SPIRIT BOUND

   "Where is he?" Déng Mō asked.

   Everyone looked around at the thick cloud vanishing and there was nothing left.

   "I don't know." Wú Ruì replied as Hàorán looked around puzzled he seemed to recall something that he turned around and he looked at me immediately.

   Liú Shuài descended from where he was as he made the small Jade vanish while he faced me.

   Looking around, I hurriedly turned and I flew away.

   "Wait." I could hear Hàorán calling to me while I went over the trees feeling another presence following me closely from behind.

   I persisted as I went faster and faster against the daylight through the mild rushing wind in the forest until trusting that I had lost him, I landed on the ground surrounded by a very large number of trees.

   It was shortly after landing that my pursuer emerged from the trees with his sword aiming at me which I least expected given that he had saved my life twice already.

    He was up to something I was so certain as his attention on me was unwavered and he looked more than determined to do whatever it was that he wanted.

   Liú Shuài was in a very close range and continued to come closer that it all became clear.

   "Is he after killing me?" I asked myself and spreading my hands out I flew backwards while he still advanced nonetheless.

   He was still not slowing down as his sword was aiming right towards my chest that I eventually moved to the side and went behind him carefully making sure my hood still stood firm as I repositioned myself.

   "Why do you want to kill me?" I asked, "what have I done to you?" I added.

   He seemed startled by my tone but he did not say a word in reply as he turned and faced me once again.

    At that moment, I conjured my swords from empty space and put them as a guard before me while Liú Shuài clashed with me.

    I could only recall the words that The Guó Elder had said to me and I was automatically frightened while he remained expressionless right when the other Scarlets came over and landed in the area.

    There was a strong force and there seemed to be a change in the environment as the wind grew tougher and tougher around the both of us that they halted a little bit as they studied the situation.

    I pushed us apart while the resultant of that was the others looking away while the leaves were thrust at them and still Liú Shuài did not step down so he came up to me again launching himself with an even greater force.

   He was much faster than most of the Cultivators that I had fought with but he was still quite slow, much much slower than I was that is.

   His ears must have been so alert as I tried so hard to at least bring a blind attack but he sensed it beforehand that he moved out of the way and I still missed.

   The others instead of stopping us only seemed to enjoy watching as we fought harder and harder.

   Our swords kept on producing some kind of parallel force every time they came into contact and as we split up I threw myself towards a tree which I used to launch myself towards him.

   Liú Shuài saw me coming towards him that very instant and for some reason when I looked into his eyes, I was drawn back and became a little bit reluctant to attack which was perhaps the opportune moment that he'd needed.

   In the process of my indecision, I found myself letting go of my short blades while they vanished from my grip as Liú Shuài got hold of me and ceased me by my hands before he planted me on the ground that we cracked it.

   "We must stop them." Wú Hàorán said.

   "First wait." I heard Wú Ruì said.

   "Look." Déng Mō added and I was certain that moment that they were looking at the both of us.

   Liú Shuài had tightened his grip around me and he looked sternly while trying to penetrate my cape and my scarlet face mask.

   I had managed to keep my head down yet he seemed to search for my eyes while hurting me by my wrists that the pain made me angrier and my instincts kicked in while I seemed to resist them but with mild success.

   I kept on trying to break free but his grip around me only got tighter and tighter my reflexes for defense only worsened and as it had seemed between me and him I was fearful that I was most likely going to cause harm.

  I could suddenly feel a very strange power at that moment surging through my entire body as I caught sight of the veins around my wrist area glowing red and blue at the time.

   "No." I muttered under my breath.

   The power seemed to grow out of my control and Liú Shuài looked amazed as he started to probably wonder what was going on as my veins started to glow.

   The wind that I conjured around the both of us blew off my cape and I raised my head and looked at my pursuer while he got frightened probably from seeing the bright colours in my eyes.

   Looking at him his face grew pale and his grip loosened around me before his mouth slightly fell down open.

   The wind around the both of us grew more intense and around me there seemed to be a blue and red energy perfectly mixed surging in the air.

    The trees shook and yet it seemed that he wanted to tell me something which made me certain that I had already started looking luminous to him like I always did.

