The next day, Blaine trudged down the steps to the restaurant. He felt physically as well as mentally tired.
"Good morning" Wes said brightly and Blaine groaned.
"How's your head?" David asked concerned.
"Not good" Blaine croaked out and Wes sighed.
"I made you one my grandfather's herbal remedies. It might taste horrible but it works" Wes handed Blaine a glass and Blaine wrinkled his nose at the smell.
"Just drink it, it really does work" David said.
Blaine swallowed it up in one gulp and shuddered at the taste.
"Now just go upstairs and relax" Wes instructed and Blaine stood up.
He went back upstairs and lied down on the couch. In a few minutes he was fast asleep.
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Skylar walked into the restaurant with his friends. He looked around the restaurant and saw the same Asian waiter standing near the karaoke machine.
"Welcome, how many people?" A woman with red hair and Bambi eyes asked.
"Five" Minx replied tersely and the woman pointed them to the exact same table they sat the day before.
"I'm Emma, I'll be your waitress for the day. Just wave to me if you want to order" she said and then went to another table.
"So now what?" Regent asked. They were attracting some looks from the other customers.
"Minx, act like you want to go to the bathroom then sneak up and put the ring back" Skylar instructed.
"I don't even know if the guy's apartment is locked or not. You were lucky it wasn't but then what if someone catches me?" Minx said.
"Then I'll go" Shin said holding his hand out for the ring.
"Forget it. You guys are such pussies. I'll go return it back" Skylar stood and Wes watched him go towards the bathroom.
"He's on the move" Wes whispered discreetly to David.
"Don't follow him, Blaine's up there anyway. He won't let anyone slip past him" David said.
PAGE BREAK
Skylar checked to see if anyone was looking and then went up the stairs to the apartment. To his luck the door wasn't locked so he entered. He looked around to see if Blaine was around and spotted him asleep on the couch. He crept over to the coffee table and then opened the little pot. He deposited the ring inside and closed the pot, breathing a sigh of relief.
Then he caught sight of Blaine's peaceful face.
God, he's so cute.
Skylar reached out to touch Blaine's face and smiled. His cheeks were rough because of the stubble and his eyebrows were so thick and soft. Skylar saw the curls and couldn't resist touching them.
"Stop!" Skylar jumped back just as a fist came flying into view.
The Asian waiter had tried to punch him but since Skylar had avoided it, the Asian guy went sprawling onto the soft white carpet. The black guy who had burst in with the Asian began to laugh uproariously.
"Geez David, thanks alot" The Asian guy said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry man, but that was really funny" David replied still chortling.
"What's more funny is that we find a shady guy trying to rape Blaine in his sleep" Wes said standing up.
"I wasn't going to rape him" Skylar protested.
"Then what were you doing here?" David asked, all laughter gone.
"I came to return the ring I stole" Skylar replied.
"You stole the ring?" Blaine muffled voice made them all jump in surprise.
"Blaine? You were awake this whole time?" Wes asked.
"No, just got up because of David laughing" Blaine replied. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"If you stole the ring why bring it back? You could probably get alot of money off it" Wes asked.
"The ring meant something to you. I just took it for fun" Skylar replied.
Blaine reached over and pulled out the ring and the chair from the little pot.
"It does mean a lot to me. Thanks for returning it" Blaine said.
"Now march your ass downstairs. I don't want you up here again" Wes said.
Skylar left the apartment without another word. David followed after and Blaine fingered the chain in his hands.
"Hey Wes, can you give me the recipe for this herbal remedy? It actually works" Blaine asked.
"Sure, it's at home but you can come over later and I can give it to you" Wes replied and then he left the apartment.
Blaine smiled and placed the ring back in the little pot. He felt so much better after having it back.
PAGE BREAK
"Hey, is Wes home?" Blaine asked the new nanny Bella.
Bella was pretty with long black hair and big blue eyes. She balanced Lily on her hip and shook her head.
"What about Velma?" Blaine asked.
"She's inside" Bella said gesturing to the living room.
Blaine entered and took off his shoes. He had been told by Wes that it was a tradition to take off your shoes before entering the house in China or Japan so Blaine complied with the tradition when he entered Wes's home.
"Velma?" Blaine spotted Velma watching TV on the couch.
"Hey Blaine. Wes said that the recipe was in his study on the desk. Just go get it" Velma said totally engrossed in The Vampire Diaries.
"Thanks" Blaine entered the study and was taken aback by the amount of books in there.
The shelves were full and many of the remaining books were on the floor in carefully arranged stacks. Blaine picked his way through the stacks and grabbed the recipe from the table. Then he saw the book on the desk.
Summoning the Spirits Blaine read and then furrowed his eyebrows.
He took the book in his hands and opened it. He cursed when he saw the book was written in Hanja (Chinese characters). He left the book and then looked around at the other stacks.
Chinese Legends and their Authenticity. Ancient Legends of the Dragon of the West. Legendary Healer Hua Tua. History of the Goryeo Dynasty.
Just how many books did Wes own? Then Blaine spotted a plain brown book. It was tied with a rope and Blaine could feel a pull towards it. He grabbed the book and went back outside.
"Velma, I'm borrowing this book. Tell Wes I'll return it soon" Blaine said before he left the house.
"Sure" Velma replied absentmindedly.
Blaine rushed out of the building and then glanced at the book on the passenger seat next to him. It was a normal book but he didn't know why he had taken it. Was it even written in English or not? Blaine didn't care but he just had to have the book with him.
He reached the restaurant and without saying a word to anyone, he went up the stairs to his apartment. After seating himself down on the sofa, he untied the rope and opened the cover of the book.
