CHAPTER 26: THE YOUNG MAN

Out in the backyard of the Eastern Pavilion Manor, the Elders, the Royals, and Guo Jing, sat around the stone seats as they discussed the recent incident. Jian Tao turned to Guo Jing and wanted an answer regarding to Cecilia’s identity.

“Miss Xiao possessed the Celestial Mark. How is it that you weren’t aware of it?”

Guo Jing bowed his head and folded his hand in front. “Your Majesty, this was my first time seeing the mark as well.”

He started to explain to the Royals and the Elders about Cecilia’s background for them to have a better understanding of her situation. He told them of how she was founded by Xing Fu, loss of memory, special qi of self-healing and killing demons, and fighting skills which he assumed she might be an assassin. When Guo Jing finished explaining, everyone was dumbstruck.

“That explained it then. Miss Xiao fought with Immortal Tears when it was trying to heal her old injury,” said Jian Tao.

Wu Jian’s brow furrowed, “But why would she do such a thing like that?”

Guo Jing’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I know why.”

“Why?” asked Wu Jian.

“She doesn’t want to remember her lost memories.”

Silence filled the room as they were stunned by his answer.

Jian Tao exhaled deeply in disappointment. “Even if she refused to regain her memories, she have the Celestial Mark and will have to accept her identity.”

Li Hua remembered her conversation with Cecilia at Immortal Tears. “The Immortal Gems…Miss Xiao informed me of seeing them outside of Wu tribe. Since she has the Celestial Mark, her blood must have created the magical place where she was found,” explained Li Hua.

Guo Jing raised a brow, “She created the magical place?”

She nodded, “Immortal Gems are from the Celestial Realm. Only a few with the special blood can create these flowers.”

Guo Jing was speechless. A Celestial goddess had been with him for over a year and he didn’t notice it, thinking that she inherited the special qi instead. The more Guo Jing thought deeper about Cecilia’s identity, the more he became confused.

“Then she is a goddess,” assumed Jian Tao.

Jian Tao’s words distracted Guo Jing’s deep thoughts and he glanced at Jian Tao. For some reason, Guo Jing felt Jian Tao’s assumption was incorrect.

Elder Tao started to pace back and forth while he stroked his beard. “If she is a goddess, why did she need Immortal Tears to be healed? A goddess can heal herself quickly with no assistance. Another question if she is a goddess, how did she enter into our Mortal Realm? Celestial Realm has been sealed off for twenty four years. No deity may enter into our realm unless it was the Celestial Emperor himself.” He let out a sigh, “It doesn’t make sense at all.”

“Then we will have to wait for her wake up to ask more questions,” said Elder Shi.

Wu Jian scoffed, “Even if we question her, we will get nothing out from her. Remember, she’s unwilling to regain her memories.”

Disappointed, Elder Shi sighed, “It is hopeless then.”

“I’ll write a letter to Grandmaster Huang; he may have a solution,” said Elder Tao.

They nodded. After a few more conversations, everyone left except for Guo Jing and Elder Tao. They took a stroll on the small garden’s stone path while they chat.

“Elder Tao, I wanted to thank you again for covering my demon identity. I never knew how close-minded King Wu was about demons.”

Elder Tao chuckled a bit. “You have to understand that Wu tribe is next to the Black Forest and the Demon seal, so all King Wu have seen is evil demons. Maybe you should show the King there are good demons out there.”

“Grandmaster Huang was easy to approach comparing to King Wu. He’s intimidating.”

He laughed heartily at Guo Jing. “I agree with you.” Elder Tao stroked his beard and sighed as he thought about the past. “You were lucky. Grandmaster Huang was convinced there were good demons because of Ma Guo Wei and…”

“Stop…I don’t want to hear it…” Guo Jing interrupted.

His head lowered, face downcast by the thought, so Elder Tao patted Guo Jing’s shoulder.

“I understand. Everyone, even the Celestial Emperor, was affected by the tragic event.”

Guo Jing sighed, “For the longest time until last year, I finally saw Ma Guo Wei. He looked scruffy and older, but seemed to be doing well.”

Elder Tao raised a brow, “Oh? Why did he come to you for?”

“He wanted to know about the Demon Realm before coming to Wu tribe.”

“I see.” Elder Tao stroked his beard, “Losing his own identity as a Taoist has affected most of his memory loss as well…”

“Just like Xiao Xing…”

Both glanced at each other and sighed sadly, feeling pity for the two unfortunate souls.

