Chapter 169 - Not Quite Right

“You do not have to worry anymore, the White Maiden will keep your sister safe from harm.”

The faint and gentle voice of the White Maiden spoke softly in Xiang’s ears. Tears budded at the corner of his eyes as she answered his prayers.

Obviously, even though Xiang hadn’t said it directly she knew that his primary reason for coming to the shrine was to pray for her health. After all, he thought that she was going to die in a few days, who wouldn’t grasp at straws for a way to prevent their sister from dying?

But of course, Yuzu wasn’t going to die. She had the porcelain jar and the prayers from the shrine. Her life wasn’t in danger, so Dr. Baolan’s prediction of her death was ridiculous and unnecessary. Because of this, she had to deal with an overprotective and nosy Xiang ever since.

“That’s right, since your sister has prayed to me, her life isn’t in danger anymore.” Yuzu nodded sagely.

She watched through the threads as Xiang trembled in awe and relief at being contacted directly by a mystical, powerful being. He clearly had never spoken directly to a ‘diety’ or spirit before as he fumbled over his prayers of appreciation and gratitude.

A mischievous glint shone in Yuzu’s eyes as a thought surfaced in her mind. This was her chance to make her life more convenient, a way for the White Maiden to make Yuzu’s life a little better. Perhaps she could ban Xiang from entering her room. Or maybe ask her to spoil Yuzu more. Or let Yuzu sleep in in the mornings.

Even the bull-headed Xiang wouldn’t defy a direct request from the diety that saved the life of his beloved sister!

Yuzu cackled inwardly, about to make a request, when Xiang’s prayers changed in tone.

“Great maiden… I know you’ve done so much, but there is something else that is bothering me… Years ago my family was being helped by a secret order. My parents were being targeted by a man named Markus Gantt, and they were eventually killed by him… The injury in Yuzu’s soul that you healed happened during the same attack…”

“Great maiden… I recently heard that Markus Gantt has returned, and not only that, the secret order has also come back into our lives. I don’t want what happened back then to happen again. I don’t know if you can do anything about this, or if it matters to you at all… But if there’s anything you can do to help us and keep my siblings and me together- Please… I would be forever grateful.”

Yuzu was stunned after hearing Xiang’s heartfelt plea. Though she had seen Xiang reject Sansen Zhao’s offer to join them, having him plead to her directly had a bigger impact. She suddenly felt she understood her brother.

Xiang… You just want us all to be happy together, don’t you?

Yuzu frowned, no longer in the mood to poke fun at him. She couldn’t come up with a good response to Xiang, leaving his prayer unanswered.

A few minutes later Xiang cleared his throat and stood up.

“I’d better get off to work. You should pray a little longer.” He didn’t look at her, hiding his face from her, “I won’t be far away. If you need me come find me.”

The white world faded from her eyes as Yuzu released her spiritual vision. She stirred from her praying position to show that she’d heard Xiang and nodded quietly in response.

A heavy feeling weighed down her heart as she watched her brother depart out of the corner of her eye. When Xiang talked about keeping their family together he was thinking about Yuzu, but Yuzu herself could only think about Zwei. Zwei’s fate string had disappeared from their house, and Yuzu was still clueless as to where he could be.

Though Zwei disappearing had not even occurred to Xiang, Yuzu knew that he would be equally devastated if Zwei disappeared. She silently made a promise to Xiang that she would find Zwei and bring him home.

Yuzu frowned, closing her eyes as she resumed her praying position. The world around her bloomed with a white light and the colours around her faded into shades of grey as she reached out to the shrine with her spirit.

Her physical body remained in a praying position as her spirit separated from it and took form in the white world.

Once again she found herself alone on the plateau filled with white grass and grey dirt. Like in the physical world, a number of tall monolithic stones were scattered around the plateau, but the new and in-progress structures were nowhere to be seen. As Yuzu scanned the area she realized that she could feel the energy of the structures beginning to take root in the aetheric world. Given time the structures would start to show up.

Similarly, none of the people on the plateau existed in the white world, but a rich tapestry formed from their threads. At each spot that a person was praying, a bead of light hung in the air with a thin gossamer thread extending toward the shrine.

Yuzu walked over to the shrine. The small stone structure had not changed in appearance since her last visit, but in front of it something new had appeared.

Directly in front of the shrine a large unopened bulb the size of an apple was growing out of the dirt. It was shaped like a tear drop and had many layers of heart shaped petals. A soft white light ebbed and flowed from the inside of the bulb.

