章 17: From Beyond
A force carried her, making her head spin. It evoked the same weightless, churning feeling one would get on an amusement park ride; but frankly speaking, it was much, much worse. She would probably hurl if she opened her eyes, and her heart was just as uneasy as her stomach.
Finally, her feet met solid ground, but the abrupt descend caused her to topple over. Yun Da Xia let out a curse and rubbed her knee; the area sore from the harsh impact. Her sight was blurry, but her ears caught the sounds of trickling water and leaves brushing against a breeze. She was definitely not within the confines of her bedroom.
She blinked rapidly to dispel black spots marring her vision; anxious to see what kind of situation she had found herself in. With a motion, her poisoned dagger appeared in her hand. Better safe than sorry.
What greeted her was the sight of a beautiful courtyard. Lush greenery cushioned her feet while bright blooms grew in the vicinity. A sparkling aquamarine pond lay beneath an ornately constructed bridge. She had no idea how it had that color because there seemed to be no blue sky; only an expanse of gray. Trees decorated the area, unwithered despite the absence of sun.
She stepped back, turning her head to observe her surroundings more. There was something strange about the place. She found it too quiet– too lonely. There wasn't even the buzz of bugs to be heard.
"Ah!" Yun Da Xia gasped; pivoting and falling into a defensive position when she felt something touch her back.
Her dagger only met air.
Her eyes settled on the structure that had been behind her. It was a simple single storied house, clean and beautifully adorned. A tea table was situated on its porch; a single chair readied. The setup was complete with cups and a teacup arranged on its surface. Her eyes zeroed in on the cutlery.
A shudder wracked through her spine.
Steam rose from a white teacup.
She hurriedly looked around for an escape; hoping to avoid any contact with whoever resided in this place. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest, skipping while it ran. How could she be in this situation? The last thing she remembered was that she took initiative to finally bond with masters inter spacial ring, and she was pretty confident she didn't do anything wrong.
She hoped.
When Yun Da Xia moved to find somewhere to hide, the same energy that had swept her into this place restricted her movements. She struggled against it as it pulled her towards the house. No matter what she did, she couldn't control her body. Her body levitated a few inches off the ground; her feet grazing the blades of grass. The knife in her hands was pulled away, merely hovering beside her as they neared the tea table.
She was forced into the chair; hands and feet unresponsive. The steaming white cup moved closer to her. It looked like… it was being offered to her? Yun Da Xia was looked at it and caught a flash of her reflection in the tea. The area between her brows creased.
What was that? That couldn't be right.
Before she could look into it further, a thick notebook appeared on the table; the teacup moved away quickly as if it had been surprised. The cover flipped over; slightly yellowed papers were filled to the brim in a familiar scrawl. She inhaled sharply, placing her focus on everything before her.
It was her master's handwriting.
Warily, she twitched her fingers; relieved to find that they once again moved by her will. Although she wasn't certain about this place or its intentions, something or someone wanted her to read this. She carefully took the notes, scanning through the words on its surface.
There were only lines upon lines of his research throughout the years; styled in the form of a journal. Diagrams of energy flow and light littered most of the writing space. She flipped through more pages, watching a timeline of his handwritings transformation into near incomprehensible scribbles. These notes would help her learn her master's cultivation technique, but that wasn't what she needed right now.
After a long time of tearing through the pages, she still couldn't find anything addressed to her. Her head ached. How was she supposed to find master's brother? What about those men—those people who had wanted to take their lives?
Frustration bubbled in her chest. Yun Da Xia was sure that he knew they would come. She had seen the resignation on his face, she knew that his words were meant for a permanent parting. So what's with all the secrecy? Even a hastily scribbled note could have cleared some of the air.
An even thicker book than her master's notes appeared on her lap, startling her. She held her breath it opened; the pages flip along. It seemed as if that force was looking for something. There seemed to be no malice in the actions, so she only waited warily. There was nothing else she would be able to do against it, anyway.
At last, it stopped its search on a spread near the end of the book. Yun Da Xia felt the energy move her hand over the pages; placing her index over a word.
'I'
After she read, it moved again; settling on another spread.
'am'
On the same page, the force directed her finger over a different word.
'yours.'
She blinked in concern and surprise. There was something a little bit creepy about those words being strung together by an entity or essence she couldn't see. "What do you mean?" Although she was hesitant, she voiced her question; unsure if it could understand her. The pages moved again, and after a period of time it finally settled and she read the word.
'ring,'
Although her knowledge of spiritual artifacts was surface level at best, she knew that powerful and ancient artifacts had guardian spirits. Master had said that they usually take on a humanoid form, but she hadn't seen anything like that. Only this strange, indescribable force showcased anything akin to being a guide.
It seemed that the ring itself had its own form of consciousness or sentience.
The corners of her mouth turned down, highlighting a thought that had popped in her head.
Why hadn't her master mention anything about this place before?
クリエイターの想い 
chonnie
chonnie Aaa! I'm sorry if I haven't been able to write comments recently. The whole daily update thing is hectic oof. I hope this chapter made sense.
If anything is confusing, please comment below (i'll get to them once this daily update week is done)!
(please comment below even if it isn't confusing, ily guys and yalls comments :)
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