True Nature

The Darker Side 5

Yan Da cursed when she landed on a pile of sticks. Luckily for her, the guards were deep asleep. She's on a mission. A mission to save the remaining envoys. Xing Gui told her that they were being held at the west coast of the bear tribe. Guarded by things called slithers. She grimaced when she saw them. They're green and slimy with the scent of lemon.

She crunched her nose. It's not bad but the slime was too much. It covered the whole entrance.

Xing Gui warned her that they couldn't see instead they use their scent of smell to detect the presence of someone. Raising her hand up, she threw one of the potions that Huang Tuo brewed.

It was to cover her own scent and to confuse the creatures. When she heard their shrieks, she quickly covered her face and entered the cave.

The inside of the cave was big. She clicked her tongue in irritation. There's a lot of tunnels. So, which one is it? Does each tunnel contain one prisoner? Or some of them were traps?

Closing her eyes, she let her energy flow. Prodding. Investigating. Three. There are three people in there. Yan Da's eyes softened with sadness. Only three remaining envoys...

~~~

Li Luo's mind became blank when Yan Da's thoughts filled the room. Only three envoys were alive. Three. Her eyes teared up. Those guys were her family. Her friends. For them to be gone...

She closed her eyes. She could imagine her life without them.

"Li Luo..."

Opening her eyes, she was met by sympathetic eyes. She forced a smile, clasping Ka Suo's hands tighter. Her eyes then went back on the screen. When this is done, she'll go and see them.

~~~

The ground shook, making Yan Da stumbled a bit. Quickly she dropped another potion before entering one of the caves.

Inside she was greeted by a disturbing sight. Vines? But they were moving as if they have a mind of their own. The main part was attached to a body. Yan Da's eyes widened as she recognized who it was.

"Li Luo!?"

Ka Suo and the others stared at the screen in horror. The vines were strapped around Li Luo. Looking closer, it looked like it was feeding off of her.

~~~

Yan Da raised her hand but then stopped. If she used her powers, Li Luo would be toast too.

She put down her hand down. She could cut it down but was she faster than the plant? If it's injured there's no doubt that it'll take more energy from the envoy. She already looked pale. Too pale like just one line away from death.

Before she could do anything though, the ground shook once more. This time cracks were made on the ground. From above her and below. Debris and big rocks started to fall.

The plant moved. Accidentally hitting Yan Da on the head, making her fly into the wall. She groaned. She tried to stand up but she was hit too hard. Her mind was muddled.

Pained shrieks could be heard outside. Then suddenly, they stopped. Yan Da then heard some footsteps. Looking up, she saw a figure entered the room carrying two bodies. The two remaining envoys. She saw him raise his hand up towards Li Luo before everything went dark.

~~~

Everyone watched as the man took the four unconscious body near the hide out. They were intrigued who is this man? Why did he save them? At first they thought he was an enemy but then his actions told him otherwise.

They saw him gently laid the bodies down. He checked on them too. Especially, Li Luo. Ka Suo crunched his brows. There's something familiar with the man.

The man then moved towards Yan Da.

"So, you're Yan Da." he said, stroking the princess cheek gently. "I'll leave them in your hands then. Sorry for hurting you." He then got something out of his robe.

Ka Suo gasped in recognition as he saw the flute in the other's hand. "Shi!"

The other's eyes widened at that studying the man. Now that Ka Suo said it. It was indeed the younger prince even if he was wearing a golden mask and an outfit from the fire tribe.

"I'll also leave this to you. I think you know what to do." he said, putting the flute on Yan Da's hand before he disappeared.

Shi frowned as he watched his other self-disappear. If he was in there what was he doing?

~~~