Chief Chu moved his hand away from her neck. His eyes were trembling.

“Wha-”

“And,” Yu Lin didn’t let him finish, “I am also Du Yu Lin. The daughter of Du Chou and Du Yo Mei. A dark elto.” she said. Chief Chu furrowed his brows, confused.

“What do you mean? What do you mean by that?” he asked. “How can you be two people?’ Yu Lin looked at him and took in a long breath.

“I don’t know either. I don’t know how this happened either. Before I knew it, I was already here.”

“Don’t lie to me! If you ar-”

“I’m not! The day when I saved you… was the day I lost someone else. You should know what I lost. You know right?” Yu Lin’s eyes got teary. Chief Chu grew quiet. He knew exactly what she had lost. He bit his lip.

“But… that’s impossible. Not ever have I heard about this type of thing. Reincarnations are just in books!”

“But I’m right here! Please… believe me. Please… at least let me explain.” Yu Lin pleaded. Chief Chu looked at for a long moment.

“Explain to me. Explain to me what happened then.” Chief Chu finally said. Yu Lin looked up and she saw his worried face. She saw the wrinkles on his forehead, and how old he really was. She knew how much this person in front of her had helped her, especially through everything that had happened. She nodded her head.

“It happened after I died as Li Hu Die. I felt myself flying through…”

Yu Lin told Chief Chu about what had happened. She told him that she was murdered by Lan Hei Kong. She told him about how she woke up as a baby, as a dark elto. She told him about Liang Guang Ming and Chang Sheng Huo. She told him about what happened in the cave with the dark witch. She told him everything. He did not say one word the whole time. He did not interrupt her. Her story went on for hours. When she was done, she waited for him to absorb it all in. After a long while, he stood up and then kowtowed to her. Yu Lin gasped.

“Wha-what are yo-”

“Thank you,’ tears streamed down Chief Chu’s face, “really… Thank you. All those years I have lived, I have always felt regret that I did not thank you for that day. I knew what you had to lose to heal me, and yet I left without a word. I know how it feels to lose a child… I… thank you… I don’t know how I can ever repay you. I’m sorry for doubting you. If you hadn’t saved me that day, I probably would never had been able to practice martial arts again. I probably… would never have been able to see my wife anymore...” Chief Chu’s body was shivering. Yu Lin got up and pulled his torso up. She smiled and wiped the tears away from his wrinkled face.

“No. You have done so much for me already. You have saved my life so many times. Now please get up. We have still have so many things to do.” she said. He nodded as he got up.

“Let’s go talk somewhere more comfortable. Please follow me uh…”

“Please continue to call me Yu Lin. I’m… not exactly Li Hu Die anymore.” Yu Lin smiled, yet her eyes were sad. Chief Chu nodded.

“Then please follow me this way Yu Lin.” Chief Chu started to walk towards one of the buildings of the siheyuan. Yu Lin followed him.

The two sat across from each other as Chief Chu poured a cup of tea and slid it over to Yu Lin. He sipped on his before putting it down.

“Have you… told anyone else? Have you told Ju Hua?” he asked. Yu Lin held the teacup between her small hands, embracing the warmth it gave her.

“Not yet. You are the only person I have told so far.” Yu Lin said.

“Why don’t you tell her?”

“It’s cause… I’m scared about how she'll react. I’m scared she may not believe me because I am half dark elf. Do you believe me?” Yu Lin’s voice was desperate. Chief Chu nodded his head.

“Of course I do. When I saw you heal my burnt hands and arms I knew you weren’t just a child. I knew that your mind wasn’t that of a child’s from the start. I guess I just didn’t admit to it because I would never had thought that you were… that you were Li Hu Die.”

“That’s alright. I understand. I don’t why, but it may be because this body is still developing but I don’t quite act like an adult anyways. Instead of acting logically like how I did in the past, I am acting more emotionally.” Yu Lin took a sip of her tea. “Thank you… for believing me.”

“No… please forgive me for earlier. I wa-”

“It’s alright. I understand that you did it because you didn’t know who I was and you wanted to keep everyone safe.” Yu Lin reassured him. Chief Chu still held his head down, ashamed for what he had done even if he didn’t know anything. Yu Lin saw this and cleared her throat.

“Anyways… what are we going to do here?” she changed the topic. Chief Chu looked up and his face brightened.

“That’s right. I almost forgot about that. Please follow me somewhere else Yu Lin.” Chief Chu got up from his seat. Yu Lin quickly gulped down her tea before getting up to follow Chief Chu.

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The two arrived to a large door at one of the main siheyuan buildings. At the side of the door was a hole.

“Please put your hand in there Yu Lin. Once you do, the most and release some of your chi energy in there.” Chief Chu said as he pointed to the hole. Yu Lin did as she was told. After she released her chi energy the large door suddenly opened up. She jumped back startled. Chief Chu chuckled before pushing her inside as well as going inside himself.

Yu Lin’s eyes widened as she saw a large boulder with a waterfall behind it. ‘This… this place is where I first met Qi Long.’ she thought to herself. A warm feeling suddenly overcame her as the corners of her mouth slightly curved upwards.

“You look quite happy there.” Chief Chu’s voice brought her back. She cleared her throat.

“Excuse me… but why are we here?” she asked. Chief Chu just smiled.

“We are here because you wanted to be here?”

“What? Me? Here?”

“Yes. That door is a portal door. If you think of a place and insert your chi in the portal key hole, it will take you to that place. The only thing is you can’t take anything out of the portal, and the only people there are the people you came with and yourself.”