It took a moment for Yuzu to recognize the flower.

Ah… Isn’t this the Pearl Lotus Blossom that that monk Ming Ru offered to me yesterday morning? What is it doing here in the white world? Could it be that after he left it in the shrine, it planted itself in the soil and was transported here?

Yuzu knelt down in front of the unopened flower to get a better look at it. As she held out her hand toward it, she became aware of its thread of fate. This white thread extended down into the ground and then split off like the roots of an actual plant. The thick main root twisted and coiled in the ground toward the shrine, where it directly made a connection.

The energies of the blossom were completely in harmony with the energies of the shrine, and the light from the prayers seemed to flow into the shrine and become absorbed by the blossom through its roots. Compared to when Ming Ru had first offered the blossom to her, it was slightly more ‘full’ and its petals had opened slightly.

With time, by feeding on the energy of the prayers, this flower will continue to grow and eventually blossom. Yuzu thought, considering the plant carefully. I wonder what will happen when it does? Perhaps the petals will be useful for something? Since it was given as a gift, I doubt that the flower will have a negative effect on the shrine. Offering something bad to an unknown deity would be too risky.

Yuzu decided to wait and observe the flower’s growth over time.

After examining the Pearl Lotus Blossom Yuzu turned her attention to the numerous worshipers praying to her. With her focus set, the myriad echoes of prayers and wishes swelled in her ears like the tide rising on a shore.

Many of the prayers came from people sick with Devileyes. Yuzu reached out to them and began to rub off the sticky black residue on their strings. This was her principle duty as the White Maiden, the promise that she had extended to the people of Noga. As efficiently as she could she went about healing every infected person that she could find.

In this way some time passed on the plateau.

As Yuzu cured the final person praying at her shrine, a particular bead of light caught her eye. This bead of light didn’t come from the area directly around the shrine, but rather originated off the far side of the plateau, from within the forest beyond the cliff’s edge.

Even without examining the light Yuzu already recognized the voice of the person. The image of a woman appeared in Yuzu’s mind. She wore a tribal dress and had braided hair that resembled vines.

“Medusa…” Yuzu muttered softly, recalling the name of the God of Life’s cultist.

“Great Maiden, esteemed Weaver of Fate, I have followed through on your request and just now am returning from discovering some information on the man with red eyes. I didn’t find out much, but everything I learn about him makes him more terrifying. I also know for certain that he is behind the actions of the Cloud Peak monks.”

Medusa’s black string came into view as Yuzu focused in on her prayers. The exalted woman was kneeling in prayer at the center of a glade not too far away. The woman’s black string floated in the air by itself, alone amongst the forest, but as Yuzu reached out to Medusa’s string, something triggered her spiritual intuition.

Yuzu’s eyes narrowed as she felt that something was not quite right.

In the glade, Medusa prayed to the Maiden. She didn’t immediately divulge the information that she had found, waiting for a sign from the White Maiden to continue.

As she prayed, her spiritual intuition triggered in warning. Her eyes shot open as she looked around cautiously, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in her surroundings. Feeling uneasy, she reached out to a nearby tree and injected her spirituality into it. Her consciousness reached out through the network of roots, expanding her senses to several kilometres in all directions.

Although trees and plants normally couldn’t see or hear, they were still living things that were able to sense life around them. This sense wasn’t anything like normal human senses, but Medusa had long attuned to the sensations and thus was able to be fully aware of the conditions in the forest.

Of course, in this forest that was slowly taking on the characteristics of a divine kingdom of Life, Medusa had other options. At various places in the area around her, disembodied eyeballs on the end of fern stalks peered about, and ear-shaped flowers with flesh-coloured “petals” rotated in various directions.

After a few seconds of observing the forest, Medusa shook her head.

“There’s nothing…” She muttered, her hand rising to her chest as she felt her heart beating rapidly, “Then why do I feel like I’m being watched…?”

Her body trembled as she fought against the urge to flee. She tried to consider her options, but her mind was starting to panic. She sensed a killing intent from the unseen entity.

She dropped to her knees, clasping her hands together tightly.

“Great Maiden, I have gathered important information, as you requested of me.” She prayed silently, “I feel that I am in grave danger, please grant me your protection once more.”

Several moments passed without any response. Panic rose in Medusa’s throat. The sense of being watched wasn’t going away, in fact it only grew stronger. She didn’t know why the Maiden wasn’t responding to her prayers. Had she done something to offend the Maiden? Was she not worth saving?

“Great Maiden, please help me!”