Chapter 4: What the Future Holds

There was a serious mood in the air as the group of adepts arrived at the blocked passage on the Silk Road along with Feizhi and Master Hama. Hsu had already left the Lama Temple by the time they arrived but nobody had heard from him since. Master Hama was especially surprised to hear Feizhi's vision of Hsu in trouble because she had not sensed it herself and thought she had failed to pass the ability of future sight to Feizhi in the first place. Despite all this, her surprise at these changes would have to wait for later because the first priority was to find Hsu and bring him home safe.

The blockage of the road was just as complete on the western side of the path as it was in the east and it didn't seem like there was any way forward from this side either. Fortunately looking around a bit revealed a small cave nearby that lead deeper into the mountain pass and allowed the adepts to forge onwards, looking for any sign of Hsu.

For Isaac, the only good news so far was that Hsu had left the morning after they had first come upon the blockage and couldn't have been there when all the rocks fell. Though that didn't mean Hsu was completely safe, it did mean that Felix did not purposely trap the younger boy in the landslide.

The group continued carefully picking their way through the various small cave systems that allowed them to get deeper into the pass, becoming more anxious by the minute without finding the boy. As they once again exited a cave and returned to the bright sunlight, they finally found what they were looking for.

"Hsu!" Feizhi exclaimed when she saw the boy lying on the ground nearby and she ran up to where he was.

Relief washed over the group when Hsu replied. "Feizhi...Master Hama...Boy am I glad to see you."

Hsu was pinned to the ground with his leg caught under a large boulder and he was unable to move. Master Hama approached the boy and knelt down next to him. "Hmm...looks like you're leg is stuck pretty good," she commented, trying to find a way to move the boulder without hurting him.

Feizhi turned to Isaac. "You could help right? You might be able to lift it off of him," she said with a hopeful look.

Isaac nodded and stepped forward. "I can lift the boulder but be ready to pull him out from underneath it when I do." Feizhi and Master Hama nodded and got in position to move Hsu as Isaac used his psynergy to lift the boulder. They slowly pulled Hsu out from underneath the boulder after Isaac raised it off the ground, being careful not to injure Hsu's leg any further.

When the boy was out from under the rock, Isaac let the psynergy go and lowered the massive rock back to the ground. As Mia approached to check out his leg, Hsu glanced at the group of adepts that he had not yet met with a mixture of curiosity and wonder. Feizhi noticed this and began to introduce the group starting with Mia since she was already taking a look at Hsu's leg.

"This is Mia. She's an amazing healer, so let her take a look at your injuries," Feizhi said, pointing out the cerulean haired girl.

Mia gave the Hsu a kind smile and said, "Nice to meet you," as she drew upon her psynergy to help mend his leg.

Feizhi pointed the rest out in turn. "Here's Isaac, Garet, and Ivan. The four of them helped me get past the blockage so we could find you." Each of them gave a nod or a wave when their name was said as an introduction.

Hsu nodded at the group. "It is nice to meet you all as well and thank you for helping Feizhi find me. I'm not sure if I would have ever got that boulder off without your help."

Master Hama stepped forward too. "I should thank you all as well," she said. "Without the four of you helping Feizhi, I would not have known one of my students was stuck here or that Feizhi's power of premonition had awakened," she added with a short nod.

As Mia finished healing the Hsu she help out a hand to him to help the boy up. Taking her hand, Hsu managed to stand up, albeit a bit shakily. Gingerly, he took a few steps to determine the extent of the injury still remaining and Mia explained, "It will still take some time to heal fully, but I did what I could for now."

Hsu turned back to her. "Thank you…Mia was it? I don't think I'd be standing right now, let alone walking, if it wasn't for you."

Mia smiled. "I just did what I could," she replied. Giving a fake pouty face to the rest of the adepts nearby she added, "Dealing with the injuries that these three always manage to get give you good practice for something like this."

Feizhi and Master Hama laughed while Hsu smiled at her statement in amusement. "Well in either case, I appreciate it," Hsu reiterated.

Mia gave him a nod of acknowledgement and said, "Not a problem. We were happy to help."

"We should probably start heading back to Lama Temple now that we've found him," Master Hama said, looking at the sun in the sky. "It might take us a little longer than usual," she added, pointing out Hsu's leg.

The rest of the group agreed and Feizhi turned to ask Hsu if he needed help walking back. Hsu declined the offer saying he was well enough to walk on his own, but Master Hama walked over anyway.

"Oh don't be so stubborn," she said, giving him a shoulder to lean on while walking. Hsu gave her an appreciative nod and though he wouldn't admit to it, he was thankful for the assistance.

It was a long, slow walk back to Lama Temple for the group due to Hsu's injury slowing them down, however they still arrived in the early evening before the sun had fallen below the horizon. When they returned, Master Hama and Hsu returned to the temple where the boy could rest up and get off his injured leg for a while.

Garet and Ivan decided to go find some food for dinner and Mia left to re-stock their supply of healing items and various medicines. This left Isaac to go rent rooms for the night at the local inn and Feizhi elected to accompany the blonde boy.

The innkeeper was grateful for Isaac's assistance in saving Hsu and ended up offering him the two rooms free of charge as a thanks for bringing the boy back safely. After getting the rooms, the pair began to head back to the Lama Temple before Feizhi stopped Isaac.

"Hey…remember when I told you I would have to show you the gardens here once we got back?" the purple haired girl asked him.