“But I wasn’t thinking of anything back then!”

“Consciously you weren’t, but unconsciously you were. By the way, where are we?” Chief Chu turned to look at Yu Lin. Yu Lin looked away, a bit embarrassed.

“We are just in a forest in Sky Continent.” Yu Lin answered.

“Oh… I see…” Chief Chu stroked his beard. He had an idea where they were but didn’t say anything else. Yu Lin looked behind them to see the door they came through had disappeared.

“By the way, how do we get out from here?’ she asked.

“That’s easy. Just draw a door on the ground and the door we came from will appear.” Chief Chu said as he drew a door on the ground. Afterwards the door on the ground started to glow and opened up. The two stepped out of the portal and they were back at the siheyuan.

“That’s quite fascinating. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it.” Yu Lin said.

“That’s because not many exist. It was a practice that was banned because some people could not escape the portals. Chief Chu had a sad look on his face. Yu Lin knew that face and could only nod in understanding. As she thought about her training an idea suddenly came to her.

“Master, do you by chance have a sword?” she asked. Chief Chu looked down at her and nodded.

“Of course. Why?”

“Just… I want to practice the martial arts I was learning in the past.”

“Is that so? I will give you one tomorrow then. For now let’s just rest. I will be heading back to my room. You should head back to yours too.” Chief Chu started walking away. He was exhausted from the trip. Yu Lin nodded her head and they parted ways.

Yu Lin sat on her new bed and let out a sigh. A lot had just happened within a few hours and she felt drained. She also stared at her wrist, at the blue silk bracelet she had on there covering her endless bracelet. She remembered the pain and power book. She figured that it must have been month to month instead of day to day because when she tried the next day, it did not work. Her head began to hurt as she dropped her wrist down. She let out a sigh. She covered herself with the blanket and her eyes fluttered shut.

Yu Lin woke up to the sound of someone moving a furniture. She sat up and looked across the room to see what looked like a huge circle with arms and legs walking around her room. The circle then turned around to reveal what seemed like a face that contained two black dots for eyes, two smaller dots for nostrils, and a line for a mouth.

“Good morning. Good morning.” the creature said as it bowed. Yu Lin jumped startled.

“What are you?” her voice was loud. The creature scratched its head before walking up to her.

“I am Di Yi. I am Di Yi.” it said. Its pronunciation was stiff. Yu Lin heard a laugh from her door and turned to see Chief Chu standing there.

“Don’t worry Yu Lin. Those are special stone servants that someone from long ago created to keep this place in tact.”

“I am Di Yi. I am Di Yi.” the thing said again.

“I see.” Yu Lin said as she pulled her blanket down.

“Since yesterday was hectic, I didn’t get to show you around. Let me show you around now after you get ready.” Chief Chu said. Yu Lin nodded and Chief Chu left to give her some time.

The two walked around the whole siheyuan as Chief Chu introduced her each building. In the end they ended up at the dining hall where more of the stone servants served them food. Yu Lin was a bit fascinated to see the stone servants. After they finished eating, they went down to the portal door. Yu Lin breathed in as she prepared herself.

“Here is the sword you requested Yu Lin.” Chief Chu handed Yu Lin a sword appropriate for her height. Yu Lin took it. Her blood began to boil with excitement. It had been a while since she last practiced swordsmanship, but she was excited to pick it up again. She was excited to surpass her abilities from her last life.

“Thank you master… there is also something I would like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Is it alright if I practice by myself sometimes in the portal?” Yu Lin asked. Chief Chu gave her a puzzled look before firmly nodding his head.

“Of course. You are welcomed to practice anytime you want.” Chief Chu answered her.

“Thank you… by the way, how do I get out of this mountain?” Yu Lin looked back up at him. Chief Chu looked away.

“That’s right… I almost forgot to tell you. The requirements of getting in and out of this building is to be trained in here until you reach Iron rank.”

“Iron rank?!” Yu Lin exclaimed.

“That’s right. That’s why I have told your parents that we were going to have to be away for a while. This mountain chooses who to let in and out. To enter you must still be bronze rank. To leave you must be Iron rank. To come and go in as you wish you must be Gold rank because the mountain will require a lot more chi energy.”

“Ohh… I see… it’s… honestly not as hard as I thought it was going to be.” Yu Lin said nonchalantly. Chief Chu looked at her with widened eyes.

“What? Not as hard as you thought it was going to be?!”

“Of course. At the moment I am already 10th level Bronze Rank. I only to go up two more ranks. I think I may be able to reach Iron rank in a shorter period than we had predicted.” Yu Lin smiled.

“What?! You’re already 10th level Bronze Rank?!” Chief Chu exclaimed. “But kids don’t reach that level until they are Xiao Lan’s age!” Yu Lin let out a laugh.

“Did you already forget what I told you yesterday? My body is that of a child’s, but I am not a child.”

“You’re right… I almost forgot. Then, you better be ready then. The next couple of years, I won’t go easy on your training!” Chief Chu roared.

“You better not go easy on me!” Yu Lin roared back. The two looked at each other and laughed. It was as if they were long time friends.

From that day onwards, Yu Lin trained until she almost dropped dead everyday. At times she wanted to quit, but Chief Chu would not allow her. The two also grew closer as companions rather than having a grandpa and granddaughter relationship. Yu Lin wouldn’t know it, but she would come to miss her companion, her master, Chu Hong Hu more than ever. The days that hey had together were now decreasing, like an hourglass with one side waiting to run out.