Chapter 10 - Another World

I must really be loosing my mind. No, maybe I have already completely lost it. Another world? Did he mean...?

"Am I in the Afterlife?" I asked Lijun.

"No, you are in another world. You are not dead," he answered. Seeing my questioning look, he continued to try and explain. "There are two worlds, yours and mine."

"You mean like different planets?" I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

He shook his head and sighed, "No. How do I explain this? You people and your obsession with science..." He crouched down and picked a leaf out of the water. Then, he picked two seeds off a lotus head and laid them on the leaf, on the floor of the gazebo.

I crouched down beside him. Lijun traced the edges of the leaf, all the way around, "This is the infinite space. It's not how your world's people describe it with 'planets' and 'suns' and 'moons'. It is not that kind of 'space'. It is a space. The space. It has no time, nor dimension. It simply exists. It is the place where the seven Great gods rule from the Eternal Palace." He points at one of the lotus seeds, "This is your world, we know it as Shenmi, the world forsaken by the gods. I did not expect it to be... thriving as much as it is." Then he pointed towards the other lotus seed, "And this Shenhua, the flower of the gods. The gods rule over this world."

It sounded like a fantasy drama. This was insane. I was dreaming.

Lijun must have seen my skepticism from my expression, "You do not believe me." I threw my hands up in the air, "Of course I don't! It sounds like a fantasy drama!"

Lijun raised an eyebrow, "A what?"

"A fantasy drama! You know on the TV?" He looked confused, so I continued, "With the guys with long hair like yours and costumes that look almost like the clothes you're wearing? They fly and have super powers and magic and super-tragic love stories?" He was still confused, so I sighed and said, "Whatever. The point is that your story sounds ridiculous."

"It sounds ridiculous to you because your world is ruled by scientific beliefs. You have to explain everything with it. But then again, it is all your world's people had to survive, they had to rely on their own minds," Lijun responded. He got up and held out a hand for me to take to help me get up. I refused to take it and got up on my own.

"So, what you're saying is that whatever is explained by science does not really exist?" I asked with my hands on my hips. I sounded like I was in a debate club in high school.

Lijun face-palmed, "That is not what I am saying. I never said that your science was wrong - I merely claimed that it did not explain everything." He motioned for me to follow him, "Come, the air out here is getting cold."

I could feel the chilliness of the breeze cut through my jeans and sweater, so I reluctantly followed him.

We walked through arches decorated with beautiful flowers of all kinds; even kinds that I have never seen. They were also real flowers, not the decorative kind. I wondered if they got replaced often as soon as they died.

We entered an enormous building. The room we walked into seemed like a bedroom. It had a bed in the middle of it - big enough for probably six people to sleep next to each other. Moonlight streamed in through giant round windows. Our footsteps could be heard as we walked on the wooden floors and my eyes were drawn to paintings of peach blossoms and birds against the walls.

Lijun led me to a small tea-table, surrounded by pillows to sit on. A teapot with steaming hot tea rested on it. He gestured for me to sit. I sat down and realized how parched I was when the sweet aroma of the tea filled my nostrils. Lijun poured each of us a cup, "Here, this tea is quite calming - it helps with sleep as well."

I looked at him over the cup after I took a sip, "Do you have trouble sleeping?"

He smiled softly at the table, "Sometimes."

I sighed, "Me too."

"Do you have nightmares?" Lijun asked, still looking down at his tea.

"Sometimes."

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I studied him. He looked as if he was trying hard to make small-talk, yet, also as if he was fighting the urge to speak too much. The silence grew awkward, so I thought to break it with more questions.

"Why are you always there when I am in trouble?"

Lijun looked up and his eyes met mine, "I do not know."

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean you don't know?"

"Hmm... I get this feeling that something is going to happen, then I go to see if you are alright. And then when I find you, you are in danger," he explained.

I cleared my throat, "So you... can see the future?"

Lijun chuckled at my question, "No, it is not like that. It is more like.... being paranoid. It just turned out that the last few times something really did happen. But," he frowned. "This last time, I could actually hear you calling out to me."

I blinked. He continued with a laugh, "I mean it had to be you, because who else would call an emperor 'Ponytail-guy'."

My cheeks grew hot. He didn't even notice and continued, "At first, however, I thought that I was just imagining it. How could someone call out to another person across worlds? It is impossible. So I ignored it." His hands made fists, and his knuckles grew white, "But then I saw the image of you falling from a cliff, and I grew paranoid again. I almost did not go, but the paranoia was too unbearable. So, I flew through a portal to where I thought you might be, and there you were. Falling." He closed his eyes, "If I had ignored it..."

His eyes opened and he was looking at me with knotted eyebrows, "It was an utterly foolish thing you did."

I sighed, "I know. I'm... sorry. I just... had enough of this torture."

"You mean you launched yourself off a cliffside out of pure curiosity?" Lijun asked angerly.