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Kai, Mei Mei, Qiao Shun, and two of Qiao Shun’s men, were close to the border of Wu tribe and were three days ahead of schedule. Before they left Mu village, Kai requested Qiao Shun to find a shorter route in contrast to Cecilia and Guo Jing’s map. He wanted to reach Wu tribe earlier and anticipated to find Cecilia before he lost her again. Qiao Shun agreed but warned Kai of the potential dangers lied ahead for everyone. Kai didn’t mind since he was used to living on the edge already. As for Mei Mei, it wasn’t a problem either since the path to being mortal was already been broken. She could use her demon powers as she wished, but was careful not to reveal her demon identity to Qiao Shun’s men. Throughout their travel, demons weren’t a problem for them since they wore their talismans. Their biggest threat was mother-nature and men. They crossed through swamps, high mountains, and raging rivers. They’ve met some bandits along the way, but succeeded in killing them. Although their bodies were exhausted, their spirit remained strong.

They arrived at a restaurant off of the main dirt path. The restaurant was an open area for people to enter from all sides. Its foundation made out of mostly bamboos and wood, sturdy enough to stand on dirt ground to shelter people.

Mei Mei was thrilled with excitement, “REAL FOOD!” and ran ahead toward the restaurant.

“I guess she doesn’t like the food we’ve been eating,” said Kai jokingly.

Qiao Shun chuckled. “I guess so…Let’s catch up with Little Mei Mei before she order the whole damn place.”

The men laughed heartily and walked toward the restaurant.

The waiter greeted Mei Mei. “Miss, are you dining alone?”

She shook her head, “I’m with them,” and turned around to point at the men.

The waiter saw them and was glad to see more customers. “Great!”

When the men finally caught up with Mei Mei, the waiter greeted them and took them to an empty table.

“What can I get for everyone?” asked the waiter.

Excited, Mei Mei blurted out, “I want everything!”

The waiter gave her a weird look. Qiao Shun corrected Mei Mei’s words and ordered food for them. The waiter got their order and left their table.

Qiao Shun gave her a straight look, “That waiter thought you were crazy ordering the whole place. How are you going to finish everything?”

“We can always pack to go,” she smiled, showing her teeth.

Qiao Shun’s men and Kai laughed at her ridiculous response. Qiao Shun shook his head and sighed. “Aiya, it’s going to get spoiled.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” she pouted.

As they waited for the food to come, a group of men entered into the restaurant. Kai glanced at the men and his smile turned serious. Qiao Shun and Mei Mei saw his facial expression and turned to see what he was staring at. They saw ten men-all dressed in black and grey layered clothes with swords in their hands. The waiter greeted them but was brushed off to the side. One of the men saw a young man sat at the corner of the room drinking his wine. On the table was a small object wrapped with a dark brown cloth.

The man pointed at the young man, “There he is!”

His colleagues saw the young man and they drew their swords as they approach the young man. Customers quickly got up and left their tables, knowing there was going to be a brawl. Kai and his group continued to sit and watch as the men stood in front of the young man.

A man with mustache pointed at the young man with his sword. He raised his tone of voice, “Give us back what you’ve stolen!”

The young man held his empty cup in front and stared at it. He jeered at his comment. “Who stole from whom? It should be back to the rightful owner…” then he glared at the mustache man, “…me!”

The mustache man was surprised that it was the young man’s item, but he didn’t care and wanted it back. He swung his sword to the side, aimed at the young man’s neck, but he leaned backwards and the blade missed. The young man quickly grabbed the wrapped object and got out of his seat. Then he flew out of the restaurant to fight with the group of men.

The young man’s movements were swift as the wind, dodging their incoming blades in seconds before being stabbed and counter attack with palmed hits to their chests and backs until all were on the ground. The young man unraveled the cloth to reveal the riser of a bow. As the men rose up on their feet and charged at him, the young man held tight on the grip and in full concentration, he transferred his inner qi to it. The limbs of the bow and the bowstring appeared in gold flames. He pulled the bowstring and an arrow made of red flames appeared beneath his fingers. He aimed precisely at the mustache man and let go of the arrow. It flew in great speed and pierced through his right shoulder, hit the man behind on the shoulder as well, and out of his back. The arrow vanished into thin air after contact. From the powerful impact, the injured men fell onto the ground, writhing in pain. Others were stunned by the powerful bow and stopped charging at him. The corner of the young man’s mouth quirked upward as they saw him pulled the bowstring back with three flaming arrows, ready to shoot at them.

The mustache man shouted at his men, “Just don’t stand there! Kill him!”

Afraid of being hit by the arrows, the men dashed away instead, leaving the two injured men alone. The young man then deactivated the bow. The flaming arrows, bowstring, and the bow limbs vanished, leaving only the riser. As the young man made his way toward the injured men, the other man got up and staggered away, leaving the mustache man vulnerable.  

“D…don’t come any closer!” the mustache man shouted.

His tone of voice was filled with fear and the young man knew he was afraid. He stood a couple of feet away from the mustache man and glanced down.

