16. The Inevitable
Yue Yan got up from the bed as soon as he woke up and realised he was in a place he couldn't recognise. He stepped out of the room and clashed with a familiar face.
Yesterday, this guy before him and his friends had refused to take him to see his family. He couldn't remember what happened afterwards that he was still here.
He will think about that later but today, whether they like it or not, they'll have to take him to see Tingting and the kids. He held Zicheng's collar with both hands, "take me to my family now!"
Li Zicheng was double shocked to first see him outside and talk and second he felt Chen Yan's strength like he wasn't the sick Chen Yan that he has been taking care of for the past two weeks.
He easily removed Chen Yan's hands from his collar as he also was very strong even for a may.
"What do you remember?", Zicheng asked. He wanted to know if Chen Yan remembers everything that had happened there or not.
"Yesterday whenever I asked of my family you all became secretive telling me to get more rest. Now I am more rested, can you take me to see them or at least me direction as to where they are?" Yue Yan said, frustrated. He didn't like how these people were treating him at all.
'It seems he has forgotten all that happened for the last two weeks. How do I retell him everything without him going through any phase of withdrawal again?' Zicheng thought.
He put each of his hands on his shoulders and gazed at his eyes to make eye contact and said,"Listen, you have been here for two weeks and not just yesterday."
Yue Yan removed his hands as he asked,"How? How come I do not recall anything. Was I in coma then?". He started checking himself.
'If that were to be so then shouldn't I feel very weak by now?', he thought to himself and turned to look at Zicheng as he said,"Let's assume that were to be true then tell me, what happened and where is my family is too?"
Zicheng Sighed. "Let's go in first." He said as he ushered him back into the room. Then he patiently narrated all what had happened in the best way that he could.
He paused in between to analyse Chen Yan's reactions to what he was saying especially the sensitive details, and when he thinks has absorbed them quite ok, then he would continue.
At last he was able to finish till the end without Chen Yan showing any serious symptoms like what happened two weeks ago.
He looked at Yan who sat there so quietly after he had finished. He felt panicky. 'why is he quiet? Is he going to be withdrawn again? What do I do then?" Li Zicheng thought while patiently waiting for him.
'Now I remember everything.' Yue Yan thought as a sudden melancholic emotion engulfed him.
'Why am I even still here? And now what? What's the purpose of being here in the first place? Did I or did my ancestors offend somebody and now I have to pay by being brought to this cursed world.'
"Aahahh.", he held his chest in pains like someone having a heart attack as the tears started flowing.
Zicheng did not do or say anything. He felt really sad to see the hem weep like a weakling but also felt some relief over the fact that at least he was reacting normal this time.
"I need to go see them. Tingting, Yuyu and Lulu. I have to see them please.", he voiced out his thoughts to Zicheng while in tears.
"Yes, I will take you to them.", Zicheng said.
"Now! I want to see them now. Please.", he begged.
"Erm...okay but after you eat and take your medications. Now why don't you take your bath first while I prepare something for you, then we'll leave afterwards."
Zicheng said and prepared a bath for Chen Yan before attending to his other plans.
He usually does this before the nurses and the doctor came in. Since he has decided to take him to the mortuary to see the bodies of his families, he dismissed them when they came in today, before he and Chen Yan set off.
At the mortuary, Chen Yan broke down and wailed to the extent that both the staffs and Zicheng were confused as to how to calm him down.
Yue Yan felt he had failed everyone. That he was given one more chance at life and he couldn't do anything better with it at all, although it was in a different world.
He felt that he did not deserve Chen Yan's body. He had failed him. He had failed to protect his lovely and innocent family.
He had watched helplessly as Chen Yan's family beat, dragged and inflicted all sorts of wounds on his poor little family.
He remembered how Tingting was being beaten by Chen Yan's mama with the log while his brother and his moon held him.
He remembered the two-year-old Lulu, wailing as he was dragged on the stony ground, that scratched against his fragile body.
One of his younger brother's son, Chen Zhao, had hit Yuyu with stones on his head and blood oozing out. Like Lulu and Tingting, Yuyu's voice faded out as he was being dragged and he became unresponsive as well.
The blood that seeped into the ground as all three of them were being dragged before his eyes. The bodies deposited at the mortuary were badly disfigured. The images now hunting his memories were heart wrenching. He wishes to leave here.
He was helpless and hopeless here. His talents and skills from his other world were useless here. He was nothing. His whole being amounted to nothing.
He was worthless. He did not deserve to live again, especially in Chen Yan's body. Not after failing all of them miserably, the real Chen Yan and his family.
He was a fake. A fake that should not exist here. He cried till there were no more tears left to be shed. He slept afterwards and did not eat anything for the rest of the day.