   There was a force and the red and yellow colour started radiating around the both of us while I looked like a powerhouse eventually Liú Shuài spoke up.

    "LÁO YUÈ?" He said in his deep but calm tone and at once surprised myself I don't know what happened after but I started feeling strange as my veins stopped glowing immediately.

   "You?" I said short of words and the wind had already died out.

   I looked around and everyone else was just as surprised hearing the both of us that I broke free from his hands and I walked backwards.

   "He knows me." I said, "He really knows me." I convinced myself.

   "Láo Yuèliáng?" Liú Shuài said once again and at that very moment the other Scarlets quickly rushed over and moving around him they stood between us.

   "Let's go." Hàorán ordered as Wú Ruì and Wú Hào held me while I still looked at Liú Shuài as we flew away.

   He only stared and at that moment stretching out his hand towards me it was the last I saw that he craved my presence yet I could feel that he was hesitant nevertheless.

    We'd halted and we were resting beside a small river where we had landed.

   We changed back into our guises and I sat down on a rock while Wú Hào and the other Scarlets went up to the water leaving me behind and lost in thought as I recalled everything that had happened and how Liú Shuài had called my name.

   "Láo Yuè?" I heard someone calling me and raising my head I saw Hàorán standing right in front of me as he offered me a water skin which I took into my hands and drank a little bit of it.

   I sighed as I finally sulked while Hàorán hurriedly sat down behind me with his back against mine.

   "You're not feeling well." He said.

   "Perhaps." I replied.

   "Why?" Hàorán asked, "are you thinking about him?" He added.

   "Who?" I asked.

   "Liú Shuài?" Hàorán replied.

   "You know his name?" I said.

   "You aren't the only one that was eavesdropping and given the fact that we've seen him a number of times I suppose that I should at least remember him from now on." Hàorán replied.

   "I don't know." I said.

   "What?" Hàorán asked.

   "He knew me." I said, "he knew my name." I insisted.

   "That's nothing." Hàorán replied.

   "That's what I want to believe." I said.

   "But?" Hàorán asked.

   "I can't." I replied.

   "Don't let such a simple thing get to you, he is a stranger that we can't trust." Hàorán remarked.

   "That's what you think but I don't think he is just a stranger." I defended.

   "Then why did he attack you?" Hàorán asked.

   "I don't know." I replied, "he probably wanted to know who I was." I added.

   "Well, he now does." Hàorán said.

   "He saved my life twice." I said.

   "It doesn't matter." Hàorán said.

   "I wish you knew how happy I was when he called my name and how much I was surprised at the same time." I remarked.

   "We can not confirm yet that he is not dangerous." Hàorán said.

   "How dangerous could he be?" I asked.

   "Please do not drag this Láo Yuè." Hàorán replied.

   "It's a fact Hàorán, you don't know my past and you don't know how I can remember the person that I used to be but contrary to you I need someone who at least does because it can help me regain my memory one way or another and if that happens then perhaps I can try and understand more about myself." I said.

    "But must you be hasty?" Hàorán asked.

   "Don't mind, there are things that you don't know and I also don't think that this is something that you can understand." I said.

   "Why?" Hàorán asked.

    "A lot of things are happening to me and I can tell very well that he knew me so much, I could feel in in my blood and in my veins and I am so sorry if that's not something that you want to hear." I replied on top of my voice.

    "Láo Yuè." Hàorán called my name.

    "What?" I replied.

    "Calm down." He said.

    "How can I calm down?" I asked.

    "Let's not fight." Wú Hào said as he came up to the both of us while I stood up from the rock and I turned around to face Hàorán while he also did the same.

    "Listen to yourself, this is becoming an obsession, there are things that we can not just get every time that we want but what more has our family not given you that you feel so distant, how haven't we accepted you as you are.

    If I had a choice do you think I would still have abandoned your body five years ago, or if I had not the strength to carry you do you think that I would have left you by the river?" Hàorán asked.

    "I didn't say that." I said.

