CHAPTER 11: THE SECRET

Chickens flew everywhere as Cecilia tried to catch them. She caught one by its wing, struggling 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 are 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 hyperventilating, 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?”