“What kind of men abandons their own instead of helping? Should I…” he aimed the riser at the mustache man to taunt him, “…kill you so you don’t have to face shame?”

“N…No…please don’t kill me…”

Seeing that the man was defenseless, the young man decided to let him go.

“I’ll spare you this time! But if I see you again, I’ll make sure you’ll be dead then.”

The mustache man got on his knees and bowed a couple of times.

“Thank you for sparing me sir…” he said happily.

The young man turned around and walked away. The mustache man narrowed his eyes, knowing that this was his chance to kill him. He took out a knife from his boot, quietly rose up to his feet, and charged at him.

The young man heard footsteps behind him and then a gasped voice. He turned around and saw the mustached man frozen in place, holding a knife over his head. On his chest was a blade’s point, dripped in blood. Then the blade was pulled out by an unseen force and the mustache man dropped to the ground. Behind, Kai stood with his sword aimed forward, next to his sides were Mei Mei, Qiao Shun, and his men.

Impressed by his benefactor, the young man folded his hands in front and bowed his head.

“Thank you for saving my life,” he said.

Kai put his sword back in its sheath, “You’re welcome.”

The young man put his hands down and shyly smiled at Kai.

Mei Mei stared down at the young man. “You’re a woman.”

Stunned to be found out, she glanced up at Mei Mei.

The woman folded her hands behind and cocked her head to the side. “This girl is wise to see through my physical appearance.”

Mei Mei answered happily, “Of course I can sense it.”

The young woman pondered, “I was very careful not to be disclosed…”

With a tight cloth wrapped around her chest to flatten her breasts and her low tone of voice, she made sure her identity of a woman won’t be exposed. She studied Mei Mei carefully and tried to figure out who she might be.

Kai folded his hands in front, “My name is Yang Kai Li.”

“I’m Qiao Mei Mei.”

Qiao Shun folded his hands in front also, “My name is Qiao Shun.”

Surprised, the woman turned to Qiao Shun, “You’re Qiao Wei Min’s son?”

“Yes, and how did you know?”

She stared down at him, then at his men, and smirked. “Isn’t it obvious? Your clothes are made out of finest silk. Only wealth can buy such expensive fabrics. The men behind you, by looking at their built physique and swords, they aren’t commoners. They are your bodyguards I presume?”

Qiao Shun chuckled, “Miss, you have sharped eyes. I’m impressed. May we know your name?”

She folded her hands in front, “My name…” She paused for a second and then continued, “Just call me Butterfly.”

Mei Mei clasped her hands in front. “Wow…you must be very pretty as a woman then.”

Butterfly tried not to laugh at her comment, “I am,” and smiled, showing her teeth instead.

“Butterfly, why did they steal your bow for?” asked Qiao Shun.

“A thief stole my bow and sold it to these bastards. I tracked them down and took what was rightfully mine. I was surprised they found me.” She stared at the mustache man’s corpse, “Serves him right to be killed.”

Kai saw the bow’s riser hung down from her sash. It was made out of green jade and around the edges were red gem stones. He had never seen anything quite impressive and powerful.

“Your bow…It is very unique. How is it that you can have it appeared in flames?”

“I control it,” she answered proudly.

She couldn’t help but gaze at her benefactor’s handsome face. Mei Mei didn’t like how she stared at Kai and got upset. Mei Mei came in between them and blocked Butterfly’s view.

She raised her voice, “Kai has a lover already so back off.”

Kai had a blanked look on his face and became speechless. Qiao Shun quickly pulled Mei Mei to his side.

“Enough little Mei Mei.”

Her brow furrowed, “But she takes a liking to him! He already has Cecilia!” Qiao Shun hushed her again and she pouted.

Butterfly was annoyed by Mei Mei’s wise guy comments and huffed. She folded her hands behind her back, “Little girl, it’s not of your concern…since I don’t have a reason to be here anymore, I’m leaving.” She wanted to irate Mei Mei one last time before she left. She turned to Kai and folded her hands in front. “Mr. Yang, if your lover ever breaks your heart, I will take her place then. I hope we meet again soon,” and gave him a flirty smiled.

Mei Mei’s blood boiled and she took a few steps forward to confront her, but Qiao Shun held onto her arm, unwillingly to let go. Butterfly accomplished her goal and smirked at her. She turned around and left before Kai could say anything back to her.

Kai turned to Mei Mei and sighed upsettingly. “Sometimes, you need to keep your mouth shut.”

“But Kai…” she pouted.

Qiao Shun interrupted, “Mei Mei, I know you are looking out for Kai, but sometimes it is better for you to not intervene in matters like this. You do not understand now, but you will in the future. Ok?”

She nodded sadly, “Oh…”

“Come, let’s go back and eat.”