The Lost Mind's Quest (MXLT)

Zhen Lixin stirred in his sleep, his eyes fluttering open. The warm sunlight streamed in through the open windows, the sound of birds softly chirping outside filling the air. He slowly lifted his hand to his forehead, and upon noticing his movements, a stranger spoke up."Lixin-xiong, you're awake! How are you feeling?" he asked, leaning in closer to Zhen Lixin with a warm, concerned voice.Zhen Lixin's hand lowered as he squinted his eyes at the stranger. He was a young man with a certain look of beauty to him, his hair tied up in a half ponytail. He stared at Zhen Lixin with eyes full of curiosity and concern as he sat kneeling on the floor beside his bed."Do you want water?" He asked eagerly as he leaned back from Zhen Lixin's face. "Should I go get some?"Although Zhen Lixin couldn't recognize who this man was, feeling his dry lips, he gave a subtle nod. The man got up hastily and walked out at his hint. Zhen Lixin watched him leave as he tried to sit upright, feeling slightly dizzy."Where..." he began to mumble as he looked around the room with his hand rubbing his temples, and froze.He immediately looked down with wide eyes and saw his slim and long legs, clad in white pants. He lifted his head, his hand tracing his upper body and ending at his neck."Who..." he muttered through his dry lips, "...am I?""Zhen Lixin, a high ranked Xian of the Ethereal realm," a female voice, sounding emotionless, said from nowhere.Zhen Lixin swiftly spun his head around, startled, as he searched for the source of the voice. "Who was that?" He asked, his eyes sharply searching around the room."I suggest you worry more about finding yourself, my lord," the voice replied in its dead tone.Realizing the truth in those words, Zhen Lixin fell silent. He figured the source of voice was not a person in the same room as him, but in his head. The words were spoken in a way one would think to themselves, except now, Zhen Lixin wasn't thinking any of the words the voice said. Just then, the person from before came into the room with a cup of water in his hand. As he noticed Zhen Lixin sitting up on the bed, he rushed over.He handed the cup over to Zhen Lixin carefully as he asked, "Lixin-xiong, do you feel any unease?"Zhen Lixin stared at him unblinkingly as if trying to recall him, a word not slipping out of his lips. He swallowed hard before taking a sip of the water, and drank it in the second like a dehydrated person. He lowered the cup and handed it over to the person weakly, his eyes fixed on him."Who are you-?" He asked in a low voice as he watched the man place the cup on a nearby table.The man turned around slowly as if shocked, but remained silent, and the voice answered Zhen Lixin instead."Shu Ming, another high ranked Xian. Your assistant in quests, and your best friend as he calls himself."Even though the voice confused Zhen Lixin again, he listened carefully, his gaze set on the man who was now inching towards him."Lixin-xiong, you don't remember me?" He asked, almost pleadingly."Shit-" Zhen Lixin tensed. "Am I to say no, or yes?""I would say no if I were you," the voice said inside his head. Zhen Lixin realized that the voice could hear his thoughts, for he had just been thinking.He forced a nervous chuckle out as he said, "Ah, no, pardon. How can I not?"Shu Ming's face involuntarily pulled a smile and he sighed in relief. "You worried me there, Lixin-xiong," he said, and sat down on the bed beside Zhen Lixin."Although," Zhen Lixin said. "I think there might be something wrong with my memory.""Huh?" Shu Ming's eyebrows raised high and he hurriedly held two of his fingers up. "Lixin-xiong, how many fingers am I holding up?"Zhen Lixin's gaze darted between Shu Ming and his two lifted fingers and froze on him. He blinked in disbelief and said, "I have trouble with my memory, not my sight."Shu Ming hastily lowered his hand as his gaze ran away. "R-right," he muttered and stood up. "I'll go get a healer."Zhen Lixin gave a nod of acknowledgment and watched Shu Ming leave the room with hurry. He struggled out of the bed, touching the ground with his leather booted feet. The bed was comfortable, the room neat and clean. He was dressed in white pants and inner robes, his brown hair let down carelessly. The dizziness was still there, but it was controllable now. He ran a slender finger over his lips that were soft and back to its usual cherry red color."He really is your best friend..." The voice spoke.Zhen Lixin lowered his hand from his lips as he asked in his mind, "What do you mean?""An idiot," the voice replied.He ignored the voice's reply and asked, "What is this place? What happened to me?"The voice answered him, "This is your mansion in the Ethereal realm-- the realm of the immortals. What happened to you will be known to you soon.""So, you're not going to tell me?" Zhen Lixin asked, though his lips didn't move. The voice did not answer him, and he prompted it again. "Am I ill? Is that why I'm hearing you?""You are ill, for you have lost your memories," the voice replied. "Though, that is not why you're hearing me. Take me as just a soul who found space in your mind and has decided to help you.""So, you're living in my head?" Zhen Lixin asked, his eyebrows knitting."You could say that," the voice said.Zhen Lixin buried his head in his palms and placed his elbows on his knees as he lowered. What kind of nonsense was this? Lost his memories? Wouldn't that mean he had to start his life all over again?He heard footsteps. Someone was coming. No, not one-- there were more than one person's footsteps. He stole a glance at himself before pushing his messy hair to the back and sitting properly. Shu Ming entered the room first, and behind him came