Mo Dao Zu Shi: Astray

Some Village Called Xuhou, Part Three

Upon reaching Xuhou, xiao-Chun and Pan Heng immediately returned to Pan Heng's home. They both entered the bedroom, the same place where Pan Heng kept his cultivation tools.

Pan Heng took out a chest, securing the spirit-trapping pouch inside it.

Xiao-Chun hovered over Pan Heng's shoulder as he locked the chest. "So...are we going to be able to find out who did this?"

Pan Heng sighed, shaking his head defeatedly. "Fat chance. There are countless sects that exist. It would take an eternity, time only immortals would have, to search for the culprit."

"But-but," xiao-Chun stammered, "What am I supposed to do then?! How am I supposed to get back home?!"

Pan Heng placed a hand on xiao-Chun's shoulder. "Calm down, xiao-Chun. I'll just use a transportation talisman and escort you back home, however distant it may be."

"No. No. You don't understand." Xiao-Chun's voice was breaking. "A transportation talisman isn't going to get me back home. It's not that simple."

"What do you mean, 'it's not that simple'?" Pan Heng rubbed his forehead, his voice growing irritated.

"I'm-," Shit. She was really going to take the plunge, wasn't she? "I'm-I'm not from this realm."

Pan Heng blinked at xiao-Chun incredulously. Then he burst into laughter. "Not from this realm. That's a good one! What? Do you come from the Heavens? Are you a fairy in disguise?"

Xiao-Chun frowned, her toddler baby cheeks puffing up. "No! I'm human! You made sure of that yourself with your talisman last night, didn't you?"

"Exactly. You're human, which makes you a resident of this realm," Pan Heng explained with an amused smile.

"No. No." Xiao-Chun groaned, shaking her head. "How do I explain this? I'm," she paused then said in a rush, "from an entirely different world where cultivation doesn't exist!"

Pan Heng stared at xiao-Chun in silence for a moment.

"You're from another world where cultivation doesn't exist?" Pan Heng repeated back slowly. Then he shook his head. "The dark ritual must have really messed with your head."

Xiao-Chun stomped her foot on the ground. "Fuck! I'm not crazy! I'm telling you the truth!"

Pan Heng shot xiao-Chun an irritated glare.

Oh shit, he's mad. - Xiao-Chun paused, glancing around nervously. - Think fast! Um. Um. Ok! What do I have as undeniable proof of what I'm trying to say!

"My clothes! Come look at my clothes!" Xiao-Chun tugged Pan Heng's sleeve. He grumbled, but agreed to follow her outside.

Xiao-Chun's hoodie and jeans hung on a clothesline to the side of the house. Her sneakers were placed on the ground.

Xiao-Chun pointed at her clothes. "Look closely at my clothes! Have you ever seen clothing like this anywhere?!"

Pan Heng turned his head to her clothes then looked down at xiao-Chun, sighing. "I already took a close look while washing them. I admit, xiao-Chun, I've never seen such garments anywhere. Not on my travels. Not from foreign merchants. Not even from other cultivators. But surely, there must be parts of the world that haven't been explored yet, like where you come from."

Xiao-Chun's shoulders slumped. Great. What other option was there to convince Pan Heng that she wasn't lying?

...Hold on. That just might work. - Xiao-Chun sank to the ground on her knees and whimpered, lip trembling and eyes watering.