Isaac turned to look at her and nodded. "If they're anything like the flowers in Xian, I'm sure they're beautiful," he replied.

Isaac could feel Feizhi's hesitation before she spoke again. "Well…if you want…I could show them to you now…" the girl said timidly, looking away with a pink tinge on her face.

Why is she suddenly acting so shy? Isaac wondered before realizing he had not yet given a response. "Sure," he said hurriedly, trying to break the awkward tension that had built up before he spoke.

Feizhi looked back at him with a brilliant smile and said, "You'll love it. Follow me!"

As she led Isaac through the town and up onto a hill behind the Lama Temple where the dirt path made way for the garden, Feizhi was quietly humming a happy tune to herself. As the pair entered the garden Feizhi stopped and said, "Well here we are," indicating everything around them.

Isaac sucked in his breath. She wasn't lying. This place is absolutely beautiful. Looking around, he could see flowers of every color blooming along with the pink blossoms of cherry trees hanging all around them. "Feizhi…this is…" Isaac said, unable to finish the thought.

Feizhi giggled at the reaction and said, "I know right!? When I first came here I was overtaken by a sense of wonder as well."

Flushing pink but not letting Isaac see, the purple haired girl quickly grabbed his hand and said "Come on, let me show you more of the garden." She pulled the blond haired boy deeper into the garden, giddy with happiness.

While walking, Feizhi would show him the various plants and flowers along the path as well as the stream and pond where brightly colored koi were swimming around. Isaac could feel that she was fundamentally different from the girl they had met the other day. She seems like she's just generally happier now…Without a vision of her friend in trouble looming over her she just seems so much more carefree.

"Isaac?" Feizhi asked curiously, breaking him from those thoughts.

Looking up at the girl in front of him, Isaac smiled. "Sorry Feizhi, I missed what you said."

She smiled back and replied. "That's okay. I was just asking if you'd like to watch the sunset," she said, indicating the sun that was about to reach the horizon.

"I would love to," was Isaac's response. Feizhi led him a little farther on the garden path until they reached the edge near a large cherry tree. "I like to come here sometimes because of how peaceful it is," the purple haired girl said as she walked over to the tree and sat under it. Isaac followed her example and sat down next to her as he looked out on the horizon, seeing the temple and town laid out below them on the hill.

It is very peaceful here, Isaac thought, looking over at the girl next to him. There was a light breeze rustling through the tree behind them and Feizhi's purple hair was swaying gently back and forth as she looked out at the sunset. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes while the sky slowly turned orange, just enjoying the peaceful moment between them.

"Thanks for bringing me here," Isaac said once the sun had just about halfway disappeared. Puzzled by the lack of a response, Isaac looked over at Feizhi who was nervously playing with her hands in her lap.

Feeling Isaac's gaze on her, the purple haired girl looked over and turned red in embarrassment, but gave him a sweet smile. "I-uh…of course!" she finally said. "I thought you would like it so…" Feizhi trailed off.

Isaac laughed. "I did enjoy it. Thank you."

Silence descended between the two and was only broken when Feizhi spoke again. "Isaac…" she tried to say slowly, getting the blonde boy's attention.

"Hmm?" Isaac questioned as he looked back over at Feizhi. The purple haired girl was staring at him intently with a nervous smile on her face but a serious look in her violet eyes.

"I...Isaac," she said again in a nervous voice before cutting out. "I think…you…" she tried again. She looked down for a second and blushed before looking back at the bewildered blonde boy. "Isaac, I think that I-" she got out before suddenly stopping again.

This time it wasn't nerves or anything of that nature that had stopped her. There was an instantaneous flash of violet light and Feizhi closed her eyes, raising a hand to her head. It couldn't be another vision…? Isaac thought as he put out a hand to steady the girl so she wouldn't fall over in her trancelike state.

"…A child…?" Feizhi mumbled in confusion after a few seconds, too low for Isaac to hear what she said with her eyes still shut tight. "…But then who…are the parents…?" she breathed out, no more than a whisper. Her head suddenly shifted in reaction to something and then she clearly said, "Oh…I see…" in a tone that conveyed an odd combination of both happiness and resignation. "Of course…" she added.

As Feizhi broke out of the trance, she kept looking down for a few seconds before raising her head with a sad smile on her face. Isaac looked at her with concern. "What did you see?" he asked the purple haired girl with curiosity and concern.

Feizhi just shook her head. "Nothing…It's nothing to worry about," she said with that same smile still on her face. Isaac opened his mouth to question her further, but the purple haired girl stopped him by putting a finger to his lips.

"Someone once told me it's better not to know the future so that there are more possibilities in life," she told Isaac. "Don't be too concerned. What I saw was a happy vision," Feizhi explained. "I'm fine," she added, turning to look out at the remainder of the sunset.

Isaac let her be because he could sense she was not going to talk about it no matter what he said and she seemed to be all right. It wasn't long before the last rays of light disappeared over the horizon and Feizhi sighed, laying back in the grass.

"Hey, Isaac…" she said suddenly, turning her head to face him while lying down.

"Yes…?" came Isaac's response.

"Do me a favor," she said, smiling at him. "Make sure you take good care of Mia for me okay?" the purple haired girl added.

Isaac was a bit confused by the seemingly random topic, but answered nonetheless.

"You know I will…" Isaac said.

"Yes, I know," Feizhi replied with a smile.