    "You are very foolish Láo Yuè but perhaps I am much more foolish than you are to reprimand you from walking towards trouble every time and perhaps considering everything that happened since yesterday I am so paranoid and I don't know what shall become of me the one day that I might be too late or the other that I might not be there immediately to save you from trouble." Hàorán said.

    I sighed.

    "Why?" I asked.

    "Because you are special to me and perhaps if you did understand that very well then there are questions that you wouldn't ask but since you have the audacity to inquire then perhaps you can not see for yourself but whether or not to trust this guy whether he is close to you or not whether he's a part of your past or he has his own ways to me there's nothing more than your safety that matters to be because I chose that by your side I would remain and I wouldn't let you walk away." I said.

    "Can't we at least find out from him?" I asked.

   "And what shall we do, listen to what he has to say?" Hàorán asked.

    "Perhaps." I said.

    "Láo Yuè, do you understand what kind of people we are?" Wú Hào asked.

    "Do you not know that you are a member of the Red Lotus?" Wú Ruì added.

    "What's that got to do with this, tell me?" I asked.

    "The fact that we are what we are we all swore and made vows of secrecy which we must keep." Wú Hào replied.

    "He knows my name." I said.

    "Did he see your face?" Wú Hàorán asked.

    "He didn't look foolish to me to have noticed that at least I had acted up a little bit when I said it." I replied as I turned around and I walked towards the river.

    "So what are you going to do now, you're going to just walk away from us?" Hàorán asked.

    "Don't blame me, you can not understand." I said.

    "What can't we understand?" Hàorán asked.

    "Nothing." I replied.

    "Or you just want to be around him?" He said and everyone else kept quiet while I turned around slowly and I looked at Wú Hàorán.

    "What?" I asked.

    "You just want to be around him." Hàorán said.

    "What makes you say that?" I asked.

    "When you trust and outsider then you put the whole of the Red Lotus into jeopardy and if you can't talk to us and every time you think about walking away and being alone how can we know when a random person is going to kidnap you and cast you in the middle of nowhere?" Hàorán replied.

    "So what do you want me to tell you?" I asked as I started walking up towards Hàorán as I came closer.

    "I don't know but if you value is then we must decide what's good for everyone else and we can't just leave you to act so selfishly." Hàorán replied.

    "How selfish?" I asked. "And what more should I tell you?" I added

    "This isn't getting anywhere." Hàorán said as he turned around and looked the other way folding his arms.

    "I don't understand what more you want but perhaps I should tell you, I should tell you that I am uncomfortable." I replied.

    "We make you uncomfortable?" Hàorán asked.

    "Listen, you've said too much." Wú Ruì said.

    "You want to know right?" I asked on top of my voice with my eyes bursting into tears I was starting to feel so small

     "I'll tell you all that perhaps I knew just yesterday that Po Xinēn wasn't after anyone else but he was after me, he knew well enough that I was going to turn up and he knew my problem which is the reason as to why he forged that mass of energy that nearly destroyed us.

    I'll tell you that he isn't seeking to kill me but he is rather trying to give me all that dark matter and incomrporate into my body forcing it into my system.

    I am much more afraid that I am treading on thin ice and surviving on assumptions of the elders yet all the more I am worried that we are getting too close and when I am out of order I could do something to all of you.

    You couldn't have realised but when that energy was still within me I had an intention to kill and an insatiable thirst for human blood which I was fighting so hard to hold back until Liú Shuài saved me and yes, perhaps that's not the biggest question but at the moment if there is something that at least I can tell you now that you have asked it is that my spiritual channels are widening and any sort of power whether good or bad is drawn to me because my body is seriously going to attract that energy that is nearby and incase I resist once it's not something that I can entirely stop.

    You wish to know and I shall also tell you that if at any one point the energy that gets into my body is so much and it tries to dissolve the equilibrium, both darkness and light within me shall rival until eventually from their corrosion and antagonism all my meridians are shattered and automatically I shall have no choice but to die." I said.

    They all looked at me surprised.

    "I can prefer to die for one reason and for all of you but then again if the darkness becomes too much and it takes over then I could harm all if you, I could kill you all and I could destroy the Red Lotus entirely while you wouldn't even have the power to stop me." I added.     

    "Is there a way to stop it?" Wú Hào asked.

