Elixir of Immortality

Chapter 17

I had to confess—my sneaking-out plan was decent. I fluffed up a fake body with books and extra pillows in my bed, I wore slippers I found in the closet, and tip-toed downstairs. Bàba was a loud snorer, so neither he nor my māmā could hear me walk out the door.

Ushi was waiting for me at the door, rolling her eyes. "You are so slow! Slower than a snail, Xiran Shen! Let's go meet with the boys!" She linked arms with me, skipping down the silent streets.

All the local night markets were closed for the night so we didn't have to worry about the townsfolk finding us. "Look, it's a full moon... Oddly, the cycle isn't in order. It should be a Waning Gibbous right now.

Ushi snorted. "Gibbous sounds dumb."

"How is it that your thoughts are always so intrusive?" I teased as we arrived at the river. Xiong was waiting for us, waving us over. My stomach dropped and I tried to focus on Ushi rather than him. "Wait, where's Abahai?"

"I guess he's a no-show." Xiong gave a tiny shrug.

"A what?" Ushi asked.

"English term meaning that Abahai ditched us, he's not coming."

"But he promised..."

Suddenly, there was a yelp of Abahai's voice. He raced over, out of breath, his brown skin glistening in the moonlight. "Sorry I-I'm late—stupid Chaluai was sneaking out of the house to hook up with Jia again, I-I had to wait by the backdoor."

"The 'Thai Hooker' is what folks call your step-sister, right?" Xiong inquired.

Abahai growled. "Don't call her that and Chaluai is my real sister."

I glanced up at the round and shiny moon. Chang'e and Moon Rabbit would be waiting for us in the Moon Palace. I'm going to visit the moon, I grasped my jade necklace. We would reunite Chang'e with her beloved Hou Yi.

"Are you ready?" Xiong asked us all, holding up the Elixir of Immortality in his hand before tucking it back into his pocket.

Abahai exchanged glances with Ushi and me. We nodded in response, holding onto Xiong Lee as a blinding light seared our eyes.