"Emika—"
There again!
Stuck between awareness and blackness, he had mentioned her name a second time!
This five-letter word holding a promise of more than just bitterness, hurt and doom; Li Ji stared at Jian, a feeling of vertigo sweeping over her.
Already guessing the workings of her mind, Jian focused on comforted her.
"Let's not draw out hasty conclusions. Those events might not be related and just be a coincidence. The Mind-Seal can only be lifted by the one who created it."
"If you lie do a better job at it… The orb and the Mind-Seal are linked together somehow, that much we know. The orb burned your skin and nearly exploded… he called out her name… his memories are resurfacing… the Mind-Seal is weakening… "
"The real question is: What are you scared at and of whom are you afraid?"
Li Ji touched Jian instinctively, wanting his cool energy to help steady her emotions.
"Without the seal to protect him, how long can he live? Oh Jian, what have I done?"
And the awareness of her involvement in the prince's life threatening condition she had voiced formed a tight, hard knot in her throat.
The unexpected turn of events setting every nerve afire with resignation to the reality had overwhelmed their senses, blinding all but the sound of their quicken breathing. For several long minutes it felt as though the earth had stopped spinning and time was suspended.
Emika erected her cat's ears. Her tail with the fur standing on end flicked up and down. She was growling and hissing, trying in vain to get their attention. She wanted them to catch her aggressive stare!
"Hiss... Hisss... Grrr..." [What exactly have you done to him? Why would an amnesia seal be deadly?]
Then, a shadow of guilt darkened her eyes and she felt cold inside. 'Was this truly the effect of loosening the seal? Is this my doing?'
Li Ji sent dagger eyes at the cat. The cat was fretting and mewling. There was no limit to its noisiness! She had had enough!
She and Jian were trying to puzzle out the why and the how of the Mind-Seal weakening, however this cat was a source of disturbance to their thought process.
Li Ji poked the she-cat in the rib until she retreated away from Kiyomi's chest wherein she laid lovingly. Emika had unsheathed her claws, ready to pounce at this maidservant mistreating her and just then something snatched her attention, and Li Ji's as well.
Blood was seeping through Kiyomi's tunic which Li Ji unbuttoned to look at the gash in his chest. Jian had brought over warm water and a cloth, cicatrising balm and a roll of gauze.
A little bit more than four years had passed, still the hole in his chest and the burns wouldn't heal properly. Neither fully a scar nor fully a wound, they were reminded of the warning words of The Alchemist: "The Forbidden World is incompatible with our world. The frequency of your Qi energy and Yin and Yang will be at maximum dissonance the longer you'll stay in the other world.
"In other words, each world is like a magnet of the same pole. Stubbornly forcing them to try to stick together is impossible and use a considerable amount of energy. And as everything in the universe follows the rule that you can't get energy for nothing, your Qi energy will deplete faster in The Forbidden World causing irreversible effects in your body.
"Your body will eventually wither away and lose its ability to heal itself."
Their eyes bore tragically all the wrongdoings that had been poured over them, that had cornered them to make a decision betraying their prince's trust four years ago...
*** *** ***
A LITTLE MORE THAN FOUR YEARS AGO, in their world, they were unable to meet up with the rebels' camp at Yunyang Mountains which had been attacked by the Imperial Army.
Led by Suroyi, Jian's uncle right-hand man, they had evaded capture by the Imperial Army and safely retreated to Evernight Waterfalls.
Through the labyrinthine tunnels and concavities they burrowed deeper into the Triassic subterranean world of Evernight Waterfalls—the Heavens touching mountains—and finally came upon a craggy aperture concealed with stalactites of mangrove-green moss leading to a cavernous chamber. A thin layer of mist drifted around the entrance in phantasmal veils, and light filtered through from inside the chamber with a spectral aura.
They trudged inside the cavernous chamber. The only sound that met their ears was their own steps echoeing like a ghostly cry. A peculiar, but faint herbal fragrance mixed with the loamy must of rotting logs floated around. Flaming torches bathed the entire cavern with a comforting reddish-yellow glow. In the centre, a pot filled to the brim with meat and vegetables was cooking over a small fire. After weeks in hiding without a proper meal, the smell of the bubbling stew reassured their senses that they would finally find comfort here.
Suroyi gestured to them to sit on the willow woven mats. Their weary features illuminated by the flickering light, they watched the flames curling and swaying, and crackling the dry wood.
It was so good to feel their body returning slowly to a comfortable warmth. Feeling the rock floor beneath them, all dampness had magically disappeared. They held out their hands to the fire to get just a little more heat. Strangely, the air didn't get smokey.
While they sat comfortably, as if hypnotised by the dancing flames, they took no notice of Suroyi disappearing into an unlit corner of the chamber, and of the faint murmurs of voices melded into the crackling fire.
They were not the only ones in this room. In the dark, a tall hooded figure had been lurking since their arrival.
"Master," whispered Suroyi, "our information was accurate."
"Excellent," replied the hooded man. "And were you able to find it?"
There was a pause. "No Master, the genuine letter remains hidden."
"Though your mission wasn't completed, it is still a success. You have done well in bringing the prince to me."