    "Even I need to be reminded the type of person that I am." I replied, "even I need to remember my past at least to help me understand how I ended up this way and perhaps if there is a way to cure myself of this ailment and when I constantly have the hope that I can remember my heart can find peace because despite you not being the family I originally knew you are the family that I wish to keep." I said.

    "We're sorry." Wú Ruì said.

    "It's all my fault." Hàorán remarked.

    "You care for me and I am very thankful for that, I only hope that you can understand why I feel this way when someone proves to know me and why I seem too cautious because even I myself I am worried of the uncertain future if there is something that I am fighting so hard to do at the moment then it is to remember." I said.

    "Sure." Wú Hào said.

    "It's getting late, we should probably get going now so that we can reach the barrier before sunset and there could be something that the elders can do about this." Hàorán said.

    "I agree with him." Wú Ruì said, "if it's fate then you shall meet again." she added.

    "What about Po Xinēn, you have all seen how powerful he is and he also knew where to find me each time, how certain are we that he won't be able to track me beyond the barrier?" I asked.

    "The barrier won't allow him to do that and even if he got to it he is not a member of the Red Lotus so he won't be in the position of entering it and this barrier is celestial that there is no amount of power that could break it except celestial power itself." Hàorán replied.

    "Alright then." I replied, "Let's go." I added.

    "Yes." Everyone else said while we levitated and then flew away from the place.

    We arrived at the barrier and we walked through the Courtyard as we ascended the stairs of the Great Hall where the doors were opened to all of us.

    We walked up in front of the elders and reaching there, we bowed out heads to them.

   "Greetings." We said. 

    "How was the mission?" Grandmaster Liāo asked.

    "We couldn't kill Po Xinēn." Wú Hàorán replied, "All this time, he was expecting us." He added.

    "What do you mean?" Grandmaster Sú asked.

    "Po Xinēn knew that out of all the Scarlets and the other members of the Red Lotus I was going to turn up and I am much more worried that the murders were a way of luring me out of the barrier." I replied.

    Grandmaster Liāo looked worried.

    "No one knows that you are a member of the Red Lotus." She said.

    "Yet he seems to be aware one way or another." I muttered. 

    "How is that even possible?" Grandmaster Liāo asked.

    "Po Xinēn isn't like we had expected and despite ourselves being among the best cultivators around we couldn't subdue him because the energy that he posseses is too much." Wú Hàorán said.

    "What does he want from you Láo Yuè?" Grandmaster Sú asked.

   "Even I can assume that he wasn't after killing me but on the last two encounters that we had, he didn't make an attempt on my life instead he projected dark energy from his body and he seemed to know that my channels widening they were bound to attract it one way or another." I replied.

    The Grandmasters looked at one another.

    "Such immense energy as you are all saying you are much aware what it can do to your body." Grandmaster Liāo said.

    "Yes." I replied.

    "You can not leave the barrier from now onwards." Grandmaster Sú said.

    "Perhaps." I said, "but if I stay then one way or another I am very worried that I might end up luring him to the Red Lotus and endangering the lives of  everyone else." I added.

    "But everyone can still protect you and just how powerful is Po Xinēn to threaten the existence of the whole Red Lotus when we boast more than one hundred senior cultivators?" Grandmaster Liāo asked.

    "The Guó Elder said that the only way that I could most probably overcome this is if I were able to recall who I might have been and perhaps how it all came to this, as it is likely Po Xinēn to attack me he at least must have known me then there certainly is an element from my past that at least could help me understand the person that he really was." I said.

    "We've done more than we could and we have tried so much to make you remember but we have still failed and we are still against a wall." Grandmaster Sú replied.

    "Can't there be someone that can help him recall his memory?" Wú Hàorán asked.

    "Only someone close can be most helpful but we can't trust everything that they'll say there must be something more that can guarantee us." Grandmaster Sú replied.

    "If the darkness seeks to destroy you then it must have foreseen something chaotic on its side because of your presence everyone else in this hall has all the more reason to protect you and guard you with our lives of we must." Grandmaster Liāo replied.

    "Yes Master." I said as I kotowed.

