CHAPTER 24: A BITTERSWEET REUNION

Outside of the secluded place, Wu Jian practiced the last stage of the Five Element Qi Sword Technique. He used his inner qi to ignite the blade into a white translucent flame. On the ground, bamboo leaves rose by the amount of wind that his sword created and flew with his graceful movements. He aimed the sword forward and flew in great speed of light through the flying leaves until he reached to the other end. The wind disappeared and the leaves behind him fell to the ground. On his blade were leaves, pierced perfectly in the middle, from the sword’s Point down to the Rain guard. His grin widened, knowing that he perfected the combination of elements. Then he swung the sword sideways, the leaves left the blade forcibly like sharped daggers, flying and piercing into the nearby trees. Then he deactivated the sword’s power and its white translucent flame disappeared. He mastered the Five Element Qi Sword Technique and finally could go home. Excited, he swung the sword across the lake and it created massive rows of explosions out of the water. Droplets of water rained down on him as he guffawed of his accomplishment.

After celebrating, Wu Jian went back inside the small cave entrance. He stared at the glowing sword stances and meditation techniques on the cave walls and let out a big sigh of happiness. For over a year, his parents’ sacred place became his second home; nonetheless, he also found closure of longing to see his deceased mother.

He kneeled down. “Mom, as the Mortal Protector of the Five Element Qi Sword, I will continue the legacy to protect Mortal Realm. Thank you for your guidance and I will visit you again.” He kowtowed, got up, and left the cave to go back home.

---

Hours later, Wu Jian arrived at the entrance of Wu tribe. The Wu warriors saw him and were elated to see their Prince back home. Words of his sudden presence traveled fast through Wu tribe that it reached the palace. King Jian Tao and Queen Li Hua stood patiently inside the main parlor for his arrival. For over a year, Jian Tao seldom saw his son due to being busy protecting the tribe from the northern invaders. As Wu Jian entered in, they were ecstatic to see him.

Jian Tao hugged Wu Jian. “Welcome home son.”

“I’m glad to be back home King father.”

After the hug, he turned to Li Hua, “Step Queen mother,” and gave her a big smile.

Li Hua held his arms and gazed at his physique, “Look at you. You’re so thin now.”

Wu Jian chuckled, “Step Queen mother, you can tell the cook to prepare a feast for my homecoming celebration then.”

Li Hua chuckled, “Alright. I will do that. Now go and get yourself cleaned up.”

Wu Jian nodded and left.

She turned to Jian Tao, “My King, since Long Wei is back, it is time to arrange the meeting with the Chu’s.” Jian Tao put his arm around her shoulder and nodded in agreement.

At dinner, the Royal Family, Chiefs, Elders, and the five Taoist’s students gathered at the big parlor to celebrate Wu Jian’s homecoming. They ate and drank merrily while being entertained by dancers and music. After the entertainment was over, they cheered and applauded the wonderful dancers.

Elder Tao turned to Wu Jian and folded his hands in front, “Your highness. Congratulations on completing your training.”

Wu Jian nodded. “Thank you Elder Tao. While I was away, how was everything with the Demon Realm seal?”

“As for now, it’s under control.”

“Are there any news about the other three Mortal Protectors?”

Elder Shi replied, “None. Lau Guo Wei and the Taoists students have searched far and wide and haven’t found them yet.”

Wu Jian became worried about the seal. “We don’t have much time. There’s only less than two years left…” He let out a sigh and continued, “If only there is another way…”

Li Hua turned to him, “Wei-er, you’ve just gotten back from training. Relax a bit and don’t dwell on this problem now…”

“I agree with the Queen. Your Highness, don’t worry about it now and enjoy your homecoming celebration,” said Elder Tao.

“Son, you should worry more about meeting the Chu’s. Since you’re back, we will set a date for you to meet Princess Xiu Rong,” said Jian Tao happily.

Wu Jian knew the topic was going to be brought up. Right now, he started to miss his second home. At his parents’ sacred place, he lived freely and didn’t need to worry about his duty as a royal Prince. He realized good things have to come to an end, and he has to face reality sooner or later.

He faintly smiled and nodded, “Yes King father.”

