Twenty-Seven

The group walked through the woods and finally arrived at a deserted village. Some houses were burnt, and others were still standing with plants growing out of them with their doors and windows wide open. Broken wooden contraptions, statues, and boulders were on every corner of the narrow roads of the village. Bushes and other plants grew on some parts of the pathway. The only sound of life that could be heard were birds chirping in the distance and close by, followed by crickets hiding in corners.

"Shangbao village is said to be three hundred years old. It used to house people at least a hundred years ago until a natural disaster happened. Some believed that a sickness ended the lives of the villagers while others believe a fire or hunger and famine made them go extinct. Shangbao village also had a fear of what was beyond their boundaries. They believed that civilization did not exist so they did not attempt to cross the river. There is even a tale found written that anyone who tried to cross the river would be swallowed by a storm."

Li Yuxi nodded and wrote down the information Lin Wei was giving as he led the group through the village. She looked at every house they passed, peering into the broken and open windows. She could spot pieces of furniture, clothes, and other things which excited her. She grabbed her camera that hung around her neck and took snapshots of the houses.

"Shangbao was also believed to have had a series of spiritual attacks," Lin Wei added and some of the archaeologists began to murmur. "It is said that the spirits attacked the villagers due to some sin and left them in great fear. The spirits were stubborn and wanted vengeance."

Li Yuxi glanced around for Zhao Ling, wondering if he could sense the spirits around but when she saw no sign of him, she huffed and paid attention to Lin Wei.

"There is a royal palace located at the center of the village and we have come to make findings. We need to find out more about this village and release to the public its untold heritage. Let's go!"

Li Yuxi, feeling giddy, made her way to the front of the group and followed Lin Wei, not caring if she was aggressively pulling Zhao Ling.

After a few miles, they arrived in front of a crooked wooden gate with plants climbing its body. There were tall stone walls that stretched on each side of the gate, curving at the far end. Li Yuxi stepped away from the group to take more pictures of the palace walls and the trees and bushes leading to the palace. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Zhao Ling appear very close to the wall on the left side. She abruptly turned in his direction and watched what he was doing.

Zhao Ling raised his hand to touch the wall. She could not see his face to tell what he was thinking so she watched him touch the wall. He bowed his head for a few seconds before disappearing. Li Yuxi blinked and made her way back to the group when the gates were opened.

One after another, they stepped into the deserted courtyard. The moment Li Yuxi stepped foot on the ground of the palace, everything around her changed. She gasped and took a step back upon noticing that she was no longer with the group but in the midst of a lively courtyard with guards patrolling back and forth, women with baskets talking together as they walked toward different parts of the wooden buildings.

Li Yuxi stood firm in her spot, taking in her surroundings. She turned around to look for her group but only saw the opened gate with a clearer pathway that led back to the village.

"Where am I?" She whispered and hesitantly walked further into the courtyard.

The guards and the women she passed barely acted like they could see her, which made Li Yuxi look down at her body. Confusion doubled in her head at that but continued to make her way through the clean pathway. As she walked past the wooden houses, she heard laughter and the murmurs of conversations.

"Lui Mei, I heard you were with the prince last night."

Li Yuxi froze at the name mentioned and looked around for the owner of the voice. There were a few women around and they were all having a conversation, which was difficult for Li Yuxi to spot who Lui Mei was.

"Stop, XianXian."

Li Yuxi did a double take at two women sitting on the porch of a house on the right end. They were idly sitting on a mat, fanning themselves with a fan made out of straws. Li Yuxi quickly made her way to the women and stared at them, curious about who Lui Mei was after what Zhao Ling had said to her about the woman.

"You are the luckiest lady in the palace," the girl on the left spoke and Li Yuxi knew who Lui Mei was.

The woman was beautiful and had long dark hair that flowed down her shoulder and chest, framing her small face. Her facial features reminded her of the celebrities she saw on television. Perfect straight nose, arched eyebrows, double-lidded eyes, and plump lips.

"I know I am but I know that someday Zhao Ling would marry a girl from a noble family. His parents would never agree for him to marry a servant girl."

The urge to hit Lui Mei crossed her mind as she knew at that moment, she was cheating on Zhao Ling with her brother. Past her beauty, she could see deceit and lies in her bright eyes. The innocence on her face was higher than the deceit and anger and hatred for the woman she did not know filled her heart.

Suddenly, everywhere became dark, like a thick cloud had covered the sun and the rest of the sky. Li Yuxi looked at the sky and heard thunder rumbling with lightning flashing in the clouds. She heard a scream and looked away from the sky, only to gasp and stagger backward when she saw the girl XianXian, looking thin to her skeleton, whilst laying on the wooden porch.

Li Yuxi panicked and moved back, only to see the changes in the houses. They were no more bright and merry looking but dull with dried leaves and dirt lingering everywhere. In some corners were guards sitting on the ground with their staffs and spears held weakly in their hands. Some were coughing and Li Yuxi felt sadness in her heart for them.

The sounds of footsteps and the steps of a horse behind her, made Li Yuxi turn around to see who it was. On a white horse was Lui Mei and behind her were ten guards yielding weapons. She was dressed like royalty, adorned with an expensive-looking hanfu, and on her head was a headpiece that signified her royal class. Li Yuxi watched as Lui Mei stopped the horse to look at XianXian with a smile on her face.

"Lui Mei, please… help me. I'm hungry." The pain and weakness in the girl's voice broke her.

Li Yuxi clenched her fists and glared at Lui Mei who cackled.

"I am not your mother, dear XianXian. I cannot feed you. You dared to go against me because you were jealous of my relationship with Zhao Feng. You will die of your hunger. Hia!" Lui Mei whipped the horse and it galloped past Li Yuxi.

Tears formed in Li Yuxi's eyes when she saw how weak XianXian looked. She could see the depth of her sadness in her sunken eyes and when tears rolled down her cheeks, Li Yuxi broke down, letting the tears fall. When XianXian closed her eyes and her hand slackened, she knew she had died.

At that moment, she could understand the anger and hatred Zhao Ling had for his brother and this woman. She saw what the palace looked like even in its present time. Hate, deceit, and betrayal oozed in the air and it filled her heart with anger.

With a new level of anger and hate in her heart, Li Yuxi glared hard at Lui Mei who dropped from her horse in the distance. Li Yuxi wished she could do something— anything to make the woman pay for leaving her friend to die. She spotted a rock close to her foot and picked it up, then threw it at Lui Mei.

When the rock hit the back of her head, Li Yuxi froze in fear. She had expected the impact would not be noticeable and when the woman had flinched and remained still, Li Yuxi swallowed and took a step back. Before she could do anything else, Lui Mei appeared in front of her, making her fall on her butt with her eyes wide.

"I have been waiting for you, Li Yuxi or should I say, little mortal?"