Star Crossed In Time - Chapter 185

Ted follows closely behind but he looks just as uneasy as I do. At first, everyone seemed angry about us cutting in line but as soon as they saw me, they quickly stepped back. The woman explains to the man who I am and he quickly gives us water.

I tell them thank you and quickly walk away with Ted. I look down at the weird animal sacks of water and don’t stop until we’re out of the town. Ted gasps for air as I fan myself. I look down at the water sack with a frown. Did I really have to drink out of this?

Ted lifts his and downs half of it before saying “It just tastes like water. No worries.” I nod my head and pass him my water sack. He looks at me with confusion so I quickly wave him off and say “I have water. You take this.” His confusion quickly deeps as he says “You’ve had water this whole time?” I give him a strained smile as I say “I can drink it but I don’t know what it’ll do to you.” He still doesn’t understand but he nods his head and drinks more water.

I give him a grateful look and cup my hands. With just a thought, my hands are full of the pond water. I drink several handfuls before we continue on our way but we’re soon stopped by a large group of men. Great… just great. One of the men steps forward and says “Give us your water and any other valuables and we’ll let you go.”

Another man smacks that man in the chest as he says “Do you see her hair? Is that not like the woman from the legend?” The man who got smacked rubs his chest with a frown. Suddenly, another voice is heard saying “Move you, idiots!”

I frown at that voice but when he steps around the men, I break out into a large smile. Guozhi stands there staring at me with shock. “Bun… Bunny? Is that really you?” I chuckle at his familiar nickname for me and before I can say yes, he’s already in front of me.

He wraps his arms around me and spins me around several times before putting me back and saying “How? I thought you were dead!? Are you okay? Where have you been?” I blink several times as I try to make everything stop spinning and say “I thought I was dead too but here I am! And I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. I think I was in my space. But I’m fine, see?”

Guozhi frowns at me and says “Space? You can’t go into your space. Nothing living can go in there.” I slowly nod my head and say “And yet, I did.” I lean around him to look at the large group of men behind him and say “Are you back to your old ways?”

Guozhi gives me a cheeky grin as he says “A mans gotta eat… where are you going?” I frown at his question and say “To the Demonic Realm, where else?” Guozhi looks at me with shock before quickly looking away.

He turns back to me and says “That’s right… you don’t know.” My frown deepens as I ask “What do I not know?” Guozhi rubs the back of his neck before saying “He’s gone… everyone in the Demonic Realm is gone. Everyone. Even the citizens left, not wanting to be close to the cursed Under Realm.”

I stare at him for a solid minute before asking “Then where are they now?” Guozhi’s face crumbles as he says “I’m sorry, Nova but no one knows. They all just disappeared.” I look past him before saying “Got it, thanks. It was good seeing you again Guozhi.”

I walk around him and walk towards the group of men with a straight face. The men part like the red sea and allow me to pass without a single word. Ted nods to Gouzhi and quickly follows after me but I pay very little attention.

Were they really no longer there? Why would they leave? ….. Because they thought I was dead. I come to a stop, causing Ted to almost run over me. Guozhi says something to the men before running over saying “Bunny! Wait up! I’m coming with you.”

I clench my fists under my sleeves and quickly begin to walk. Guozhi elbows Ted and says “I’m Guozhi, her play toy. Who are you?” Ted frowns at him before saying “Her older brother…” Guozhi nods and says “Nice to meet you, brother.” Ted’s frown grows as I continue to walk ahead.

If he’s not there… where could he be? What about little Bun and Zhen? Were they gone as well!? My panic starts to grow as it threatens to choke me but I refuse to show it as I walk as quickly as possible. After another hour or so, I turn to Guozhi and ask “Why are there no horses?”

Guozhi shakes his head and says “It’s too hot to run the horses. They’ll kill over.” I bite my lip and turn back to keep walking. Even when the sun sets, I keep walking. “Nova, we should take a break and rest for a few hours,” Ted says with concern.

I ignore him and keep walking. I had to see it with my own eyes… I can’t stop until I do. After several more hours, we finally arrive. We’re all sweating and out of breath as I storm through the palace gates which were left unguarded.

When I finally make it back to Bai Lei’s courtyard, nothing is left but a large burnt spot. It was painfully clear that the palace had been empty for some time but for some reason, I needed to check the courtyard.

I fall to my knees and stare at the empty lot with a blank face. Ted walks over and places a comforting hand on my shoulder as he says “We can still find him, Nova. This doesn’t mean he’s gone forever.” I nod my head and slowly sit on my butt in defeat.

Guozhi falls to the ground, huffing, and puffing as he says “I’m so freaking thirsty!” That’s right… there’s no water. I look around the courtyard and instantly feel like smacking myself. I sigh and with just a thought, I have three large peaches in my hands.

Ted and Guozhi’s eyes grow large as I hand them each a fruit. There was something about these peaches. After eating them, you were no longer hungry or thirsty. Your strength was back and overall you just felt better. I have a feeling it’s because of the peeing rock’s water.

After we eat our peaches we all lay around in the courtyard in silence. Guozhi’s the first one to break the silence when he asks “So what do you plan to do now? You aren’t just gonna lay here and wait, right?”

I smirk and say “Maybe… you don’t want to turn into a pile of bones with me?” Guozhi snorts and says “With you, it wouldn’t be that simple, it never is.” This time I chuckle because it’s true. It really isn’t simple when it involves me in this world.

“Liling?” A familiar voice has me freezing before quickly sitting up to see Zhen in his white fox form. Tears well up in my eyes as I quickly get up and run to him. He runs to me and right before we connect, a bright light flashes as a familiar pair of strong arms wrap around me in a tight hug.

I bury my face in his chest as I silently cry. Zhen’s body shakes as he holds me close and strokes my head in a calming manner. After a few minutes, he leans back and wipes my tears as his red-ringed eyes look me over in concern.

“Where have you been, child?” He asks with a rough voice making me tear up again. “So much happened… so many bad things and… I thought I was dying so I went back to my world to avoid killing anyone and then somehow landed in my space.”

Zhen frowns at me as I continue saying “I crawled to the water, well it’s more like a pond now, and then passed out. When I woke up and finally came out, ten years had already passed. I… I’m sorry.” Zhen shakes his head and says “Silly child, don’t apologize. You did well and you came back. That’s all that matters.”

Suddenly Guozhi says “You have a pond in your space and didn’t share!?” I roll my eyes and turn around to say “You can have some if you want to go ‘boom’.” Guozhi blinks before sighing and saying “See? It’s never simple!”

I laugh a little and take a deep breath before asking “Where is little Bun? Is he with you?” Zhen frowns and shakes his head no as he says “No, he wasn’t here when I got back. No one was… I think he’s with Bai Lei and the others. The only message I got from him was that he was leaving and that he wished me well.”

I nervously ask him “Do you know where they are?” Zhen frowns and says “He said he was returning to his real home… But, he never said where that was and I haven’t seen or heard from him since.” I deflate a little as I nod and say “I see… Oh, is MingMing here?”

Zhen smiles and says “She is but she’s out looking for food. Food is becoming harder and harder to find since… well, since you left.”