A/N: Ah, the things these plotbunnies make me do... I wrote this chapter so fast that my hands – no, my arms hurt a lot for hours. And I couldn't help but post it this soon. I hope you like this chapter. -smiles-
And QuickEdit keeps making fun of me... Now I can't put an exclamation mark after a question mark, because the latter gets deleted.
VampireNaomi – Yep, I wanted to work on Xiao's characterisation a bit more, thanks for noticing that. So you see? Bai Tsa and Valmont were just made for each other, muahaha! XD I hope I'm not going too fast with those two.
Hellblaze – Oh, yes, they'll be back to adult size in this chapter, actually. Julia won't be appearing much for a while, but she'll be back soon.
–CHAPTER 27–
Confusing Feelings
Why didn't she run?
Her family and her friends should be worried. The demons were dangerous and spiteful. Then, why didn't she run? Nobody was watching her, Hsi Wu should be in Greece – or perhaps coming back – and she was not locked up in any room, but lying on the grass in the backyard, looking at the stars. She could easily run away, and her absence would probably be noticed many hours later, maybe even on the following day.
But to her own surprise, she realised she did not want to run away. At least not now. She stared at the sky, expecting Hsi Wu to appear at any moment with the last ingredient for the potion which would turn her into an adult again.
However, she had a weird feeling; she felt guilty. What would Uncle say when he found out about her feelings for Hsi Wu? What would Jackie, Tohru, Viper say? And what about Paco?
Just to think of the Mexican boy made her heart feel heavy. He was a childhood friend, a nice person, although quite annoying at times... It hurt her to remember that he loved her. To her, he was just a friend. A great friend. She did not want to hurt him. Even so, he would certainly be heartbroken when he found out that Jade did not feel the same for him; she loved Hsi Wu.
Jade smiled weakly at the irony. Who would have guessed that after all his evil doings, the sky demon would have developed warm feelings towards her during all these eleven years in the Netherworld, while she did the same, although she had tried to deny it? Now she understood that love was really strange and unpredictable...
She stared down at the horizon and then up at the sky again. Still no sign of Hsi Wu, and she guessed it should be three or four o'clock in the morning. She was beginning to feel sleepy, but when she was about to close her eyes, she thought to have seen something in the sky. She immediately got up and narrowed her eyes to try seeing better.
There was no doubt. It was Hsi Wu quickly approaching. Jade was impressed; he could really fly very fast, since he had travelled from San Francisco to Greece and came back at the same night. And on top of that, in a child form.
In few minutes, the sky demon was already gliding above her, until he finally landed.
"I got the ambrosia," he announced, raising a small cloth bag. Jade grinned and hugged him.
"Cool! Now we can go back to normal!" she said cheerfully. Then, they entered the house together.
It was dark and the air was no longer contaminated with the smell of the antidote. Jade guessed that Tso Lan had taken it to a more isolated place in the house. She did not think that even he could stand for too long that thing right under his nose. Or tongue. Or whatever he used to smell.
At the sitting room, Tso Lan was sitting on an armchair, his eyes closed. Jade could not tell whether he was sleeping or just meditating. Xiao Fung, in his human form, was lazily lying on a sofa. And in a smaller sofa were Bai Tsa and Valmont; the water demon was taking up almost the entire sofa and holding a violin; Valmont was on the other side, sitting as comfortably as possible.
Hsi Wu silently approached the moon demon. "Tso Lan," he called quietly. "Tso Lan, wake up." Seeing that nothing happened, he shook his brother's shoulder. "Brother Tso, I brought the ambrosia."
The moon demon slowly opened his eyes and stared vaguely at his youngest brother. "Hmm?"
"I brought the ambrosia," Hsi Wu repeated, showing him the cloth bag, and Tso Lan nodded, already fully awaken.
"Excellent, Hsi Wu. Wake Bai Tsa, then," he ordered, taking the bag and standing up. Hsi Wu approached his sister and shook her a bit harder.
"Sister Bai! BAI TSA, WAKE UP! BAI TSA!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, making the mermaid and Valmont awake with a startle. Xiao Fung woke up as well, but he was still quite drowsy.
"Uh? What? What happened?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Tso Lan is going to finish the antidote," the youngest demon answered. Bai Tsa instantly sat up.
"Where is it?" she asked eagerly.
"Easy, he is still making it."
Xiao Fung yawned and wiped the corner of his mouth. "Yes, I can smell it. I really hope the ambrosia will take care of that," he remarked.
Hsi Wu glanced around. "Where are the others?"
"They are upstairs deciding what to do about Mei Liang. They are kind of worried because now she has the power of the Hun Yu jewel," Xiao explained in a bored tone.