---

Two and a half weeks later, Cecilia, Guo Jing, and Qiao Shun’s two men, Hou Liang and Liao Wei, finally arrived at the foot of Black Forest. Throughout their long and tiring journey, they were lucky to not meet any mishaps. They had passed through many forests and villages, climbed hills, crossed some rivers with their horses, and met some nearby villagers along the way. Besides the journey, her pain of losing Xing Fu still lingered. When they rested for the night, she would go into the forest and grieve silently. She missed him dearly and waited to see him in her dreams, but he never showed up. The men took notice of her grief and comforted her as much as they could. They tried, by all means, to entertain her with singing, dancing, and took her hunting with them. She was grateful of their efforts, but at the end of the day, the grief was still there.

Cecilia stared at the red string wrapped around the trees of Black Forest and wondered about its significance. Guo Jing explained to her the history behind it. After hearing the story, she had a deeper respect for the creator, Fallen Immortal Goddess Li Ling, Wu tribe, and the Black Forest.

Before they ventured in, she made sure Guo Jing and Qiao Shun’s men were protected. She had to keep them safe from harm’s way, knowing that she was the ultimate repellent to demons.

“Stay close to me,” she said to them.

Guo Jing understood what she meant, but the others didn’t. Her special qi was kept a secret for her own precaution against evil doers.

“If we do come across the Wu warriors, we will try to reason and not fight them. They may spare us then,” said Guo Jing.

They nodded and entered into the forest. The first thing they noticed was massive negative energy surrounding them. They, except Cecilia, had a heavy pressure on their chests. Guo Jing’s heart started to pound fast and sweat from being afraid of encountering demons. Cecilia saw him wipe his sweat.

“Don’t worry, I’m here.”

Guo Jing nodded and thanked her.

He pointed in front. “Within two miles, we will reach some thick vines. There is a hidden door that we will have to find. Wu tribe will be on the other side then.”

“Ok. Let’s keep moving then,” said Liao Wei.

The deeper they entered into the forest, the darker it gotten; only a few sunbeams of light were casted through the trees to brighten their path. As they walked, they heard shuffling noises and soft whispers, and surrounding them, were glowing red eyes, watching their every move.

On the ground, hidden from their view, was a thin wire that extended across the forest. Liao Wei was a foot ahead of them and unknowingly tripped the wire with his right foot. It triggered ringing of bells that were heard through the forest. Demons’ high pitched cries were heard through the dark forest, making it hard to pin point where they came from.

“What’s going on?” she asked Guo Jing.

“I…I never knew there was an alarm…” he said confused.

She raised her brow, “Wha…?”

“Xiao Xing, It’s been over forty years. Time has changed.”

Liao Wei and Hou Liang started to drift away from Cecilia’s side to scour the area. She turned to them, worried for their lives.
“Keep close to me!” she shouted.

They were too focused of their surroundings and ignored her. Heavy sets of footsteps were heard coming close to them. Not knowing if it was the Wu warriors or demons, Hou Liang and Liao Wei bravely grasped onto their swords’ Grips, readied for unexpected attacks.

As their eyes focused on the dark forest, Liao Wei shouted to Hou Liang, “Protect Miss Xiao and Physi…AHH…”

Ceilia, Guo Jing, and Huo Liang heard his scream and turned to see three huge fingers wrapped around Liao Wei’s waist as he was pulled into the dark.

“LIAO WEI!” shouted Hou Liang and chased after him.

Guo Jing’s eyes widened in terror and knew what was happening. “The talismans…time is up…”

“Shit! Hou Liang!”

She and Guo Jing chased after Hou Liang. When they caught up with Hou Liang, they saw him fighting with a one-eyed demon. It was about nine feet tall with no hair on its body. Its upper built body slumped forward, lengthening its arms down to its boulder-like knees.

Not too far away from the scene was Liao Wei’s mutilated body drowned by his own blood. Three long and deep clawed marks ran from the top of his head down to his abdomen. His face was unrecognizable with parts of the brain scattered out, and his eye balls hung out of their sockets. White bones from his ribs were visible to reveal his torn heart and liver, and his intestines hung out of his abdomen. Guo Jing vomited on the ground and Cecilia’s stomach churned from the gruesome sight.

Then she saw a paled, white hand with long black fingernails came out of the dark, grabbed Liao Wei’s left foot, and quickly pulled it into the dark. He disappeared in a matter of seconds before she even made her run toward the creepy hand. She shifted her attention to Hou Liang and needed to save his life before it was too late. She ran, and Guo Jing saw her left his side. Terrified, he needed to catch up with her or else he was next to die.

