
STUPID! Of Course he would know! They are SWORN BROTHERS! She felt like digging a hole to hide now.
Guo Jing didn’t want to embarrass her anymore and turned to Xing Fu. “What brings the both of you here?”
“We wanted to see Physician Wei. Is he around?”
Guo Jing shook his head, “He left up north to see a patient and won’t be back for a few weeks. Can I assist the both of you of anything?”
“Since you know about Xiao Xing’s serious head injury from Physician Wei, I won’t go much into details then…” Xing Fu directed his hands to Cecilia’s head for Guo Jing to see. “…It’s been only three days from the incident and already, her wound has healed greatly. I don’t understand how and hope you can shine a light upon this matter.”
From hearing the situation, Guo Jing got curious about her. “Come inside,” Guo Jing said calmly.
He took them into the clinic and she sat down next to the table. He looked at her and asked politely, “May I check your head wound?”
She blushed and nodded. He got up and stood behind her. With his fingers, he delved into her silky, black hair to locate the wound on her scalp. He found the wound and became astounded. The wound showed only a linear pink scar as if it was at the end of the last stage of healing. He saw no traces of stitches that his sworn brother Wei had told him before. Odd, he was lost at words.
He looked at her, “Let me check your pulse.”
She knew what to do. She pulled her sleeves up and laid her wrist on the table. He placed his fingers on her wrist. Then, he felt what Physician Wei had felt before, but MORE.
Guo Jing felt something strange happening to him. His eyes bulged out like it was going to pop out of his eye sockets and started to hyperventilate, so he quickly let go of her wrist. Then his perfect body crumbled to the ground in front of them to see. Xing Fu and Cecilia quickly got up from their seats to help Guo Jing up and grabbed his arms. Guo Jing felt Cecilia’s touch on his arm and violently pushed her away from him.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!” he yelled angrily at her.
She backed away and stood frozen in confusion. Xing Fu got upset at Guo Jing and let go of him to run to Cecilia’s side. Guo Jing dropped onto the ground again.
“Are you ok?” he asked her.
She nodded, “Go and help Physician Guo up.”
Xing Fu hesitated at first, but seeing her cared for Guo Jing’s wellbeing made him have no choice but to go help him. Xing Fu grabbed Guo Jing from the ground and helped him up to sit back on the chair. His breathing began to stabilize normally but narrowed his eyes at her.
She saw his hands on the table trembling uncontrollably and felt guilty. “I’m sorry…I…”
Guo Jing held his hand up to interrupt her. “Speak no more…”
Xing Fu asked Guo Jing, “What happened to you?”
Guo Jing carefully tried to find the words to answer Xing Fu and exhaled. “Brother Wei was right…” Xing Fu and Cecilia looked at each other puzzled. Guo Jing swallowed and continued, “Miss Xiao, unlike others, your qi is very special. If I had prolonged it any further…I would have…” His voice started to shake, “…died…”
A sudden coldness hit the core of her body. How could she have the capability of killing? It was one thing that she didn’t want it to happen. She shook her head as tears started to well up in her eyes. She promised Xing Fu that she would not frown anymore, but after hearing this, she could not control it. Xing Fu saw her troubled expression and walked toward her to comfort.
“Stop!” she warned Xing Fu. He yielded at her command.
“Xiao Xing…”
He took another step but she stopped him again. Her voice started to choke as tears started to roll down her cheeks.
“Don’t come any closer. I…I might kill you too…”
Guo Jing sighed in frustration. “Miss Xiao, your special qi can’t kill him, so you don’t need to worry!”
Both looked at Guo Jing confused. He continued, “…I’m not going to say anymore but trust me. Whatever you are, we fear.”
Cecilia pondered about his last sentence. “What does he mean ‘We’ and why did he identify her as ‘What’?” It didn’t make any sense to her so she needed to know.
“I don’t understand.”
Guo Jing didn’t want to talk anymore and waved his hand at them. “Please leave. I need to recuperate from the loss of my qi.”
Cecilia refused to leave until she got some answers. She took a couple of steps forward, but Xing Fu blocked her way, staring straight at her.
“Xiao Xing, let’s just go and wait until Physician Wei comes back.”
She wiped her tears and glared at Guo Jing coldly. Guo Jing was too afraid to look at her and stared at the far wall to avoid eye contact.
“Fine,” she said angrily.
They left the room and disappeared from his sight. Guo Jing buried his face in his trembling hands and repeated, “What is she? …What is she? …What is she?” He thought of all the possibilities of her identity. Only a god has that power…but she’s not one of them. His head started to pound heavily from thinking too much and massaged the temples of his head.
-
Ch 8 was the wrong ch. OmG. I will post the actual one on here. Sorry about that readers. Now you have a glacé of the future ch. lol.
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Hi Surikoo, I can tell you're a fan of Chrono Cross O0
Anyways, good story thus far. It may just be me, but I find it extremely hard following a scene when there are many characters (such as the fight scene you had in there). Then again there isn't exactly a great way of doing this without breaking the chapter up into many different sections each focusing on a different point of view. I can tell you love all your characters because each person seems to have some development or trait that is unique to them so I won't tell you to scrap things and write it from one view.
I enjoyed chapter 6. It may be because the focus is mainly around Cecilia that I find it easier to illustrate the scene in my head as I read along.
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Hi Surikoo, I can tell you're a fan of Chrono Cross O0
Anyways, good story thus far. It may just be me, but I find it extremely hard following a scene when there are many characters (such as the fight scene you had in there). Then again there isn't exactly a great way of doing this without breaking the chapter up into many different sections each focusing on a different point of view. I can tell you love all your characters because each person seems to have some development or trait that is unique to them so I won't tell you to scrap things and write it from one view.
I enjoyed chapter 6. It may be because the focus is mainly around Cecilia that I find it easier to illustrate the scene in my head as I read along.
Thanks for reading. Fighting scenes are hard for me. I am still trying to get a hang of it. Sorry the last ch 8 was the wrong ch. I will post the actual one later. My bad. But at least readers have a future look at the ch. :)
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Here is the actual ch 8. I apologize for the confusion.
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CHAPTER 8: MEETING HALFWAY
Jian Tao, Chief Wen, and their two guards camped at a nearby lake for the night. It had been three days already and they were halfway to the border of Shan Kingdom. Since Mount Songgao was located in the high northern parts of the kingdom, there was another four days until they finally reached to their destination.
As they slept soundly, the fire died down until there was only a streak of swirled smoke left. Then, in the middle of the glistening lake, two water demons quietly rose up from the water, molding into two female shaped bodies. There they saw four sleeping men around the dead bonfire and licked their watery lips, yearning for fresh meat. Their liquid arms began to extend on shore, like predators creeping at their prey, toward them.
As their arms slowly made onto land, the horses started to freak out and made some noises, alarming Jian Tao and the others. By the time they woke up, the two water demons had already wrapped their watery arms around the two guards’ feet and began to drag them into the lake. The two soldiers screamed in terror for Jian Tao and Chief Wen to help them. Jian Tao and Chief Wen quickly ran to grab their soldiers’ hands, but the water demons swung their other arms and struck them hard across their bodies. They flew like ragdolls, hit the nearby trees, and fell onto the ground injured. The terrified guards disappeared into the lake from their sight and quickly, the water demons dove down into the water to collect their food. Burst of blood mixed with water came gushing out of the lake like a huge fountain, throwing pieces of limbs onto land. Jian Tao and Chief Li watched in horror and knew that it was too late to save their men.
The water demons came out of the bloody waters. Their liquid body had transformed into their solid forms-hairs silvery white, skins leathery blue as the morning sky, eyes black as night, and teeth sharped as razors. They let out a banshee cry and extended their sharped claws in front, flying in great momentum toward them.
Chief Wen and Jian Tao worked on casting their “Wu Demon Binding Spell” when one of the demons swung her arm sideways. Out flew water-like daggers from her, aiming straight at Jian Tao and Chief Wen. They didn’t have time to finish casting the spell and quickly dodged the daggers. The daggers struck the dark ground and returned to its original liquid form. Then they sprinted to the bonfire to grab their swords. Jian Tao grabbed his Five Element Qi Sword and pulled the blade out of its sheath. The blade casted a luminous blue light to indicate that evil was close by.
The water demons landed on shore and started to fight with the both of them. Jian Tao used his sword and swung at one of the water demons. It disappeared into droplets of water and then reappeared behind him with her razor teeth close by his neck. He felt her cold breath on his skin and quickly swung his sword around. Again, it disappeared and reappeared behind him. This time, the water demon swung its sharped claws and scratched his back. He staggered forward and swung the sword around, missing it again, and fell onto his knees. He felt hot blood oozed down from his wounded back and it stung painfully, weakening him. Chief Wen saw that his king was in trouble and quickly swung his sword at the other water demon; it flew backwards to avoid being struck.
Then he quickly ran to Jian Tao’s side to help him up. The water demons regrouped and sniggered as they slowly made their way toward them. They began to taunt Jian Tao.
“Your highness, go back to your kingdom. You are too old for demon hunting.”
“Your highness, you are a pathetic Mortal Protector. Without the Five Element Qi Sword, you are nothing!”
Infused by their provoking words, Jian Tao gathered his qi into the Five Qi Element Sword. His blade ignited into a green, powerful flame-like torch. The water demons jerked their heads back and second thought about their comments.
Jian Tao swung his sword in an upward position and the earth beneath rumbled. Little pieces of earth rose up in the air in front of him, and with another swung of his sword sideways, the pieces flew at the water demons, turning into thousands of little sharped earth particles. The water demons’ faces struck with horror to know there was no escape even if they disappeared into liquid. In an instant, the pieces struck the water demons everywhere on their bodies until they became unrecognizable, and they let out a shrill cry of pain.
Then Jian Tao flew toward one of them and stabbed it in the chest. The water demon let out a deadly shriek and disintegrated into ashes. In fear, the other injured water demon didn’t want to encounter the same fate as its companion and turned around to flee back to the lake. Weaken and badly wounded, Jian Tao had used up most of his qi already and couldn’t chase after it.
Chief Wen finally casted the “Wu Demon Binding Spell” and his entire body lit a gold aura; then it went into him. He flew to chase after the water demon and caught up with it. His hand grabbed a hold of its ankle and pulled it away from the lake. In rage, the water demon turned around and swung its claws at him. He swiftly turned his body to avoid the hit and came behind the water demon. With his palm, he hit the demon’s shoulder blade hard and it flew to the ground, lying next to Jian Tao. The water demon struggled to get up but couldn’t. The binding spell had bound its body onto the ground like a prisoner.
Jian Tao forced himself to get up and slowly walked toward it, dragging the green aura sword on the ground. When he finally reached to the water demon, he raised his sword up high, the point aimed down at the water demon.
Fueled by rage he said, “This is for my men.”
The blade plunged deep into its heart. The water demon let out an agonized shriek of pain and disintegrated into ashes. The green aura from the Five Element Qi Sword disappeared and became a regular sword again. Jian Tao collapsed onto his knees and held on to his sword to support his weight as Chief Wen rushed to his side. He got a hold of Jian Tao and felt his back drenched with blood.
“Let me see your wound.”
Jian Tao nodded and Chief Wen helped him take off his bloody common robe. With the moon as their only source of light, he saw the wounds on the back and became horrified. It was deep flesh wounds and white bones were visible for him to see.
Chief Wen got worried, “Your Highness…We will need to abort this mission and go back to heal you…”
Jian Tao shook his head in pain, “No. Mortal lives are in danger…Use what we have to tend the wounds.”
Chief Wen hesitated and was concerned about his king’s health, “But you won’t make it!”
“THAT’S AN ORDER!” Jian Tao shouted in frustration.
Chief Wen lowered his head and replied softly, “Yes, your highness…”
Chief Wen hurried to grab the medicine bag from his horse’s saddle when all of a sudden, a blue light shone brightly from the corner of his eye. He turned and saw that it was the Five Element Qi sword, glowing, and on the ground, was Jian Tao’s body.
A few feet behind Jian Tao, was a very tall and slender demon-skin paled as a ghost and his hair was the deepest black that reached down to his knees. He wore a long cloak that covered his whole entire body, except for his head. Chief Wen knew what it was. A Night Lurker-one of the blood sucking demons that only came out at night to seek for mortal’s blood. No matter if a mortal was freshly dead or alive, if it smelled blood, it would come and drained the life out of a mortal until no dropped was left.
Chief Wen yelled angrily at it, “GET AWAY FROM HIM!”
The Night Lurker saw Chief Wen and hissed at him, showing his razor teeth and blazing dark as night pupils. Although he was too far out of reach to help Jian Tao, he had to stop this blood thirsty demon from killing him. It was about to grab Jian Tao when all of a sudden, a blade protruded from its heart. Chief Wen stopped at his track, shocked by what just happened. The Night Lurker died and disintegrated into ashes and the Five Element Qi Sword’s blue aura disappeared. Stood behind, revealed two Elder Priests that he recognized-Elder Shi and Elder Tao.
They were the Elders of Taoist Sect from Mount Songgao whom were loyal students of Grandmaster Huang Zhi Wei. It was a coincidence meeting them, but he was glad to see them. Chief Wen quickly ran toward them with the medicine bag in his hand.
He bowed his head and folded his hands in front. “Thank you for saving his highness Elders.”
The Elders saw Jian Tao on the ground and recognized him immediately. Elder Tao quickly kneeled down to check Jian Tao’s pulse and was relieved. “He’s unconscious, but had lost a lot of blood. We need to take him back to get healed.”
Elder Shi asked Chief Wen, “What happened here?”
“A while ago, we were attacked by the water demons and his highness got wounded during the fight,” explained Chief Wen.
Elder Shi turned to Elder Tao, “Since it’s very late, let’s rest here for the night to treat King Wu’s wounds.”
Elder Tao agreed. He extended his arms and in full concentration, he locked his hands together and chanted the “Taoist Protection Spell”. A huge half transparent bubble came out of him, and it grew large enough to protect them and the horses. Demons that lurked inside the bubble became ashes right away. Chief Wen’s was in awe by the Taoist’s magical spell. Comparing to Wu Tribe’s protection spell, where it only protected the individual, the Taoist’s protection spell protected within a hundred feet radius.
---
Elder Shi started a fire, while Elder Tao and Chief Wen tended Jian Tao’s wounds. Elder Tao poured some white powder medicine on his opened wounds and then bandaged him tightly. Around the open fire, they sat down to keep themselves warm for the night. Chief Wen told them about their purpose in traveling to Mount Songgao and the Elders were stunned by news.
Elder Shi turned to Elder Tao, “The demons are spreading in all directions of the world. Grandmaster Huang will need to be notified quickly to send the alarm out to others.”
Elder Tao agreed. He took his horsetail whisk out and stroked his hand on the horsetail forward. It stiffened like a paint brush and then he started to write a letter in the dark sky. After he was done, the characters from the letter formed into a white dove and it flew away to deliver the message back to Mount Songgao.
Chief Wen was amazed by all of this and joked with Elder Tao. “If Wu Tribe could do this, it could have saved the time and trouble for us to travel.”
Elder Tao laughed and stroked his gray short beard. “We have different masters so we learned different spells and techniques.”
Chief Wen also laughed and agreed. Then Elder Tao thought about the Black Forest. It didn’t make sense of how the red string could be broken that easily. No one, even mortals, could break it except the creator herself; Wu Li Ling-a fallen immortal goddess of the Celestial Realm. She was the one that created the infamous demon trap for demon hunters to use after the Demon Realm was sealed off. Then he glanced at the Five Element Qi Sword on the ground next to Jian Tao and thought about its magnificent powers.
“The Five Element Qi Sword is one extraordinary blade made with 5 elements mixed with goddess Wu Li Ling’s blood…Once the sword finds its new owner, only he can use its powers until his last breath is taken away…” Elder Tao sighed as he reminisced the past. Then he continued, “…Wu Li Ling was one admirable goddess to mortals…”
Elder Shi and Chief Wen agreed with him and nodded. They knew the history of different realms battling for the sake of Mortal Realm. Some wanted to destroy it, while others wanted to save it. Like goddess Wu Li Ling and the other gods, they sacrificed their immortality to live among mortals and helped rebuild what once was completely destroyed, in their eyes.
Elder Tao glanced up in the night sky and stroked his beard. “Mortals do not live eternity as gods, yet when gods become fallen immortals, they die earlier than us.”
“Aren’t there still some Fallen Immortals left in our Realm?” Chief Wen asked.
“That is unknown; but if there are any, they are the ones that have strong will to live.” Elder Tao looked at Jian Tao’s sleeping body and let out another sigh, “King Wu will have to choose a new Mortal Protector for the Five Element Qi Sword soon. He cannot do this for long.”
---
The next morning, Jian Tao woke up and turned to see Chief Wen preparing the horses. Next to him was the Taoist Priests, so Jian Tao called Chief Wen’s name in his hoarse voice. Chief Wen and the others heard him, turned around to see Jian Tao fully awake, and rushed by his side.
Jian Tao tried to get up but was too weak. “You’re Majesty, let me help you,” said Chief Wen.
Chief Wen lifted his body carefully up so he could sit. Jian Tao recognized the two Taoist priests and was happy to see them. “Elder Tao…Elder Shi…”
The Elders bowed their heads. “Greetings your Majesty.”
“Now that the both of you are here, we do not need to go to Mount Songgao anymore,” Jian Tao joked.
Elder Tao laughed at him, “Old friend, you still know how to joke at a time like this.”
Chief Wen turned to Jian Tao in excitement. “Your Majesty, Elder Tao had sent a letter to Grandmaster Huang about Black Forest.”
Jian Tao looked at the Priests and was relieved. He being worried of not able to accomplish the mission was over and thanked them for their help.
“Let’s take you back home and get yourself healed,” said Elder Tao.
Jian Tao nodded. All three of them helped him get up and walked him to his horse. He tried to get on the horse but was very weak, so they helped him by carefully pushing and pulling him up until he got on. They got on theirs and the four of them rode back to Wu Tribe.
-
Personally, I think fight scenes are fun to write, but they're a bit of a bore to read and they tend to detract from the story. When I write fight scenes I try to make them short and if a character has a signature move, weapon, or strategy I try to include that to add novel value.
This seems like it would make for a great video game. :)
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CHAPTER 9: WHO AM I?
Cecilia stood in front of her bedroom wall, staring at the drawings that she drew from her dreams. They filled half of the wall, making it looked like a montage for her to look. There was one particular image that she fixated on. It was an image of a faceless couple, a man putting the heart necklace on the woman’s neck, and she reached to touch it. Her fingers traced the outlines of what she drew, pondering who they might be that visited in her dream.
Xing Fu entered into her room to check on her. He saw her stood across the room, with her back towards him, like a statue. Ever since the incident with Guo Jing, Xiao Xing had withdrawn herself from him and hadn’t been eating for days. He felt bad and wished that they had never gone to the clinic in the first place if he knew this was going to happen. On the wall, he saw her drawings; she had turned his wall into a wallpaper of art, making it unrecognizable to him. He walked toward her and stood next to her.
“You drew these?”
“Yes,” she answered sadly.
He saw her hand placed on the drawing of the couple and scratched his head. “Why didn’t you paint any faces on them?”
“In my dream, they were faceless.”
“Oh…” Then Xing Fu saw something on the wall that intrigued him. It was a picture of the heart necklace and he pointed at it.
“Hmm…I’ve seen this before.”
She raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him. “Where?”
He remembered something and hit his forehead with his hand, “Stupid me! Wait here. I needed to give it to you.”
He turned around and left her bewildered by his strange behavior. What does he mean ‘give’? Unknowing what it may be, she waited patiently for his return. A couple of minutes later, Xing Fu came back with a wooden box in his hands. He placed it on the table and lifted the lid up. Inside were her folded set of clothes and boots that she wore before she came to Mortal Realm, and in the center, was the diamond heart necklace. It was the exact duplicate from her dream.
“You wore these when I found you,” he said.
She slowly picked up the necklace and felt the smooth texture from the small diamonds against her fingers. Besides seeing it in her dreams, there was something familiar about its meaning, but she couldn’t grasp what it was.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about this earlier. I had forgotten about it when I was…” He started to blush and continued, “…worrying about you…”
Cecilia gave him a warm smile, “I understand.”
With one hand still holding on to the necklace, she touched the folded outfit with her other hand. She felt the smooth leather shirt against her hand and just like the necklace, it felt familiar to her.
“I must say, I’ve gone to many vast lands but had never seen any clothes like yours. You must be from somewhere far.”
She thought about what he said and remembered the different ethnic groups of people she saw at Mu Village, wondering if she was also from a similar place like theirs.
Xing Fu continued, “…and as for the faceless couple that you drew, I believed the woman is you and the man must be…” he hesitated to say it and took a deep breath. In a low tone of voice, he continued, “…someone that you loved.”
“loved?”
Her smile got wider, knowing that there was a little hope for her. The mystery man was the only one that might know who she was.
“I need to find him.”
His heart dropped to his stomach for a bit from hearing her words. For the past week of knowing Cecilia, he had developed feelings for her and hoped to know more about her. Now that he knew she might have a lover, it became hopeless for him. Xing Fu valued high respect for others, so for him to take another man’s woman, especially in Cecilia’s situation, was unfair and too cruel.
