61 Memories (VII)

"Let's split up. Follow me!" Wu Zhaoyi told Granny Wu as his hand pulled Fu Yixiao to follow him. Granny Wu nodded and left the cave's entrance with the other Fu Yixiao who was reluctant to follow her.

"Granny Wu, we should go with them!" the other Fu Yixiao insisted while resisting the hand that was pulling hers. Her eyes didn't leave the figures of the two people which now was a distance away.

"Let's chase after them!" she panicked once the figures were gone from her sight. She frantically tried to pull her hand away.

"Xiao er!" Granny Wu yelled. "Do you want to ruin the plan?!" she scolded the young girl that was about to cry. She never saw her in that state before and it made her feared that this universe would be the place where everything would come to an end. An ending that wouldn't end well.

"I-I..." the girl was startled when Granny Wu scolded her. Before, granny would always treated her warmly and that made her thought that she would comply with her demand. Now that she saw her angered face, shivers ran down her spine. She knew she had misinterpreted her kindness.

"Come, we shouldn't delay!" Granny Wu turned around ready to dash toward the jungle when she felt a tug on her blouse. She once again faced the girl and saw her countenance changed.

"Xiao er, what happened?" she touched the girl's forehead to check her temperature. She assumed that the Fu Yixiao in front of her was feeling uncomfortable due to some sickness hence why she was measuring her temperature.

"What happened?" Granny Wu asked again while staring at the direction Wu Zhaoyi and Fu Yixiao took. Then, she attended to the girl standing in front of her, only to see tears accumulated in the corner of her eyes.

"Xiao er, we have a limited time here. Tell me what happened so that I can help you," she persuaded her to speak.

Listening to Granny Wu's persuasion, the other Fu Yixiao finally broke down. "Granny Wu, what if we succeed here, would you guys forsake me?" she asked, with eyes rimmed in tears.

"Why don't we tell her that she would die sooner or later? Why don't we just tell her that we are looking for a suitable vassal for the main character in this book, who's also your daughter? why don't we tell her that you and Wu Zhaoyi was the reincarnation of someone from the ancient time? why?" she felt her body weakened as tears wet her cheek.

"Fu Yixiao, you know the reason," Granny Wu released both her hands that were resting on the girl' shoulders.

"Then, let her die! Let me be the vassal! We can try again. I'm sure, it'll work this time around," she looked at Granny Wu with pleading eyes.

"You also know how impossible that is since you're not the main entity," Granny Wu almost lost her composure but witnessing the pathetic state the girl was in, she tried to put some sense on her.

"Then, tell her everything and get this over with. How about we kill her and let your daughter's soul entered her body. If she isn't the main entity then we go back to my world and try again,"

"What did you say?"

The other Fu Yixiao retreated further for at that moment she felt an immeasurable pressure coming from Granny Wu. She knew the talked about her daughter made her mad. She braced herself to meet the old woman's eyes only to see her cold eyes were staring back at her. She almost choked seeing the imminent look that wanted to tear her up to pieces. 'Have I gone overboard,' she tried to reason in her mind.

"I'm sorry," she blurted unknowingly. The intense pressure made her felt small and unworthy.

"You-," Granny Wu stared at the girl who was on the ground, shaking fearfully. She approached her and kneeled down. She lifted up the girl's face and stared directly to her eyes.

"Have you fallen in love with Wu Zhaoyi?" the other Fu Yixiao was shocked. Her eyes widened not believing that her little secret was guessed correctly by Granny Wu.

"I'm not," she denied with her eyes staring down to the earth, afraid to make a contact with the older woman in front of her.

"Good, because even if you do, you know you're not the fated one," Granny Wu approached the girl and helped her up.

"Yes," the other Fu Yixiao faked a smile and strode behind Granny Wu who was moving stealthily among the giant trees.

***

"Wu Zhaoyi, tell me the truth." Fu Yixiao accelerated to match the boy's speed. Wu Zhaoyi noticed Fu Yixiao's calm face as she ran beside him. Once again, he complimented the strength that could match him well.

"You're really good," he praised her sincerely. Among all the Fu Yixiaos he had met, she was a strange one. Strong-willed and simply astounding. That made him hoped that this was the end to his quest.

Fu Yixiao ignored the boy's compliment and probed further. "Tell me the truth. I know you don't care about the portal and simply used that as a reason to satisfy my curiosity,"

Wu Zhaoyi felt a tug on his heart, this girl was definitely an intelligent one. If he didn't know of the tragic end that would befall on her, he would definitely try to save her. Alas, he couldn't change the destiny neither he had the artifact that would change her fate like the one in Granny Wu's possession.

"You're right about using the portal as an excuse. And you're also correct to say that we came for you, and not some shitty portal or your shitty father," Wu Zhaoyi relented.

"Why?" Fu Yixiao felt relieved after knowing that she had guessed correctly. Still, the right answer hadn't been given to her.

Wu Zhaoyi stopped from running and made a quick turn to face Fu Yixiao who was trying to avoid crashing onto him, stumbled on both her knees with her face an inch away from the ground.

"You!" she yelled while clearing the dust on her knees.

"Fu Yixiao, what if you are destined to die here?" she almost fell again after hearing the unexpected question from Wu Zhaoyi. Still, she thought hard before giving her answer.

"You don't have to give me an answer. I'm asking out of curiosity," Wu Zhaoyi chuckled when he saw the serious look on Fu Yixiao's face. He wasn't expecting her to think hard over the matter.