“Wait for me!” he panicked and ran after her.

The one eye demon saw Cecilia rushed toward them and sensed her special qi. It needed to stop her and swung its back hand sideways at Hou Liang. It struck his right shoulder and he flew off the ground, like a piece of garbage, toward Cecilia and Guo Jing. She didn’t have time to react, and Hou Liang’s back struck her in the front. The impact was forcibly strong that her body bounced back and hit Guo Jing from behind.

She was knocked the wind out her and saw stars. Her vision blurred and became dizzy. She heard a high pitched buzzing sound and shook her head to refocus from the hard blow. When she regained her sense of vision and hearing, she heard Guo Jing’s screeching roar of agonized pain. She turned and saw his horrific facial expression-eyes shut tightly, teeth clenched, and veins from his forehead popped out. Then she knew why. Her back was on top of his torso. Shocked, she quickly got off of him. His body turned to the side and curled into a ball. His hands grasped his chest tightly, coughing and gasping for air, and his pupils rolled back, showing only the sclera. She didn’t know how long she had been on top of Guo Jing, but he seemed to be in the verged of death.

“Physician Guo!” she cried.

He couldn’t say anything; he was busy trying to breathe.

Hou Liang got up but staggered. The one eye demon glared at Cecilia and roared angrily to know that it couldn’t come close to them.

Then black cloaked men flew to the scene and surrounded them and the one eye demon. Some fought with the demon using their spells, while others charged at Cecilia and the rest with swords. Hou Liang charged at the cloaked men and swordfight.

“They must be the Wu warriors.” She shouted at Hou Liang, “Don’t fight them!” but he didn’t hear her.

She wanted to help Hou Liang fight, but couldn’t, knowing she would fatally die from the nested poison inside of her. Two Wu warriors ran toward her and Guo Jing. Guo Jing was too weak to get up and turned to her.

“Run!” he shouted in his hoarse voice.

Guo Jing was the last person that was close to her, so she couldn’t bear to leave him to die like this.

She shook her head, crying, “No…I can’t leave you!”

Stubborn that she wouldn’t leave, he didn’t care if he touched her and pushed her away. Again, he felt his life force being drained when touched. She fell a few feet away from him.

He glanced up at her and cried out desperately, “RUN!”

Still crying, she finally did as told. She rose up to her feet and darted toward the dark forest until she disappeared from his sight. One of the Wu warriors passed Guo Jing and chased after her, while the other one stopped and stood in front of him. Guo Jing saw black boots and looked up to see a Wu warrior hovered above him with his pointed blade aimed down at him. He then heard Hou Liang’s deadly cry as Hou Liang was stabbed with multiple blades into his body. This was it. He lay on his back, closed his eyes, and smiled widely. Guo Jing was ready to meet his sworn brother and Xing Fu in the afterlife. He had tried his best to take care of Cecilia, and tears fell from the corner of his eyes.

I’m sorry Xing Fu…

The Wu warrior forced the blade down to aim at his heart. Just as it was about to pierce, another blade deflected his, forcing the Wu warrior’s sword to fly out of his hands, and landed on the ground five feet away from them. The Wu warrior turned to see who the person was and saw it was Fu Ching Chen. The Wu warrior lowered his head down, and his hands folded in front to address him.

“General Fu…”

Guo Jing heard the man’s voice and opened his eyes. He turned his head and saw Ching Chen smiling down at him.

“We meet again Physician Guo.” He extended his right hand to Guo Jing. “Let me help you.”

Glad to see Ching Chen, Guo Jing grabbed his hand, and Ching Chen pulled him up to his feet. Guo Jing’s throat was dried by the amount of energy he had been drained and coughed a couple of times.

His hands folded in front, “Thank you for sparing my life,” and coughed some more.

They heard the one eyed demon’s deadly roar and turned to see Chief Li Kang and his Wu warriors defeated the demon. In seconds, its body disintegrated into ashes. Then Guo Jing shifted his attention at Hou Liang’s lifeless body.

“Mr. Hou!”

He ran and collapsed onto his knees next to Hou Liang, and wept. Ching Chen, Chief Li, and Wu warriors ran and stood around Guo Jing as he sobbed.

“I’m sorry Physician Guo, the Wu warriors didn’t know. We will make sure he gets a proper burial,” said Ching Chen sadly.

Guo Jing wiped his tears and nodded. Then he remembered Cecilia. He quickly got up and turned to Ching Chen.