He faintly smiled, “I will help you then.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
---
In her bedroom she wore her black outfit and necklace and looked at herself in the small mirror. The clothing style looked very different from what she was used to or anyone else that she had seen. They were tighter and single layered. She touched the necklace and asked herself, “Who am I?”
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CHAPTER 10: THE EPIDEMIC
At Mount Songgao’s Taoist sect that night, Grandmaster Huang was in his chamber meditating. He was the oldest master of the Taoist sect and many gave him the nickname, “The Great White One”, due to his all-white appearance-White robe, white hair, white eyebrows, and white long beard. He may seem like a frail old man, but he was the most powerful Taoist master in the sect. One hit on a man could cause the man to lose his life instantly. He was also a man of great wisdom, renown throughout all the kingdoms.
Elder Tao’s white dove flew into Grandmaster Huang’s chamber and circled up on the ceiling to get his attention. His eyes opened and he looked up. When it finally got his attention, the words from the dove began to unravel into the letter for him to see.
"We met King Wu and Chief Wen and King Wu was severely injured during a demon attack. We were notified that the Black Forest’s demon trapped was broken and most demons had escaped. We are taking King Wu back to Wu Tribe to get healed. -Elder Tao”
After he read the letter, he waved his arm up in the air sideways and the letter dispersed into many little particles before it vanished completely. Worried, he called his student that was standing guard outside of his chambers.
“Li Wei.”
Li Wei entered in and bowed in front, “Yes Grandmaster?”
“Tell Elder Tung to come see me.”
“Yes.” Li Wei turned around and left.
Moments later, Elder Tung got the message from Li Wei and entered in and greeted Grandmaster Huang.
“The demons from Black Forest had escaped. Send an alert to all kingdoms and demon hunters.” he ordered.
Elder Tung’s eyes widened in surprised of the news. “Yes, Grandmaster Huang,” and hurried out of the chamber. Grandmaster Huang stared out of the window at the clear night sky.
“This time, we must protect this realm without the help of the Celestials.”
---
Jian Tao and the others reached the entrance of Wu Tribe and were glad to be back home. Jian Tao looked exhausted from his encounter with the water demons. His face was deadly pale, but his will remained strong for his people to see. On each side of him rode Chief Wen and Elder Tao, to keep a close eye on him just in case he collapsed. The Wu people were full of joy to see their king returned home safely and bowed as he made his grandeur entrance.
In the palace, Queen Li Hua heard of Jian Tao’s return and anxiously hurried to meet him. When she got to the main entrance of the gate’s palace, her joyful face became horrified when she saw his condition. Streamed of tears quickly fell down to her cheeks as she ran toward him. Jian Tao saw her and bravely gave her a weak smile. Li Hua quickly embraced him, digging her face into his chest as she wept.
“I’m still alive so don’t cry my love,” he said softly as he cradled her in his arms. She nodded and tried to stop crying. He slowly pulled her away from him and wiped her tears.
Elder Tao walked up to Jian Tao, “Your Majesty, we should take you to Immortal Tears right away.”
Jian Tao slowly nodded. Chief Wen and Elder Tao helped him go inside the palace, while Li Hua and Elder Shi trailed behind them.
---
Deep inside the palace walls was a hidden, sacred cave called Immortal Tears. Inside was a pool of pure crystal water hidden beneath a thin layer of fog. There were strange but beautiful green foliage that surrounded the cave. It danced lively back and forth like seaweeds in the ocean while small yellow dots of lights emitted to the surface like fireflies. Growing next to the foliage were flowers made out of different neon colors and sizes. They were transparent, like jelly fishes on stems, swaying gracefully with the foliage.
Alone in the cave, Jian Tao’s body soaked in the crystal water while he meditated. The healing water slowly healed his deep back wounds. After six hours later, his wounds was completely healed and he opened his eye, feeling refreshed as if he had just woken up from a deep slumber. He got out of the water and dressed.
Li Hua and the others stood patiently outside of the cave. Minutes later, they saw him coming out revived and were glad to see him. Li Hua quickly hugged him tightly crying happily while he stroked her back to comfort her.
“Welcome back Your Majesty,” said Elder Tao as he smiled.
Jian Tao pulled Li Hua away and held her hand as he turned to them. “I’m glad to be back.”
“Your Majesty, Chief Wen had told us about the Black Forest. We would like to access the forest with your permission,” said Elder Tao.
“You have my permission.” Jian Tao turned to Chief Yao, “Take them to the guest rooms and make sure they are properly taken care of during their visit.”
Chief Wen bowed, “Yes.” Chief Wen directed them out of the cave while Jian Tao and Li Hua stood silently as they watched them leave.
“Elder Tao told me what happened to you,” she said.
“I’m sorry that I’ve made you worried,” he replied. Then he kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly in his arms again.
---
News of the demon epidemic spread like wildfire from the Taoist sect and people’s personal encountered with demons. By the end of two weeks, most kingdoms were alerted and hung powerful talismans around their cities. Meanwhile, Demon Hunters from different sacred sects and tribes used their wits and bravery to roam through every part of the kingdoms to capture or kill demons. Some died during their demon encounters, while others continue to protect their Realm from these infested demons.
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CHAPTER 11: THE SECRET
Chickens flew everywhere as Cecilia tried to catch them. She caught one by its wing. It struggled to be free like a mad chicken and startled her. She quickly released it and it landed onto the ground, scurrying away from her. Cecilia placed her hands on her hips, upset of this whole situation. It has been almost an hour of unsuccessful attempt in catching these chickens. She thought it would be nice to cook for Xing Fu since he had been taking care of her for the past few weeks. However, these chickens wouldn’t let her catch them without a fight.
She brushed loose strand of hair from her face and wiped the sweat from her forehead. A chicken slowly walked passed her and she knew it was the perfect opportunity to catch it. In silent, she crept slowly like a predator behind it. Suddenly, she leaped in the air like a pouncing cat and down she went to grab it. The chicken was quicker and escaped, making her grab ground dirt instead. Frustrated, she slammed her hands on the ground.
She knelt and stared helplessly at the chickens. “I understand that you do not want to be on top of someone’s plate, but today is special. I want to cook for your master to show my gratitude for all he has done for me, so please…PLEASE understand this. Just give me face for today uh?”
Although it was silly talking to chickens, it was the only way she could vent her frustration to them. As she was going to give up, one of them clucked its way toward her and stood there. Her face upturned and clasped her hands together with joy. She swooped down to grab it quickly, to her amazement, it didn’t run away. She held it like a baby, gently petting it as she got up.
“OH THANK YOU! I promise that you will be the best dish for your master!”
Excited, she walked back inside the house to prepare the feast.
---
Xing Fu woke up and turned to his side to see if Cecilia was sleeping next to him, but she wasn’t. A part of him was relieved that she wasn’t here, but then, another part wished she was. Ever since the first time she slept on his bed, he couldn’t shake the feeling off of seeing her beautiful face close to his. Now, it became a regular routine of anticipation, where every morning he would wake up and hope to see her presence. His face beamed just thinking about it.
After getting ready, he walked out of his bedroom. To his surprise, he saw Cecilia putting plates of food on the table.
She turned and saw him standing at his bedroom door. “Good morning,” she smiled, showing her teeth.
Xing Fu could tell that she was in a very good mood today. Since Guo Jing’s incident, in the last couple of weeks, they had been traveling to nearby villages in search of her lost memories and the faceless man and came back with no results. She had been disappointed and exhausted throughout this journey, so it was great to see her happy again.
He walked to the table of food and greeted her. Then both of them sat down.
He saw her face smeared with dirt and lifted his brow. “What happen to your face? It’s dirty.”
She didn’t notice that her face was dirty and quickly used her sleeves to wipe her face clean.
“I was trying to catch chickens.”
He laughed and joked, “Chickens?! They sure gave you a hard time.”
She was offended and instinctively punched his arm.
“Ow…” He rubbed his arm.
Surprised by the unexpected punch, she was about to apologize but held back instead. She crossed her arms in front and huffed upsettingly. “You deserve it.”
Xing Fu chuckled a bit and apologized for offending her. Not wanting to upset her any further, Xing Fu decided to focus on the array of food before him. He had a satisfying look on his face.
“Mmm…smells good. Let me try your hardworking food.”
Her face lit up from hearing his compliment. Then she picked up a roasted chicken thigh with her chopsticks and placed it on his bowl of rice.
“This chicken offered itself to be food, so I promised that it will be the best dish for you.”
He tried not to laugh and gave her a tight smile instead. He didn’t want to be punched by her again since he knew she would get offended. He grabbed the chicken thigh from his bowl while Cecilia nervously watched, and then he took a bite. His eyes widened as he felt his mouth stung like it was about to explode and started to cough.
Scared, she got behind him and patted his back. “Are you alright?”
Still coughing and gasping for air, he grabbed the empty cup on the table and held it up.
“Wa…Water!”
She quickly grabbed the cup, poured water in it, and then handed it to him. He grabbed the cup and drank it in one gulp. After he placed the cup back on the table, he grabbed his bowl of rice and started to gobble it down to cool down the spiciness.
He cleared his throat. “That chicken was spicy,” and then he coughed a couple more times again.
“I must have used too much pepper then.”
She picked up some vegetables from another plate and placed it in his bowl. “Here, try this instead.”
Worried that it maybe spicy too, he hesitated; but then he thought about not wanting to disappoint her and bravely took a bite of the vegetables. His face scrunched up, giving a souring look. Quickly, he poured a cup of water and drank it while she stared at him speechless.
Xing Fu placed the empty cup on the table and asked, “Did you taste any of these foods before serving?”
She thought about it and shook her head.
“Try it so you will know.”
Slowly, she picked up a piece of vegetable with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Her face started to scrunch up like his from the saltiness and immediately spat it into her rice bowl. He poured a cup of water for her; she took it and drank it right away.
“Have you ever cooked before?”
She scratched her head and thought about it. Nothing came up in her mind so she shook her head.
Feeling disappointed, she lowered her head and spoke softly, “I only wanted to show my gratitude…”
He gently held her wrist that was on the table. “Xiao Xing…” She glanced at him with those puppy eyes and pouting lips.
“I am touched by your thoughtfulness, thank you,” he smiled.
She blushed and then turned to the food. “Let me throw these foods away then since it’s not good.”
She stood up but Xing Fu didn’t let go of her wrist. Cecilia raised her eyebrows. In his sincere voice, he said, “You have put so much effort into this, so I am not going to have it be wasted.”
“But…”
He shook his head. “No buts. Sit and enjoy the food with me.”
She slowly sat back down and he let go of her wrist. Cecilia observed him pulling the skin off from the chicken and then he took another bite of the meat. This time he wasn’t gasping and coughing like before.
“Although it is still a little spicy, it’s actually not that bad.”
She was relieved from his compliment. Then he grabbed the other thigh on the plate and started to pull off the skin again.
“Taking off the skin will minimize the spiciness.” After the skin was off, he put it in her bowl. “Now try it.”
She took a bite of the meat and could taste a little bit of the pepper.
“If you want, I can teach you how to cook. Then you can cook whatever you want for me.”
Happy, she nodded and continued to chew on the meat. Xing Fu glanced at her neck and saw the heart shaped necklace.
“I see that you have been wearing the necklace for a couple of weeks now.”
She stopped eating and looked down at the heart necklace. She placed her fingers on the necklace and felt the stones.
Her face sombered. “Besides the clothes, it’s the only piece that I felt connected with my past.”
Xing Fu saw her expression and didn’t know why, but felt a little jealous of this faceless man, knowing that the faceless couple from the drawing was she and the faceless man. Not wanting to overreact because of jealousy, he let it go and reminded himself that he was only her friend.
“You will find him.”
His words seemed unbelievable. She thought that the task of finding her memories and the man would be easy, but it was harder than she thought. At the end, her hopes became slimmer. Upset, she placed the chicken thigh down in her bowl and folded her arms in front.
“It has already been weeks with no success…I don’t know how he looks like, so what makes you so hopeful that I will find him?”
“If there’s a will, there’s a way. If you and the faceless man’s love is strong, the both of you will be reunited again no matter what the circumstances are.”
Love. She asked herself, how could she feel the love that was lost? If she did find him, would that feeling come back? What if it didn’t?
He placed his hand on her shoulder, “I know you are tired, but you have to be patient and don’t lose that hope…”
His encouraged words made her felt hopeful again and she let out a big sigh.
“You’re right. I have to.”
Then there was a knock on the door. Both glanced up to see Physician Wei peering inside through the open door, smiling at them.
“Good morning!”
Xing Fu got up and went to greet him. Physician Wei saw Cecilia standing by the table and greeted her as well. She was upset at him for not telling her about her special qi. She had to find out the hard way by unknowingly endangering Guo Jing’s life because of him. She kept her cool and greeted him.
Physician Wei saw the table was full of food and felt bad. “I apologize if I came at a bad timing.”
She shook her head, “No, you came at the right time,” and curled her lip.
He could smell the sweet aroma coming from the food. “It smells good.” Tempted, he turned to Xing Fu, “May I?”
Xing Fu glanced at her speechless of what they should do. She wanted Physician Wei to go ahead and try the food to get even with him, but she knew Xing Fu would be very upset at her. She grabbed a couple of plates of food off from the table to it looked like she was cleaning up instead.
“Actually, these foods are cold already so it isn’t good anymore. Xing Fu can make another dish for you instead.”
Not wanting Physician Wei to have the same fate as Xing Fu, he nodded agreeing with her. “Yes, let me make a dish for you.”
Physician Wei chuckled, “That is ok. You don’t have to. Actually, I needed to get back to the clinic and help Brother Guo after my visit here. Lately, we have an increase number of people coming to Wei Chen Clinic to get treated because of the demon epidemic.” He sadly sigh thinking about it.
“Demons?” Xing Fu and Cecilia exclaimed in unison.
Cecilia placed the plates back on the table and walked toward the men to listen more. Physician Wei figured that they were clueless of what has been happening. “The both of you must have not heard about the news then.”
“We’ve been busy traveling in search of Xiao Xing’s memories. Can you enlighten us?”
“A couple of weeks ago, demons escaped from the Black Forest…” He looked away and shook his head as he sighed in sadness. “It’s unfortunate that in some kingdoms, the alert reached to them too late. Many demons had massacred, inhabiting them as their own.”
Then he turned to them again and glanced at Cecilia with a strange look on his face. He tried to figure out a reasonable explanation of their safe traveled without demon protection. Physician Wei pushed that thought to the side and pulled out from his shirt pocket, two small gold circular objects that have strange symbols engraved on it. It dangled in the air by red strings for Xing Fu and Cecilia to see. Xing Fu knew what it was.
“Talismans?”
Physician Wei nodded. “Everyone has to protect themselves from being killed by wearing talismans again.” He handed it to them, “Here, take them. It’s a good thing that I’ve bought extras.”
Xing Fu grabbed the talismans from him and handed one to Cecilia. To her surprise, the little talisman felt heavy in her hand. Physician Wei took out another talisman from his shirt pocket. This one was as big as his palm and handed it to Xing Fu.
“Place this on your door entrance to ward off demons.”
Cecilia quirked her eyebrows and crossed her arms in front. “I’m sorry, but do you people really believe these things?”
The atmosphere changed to a silent eerie feeling as all eyes were on her, making her felt uncomfortable. They wondered where she had been over the past many years. This has been a constant battle with demons for centuries. Their ancestors had passed knowledge and experiences to their decedents in preparing to protect themselves for this very situation.
Physician Wei stroked his grey goatee beard, and in his serious tone of voice, he spoke, “Miss Xiao, you may not believe these things, but I assure you that demons are real…” he pointed out the door at the direction where Mu Village was. “…At my clinic right now are people that have been seriously wounded or dead by these demons. Some were scratched or have bite marks that no type of animals could have done it. If you want, you can venture out there without the talisman to figure if demons are real then.”
Skeptic as she, somehow his words gave her the shivers. She didn’t want to pursue in upsetting him anymore and stood in silence. Physician Wei stared at her and shook his head with a sigh of disappointment .
There was a moment of silent and then Xing Fu asked, “Do you want me to help you and Physician Guo?”
Physician Wei nodded. “The more hands, the better.” Then he glanced at Cecilia. This time he had calmed down.
“Miss Xiao, Brother Guo had told me what had happened. I know that you are probably upset at him for what he did, but he had his own reasons for not revealing more information to you.” He stroked his beard again. “In fact this is the reason I am here. I wanted to tell you and Xing Fu all that I know in hope that it will help ease a little about your identity.”
She didn’t know why, but she started to get nervous. Is she ready? She had anticipated for this very moment of the secret that Physician Wei and Guo Jing kept from her. She took a deep breath to shake off the nervous feeling. She needed to know and bravely answered, “Thank you.”
---
The dining table was cleared and they sat down. Xing Fu and Cecilia were ready to hear whatever Physician Wei had to say.
“Miss Xiao, Brother Guo told you that you have a special qi flowing in you. I’ve also felt it when I first checked your health. As you saw what happened to him that day, it took a huge toll on him…” He paused and stroked his beard. Then he continued, “There is something special about you Miss Xiao. Brother Guo told me that this special qi is something that you have inherited.”
Inherited? Surprised, she wished she had regained her memories. Then at least she knew her family’s heritage of where this special qi came from. Now, it was only a mystery that she had to wait to be solved.
Physician Wei sighed as he gathered the right words to say next. “What I am going to tell the both of you is a secret about Brother Guo. Miss Xiao, this will help you understand your special qi.”
They lend their attentive ears to hear what Physician Wei had to say about his sworn brother.
“It’s his secret, and because of your special qi, he has allowed me to speak about it, though it is imperative that this must not be spoken of outside of these walls.”
Xing Fu and Cecilia gave an affirmed nod. “We will,” he replied.
Physician Wei continued, “Brother Guo almost died that day by Miss Xiao’s special qi because he’s very different.”
Flashback of Guo Jing checking her health came rushing into her mind like a flood-Guo Jing fell to the ground hyperventilati ng, his horrific facial reaction, and his trembled voice saying that he almost died when checking her health. How different was he? She pondered.
“Miss Xiao…” She glanced at Physician Wei. “Besides your rapid healing, your special qi can also kill demons.” Xing Fu and Cecilia were dumbfounded. Demons? That word was brought up again.
Physician Wei got up from his seat and took a couple of steps away from the table as he continued to explain. “Brother Guo…He was a demon that became mortal forty years ago.”
Xing Fu’s jaw opened wide, shocked by the secret. Cecilia didn’t know what to think or feel about all of this and remained expressionless .
“How can that be?” Xing Fu asked curiously.
Physician Wei turned to them and stroked his beard. “Many hundreds of thousand years ago before all realms were divided, a demon manual, The Righteous Path to Mortality, was written by Zhu Yong Zheng who was a god of mercy and the youngest half-brother of the Celestial Emperor, Zhu Guo Zhi. He believed that demons should have a chance to redeem themselves in the path of righteousness and pure heart and gave demons the gift of becoming mortal by writing it. However after the Battle of the Split Realms, the book was lost and later became a legend to demons.”
Xing Fu was amazed of the story. “And to think that my ancestors told me everything about our realm’s history, I’ve never heard about the battle and the demon’s manual before.”
Physician Wei glanced away, “Uh…some histories are better off not knowing…It’s better to leave it in the past.”
Then Xing Fu scratched his head, “But I don’t get it. If Physician Guo has already become mortal, then why does he still have the effect from Xiao Xing’s special qi?”
“Although he is now mortal, to others (BEINGS), his identity will always remain a demon no matter what. I remember my ancestors telling me that a god can sense and kill ANYONE. No matter if anyone tried to hide their identity, a god can detect it. Her qi reminds me of a god, but like I’ve said before, she is mortal…” He sighed and stroked his beard again. “That is why I am puzzled.”
Overwhelmed by all of this, her head began to throb and she massaged the temples from her head with her fingers. Xing Fu and Physician Wei glanced at her.
“Are you ok?” asked Xing Fu.
“All of this is giving me a headache. I need to lie down.”
Physician Wei understood and nodded. “Miss Xiao, I know the information is overwhelming, but all that I’ve said is true. I apologize if I didn’t tell you when I first checked your health. I didn’t know that it would be to this extreme where Brother Guo’s life would be endangered.”
She smiled faintly at him, “I appreciate that you told me about this.”
“You’re welcome. I’ve told you all that I know.”
“Can anybody help her then?” asked Xing Fu.
Physician Wei shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m only a physician and my resources are limited. I’m sorry.”
Xing Fu was disappointed and turned to Cecilia. It broke his heart to see her go through all of this and wished that he could take all of her burdens from her.
“Let me help you get to bed.”
She shook her head. “It’s ok. I will go by myself. Go and help Physician Wei at the clinic.”
“But the demons…” he said, being worried for her safety.
“I will be alright. The talismans will protect me. Now go.”
He didn’t feel right leaving her alone, but he had no choice. Physician Wei and Guo Jing needed his help.
“Alright. I’ll be back soon then.”
After abiding farewells, Physician Wei and Xing Fu left the residence. She stood there and watched them disappeared from her sight. Then she closed the door and leaned against it, pondering.
“I should be happy to know all of this, but why do I feel afraid? It’s a part of my identity…”
She remembered Guo Jing’s words, What you are, we fear. Cecilia finally understood what he meant and let out a big sigh. “What am I really?”