    "Until we can discover much more you shall spend most of your time in the Hall of Mental cultivation and until we are sure that it's safe for other Scarlets to go beyond the barrier then we shall allow you but from now no one should even come close to it." Grandmaster Sú said.

    "Yes." We all replied as we kowtowed and bowing our heads we withdrew from the Great Hall while I descended the stairs with Hàorán walking by my side.

    "Are you alright?" He Asked.

    "Perhaps." I replied.

     "I understand that you must be feeling a little bit tired." He said.

    "Rather I am worried." I replied.

    "This is the barrier, you are safe." Hàorán said.

    "I don't feel so." I replied.    

    "You heard Grandmaster Liāo." Hàorán said.

     "We've only spoken but I am worried that you don't understand what kind of power it was that Po Xinēn has.

    Unlike any of you I felt the first half of it  and you might not understand but I knew, he's gathered it for a very long while and he has been extracting it from all his victims." I said.

    "About how many did you feel?" Hàorán asked.

    "Perhaps a hundred or more, I can now tell the reason as to why he is a fugitive assassin." I replied.

    "But how was Liú Shuài able to subdue him?" Hàorán asked.

    "He didn't subdue him, he only deflected the energy and he stored it but we saw just how powerful that energy was even with him I don't think that his object could contain it and to send it back to the void was risky he must have deliberately chosen to deflect it back to Po Xinēn." I replied.

    "Then we must at least try and posses hundreds of Whatever it was that he possesed or much more to turn Po Xinēn into someone who is vulnerable." Hàorán said.

    "There must be something in the library about that Jade that you can find and you make sure to tell me about it, I'll be in the Hall of Mental Cultivation." I Said.

    "Surely, I shall." Hàorán remarked.

    "Very well." I said as he halted in front of the two storied Pagoda and there above it was a wooden red and golden plaque with the words 'HALL OF MENTAL CULTIVATION.'

    "I'll leave you here." Hàorán said.

    "It's alright." I said as I mounted the stairs slowly and reaching the door, it flung itself open while I turned around and looked at Hàorán who looked at me was filled with so much care in his eyes he only nodded out of affirmation with what I was going to do.

    I set foot inside while the doors themselves were shut up behind me and looking at the room I realised how wonderful it looked like and how free it was.

    There were too many windows and so much air and there was the smell of incense in the air.

    As I walked deeper inside, I caught sight of an elderly man with very long white hair and a very long white beard.

    He was fairly fat and right in front of him there was a very big incense lamp that was right there.

    "I see there is someone that has decided to visit me." The old man said.

    "Elder Lóu." I called him.

    "Láo Yuè?" He said as he opened his eyes and he looked at me.

    "I am so sorry if I bothered you." I said.

    "To help someone cultivate the body isn't something that I take to be bothersome, if we can teach our souls and our hearts to be very pure and if we can ease the mind and free ourselves of the secular nature of the world, we can balance whatever sort of energy exists within our bodies, we can reinforce our meridians and we can travel to the spiritual realms and return without having to move.

    Our eyes can be opened to all truth and we can tell right from wrong while cultivating the primordial spirit and also purifying the force of Yang in our hearts." Elder Lóu replied.

    "You are a man of great wisdom." I said.

    "And you are a man of great courage." Elder Lóu said.

    I walked closer to the platform where he was seated as he nodded his head and then I took it as a signal to sit down and face him.

    "Do you know why you are here?" Elder Lóu asked.

    "To meditate." I replied.

     "No." Elder Lóu replied.

     "Why then?" I asked.

     "You are a wandering mind." Elder Lóu replied.

     "Wandering?" I asked.

     "Meditation isn't a way of relaxation but it is a spiritual compass to show us the direction, do you think that I would lie if I told you I knew that you were coming here today?" Elder Lóu asked.

    "No." I replied.

    "Everyday I hope at least more than one person's from this hard shall come around seeking guidance and at some times when they don't I don't give up hoping that someone shall come here tomorrow." Elder Lóu said.

    "You just guess?" I asked.

     "I believe and in believing I graduate to knowing." Elder Lóu replied.

    "How?" I asked.