“Xiao Xing! One of your Wu warriors is still chasing after her!”

Ching Chen’s eyes widened shocked to know Cecilia was also here with Guo Jing.

“She may have been killed by demons now,” Ching Chen responded sadly.

Guo Jing shook his head. “Trust me, she won’t die by them. Please, help find her before your warrior does.”

Ching Chen was puzzled by Guo Jing’s words but nodded. He turned to the Wu warriors. “Cover all grounds in search for Miss Xiao and the other warrior. When she’s found, do not harm her!”

“Yes,” said the Wu warriors and left with quickness.

Ching Chen turned to Chief Li, “Take Physician Guo back to Wu tribe. I need to inform his highness.”

“Yes.”

Chief Li glanced down at Guo Jing and patted Guo Jing’s shoulder, feeling bad by all of this.

---

Cecilia didn’t know how long she had been running from the Wu warrior, but daylight was not on her side. It was getting darker and the forest became creepier. Trees looked like shadowy creatures and more red eyes appeared everywhere, watching her. Exhausted from running, her legs began to fail on her. She got clumsy and stumbled onto the dark wet ground, not knowing if it was mud or blood, and heard the Wu warrior’s footsteps close behind. She needed to find a place to hide quickly. On her left, there were hundreds of huge plants that covered the ground soil. Since she was tiny, she could easily hide in there without being spotted. Also, with darkness approaching, it would be harder for the Wu warrior to find her. She ran and hid in there. Moments later, the Wu warrior stopped where she stood minutes ago and inspected the area. She watched the man like a hawk and kept her breathing to bare minimum. Thick fogs began to invade the area, engulfed the ground and plants. Frustrated by no visibility, the Wu warrior quit the search and ran back to regroup with the others. Relieved that it was over, she lay flat on her back, breathing hard as the fog covered her. Her body was sore from the earlier impact by Hou Liang and was weak; minutes later, she fainted.

Nightfall and the fog began to disappear. Cecilia regained conscious and looked to see billions of stars, twinkling, in the dark sky.

How long was I unconscious?

Unknown of the hours she lay on soiled ground; she forced herself to get up and left her hiding place. She wandered in the vast forest, staggering and bumping into trees, getting cuts on her face by branches, but she didn’t mind the pain. She only wanted to go back to find Guo Jing’s body and go home, but she was lost.

The search for Immortal Tears became unimportant. She realized her selfish desire to heal only to get revenge paid a heavy price. Guo Jing, Hou Liang, and Liao Wei died by risking their lives for her. Now, she was alone and blamed herself for their deaths. Cecilia became emotional, collapsed onto her knees, and wept uncontrollably. Her heart was heavy, suffocated by emotional pain, and she felt despaired. Xing Fu’s words of encouragement to keep on living were meaningless to her now.

“I’m sorry Xing Fu…I can’t continue on like this.”

Her cry became louder that she began to hyperventilate. Then she heard whispers in the dark.

“Kill yourself to end this misery…”

She knew it was the demons that spoke to her, tempting her to commit suicide. For the first time she thought it was a good idea and pondered, “If I keep on living, how many people will be hurt or kill because of me? It is better if I die.”

Then a soft whisper of a child spoke to her; but this time, it was in her head.

“Keep living…Death will not solve your pain. It will only hurt the living.”

She wondered who this demon was to encourage her and called out in the dark. “Who are you?”

There was only silence and glowed red eyes staring at her.

Upset, she shouted, “Show yourself Demon! Why would I keep on living…why?!”

Nothing.

She lowered her head and continued to sob. A dim light shined in front of her and she glanced to see what it was. A hundred feet away from her was a small white fox. Its huge ocean eyes stared at her and wagged its tail. Her sobbing was disrupted by this cute fox and she wiped her tears.

“Was it you that spoke to me?” she asked, choking on her own tears.

It pranced on its tiny feet and rolled on the ground in a playful manner. She giggled and felt her heart lightened. Then it got on its feet and walked away from her. She didn’t want to be alone in the creepy forest.

“Please don’t go!”

It turned and stared at her. Then she heard the child’s voice in her head again.

“Follow me.”

She realized it was the white fox that spoke to her and quickly got up to follow. After hours of walking, it finally led her into a small open area. Although it was dark, the stars lit up the place enough for her to see the glistening lake in front. Running water was heard in the background and she knew a waterfall was close by. The white fox led her to a cave. Inside, she saw a small fire pit.