a petite, elegant woman. She was clad in light green robes, a pouch attached to her left hip, her hair braided together with a few loose locks framing her charming face."Zhen Lixin," she said in a soft voice tinged with a polite manner as she stepped closer to Zhen Lixin. Although he didn't know who she was, he bowed his head in instinct."And she is?" He asked the voice in his head."Bai Kexin," the voice answered him. "The most famous and talented healer of the realm.""Someone like her came to treat me??""You're a prominent character in this realm yourself, Zhen Lixin.""How's my lord feeling?" Bai Kexin asked warmly, sitting down on the bed beside him. "Shu Ming told me you were awakened, but having trouble with your memory," she said, and Shu Ming nodded in agreement."Yes, that seems like it..." Zhen Lixin muttered in a low voice."Well, then," she said, and pointed at herself. "Do you know who I am?"Zhen Lixin held his gaze on her, hesitating, and shook his head in denial."But, you knew who Shu Ming was?" she asked again, pointing at Shu Ming, who was standing near the bed."He feels familiar," Zhen Lixin said after a nod."You don't know who he exactly is?""Deny," the voice in his head said to him."Huh?" he asked the voice, his lips not moving. "Why am I having to pretend?""All for the better," the voice replied in its usual dead tone. "Deny it."Zhen Lixin focused back on the woman sitting beside him, and after stealing a guilty glance at Shu Ming, he muttered, "No..."He noticed Shu Ming's eyebrows raise high as Bai Kexin prompted her chin to her hand, humming. "It seems like the damage was greater than we assumed..." she said while dipped in thought."Sorry, but," Zhen Lixin intervened, gaining back Bai Kexin's attention. "What happened to me?""Oh, well," Bai Kexin began, turning to him. "A young Xian was practicing down a cliff and you just happened to fall from nowhere into the place he was practicing. Startled, he unintentionally attacked you..."Zhen Lixin stared at her in disbelief, and then darted his gaze off to Shu Ming. Before he could shake off his confusion, Bai Kexin extended her hand."My lord, may I check your pulse?" she asked. Zhen Lixin nodded and offered her his hand, which she gently grabbed by the wrist as she closed her eyes. Zhen Lixin's gaze shifted between her and Shu Ming who still stood patiently, silence filling the room.Bai Kexin slowly let go of his hand, sighing as she opened her eyes. "Your body is doing fine, my lord," she said as she stared into him with her bright eyes. "However, your memory loss will have trouble awaiting you. Can you try and see if your powers still work?"Zhen Lixin blinked and lifted his hand to stare at it. "I have powers?" He asked himself, and the voice replied."Your inherent power is water manipulation," it said. "Apart from that, you specialize in martial arts, illusion creating, and light manipulation.""Interesting," he replied in admiration and focused back on Bai Kexin."How do I do it?" he asked her.She smiled warmly and touched the back of his hand, and clenched his fist. "Gather your thoughts," she said as she held his clenched fist. "Close your eyes, and let's say, just think of a flame. Feel the energy that is flowing within you and draw it from its source, pouring it onto that flame."Zhen Lixin took a deep breath, following her instructions. Although he was sure he wasn't going to get it right, he knew he had, for Bai Kexin took her hand away as she let out a sound of joy."You did it!" she exclaimed happily as Zhen Lixin opened his eyes to look down at his hand. "Your powers are intact!"A smile forming up on his lips, Zhen Lixin fixed his gaze on the tiny flame of light in his open palm. It flickered calmly, its color of very light golden color. He glanced at Shu Ming, who stood with a genuine smile, and returned his focus back to Bai Kexin."Although," she said, a dash of seriousness in her voice. "You should still cultivate and practice more often. Your powers are still with you, but it'd be pointless if you do not know how to use them."Zhen Lixin nodded in acknowledgment, and shifted his gaze back to the flickering flame. He crushed it with his palm, the flame vanishing away. Bai Kexin inhaled loudly before standing up from the bed and spinning around towards him."My advices would be," she began, "to train and learn your powers. And to socialize and learn yourself. I'm not capable of saying for sure if there is any chance of getting your memories back, but it'd be better if you could try. For now, you should rest. Does my lord have any other uneasiness?"Zhen Lixin hesitated for a moment at her question, struggling between the options of whether to tell her about the voice he was hearing, or not. However, he shook his head in the end, standing up from the bed."No," he said with a polite smile. "Thank you, my lady."Bai Kexin offered him a warm smile as she said, "My pleasure to help you. I shall take my leave, then."She bowed to both Zhen Lixin and Shu Ming before leaving the room, her hair swaying elegantly in sync to her hips."Flirty woman," the voice in Zhen Lixin's head commented."I'd say she was just being nice to me," Zhen Lixin replied rather calmly in his head."Lixin-xiong," Shu Ming said, turning to Zhen Lixin after watching Bai Kexin leave. Zhen Lixin turned to him, ignoring the internal conflict with the odd voice in his head."Yes... Shu Ming?" he asked, and saw Shu Ming's eyes sparkle as stars in a dark sky."Do you want to rest? Or, we could go for a stroll around the realm," Shu Ming said with his usual pleasant voice.Zhen Lixin thought for a while, searching for any discomfort in his body, and upon feeling none, he offered Shu Ming a smile."Let's go for a stroll," he said.