    "The future is uncertain to every man but yet the past remains clear we find that even if there are times we forget there are elements that we remember, objects that remind us, animals and perhaps people but regardless of what it may be, either way it's only in embrace and never running away or feeling afraid that we master our courage to face what lies in the future." Elder Lóu said.

    "You get me Master." I said.

    "Not more than you can understand yourself." Elder Lóu remarked.

    "What will happen to me?" I asked.

    "Stop asking yourself and start wondering why you are like this." Elder Lóu replied.

    He raised his hands and then he moved them around while a mild wind rushing by a coloured force of red was in the air where he conjured the yinyang sign.

   placing his palms right right on his knees I could see the energy that was around him.

    "To balance life and death, creation and destruction, fire and water and earth and air, at the centre of all these forces there is a limit that makes them work together, they complement and supplement each other and regardless of what it is when all of them are kept in that way then a steady world is what is achieved." Elder Lóu said.

    I closed my eyes and positioned myself just like he was.

  "Open your eyes to the spiritual realms, silence your ears to the noise and the chaos lf this world that we call our own and find your internal peace." He whispered while I took a deep breath and I exhaled.

    "Tap into your golden core, regardless of the force that resides inside and distribute it throughout your body regulating it show your sense of Command and lead while it's the one that's there in the follow." Elder Guó went ahead to say and at that moment I could feel an entirely different aura.

    "Don't stop." He said, "Alter the most turbulent ideas and redeem your spirit." He added.

    "Yes." I replied as I tried harder and harder to calm myself down.

    "Regardless of what happens I am looking at you but don't dare open your eyes." Elder Lóu said.

    "Yes." I replied as I started to feel a very strong wind around me and my body was getting colder and colder eventually I opened my eyes unable to hold it anymore and before myself I could see a very thick and dark Shadow that was slowly forming a similar shape to that of mine.

    I studied it closely and noticing that there was a bright yellow and red glow in the place of what would have been its eyes I felt frightened as it appeared to me as though Po Xinēn was there I had to awaken from that nightmare by all means that I opened my real eyes and looking around I noticed that the Hall of Mental Cultivation had changed that instant.

   There was immense energy around me and on my right a thick yellow energy beam the other a red and black one.

    "What's happening?" I asked frightened and Elder Lóu looked at me and throwing his right palm towards me the darkness converged and it formed a very strong barrier around me.

    "Don't give in to the darkness, stop being afraid and you'll control it." He said as he tried with all his energy to penetrate my barrier while the yellow beam of light on my side was waning.

    "What's happening?" I Asked.

    "The darkness is taking over." Elder Lóu replied.

     "No." I said.

     "Stop being afraid." Elder Lóu yelled at me and at that moment I noticed that the energy was slowing devouring his hand.

   "No." I said as I closed my eyes and focusing my brain.

    "I can't." I said when I could see that inwardly Po Xinēn appeared to be sitting in my own soul.

    "He's inside me." I said, "He's controlling me." I added.

    "Banish him, fight him." Elder Lóu said.

    "I can't." I said as I opened my eyes and at once withdrawing his arms he waved them and at that moment he created a channel and before I realised it, the energy scattering around he managed to compress into a very large Powerball.

    "Let him." Elder Lóu said as he threw it at me and closing my eyes I felt it quickly penetrating me I could see it going for Po Xinēn and his cries came up to my ears as I could see him spitting blood.

   I opened my eyes immediately and looked at Elder Lóu who was staring at me so seriously.

   "Master." I said.

    "Stop." He said and I relaxed everything as I came back to normal.

   "What happened to me?" I asked.

   "He has used you." Elder Lóu replied.

   "Po Xinēn?" I asked.

   "I have cultivated for so long but I had never really thought that there would be a time that my eyes have to witness this." Elder Lóu replied.

    "Was I a medium?" I asked.

    "Your power makes you strange in ways that I can not explain it but of you can not control your power then he shall control you." Elder Lóu said, "He'll become a parasite that shall live off your internal energy and if he persists then his soul shall be bound to yours for life." He added.

    "What?" I said.

    "Yes." Elder Lóu affirmed which left me so afraid but all the more curious.