Abruptly, the hooded man had swept across Jian's field of vision. Jian immediately lurched to his feet. But before he could unsheathe his blade, Suroyi had quickly leaped by the side of his master, flicking his sword.
Looking into Suroyi's eyes, Jian was imperceptibly moving his right hand, ready to grasp the hilt of the sword at his belt.
For a short instant, they both stood there, uncertain about their next move. Jian glanced at Suroyi, at the mysterious stranger then back at Suroyi, meanwhile Suroyi watched Jian with a fixed frown.
A terrible silence flowed in as every one squinted at each other, and a sudden anxiousness was palpable in the air. Yes, they could not see the face of this stranger: he wore a large hooded cloak, and all his features were over-shadowed, except for the tip of his nose and his snow-coloured beard.
Flexing his hand on the hilt, Jian had made his decision. However, before he could strike, he was stopped by Shufeng who had sprung forward, grabbed his arm, pulling him away from Suroyi.
Shufeng could tell that this stranger wasn't an ordinary man. He seemed like someone who did not belong to this world. In fact, he could sense the waves of an unknown spiritual energy shrouding his body.
Without wasting a second, Suroyi broke the silence and fell into his knees.
"Your Highness, I was startled by Jian's sudden assault. I overreacted, please forgive me! I dare not to attack His Highness!"
The mysterious man raised a hand and Suroyi stepped aside. Afterwards, in one fluid movement, the statuesque stranger lifted his hood. They caught the gleam of eyes bright and unearthly from within the shadow of his bushy brows, and the face didn't carry the slightest hint of any emotions. He had a mane of white hair coiled with silver threads hanging smoothly and evenly over his shoulders.
The old man with a long white beard dissected the prince with eerie eyes. There wasn't a thing one could hide from those dark pupils haloed with silver-grey spikes. At the moment, he was standing with his arms behind his back, looking at Shufeng as though they've known each other for a long time.
"Welcome, my name is So Dzong." Then he bowed his head politely. "Your Highness, I am glad that you made it to my sanctuary safely."
His voice had no force behind his words, yet every word travelled clearly to everyone ears. Noticing the prince's clothes drenched in blood, So Dzong now showed feelings of empathy:
"How are you feeling?" he asked, as if he somehow knew. "Your Highness, please do sit down, your injuries look quite severe and require care."
He turned to Jian and Li Ji. "You have my eternal gratitude for taking care of His Highness." So Dzong paid no attention to their confusion, but simply took one step forward. "Please, rest and replenish your strength with this meal I have prepared. Please, all of you, sit and eat… Suroyi, come."
Still staring intensely at the old man, no longer feeling any fear in the world, Shufeng joined them around the hearth.
His long dark purple robes seamed with gold threads trailed along the floor as So Dzong fetched warm bread buns, fresh drinking water, wooden bowls and spoons. Next, the old man plunged a ladle into the tasty stew and filled up their bowls to the brim. It had been many days since they had eaten such a hearty and delicious meals.
They were attacking their meal with some gusto, during which So Dzong kept glancing sideways at Shufeng–only at him. That simple ambiguous action was noticed and set Shufeng's instinct on high alert.
Already anticipating his reaction, the mysterious man judged it wise to assert his identity as So Dzong Bai Hiang, the fifth patriarch of the Golden Flower School of Internal Alchemy, disciple of the Yellow Court of Immortality Teachings, and second illegitimate son of Yuchan Li Xian–this latter being Prince Shufeng's great grandfather from his mother's side. And he finally concluded: "... I am your great-uncle, Your Highness."
Well, at that, everyone, included Suroyi, was flabbergasted, shocked, bewildered and rather dubious about the whole idea. Had they failed to understand the identity of this man?
And their mouths remained wide open for quite some time, displaying morsels of food half-chewed.
Their minds were debating whether to believe that he was the only remaining alchemist from the Golden Flower sect which had been supposedly suppressed long ago by a decree from a previous emperor, Emperor Daoguang; or that he was an immortal cultivator from the Yellow Court–teachings banned in imperial history for fear that emperors would lose their ascendancy as Heavenly Rulers.
Better yet, should they believe that this heretic man was a relative of Prince Shufeng?
Because So Dzong had pulled out from his sleeve a broken hair comb made of sakaki wood Shufeng realised that this man was indeed telling the truth and was his great-uncle! Sorrowful, his trembling fingertips reached for the other half of his mother's comb—his own half sadly left behind at the palace.
The hair comb was made from sakaki wood and the carving pattern unmistakable. Familiar with the comb, Li Ji had also confirmed its authenticity.
On her deathbed his mother had told him that finding the other half of the hair comb would lead him to the person he would need when at his most vulnerable.
"My son, if you are circling through life and death, drifting within the current in a river of uncertainties and emptiness, this man will come to your aid and you will become illuminated."
Those words that she left with him were deeply embedded in his mind, though at the time he didn't grasp their meaning. And still, even now, his mother's cryptic words could not be fully explained with certitude.
Nevertheless, he had no doubt that his mother fully trusted this mysterious man otherwise they wouldn't had been in contact with each other.
Shufeng was resolved to trust So Dzong, the last of the alchemists.
However his head was swarming with a thousand questions.