"No, you don't understand! You think I would leave Kai over a few questions?!" I cried.

Lijun's expression was unreadable. "Right, Kai. Your... lover."

If I didn't know any better, I would say that he seemed jealous. But why would Lijun be jealous of Kai? That's just stupid.

"I... have been having these weird experiences," I explained.

Lijun crossed his arms over his chest. "You would have to be more specific than that."

Nothing could sound crazier than what Lijun told me about the two worlds and the seven gods and himself being an emperor who jumps through portals. I suppose telling him about my emotion-thing would not be that bad.

Before I could speak, the doors of the room was flung open and a young man came running in.

"Master! I've been looking everywhere for y--- HUH?!" The young man stopped in his tracks and nearly toppled over. "Master? Is-is that a lady in your room?" He pointed at me with a trembling finger.

Lijun rolled his eyes, "No, Yiming, it is a house cat that I stole from one of the maids."

"A house cat?!" I've been reduced to being called a house cat. I can't believe this.

Yiming didn't even flinch at the joke, "You know your enchantments cannot work on me, Master."

Lijun shrugged with a smirk I never thought I'd see on him, "It was simply a joke, Yiming."

I looked at Lijun, flabbergasted, "Enchantments?!"

They ignored me, and Yiming scrambled to close the door. "Master, you're lucky that none of the maids saw her. If they saw a lady in your bed chamber, the palace would never hear the end of it. It would be a repeat of when all those---"

Lijun cleared his throat to stop Yiming from saying more.

My face twisted in disgust, "How many girls have you HAD in this room?"

Lijun looked away, I thought I saw his cheeks redden in embarrassment, but that must just have been my imagination.

Yiming placed the palm of his hand on his forehead. "You don't want to know. He never even looked at a lady for as long as I knew him, then he suddenly went through a phase where ---"

"Yiming, shut up." Lijun commanded.

Yiming paced up and down, "And then he suddenly stopped again, never looking at a single lady, no matter how pretty she was. And now I come in here and," he threw both his hands in my direction. "There is a LADY IN THE BEDCHAMBER."

"Yiming, I swear to the gods--" Lijun looked as if he would get up any second and smack Yiming right in the head.

Yiming still went on with his rant, "You have got to leave this lunatic. I don't know under what kind of enchantment he has you, but you have to snap out of it NOW. Your heart will only be broken - POOF," he gestured a little explosion with both his hands, "Into a million little pieces and you could have been with someone more worthy of your heart, like ME, but unfortunately I'm off the market because I have to serve THIS bastard." Yiming pointed towards Lijun.

Who ever thought an attendant could talk to an emperor that way. Lijun didn't even look bothered by the disrespect, he more seemed to want to smack Yiming for what he was saying.

Yiming did a double-take, "Huh? What's with your clothing? Did you make those yourself?"

I shook my head, "Nope, I bought them."

Yiming squinted his eyes, "Well, you better demand your money back because they look hideous. That tailor needs to be put out of business."

Lijun rubbed his temples, "Just go and get her some women's clothes."

Yiming almost agreed, "Fine, okay... BUT, HEY wait a sec, I'm not going to get her new clothes. She needs to get them herself when she LEAVES. She has to leave NOW."

"She cannot leave, Yiming," Lijun said, irritated.

"Actually I kind of wanna eventually go back ho--" I started, but I was yet again interrupted by Yiming gasping loudly and closing his mouth with both his hands.

"D-don't tell me. You got her PREGNANT?!"

"NO!" Both Lijun and I yelled in unison.

Yiming sighed in relief, "Whew, that would have been a catastrophe." He frowned, "But why can't she leave? Are you holding her hostage?"

I also wanted to know why I could not go home. After I asked my questions and got some concrete answers, I would like to go back to where I came from, if possible.

"No, she does not have a home here, she has nowhere to go," Lijun explained to Yiming. "I cannot let her wonder the streets aimlessly."

Yiming's left eye twitched, "You slept WITH A HOMELESS PERSON?!"

Lijun had enough and got up to, I think, hit some sense into Yiming.

He chased the screaming Yiming around the room. "I can't believe you went that low! If the council finds out they'll have a heart attack," Yiming exclaimed. Lijun took off a shoe and threw it at him. I cringed at the loud impact that it made with Yiming's head and as he fell to the ground.

Yiming sat up and a little stream of blood ran down the side of his face and my eyes widened. I scrambled to him, "A-are you okay?"

Lijun stood across the room with only one of his feet clothed in a slipper. I carefully tried to check how bad Yiming's injury was.

"Look at you standing there, always injuring me and never getting a doctor to check on me. Now, even a homeless person is checking my injuries!" Yiming yelled at Lijun.

"Actually," I said and Yiming looked at me. "I'm not homeless. I have a home." I looked at Lijun, unable to believe what I was going to say next. "It's just in another world."

Yiming passed out in my arms.