"Well, that really is worrisome," Hsi Wu agreed, frowning.
"Po Kong threw a fit when he told her. I couldn't even go on with my practicing," Bai Tsa commented, pointing at the violin beside her.
Jade approached the winged demon. "Uhn... Hsi Wu, what will happen if that Mei Liang has the power of the jewel? Is that... too bad?" she asked and Hsi Wu nodded.
"It is terrible. That jewel has an unimaginable power and should be used only by pure people. That little girl should have never got involved with it. Now Mei Liang has it in her hands," he said gloomily.
Jade looked very apprehensive, but Xiao Fung smiled unworriedly. "There is no reason to panic. Brother Tso Lan will find a way to locate her," he assured.
"And then what?" the Chinese girl asked.
He shrugged. "And then we fight her and see how it ends."
Jade raised an eyebrow, not feeling any better.
Suddenly, a very strong smell of carrion took over the room and everyone grimaced, covering their noses.
"The antidote is done," Tso Lan announced, coming from the kitchen and using his gravity power to make two big bowls and four glasses float after him.
"Yeah, I noticed," Xiao Fung remarked sarcastically.
The moon demon made the bowls and the glasses land on the coffee table. "First, you have to drink this potion." Tso Lan pointed at one of the bowls, which contained a greenish-yellow liquid. "Then, you will begin to slowly get old. That may take a while. And then, once you reach your true ages, you must drink this other potion." He pointed at the other bowl, where there was a pink liquid.
Tso Lan dived one of the glasses into the first liquid.
"So, who is going to be the first?" he asked.
Everyone was silent; nobody felt very brave to drink that potion.
The moon demon raised a brow and looked at Jade. "You drink it first," he said, pointing at her. Jade's eyes widened in horror.
"Me? Why does it have to be me?"
"Because you are a Chan. Now drink it," he demanded. Jade turned to Hsi Wu with desperate eyes, but he just nodded, encouraging her to try it. Defeated, the girl moaned in frustration and took the glass.
Close up, its appearance was almost as horrible as its smell. Jade would have taken a deep breath to gather courage, if only that just did not make things worse. Instead, she just gulped, closed her eyes, held her breath and sipped it.
At the instant the potion touched her tongue, Jade felt her stomach flipping over and over. She felt so nauseous that she thought she would get sick. At the following second, she was spitting out the liquid and coughing.
"This tastes awful! It's so disgusting!" she complained.
"But you have to drink it up. If you drink just some of it, you will not get even a month older," Tso Lan said, refilling the glass and returning it to Jade. The girl took it with a trembling hand. "You too," he added to the other three children.
Hsi Wu was the first one to get a glass. Then it was Bai Tsa, a bit hesitant. Valmont could just stare at Jade, his widening as he watched the girl's suffering expression.
"Drink it," Bai Tsa ordered, elbowing him. Valmont reluctantly grabbed the last glass and dived it into the greenish-yellow liquid.
"It will be easier if you drink it all at once," Xiao Fung advised.
The four children closed their eyes, anguished, and gathered courage to drink the potion with just one sip.
Xiao Fung's right eye twitched. "You know... I'm glad that I don't have to drink it as well," he remarked to Tso Lan.
"Ditto," Tso Lan replied simply.
When they were done, the quartet was pale, coming out in a cold sweat. They looked like they were going to faint at any moment.
"I think I'm going to throw up..." Jade murmured.
"Tso Lan, you liar, you said the potion would taste better when you added ambrosia..." Bai Tsa protested weakly. The moon demon raised his brows.
"That is true. Just to make it taste a bit better, I added some ambrosia to that potion, although it is only necessary in this one," he said and pointed at the pink liquid.
"You mean the original taste of this is even worse...?" Hsi Wu asked faintly.
"Oh, my, are you feeling all right?" Xiao Fung asked. Only Hsi Wu and Bai Tsa found strength to shake their heads as an answer.
"And it will get worse in the following minutes. But I think you will feel better in some hours. I have to locate Mei Liang now." Tso Lan turned to Xiao Fung. "Meanwhile, take care of them." He then looked at the others again. "And do not forget to drink the other potion when you reach your true ages."
With that, he left to the second floor. Xiao took a look at the first bowl and grabbed it. "I'm going to get rid of this. I think flushing it will do."
Tso Lan slowly opened the door and saw Tchang Zu, Po Kong and Dai Gui gathered.
"I hope this won't end up like the last time..." Po Kong muttered darkly. Tso Lan cleared his throat to announce his presence and the others turned to him.
"I will prepare a spell to locate Mei Liang now," he said and Tchang Zu nodded.
