Thirty-Five

Darkness.

Darkness was all around her. She could hear familiar voices, she could hear their conversations and feel sadness and anger. On top of it all, she was trapped. All she could do was pace around the confined darkness. She could barely even stretch her arms fully without touching the dark and round walls.

"How am I supposed to get out of here?" Li Yuxi asked herself and fell to her knees. She held her hair and gripped them hard. "This place scares me. I don't even know where I am."

Li Yuxi got up and looked around, squinting her eyes to see if she could spot anything beyond the darkness. She exhaled hard and wrapped her arms around her body.

"Finally, I have left Zhaotian."

Li Yuxi gasped at the sound of her voice echoing around the darkness. She knew it was Zhao Ling's mother speaking. She became angry and banged her hands on the wall.

"Get out of me!" She yelled. "Get out of my body you sick lady!"

Li Yuxi was met with silence and it frustrated her. She wished she could see what the woman was seeing, so she could understand what the woman was planning. She had heard everything she said and the fear of her killing fifty people scared her. This woman was going to put her in trouble and she did not want anything of such to happen.

"What do I do? I don't have powers like Zhao Ling to do anything. All of this bothers me."

Li Yuxi sat on the floor and rested her back on the dark wall.

"How long will this ride be, sir?" She heard the woman ask.

"At least two hours." A reply from the captain, who she recognized, followed.

"That's too much. Two hours?" She responded under her breath. "Thank you."

Li Yuxi was plunged into silence once again and it aggravated her. Because of that, she stood and covered her face with her hands, thinking of what she could do.

"If I was Zhao Ling, what would I do? If I was a ghost with powers, what would I do?" She asked in her palms and slowly dropped her hands afterward. "Even if I knew, I am just a mere mortal. What can I even do when I don't have powers like he does?"

In anger, Li Yuxi punched the wall and a bright punch mark shone. She gasped and took a step back then looked at her fisted hand. She took a cautious step forward and punched again— the area glowed.

"Can you hear me?"

Li Yuxi jumped and gasped at the new yet familiar voice. She looked around, hoping to find the voice of the girl she always heard Zhao Ling talk to.

"You?"

There were three seconds of silence before she heard her speak again.

"Listen to me, Li Yuxi. I do not have time. What I am currently doing is against the rules as I have been forbidden to help Zhao Ling since his mission has not yet arrived… I can help you."

Relief washed away the anxiety she had been feeling.

"How? How can you help me? This woman needs to be stopped."

"From my spirit eye, I can see you are surrounded by Zhao Hua's purgatory. It is not the real purgatory but a temporary soul prison. The darkness is not actual darkness but the evil that lies within her… There is only one way to regain control of your mind and body and that is to crumble the dark walls you reside in."

"But how? I don't even have the powers to do such. This is beyond my control. I am not as powerful as Zhao Ling or you!"

The girl sighed. "You can… Listen you mortal. I am not even supposed to be helping you but because I am more like Zhao Ling's guardian, it is my duty. You, Li Yuxi, have the power to do so. Not as a spirit being but because of your soul. Zhao Ling must've told you about the different classes of spirits."

"He did. So, what do I do?" Her heart was beating fast as she anticipated what she had to do.

"Your soul and chi can overcome Zhao Hua's darkness. It is dense and strong enough to crumble this wall and make you take control of your body. You must keep punching until your goodness overtakes the darkness… Be fast or these walls will become darker and you will lose your soul and your consciousness… Good luck."

Li Yuxi exhaled and eyed the wall. She raked her fingers through her hair as she could feel the pull of stress in her. She bit her lip as she eyed the darkness in front of her then sighed.

"I can do this… I can do this." She took a step forward and took a fighting stance; her fists raised in front of her and legs parted and her knees bent.

Li Yuxi eyed the wall before her, took a deep breath and moved her arm backward, then shot it forward. She punched the wall with a grunt. The wall glowed for just a second. She hissed and started to punch the wall with her fists.

"Come on!" She continued to punch as sweat started pulling out of her skin and dripping down her forehead and temples.

The more she punched, the more the spots glowed for a few seconds before going dark again. Her failed efforts made her go weak with sore arms. She backed away, breathing hard with a glare on her face.

"This isn't even easy!" She shouted, hoping the girl would hear. "I do not have the strength of some beast to break down these walls!"

Li Yuxi hunched over with her hands cupping her kneecaps. She closed her eyes to catch her breath and regulate the rate at which her heart was beating. As soon as she opened her eyes, she spotted the mark Zhao Ling had placed on her. She stood straight and ran the pads of her fingers on the faded mark. As her index finger moved upward, she felt warmth travel down her spine. Her eyes could see a point of view, which was Zhao Ling running through the woods.

"Zhao Ling!" She called out and he stopped.

"Li Yuxi? Li Yuxi, is that you? Where are you? Please, tell me you are fine." He sounded scared and worried which made her heart flutter.

"Zhao Ling… I'm fine. I'm in my body but surrounded by darkness. I'm scared… your mother, Zhao Hua is planning something and she is about to leave Zhaotian. You need to appear on the other island before she kills innocent people."

"You are more important to me right now. I need to find you and make you safe."

For the first time, she felt a feeling that was not her own when she dug her fingers into the mark. She could sense a little level of fear and confusion. At that moment, she knew she could sense his emotions and that shocked her.

"Zhao Ling, I am safe in my body. You need to find your mother to find me. Find her and I will do my best from here."

There was silence from his side for some seconds before she watched him take a step forward.

"Li Yuxi… stay safe. I will kill you if you think of dying before I am supposed to leave this generation."

Li Yuxi chuckled with sudden tears in her eyes. She took her fingers away from the mark and was taken away from his point of view. She exhaled and raised her gaze to the walls all around her.

"I can do this," Li Yuxi said and began tying her hair into a loose bun. She rolled her neck and shoulders, then took a fighting stance. "Let's go."

‡‡‡

Zhao Ling appeared on the seaside and found the boat which he suspected his mother had used. He activated his spirit eyes and saw a trail of purple footsteps. In an instant, he opened his eyes and ran after the footsteps.

After a long while, he found himself in a busy part of the town. He looked around and saw he had lost track of her trail. He cursed under his breath in anger and kicked the ground.

"Where are you, Mother?!" He yelled into the air.

"Over here, son."

Zhao Ling spun around and found the woman sitting on a chair under a sunshade attached to a tea shop. He disappeared and appeared in front of her with his sword drawn, only to be knocked back with a strong force. He grunted as he sat up and watched as his mother got up with her arms stretched wide.

"There are over sixty-seven people in this part of town and this will be the perfect place for my first sacrifice of many and you… will not stop me."

Zhao Ling, in horror, watched as she lifted her hands in the air and the sky changed from bright to dark. Thunder and lightning flashed and rumbled in the dark clouds. People began to murmur and run.

"Stop this!" Zhao Ling ordered.

Li Yuxi's face had a smirk on it and instead of getting a response, his mother laughed and a large tornado started to form in the sky. Zhao Ling watched as the tornado grew bigger, heading toward the town with a force that seemed unstoppable.

"Watch me teach you what revenge is."