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 Asshole!” 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 asshole 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 Asshole’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 interpretations. 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.