Author's Note: Welcome to 2022! It's another new year. I wanted to have the two women talking to each other after Christmas, but felt that it was too soon. So here we are. I think I have something I want to do with Qi. Whether she'll be back for now season remains to be seen. I don't know what I will be doing next week. Who haven't I talked about for a while? Maybe we'll see the Korean twins again? We will have to see. For now, enjoy this week's match.

Match Thirty: Xiezhi:

Ju and Qi sat across from each other at Ju's kitchen table. Noelle stood in the doorway staring at them. Qi glanced up at Ju.

"I haven't been fully honest with you," she said. Ju raised her eyebrow.

"About which part?" she asked.

"Most of it," Qi said. She shifted in her seat as the clock ticked in the background. She looked her cousin in the eye.

"How much have you looked up about me?" Qi asked.

"Tell, are you a vessel?" Ju asked.

"Yes," her cousin said. "But I am me."

"Are you alone?"

"No."

"How many of you are there?"

"Six. My dolls, myself, and then there's someone else."

"Someone else?"

"I don't know who they are."

"How long has it been like this?"

"Since I was a kid."

Ju slid a news article across the table. "Did you do this?"

Qi looked down at the article. The story talked about her childhood prison. It didn't even merit a full page. Just a side note as she predicted.

"Yes," Qi said. "Noelle and I burned the house down together."

"I see." Ju pulled back the article. "I don't blame you."

"You and I are alike in a way."

"No, we aren't."

"You and I are alike on the surface. Only, you have experienced what love is. I only got to see glimpses of it."

"But how are we the same?"

"We can't escape our heritage."

Ju sat back, frowning. She didn't want to comment.

"What happened to you?" she asked instead. Qi gave off a dry laugh.

"Where do I begin with that one?" she asked. The woman lowered her head.

"Show her your legs."

"Excuse me?" Ju asked. Qi rolled up her skirt and showed off her legs. Her cousin covered her mouth, gasping.

"What happened to your legs?" she asked. Qi let go of her skirt.

"My mother trained me to walk on knives," she said.

"What the hell?" Ju asked.

"It was her version of foot binding. She would strap knives to my feet and make me walk to her."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes." Qi lowered her head.

"She was a monster."

"Excuse me?" Ju asked. The other woman lifted her head. Something seemed different in her demeanor. The woman sat up straighter. The clan leader caught onto to the change.

"Are you still Qi?" she asked.

"No," the other woman said.

"Then… who are you?"

"Call me Lottie." Qi put her hands on her hips.

"Okay… Nice to meet you. My name is Wang Ju." The clan leader bowed her head.

"I know," Lottie said.

"So… You are one of the spirits who died?"

"Yes."

"How did you die?"

Qi folded her arms across her chest. "That bitch killed me. She killed all of us."

"Including Qi?"

"Yes."

Ju sat back as she tried to piece together what she was hearing. More questions formed in her mouth. Qi/Lottie stared at her.

"Go on, spit it out. I know you have many questions."

"Okay, okay. You don't mess around, do you?" She glanced up at Qi/Lottie.

"How many of you did she kill?"

"More than we both can count. She buried all of us in the rose garden." Qi lowered her head.

"Why did she kill you?" Ju asked. The other woman lifted her head. Her eyes became softer. It wasn't Qi, however. The clan leader raised her eyebrow.

"Who am I talking to?" she asked. Qi looked at her.

"Phillip," she said.

"Nice to meet you," Ju said. "My name is Wang Ju." She bowed her head.

"Nice to mee you too," Qi/Phillip said. He bowed his head likewise.

"Why did she kill all of you?" Ju asked.

"Various reasons. She killed Lottie for standing up to her. She killed me because I was falling in love with Qi."

Ju screwed up her face with disgust. Maybe they were alike in a way. Qi/Phillip shook his head.

"No," he said. "She's way worse." Qi lowered her head. Ju tilted her head. Who was coming out now?

"Hello?" she asked. The other woman lifted her head.

"Who are you now?" Ju asked. Qi turned her head.

"It's me," she said.

"Do they come out often?" the clan leader asked.

"Not often. I mostly keep myself in check." Then she lowered her head again.

"Hello?" the clan leader asked. "Are you still there? Hello? Hello?"

"They are all killing her."

"Excuse me?" Ju asked. Qi didn't lift her head.

"Qi? Qi?" the clan leader asked.

"They are all killing her." She lifted her head again. This time, something wasn't right. Qi's eyes looked so blank. Ju sat back in her chair.

"Who are you now?" she asked.

"I have no name," Qi said.

"Okay…" Ju said. "Shall I give you one?"

"No." Qi glared at her.

The clan leader put up her hands. "Okay, okay." She lowered her hands.

"Tell me about yourself."

"What is there to say?"

"Who are you?"

"I am just me."

"Who is me? Tell me your story."

Qi sat back in her chair. "Fine. I have been watching Qi for a long time. It started when her mother killed Isaac."

"Isaac is another doll?"

"Yes. Qi is a special case here."

Ju was about to ask when the other woman put up her hand. The clan leader drew her mouth closed. Qi bowed his head.

"Thank you," she said. "Now, I am still trying to determine what it is. However, I am running out of time with my investigation." Ju narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's the others," Qi said. "The longer they live in her souls, the more they are draining her life away."

"Do they know they are doing this?"

"Yes."

"So…"

"Why do they stay?"

"Yeah." Ju nodded as she said that.

Qi chuckled to herself. "Heh. Love."

"Huh?"

"They all love her. That love will not let them go. Ironically, they will kill her with their love."

"Is there any way to fix it?"

"They have to move on."

Ju leaned back in her chair. "And why do you stay?"

"I don't remember." She fought to keep her head up. This spirit was trying not to go away.

"Damn it. Not now."

Ju stared quietly. There was still one thing she had to know. "Why come to me? What makes me so special?"

Qi strained to stare at her before the stranger slipped away. "Because you are all she knows." Her finally dropped down. When she lifted it back, Qi came back. Ju raised her eyebrow.

"Who are you now?" she asked.

"I am me," Qi said. "I am me."

"I don't understand what you are asking me to do," Ju said. Quickly grabbed her by the hands.

"Please… help me," she pleaded. The clan leader didn't know how to respond.