-
CHAPTER 12: THE FALLEN MAN
Cecilia stood in total darkness and the only source of light beamed on her from above.
“Is anybody here?” she shouted, hoping that someone would hear her.
There was no response and she started to get anxious. Suddenly, more lights appeared from above in front of her, shining down on people. They stood frozen in their place with their heads tilted down, making it hard for Cecilia to see who they are.
“Hello?”
Their heads slowly turned to her and what she saw shocked her. Each and every one of them looked dead-some looked paled white and as for others, their skins were grossly discolored. Their bodies were covered in dried blood and she could smell their rotten flesh, making her stomach churn. They recognized her and started to walk toward her with their glassy eyes glued to her.
“I want my life back…” they said hauntingly.
“Wh…what are you talking about?”
Scared, she stepped backwards, watching the group of coming dead people. Then her back bumped something hard, and she turned around to see that it was another dead person standing there. Frightened, she turned around to run but it was too late. They had surrounded her with no way of escape. Their rotten hands reached for her, trying to grab her and she clapped her hands over the ears, screaming helplessly.
Cecilia woke up screaming and sweating and tried to catch her breath. Realizing that it was only a dream, she sighed in relief. She got out of the bed and rushed into Xing Fu’s bedroom to find him but he wasn’t there. Then she remembered. Xing Fu had left with Physician Wei to go help at the clinic early this morning. Thoughts of her dream and the demon epidemic came to her mind that the place started to feel eerie. She decided to leave the residence to go to the clinic, knowing that she won’t be alone.
---
On the dirt road to Mu Village, Cecilia took her time walking to clear her thoughts. Her dream of dead people and their words haunted her still. They seemed to know her and weren’t happy with her.
“Did I do something to them?” she pondered, feeling confused.
Then she remembered Physician Wei’s conversation about her special qi and Guo Jing’s identity.
“This must be the reason why I dreamed about it then.” She scratched her head, “…But why do they look so familiar?”
She could feel her head pounding again and started to massage her temples from her head. “Damn headaches. I need to stop thinking so much.”
SWOOSH! A strong gust of wind blew at her side followed by clattering hoofs made by galloping horses. They startled her, making her moved out of their way before being trampled. As the horses passed by, she saw two men on them. Her eyes narrowed at these rude horsemen and clenched her fists. There was a rock on the ground so she quickly picked it up. Like a baseball pro, she threw the rock and surprisingly, it hit one of the horses’ butts. It startled the horse, threw its master off from the saddle, and the master landed hard onto the dirt ground.
The other horseman turned his horse around and saw his partner lying on the ground. Then he shifted his attention to Cecilia. Her arms crossed in front with a smirk on her face, and he wondered who this gutsy woman was. He turned his attention back to his fallen partner and rode toward him. He got off his horse and ran to his partner’s side. The fallen man sat on the ground with his legs sprawled, brushing the excessive dirt from his silky robe.
“Young Master, are you alright?”
The fallen man was too upset to say anything. Then he saw the rock that she threw on the ground and picked it up. He got up, but felt a sharped pain from his ankle and fell back to the ground.
“My ankle.”
His partner helped lift his body up and grabbed a hold of him before he fell again. The fallen man turned his attention to Cecilia and narrowed his eyes at her. Angry, he pulled his arm away from his partner’s grip and limped toward Cecilia.
“Young Master!”
He ignored his partner. As the fallen man got closer to her, she noticed that he was a fine looking young man, wearing a navy robe. His long black hair was combed back, half tied into a low pony tail. Comparing to beautiful Guo Jing and Xing Fu’s slender body, this man’s facial and body structures were very masculine-broad shoulders, fine jaw line, and sharp cheek bones that defined his heart shaped face.
Bravely, she stood her ground and was ready for his confrontation. He stopped a foot away from her and stood there, glaring at her with his cold cinnamon eyes. He wondered who this obnoxious low-life woman was that would have the nerve to hurt him.
He showed the rock that she threw in front of her face and raised his voice, “You got the nerves to throw this at my horse!”
She huffed upsettingly, “You guys almost ran me over so YOU DESERVE IT,” and maliciously glared at him.
Infuriated, the fallen man clenched his fists and started huffing and puffing. “YOU!” He took another step forward but his partner grabbed a hold of his arm.
“Young Master, forget it. Let’s go to the nearest village to get your ankle check.”
The partner turned to her, “Miss…” She glanced at him and he continued, “I apologize on our behalf. We didn’t mean to harm you.”
She huffed and looked the other way. The fallen man pulled his arm out of his grip again and turned to limp away from them. His partner glanced at Cecilia and shook his head, sighing. He turned around and rushed to catch up with his young master, while she stood cool, smirking at the falling man as he limped.
The fallen man got back to his horse and quickly grabbed his sword from the saddle. He pulled the blade out of its sheath and with his internal qi, he swung his sword at the ground dirt close to her. The ground exploded in multiple places, creating clouds of dirt everywhere around her. It happened so quickly that Cecilia wasn’t ready to prepare herself. The clouded dirt traveled up into her lungs, making her cough. Seconds later, it disappeared and Cecilia was left covered in dirt from head to toe. His partner stood in dismay of what his young master just did.
The fallen man’s right cornered lip curled up. “Ching Chen, NOW we can leave.”
He bowed his head, “Yes.”
The fallen man placed his sword back in its sheath and his partner helped him got up on his horse. Then they rode off, leaving Cecilia stunned and furious. She stared at her clothes and hands in disbelief of how much dirt she was covered in and dusted it off as much as she could. Then she stared at the horizon where the two horsemen began to disappear from her sight.
Clenching her fists and breathing hard, she yelled angrily at the horsemen. “****!” and kicked the dirt on the ground.
---
Mu village was packed with people from all over the kingdoms. She forgot how busy it was from the first time she was there. As she walked through the crowded street mumbling cursed words, people began to stare at her, disgusted by how dirty she looked. Some pinched their noses and distanced themselves from her, thinking that she was a beggar.
Her mind was too focus on being furious by the fallen man that she didn’t pay any attention to crowd’s behaviors. Finally she reached to the gate entrance of the clinic and looked up at the signage. She recognized the characters and easily read it. This made her happy and the image of the fallen man faded away from her memory.
In the front courtyard, injured people lied on the ground everywhere as they patiently waited to be seen by the physicians. All were in horrible state of conditions-some lost their limbs and others have deep scratched and bite wounds on their bodies. As Cecilia made her way through the crowd, moaned cries were all she that heard from these unfortunate souls. It was painful for her to see that her eyes started to weld up with tears. No matter if demons were true or not, something was attacking these people.
Cecilia saw two men treating the injured patients from afar and recognized them to be Xing Fu and Guo Jing. Her face lit up when she saw Xing Fu and ran toward him. Xing Fu was treating a patient’s wound when he felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Cecilia smiling down at him. Happy to see her, he got up.
“Xiao Xing, I can’t believe you’re here!” then he saw how dirty she looked and thought about the chicken incident. “Did you try to catch chickens again?”
Offended, she raised her fist halfway. Xing Fu backed away a bit, knowing that she was about to punch him again, but she held back and lowered her fist to control her unknown habit.
She huffed upsettingly, “No!” and folded her arms in front instead.
Relieved that she didn’t punch him, he asked, “Then what happened to you this time?”
Embarrassed of telling him about the incident, she replied, “You do not want to know…”
Guo Jing heard her voice and a quivered of fear overcame him, making him nervous. Distracted by her presence, Guo Jing tied the cloth too tight on the injured patient that he yelped in pain. Cecilia and Xing Fu quickly turned and glanced at Guo Jing to see what happened. Guo Jing apologized to the patient and loosened the knot. Cecilia had a big smile on her face and walked toward Guo Jing, while Xing Fu trailed behind. She knelt down next to Guo Jing and it made him even more nervous that his hands began to tremble. She slightly chuckled by his paranoid behavior.
“Physician Guo, you don’t have to be afraid of me. I will never hurt you.”
Hearing those words made his body less tense and he let out a sigh of relief. While he applied medicine on another patient’s wound, he asked, “Why are you here?”
“I didn’t want to be alone, so I came here.” She glanced at the wounded people and then turned back to Guo Jing. “Can I help?”
“Do you know medicine?”
“No.”
“Then how can you help?”
Xing Fu overheard their conversation and interrupted them. “Physician Guo, another helping hand will be really helpful right now.”
Guo Jing panned the place and saw many people lying on the ground in a verge of death, crying and moaning in pain. His heart ached and tears started to weld up in his eyes. He deeply sighed and nodded.
“Fine. You can start by helping Physician Wei inside then.”
Happy, she thanked him and quickly went inside the clinic to find Physician Wei.
Guo Jing turned to Xing Fu, “I guess I will have to get use to her presence then.”
Xing Fu nudged Guo Jing on the arm and the both of them chuckled. Then they went back to work.
---
Inside the medicine room, Physician Wei pounded different types of herbal medicines in the mortar, while he kept a close watch of the pots on the stone stove. Cecilia entered in and saw the hardworking Physician Wei worked up a sweat. He glanced up and saw her stood there at the doorway.
“How’s your headache?”
“It’s better now.” She saw the different types of herbs on the table. “Guo Jing told me to come and assist you.”
Glad to have another set of hands, he nodded smiling. He turned his head slightly to the side, directing her to the stone stove. On top were five big pots full of hot herbal medicines.
“The medicine should be ready now. Pour it into the bowls and give it to the patients.”
“Ok.”
She went to the stove and grabbed a brewing pot with a cloth. Carefully, she poured the hot medicine into each bowls. The pungent mixed of herbal medicine stung her nose and she slightly turned her head away.
“What is this for?”
He answered while pounding, “It’s to minimize the pain. It’s the same medicine that Xing Fu brewed for you.”
She remembered her first time experiencing the bitter taste and shivered from the thought of it. After all bowls were filled, she picked up the tray and left to tend the patients.
Outside, she handed a bowl to a patient. “Drink this. It will minimize the pain.” The man took it from her and drank it.
While the man drank his medicine, Cecilia stared at the exposed flesh wound on his arm. Three distinct claw marks dug deep into the skin, revealing torn muscle tissues. It was a good thing that the physicians or Xing Fu had stopped the bleeding, otherwise he would have bled to death.
Curious, she asked, “What happen to you?”
The man answered in his weak tone of voice, “A demon attacked me in the forest…”
Demon? Physician Wei’s words of demon epidemic began to haunt her again. She saw a talisman hung from his belt and became confused. Weren’t talismans supposed to protect people from demons? She got up and went to the next person. Same answer from another patient-demon attacked her and she wore a talisman also. This continued throughout the day of nonstop investigation that she became speechless and second thought of her skepticism. Are demons real then?
Suddenly, she heard a woman’s utterly cry and turned to see what the commotion was about. A little girl lied motionless on the crying woman’s lap, rocking the child back and forth in her arms. With a feeling of instinct, she dropped the tray onto the ground, spilling the medicine everywhere and ran toward them.
When she got there, she told the woman to move so she could check the child’s wellbeing. Cecilia placed the girl down onto the ground and placed her index and middle fingers on the girl’s tiny neck to check for a pulse. Nothing. Without hesitant, she tilted the girl’s head back and started to breathe air into her mouth. Then she placed her hands on the girl’s chest and thrust it downward a couple of times. Physician Wei, Guo Jing, and Xing Fu rushed over to the crowd and made their way to the front. They saw Cecilia working hard on blowing air and thrusting on the girl’s chest and stood there in perplexed with the crowd. They had never seen anything like this before and watched.
The girl’s body started to transition into a male’s body right in front of her eyes. Then she heard her own voice echoing from the back of her mind, “Kai…” Frightened by what she was experiencing, she remained calm and continued to focus on the girl. As the slow transition took place, she glanced at the girl’s face and saw the child’s small chin transitioned to a man’s.
The girl coughed and everything that she saw vanished quickly from her sight. Shocked by what she had just experienced, she pulled her hands away from the girl’s chest. The girl coughed some more and cried for her mom. The woman quickly ran to her daughter and hugged her with joyful tears. Physician Wei and Guo Jing rushed to the girl’s side to make sure she was alright while Cecilia slowly got up.
Xing Fu came up to her. “I didn’t know that you can also raise the dead.”
She gave him a strange look and shook her head. “I don’t think it’s like that at all…” Since there was a crowd, she didn’t want to tell Xing Fu of her experience and remained silent.
He nudged her arm and smiled. “Well whatever you did, you’ve brought her back to life and reunited her with her mother again.”
She agreed with him. Whatever she did, she saved the girl’s life but the haunting image of the man still lied in her mind.
Was he the faceless man?
Physician Wei got up and walked toward her with a pleased look on his face.
“Is the girl ok?” she asked him.
He nodded, “She lost a lot of blood from the wound, but she will be fine. I believe that what you just did was something that you’ve learned from your past."
Knowing that it was something she learned was great news, but that didn’t explained what she saw.
He stroked his beard and told Guo Jing, Xing Fu and Cecilia, “We have many patients still waiting for us, so let’s get back to work.”
Throughout the day, she was their assistant. Whatever they needed, she grabbed it for them. When they tended the patients’ injuries, she observed carefully and learned from them. Once was a room full of patients was now an empty space. At the end of the day, they were exhausted but proud of what they had accomplished.
“It’s been a long day. Great work everyone,” commented Physician Wei. Then he turned to Xing Fu and Cecilia, “Thank you for your help. We couldn’t have done it without the both of you.”
“You’re welcome,” said Xing Fu.
Cecilia looked around and saw blood everywhere. It looked as if there had been a massacre that just took place. “This place is a mess; let us help the both of you clean before we leave.”
Guo Jing nodded, “Alright.”
Xing Fu turned to Cecilia and pointed at her with a serious look on his face. “YOU need to be cleaned also.”
She forgot how dirty she was because of the fallen man. Xing Fu brushed the excess dirt off from her hair and dirt fell down to the ground like a landfall. They laughed at her while she stood there with a huge grin on her face.
---
Ching Chen hurried into the clinic with his young master. It took a while for them to get to the clinic. The village was like a maze. There were too many detours and open areas that led to other places. As a visitor to Mu Village, it was wise to ask for directions from a local, but that was not the case for Ching Chen and his young master. His young master was too stubborn and full of pride, that he rather had Ching Chen led the way blindly to their destination.
“We’re finally here,” said Ching Chen relieved. The place was empty so he shouted for service.
“HELLO. WE NEED HELP!”
Guo Jing heard them and came out to see them stood there at the entrance. He saw the injured man stood with one leg while he wrapped his arm around his partner’s shoulder for support. Guo Jing quickly went to help Ching Chen took his young master inside the clinic.
Both of the men helped the young master sat down on a chair. “What happened?” asked Guo Jing.
Ching Chen explained, “Young Master fell off the horse and sprained his ankle.” He left their encounter with Cecilia out due to not wanting to humiliate his Young Master.
Guo Jing took off the Young Master’s boot and sock carefully, revealing a swollen ankle as big as a plum. Guo Jing softly pressed the area with his fingers.
“OW! THAT HURTS!”
Guo Jing sighed and said, “This sprain is severe.” Both glanced at each other in dismay. Guo Jing continued, “You should be glad it is not broken. Wait here while I get the medicine prepare for your injury.”
Guo Jing got up and left while the young master slumped back into the chair. Upset, he slammed his hands on the chair handles. “Damn low life!” and breathed heavily.
---
Cecilia walked toward the clinic with a big bowl of water for her bath. She had been covered with dirt since early afternoon and her skin started get irritated. As she walked past the clinic, she saw two men inside, one was sitting and the other was standing. With their heads faced to the side, they looked familiar, but she didn’t remember where she had met them. The men felt a presence and turned their heads. Surprised, she instantly knew who they were; especially the man sitting down.
She mumbled to herself, “The **** is here.”
She held in her anger and walked toward the men with her bowl of water. The Young Master glared at her in disbelief to see the low life here and clenched his fists. To loosen the tension between his Young Master and Cecilia, Ching Chen smiled and formally greeted her.
“It’s nice to see you again Miss.”
The Young Master yelled at her, “Low life! Why are you here?!”
She scoffed and gave him an attitude, “And why can’t I?” Then she stared at his swollen ankle and then back at him with a smirk on her face. “I see that you’re here because of your ankle…”
The young master pointed at her and scolded, “IT IS BECAUSE OF YOU! YOU DID THIS!”
She pointed at herself, “Me? How is it my fault? I guess you shouldn’t be riding a horse then if you do not know how to land correctly!” She looked away with her arms folded in front.
Fumed by her words, the Young Master slammed his hands hard on the chair handles again and got up to confront her. He had forgotten about his sprained ankle and felt the sharped pain. He yelped and sat back down with Ching Chen’s help.
Tired of their bickering, Ching Chen walked up to Cecilia. “Miss, please forgive Young Master. Let’s start over by introducing ourselves properly. My name is Fu Ching Chen…” then he direct his hand toward the young master, “…and this is Young Master Wu Jian. May we know the maiden’s name?”
She glanced at Ching Chen. Comparing to his obnoxious Young Master, he was very respectful and polite. Since he was nice enough to apologize, she decided to tell them her name. “Xiao Xing.”
Wu Jian snickered when he heard her name. “Xiao Xing? You should be called, Dirty Xing!” and laughed.
She had enough of his insults and couldn’t control her anger anymore. SPLASH! She threw the bowl of water at Wu Jian. His eyes widened in horror to see his body drenched in water. Ching Chen blinked a couple of times and could not believe what just happened. He stood there frozen in disbelief. Satisfied, she brushed her hands together with a big grin on her face and left with the empty bowl in her hands.
Furious, Wu Jian pointed at her, “DIRTY LOW LIFE COME BACK HERE!”
She ignored him and continued to walk away until she disappeared from their sight. His eyes blazed with fire as he huffed and puffed. He turned to Ching Chen, “I want you to find out her background! She is going to pay severely for this.”
Ching Chen thought this was very childish of him. There were better things than spending a great amount of time to search for a pitiful woman’s identity. However, he cannot argue with his young master, so he bowed his head.
“Yes.”
Guo Jing came back with the herbal medicine and some cloths.
“Sorry, it took…” He looked up and saw Wu Jian drenched. Stunned, he asked, “What happen to you?”
Ching Chen was about to speak but Wu Jian raised his hand to stop him from saying anything. It was too humiliating for him to lose face if explained that a woman did it. Ching Chen shut his mouth, slightly bowed, and then moved to the side. From the way how Ching Chen behaved obediently toward his hand gesture, Guo Jing became curious of the swollen ankle man’s true identity. He had a sense that this man was more than just a rich noble. He seemed to have more power and authority.
“Gentlemen, I haven’t formally introduced myself. My name is Guo Jing. May I know my guests’ names?”
Wu Jian scoffed upsettingly and turned his head away. Knowing that Wu Jian was in a bad mood already, Ching Chen decided to introduce themselves to him. Guo Jing thought for a second if he had heard of their names before but nothing came to his mind.
“Mr. Wu, since your clothes are wet, I can give you a set of dry clothes after I this.”
Wu Jian huffed angrily, “Fine.”
Guo Jing kneeled down and started to apply the herbs on his swollen ankle. “Are both of you traveling far?”
Wu Jian and Ching Chen glanced at each other puzzled by his question. “Why do you ask?” asked Ching Chen.
Guo Jing began to wrap his ankle with a cloth. He continued, “Your ankle needs to heal, so I suggest that you stay in Mu Village for the time being.”
Wu Jian led out a big sigh of disappointment and was silent for a bit. Then he asked, “How long will we have to stay?”
“Weeks, months…depending when you’re able to walk.” Guo Jing finished wrapping his ankle.
Stunned, Wu Jian shook his head. “No! I cannot stay long!”
“Sorry, unless you want to be handicap for the rest of your life.”
Ching Chen leaned close to Wu Jian and whispered, “We cannot delay or else…” he paused and forgot that Guo Jing was still in the room. He carefully continued, “Your father will be upset.”
Wu Jian pondered and then he asked Guo Jing, “Do you have a carriage or sedan in this village?”
Guo Jing nodded. “There is a sedan station at the east entrance of the village, but you will have to wait for a couple of days. The last sedan left this morning to a nearby village.”
Wu Jian nodded, “Fine. We will stay until then.”
“Since we have some guest rooms available in the clinic, the both of you can stay. It will be convenient for me to tend your injury anyway.”
Both of them agreed and thanked Guo Jing.
“Let me take the both of you to the guestrooms then.” Guo Jing helped Fu Ching get Wu Jian up on his feet by using their bodies to support Wu Jian’s weight. The three slowly made their way to the guestrooms.
During their walk, Wu Jian was curious about Cecilia and asked Guo Jing, “I saw a woman here; her name is Xiao Xing…”
Guo Jing’s face lit up in surprise that he knew her name. “Are you a friend of hers?”
He scoffed upsettingly and shook his head. “We recently met. Does she live here also?”
Guo Jing laughed. “No. She came here to help us tend our patients this afternoon.”
“I see…” pondered Wu Jian; then he asked, “Where does she live?”
Guo Jing became curious of why he wanted to know so much about Cecilia. He had a bad vibe from Wu Jian and thought about Cecilia’s safety.
He lied, “She was passing by Mu Village and saw that we needed help. Due to so many patients being sought, I did not have the chance to ask her. My apology kind sir for I do not know her residential place.”
