The Fate of my Soul.

Part 22

"Not with her body?  Explain." I demand.

"Shifu, I don't know how her soul has been removed, but it is being held separately from her body.  Though injured, she did manage to tell me, her soul is being held by The East Seas Princess, but she does not know where her body is and nor can she return to it.  It is dark magic that is holding her soul captive." he informs me, and as he is talking my mind is working furiously to ascertain who would have knowledge of this kind of magic, but once again it is Qi's name that comes forward.

Rising, I lift the barrier and make my way back to the Main Hall, where my disciples are discussing the events unfolding around them.  Finding Qi sitting quietly by himself, his head in hands in deep thought, I approach him quickly.

I have always found the boy to be amicable and friendly, especially towards his brothers who he has formed a very close bond with,  but there are moments when he goes into himself and becomes aloof and unapproachable, and right now, this is what I am sensing from him.  He knows something, I can feel it, and the second he notices my arrival at his side, he instantly becomes guarded.

Demanding he follow me, I lead him back to my meditation cave and throw up a barrier before leading him back to the low table.  "Sit down Qi." I say smiling up at him as I mentally prepare myself to talk to him.

Filling him in on what I have learned from Chu Qiang, I question Qi on the knowledge I know he has of the magic needed to strip a soul from its body.  Though I am familiar with the general workings of this kind of magic, I am all together unsure of how to proceed without a body, unless I probe the fan, which I am not yet prepared to do, though I will if I have no other choice.

"I am already aware, the magic is of the dark realms, and her soul is being held by the East Seas Princess, but how do I unite it with her body if we don't know where it is?" I ask.

I can see his mind working as he searches his knowledge for an answer. "Shifu, I do know the magic belongs to The Ghost Realm, Li Jing used it to pull Qing Cangs from his body, before he was stopped."  then thinking carefully, his eyes suddenly darken,  "It is only her fan that can assist her, if her body is held elsewhere." he tells me as he continues to search his mind, but comes up with nothing more.

This I already know.  I could use the fan, to draw her soul here, for safe keeping, but that would only put her body in jeopardy.  I also do not yet know what shape her soul is in, if it is injured too severely the risk of bringing it back, could cause even greater damage, and in order to protect her, the fan itself might move to claim her, which would be even riskier.  Once a soul is taken into a weapon, it will be near impossible to release her.

He then drops his head so I cannot see his eyes.  "Shifu, there is something, but I'm not sure, I want to wait until Xing returns, then I will let you know what I suspect.

Then looking up at me, he smiles. "As for finding her body, don't worry Shifu, Xing will find her."  he says, which brings me back to my 12th Disciple, he should be back by now.  Rising quickly, we both make our way back to the Grand Hall.  And as we make our way back, I can see Qi is still thinking on something, but I know him well.  He will not say a word on anything until he is absolutely certain of his facts.

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It wasn't Cheung Xing who was waiting for me, but Bai Zhi, Zhe Yan, Bai Zhen, Feng Jiu and The Fox Empress.  And going by the look Zhe Yan is silently giving me, I know he has something to tell me, but is holding back.

Calling Die Feng forward, I suggest he serve the evening meal for his brothers and our guests, which automatically sees the Fox Empress and Feng Jiu disappear towards the kitchen to assist, which I knew she would, the woman has to have control of everything.