DIFFERENT WORLD

Chapter 12: LOST

Chapter
XII
Lost

***

Zhang Qi Ling's summons back to the Shrine was instantaneous. Given any other circumstance, Zhang Qi Ling might have been concerned. At this moment, though, with Wu Xie's Call absent for the first time in twenty years, Zhang Qi Ling couldn't be bothered. He couldn't believe how empty he felt and the wrongness of it made bile race up his throat and tears sting painfully behind his eyes. In the back of his mind, he accused Wu Xie, the word 'abandonment' like oil polluting his thoughts and driving anger to the forefront of his mind. How dare Wu Xie cut him off? Leave him? It was not just Wu Xie's decision to make. Not when involved Zhang Qi Ling, as well, and...

And, oh god... Zhang Qi Ling closed his eyes, capturing the escaping tears in his long lashes. What had he done?

"Well, you have single-handedly shoved Heaven into a tizzy."

Zhang Qi Ling looked up, taking in the serene, office. If he listened very carefully, Zhang Qi Ling could hear the music of Heaven, the soft, dulcet tones like a blanket of comfort and security. Zhang Rishan leaned back in his chair, his ankles crossed, his documents in hand. Seconds ticked by and his long fingers turned a page. A bored looked adored in his face. Another page and Heaven's lead Spirit Guide snickered.

Nothing in the history of... ever... seemed less like a tizzy.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," Zhang Qi Ling whispered solemnly that made the smirk melt from Zhang Rishan's face. With calculating eyes, Zhang Rishan finally looked up from his documents and nodded toward the chair. Zhang Qi Ling sat, holding Zhang Rishan's gaze with raw determination.

"So, tell me, Zhang Qi Ling," Zhang Rishan said conversationally, "how's the kid... what's his name again?" The dark haired man snapped the fingers of his free hand as if trying to recall the name.

Zhang Qi Ling's fingers curled into the arm of the chair. "You know too well what his name is," he bit out sharply.

Zhang Rishan smiled cheerfully until his eyes were closed tightly. It made Zhang Qi Ling a bit angry, is he making fun of him now?

"I only ask because, well, how do I say this?" He met Zhang Qi Ling's eyes again. "We lost him."

"What?"

Zhang Qi Ling's heart stopped. He reached for a bond he never knew he relied on and found nothing. Fear crept into his chest along with cruel desperation. He couldn't tell anymore if Wu Xie was happy or sad. He couldn't feel his fear and his need. Staying away from Wu Xie all of these years had hurt but at least he had known. Now, all he felt was a void of nothing and he'd never been so... cold.

Suddenly, he pictured Wu Xie, a scared and hurt six-year-old, shaking in his hospital room. It was the first time he'd been alone since the accident and he knelt in the middle of his bed with the starched blankets, nothing like the soft bedding Wu Yi Qiong would have wrapped his child in, pulled up to his chin. Zhang Qi Ling hadn't left his side but stood pressed against the wall, hidden in the shadows.

"Xiao ge?" Wu Xie whispered into the darkness. Brown eyes scanned the room and he pulled the blankets higher until only his eyes could be seen. Zhang Qi Ling bit his lip until he tasted blood on his tongue when the softest whimper filled the darkness. "Xiao ge," Wu Xie said louder. "Xiao ge, please. I need you." His lower lip trembled dangerously. "I'm scared, Xiao ge. Don't leave me. Don't leave me alone."

The door to his room opened and a nurse entered, soft smile on her face. "Wu Xie, Xiao Xie, are you having a hard time sleeping?"

Wu Xie scrambled backward until he was pressed into the wall at the head of the bed. Ignoring the nurse, he continued to look around the room. "Xiao ge! Xiao ge! Come back, please!" He screamed when the nurse stepped closer to him. A doctor hurried into the room and immediately went to the IV pole, fiddling with the medications. The nurse rambled to the doctor but Zhang Qi Ling didn't hear anything but Wu Xie's heartbeat race. He didn't see anything but tears falling from Wu Xie's eyes.