“She is still here so take me to her.” Wu Jian demanded.
“Young Master, your health is more important now.” said Ching Chen.
Guo Jing agreed and nodded. “After settling down, I can look for her to see if she is still around.”
Wu Jian nodded. “Fine. I know she is taking a bath right now so you will find her there then.”
He was getting worried for Cecilia and pondered, ”Who is this man that seeks for her?”
Guo Jing faintly smiled, “I will.”
-
CHAPTER 13: ESCAPE
Cecilia got dressed after taking a long bath. It took her almost two hours to completely get the dirt off of her. Her scalp took the longest. Every little pebble of sand that she felt and took out, she cursed and hated Wu Jian even more. She opened the door to leave the washroom when she saw Xing Fu and the Physicians stood outside having a conversation. Guo Jing stopped talking in midsentence and the men glanced at her.
“What were you guys talking about?” she asked, wanting to be in the conversation as well.
They looked around to see if there was anyone around. Then Xing Fu lightly grabbed Cecilia by the arm.
“Actually, we needed to speak with you.”
He pulled her back inside the washroom with Physician Wei and Guo Jing and closed the door behind them. Xing Fu let go of her arm.
Confused, she asked Xing Fu, “What is going on?”
Guo Jing got straight to the point. “Miss Xiao, do you recognize the two guests that just came in?”
“The limping man and his servant?”
“Yes. Do you know them?”
Her face darkened just thinking about Wu Jian and crossed her arms in front. “That ****!” The three men were dumbfounded of her comment. She raised her voice, “Of course I know them! I recently met them on my way to Mu Village. Why do you ask?”
“Mr. Wu asked about you and is looking for you.”
She didn’t say anything and only shook her head upsettingly.
Physician Wei joined in the conversation. “Miss Xiao, you’ve seemed to be very upset at Mr. Wu. Cared to enlighten us?”
Cecilia decided to tell them about her encounter. She raised her voice, “Do you want to know what happened to that **** Wu Jian and why I was covered with dirt?”
They leaned forward, interested in hearing her explanation. “Why?” asked Physician Wei.
“As I was on my way to Mu Village, they rode passed me and I almost got trampled by their horses. I got mad and threw a rock at the ****’s horse and he fell. That is how he sprained his ankle. Then he took out his sword and swung at the ground…” she paused for a moment and was getting angry. She took a deep breath to calm down and continued, “…the next thing I knew, dirt came out of the ground and I was covered with it.”
Xing Fu clenched his fists. “How dare he…I’m going to teach him a lesson!” He turned around and took a couple of steps to leave.
“XING FU!” Physician Wei shouted.
Xing Fu stopped and slightly turned his head to the side. Physician Wei walked toward him and placed his hand on his shoulder. “I know that you are upset of what he did to Miss Xiao. In fact, I am too.”
Xing Fu turned around with a sullen look on his face.
Physician Wei continued, “Just by what Miss Xiao had told us, Wu Jian is not an easy man to deal with. He seems to be an expert swordsman and you’re not. Starting trouble with him will only cost your life.”
Guo Jing nodded, “I agree. Also, when I was observing their interaction, Mr. Wu seems to be from a powerful family…someone with huge authority.”
“I understand,” said Xing Fu as he lowered his head.
Cecilia jumped into the conversation and started to rant. “SO WHAT if he’s a powerful authority figure! He’s an egotistic bastard!”
Physician Wei stroked his beard. “Miss Xiao, even though you’re not afraid to step up to him, it is best to avoid him. He may be from a royal family, a duke…regardless he is from a noble family. With his powerful family background, you will be beheaded if your behavior is irrational.” He sighed and continued, “We don’t want anything bad happening to you that is all.”
She thought about it and understood their concern. “Alright,” and sighed.
“Since they are staying here for a couple of days, you and Xing Fu must leave now. Brother Wei will lead the both of you to the back entrance while I go deal with Mr. Wu,” said Guo Jing.
They nodded and all of them left the washroom. Physician Wei led Xing Fu and Cecilia to the back, while Guo Jing rushed to stop by the medicine room before he went back to Wu Jian. Afar and in hiding was Ching Chen. He had saw everything and quickly left the scene.
---
Wu Jian sat down in the guestroom’s main area, thinking of options that he could do to Cecilia. He thought about beheading her, but that would be too quick of a death. Then he thought about throwing her in prison for the rest of her life until she rot, but that wouldn’t be fun for him. Suddenly, Ching Chen entered in and closed the door behind him. His thoughts of torturing Cecilia disappeared and became anxious of what Ching Chen had found.
“So?”
Ching Chen gathered his thoughts and then responded, “Physician Guo…he and the others…”
Then they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” Wu Jian asked.
“It’s me, Physician Guo Jing.”
They stopped their conversation. “Come in.” said Wu Jian.
Guo Jing entered in with a tray, and on top was a hot bowl of medicine. “I’ve brought herbal medicine to help minimize the pain for your ankle.”
Wu Jian was glad that Guo Jing had made pain medicine. He was sick and tired of the pain that he was feeling. It got to the point where he started to have headaches, which annoyed him.
“Are you sure this will help reduce it?”
“Yes. I’ve used it all of the time for my patients.”
Guo Jing put the tray of medicine on the table next to Wu Jian. Without hesitation, Wu Jian grabbed the hot bowl, took a spoonful of the medicine, and drank it as Guo Jing and Ching Chen watched.
Wu Jian finished it and placed it back on the tray. Then he asked, “Were you able to find Miss Xiao?”
Guo Jing shook his head. “No. She had already left when I got there.”
Ching Chen stunned by his response and was about to say something to Wu Jian but held back. He didn’t want Guo Jing to know that they spied on them.
Wu Jian got upset and slammed the small table next to him with his hand hard. The tray and the empty bowl bounced from the force, making a loud clattering sound.
“RUBBISH!” Then he pointed at Guo Jing. “You must have hid her!”
Guo Jing remained calm. Suddenly, Wu Jian started to yawn and then his eyes started to get droopy. He knew something was wrong with him and started to say something to- Guo Jing, but his speech slurred, making it hard to understand. Ching Chen also noticed something was wrong and glanced at the medicine bowl, then at Guo Jing. Wu Jian then slumped back of the chair and his head tilted back, snoring away.
“Young Master!” Angry, Ching Chen pulled his sword out of his sheath and aimed the blade at Guo Jing. “YOU POISONED HIM!”
Guo Jing folded his hands behind his back and turned to the side. “I’ve only sedated him. Your Young Master had been very belligerent lately; therefore, I felt that he needed a peaceful rest.”
Ching Chen couldn’t agree more to what Guo Jing just said. His Young Master had focused too much on getting even with Cecilia that he had forgotten about his main mission. Ching Chen lowered his sword down and put it back in its sheath.
“Thank you.”
Guo Jing was surprised of his answer and turned to him with a raised brow.
Ching Chen continued, “I’ve never seen Young Master get so worked up by someone; especially from a woman.” Flashback of Cecilia throwing water at Wu Jian came to his mind and he chuckled a bit. “Miss Xiao is a brave woman to trouble Young Master.”
Guo Jing smiled.
“Physician Guo, you lied and helped Miss Xiao escaped.”
Guo Jing then knew that they had been caught and shook his head, sighing. “I guess that your Young Master told you to spy on us.”
Ching Chen nodded. He was actually relieved that they helped her escape. He didn’t want to see her harmed by his Young Master’s wrath. Then he was curious of Guo Jing’s reasons. “Why?”
Guo Jing walked to the table where the tray was, while Ching Chen’s eyes followed him, and started to clean up.
“Because being angry at little things like this shouldn’t become big matters.” He picked up the tray with the empty bowl on it and turned to him. “Don’t you agree?”
“Yes. I thought the same also.”
“Then let bygones be bygones. Mr. Wu’s health should be his first priority and not to be stressed by someone who wronged him.” He started to walk out of the door with the tray and bowl in his hands.
Ching Chen stopped him, “Wait.” Guo Jing stopped. He turned his head slightly to the side and looked at Ching Chen from the corner of his eyes. Ching Chen continued, “Knowing Young Master’s childish behavior and hot temper, I’m afraid that he won’t let you off easily.”
“Do not worry. When he wakes up, he will be too happy to find trouble.”
He left, leaving Ching Chen with a puzzled look. He wondered what Guo Jing meant by what he said. Did Physician Guo put something else in the herbal medicine?
---
Xing Fu and Cecilia were at the exit gate of Mu Village when he saw a huge talisman that hung on the wall. It reminded him of theirs so he checked to make sure he had his. It hung from his belt, and then he glanced at Cecilia’s belt, but didn’t see hers.
“Where’s your talisman?”
She gave him a blank stare and then she began to search her clothes to find it. Nothing.
Worried, she glanced at him. “I don’t have it.”
Xing Fu shook his head, took off his, and handed it to her. “Here, take mine.”
“But what about you?”
He looked around and saw a mustached man selling talismans onto his right. He pointed at the vendor, “I’ll buy one over there.”
They walked to the vending table and greeted the owner. As Xing Fu was busy shopping for a talisman, she saw the owner stared at her up and down, twirling his mustache. He made her felt uncomfortable.
“Xing Fu, let’s go find another vendor.”
His attention was more on the talismans. “This place has a lot. I’ll just buy it here.”
The owner glanced at Xing Fu and nodded happily, “Yes and I have the best talismans in this village.” Then he glanced back at Cecilia, “You should buy one for this beautiful lady as well.”
Xing Fu looked up at the owner and shook his head. “It will only be for me.”
Then he gazed at Cecilia. In his eyes, she was indeed beautiful. He remembered when she first wore his sister’s yellow clothes and glowed from the sunlight, looking like a heavenly fairy. He started to blush, so he quickly looked down at the talismans and continued to browse before she noticed his red colored cheeks.
This time the owner winked and licked his upper lip seductively at Cecilia. Disgusted by his perverted behavior, Cecilia crossed her arms in front and looked away.
Xing Fu finally found one and picked it up to show it to her. “Look Xiao Xing!” he said happily.
Cecilia looked at the talisman that he held in his hands and saw that it was the exact replica like theirs. Her lips tightened with a smile.
“How much?” he asked the man.
“Ten pieces of silver.”
Xing Fu’s eyes widened in shocked, “WHAT? THAT MUCH?”
“From what we are going through with these demons, of course! Just remember, there are a lot of con artists out there and their prices are even higher than mine.”
Cecilia sneered. “So what if you’re a con artist yourself?”
The owner got offended and his face turned bright red. Angry, he pointed at her. “Woman, how dare you!” He turned to Xing Fu, “Sir, I won’t sell anything to you.”
He grabbed the string of the talisman that Xing Fu had in his hand and pulled, but Xing Fu’s grip was strong. He refused to give the talisman back to owner, so they started to tug the piece back and forth.
“Sir, let go!”
“No, I’m buying it…I…I’ll give you fifteen pieces of silver instead!”
The man’s angry face quickly changed to a huge grin, with teeth showing and let go of the string instantly. He extended his opened palm at Xing Fu.
“Fifteen it is.”
Happy, Xing Fu grabbed his little money pouch from his shirt pocket and started to count the pieces. He had exactly fifteen pieces of silver and showed it to the man. Cecilia rolled her eyes and couldn’t believe that Xing Fu would desperately go through all of this. She didn’t want to say anything; it was his problem. The man took the money right away from his hand and thanked Xing Fu for business.
Xing Fu showed her the talisman once more and then he puts it on his belt. “Let’s go,” and left first.
Cecilia leaned close to the man and stared coldly at him.
“You perverted bastard, if I find out that the talisman is fake, I’m coming back to find you,” she warned.
The man saw her hazel eyes full of flames and knew she was serious. He swallowed and smiled nervously. She huffed and turned around to catch up with Xing Fu.
--
Along the dirt road, Cecilia and Xing Fu enjoyed each other’s company. They talked about many things; their experiences at the clinic, Guo Jing’s identity as an ex demon, her vivid image of the possible faceless man and his name ‘Kai’, and her encounter with Wu Jian which made Xing Fu upset again, but Cecilia quickly eased his thought by letting him know about her splashing water at Wu Jian. It made Xing Fu laughed hard knowing that she took action, but then at the same time, he worried for her.
“What if he comes after you?” he asked.
“I’ll be ready for him then.”
“Xiao Xing, let me handle him. Even though I do not know martial arts, I am not afraid of his torture or dying. I rather have you be alive than be in his hands.”
She was touched by his courageous words and thanked him.
As minutes passed to hours, the sun’s scorching heat started to dehydrate them. Xing Fu saw a small stream to his right and pointed at it for Cecilia to see. Relieved, Xing Fu led them the way into the forest. As the running water got louder, their excitement increased and ran toward it. When they reached to the stream, they got on their knees, scooped clean water with their hands, and drank it.
“It’s so refreshing!” he took another drink.
Cecilia splashed water on her face to cool down from the heat. He glanced at her and saw water dripped down from her face, making her look exotic. His mouth wide opened and froze in place; he couldn’t resist gazing at her. She caught him staring and splashed some water at him.
“Hey!” she said and laughed.
Xing Fu jumped by the suddenness and stared down at his wet clothes. He playfully splashed some water back at her and she gave a squealed of laughter. Then both of them splashed water at each other. Her troubled mind left her for the spur moment to enjoy this special time with Xing Fu. By the time they stopped, they were drenched with water and laughed some more. Xing Fu raised his hand up toward her face. Her eyes followed his hand and wondered what he was about to do.
Her heart pounded fast as his hand got closer to her cheek. What is this wonderful and nervous feeling that I’m having? She pondered.
His fingers reached to her lose strands of hair that covered her face, touching her wet soft skin, as he parted it to the side. He wanted to tell his hidden feelings for her and wanted to kiss those rosy lips; but, he could not. It wasn’t the right time. She was still searching for the owner of the heart necklace and her lost memories. He took a deep breath and again, reminded himself that he was only a friend.
Then he commented, “Now I can see your pretty face,” and put his hand down.
What did I just say? He didn’t know that his words came out like that. Am I out of line? He asked himself again.
Cecilia’s face started to feel hot and she blushed, looking down. Then she splashed him with water one last time and they both laughed happily.
Since the sun was setting, they decided to stay for the night. Xing Fu made a fire to keep themselves warm. He also made a divider by using sticks and hung their wet clothes on it. He was on one side and she was on the other, wearing their undergarments while they sat and wait.
Xing Fu stared at the red orange sky. “Xiao Xing…”
“mmm?”
“Doesn’t the sky look magical?”
She stared at the sky also, and saw its beautiful color. “Yes, it is.”
“My mother told me of a story about a forbidden love between a god and a mortal. Do you want to hear it?”
“Sure, why not.”
He cleared his throat to prepare for storytelling.
“Immortal Lu Bing Wei was a god of art who had a passion in painting. When he came down to Mortal Realm to help restore it to its original state, he met a beautiful mortal woman, Cheng Da Chun who was a weaving girl, and fell in love with her. In the Celestial Realm, there were very strict laws that no Celestial gods should ever break. One law was to never fall in love and have offspring between two worlds. If Celestial Emperor and his top generals ever found out of the forbidden love, then the gods would lose immortality or worse, they have to self-sacrifice their lives by vaporizing. As for the mortals, all of their memories of the gods that they had fallen in love with would be completely be erased, and the offsprings that they carried, would be destroyed.”
The story was getting interesting and Cecilia sat quietly as she continued to listen.
“After Lu Bing Wei finished his weekly task of painting the Mortal Realm, he and Cheng Da Chun would secretly meet at their hidden place to be together. However, their love story became tragic when Cheng Da Chun became pregnant. They were found by Celestial Emperor. Lu Bing Wei fought for his family’s life against Celestial Emperor’s top generals, but they were too powerful for him to defeat. He was held captive while he watched them take their unborn child from Cheng Da Chun’s womb. With one wave of the top general’s hand above her stomach, the unborn child disappeared and her stomach became flatten, like she was never pregnant in the first place. At that moment, Cheng Da Chun and Lu Bing Wei helplessly grieved for their lost. Then the top general laid his hand on her head and one shot of energy came out of his palm into her. In instant, her body lied motionless for him to see. Then it was his turn. Lu Bing Wei understood that he had broken the law so for his punishment, he chose death. It was already too painful for him to lose their child and have the woman he loved to forget everything about him. Therefore, becoming a Fallen Immortal and lived a short life was more of a torture to him. They freed him for him to say his last few words to Cheng Da Chun. He whispered in her ears that whenever she looked up and saw the colorful sky; that was his love looking down to her. Then his body vaporized into nothing. After she regained conscious, she was a new person with a new life; however, every time the sun sets and she saw beautiful colors in the sky, her heart felt unknowingly longing of a lost love.”
Xing Fu stopped talking and sighed sadly. There was silence between the two for a couple of minutes and then Xing Fu turned to the hanging clothes where it divided them.
“Xiao Xing?”
Cecilia had cried throughout his storytelling and wiped her tears.
“It’s not fair…” and sniffed.
Xing Fu could tell that the story had saddened her. “But you have to understand that love cannot exist between two different worlds.”
“Who says so? Love should be free and not be bind by stupid laws!” She sniffed again and continued her rant. “That Celestial Emperor is heartless and a murderer. Killing an unborn child, having the mother loses her memory, and the father drives to kill himself…That is too cruel for my sake!”
Xing Fu’s intention was to lighten the mood with the story, to show the hidden meaning that love was beyond just physical. Also, without his contribute to Mortal Realm, the sky wouldn’t be as colorful as it was now. There wouldn’t be mountains, flowers, waterfalls, and clouds. He was the god of art, the magical painter of Mortal Realm.
“Uh…I’m sorry Xiao Xing. I think I’ve lost the true interpretation when storytelling. I sometimes get carried away. Just forget about it. It’s only a myth that was passed for thousands of years…”
“It’s ok. Thank you for your tragic story.” She looked at the red orange sky and took a deep breath. “Actually, a story can have many interpretation s. I feel that with the story of Lu Bing Wei and Cheng Da Chun, in short, love conquers all.”
She looked down at her heart necklace and felt the diamonds. “I feel like Cheng Da Chen, my memory is lost, but I still have that unknown warmth feeling from this necklace…”
---
Outside of the palace gate in Wu Tribe, Jian Tao and his Chiefs walked the Elders out for their departure. Elder Tao and Elder Shi had thoroughly assessed the Black Forest and Bloody Devil Lake and found nothing unusual.
“Are you sure you and Elder Shi do not want to stay an extra day?” asked Jian Tao jokingly.
The Elders chuckled. “Next time,” said Elder Tao.
Jian Tao stared at the direction where Bloody Devil Lake was. “My heart can rest now knowing that the Demon Realm’s seal is safe. It could worsen the situation even more if it was broken.”
The Elders also turned to stare at the direction of the lake and nodded. They knew that if Demon Realm’s seal was broken, Mortal Realm would totally be destroyed. From the last battle, mortals were lucky to have the Celestials helped in defeating the Demon Lord and sealed off the Demon Realm forever. This time, it would be different. Mortals would have to defend their own realm without the help of the Celestials. It would really test their strength and endurance.
Elder Tao sighed, “That is why our Fallen Immortal Protectors Masters have taught us to be protectors of our Realm.” Then he glanced at Jian Tao, “You will need to pass the Five Element Qi Sword soon…”
Jian Tao closed his eyes as he sighed at the thought being old. His energy wasn’t as strong as it used to be. Over the past twenty of years of fighting demons, he had used up too much of his internal qi, especially for the Five Element Qi Sword.
Since the sword was a god sword, its powers were beyond extraordinary. It had no side effect when a god used it, but if a mortal took ownership of it, the sword would deplete his internal qi quicker and would take longer to recuperate. Age also played a huge role-the older the mortal, the harder to regain the loss of internal qi. No matter if the mortal was a master of martial arts for more than thirty years, he could not defeat the sword’s god-like powers. Now that trapped demons had escaped, Jian Tao’s life would be at risk if he continued to be the Mortal Protector.
Jian Tao folded his hands behind his back. “Since the encounter of the water demons, I have thought about it. It is time for my son to take my place.” He turned to Elder Tao and chuckled, “At least I have one burden off of my shoulder then.”
Elder Tao and the others chuckled as well. “Right. Now you have more time to focus on Wu tribe and let your son protect the Mortal Realm.”
Jian Tao nodded.
---
In Bloody Devil Lake where the Demon Realm’s portal was, the seal’s hidden crack got bigger. It cracked up to the top, releasing a ray of red light out of the lake and upward to the sky. However, with the Black Forest’s seal, it remained inside forest; but it tried vigorously to escape. The Elders, Jian Tao, and the Chiefs saw the red light and knew that their fear had come true.
Chief Li gulped nervously, “It’s happening now.”
“Quick. To Bloody Devil Lake,” said Elder Tao.
All five of them ran into the Black Forest with great speed. They arrived at Bloody Devil Lake and saw the huge crack. All five of them used their sealing spells to reseal the Demon Realm’s seal. The red ray was very powerful as it tried to fight off the spell. The five of them sweat profusely as they concentrate. Finally, they got it under control and the Elders quickly use their “Taoist Binding Spell” while Jian Tao and the Chiefs held it steady with their “Wu Sealing Spell”. A thick, gold transparent layer appeared on the cracked seal like glue. It covered the crack and the red ray of light disappeared. Everything was back to normal.
