Thirty-Three

Everything happened all at once. One moment, Zhao Ling was meditating and the next, he heard the voice of the annoying boy, who he suspected had feelings for Li Yuxi, then the next, there was a strong presence in the air. It was full of darkness and rage. It made him stand straight and look around for where the energy was coming from.

When he saw a purple smoke wrap around Li Yuxi, he ran straight to her and fell beside her. He was confused and panicked as the smoke became thicker and more aggressive around her, even going as far as sinking in and out of her body. When the boy, Lin Wei lifted her into his arms, a face that he never thought he would see again was on Li Yuxi.

"Mother?"

A smirk appeared on Li Yuxi's face— more like his mother's face—making him double back.

"Hello, son." Her voice was filled with deep evil.

"Son?" Lin Wei repeated in confusion.

Zhao Ling was restless and angry as he could not do anything to help his mortal. He watched as his mother blinked and looked at the other people surrounding her and she smiled.

"I'm okay." Her voice was softer. "I was just calling you son, Lin Wei. Don't mind me."

"You're making me worry. Are you sure you won't go home?"

Zhao Ling had enough of the boy's words and grabbed Li Yuxi's wrist, getting her attention. He narrowed his eyes at her and grunted when he was flung away, scraping the ground with his side as he rolled away. He stopped with a groan and raised his head to stare at the woman in shock. He watched as Li Yuxi stood up with the help of Lin Wei.

"I'm okay… I just need to sit down. You can go back to what you were doing."

Zhao Ling got up quickly and followed Li Yuxi when she made her way to her tent. It surprised him how the presence of his mother in the mortal made her aware of what was hers and who the people around her were. The worst part about everything was that he could not sense Li Yuxi's emotions. All he could see was a thick wall blocking her emotions and that made him mad.

As soon as she got into her tent, Zhao Ling disappeared and appeared in the tent, standing behind her. She was quiet for a few seconds before turning around with a sinister smile on her face.

"Did you miss me, my lovely son? You have grown even more handsome, it is no wonder why this mortal has feelings of attraction for you. Although, it is sacrilege that I am in the body of a woman that has feelings for my son." She shuddered in disgust and sat on a recliner in the corner of the tent.

"What are you doing here, Mother? What are you doing in her body? Leave her right this instant and show your true form to me!" His voice was raw with anger.

Looking at the face of the woman who had celebrated his death made him feel the highest form of anger. He was facing one of the people who mocked his death. The most painful part of his memories was how she had started bedding another man so soon after she claimed she loved his father.

Li Yuxi laughed. "Relax, Prince Zhao Ling. I will not hurt her. Unless you force me to. But I cannot simply destroy my new body."

Zhao Ling was taken aback by her words. In his anger and confusion, he summoned his sword and pulled it out of its sheath then pointed the sharp blade at the woman whose eyes widened.

"Trust me, Mother. I do not care about the body you have possessed. I have been looking for reasons to end her life and you may just be the silver lining I needed."

Zhao Ling raised his hand to strike, only to have the sword knocked out of his hand by a purple whip coming from his mother's hair. He glanced at his sword as it disappeared before glaring back at the woman.

"Now, now, son. You do not have to do that." She rose from the recliner and approached him with the same sinister smile on her face. "I did not wait hundreds of years only to be sent back to purgatory."

"W-what?" The familiarity of her statement surprised him.

"Mmhmm." She sighed. "Thanks to the great witch, Lui Mei, I have been allowed to return."

"Lui Mei." More and more levels of surprises filled his chi. "What do you mean by what you just said?"

Li Yuxi smirked. "Years before my death, I fell sick and I knew that my time would come. When Lui Mei told me that there are powers big enough to bring one's soul back, transmigrate or even be reborn, I chose to be reborn but along the years I spent in purgatory, I got tired and wanted to be transmigrated. She had locked my soul just as she did with yours in this bracelet."

She raised her wrist and shook it, showing Zhao Ling the white bracelet with a golden dragon wrapped around it.

"I was waiting for this body to find the bracelet and she did. Everything about us, about our futures is connected to destiny!" She laughed and stepped away to walk around the room before stopping at the tent's opened window. She looked out the window for a moment before turning her head to look directly into Zhao Ling's eyes.

"The choice I made comes with great sacrifices. I chose the sacrifice and that is I will need to kill fifty mortals every day until the day this body dies," she said and let out a short laugh.

Zhao Ling growled and took a step forward but he found himself not being able to walk any further. He looked down at his feet and found purple shackles from the ground, wrapped around his ankles. He looked up at the woman and hissed.

"I am not done speaking yet. You have never changed, tsk… as I was saying, I will need to kill fifty mortals to continue. Hell needs more souls and our great redeemer will grant me more powers each time I bring more souls to him."

"I will not let you do anything!" Zhao Ling yelled. "You are nothing but a demon and will have no power here as long as I exist."

Li Yuxi smirked. "Poor, Zhao Ling. Things cannot be solved by anger. You cannot stop me. I stayed in purgatory for years, cultivating my powers. Do you think you can easily stop me? Stopping me means killing this beautiful mortal."

Zhao Ling eyed Li Yuxi, thinking of where the real her went. He wondered if she was seeing everything and hearing every word.

"Li Yuxi, I don't know if you can hear or see me. But you will need to fight her. Do not be scared, I promised to protect you and I will keep my promise."

Li Yuxi laughed, bending over with her hand on her chest. She stood straight and threw her head back to laugh more. She stopped after a minute and cleared her throat.

"She cannot hear you nor see you. What don't you understand? Your mortal is gone. Her soul is trapped within this body and is in complete darkness. The only thing useless is her body and her thoughts. Give up, son."

Zhao Ling tried to move but the shackles were too tight. He exhaled hard and a strong wave of anger developed in his chi. He clenched his hands and his sash glowed bright red. A coy smile appeared on her face which triggered him more.

"You do not belong here, Mother. Your presence in this generation is against the will of the world and every realm. You destroyed me in the past, I could not do anything. One by one, I will kill you no matter what form you take."

A smile spread on her lips and she nodded.

"I am aware of the prophecy… well, too bad, Zhao Ling. I have returned to save my son from your wrath."

Zhao Ling's eyebrows furrowed. "Save your son?"

Li Yuxi gasped. "Oh, you didn't know? Were you so locked up that you did not end up finding out that you are not your father's son but the son of a common soldier who I had an affair with?"

Everything around Zhao Ling went dark at the discovery. His eyes were wider than before and his mind was blank.

"Yes, you are your father's son. That is why I never let you take the throne. You are not royalty and my son, Zhao Feng was the rightful emperor of zhaotian… your death was destiny just as the death of your father who was foolish to try to claim you."

Zhao Ling, for the first time, felt a strong wave of sadness.