“The place will shelter you. I must go now.”

“No…Don’t leave…”

She ran toward it, but it vanished when she got there. Saddened, she dragged her feet slowly inside the cave. The fire pit had a piece of rabbit meat roasted on top and her stomach started to growl. It had been hours that she hadn’t eaten and was hungry. Quickly, she took the stick of meat out of the fire. The meat was ready and she began to tore it like a beast, devouring it as if there was no tomorrow. The taste was bland but it didn’t matter to her. She was too hungry to think of spices to make the meat taste better. After she was done eating, she wiped her mouth and hands with her muddy sleeves to clean herself.

Cecilia examined the cave and saw a stone bed and stone table with seats. “Who lives here?” she muttered softly.

Then she saw a light from another room. Curious, she walked toward it and entered in. Her jaw dropped, mesmerized of what she saw. On the walls were glowed drawings of sword stances, meditations, and words.

“Celestial Immortal Sutra? …What is this place?”

She began to yawn. It had been a very tiring day for her and she needed to rest. She walked out of the small cave and lay on the stone bed to sleep.

Thirty minutes later, Wu Jian entered the cave and the first thing he noticed was his rabbit meat. Bones were on the ground next to the fire pit. That angered him and he thought it was a demon’s doing.

“Curse you demons! What am I going to eat now?!”

He shook his head in disappointment. Then he noticed something from the corner of his eyes and turned to see a figure sleeping on his bed. Its back faced him and he assumed it was a demon. Wu Jian quietly snuck up to the figure and held onto the Five Element Qi Sword’s Grip. As he got closer, he pulled his sword out of its sheath and was going to strike the figure when its body turned to face him. He recognized the sleeping face and blinked twice.

“Dirty lowlife?” he whispered softly and placed his sword back in its sheaths.

“So she’s here.”

Ching Chen had already informed him late that afternoon about Cecilia’s presence in the Black Forest. When he heard about the situation, he immediately went to search for her, but had to cut it short due to thick fogs. He sheltered at his parents sacred place until the fogs died down to resume his search. Now that he saw her safe in his presence, he didn’t need to worry anymore.

Cecilia started to shiver from the open draft outside and he quickly, without thinking twice, took his black cloak off to cover her. He then gazed down at her dirty face. She was covered with dried mud, her face had small cuts, and her hair carried leaves.

He sighed and whispered softly, “Dirty lowlife, you’ve gone through a lot running away from my warriors and demons…Why did you come to the Black Forest?”

Whatever her reason was, he had to wait in the morning to question her.

---

The next morning, Cecilia woke up from the sound of birds chirping outside. She felt something heavy covered her and glanced down to see the cloak. Confused of how it appeared on her, she took it off and got up from the stone bed. Wu Jian entered in with his morning catch of a dead rabbit in his hand. She was startled to see him.

“Asshole?” she said out loud.

His brows furrowed, “Me? An Asshole?” and scoffed. He stared down at her, “Look at you. The name, Dirty Low Life, suit you well.”

She couldn’t believe their conversation turned into a petty argument.

She crossed her arms in front, “Why of all people, do I have to encounter you?”

“You tell me. You came here last night, ate my dinner, and slept on my bed. Why are you here?” he said bluntly.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t need to explain anything to you,” and began to walk out of the cave.

His head turned to the side, “Stop right there.”

Cecilia ignored him and kept walking away. Irritated by her behavior, he rolled his eyes and flew in great speed to block her way. Her head bumped into his collarbone hard from his sudden appearance.

“Ow…”

She rubbed her forehead and glanced upsettingly at him. He silently laughed at her and then cleared his throat. Angry, she pushed him away to the side.

“MOVE!”

He grabbed her right arm and she swung her left fist to punch him. Sharped pain from her chest began to make itself known, and her left hand grasped her chest instead. It felt like thousands of needles piercing into her and she collapsed to the ground, panting and sweating. Her being angry at Wu Jian got the best in her that she had forgotten about the poison. Wu Jian quickly kneeled down to attend her pain. He grabbed her wrist to check her health. She didn’t like him touching her and swung another hit. He quickly hit her accupoints on the shoulders to immobilize her.

Cecilia struggled to move but couldn’t. “Wh…what did you do to me?” she asked.