Jian Tao and the Chiefs never knew that the Demon Realm’s seal was that powerful. This was their first time encountering the seal and it had taken a huge toll on their bodies. As for the Elders, they had already been prepared for this kind of event, so their qi were stronger. Exhausted and weak, the three men staggered a bit. The Elders rushed to help them.
“Are you men alright?” asked Elder Shi.
The three men nodded.
“Let’s take the three of you back to the palace,” said Elder Tao. The Elders used their bodies to support the men as they walked away from area.
---
Jian Tao and his Chiefs sat down, crossing their legs, while the Elders sat behind them. The Elders placed their palms inches away from their back to transfer some of their internal energy to them. After they were done transferring, the three men opened their eyes and felt revived. The Elders helped them get up.
“Thank you Elders,” said Jian Tao.
Worried about the Demon Realm’s seal, Jian Tao sighed. “Now that the Demon Realm’s seal is about to be broken, mortal realm is in great danger.”
Elder Shi turned to Elder Tao, “We will have to report this to Grandmaster Huang and delay our departure. Wu tribe needs our help in detaining the Demon Realm Seal.”
Elder Tao nodded. “Our binding spell is not made for sealing realms, so sooner or later, our internal qi will deplete as well.” Then he looked at Jian Tao. “We need to find the Mortal Protectors.”
Jian Tao looked worried. “It’s been over twenty years. How will we find the other Mortal Protectors then?”
The Elders looked at each other and knew that he was right. Ever since the Demon Realm’s seal was sealed by the Celestial Emperor, the five Fallen Immortal Protectors went their own ways to find their five mortals students to prepare for these future events. Out of the five Mortal Protectors, only two that they knew for sure had been found-Wen Jian Tao the disciple of goddess Wu Li Ling and Lau Guo Wei the disciple of god Yu Ze Min. Wherever the other three are, it would be a challenge to search for them.
Elder Tao let out a sigh. “That will be hard to find them in these vast lands, but Grandmaster Huang may have some insights.” He turned to Elder Shi, “When we inform Grandmaster Huang, we will need some Taoist brothers here to help in the Binding Spell. This will help us control the seal until the other three Mortal Protectors are found.”
“Yes.”
Jian Tao turned to the Elders, “How long can you and your Taoist brothers hold off with the binding spell?”
“Once every month for no more than three years,” responded Elder Tao.
“Can we really find them within three years?” asked Chief Wen.
The Elders sighed and Elder Shi responded, “We will have to at all cost.”
Jian Tao and the Chiefs glanced at each other, worried for the fate of mankind. Now, they only hope that Grandmaster Huang could find a way for them to search for the three missing Mortal Protectors soon.
-
Warning, minor sexual content.
CHAPTER 14: THE ENCOUNTERS
That night, Cecilia and Xing Fu had fallen asleep and their fire had died out. Thick fog started to appear onto the earth’s surface and blanketed them, making it invisible for anyone to notice their presence. Then a faint voice called out his name from a distant and it woke him up from his sleep. He noticed a cloudy mist above him and quickly sat up to realize it was fog. He began to feel unease from the haunting setting.
“Xing Fu…”
The faint voice sounded like Cecilia; however, it didn’t come from where she was sleeping. It came somewhere in the dark creepy forest.
He asked himself, "Why is she in the forest alone? ...What if it’s a demon instead?"
He began to have goosebumps and slowly turned his head toward their hung clothes.
"I have to make sure if the voice that I’m hearing is a demon or Cecilia…"
His hand reached to the draped clothes and lifted to the side. With thick fogs surrounded the area, it was hard to see if she was lying there. He began to fan the fog with his hand and as the fog moved away, Cecilia was not there. He exhaled in relieved.
“Xing Fu…”
He let go of the draped clothes and turned around. A hundred feet in front of him was Cecilia. She stood there with a radiant glow from the moonlight wearing only a thin red robe to reveal her bare upper shoulders, her cleavage, and slender silky legs. Her sexual appeal stunned Xing Fu and he wondered if this was a dream or reality. He pinched himself hard on his forearm and felt pain. This was indeed real. She started tp walk away from him.
“Wait!” he shouted.
He grabbed his talisman and put it on around his neck. Then he got up and went after her. The deeper he went inside the forest, the thicker the fog was, which made everything around him difficult to see.
He stopped and panned around. “Xiao Xing?”
Then the fog died down and disappeared. He scratched his head from the strange sudden occurrence but was glad. Now, he could find Cecilia with ease.
“Xiao Xing! Where are you?!” he shouted.
Then her giggles echoed through the forest. His eyes wandered around in search for her, but he couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. He heard her giggle again. This time it was close to his left side. Xing Fu turned and saw her stood ten feet in front of him, giving him a leering look with those big hazel eyes of hers. She began to walk slowly toward him and her bottom robe opened to reveal her bare ivory thighs as it alternated every step she made.
He couldn’t help but gaped at her luscious body. His eyes stared down at her feet and made their way up to her legs, hips, her cleavage, and then her lips. His body started to get steamy hot and sweaty.
He gulped his saliva, “Xiao Xing…Wh…what are you doing?”
She didn’t answer and got closer to him. His head slightly turned to the side and he shut his eyes, not wanting to continue lusting at her. Suddenly, a strong musty fragrance stung his nose with heavenly sweetness. He couldn’t resist the strong scent and slowly turned his head back toward the front. Then he opened his eyes and saw her face up close to his; he jumped in fright, ready to scream, but she placed her index finger on top of his soft lips to calm him down.
“Shhh…” she whispered as his eyes locked into hers.
He stood frozen and closed his mouth. Her fingers slowly traced his lips as it made its way to his chin, then to his cheekbone to feel his soft skin. Cecilia threw herself forward to hug him tight. He felt her breasts on his chest and could feel her hot breath close to his neck. His heart began to race rapidly from the close physical contact and gulped his saliva nervously. Then she began to lick and suck his neck, which caught Xing Fu by surprise. He tried to pull her off, but her grip was too strong.
While she continue kissing him, he politely pleaded, “Xiao Xing…please…don’t…”
She ignored him and took off his shirt. Then she pushed him down to the ground and got on top of him. She continued her seductive behavior by sucking and licking him as she made her way down to his lower abdomen. He loved how her lips and tongue felt against his skin and enjoyed every bit of it. Then she gave him one, long lick up from his abdomen to his chin like an animal. His skin tasted deliciously against her tongue, turning her on, that she wanted him inside of her badly.
She took off her red robe and was completely naked. He gaped at her plumped breasts and was speechless. Quickly, she grabbed both of his hands and cupped her breasts, forcing him to squeeze them to feel its firmed tenderness. She rubbed herself against his groin to arouse him even further.
“Make love to me,” she moaned.
His eyes widened in bewilderment.
---
Back at the stream, the fog had already disappeared. Cecilia suddenly woke up with a strange feeling that something was wrong. She shouted Xing Fu’s name. Nothing. She went to check on him to make sure he was sleeping. She peered through the draped clothes and saw that he wasn’t there. Worried, she got up, quickly put on her top robe, and went to search for him.
---
Feeling Cecilia’s body on top of him felt so good. Touching her soft skin on her breasts and making his way down to her hips; he wanted her. However, back in his mind, he contemplated if he should or should not. He began to think about her complicated life. Although he loved her, this wasn't the right time.
She leaned forward to kiss him more on his chin and neck while her hand slowly slipped into his pants. He felt her fingers down there and knew what she was going to do next. He had to stop this immediately and pushed her off of him with all of his strength. Cecilia fell to the side and onto the ground. He quickly got up to fix his pants.
“Xiao Xing, I’m sorry that I pushed you away. As much as I want this…I…I can’t. I love you too much for you to not do this.”
Frustrated, she let out a high pitched cry and it made Xing Fu became flummoxed. Her naked body got onto all fours and suddenly shape shifted in front of his eyes as he watched in horror. Her beautiful ivory skin was torn off like nothing to reveal a thick charcoal fur. Her face extended into a bear-like beast, eyes glowed blood red, teeth transformed into huge fangs, and fingers morphed to huge sharped claws. Now, Xing Fu realized he was led into a forest by a demon beast. Too petrified to move, he let out a loud cry of terror. The demon beast mimicked his cry and roared loudly in unison with him.
Cecilia stopped in the middle of the forest when she heard Xing Fu’s and the monstrous cries. Her heart sank to know that Xing Fu was in trouble, so she ran with great speed to the direction of the cries.
Xing Fu frantically searched for his talisman on his neck and found it. His hand trembled as he held it in front of the demon beast to scare it away. It wasn’t affected by the talisman and leapt in the air toward him.
BAM! A huge stick struck the demon beast across the face so hard that the stick broke in half. It flew backwards and hit a nearby tree. Xing Fu turned to look who helped him and saw that it was the real Cecilia. She saw that he was half naked with red marks all over his chest and neck area. Then she looked down at his bulging pants and was disgusted. She didn’t want to know what just happened. It wasn’t a good time to ask questions now.
“Are you ok?”
Still trembling from the event, he nodded. Then she turned and glared at the demon beast. It shook its head to refocus from the blow. Besides Guo Jing, from hearing all of the demon encounters, she never thought that she would see one in person; especially an ugly one.
Still holding onto the broken stick, she stood firm, ready to fight it. It got back up onto its feet and saw her. Frightened, it quickly ran away and left her puzzled by its behavior. Then she knew why; it was because of her special qi.
The demon beast didn’t get too far though. As it leapt to the nearby bushes, two men flew out of with their swords and slashed the demon beast in the front. It let out a painful roar and fell to the ground. The men stood a couple of feet away with their swords aimed at it, ready to fight.
Xing Fu and Cecilia were surprised to see their unexpected presence. One was a young slender man. He had a cute baby face and big espresso eyes. His hair was up into a high bun, wearing a cleaned, midnight blue robe, and across his shoulder was a raggedy bag.
The other man was an older man. He looked very different comparing to the cute baby face man. He wore a tan, raggedy layered outfit and on his belt was a bottle of wine and a strange ivory vase. His beard was overgrown, but it matched with his scruffy hair. Only a small portion of his hair was tied back, leaving many strands of hair to cover his hidden face. Then Cecilia saw the old man’s sword was glowing with blue flames. She had never seen anything magical like it before and was intrigued by it.
The demon beast charged at the men with full force and swung its sharped claws at them. They swiftly dodged the claws and counter attacked with their swords. Then the old man shouted to the young man.
“Take out the holy beads!”
The young man stopped fighting and stuck his blade onto the ground. He searched in his sack for the beads while the old man continued to fight with the demon beast. The young man found it and wrapped it around his fingers. He started to chant and beads began to glow golden yellow. The chant was finished and he flung it in midair and the necklace expanded ten times it's width.
Little dust particles came out flying like blood and disintegrated every time when the old man slashed deep into the demon beast’s flesh with his sword. Then he kicked the demon beast and it fell to the ground injured. The young man aimed his index and middle finger at the demon beast.
“Capture,” he commanded the beads.
The beads quickly flew toward the demon beast and wrapped around it. The demon beast struggled to get out, but the more it did, the tighter the beads gotten to restrain it.
The old man stuck his blade onto the earth’s ground and pulled out the small ivory vase from his belt. He aimed the vase’s open hole at the beast and did a quick hand motion to activate it. Wind began to pick up as the vase’s open hole glowed golden yellow. It became a vacuum, sucking any supernatural beings that would be in front of it. Then with his index and middle finger, he commanded the beads.
“Come.”
The beads did as told, and as it got close to the vase, the demon was sucked into the hole and disappeared along with the wind. The beads came straight to his hand and he grabbed it. The golden-yellowish glow disappeared from the vase and he hung the vase back on his belt. The sword’s blue flame also disappeared and became a regular sword. He pulled it out from the ground and placed it back in its sheath.
While Xing Fu finished putting on his shirt, Cecilia stood dumbstruck by what she had just witnessed and wondered who they might be. The men regrouped and began to walk toward Xing Fu and Cecilia. They stood a couple of feet in front of them.
Xing Fu folded his hand in front, “Thank you for saving us heroes. My name is Yu Xing Fu,” then he guided his hand toward Cecilia to introduce her to them, “and this is Xiao Xing.”
The young man introduced themselves. “We are the demon hunters, but everyone calls us the Wanderers of Seven Seas. My name is Cui De Ming and this is my master, Ma Guo Wei.”
They exchanged greetings and then Guo Wei asked, “What brings the both of you here in the forest. You know that it is dangerous roaming at night.”
Xing Fu responded, “We fell asleep and thought with our talismans, we would be safe…” Then he took off his talisman from his neck and showed it to the demon hunters. He scratched his head. “I don’t get it. It supposed to protect me, so how come it didn’t?”
Guo Wei quickly grabbed it from his hand and threw it far into the dark forest. Cecilia and Xing Fu looked at him shocked.
“Why did you do that for?!” he said upsettingly.
Guo Wei huffed at him. “IT’S FAKE!”
Cecilia was upset and scoffed. “That perverted bastard was a con artist after all,” and crossed her arms in front as she glanced at Xing Fu.
Xing Fu blinked a couple of times in disbelief. He felt stupid from being conned by him. “I’ve lost fifteen pieces of silver…” and lowered his head.
She felt bad for him and patted his shoulder to comfort him. “It’s ok. You didn’t know.”
The demon hunters shook their heads, pitying Xing Fu as well.
Then Guo Wei turned to them. “Since it is very late, we will sleep here tonight. I will put up a protection spell so no demons can harm us.”
Xing Fu and Cecilia nodded.
Guo Wei did some hand formations and stomped his foot onto the ground. A huge gust of internal qi came out of his body followed by a wind. The wind brushed against her body and then she felt something hot for a split second, then back to normal.
“Why did my body feel hot?” she asked Guo Wei.
“That was the effect of the protection spell,” he answered. Then he turned to De Ming. “Get a fire started for the night.”
“Alright.”
---
De Ming was hungry and caught a rabbit for a late midnight snack. It had been roasting on top of the fire for a while, so he pulled the stick with the meat out. He then handed it to his master, who sat next to him with a bottle of wine in his hands.
“Here master, eat.”
Guo Wei pulled out a leg and took a bite out of it. Then he signaled to De Ming using his head gesture.
“Offer some food for them.”
De Ming handed the meat to them in arm's reach, but Xing Fu and Cecilia shook their heads.
“No thank you,” she said.
De Ming shrugged, “Ok, more for me,” and took a bite of the meat. He started to converse with his mouth full. “You know, these types of demon used their victims’ hearts to find who they truly loved the most and shape shifted themselves into them. That was how they lured their victims.” He swallowed his meat and continued while he looked at Xing Fu, “When we saw you half naked with those red marks on your body, we knew you were the victim.”
Feeling embarrassed, Xing Fu’s head lowered to his chest. De Ming continued, “You were lucky that you didn’t sleep with it or else it would have sucked the life force out of you. Then you would have become a dry corpse.”
That freaked Xing Fu and Cecilia out. Xing Fu was so close to be dead, but at the same time, he was glad he resisted it.
Cecilia turned to Xing Fu, “So who did it shape shifted to?”
Xing Fu stared at her and then her naked body came into his mind. He blushed and turned away. The demon hunters saw his facial expression and knew who Xing Fu was thinking.
De Ming blurted out, pointing at her. “YOU!”
Guo Wei smacked De Ming back on the head.
“Ow!”
“Shut your mouth!” Guo Wei scorned.
Stunned, Xing Fu and Cecilia’s eyes widened. Cecilia turned to Xing Fu and saw his face was red like a beet. Her heart fluttered with happiness to know it was her he loved the most. Besides the beast trying to kill Xing Fu, she was glad that his feelings were shown through it and tightened her smile. Then she thought about him being stupid to almost have sex with the demon beast and punched him on the arm.
“Ow…” he looked at her confused.
Guo Wei and De Ming froze with their food in their mouth. They were surprised that she had the nerve to hit him.
De Ming turned to his master. “She reminded me of you…”
Guo Wei got offended and raised his hand to smack his back head again, but De Ming was already prepared. He quickly scooted away from his master. Guo Wei saw what he was trying to do, so he took his sword and reached to hit him with its handle instead.
“Ow! That hurts even more!” De Ming rubbed his back head.
Both Cecilia and Guo Wei scorned De Ming, “You deserve it!”
De Ming was surprised of their similar behaviors and wanted to say something, but he remained quiet. He didn’t want to get smacked again.
She was disappointed at Xing Fu. “I can’t believe that you couldn’t tell the difference between me and the demon beast!”
“How…how can I? You were…I mean…it was…uh…never mind!”
Guo Wei interrupted, “Miss Xiao, you have to understand that when a man is approached by a seductive woman, it is very hard for him to control himself when being aroused.” He took a drink of his wine and continued, “You should be glad that Mr. Yu resisted. He’s a pure man. A lot of men in his situation usually cannot control their urges and die sleeping with these lustful demons.”
He turned to Xing Fu, “Here…” he threw the wine bottle at Xing Fu and he caught it. “Drink up. You are one strong man to resist a sexy demon..." Then Guo Wei dug into his shirt pocket, took a small pouch of wine out, and drank it.
Xing Fu gave him a slight smile and knew it was true. Then he looked at Cecilia from the corner of his eyes and saw her poking the dirt with a small stick vigrously.
“Still, he should know the differences…” she mumbled upsettingly.
Xing Fu's smile disappeared and took a big gulp of wine from the bottle. His face cringed from the bitter taste, but that didn’t stop him. He kept drinking so that he could forget the incident and her naked body.
While she continued to poke the stick through the dirt, she felt violated that the demon beast shape shifted into her to arouse him. Although it wasn’t her, Xing Fu may have seen her naked body now. She looked down at her body and sighed to know she couldn't do anything about it. Then she turned to Xing Fu and saw that he was already drunk.
He smiled at her. “…I...didn’t sleep with you…” Then he plopped onto the ground, passed out.
“I guess he can’t handle alcohol,” commented Guo Wei and took a drink from his pouched wine.
Guo Wei got up and went to grab his bottle of wine on the ground next to Xing Fu and walked back to his seat.
She stared at Xing Fu and thought, "Xing Fu, you did fight the demon beast well. No matter if it tried to tempt you to have sex, you resisted..." She smiled, "You are a pure man; a man with a good heart and good intentions.Tha t was why I fell for you." Then she touched the heart necklace around her neck and felt the warm feeling.
"If I developed these new feelings toward Xing Fu, will it change my lost love for the faceless man, Kai? If not, how will I handle it if my memories come back?"
Not knowing what to do, she sadly sighed.
---
Early the next morning, Cecilia woke up from a faint hum. She sat up and saw Xing Fu and De Ming were still asleep, but Guo Wei was nowhere to be found. The humming continued. Curious of who it maybe, she got up to follow it. As she walked through the forest, the humming got louder. She listened carefully and the humming turned to out to be a melody. The melody was sweet and full of love, like it was meant for a love couple. The weird thing was that she felt like she heard it before.
Is this one of my lost memories? She asked herself.
Finally she reached to the place where the melody was being hummed and saw Guo Wei sitting on a big rock. His eyes were closed and head tilted up toward the sky, humming. In his hand, he held his magical sword closed by. She stared at him and wondered what his story was to hum such a lovely tune. Nevertheless, she wanted to know if there was a connection between him and her.
Could he be the faceless man?
With his thick beard, she couldn’t tell from his chin. She needed to know.
Her brows furrowed. “Kai?” she asked, interrupting him.
Guo Wei stopped humming and turned to her. He raised a brow and looked around to see who she was addressing to. He was the only one here with her, so he pointed at himself.
“Me? Are you talking to me?”
“Are you Kai?” she asked again.
He chuckled at her question and shook his head. “Miss Xiao, you have mistaken me. Have you forgotten my name already?” He got off of the rock and walked toward her. “You didn’t even drink wine last night…I’m Ma Guo Wei…”
She guessed he wasn’t Kai. “I’m sorry. I thought you maybe someone that I know…”
“Oh? And his name is Kai?”
She nodded.
He crossed his arms in front and stroked his beard. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not him.” Then he leaned forward and became curious. “Is he your…lover?”
She was stunned by his question. “I…I…think I am…”
He gave her a strange look. “Huh? It’s either you are or you aren’t. So which one is it?”
“It’s complicated.” She turned to the side and crossed her arms in front.
“Tell this old fellow what’s rambling in your head.”
She turned to him and lifted a quizzical brow.
“Ok…I guess not…”
He shook his head and sighed. They were silent for a bit and then she asked, “The melody that you’ve just hummed, did you composed it?”
His face lightened. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve been humming this melody since…I do not know when.” He stared at the blue sky, thinking deeply as he stroked his beard with one hand and the other hand placed on his waist. Then he continued, “You know…it’s always been a mystery to me.” Then he shrugged, “Oh well.”
He reminded her of the forbidden love story of Lu Bing Wei and Chen Da Chun. She thought to herself. Whatever this drunken demon hunter’s story was, it must have been tragic to hum a lover’s melody and not know why. But surely she knew that her, Chen Da Chun, and Guo Wei had something in common; lost memories. She wondered how many people out there were like her.
Then a white dove flew overhead. Cecilia and Guo Wei stared at it as it circled in the sky; Guo Wei knew what it was. The dove unraveled into a letter and he started to read it. Cecilia was awed by this magic and stared at the characters in the letter. After he was done reading, he had an unpleasant look of urgency.
