Twenty-Eight

The dark look on Lui Mei's face sent a wave of fear and shock through Li Yuxi's body. She was scared to the point she could not move, blink or utter a word as she sat on the ground. The sly smile on her face was intimidating; the way her teeth were bare and the way her eyes sparkled deviously.

"I have been waiting for you," she said and vanished.

Li Yuxi gasped and looked around her, eyeing every corner and open space for the woman as her heart rate increased. She could hear her heart pumping in her ears and feel her body become sweaty.

A swoosh was heard and Lui Mei popped up beside Li Yuxi, making her scream and crawl backward.

"Don't be scared."

"What do you want?" Li Yuxi asked, her voice shaky.

"What do I want?" Lui Mei acted as if she was confused for a second. "I want your head!"

Lui Mei charged toward her and she screamed covering her face with her arms while waiting for the impact. When three seconds counted by and nothing happened, she hesitantly dropped her arms and found herself amid her colleagues. They all had worry plastered on their faces before Lin Wei pushed through them with a bottle of water. He fell on his knees beside her and opened the bottle.

"Li Yuxi," he said with worry heavy in his voice. "What happened just now?"

She was shaking slightly and looked around the small crowd. Her wide eyes scanned the whole place until they stopped on Lui Mei who was standing in the distance. She waved her hand before she disappeared, leaving a trail of purple smoke floating in the air.

"Li Yuxi!"

Warm hands cupping her cheeks forced her head away. She made eye contact with Lin Wei whose eyes were roaming around her face.

"What happened?" She asked in a low voice.

"We should be asking you that. One moment we were looking around and the next, you stood still, while looking ahead of us. I called your name so many times but you didn't answer. I tried to move your body, but it was as if you were glued to the spot. Was that a seizure?"

Li Yuxi was too drained to respond to what he had said. Instead, she saw Zhao Ling appear behind Lin Wei. She raised her eyes to look at him and saw his face set in a scowl. She broke eye contact and forced a smile for Lin Wei.

‡‡‡

Hours later, the group had set up tents in an empty hall in the palace's courtyard. Li Yuxi was sitting in hers, arms wrapped around her shins as she thought back to what she had experienced. She was still scared of Lui Mei and what the woman wanted from her. At that moment, she wished she could go home and never remember the experience she had a few hours ago.

A rustle beside her made her flinch and side-eye her left. She furrowed her eyebrows when she saw Zhao Ling sitting in the corner with his eyes closed and hands folded on his thigh. She looked away from him, minding her business.

"How did you see Lui Mei?"

The question made her freeze for a second before sighing.

"I thought I was not supposed to speak to you?" She asked and glared at him.

Zhao Ling sighed. "This matter is important. So, I advise you to give me a response."

"I don't know," she said. "I don't know how and why but the moment I placed my foot on the ground of the palace, I was sent into the past. I saw this palace and I assume this is your home."

The tent was quiet for some seconds, making Li Yuxi think she said something wrong.

"This is indeed my home. The whole land mass is. I do not know what fate is trying to do but if this is a sign for me to find the answers to my mission, I will take it. What confuses me is why I could see what you saw. You are not my savior, so why does this affect you? Why does Lui Mei need your head?"

Li Yuxi had no answer to his question and laid down on her bedroll, backing him. She stared at the material of her tent for a few contemplative seconds before speaking;

"All I want is to be alive, Zhao Ling. I never asked to be in this position nor was I asked to be punished for the mistakes in the timeline," she said and shut her eyes.

The flapping of her tent made her open her eyes in annoyance.

"Li Yuxi?"

She sat up at the sound of Wang Lifen's voice and turned her head in her direction. The woman looked disheveled as if she had been running. When she squatted beside Li Yuxi, she saw beads of sweat on her temple.

"Lin Wei told me what happened. Are you okay? Do you want to go home?"

Li Yuxi smiled. "I'm fine. I don't want to go home… at least for now."

Wang Lifen shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"This is why I was contemplating coming here," Wang Lifen said.

"What do you mean?"

Wang Lifen sat down and stared into space for some time before shrugging.

"I already told you that I can feel things around me and this place… this place is heavy with them. The air is heavy with these things. I was worried about coming here because I knew it would be hard for me to help but this expedition is important to us." Wang Lifen chuckled. "I'm suspecting they tried to get you."

"I…" Li Yuxi made eye contact with Zhao Ling who shook his head. "I was just stressed. I don't think it's a spirit trying to do anything funny with me."

Zhao Ling nodded once in approval and faced away. She bit her lip and smiled once Wang Lifen looked at her.

"There's something here with us, I feel it. I know what I'm talking about," Wang Lifen said and Li Yuxi's heart skipped a beat. "I do not like its presence."

Li Yuxi gulped and discreetly looked toward Zhao Ling who seemed like he did not care what Wang Lifen had said.

"Take this," Wang Lifen said and took out a black beaded bracelet. She grabbed Li Yuxi's hand and forced the bracelet around her wrist.

Li Yuxi hissed and felt a sharp tug in her gut, followed by the copper rope glowing. It stopped after a few seconds and she looked at Zhao Ling who had his eyes wide in shock. He rose to his feet and stood very close to Wang Lifen, eyeing her suspiciously.

"What's this?" She asked.

"It's a talisman. It's for protection against evil spirits. My great-grandmother practiced witchcraft and used to make stuff like this. As long as we're here, you need to protect yourself."

"I can protect her myself," Zhao Ling said in a terse tone of voice and stretched a red and black smoke-covered hand at the bracelet but was zapped and sent staggering backward.

"Zh—" Li Yuxi held herself back when Wang Lifen looked at her.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. You can go now. I want to rest so I can join the others at the site."

"Okay. Bye."

Once Wang Lifen left, Li Yuxi crawled over to where Zhao Ling was sitting and knelt beside him. His face was squeezed with confusion as he stared at his hand before grabbing her wrist out of nowhere, startling her. His cold hand and fingers made her shudder slightly.

"Why can't I take this off?" He asked, meeting her eyes.

"Zhao Ling, what kind of spirit are you? I may not be able to see what color you give off but… tell me, are you an evil spirit with a grudge? This is a talisman and its job is to ward off spirits."

Zhao Ling squeezed her hand softly while looking into her eyes, hardening his gaze. She maintained eye contact, not feeling intimidated at all.

"I am not an evil spirit. I will never be one. To become one, you would need to offer sacrifices to the gods who control your existence and powers as a demon."

Li Yuxi nodded. "If this makes you uncomfortable, I can take it off but what will Wang Lifen think?"

"You will need to learn how to not please people. I do not know what that thing is made of and I would like to sense when you're in danger. That thing is blocking my chi from helping you. I do not care if we are tied together, Li Yuxi…"

Zhao Ling stopped talking to scoot closer, entering her personal space. She swallowed when his eyes glowed a dull red, making her shiver slightly.

"I will keep saying this… You are mine to protect. No one, mortal or immortal has the right to. Do you understand?"