PAGE BREAK
"What was that?" Rachel asked, jolting her head up.
"What was what?" Kurt asked surprised.
"That noise. I just heard something" Rachel replied looked around wildly. Her plaited hair slapped Kurt on the face.
"I didn't hear anything" Kurt said staring at Rachel.
"Maybe it was my imagination" Rachel sat back down and Kurt chuckled.
PAGE BREAK
"Journal of Hua Tua" Blaine read and furrowed his eyebrows.
He had heard the name before. Wes had mentioned the name to him before and Blaine had read a book title in Wes's study. He grabbed his laptop and began searching. He began reading the Wikipedia article about him.
Hua Tuo (Wade-Giles: Hua To; c. 140–208)[1] was an ancient Chinese physician who lived during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. The Records of Three Kingdoms and Book of Later Han record Hua as the first person in China to use anesthesia during surgery. Hua Tuo was famous for his abilities in acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine, and medical Daoyin exercises. He developed the Wuqinxi (Wade-Giles: Wu-chin-hsi; 五禽戲; lit. "Exercise of the Five Animals") from studying movements of the tiger, deer, bear, ape, and crane.
So Hua Tuo was a legendary healer who lived in China. Blaine read on and on and then stopped reading.
During the chase, Hua Tuo laughed and then a Heaven's door opened. He stepped inside calmly and then disappeared. He was never to be seen again.
"What the hell? The ancient healer disappeared through heaven's door? What kind of crap is this?"
Blaine closed his computer and then looked at the still open diary. It might have been Hua Tuo's legendary diary but he didn't feel like reading the diary again. He closed it and bound it with the rope. He would have to give it back to Wes tomorrow.
PAGE BREAK
"I swear I just heard something" Rachel said sitting up.
"Your imagination has gotten worse since we got here" Kurt commented.
A strong breeze ran over the garden and she huffed.
"It's not my imagination" she insisted and Kurt ruffled her hair playfully.
PAGE BREAK
"Did Blaine find the recipe?" Wes asked entering the study.
"Yeah. He borrowed a book of yours too" Velma replied serving rice and kimchi.
"A book? Will he even be able to read them? Most of them are in Chinese" Wes said.
"Maybe he took one of your English ones" Velma suggested.
"I'll ask him tomorrow" Wes said taking a bite of the rice.
PAGE BREAK
That night Blaine was relaxing by watching TV. But no matter what he concentrated on his gaze always wandered to the diary on the coffee table. What exactly was in Hua Tuo's journal that pulled him so much? He muted the volume of the TV and grabbed the diary. He untied the rope and opened the cover. Passing the first page, he felt the texture of the pages. The pages were thick like parchment. They were also easily tearable.
Blaine flipped the page carefully and then saw in disappointment that the letters were Hanja. He leaned over and tried to decipher them and then found he could read them perfectly.
First month of the year, 152
Today I accomplished my greatest herbal remedy yet.
Blaine furrowed his eyebrows. This guy just wrote down whatever he had accomplished over the years and nothing else. Then Blaine flipped over to the second last page.
Third month of the year, 200
I have discovered the Door to Heaven. I entered the gate and found myself in a strange world. I was floating through the clouds and I reached the stars and a voice spoke to me. In front of me came a young man whom I had seen before. He had died before I was able to conduct any surgery on him.
"It is a blessing for you to see me, Hua Tuo" he said with a bow.
"What is this place?" I had asked.
"This place is Heaven. Come and meet the spirits" He took my hands which was surprisingly solid and dragged me towards a garden.
I saw many people walking around and my attention was caught by a woman. She had been my lover before she died. I rushed to embrace her. Many times had I dreamed of meeting her again.
The diary entry ended there and Blaine's hands shook. Hua Tuo had found the door to heaven and met the spirit of his dead lover there.
Blaine frantically turned to the last page and was met by a series of numbers. He stared at them and then grabbed a piece of paper. He scribbled down the numbers and then tried to decipher them. What were they? Coordinates? Maybe this was the place where Heaven's door was.
PAGE BREAK
"What is this?" Rachel looked up at the sky where rain drops were falling.
"It's never rained in Heaven before" Kurt commented.
"It has" An old man sitting on a bench said.
"It has rained in heaven before?" Rachel asked.
"A long time ago" The old man replied.
"When? Tell us" Kurt said literally bouncing over to the man.
"Tell you what?" The old man asked.
"When it rained in heaven" Rachel replied.
"It rained in heaven? When?" The old man asked surprised and Rachel groaned.
"You just said that it happened a long time ago!" Kurt said.
"Did I?" The old man asked.
"Why is it raining?" Rachel asked looking up at the sky.
"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about this" Kurt replied.
PAGE BREAK
Blaine stared at the very last page of the diary. Inside the leather covering he had found a piece of paper.
Dear descendants of mine,
I would like to stress the importance of this diary. It is a family heirloom which can never be read or opened. Please safeguard it and when the right time comes, burn it. It has a secret which should never be given to the world
Your Grandfather,
Hua Tuo.
Blaine stared at the writing and then sniffed the paper. It smelled old and the writing was ancient but Blaine was shocked that he could actually read it. Did Hua Tuo know English or was this just a coincidence?
He closed the diary and placed it back on the coffee table deciding to get some sleep. Then he realized that the TV was blaring in the background but he had not even touched the remote.
PAGE BREAK
"Hey it stopped" Kurt said looking up at the now blue sky.
"That's weird" Rachel commented.
"Wonder what's happening" Kurt murmured and then sat down again.
Rachel shrugged and settled down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.