“What does it say?” she asked him.
Guo Wei was surprised that she couldn’t read. “It says I need to leave to go somewhere important.”
From what she could tell by the letter’s many characters, it was a lengthy letter. “You didn’t read to me what it really said.”
Guo Wei waved his hand up in the sky and the letter dispersed into many particles and disappeared.
“I summarized it.” Then he turned to her, “You do not need to know what it completely said because it wasn’t for you.”
She had a bummed look on her face. She thought he would at least teach her some of the characters from the letter so she could read.
“Come, let’s walk back to the site.”
He walked ahead while she trailed behind. They got back to the site and Xing Fu and De Ming were already up. Xing Fu ran to her.
“Where did you go? I was worried about you.”
“Don’t worry, she was with me,” answered Guo Wei. Then he asked, “Do you two perhaps know who Chen Guo Jing is?”
Both turned to glance at each other. Knowing that Guo Wei is a demon hunter and that Guo Jing was an ex demon, they wondered what Guo Wei wanted from him. Cecilia thought about the dove letter and pondered if it had something to do with Guo Jing.
Curious, she nodded. “We’ll take you to him.”
Xing Fu stared at her surprised by her answered. "Had she forgotten about Wu Jian?"
-
CHAPTER 15: SURPRISES
“What are you doing? You know that Wu Jian is still at Wei Chen Clinic right?” Xing Fu whispered to Cecilia as they traveled to Mu Village.
She shrugged her shoulders, “Oh well. I will have to face him then.”
He lifted his brow, “R…Really?”
Cecilia turned to Xing Fu and gave him a serious look. “Why are you so scared of that A**hole? Weren’t you the one that said you will risk your life to protect me?”
“I did, but that doesn’t mean to get into more trouble with him.”
Cecilia let out a sigh. “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything stupid to jeopardize everyone’s lives.”
Guo Wei and De Ming were ahead of them and heard their conversation. They glanced at each other and shook their heads.
“They are like a bickering old couple,” whispered De Ming.
Guo Wei drank his wine bottle and then responded, “That is why you should not get into a relationship. Women will only give you headaches.”
De Ming nodded, “Oh…”
She understood Xing Fu’s concern for her, but Wu Jian was the last person for her to worry about. She had too many things that were more important than to deal with an egotistic a**hole. Her main concerned now was Guo Jing due to his hidden true identity. When she saw Guo Wei’s expression after he read the magical letter, she knew something was wrong. Her concerned heighten even more when he wanted to meet with Guo Jing. All she knew was that their identities clashed-one was a demon hunter and the other was an ex demon. Her only main concerned was that Guo Wei may harm a good ex demon like Guo Jing or worse, trapped him into his jaded vase like what he did to the demon beast.
Guo Wei slightly turned his head to see them from the corner of his eyes. “What does Chen Guo Jing do for a living?”
Xing Fu answered, “He’s one of the village physicians.”
Guo Jing paused a bit. “I see…”
Curious she asked, “What do you want from him anyway?”
He stroked his scruffy beard, “Just…something,” and left it like that.
Since Guo Wei didn’t want to share his reason, she would have to force it out from his student, De Ming. At least he should know something. Guo Wei raised this bottle of wine to drink, but there were no more drops left. He put it back on his belt and took out his wine pouch from his shirt pocket. He shook the pouch and heard the sound of liquid. Relieved, he drank it
“Ah…De Ming, we will have to stop by a wine shop after our meeting.”
“Ok.”
“All you do is drink. How can you hunt demons without a clear mind?” she asked.
Guo Wei burst out laughing, “My body can handle more than you think Miss Xiao. In fact, alcohol is my best friend. I cannot live without it.”
“Don’t get my master wrong, when he’s drunk, his mind is clearer and can defeat demons like nothing.”
Hearing De Ming’s boastful comment was impressive to Xing Fu; but as for Cecilia, she only rolled her eyes and thought it was ridiculous. She never heard alcohol could boost someone’s strength nor have a cleared mind. Usually a person would be drunk and do stupid stuff or be knocked out easily like Xing Fu..
---
They finally reached to Mu Village and De Ming was excited to see a lot of people. This was his and Guo wei's opportunity to get as much clients as they could during their stay. As a wanderer, one had to make a living to survive. For De Ming and Guo Wei, they offered their services of exorcism and fortune telling. The more people in the village, the more money they make. Due to the recent demon epidemic, their needed services had tripled and their income had increased.
“Master…”
Guo Wei interrupted him, “I know what you are thinking and the answer is NO.”
“But we’re low in money…”
“We can still survive for another month.”
Bummed, De Ming sighed sadly, “Fine…”
Guo Wei turned to Xing Fu, “Mu Village is a maze. How can visitors expect to find their way around here?”
“That is why they ask the locals. You see, this village was built to confuse enemies if there was ever an attack.”
Guo Wei stroked his beard, “I see…smart…”
As they continued walking, Xing Fu acted like their tour guide. While Xing Fu and Guo Wei walked ahead, Cecilia took the chance to ask De Ming.
She nudged his arm, “Ey, what does your master want with Physician Guo?” she asked.
De Ming shrugged. “I don’t know. This is my first time hearing Chen Guo Jing’s name.”
She thought that was odd. “Shouldn’t masters tell their students everything? Even secrets?”
He gave her a weird look. “Are you crazy? Not EVERYTHING should be shared. I do not want to know what he thinks, dreams, or even…” he whispered to her to only hear, “…does during his private times. That’s an invasion of privacy if you know what I mean…Anyway, why do you ask?”
She looked at the ground, “Oh Uh…it’s nothing important. I’m just curious…”
Since she couldn’t get any information from De Ming, all she could do was to wait and see. They finally reached the gate entrance to Wei Chen Clinic and walked inside. Guo Jing was outside in the front yard watering some flowers when he heard footsteps behind him.
“I’ll be right with you.”
“Physician Guo…”
Guo Jing recognized Xing Fu’s voice and stopped watering the plants. He turned around and saw Xing Fu and Cecilia stood a few feet away from him with two other people.
“Xing Fu…Miss Xiao? Why are the both of you back here again
Then he looked briefly at De Ming and Guo Wei; he immediately noticed the sword that Guo Wei carried.
“Ma Guo Wei?”
Guo Wei nodded with a big smile on his face. Both thrilled to see each other and hugged.
“It’s great to see you!” Guo Wei said happily.
“Old friend, it has been a long time!” He stared at Guo Wei’s scruffy physical appearance. “What happened to you? You look…horrible.”
Guo Wei looked down at himself and then back at Guo Jing.
“Why? You don’t like it?” he laughed jokingly.
Cecilia pointed at both of them with a puzzled face. “Y…you two…are friends?”
Guo Jing nodded. Cecilia let out a short laugh of relief, glad to know Guo Wei wasn’t here to harm Guo Jing after all.
---
In the backyard, Guo Jing and Guo Wei sat down around a stone round table. Guo Jing poured a cup of wine for Guo Wei.
“You have to try this. It’s Mu Village’s best wine.”
Guo Wei picked up the cup of wine and drank it. His face broke into a grin of pure pleasure. He shouted with a boisterous laugh, “This is indeed the best wine! What is it called?”
“Ten thousand years old wine made from Plum Blossom Inn’s winery.”
Guo Wei nodded, “It lives up to its name.”
Guo Jing poured another cup for him.
“It’s been twenty six years that we haven’t seen each other. I’m surprised that you found me.”
“I’ve met Miss Xiao and Mr. Yu along the way and they guided me to your place.”
“It’s fate that you crossed path with them or else there won’t be a reunion then.”
Both men guffawed at the comment and drank their wine.
“So old friend, what brings you here?
Guo Wei shook his head as he exhaled. “I’ve just gotten an urgent news that the Demon Realm Seal has been broken, so I came to seek for your guidance.”
Guo Jing’s smile disappeared.
---
Xing Fu and Cecilia took De Ming out to explore Mu village. During their walk, De Ming stopped by the vending tables to buy small figurines and crafts. He saw a table full of jades and walked toward it amazed.
“WOW! There are so many different types of jades here…”
Seeing De Ming full of enthusiasm, Xing Fu and Cecilia looked at the items on the table also. There was one particular item that caught Cecilia’s attention. It was a heart made out of purest green jade and in the middle, carved an unknown character. She picked it up to get a closer look at the craftsmanship. From the corner of Xing Fu’s eyes, he saw her interested in the item.
“Do you like it?”
She nodded. “I’ve never seen a jade this green before. It’s pretty.” Then she showed him the jaded heart, “What does the character say?”
“It says love.”
She repeated the word as she traced the lines that formed the character.
Xing Fu turned to the owner, “How much is it for this item?”
Cecilia quickly turned to him, surprised of what he was doing.
“Five silver pieces,” said the owner.
Xing Fu grabbed his money pouch from his shirt pocket but Cecilia grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Xing Fu…You do not need to buy me this jade. Save your money for something more important.”
He gazed at her with a warm smile, “You are important.”
She started to blush and couldn’t help but smiled happily by his comment. She let go of his arm and he pulled out the money pouch to pay for the item. After he was done, he turned to her.
“It’s yours now.”
“Thank you.”
De Ming also bought a jade and turned to them, “Are you two ready?”
“Yes,” replied Xing Fu.
They left the vending table and went to another. Throughout the day, De Ming continued his shopping, while Xing Fu and Cecilia enjoyed each other’s presence. Then he did the unexpected. Bravely, he grabbed her hand and held it. Surprised by what he did, she quickly turned and saw his smiling face stared down at her. She felt the tingling feeling of happiness and began to move her fingers to intertwine with his, feeling his soft fingers between hers. His brows lifted in surprise by the unexpected and felt overjoyed to know her feelings toward him. They chuckled, walking and holding hands as a couple.
Close to the end of their day, De Ming had a bag full of items that he had bought and started to have second thoughts.
“I think I’ve gone overboard on my spending…Mast…”
He turned around and they were far behind him. They took their sweet time walking and holding hands. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as he waited for them.
When they finally caught up with him, he stared down at their hands and teased, “Get a room you two.” Both blushed and let go of each other’s hands.
De Ming continued what he was about to say to them. “I think I’ve gone overboard on my spending…Master is going to kill me if he sees all of this stuff.”
Cecilia folded her arms in front and shook her head. “You should have stopped.”
“I can’t help it…” De Ming stared down at his bag full of items, “...These are for my small friends…”
They gave him a quizzical look. “What do you mean small friends,” asked Cecilia.
De Ming took out a small woven pouch that had a diamond shaped symbol sewn on it. Cecilia saw the shape and felt like she had seen it before, but couldn’t remember where. Making sure that nobody else was listening to the conversation, De Ming whispered loudly to them.
“Inside are three little fairies that I’ve brought with me. As I being the only student that traveled with master, it gets very lonely. They were my master’s, and he gave it to me as a child to keep me company.” He puts it back in his shirt pocket.
“Can you show it to us?” Xing Fu asked.
“No. They are very shy around people and only a few know of its existence…It took them three years just to get comfortable with me…Anyway, they love gifts.”
“You spoiled them too much,” she teased.
Guo Wei had also said that to him numerous of times, but De Ming couldn’t help it. Besides Guo Wei, the fairies were the only family that De Ming has, and they meant dearly to him. He shrugged his shoulders and gave her a wide grin.
“What can I say?”
As they continued to walk back to the clinic, they passed a restaurant. Inside next to the window, the con artist that Xing Fu and Cecilia had encountered was eating with a couple of men; this time, he didn’t have any mustache on. The con artist happened to glanced outside and saw her. Afraid, he immediately turned his head away and covered his face with his hand. The other men looked at him confused.
“What’s wrong?” asked the bearded man.
The con artist directed his eyes to Cecilia’s way for the men to see. “That woman…I sold a talisman to the man next to her. She threatened me that she would find me if the talisman was fake.”
Both men turned and saw Cecilia. They were immediately attracted to her and stared at her up and down at her body.
“That beauty over there?” asked the other man.
The con artist nodded.
The bearded man stroked his bottom beard, “Since this is our last day before we leave to do business elsewhere, let’s have a little fun with her…eh?”
All three had lustful grins and nodded.
---
There was a small performance on De Ming’s side and he was interested to see what it was. He made Xing Fu and Cecilia come with him to see. As they got closer, they saw a man showing off his sword skills for the crowd to watch. His skills were swift as he twisted his sword around with his body. The crowd cheered and clapped their hands for the swordsman. As the three watched, the bearded man from the restaurant shoved in between Xing Fu and Cecilia, pretending to unnoticed them. He cheered along with the crowd, while Xing Fu and Cecilia stared at him upsettingly by his rude intrusion.
“Hey!” she yelled at the bearded man.
The bearded man ignored her and continued to cheer. She and Xing Fu looked at each other and decided not to cause a scene. They went back to watch the performance, then she heard a familiar male voice.
“Talismans for sale!”
She knew instantly who the man was and turned to the side. There stood the con artist, holding talismans up for people to buy. She noticed that this time the man didn’t have a mustache, and her blood started to boil in anger.
Some people stopped by to take a look at his talismans. It made her anxious and worried for the people because their lives were going to be in danger because of him. She wanted to tell Xing Fu; but knowing him, he would stop her from doing anything stupid. She decided to take matters in her own hands and walked toward the con artist. The bearded man turned to see her leave and grinned; their plan worked.
The con artist turned his head and saw Cecilia approached him in a fast walking pace. Frightened to see her, he quickly dropped what he was doing and began to run away from her. She picked up her speed and started to run after him, shouting for him to stop. As she shouted, the bearded man purposely drowned her voice by cheering loudly at the swordsman so Xing Fu and De Ming couldn’t hear. After she disappeared from their sight, the bearded man stayed a couple of more minutes and then left.
Cecilia chased him through the village, turning corners and out of the alleys to another. The con artist was surprised that she was a fast runner and started to run with all of his energy, panting and sweating.
Not too far in front of them, Ching Chen strolled down the street while four men followed him from behind, carrying a sedan. He was glad that finally today, they were able to leave Mu Village. Since they were already late for their mission, Wu Jian wanted to stop by a couple of shops to buy some apologetic gifts. Then Ching Chen heard a familiar female voice shouting from behind.
“Stop right there!”
He turned and saw the con artist ran passed him followed by Cecilia. His eyes widened in shock to see her again. He turned to the sedan and saw Wu Jian had already peered out from the cloth. His cold piercing eyes narrowed at her as she ran passed them. Ching Chen knew that there was no chance for them to leave Mu Village now since he had seen her. He became frustrated, but remained calmed, not wanting to reveal his impatience with Wu Jian..
“That was the dirty low life.”
Ching Chen couldn’t lie. “Yes, it was her.”
Ching Chen knew what Wu Jian was going to say next, but he asked anyway. “Do you want us to follow her?”
“OF COURSE!”
He tried to find a way for Wu Jian to forget Cecilia. “But your ankle…”
Wu Jian grabbed the crutches inside the sedan. “With these and my Lightness Skill, I can fly with ease. I am not going have my ankle stop me from chasing after her.”
He put the crutches underneath each arm and with his internal qi, he pushed his body off the sedan with full force using the crutches and flew to the roof. The four men felt the pressure from their shoulders and dropped the sedan. The village people saw him and were struck in awed as he swiftly flew from one rooftop to another. All Ching Chen could do was sighed at the sight; he had tried his best.
He turned to the four men, “Wait here.” Then he flew up to the roof to follow him.
---
The con artist took a sharp right turn around the corner and disappeared from her. She also took that sharp turn and stopped. It was a dead end and there the con artist was, bending down as he tried to catch his breath.
He pointed at her, “You’re…ve…very…fast…”
She folded her arms in front and smirked. “Perverted bastard, I’ve warned you that I would find you if the talisman was fake.”
Just then, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around and saw two other men stood, holding their large knives, as they blocked the exit. She recognized the bearded man from the crowd and instantly knew that this was a trap. The con artist purposely lured her to a dead end, and she couldn’t believe that she felt for it.
The con artist snickered at her. “You have nowhere to go beautiful.”
They came toward her and she took some steps backwards until her back was against the wall. Her heart began to pound fast, knowing she was in trouble.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Since my sworn brothers and I are leaving tonight, we’ve decided to enjoy ourselves…” the con artist stared at her body and licked his lips “…with you…and if you don’t cooperate…” The men showed her their knives to taunt her. He continued, “…we will make sure your pretty face and body be full of scars.”
The con artist got close to her with his knife placed onto her face. By instinct, she grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm back hard. He yelped in pain and turned to his sworn brothers.
“WHAT ARE YOU TWO STANDING THERE FOR! KILL THE B***H!”
The two men charged toward her with their knives. She kicked the con artist from behind and he ran uncontrollably toward them. They moved out of the way as he fell to the ground, and continued charging at her. Their knives swung at her from every direction, but she dodged them with ease to avoid being stabbed. The bearded man thrust the knife forward to stab her but she grabbed his wrist and knocked the knife out of his hand. As the knife fell, she quickly grabbed the handle before it hit the ground and stabbed him on his right thigh. He screamed in pain as blood started to seep through; then she pulled the bloody knife out and quickly swung it around to cut deep across the bearded man’s chest. She kicked him and he flew to the ground wounded.
Their knives clanged as it made contact. Every time they tried to stab her, she used the knife to block it as if it was a sword. The other man tried to stab her, but she dodged to the side and stabbed him on the forearm with her knife, making him dropped his knife, and he cried in pain.
The con artist quickly came from behind her and she slightly turned to see him. She pulled out the knife from his forearm and threw it at him. It flew like dagger and struck his upper shoulder with force. He fell down onto the ground and lay on his back. She picked up the other knife and got on top of the con artist’s chest, aiming the point blade down at his face. Struck with horror, he pleaded.
“P…Please don’t kill me…!”
She let out an anguish roar as she forced the knife down at him. He screamed in terror and shut his eyes tightly.
“I’M SORRY!” he cried loudly as tears streamed down his face.
Everything became dark and there was only heavy breathing. He was still alive and slowly peeked with one eye. He saw the blade aimed at him; she had stopped in close range, about a centimeter, from his forehead. He was so scared of her that he peed in his pants. Realizing what she did, she got off of him and sat on the ground. The con artist quickly got up to join his other two wounded brothers. Too scared to continue fighting with her, they limped away out of the exit.
In shock, Cecilia stared down at her trembling hands by the sight of blood. Hot tears streamed down her face and fell onto her bloody hands. She was in disbelief that she almost killed the three men. This wasn’t like her special qi of healing or killing demons, this time it different. She was driven to kill and felt that she had done it many times before from her past. Now, her lost memories terrified her even more than ever.
“Who am I really?”
She buried herself in the comfort of her own arms as she cried.
“Get up dirty low life.”
She stopped crying and instantly knew that the voice was Wu Jian. Her head lifted to see him staring down at her as he shook his head and sighed. Then he stared down at her bloody hands. She knew that he was looking at them and quickly hid it from his sight. He lifted one of his crutches up to the side and pointed at a huge clayed jug against the wall.
“There’s water over there so get yourself clean up.”
Surprised that he didn’t scold or fought her, she slowly got up. At the entrance, Ching Chen finally caught up with Wu Jian and saw them standing. On the ground, he saw the knives and then his eyes shifted to her bloody hands.
“What happened?”
She was still in shock and couldn’t speak, so Wu Jian spoke for her.
“Three men tried to assault Miss Xiao, so she defended herself.”
He saw everything?! She wondered how long he had watched her fought those men and turned to stare at him. He saw her facial expression and gave a short huff as he grinned.
“I never knew that you could fight Miss Xiao…”
Ching Chen couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Is that true Miss Xiao?” he asked to be certain.
She nodded as tears fell again and quickly wiped them with her sleeve.
-
Hi Surikoo, do you by any chance have this in a word document? To be honest I dislike reading long things on the computer because I start getting dizzy after a while. If not, I hope you don't mind I compile the story on to a word document. I promise you I will not publish it behind your back and not split the millions, which I may or may not have already made by selling your work to a movie producer in China, with you.
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Hi Surikoo, do you by any chance have this in a word document? To be honest I dislike reading long things on the computer because I start getting dizzy after a while. If not, I hope you don't mind I compile the story on to a word document. I promise you I will not publish it behind your back and not split the millions, which I may or may not have already made by selling your work to a movie producer in China, with you.
LOL...You better split the millions if made. ;D
I do have it in word document. How about PDF form?
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LOL...You better split the millions if made. ;D
I do have it in word document. How about PDF form?
That works too. Do you have it hosted somewhere so I can grab it?
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That works too. Do you have it hosted somewhere so I can grab it?
I'll PM you.
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I haven't been here for a long while now. Here is ch 16. Enjoy.
-----
CHAPTER 16: IDENTITIES UNRAVELLED
Wu Jian and Ching Chen walked with Cecilia back to the clinic to make sure she didn’t get into anymore mishaps. During their walk, she told them about her memory loss, but left the parts of her ability to heal and kill demons, so they could have a better understanding her situation. It was not their business to know more since she wasn’t close to them and she despised Wu Jian. They listened to her story with an open mind and pitied her. She was like a lost soul that wandered the world unknowing of her fate.
“I’m deeply saddened about your situation. It must be very hard for you to adjust,” said Ching Chen.