“Don’t worry. I need to protect myself from a feisty woman like you. After I checked your health, I’ll unfreeze you.”

She remained silent.

His fingers check her pulse and he had a stun look on his face. He turned to her, “You’re poisoned by Black Death Palm.”

She spat out blood, feeling the poison being released. He quickly unfroze her and used his fingers to hit her chest to block the poison again. She felt the pain lessened and her body fell to the side.

He became curious of how she was poisoned, “Black Death Palm is a deadly technique. Anyone that is hit by it dies instantly. How are you still alive then?”

A tear fell from her face as she thought about the past. She responded in a weak tone of voice, “We were under attack during Xing Fu and my wedding and I got hit. Physician Wei stopped the poison before it reached to my heart…I…” She decided to tell him her reason of coming here. “I came to Wu Tribe to get healed by Immortal Tears…” She started to get emotional. “…Physician Guo, Hou Liang, and Liao Wei died by demons and the Wu warriors in attempt to get past the Black Forest…and I…escaped and came here.”

Wu Jian felt guilty that his own men had to kill them to protect the Black Forest from trespassers.

“Where is Mr. Yu in all of this?” he asked curiously.

“He died during our wedding…” she started sobbed.

Shocked to hear Xing Fu’s death, he sighed sadly. “I’m sorry to hear your loss…”

She continued to sob. Wu Jian could tell that she really loved Xing Fu and pitied her. He handed her his white handkerchief.

“Here, wipe your tears.”

She grabbed it from him and blew her nose on it instead. She handed back to him and he gave her a disgusted look.

“Uh, you can have it.” She nodded and thanked him. He continued, “I need to tell you something…”

She glanced at him. “What?”

“Physician Guo is still alive and he’s at Wu Palace right now. We…” he paused and remembered that she didn’t know he was a Prince. He corrected, “They brought him there and he’s waiting for the news about you.”

Her face lightened up to know Guo Jing was alive. “Please, take me to him now…”

He stared down at her filthy body, “I will but not like that. You stink and look like a beggar. Go bathe yourself in the lake while I go buy a new outfit for you. You can use my cloak to cover yourself after you are finished.”

She nodded.

An hour later, he came back from Wu Tribe with new clothes in his hands. He saw her sitting and waiting by the edge of the lake wearing his cloak to cover her naked body. As he walked toward her, he noticed there were no cuts on her face.

“Strange, I swore I saw her face was full of cuts yesterday.”

She heard footsteps from her left and turned to see Wu Jian. He stared unblinkingly at her as she got up to meet him.

He handed her the outfit, “Here.” His eyes still glued to her face, bewildered by her flawlessness.

Careful not to show her naked body to him, Cecilia took the outfit with her hands underneath the cloak. She noticed him staring and raised a brow.

“What?”

He got out of the trance and shook his head, “It’s nothing. Go and change in the cave.”

After she finished dressing up, she came out of the cave and approached him. There was a suppressed grin on his face when he saw her. When she got closer, his grin disappeared, making sure she didn’t see it.

“Now you looked presentable and not like a beggar,” he teased.

She huffed and rolled her eyes. “Can we go now?”

“Ok. Let’s go.”

---

They reached Wu tribe. Two Wu warriors that guarded the entrance saw him, bowed their heads, and folded their hands in front to address him.

“Your Highness”

Wu Jian and Cecilia entered in. She stared at him quizzically. “Why did they call you Your Highness? Are you a Prince?”

He smirked and folded his hands behind his back. “What do you think?”

She openly stared at him and smirked. “Why would a Prince live in a cave? In fact, why do you live there anyway? Aren’t you a man of wealth?”

He chuckled from her assumption and didn’t answer her questions. Instead, he asked her, “Can’t I have a place to be left alone?”

She folded her arms in front and pursed her lips, pondering his question. “I guess, since everyone needs personal space sometimes.”

“There you go dirty lowlife, you have your answer.”

She sneered at him and murmured some cursed words beneath her breath, soft enough for him not to hear. They finally reached the front open gates of the palace and saw Ching Chen coming out. Ching Chen turned and saw them. He was glad to see Cecilia safe and approached them.

“Miss Xiao, I am happy that you’re alive. Physician Guo has been worried about you.”

“Thank you Mr. Fu.”

Wu Jian asked, “Ching Chen, where is Physician Guo?”

“Your Highness, he’s at the garden with His Majesty.”

