Reunion: The Guardians of the Five Elements

Chapter 6

The sun has yet to rise and the girls already arrived at Wu Shanju. It was discussed yesterday that they will meet here and head to Shāndōng Province together but they arrived early than expected. To pass the time, Bai Hao Tian, Xia Yu Yan, and Chu Chu made themselves comfortable and catch some sleep. Bo Sying, on the other hand, was about to start reading her book when she noticed Xiao Mei looking at the gates, torn between going inside or staying inside the van. "Mei? Is something wrong?" "Oh! Nothing, Sying Jíe. I'll take a nap." Xiao Mei answered hurriedly and instantly placed her head over the headrest a bit awkward as if the little girl got caught red-handed. The older softly giggled at her. "You can go inside, you know. It's still your house. I bet your Papa will be happy to see you. Go on." Bo Sying said, giving her an encouraging pat and gently pushed her towards the passenger's door. Xiao Mei smiled at her, nodded, and carefully open the door, trying not to disturb her sleeping friends and closing it as carefully as well. Only, she wasn't able to see the scared look Bo Sying has as she stares into space.

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When Xiao Mei is about to ring the bell, Pang Zi opened the gates at the exact time. The little girl blinked twice, surprised by the timing she and her step-father has then she saw Liu Sang behind him, smiling at her and understands instantly. Oh, he heard us already. She thought then Pang Zi immediately went near her and kneeled at her level to check on every part of her body. "How are you feeling, Mei Mei? Did you have nosebleeds, headaches, painful joints, pain anywhere?" Xiao Mei just smiled over her worrywart papa and giggled getting the older's attention. "Papa, I'm fine. I feel better than ever. There's no pain anywhere. All thanks to this." Xiao Mei lifts her right arm where her silver cuff with a brown-colored stone in the middle and shows it to Pang Zi's confused face. The little girl sigh and said, "The stone is giving me the strength I needed for me to recover. It's one of its powers and abilities. That's why I was able to train with Tian Jíe and the others last year just for this quest. I won't be trouble at all." "Being trouble is one of my concerns. What I am more concerned about is your safety. I don't care if you were trained or not. The moment we set out later, trouble will immediately come. On the site, you will have to tell us if you sense anything out of the ordinary. You will always stay near me or anyone in our group until I say you stay with me. I will not be able to forgive myself if anything, anything happens to you. Do you understand?"

Xiao Mei saw the look Pang Zi is giving her. His worries, dilemmas, and concerns. Also, she can see how afraid he is over all of those. The fear of losing her. Now she understands why her step-father is against her going. He is seeing her dying in his hands. The fear of not doing what he must have done. The blood of a loved one stained over his hands and will not be washed out, again. To ease her step-father's worries, Xiao Mei immediately wrapped her hands around Pang Zi tightly. "Alright, Papa. I will listen and do all the things you said. But please, let me help you as well. Let me protect you too. I don't want anything to happen to you, too. Okay?" Pang Zi laughed happily and returned the tight hug he is receiving from her little girl. "Just like your mother. You got yourself a deal." He said making both of them laugh.

As the other men started placing their equipment, their luggage, and other items for their trip in their white van, Xiao Mei went back to their grey van where she saw all her companions, awake and are smiling wide at her. She smiled back at them and stepped inside. "Pang Zi will never be mad at you. Although it was his fault for hurting you. Nonetheless, you and your Papa will work together well now." Bai Hao Tian said, sighing. "What's wrong Tian Jíe? Why are you mad at Wu Xie Shū?" Xiao Mei asked looking at her from the passenger seat at the back as Bai Hao Tian sighed again. "I'm not mad. I will never be mad at your Wu Xie Shū. It's just that -" "Your Tian Jíe is being treated as a small girl. That's all." "Yan Yan. I'm not that small." Xia Yu Yan laughed at Bai Hao Tian's pouting face then she looked back at Xiao Mei to explain further. "Mei Mei, boys, big boys like mature and tall girls. If you have the height of a grade school student, the big boys won't take you seriously. So, your Wu Xie Shū always treated Tian Tian like a child that needs to be protected, to be taken care of, and not a girl to be treasured and love." "Hey! This is not all about me. And I'm not that small, it's just that everyone else is a bit bigger." Bai Hao Tian muttered and crossed her arms over her chest making the others laugh.