“It is, but I am glad to have friends to help me through this.”
She thought about Xing Fu and the Physicians. They were the ones that helped her since the beginning. She owed a lot to them, especially Xing Fu. Then she started to think about her feeling for Xing Fu. It grew after she revealed nonverbally to him that she liked him. She touched the hand that held his and could still feel his warmth and softness of his skin. Her face started to glow.
Wu Jian glanced down at her and saw her smiling. “What are you so happy about?”
“It’s none of your business,” she replied.
He gave a quick huff, “Like I want to know anyways…” and walked away from her.
She sneered at him and then looked down at the crutches that helped support Wu Jian’s weight as he walked. Cecilia thought about his unexpected entrance after she fought with the men. It was strange that he appeared out of nowhere. Usually there would have been sounds of footsteps entering the place but none was heard. Moreover, he could have helped instead of watching her from a distance.
She caught up with them and turned to him. “Why didn’t you help me back there?”
“That’s a stupid question. Can’t you see that I’m handicapped? Also, you were doing fine without my assistance.”
What he said was true. When she fought the three men, she felt that it was too easy. Their skills were mediocre compared to hers. She got chills just thinking about her ruthless skills and shook that feeling off.
There was silence among the three. In her mind, she contemplated on how to explain to Xing Fu and the Physicians about her assault. She didn’t want to scare them if they knew she could fight; losing the people she cared and loved was one thing that she feared the most.
Wu Jian kept glancing down at her, wondering about her real identity. A person that could use a knife like a sword to block every move must have very sharped eyes. Such skills as that would take years to master. When he stood on the rooftop to watch the fight, she fought with quickness, stabbing and throwing knives accurately at them. Then he saw her eyes; there was something about them that made his hairs on his skin rose. They were colder than his and merciless. Whoever she may be, he knew she was a woman no one should mess with. He wanted to know more of her background; but knowing that she lost her memories, it was harder to investigate.
They were a hundred feet away from the clinic and she saw Xing Fu, Physician Wei, and Guo Jing at the gated entrance. Xing Fu looked worried and paced back and forth, scratching his head, while Physician Wei tried to calm him down. She knew what was happening. Xing Fu was worried about her ever since she went missing. She stopped walking and became nervous. Wu Jian and Ching Chen looked at her.
“Why did you stop?” asked Ching Chen.
“I…I want the both of you to keep my ability of fighting a secret. I do not want them to know.” None of the men replied and it made her anxious. She pleaded, “Please?”
Wu Jian exhaled. “No. A person must always be truthful. That is one of the codes we as mortals live by.”
She bit her bottom lips and couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She felt stupid to tell them about her situation. Now everything was going to be revealed. Her head tilted down, saddened from all of this. Wu Jian saw her sudden facial expression from the corner of his eyes and his lips curled up. He enjoyed toying with her mind and feelings, while Ching Chen knew he was only playing around with her, and kept quiet.
Xing Fu turned and saw Cecilia stood there with Wu Jian and Ching Chen. He couldn’t understand why she was with Wu Jian, but was glad she was safe. He shouted her name, alerting Physician Wei and Guo Jing. They turned and saw them as well. Xing Fu ran toward her and quickly hugged her tightly in his arms. At first, she was astonished by the hug, but quickly warmed up to his affection and hugged him back.
“I was so worried about you.” Then he slowly let go of her. “What happened to you?”
“I…”
She tried to find words to say but couldn’t. She didn’t want to lie; yet, she also did not want to tell them what happened.
Again, Wu Jian spoke for her. “She was lured to a trap by the con artist and his men. They tried to assault her, but I came in time to help.”
She was baffled by his words, wondering why he was helping her lie. What happened to his code of being truthful? She couldn’t figure him out and turned to Ching Chen. He had a big grinned on his face, and winked to let her know that her secret was safe after all. She exhaled in relief.
Xing Fu got upset hearing about the con artist and clenched his fist. “Where is he?” he demanded.
Knowing that she could fight, Wu Jian scoffed to see Xing Fu get worked up for nothing. He stared down at Xing Fu’s physique.
“What are you going to do anyway? With no martial art skills, you’re just courting death.”
Xing Fu didn’t say anything because Wu Jian was right. He could have been dead and left her vulnerable for the men to continue their assault.
Physician Wei interrupted them. “Thank you Mr. Wu for saving Miss Xiao. Why don’t we all go inside and talk more?”
Wu Jian leaned on his crutches, folding his hands behind his back. “Fine.”
Ching Chen stared at Wu Jian in disbelief. Staying at Mu Village for a couple of days had already delayed their travel to their destination. Another day would be worse, worrying that Wu Jian’s father won’t be happy.
He turned to him, “But Young Master, we need to leave…”
“Another day won’t hurt.”
All Ching Chen could do was to accept what Wu Jian said and bowed his head slightly.
“Yes Young Master.”
Physician Wei laughed heartily, “Great! Let’s go in!”
Xing Fu lightly placed his hand on her shoulder as they walked. She stopped and looked at Xing Fu, “You go ahead inside first. I want to talk to Mr. Wu for a bit.”
Xing Fu glanced at Wu Jian and saw his cocky grin. He didn’t want her to be left alone with Wu Jian, but he had to respect her decision also.
“Fine, I’ll be at the gated entrance watching. I want to keep a close eye on him just in case he plays any dirty tricks.”
Cecilia sighed and nodded, “Fine. Now go.”
He left and stood at the entrance, watching Wu Jian like a hawk. Wu Jian signaled Ching Chen to leave also and left. Wu Jian playfully shivered in front of her as he looked at Xing Fu.
“Your boyfriend is creepy.”
Already being irritated by him, she replied, “He’s not creepy. He’s only protecting me from a**holes like you.”
He scoffed at her remark and dived into the question. “So, what do you want?”
She crossed her arms in front. “Why did you lie for me?”
“I only did it because of your pity situation.”
“Thank you,” and her lips tightened to a smile.
Then his tone of voice harshened. “Don’t get the wrong idea Miss Xiao. I’m only letting you off this time.” He started to walk away from her, “I still need to deal with you for the humiliation that you’ve caused upon me,” and huffed angrily.
She murmured, “A**hole.”
---
Guo Jing and Physician Wei walked Wu Jian and Ching Chen to the backyard. They got to a little garden full of different flowers and in the middle, was a small pond full of koi. Then they saw De Ming kneeled in front of Guo Wei. His head tilted down while Guo Wei lectured him.
“How many times do I have to remind you not to spend money for these fairies? The more you spoil them, the more materialistic they become!”
“I’m sorry master,” De Ming said softly.
Guo Wei took out his bottle of wine and raised it up to drink. He had forgotten that it was empty and got even more frustrated. “AIYA! Just when I need wine, it’s empty!” He paced back in forth in front of De Ming and then stopped. “You know the punishment so get into your position!”
“Oh…” he nodded.
De Ming stood on his knees, facing front, and raised his arms up to a ninety degree angle.
“Stay there for three hours to think of your wrong!”
“Oh...”
Guo Wei turned to leave and saw them stood there. They had watched and heard everything what was said. Wu Jian recognized the magic sword that Guo Wei was carrying.
“Isn’t that the Celestial Immortal Sword?”
Guo Wei stared at Wu Jian and wondered who this young lad was to know his sword’s name. He walked toward them as he stroked his scruffy beard. When he got in front of Wu Jian, his eyes stared down at his masculine physique.
Without any formal introduction, he asked, “Who might you be to know my sword’s name? Only a few knows it…” then he leaned forward, “…And these people are much OLDER than you…” He crossed his arms in front and started to twist his beard, continuing to stare at Wu Jian. “…Unless…you’re one of their kins…”
Guo Jing dumbfounded by Guo Wei’s assumption and turned to look at Wu Jian. “Are you one of the Mortal Protector’s kin?”
Wu Jian had a big smile and nodded. “I am the son of Wen Jian Tao, the Prince of Wu, Wen Long Wei.”
Guo Jing and Physician Wei’s eyes bulged like they were going to pop out, hearing of Wu Jian’s royal identity. But what baffled them the most was Wu Jian’s identity as the kin of a Mortal Protector. Guo Jing, Guo Wei, and Physician Wei folded their hands in front and bowed their heads to address him.
“Prince of Wu, the kin of Mortal Protector, forgive us for not noticing you during your stay here.” said Guo Jing.
Wu Jian shook his head, “No need to worry, I prefer nobody to know my identity. Also, call me Wu Jian.”
Guo Wei then formally introduced himself. “My name is Ma Guo Wei, the student of god Yu Ze Min; one of the five Mortal Protectors.”
Wu Jian’s face lightened with excitement when hearing his name. He quickly folded his hands in front and bowed his head to Guo Wei.
“Master Ma, I’ve heard so many demon hunting stories of your Seven Seas travel since I was a child. I am very ecstatic to finally meet you.”
Guo Wei guffawed at his comment.
“Hey Master, it’s great to hear that you’re well known!” De Ming shouted happily from behind.
Guo Wei immediately turned to De Ming and raised his voice, “You are not allowed to speak when punished! An hour is added!”
De Ming frowned and turned to face forward. Guo Wei turned back to Wu Jian and the others with a wide grin on his face.
“Now, where were we…” Guo Wei said as he stroked his beard. “Ah yes! I’m glad to run into you Wu Jian. I’ve just gotten an urgent letter from Elder Tao of Taoist Sect and have to meet them at Wu Tribe. If you don’t mind, my student and I can travel with you back to your tribe?”
Wu Jian was very happy to hear the request. “OF COURSE! Why wouldn’t I?”
“Great. Then we will have to depart Mu Village as soon as possible.”
“Alright.”
Ching Chen reminded Wu Jian, “Your Highness, what about our task?”
Guo Wei felt bad. “Wu Jian, I didn’t know that you had other priories to attend. I am not going to trouble you any further and will go to Wu Tribe alone then.”
Wu Jian shook his head. “No. We are departing to go to Wu Tribe together. You’re a hero figure and I may not have the same opportunity to meet you again later in the future.”
Then he turned to Ching Chen, “Go buy some lavishing gifts and I will write a letter to send it off to Chu Palace. King Chu and Princess Xiu Rong will understand my absence. As for father, if he sees my state of condition, he will understand.”
Ching Chen bowed, “Yes,” and left.
“Master Ma, when Ching Chen gets back, we can depart then. As of now, may you please enlighten me of this urgency?”
---
After Ching Chen got back with a cart of gifts and some delivery men that he hired, Wu Jian handed the letter he wrote to Ching Chen.
“Give this letter to the main delivery man to deliver this letter. Is the sedan ready for me?”
“Yes.”
Wu Jian nodded. “Good.” Ching Chen went and handed the letter to the man. He instructed the man what to do and the man nodded.
Guo Jing brought a jug of wine and handed it to Guo Wei. “Here, take this. It is the 10,000 years old wine my friend.”
Guo Wei’s eyes widened with excitement. “WHOA!!! He grabbed it from his hands and placed it under his nose to take big sniff of it. The plum aroma stung his nostrils, giving him the pure pleasure of sweetness. “Ahhh…The smell of heaven…”
Cecilia was glad that Wu Jian was leaving. It was hell for her to listen to his smartass comments. De Ming walked to Cecilia and Xing Fu and hand each of them an item that he had bought from the vendors. He gave each an animal figurine made out jade-Xing Fu’s was a monkey and hers was a bird.
“I want each of you to have this as a token of gratitude. I appreciate the both of you to take me touring of this wonderful place.”
“Aren’t these for your fairies?” she asked.
He sadly nodded; then he whispered softly so Guo Wei wouldn’t hear, “I got punished for spending most of our money, so he wants me to get rid of the items that I’ve bought.”
“We’re sorry to hear this…” said Xing Fu.
“It’s ok. It’s bound to happen sooner or later.” Then he took a deep breath and exhaled. “I hope to see the both of you again.”
They nodded. Guo Wei shouted De Ming to hurry so De Ming bade farewell to them. Wu Jian got inside the sedan; Guo Wei, De Ming, and Ching Chen got on their horses. Wu Jian turned to stare at Cecilia from the veiled window. She was an interesting woman to know for a short period of time. Unlike other women, she was the only one that was bold enough to fight with him. Others bowed at their feet in fear or pretended to be friendly toward him to gain his favor. Cecilia was his challenge and he enjoyed her presence while it lasted. Wu Jian had to say something before he left.
“Wait,” he ordered.
Ching Chen and the others wondered what he wanted this time. He opened the veiled curtain from the window.
“Mr. Yu, may I speak with you for a moment?”
Xing Fu was stunned and looked at Cecilia. She signaled him to go and so he went. He got to the window and saw that Wu Jian had a closed-mouth smile.
“Yes Mr. Wu?”
“Between you and me, I wanted to tell you that you’re a lucky man to have a woman like Xiao Xing. Cherish her well or else I will steal her from you.”
Shocked by his comment, Xing Fu couldn’t help but chuckled. “Don’t worry. I…I will.”
Wu Jian nodded and let go of the veiled curtain. He shouted, “LET’S GO!” and they left the clinic.
Cecilia came up to Xing Fu and was curious of what they were talking about.
“What did the a**hole say to you?”
“Oh…you do not need to know. It’s only man talk.”
She crossed her arms in front and huffed upsettingly at him. “Now, you’re keeping secrets? Fine!”
“Aiya…don’t be like that. Just be happy that he won’t be bothering you anymore…” Then he nudged her on the shoulder, “Let’s go home tomorrow ok?”
She nodded and all of them went back to the clinic.
---
That night, many thoughts lingered in Cecilia’s mind that she couldn’t sleep. She got up and decided to take a stroll around the clinic to ease her mind. In the middle of the small garden, she saw Guo Jing sitting on a stone bench, staring at the full moon. Its lights casted on him, illuminating his porcelain skin that he looked like a bright star. Guo Jing felt a presence and turned to see Cecilia stared helplessly at him. He smiled at her and knew that she was admiring his beauty once again.
He patted the empty seat next to him, “Come and sit down next to me.”
Surprised by his daring invite, she had to make sure, worrying that she may kill him. “Are you sure?”
“Just don’t touch me,” laughed Guo Jing jokingly.
It was great to see Guo Jing laughed freely and she was relieved to know that he trusted her. Happy, she quickly ran and sat next to him. Both exchanged smiles and gazed at the full moon to enjoy each other’s company.
“You can’t sleep?” he asked.
She nodded and sighed, “I have too many things going on inside of my head. What about you?”
“Same here.”
Surprised to hear that, she turned to him. “Care to tell me?”
“I wish that I have my demon powers so I can help heal my patients.”
She gave him a blanked stare. “Huh?”
He saw her clueless face and explained, “When a demon becomes mortal, the demon loses all of his powers and immortality, making him vulnerable. That is the price a demon has to pay.”
“Immortality?”
“Just like gods, demons live for eternity Miss Xiao.”
“I see…so why do demons want to become mortals when they could live eternity? Isn’t that a gift?”
Guo Jing stared down at the ground and was silent for a bit. Then he turned to her with a sad look on his face. She could tell that he wasn’t too thrilled of her question and was going to tell him to forget it, but he spoke.
“It’s a curse.” He saw that she was puzzled by what he meant and continued, “Becoming mortal is important for demons. You see, they tend to label demons evil, but they don’t realize that there are good demons also.” Then he sighed sadly, “But no matter what, if we are good or evil, we get hunted and captured…and even get killed.”
She remembered Guo Wei and Guo Jing’s reunion and didn’t understand one thing. She had to clear it with Guo Jing.
“Can a demon hunter still capture or kill an ex demon like you then?”
He chuckled at her question. “No. Once a demon become mortal, the demon hunter cannot do anything about it.”
She now understood and was relieved. She began to be curious of Guo Jing’s life and asked, “I know everyone has a story to tell. So, if you don’t mind, why do you want to become mortal?”
His face lightened and had a genuine smile as he stared at the moon. “I found happiness from living among the mortal race. I cry when I see people’s pains and sorrows, I’m happy when I see people’s love and excitement, I get mad when I see injustice…I wanted to help…” then he turned to her. She saw the sparkles in his eyes. “…I fell in love with the mortal race.”
She was touched by his story. He was a man full of compassion. His love for mortals weighed so much that he sacrificed his immortality to become mortal. This was his love story.
“Honestly, I’ve never knew there are demons like you. In fact, I’ve never thought demons existed among us and thought they were only fairytales.”
He laughed at her illiterate knowledge. “Now you know.”
Still intrigued by his young looks, she wanted to know. “Physician Wei said you are forty years old, but you looked as if you’re only in your teens. How old exactly are you?”
He chuckled from her question and glanced at her, “Which one do you want? Mortal age or Demon age?”
She never knew that there was a demon age and answered curiously, “Both.”
“Alright. I look really young because as demons, we start to age very slowly at a certain peak. But everything changes when we become mortals. We stop aging, but our years of living as mortals start and could only live an estimation of one hundred and twenty years. So for your question about my age, I’ve became mortal forty years ago, so I am indeed forty. As for demon age, I am 44,000 years old.”
Her eyes widened in shocked. “40…44,000 years old?” then she slightly laughed, “That is VERY OLD…”
“For demons, that is still young. There are some demons that I know who are in their 300,000s.”
Her hands covered her mouth in astonishment, which made Guo Jing chucked from the sight. She couldn’t believe the high numbers and became speechless. There was a second of silence between the two. Then she was curious about his and Guo Wei’s conversation. She wanted to know what they talked about.
“I saw a magical letter in the forest with Mr. Ma earlier this morning. I didn’t know what it said, but from his facial expression, I knew it was urgent. What did he want from you?”
Guo Jing teased, “Miss Xiao, you’re a really nosy person. No wonder Guo Wei warned me about you. He knew you’re going to ask me about this.”
“No I’m not! I’m just…curious and worried for the people I cared about…That is all…” She said and pouted.
Hearing that she cared made him happy, but he could not tell her what their discussion was about. For the sake of Mortal Realm, he didn’t want to spread any fear amongst the mortal race.
“It is great that you care, but some things are not meant to be said for now.” Then Guo Jing changed the subject. “Miss Xiao, inheriting these God-like powers is a gift, but it can be a curse as well. Demons fear it, but if any mortals or fallen immortals know that you have these powers, they may come after you to use or even kill you. So be extra careful.”
She was glad that she didn’t tell Wu Jian or Ching Chen about her abilities then, but more weight had placed upon her shoulders again. She never knew that this special qi would have her life be at staked too. Now, she needed to be extra cautious of whom she talked to.
She nodded.
Guo Jing then saw the talisman hung from her dress and chuckled. “Why do you wear a talisman for?”
She looked down at it and wondered why it was a joke to him. She looked at him confused, “Physician gave it to Xing Fu and I for protection…Why is it funny?”
“Think about it Miss Xiao. Your special qi scares demons. You are a repellent so you do not need a talisman to protect you.”
She never thought about that and laughed slightly. “I guess I do not need to worry about being attacked by demons then.”
“Brother Wei…He may know a lot, but when it comes to demon realm, he knows the general information. I was the one that educated him, just like I am doing to you now.”
“I did learn a lot. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
There was silence for a couple of seconds again. Then he spoke, “It seems that you and Xing Fu are close now. I’m really happy that he found someone.”
She began to blush.
“That kid needs someone to take care of him. Living alone without starting a family can be lonely.” He turned to look at her, “So…you can help him with that right?” He joked.
“We will see how this relationship goes…” she paused and thought about the faceless man. She held the heart necklace from her neck in her hand and Guo Jing saw it.
“I’ve never seen such beautiful jewelry. Where did you get it?”
“This is the only item that I have from my memory loss. Xing Fu and I thought it maybe a gift from the faceless man.” She paused a bit, not wanting to say her possible relationship, then continued, “He maybe my lost love…Kai.”
He repeated, “Kai…so…what about you and Xing Fu?”
“I really like him, but I’m afraid at the same time. I’m afraid if I ever regained my memories, my feelings for Xing Fu may change, because of my feelings for Kai.”
He let out a short sigh, “Feelings, you cannot control…You’re a strong woman and will know what to do when the time comes.”
Her feelings for Xing Fu weighed more than her lost love for the faceless man. Although she may not know what the future may be for them when she regained her memories, she mind as well cherished every bit of Xing Fu that she could now.
“I hope so…” she said softly.
Guo Jing yawned. “It’s getting very late, I’m heading to bed. You should as well.”
She smiled and nodded, “I will. You go ahead first.”
“Alright, goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
He got up from the stone bench and walked away. She looked up at the moon. With the craters, it looked like a smiling face.
She began to talked to it. “Moon, honestly I do not want to regain my memories and Kai anymore. The more I find out who I am, the more I am afraid of knowing my past…” She paused for a second as her eyes started to weld up with tears. All of these dreams, visions, unknown habits, burdens, and her feelings for Xing Fu had taken a toll on her. Trying not to cry, Cecilia took a deep breath and exhaled. She felt better.
Then in her sad tone of voice, she said to the moon, “I only wanted to be Xiao Xing.”
-
CHAPTER 17: MOVING FORWARD
Jian Tao was in his study room reading when Chief Wen entered in. His hands folded in front and bowed halfway.
“Your Majesty, Prince Long Wei is back and he is outside asking for your presence.”
Jian Tao stopped reading, “Oh?” and glanced off to the side to think. did he come back so early? “Tell him to wait until I am finished here.” Then he went back to reading.