This was her second time hearing someone addressed Wu Jian as Your Highness. She pointed at Wu Jian as she glanced at Ching Chen.

“Isn’t he your Young Master?”

Ching Chen responded, “Miss Xiao, he is the Wu Prince, Wen Long Wei.”

She quickly turned to Wu Jian and saw him looked away with his cocky grin on his face. Upset from being deceived, she pushed Wu Jian hard on his left shoulder and he staggered to the side, laughing. She huffed angrily and entered inside the palace. Ching Chen was puzzled of what just happened.

“Why is Miss Xiao so upset?”

Wu Jian shook his head, “It’s nothing,” and went inside.

Ching Chen shrugged his shoulders and let out a sigh.

---

At the garden, Guo Jing and Jian Tao sat underneath the red pavilion playing Go. Wu Jian made a move and placed a white stone on the board, capturing Jian Tao’s black stones. Jian Tao was surprised of his move and laughed heartily.

“I’m impressed Physician Guo. You are better than me.”

Since Jian Tao didn’t know about his demon background and age, Guo Jing smiled. “I’ve been playing for a very long time.”

“King father!” Wu Jian shouted across from the bridge where they sat.

Jian Tao and Guo Jing turned and saw them. Guo Jing’s eyes widened to see Cecilia alive.

“Xiao Xing!”

Cecilia saw Guo Jing and was happy to see him. “Physician Guo!”

Guo Jing got up and rushed to Cecilia. They met half way on the stone bridge.

“I thought you were dead!” she cried.

“It was fate that I met Mr. Fu,” Guo Jing answered.

Jian Tao and Wu Jian walked toward them. Jian Tao finally saw who this Xiao Xing that Guo Jing had been talking about last night. Guo Jing introduced her to Jian Tao.

“Xiao Xing, this is King of Wu tribe, Wen Jian Tao.”

She bowed, “Please to meet you Your Majesty.”

“It’s great to finally meet you Miss Xiao. Physician Guo already explained to me of your purpose in coming here.” Jian Tao sighed sadly, “I extend my most heartfelt sorrow and condolences.”

Her eyes began to get watery and she exhaled deeply to not cry. “Thank you Your Majesty.”

“Miss Xiao, I admired your bravely. You’ve made it through the Black Forest unharmed.”

She smiled thinking about the white fox. Without its help, she would have wandered in the forest for days and even died of starvation.

“I have help. I wouldn’t find the cave without the help of a demon and As…” Wu Jian glanced at her and narrowed his eyes. She continued, “…I mean, His Highness then,” she answered.

Her face got hot by almost calling Wu Jian an Asshole in front of his father, the King of Wu. She was used to calling him Asshole that it came out naturally.

Jian Tao raised a brow, “Oh? A demon helped you?”

“Yes. A white little fox guided me to the cave.”

Wu Jian had a blank looked on his face and remained silent.

Jian Tao shook his head and sighed. “No matter if the demon is good or bad, a demon is a demon. They should not intermix with our realm.”

Guo Jing and Cecilia were surprised of how closed minded the King was and looked at each other. She didn’t agree with Jian Tao and wanted to argue with his perspective on demons.

“I…”

Guo Jing interrupted Cecilia, “Xiao Xing…”

She saw Guo Jing’s serious facial expression, signaling her to be quiet. Upset as she was, she held her tongue and sighed.

“King father, we should take Miss Xiao to Immortal Tears to get heal now.”

Jian Tao glanced at Wu Jian and then Cecilia. By hearing his son’s rash decision sparked his interest of what their relationship could be. He decided to test his son.

“Son, Miss Xiao and Physician Guo are outsiders. Tell me, why would we share our Wu tribe sacred place?”

Wu Jian didn’t hesitate and answered, “Physician Guo took care of me when I sprained my ankle in Chu Kingdom. For that, I owe my debt to him.”

Jian Tao looked at Cecilia, “And her?”

Wu Jian paused a bit and blushed. Then he answered, “She is a friend of Physician Guo. A friend of a benefactor is a friend of mine also.”

Jian Tao laughed heartily and patted Wu Jian’s shoulder. “Good. Since they are from Chu Kingdom, Wu tribe will have to be friends with them.”

Wu Jian knew what his father meant and lowered his head down. “Yes King father.”

Jian Tao looked at Guo Jing and Cecilia, “I will take you to Immortal Tears.”