Chapter 36 Rui
Rui
The fake sun was disappearing into the horizon, but Zizi had not returned. Unease crept into Rui’s mind. It felt like an internal
clock was ticking loudly in her ears. Would he return in time? Why did he say he wasn’t going back to the mortal realm with
her? She couldn’t think of a single reason for him to stay in this literal hellscape.
Kicking off her boots, she paced in her socks, hoping to be rid of her nervous energy. Down the hallway, she found three doors,
just like the three doors that led to three very different rooms in Zizi’s shophouse on Mort Street. The narrow one on her
right drew her attention. Was it a coincidence that it had no hinges, like the door to Zizi’s bedroom in the mortal realm?
She had found the sketches he’d drawn of her there. What would she find here?
This door opened without protest. There was no lock or voice spell or anything to stop someone from entering. Rui walked in. The
room was sparsely decorated with a humongous canopy bed, a simple wooden table, and—
She froze.
A watercolor painting hung on the wall across from the bed. The art style reminded her of paintings from centuries ago, where
old masters would imbue each brushstroke with poetry and feeling. The painting depicted a young woman dressed in shades of
lilac and amethyst standing against the backdrop of a black pine forest. Her hair was adorned with jeweled pins, and her cheeks
were flushed from the cold.
But it was the young woman’s face that had stopped Rui in her tracks.
It’s Lei Ying was her first thought, even though she didn’t know how she knew that.
It’s me was her second.
But it wasn’t quite her. It was like looking at a twin, only the twin was a few years older.
The longer Rui stared at the painting, the more disoriented she felt. The brushstrokes seemed to shiver to life, swirling
like clouds, distorting the young woman’s face.
The world tipped back.
Rui reached out to grab something, anything to halt her fall. Silk flowed over her fingers and she kept falling, breaking
up into mist, like she was a drop of ink splashing against canvas. And she saw—
—flashes of a grand courtyard covered in snow . . . the Imperial Palace in the distance . . . royal guards flanking a figure . . .
the figure walking closer and closer to her . . .
She is on her knees, hands and feet bound. She isn’t frightened. She should be.
The figure approaches, dressed in robes of gold. A veil of glittering beads hangs from a crown covering the person’s face . . .
She knows him.
“You have no right to enter the Fourth King’s private chambers!”
Rui broke from her trance. She was lying on the bed, silk drapes from the canopy above strewn around her. She must have pulled
them down somehow. What happened? Had she fallen asleep or was it a vision?
More shouts came from outside the apartment.
“Release me!” It sounded like Nikai.
“The Guardians do not take orders from Kings or Reapers,” said a different voice.
Don’t open the door, not even for Nikai.
But she heard a zapping sound and a cry of pain, and she ran out and yanked the front door open. A burst of energy flung her
back.
Shaken, Rui rose unsteadily to her feet.
Bruised and battered, Nikai was pinned to the ground outside by three guards.
A few other guards were scattered on the floor, knocked out cold.
Nikai had put up a good fight, but it wasn’t enough.
Two men in expensive-looking suits stood over him.
One had a long horsey face while the other was muscular and burly like an ox.
White light sizzled out of Horse-Face’s hand as he held it close to Nikai’s eye.
“Rui—you broke the seal,” Nikai cried out.
“Oh, she’s right there.” Horse-Face laughed. It sounded like a neigh.
“Run!” Nikai yelled.
But in that split second, the two men in suits had closed in, blocking the corridor. There was nowhere to go but back into
the apartment.
Slamming the door shut, Rui ran to the window. She’d been out on the ledge earlier, studying the wet rocky cliffs below for
footholds. But it was dark now, and the waves were crashing loudly, as if a storm was coming. Could she make the climb down?
The front door blew off its hinges and landed in the living room with a crash.
Ox-Head boomed, “Halt, soul! You are trespassing in the realm of the dead. By law you shall be apprehended and brought to
Youdu for judgment.”
“Can’t you just expel me to the mortal realm?” Rui said, inching closer to the hidden door cut into the windowpane.
“That’s not how it works, I’m afraid,” Ox-Head practically shouted, as if his vocal cords had been naturally dialed up to
a high volume.
“Even if you’re not dead yet, you will be soon,” his long-limbed compatriot added unhelpfully. “All trespassers will be automatically
enrolled in our system. That’s the rule.”
“It’s a shitty rule,” Rui told him, deciding that the dangerous cliffs were her backup plan. She switched up her breathing
pattern.
Horse-Face shrugged. “It’s not so bad here. Most souls get used to it, and if you’re good, you can take the ez-pass and fast-track
your reincarnation cycle.”
Stomping closer, Ox-Head said, “Best that you come quietly without a fight, little soul.”
“I don’t think so.” Rui raised her hands and channeled.
Yangqi coalesced in her veins. On her next exhale, she felt a throbbing sensation in her forearms. Two crimson blades extended from her wrists, the same way she’d seen Zizi’s spiritual weapon appear in the mortal realm.
If this was how the essence of her weapons manifested here, then why would Zizi—
Focus.
“Stay back,” she commanded, brandishing her swords.
Ox-Head snorted derisively. “Little girl with big swords. How scary.”
Neither Guardian seemed concerned that she was armed. Snickering, Horse-Face nudged his comrade. “Let’s give her five seconds.”
“Three, max,” Ox-Head said.
What were they talking about? The answer came in the form of a sudden squeeze in her chest. A numbing chill spread through
her veins. The crimson glow of her blades spluttered like a fuse short-circuiting.
“Wha—what’s happening?” Rui gasped.
The Guardians seemed to grow like hulking shadows, their shapes distorting, more beast than man. Ox-Head’s eyes were blazing
red, and horns sprouted out of his head. “Not very bright, is she?” He winked. “What’s going to happen when you use up all
your yangqi, little soul?”
Rui tried to concentrate on his question, but her world had started to spin. What would happen if she used up—
I’ll die.
She stopped channeling immediately. Her swords vanished. But the damage was done. Her body was ice, and she choked for air.
With her last ounce of strength, she shoved her shoulder into the glass.
Wind rushed in. It was pitch-black outside.
An earsplitting voice thundered, “No one gets away from the Guardians of Hell!”
She screamed and plunged into the abyss.