Chief Wen added, “Ma Guo Wei came with the Prince as well.”
Surprised, Jian Tao glanced up at Chief Tao. “He’s here?!”
Eager to see him, he stopped what he was doing and rushed out of the room; Chief Wen followed behind. Outside, the Elders were having a conversation with Guo Wei and Wu Jian when they saw Jian Tao approaching; they bowed to greet him.
“Greetings Your Majesty.”
“Greetings King Father,” said Wu Jian.
Jian Tao saw that Wu Jian had crutches and his ankle wrapped with a cloth. He got worried. “What happen?”
“I’ve sprained my ankle during my travel to Chu Palace.” Then he lowered his head and looked upset. “I didn’t make thus far to meet King Chu. Your son has disappointed you greatly.”
Wu Jian tried to kneel down to Jian Tao, but he stopped Wu Jian. “You’re injured, so don’t kneel.” Then Jian Tao sighed. “I am a bit disappointed, but your health should be first priority. I will write a letter of an apology to King Chu then.”
“There’s no need King Father. I’ve already sent lavishing gifts and an apologetic letter to King Chu and Princess Xiu Rong.”
Jian Tao nodded and patted his shoulder, “Well done. We will have to schedule another day for you to meet the Princess again then.”
Wu Jian didn’t like how he was forced to meet a princess that he had never known. He wasn’t ready to find a wife and wanted to explore the world first before settling down; but he had to, for the sole purpose of allying Wu Tribe and Chu Kingdom. Comparing to the small Wu Tribe in Wu Mountain, Chu Kingdom was one of the five largest kingdoms in the middle plains. Their territory extended ten times bigger than Wu Tribe, so if allied, both kingdoms can help defend enemies from the North.
Wu Jian forced a smile, “Yes King Father.”
Jian Tao patted his shoulder again. “Good.” Then he turned to Guo Wei; both were happy to see each other. They hugged and patted each other’s back, “It’s great to see you old friend,” said Jian Tao.
“It is!” said Guo Wei.
They let go of each other. Guo Wei stroked his beard as he stared at Jian Tao’s physique. “Look at you! Now that you’re a King, I cannot measure up to you.”
Both laughed heartily. “My old friend, status cannot measure to our friendship.” Guo Wei nodded in agreement to what he said.
Guo Wei introduced his student to Jian Tao, and De Ming formally bowed, “It is my honor to meet you Your Majesty.”
“Your student is a bright young man,” Jian Tao commented.
“Bright, but still need to learn his wrongs. Nowadays, the young ones only want to play…” Guo Wei said as he looked at De Ming.
De Ming pursed his lips and scratched his head.
After some light conversations, Jian Tao turned to Chief Wen, “Get rooms ready for our two guests, and tell the cook to prepare some fine dishes for tonight.”
“Yes.”
---
Jian Tao and Guo Wei stood at the shoreline of Bloody Devil Lake, staring at the Demon Realm’s seal. Guo Wei saw the big crack that was sealed by the Taoist Binding Spell. Like the others, he was also worried for the fate of Mortal Realm. Flashback of the Battle of Mortal Realm rushed into his mind. He could hear sounds of metal swords clanged as they made contact, and loud roars of demons echoed as they made their kill; but most of all, the horrendous deadly cries that came from the hundred thousands of their allies being slaughtered like meat by the enemies. This historical event was one of the bloodiest battles of Mortal Realm.
When he and De Ming wandered the Seven Seas, they saw the aftermath from the battle. Many heroes lost a limb or two, some were still capable of functioning as a human being, while others became insane. Saddened by the traumatic event, his eyes welled up with tears. He grabbed his wine bottle from his belt and began to drink in gulps. Then he took a deep breath and exhaled to clear his thoughts. Guo Wei stared at the blood-like water.
“This Bloody Lake reminded me of The Battle of Mortal Realm…Water and sky became blood, lightness turned to darkness, and Mortal Realm almost became extinct…”
Jian Tao let out a sighed, “Although I wasn’t there to witness the battle, goddess Wu Li Ling told me what happened.” Then he patted Guo Wei’s shoulder to comfort him. “You’ve gone through a lot old friend. I wished that I was there to help.”
Guo Wei shook his head, “I’m happy that you did not, or else who knows if Prince Long Wei would have existed.”
Jian Tao slightly laughed, “You’re right.”
Then Guo Wei took another drink and cleared his throat. “…Honestly, the broken seal is a small matter comparing to a bigger threat that may be on its way. Since we do not have the Celestial Immortals’ help anymore, this is going to be far worse than the Battle of Mortal Realm…Taoist sect will have to do their part and hopes does not escape.”
“Taoist sect has bound the area and is heavily guarded, so enemies cannot enter in the area with the use of their spells and internal qi. Many enemies have tried rescuing , but were unsuccessful.”
He let out a big sighed and stroked his beard. “…I hope that you are right…”
To make a living in fortune telling, Guo Wei foretold people’s future through his senses. If one asked him a question, he would sense if it was going to be good or bad. For this typical situation, Guo Wei felt very uneasy. He felt that something bad was going to happen, but he didn’t know when and what. All he knew was disaster awaited for Mortal Realm.
Jian Tao began to think of their childhood years. “Old Guo, remembered when we were children, we had our dreams of wanting to become somebody important to the world? I said that I wanted to help people and as for you, you wanted to become a wanderer hero?”
“Yes, I remembered. I guess our dreams did come true…in a weird and different way…” Both glanced at each other and burst out laughing. Guo Wei continued, “You became a King and I became a wanderer demon hunter.”
Jian Tao snorted, “Right…”
After their laughter died down, they sighed.
“Now, we are really important to the world. Mortal Realm is in our hands to protect…” said Guo Wei.
Then Jian Tao frowned, thinking about his incapability to continue being the Mortal Protector. Guo Wei noticed it.
“What seems to trouble you old Jian?”
Jian Tao folded his hands behind his back and looked at the colorful orange red sky. “I cannot continue being the Mortal Protector. My body cannot take it like it used to.”
Hearing this saddened Guo Wei, but he understood the consequences of becoming the Mortal Protector. Comparing to Jian Tao, Guo Wei’s internal qi was stronger and have the ability to slow down the depletion.
“Are you going to choose Prince Long Wei to be the next Mortal Protector then?”
“Yes. In this way, I can focus on being the King for my people.”
“That is a good idea,” Guo Wei took another drink from his wine and handed it to Jian Tao. “Here, drink this wine. It’s Mu Village of Chu Kingdom’s best wine, 10,000 Years Old Wine.”
Jian Tao took it from his hand and drank it. The taste was satisfying to his like. “This is indeed the best wine I’ve tasted!” Both laughed boisterously and took turns to drink.
---
At dinnertime, all the men and Queen Li Hua sat down to feast. The table was full of different meat-duck, lamb, and pork sautéed with hot and sweet sauces, and vegetables cooked to perfection. Everyone ate and drank fine wine with glee.
Elder Tao sipped his cup of wine and then spoke, “Now that we have reunited two out of five Mortal Protectors, we will start our search for the others.”
“Have you received news from Grandmaster Huang yet?” asked Jian Tao.
Elder Tao nodded. “I’ve received it this late afternoon. He is going to send out forty Taoist’s best students to help with the search to cover most grounds. The other five are going be arriving shortly to Wu Tribe to help with the binding.”
“That is great news,” said Jian Tao. Then he turned to Wu Jian, “Son, I have a gift for you.”
Everyone, except Guo Wei, was anxious in what this surprised gift was. Throughout Wu Jian’s childhood life, his father’s gifts were only words of wisdoms or encouragements . Never once, he had received a physical gift from his father. The reason behind it was that his father wanted him to learn that wisdom was more important than materialistic thing. Puzzled, but at the same time, anxious like the others, he wondered what this gift that he was about to receive. Jian Tao called in Chief Wen and he came out with the Five Element Qi Sword. Chief Wen came and stood next to Wu Jian with the sword in front.
“Son, I want to give you the Five Element Qi Sword.”
Everyone and Wu Jian became dumbstruck and speechless. Guo Wei stroked his beard as he smiled, showing teeth, knowing that this was coming. Wu Jian didn’t know if he should be happy or upset about this. The sword was his father’s precious treasure and nobody, even him, could touch it.
“What is the meaning of this King Father?” Then he looked at Queen Li Hua, “Step Queen Mother?”
She was clueless as he and shook her head.
Jian Tao explained, “I cannot protect Mortal Realm while I try to be Wu Tribe’s King. That is why I am handing it down to you as the new Mortal Protector of Mortal Realm.”
Jian Tao took the sword from Chief Wen and offered it to Wu Jian. “Take this Five Element Qi Sword son.”
Still with a sprained ankle, Wu Jian carefully knelt down with his arms raised up to receive the sword. Everyone was ecstatic by this moment and watched as Jian Tao handed the sword into Wu Jian’s hands. Wu Jian grabbed it and felt the heaviness of the sword.
“You are now the chosen Mortal Protector of the Five Element Qi Sword my son, Wen Long Wei...” he said happily.
“Thank you King Father. I will take the responsibility in protecting Mortal Realm from evil.”
A gold glow came out of the sword and traveled throughout Wu Jian’s body, giving an aura; then it disappeared into him. He felt a warm and strange, yet powerful energy inside. It was the sign of new ownership of the sword.
Jian Tao helped Wu Jian stood up. Then everyone also stood from their seats, folded their hands in front, and bowed their heads. Queen Li Hua and Jian Tao stood close by Wu Jian as they cheered.
“Congratulations Prince Wen Long Wei, the new Mortal Protector.”
Wu Jian couldn’t be happier of this gift that his father had given to him and held the sword tightly in his hands.
---
Late that night, Wu Jian walked with his one crutch into the dark Memorial Room, holding the Five Element Qi Sword in his other hand. He saw a big name tablet, goddess Wu Li Ling, carved in gold on one of the finest wood, displayed on top of the alter. He knelt down on the round pillow and placed the sword on the floor. He stared at the tablet with a doleful look.
“Father has chosen me to be the next Mortal Protector…” he paused for a second to take a deep breath and then continued, “…aren’t you proud of your son?” There was silence again, and his eyes started to get watery.
He was four years old when his mother passed away from illness. The only thing he remembered of her was holding her soft and warmed hand when she died.
Wu Jian wept uncontrollably, and his voice started to choke as he spoke. “I wish I could see your face to know if you are happy…I can only picture you in my mind of how you may look from father’s description…He said you were the most beautiful woman that he has ever met…” He sniffed and wiped his tears with his hands, but tears kept flowing down. “I miss you so much mother…”
Outside, Jian Tao stood in the dark, hidden from Wu Jian’s view. Every night, before Jian Tao went to sleep, he would stop by the memorial room to speak to Li Ling. Tonight was his first time he saw his son came to the Memorial Room this late. His heart ached so much to hear his son’s conversation with his mother that he wept silently, wiping his tears.
Flashbacks of him and Li Ling’s relationship came to his mind. He remembered the first time when they met.
Li Ling was taking a bath in a small waterfall lake. Jian Tao happened to walk by and saw two men peeked at her behind a nearby bush.
“Hey!” he shouted.
Startled by being caught, the men quickly fled. Li Ling also heard his voice and flew out of the lake. Big waves of water forced out of the lake as she flew up to cover her naked body, so nobody could see, as she got dressed in her white robe. Jian Tao froze in awe of her powerful skills, but that was not all, he saw the most beautiful woman dressing in front of him. Her ivory skin shined radiantly like the sun, hair as dark as night, and her eyes-big and golden brown that could capture anyone’s soul. She saw him gaped at her and got upset. She swung her arm sideways to direct water toward Jian Tao. He didn’t have time to react, and the next thing he knew, he was already drenched with water. As he wiped his face from being wet, she was already finished putting on her robe.
“You’ve misunderstood,” he said as he squeezed water from his wet clothes.
She flew out of the lake and landed gracefully onto the grass with her bare feet. She walked toward him as she spoke angrily, “If I misunderstood, then why didn’t you turn your head when you saw me?”
He folded his hand in front and bowed in front of her, “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to. I saw two men peeking at you and …”
Li Ling didn’t let him finished and quickly grabbed one of his wrists. Jian Tao tried to pull his wrist away from her but her grip was too strong. With her quick fingers, she hit his acupuncture points on his chest to lock him in position.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
Her face, inches away from his face, as her golden-brown eyes gazed into his. She used her “Soul Searching” powers to search deep into his thoughts to find the truth about the incident. She saw his entire life flashed before her eyes and saw all of the goodness of him. There was no faults whatsoever in his life; only pure and innocence. Then she finally saw the incident of her bathing. She broke the trance and let go of his wrist.
“You speak the truth.”
He rubbed his wrist and asked, “Are you a fairy?”
“Fairy; Mortals may call, but I am not. I’m a fallen immortal of the Celestial Realm, goddess Wu Li Ling, the queen of Wu Tribe.”
He was shocked to finally meet the queen of Wu Tribe. From what he heard, due to her reputation as a fallen immortal goddess, most men dared to not make her their queen. Those who did tried, ended up being humiliated by her for their unsuccessful attempts. Due to a short life span, Li Ling rather not spent her time on Mortal Realm to be in a relationship. She had only one important priority, and that was to find a suitable Mortal Protector to protect the realm.
He formally introduced himself, “My name is Wen Jian Tao.”
Jian Tao’s face lit up. He couldn’t believe how fortunate he was to meet her. He was an ordinary man that she chose as her Mortal Protector and later fell in love, got married, and gave birth to their son, Wen Long Wei. Due to her rapid aging and vulnerability to diseases, she handed Fan Li Hua, her close Wu Tribe’s sworn sister, to him to marry. After that, she passed away shortly within days.
He heard Wu Jian getting up, so Jian Tao darted out of the area before he was caught. Wu Jian left the room unnoticed of his father’s hidden presence.
---
Somewhere up in Wu Mountain’s cliff, Wu Jian and Jian Tao stood in front of the small waterfall scenery. Next to it was a hidden cave covered with overgrown vines and wild flowers. Wu Jian was amazed of the place and never knew it existed.
“Long Wei, this place was where your mother and I first met,” explained Jian Tao. Wu Jian looked up at his father in surprised. Jian Tao pointed at the lake and continued, “Over there was where she bathed when she saw me.” He slightly laughed as he reminisced the past. “She was upset that I peeked at her, but it was all a misunderstandi ng, and threw a big wave of water at me…”
Wu Jian chuckled. It reminded him of when Cecilia threw a bucket of water at him.
“This area became a sacred place where she taught me the Five Element Qi Sword techniques in complete isolation. After I mastered the divine skills, this place has remained untouched for many years.” Jian Tao placed his hand on his son’s shoulder, “Now, it will be your turn. Here, you’re surrounded by all the elements, so it will help you with your training.”
“How long do I have to stay here?”
“I’ve completed my training for a year and a half, just because your mother transferred her qi essence to me; but for you, it may be faster because you have inherited some of her qi essence. That is why you are able to learn martial arts faster than others and…” He looked at the sword that was in Wu Jian’s hand, “I believe that your internal qi won’t get depleted as fast as mine when using the Five Element Qi Sword.”
Wu Jian looked at the sword and then his father. “Was this why you cannot continue to be the Mortal Protector? This sword has consumed your energy throughout all of these years?”
“It’s a god sword that was created by your mother; so of course, any mortals will lose their energy by consuming it. But don’t worry; you will learn how to regenerate the energy that you have lost.” He turned to the cave, “Inside, you will find the hidden manual written on the walls. It was designed to only be seen by the Five Element Qi Sword’s chosen one. As you practice in total isolation, I will have a servant bring food and other necessities daily for you.”
Wu Jian nodded.
Jian Tao handed him a bag, “Here are your belongings. I wish you the best.” He patted Wu Jian on the shoulder and left.
Wu Jian watched his father walked away until he disappeared from his sight. Now, he was alone with nature. It was peaceful and quiet, which he enjoyed the most out of everything that has been happening to him. Being a Prince, there were heavy burdens that he had to carry; allied marriage, reputation, and his people’s wellbeing. Here, he doesn’t need to worry about any of those. He closed his eyes, raised his arms up to his side, and took a deep breath to smell the fresh moist air that came from the foliage and the misty water. He could hear the rushing water from the fall and chirping birds nearby.
“So this is how it feels to be free…”
After relaxing, he walked toward the vines covered cave and stood there. Then he pulled down the vines that hung over the entrance to the cave until it was big enough to let light in. He went inside and to his surprise; the cave was small and there were few furnished furniture made out rocks-a flatbed was on the other end of the wall, a flat table with stools on each side in the middle, and on the ground were some old straw baskets. Then he saw light coming from a smaller entrance to a cave and walked inside.
He noticed that the light came from above and not on the walls, so he tilted his head up to the ceiling and saw the writing was glowing.
He read it, “To master the Five Element Qi Sword Techniques, a combination of deep meditation and physical strength will awake one’s mind, body, and soul. When mastered, one’s internal qi will control all five elements: Fire, water, earth, wind, and metal with the sword.”
Then the words faded out, and a holographic image of a lady in white appeared in placed of it. Her beauty was exquisite and elegant-hair that surpassed to her knees, ivory skin, big golden brown eyes, and rosy heart-shaped lips. She started to show him sword moves. Every stroke that she made with the sword, it was smooth and filled with grace. The lady looked familiar to him and he wondered who she may be. Then it hit him.
“Mother?”
He finally saw how his mother looked like. His father was right; she was a very beautiful woman indeed. Sadness began to fill his heart and mind; but fought it, so he could concentrate on the moves. The moves finally embedded into his mind, yet tears continued to stream down his face. After showing him the moves, the image of his mother turned to little particles and it dispersed violently everywhere onto the cave walls.
“No!”
His heart sank, not wanting her to disappear, and the room began to dim down from the faded light particles. Then he wept in the dark. Seconds later, the room began to slowly light up again and he looked up. On the walls, he saw all of the sword stances that he just viewed, meditation techniques, and more writings.
“The Celestial Immortal Sutra?”
Days turned to weeks, and every day and night, he studied the Celestial Immortal Sutra and meditated it. In months, he began his sword trainings. His body moved with grace as if he was dancing-twisting and turning his body with the sword in his hand, flying midair with strokes and swings, and he felt his inner qi and strength increased.
---
While Wu Jian trained to be the Mortal Protector, Guo Wei and De Ming left to search the other three Mortal Protectors. The other Taoist students came to Wu Tribe and help their Elders take turns to bind the Demon Realm’s Seal. Jian Tao and Queen Li Hua watched over Wu Tribe and had set another date, after Wu Jian mastered the Five Elements Qi Sword techniques, for Wu Jian and Princess Xiu Rong to meet again.
As for Cecilia, she was taught to write, read, and cook by Xing Fu. Nevertheless, Guo Jing and Physician Wei taught her herbal medicines. As weeks turned to months, she had mastered all of the skills taught by them. They were impressed of her fast learning ability and knew it was because of her special qi. Her nightmares were also gone, so there was no more sleeping next to Xing Fu anymore. He was bummed at first, but he understood. Since their feelings for each other grew stronger than ever, it wouldn’t be a good idea for them to be physically that close. Her habits, they still accompanied her. She, Xing Fu, and the physicians learned to accept and deal with them. The only thing they did not know was her ability to fight; it still remained a secret and she hoped to leave it that way. Her interest in finding her lost memories and Kai faded through the months. It was replaced by hard work of learned skills and people she surrounded with, especially with Xing Fu. Their relationship bloomed and became inseparable. Everywhere they went; they were together. They held hands, cuddled, fed each other, however; through all of the affections, he had not kissed her yet. He wanted it to wait for that special moment in which he already had it planned.
She finally had her wish. She no longer Cecilia Lin anymore; she was now Xiao Xing.
-
Interesting story, surikoo.
A few things:
1. You mentioned that some characters were in their 40's and some were middle aged. What is middle age to you because middle age to me is between 40 and 60. Middle age is too broad to describe a character.
2. Kai bought an engagement ring and was going to propose to Cici, that's cute, but I don't see the importants of this. First, a ring I believe is a western idea but you are using it in an eastern story. If someone did not know western culture, they would wonder why a diamond ring.
3. Why did they have separate rooms? Why not have them room together? Otherwise explain the culture. I thought it was weird they did not share a room and I didn't understand why.
4. Once Cici ended up in the other world, whatever happened to Kai? It's like his story just ended, yet at the beginning, he seemed like a protagonist.
5. Why include the Russia terrorist? It just seemed like two different stories.
6. As for Cici, she seemed like two different characters: shy, giggly, and clueless, and maybe 10 years old, AND then, smart, brave, and a fighter...agew ise, early 20's. I tried to get a clear image of her but it was just too unrealistic. Also, when Xing Fu teaches Cecilia to cook, read, and write, it's kind of disgusting. Maybe it's a fetish for some Asian men to teach innocent girls (who've lost their memory) but from my perspective, it's not looking good. What you can do though is say Xing fu has a sister or a group of girl friends who help Cici with the cooking and reading and other chores while he was able spend a couple of hours a day reading with her. Something like that where it makes more sense and doesn't look so yucky. Another thing, Cici was the only girl, aside from the queen but the queen seemed to be on a whole different level. Why not include more girls?
There were also grammatical errors but you did say your English isn't that great so I let that slide.