BOOK 10. There are two tales at the beginning. Zhao Yunlan is searching for a lost artefact while Black Robe is searching for the same thing in a different world. One story is partly an illusion, while the other is very real and when they merge...
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The need for a negotiator became less for a few days which gave Yunlan some to recover from the poisoning incident while Shen Wei carried on at college preparing for end of year exams before the summer break. He was sitting in the staff room at the window enjoying a cup of his favourite tea, when one of the female students walked past wearing a long purple ribbon in her hair which immediately caught his attention before he calmed himself, and finished his tea. History was one of his favourite classes although he did take an interest in archaeology and his students were always well behaved, but this morning he noticed two more purple ribbons worn in the same style and became concerned.
Wei issued his class an assignment to keep them busy until lunchtime to help him calm his mind, and he tried searching for any unusual life signs within the college while he sat with his eyes closed. His students thought that maybe he was dozing and one of them whispered to the person beside her, which was interrupted by a small cough from the tutor informing them that he was wide awake, just meditating, and they continued with their project.
Wei couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary and hoped that it was just a fashion trend he had noticed. The rest of the day was normal and he was glad to be able to go home. The purple ribbons had unnerved him more than he had realised and he stood at the traffic control lights on the main street watching for the colours to change to red and stop the cars and watched as the pedestrians crossed safely. Shen Wei froze as he stared at the colour. The stop light was purple and no one had reacted which meant that only he was seeing it, and he began to feel nauseous as he stood still while everyone else had already walked across the road. His world spun slightly and he rested his hand on the lamp post until the lights changed and he followed everyone else.
Yunlan watched Wei approaching the front gate and noticed that he was a bit pale, and after he came in and closed the front door he swayed while reaching out to grip anything to keep his balance. All he could see were never ending rows of purple ribbons blowing in the breeze as he felt the strength of someone holding him up, supporting his weight and stopping him from falling. Yunlan led him to the nearest seat and rested his back against the wall while he undid his neckline, allowing him to breathe easier.
Wei shook his head, trying to clear his vision and when he opened his eyes, Yunlan was beside him watching.
"Are you alright Shen Wei? What happened, you were pale before you came indoors?"
"Not sure, there might be trouble in the homeworld, or trouble is coming here. I've crossed paths with him before, a couple of years ago. Zhu Jiu. He stole the orb, my last piece of family jewellery. I don't think I've told you about this."
Wei slid his fingers under the neck of his shirt and lifted out the black lace with a black and gold glass pendant, showing it to Yunlan who looked confused.