"Well, Mei Mei, basically that's the reason why those boys, even your Papa was and is still against this. Our presence. They think we will be a problem for them and we will need their constant saving. Like a waste of time. We're children in their eyes. But because we are needed for the stone to react, they have no choice but to agree. So, for now, let them be. We are all happy that Pang Zi and you made up. It will be awkward during the quest if you didn't. Anyway, we will just follow them. We protect them silently like how we are trained to do so. No one, Ah Sying, especially you, is going to work alone. Always remember that. Always remember our code. Alright?" Chu Chu said looking at each one of them, reminding them of their own rule. Especially their seeing friend. Bo Sying smiled at all of them, assuring them that she will follow through with their plan once her vision comes true first. Until then, she will have to break that rule.

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"Our first pair will be the first wood guardian during the reign of Qi and Li family at north and south of Shāndōng Province. At that time, the Qi family resides in the north while the Li family in the south. It is believed that anyone who lives in the north is rich and famous. As for the south, the poor and nameless. They even have a border in the province to prove such a theory.

Until the Li family receives a stone as a reward for taking care of a sickly old lady that they saved from the border. It was said that a reincarnated goddess Nuwa was the old lady testing the two families and the south has proven their worth. The Li treasured the precious stone. They never get a chance to get, even a small silver rock from the north. So they value the stone a lot. They even created a simple container made out of straw and wood. Every day, the Li's let all of their people see and touch the stone just so they can be familiar with what it is.

Then, one day, the people wake up with ideas for their everyday living that they haven't thought of. Knowing that they have no source of education, suddenly having brilliant ideas is a bizarre thing to happen. They all realize that it was the stone given by the old lady. At first, they thought it was a curse but, all of them are fine and well, better than in the days they've known. Instantly, the Li family made a tradition that whenever there is a full moon, they will honor the stone and the goddess Nuwa for their good fortune. So, because of the stone, the people started to be resourceful, wise, and philosophical. The southern province became the central attraction for business from other countries and then slowly started to rise and be richer than the northern province.

The Qi family was out of words by the Li family's sudden increase in their wealth. In a month, the southern part of Shāndōng Province became the center of trade and industry. Whatever the north has, the south has as well. The North and South now are seen as equal. But the north never wanted that. They wanted to be greater, well-known, and richest in the whole province. For that to happen, they have to get rid of the Li family and their people. To do that, the Qi sent their only son to court the Li's only blind daughter and princess and collect information to bring down the southern kingdom in the province.

What the Qi family didn't know was that the reincarnated goddess Nuwa was there, dressed as their helper, and heard about their plan. As favored by the goddess herself, Nuwa granted the only wish of the princess of the southern part of the province. And that is the gift of sight. This gift is not merely healing her eyes for her to see. It is beyond that. Nuwa gifted her to see what she wishes, truly, to see. Her gift-giving doesn't end there. Nuwa gave the prince of the northern part a special gift. A gift that can let him hear everything. To the farthest up to the nearest, to the softest up to the loudest, he will hear everything. Once everything is done, Goddess Nuwa let the course of their fate take its place."

"A civil war happened between the north and the south. It was devastating and cruel. Innocent people died. Children and the elderly suffered great losses. The worst part, the two children of the Qi and Li family had to make a deal with the goddess Nuwa. To restore everything, to bring back what was before but the goddess has other plans. She used the stone to stop all chaos and to clear all misunderstanding, greed, and betrayal. All who survived witnessed how everything changed. The goddess can never bring the dead back to life but she can give the living a chance to live again. Unfortunately, the two children from the Qi and Li family had to pay the price. They both swore to the goddess that they will continue to guard the stone even in their death. So, when they died, the goddess divides the stone into two and made a special chest for their bodies to rest. The two families then created a truce and made a golden locket to house the stone for their son and daughter, then they buried them beneath the highest mountain where they made a tomb for them as their resting place."