Elixir of Immortality

Chapter 9

The moon gazed at us while I stared at it. I fanned myself with my new heirloom, though, it didn't help lower the red colour of my cheeks. I definitely didn't expect Xiong to be the one I was going to be paired up with. Could have Nǜshì Lian made a mistake?

"You look funny," Xiong said in English.

I reddened. "Sorry, this dress is kind of tight on me."

"No, you look great in the dress, I meant your face, it's all scrunched up like a rabbit's nose," he mocked jokingly. He mimicked me, scrunching up his nose. I didn't appreciate it but giggled fakely.

"It's my 'thinking face,'" I replied simply. "I still can't believe this."

"I can." Xiong sat next to him, dangling his legs over the roof. I don't spend much time on the rooftop, Māmā also said it was a danger. "Okay, now that the adults are out of earshot, let's talk about Hēi'àn De Mìmì."

Does he know? "Talk about our village? Sure, since you're a tourist."

"Stop lying," he said sharply, suddenly startling me. "Hēi'àn De Mìmì is a branch of the spirit world, the Underworld. You are all manifestations of Hou Yi's soul and being so brittle, you've all become mortal ghosts—" Xiong paused when he saw my horrified face. "Oh. You don't know, huh."

"Hēi'àn De Mìmì is part of the Underworld?" I cried out, feeling as if I would vomit. Abahai was right, I felt terrible for thinking he was wrong. "No, no, that means the locals and my friends are dead."

"You're not dead, you're a manifestation."

"Hēi'àn De Mìmì truly isn't real, it isn't in Asia at all," I whispered, gripping my fan so hard I thought I'd break it. I looked back at Xiong, who looked grim. "But what about the tourists? They're not dead—"

"They're spirit travellers like myself and Nǜshì Lian," Xiong blurted. "That means they're not dead or manifestations, we're part of the living. We have been blessed by the gods above to visit Hēi'àn De Mìmì with purpose."

"With purpose?" I stood up, careful not to wobble, narrowing my eyes. "Was it your purpose to date me?"

"We matched with Nǜshì Lian, remember?"

"Liar!" I shouted, backing away. How could everything I know be fake? I know, it wasn't truly fake, but it wasn't what I knew all these years growing up. I've been living a lie, convinced that Hēi'àn De Mìmì was a real village in East Asia. "But wh-what about children like Ushi or Abahai?! One of their parents came from outside of the village! Mrs. Chang is American and Abahai's dad came from India before meeting Mrs. Soontornvat—"

"Fate just arranged for them to meet, but I guess that they're manifestations as well."

I was beyond furious. "How could anyone here, the locals, allow children to grow up in a bubble?!"

Xiong held out his hands, giving me a pleading look. I shrunk back, but then accepted his hands, cold and smooth. I slipped my fan into the pocket of my dress, trembling as Xiong went to explain.

"The locals of Hēi'àn De Mìmì know," he said as I deflated. "They usually plan to tell the future generation once they're older."

How does someone who has never been to Hēi'àn De Mìmì before know so much more than someone who lived in this town for her whole life? I bit down on my tongue as I looked into his dark, mysterious eyes.

He was telling the truth.

I gulped. "Oh my..."

"Look, I know this is a lot to digest, but I need your help," Xiong said, uncertain. He walked closer to me and steadied me, but I backed away. I wasn't ready for this, for any of this.

"Help? Xiong, you seem like a nice person, but—" I didn't have the heart to reject him, so I started walking towards the escape way where my parents and Nǜshì Lian were in the living room.

"Please, Xiran," he pleaded desperately. He looked so vulnerable, so fragile, I didn't want to hurt him. I turned around and crossed my arms, giving a small nod. "Answer my question honestly—do you know the tale of Chang'e and Hou Yi?"

I frowned, feeling as if Xiong was mocking me. "Are you joking?"

"Answer my question honestly."

"Yes, I had a dream about them not too long ago. I was in the shoes of Chang'e, floating away from her husband. It was all so tragic, but it's just a myth," I said but lingered on the last word. Myth. Technically, my own village was a myth itself. "Why are you asking?"

"This sounds crazy, but you're probably the descendant of Hou Yi."

I choked on my tongue, gagging. "I'm sorry, but what?"

Xiong sighed, sweeping back his black hair. "Hēi'àn De Mìmì originates from the original estate of Hou Yi's and Chang'e's home. There was never any record of Hou Yi remarrying after Chang'e floated away to the moon, however, after he died, that's when manifestations in this village started. All these locals manifested from Hou Yi's dead spirit."

I scrunched up my nose. "Is that even possible?"

"Well...anything is possible, isn't it?"

Then a terrifying thought struck me. "Wait, if all the locals are descended from Hou Yi's soul or spirit, does that mean they're related? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh—"

"It's unlikely since it's his soul, not him as a whole," he said quickly, his cheeks pink. I was forever grateful that our town wasn't full of incest. "This is where you come, Xiran. You are a direct descendant, other local families have branched out their blood, you are what I came for."

I swallowed hard. You are what I came for. "I d-don't understand."

"There was another vial," Xiong chuckled, sliding his hands into his pockets. The wind whipped our hair until my bun came loose. "Xiran, you don't understand the utter importance of this. There was another Elixir of Immortality given to Hou Yi before he died by the gods, they took pity on him and Chang'e. He was rewarded to stay in Heaven, but since he died...the elixir was left in his original estate."

"Wait, if there's another elixir..." I trailed off. "That means that—"

He nodded. "We can reunite the pair."