Dark lashes heavy with tears blinked slower and slower but Wu Xie's screams echoed through the room. "Please don't do this, Xiao ge! I'm so cold!"

Zhang Qi Ling blinked and found himself back in Zhang Rishan's office, the brightness nearly blinding him in contrast to the dimness of his memory. He reached a trembling hand to his face and was shocked when his fingers came away wet.

Zhang Rishan stared back at him, his dark eyes fierce. "What did you do?"

Zhang Qi Ling's eyes narrowed and they burned just as fierce as Zhang Rishan's. He shook his head, refusing to answer the question until he had asked his own. "What do you mean Wu Xie is lost?"

Zhang Rishan leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Heaven keeps track of every soul that walks in the Land of Living and rests in Heaven." Zhang Qi Ling cracked his fingers making an irritating noise and Zhang Rishan smiled indulgently. "But, you were always a smart God of Death. You know this. What you don't know is how we keep track." Zhang Rishan leaned forward until his elbows rested on the desk, his chin on his folded fingers.

"Traditionally, every soul gets a God of Guardian, their one true link to Heaven. As a failsafe, a Guardian of Records documents every soul's journey through the challenges of Land of Living to the reward of Paradise."

Zhang Qi Ling closed his eyes and spokes softly. "Wu Xie doesn't have God of Guardian."

"No, he doesn't," Zhang Rishan agreed. "And because Wu Xie wasn't supposed to have a chance at the Land of Living, he wasn't assigned a Guardian of Records either. When he stopped you from collecting him, my report included my concerns about Wu Xie's soul not being anchored to Heaven. Without understanding the cause, no one was willing to assign Wu Xie anything he might not need if it turned out it was all a mistake and his soul was returned anyway."

Zhang Qi Ling glared darkly, angry on Wu Xie's behalf, but Zhan Rishan spoke over him. "But Level Four immediately discovered the link between you and Wu Xie and it was determined that until someone figured out what the hell was going on your link to him, and therefore his link to Heaven, would suffice."

Zhang Qi Ling sighed and said. "He cut off the connection."

Zhang Rishan's passive expression never changed but he lifted his head and brought his palms to rest flat against the desk. Minutes went by and Zhang Qi Ling knew Zhang Rishan was weighing his words against the knowledge he already had, trying to come up with a question that would get him the most information. In the end, the dark-haired man looked straight at him and asked, "Why?"

"I collected his grandmother tonight. She was his last..." Zhang Qi Ling began and told his story through the point that Wu Xie severed their bond... something Zhang Qi Ling realized now he had done to Wu Xie for years. Zhang Qi Ling didn't leave anything out, including the moment when Wu Xie had turned the tables and stolen his breath. If he tried, he could still make out the taste of Wu Xie on his tongue. He had been watching Zhang Rishan closely, needing to see the older man's reaction, he would have missed the barely perceivable widening of his eyes.

When Zhang Qi Ling fell silent, Zhang Rishan rocked his chair back and forth, eyes narrowed in concentration. "I can't even begin to list all the rules that the two of you have impossibly bent, not to mention the several that you have just shot all to hell."

Zhang Qi Ling watched Zhang Rishan for a moment and then bowed his head. "If this is a learning opportunity, tell me what I learned..." He swallowed and looked up once more. "Tell me how to fix it."

With a sigh, Zhang Rishan stood. "I can't do that because I don't know how. But, I can tell you two things for sure. Heaven has no way to watch Wu Xie. You were all he had and now he has nothing. And because of this, the moment Wu Xie fell off our radar, your file was placed directly onto the desk of the Ultimate."

Zhang Qi Ling felt sick, standing unsteadily. Zhang Rishan stood as well and said, "Congratulations." There was no humor in the word. Zhang Qi Ling nodded solemnly and disappeared.

***
To be continued...