"Tso Lan, how good that you are here. We need your wisdom," Po Kong said. The moon demon raised his brows in slight surprise. His siblings rarely valued wisdom; they usually thought that violence solved everything.
"Hmm, yes, what do you need to know?" he asked.
"We have reached the conclusion that the best way to get rid of Mei Liang is by banishing her into the Realm of Eternal Suffering again," Tchang Zu started.
"After all, she was released by sheer chance. It is unlikely that such thing will happen again as long as we avoid another great concentration of dark chi in the seal of the portal," the mountain demon continued.
"Do you agree?" Dai Gui asked.
"I do. We just have to make sure that no one else will interfere in that dimension," Tso Lan replied.
"We thought you would say that. The problem is, we need someone important to us to sacrifice," his sister said.
"Any suggestion?" Tchang Zu asked. Tso Lan pondered over that for a short while, but then sighed heavily.
"I think we should discuss that when the whole family is together. Let's leave that decision for tomorrow," he answered and left the room. The other three looked at one another, uncomfortable, but said nothing.
It was almost five in the morning and the sky was still dark. The sitting room was silent, except for the sound of pages being turned by Xiao Fung. The wind demon, bored to death, had found some magazines and had begun leafing through them, not finding anything interesting until discovering that one of the magazines had many recipes and pictures of exotic dishes. Since then, he could not stop looking at them, although they made him painfully remember that there was nothing to eat at the house.
Jade glanced at Hsi Wu. The sky demon was quite older, but had not reached his actual age yet. He seemed to be in his adolescence. Bai Tsa was almost an adult, about seventeen years old for human standards, and had fallen asleep. Valmont then was about twenty years old. Humans probably got old faster, since they had a shorter lifetime.
The Chinese girl took a glance at herself, guessing she should be growing up faster, as well. That reminded her of the time she had made a potion to grow up so she could go to London and retrieve the noble horse. But back then, she had literally grown instead of getting older and.
"Hsi Wu, do you think I'm at my right age now?" she asked, wishing she had a mirror so that she did not have to ask that same question for the thousandth time.
The sky demon eyed her. "No," he answered, shaking his head. Jade snapped and lied down on the sofa. Well, at least she was beginning to feel better. Perhaps that was sign that she was almost reaching her true age.
"Aww, I'm bored! Can't we even play some game? Even chess is fine!" she said, impatient.
"If you push yourself either mentally or physically, the potion will not have the same effect," Xiao Fung replied evenly, without taking his eyes off the magazine. Jade snorted and crossed her arms. She had never thought she would be so bored around three demons and one criminal.
Suddenly, Valmont leaned forward and dived his glass into the pink liquid. Everyone – except for Bai Tsa, of course – stared at him in surprise.
"What are you doing? You are still far from your actual age," the wind demon warned him.
"Exactly," Valmont said tranquilly.
"What do you mean?" Jade asked in confusion and he shrugged.
"I think there is no problem to get some extra years of life," he replied and drank the second potion. Jade's expression brightened and she pointed at him.
"Hey, good idea. Like, I'd do the same thing, but I'm still naturally young," she said, smirking proudly and sarcastically. Valmont snorted, deciding to ignore that comment. "So, does that potion taste better than the other one? Because it sure smells better."
"It is much better. It's the best thing I have ever drunk," Valmont answered, drinking it up to the last drop. "It's delicious!" he exclaimed, preparing to dive the glass again. However, Xiao Fung stopped him.
"Hey, easy there! You can drink only one glass, no more than that," he said and snatched the glass from Valmont's hand. "Give me that!" And he dived it into the liquid to drink it.
"Hey, why can you drink more?" Valmont questioned when the wind demon refilled the glass.
"Because I am a demon. I can."
"Jade, I think you can drink it now," Hsi Wu informed her. Valmont, not standing to see the wind demon drinking the potion for the third time, stood up and left the room, heading to the backyard. Meanwhile, the Chinese girl dived her own glass in the bowl. This potion had a very sweet smell, and she did not even have to gather courage to drink it.
In fact, unlike the previous one, this potion was marvellous. It was very sweet as well, and when Jade finished it, she was disappointed. She licked her lips and felt an uncontrollable urge to drink more, much more.
She leaned forward and reached out to refill the glass, but Xiao stopped her as well, shaking his head.
"Only one glass, remember?"
Jade moaned. "Just a little more!"
"No. Give me that glass." Xiao snatched the glass from her hand and kept it at a safe distance.
"You are beautiful, Jade," Hsi Wu stated gratuitously, surprising Jade.
"Really?" she asked, blushing slightly.
"Yes. Why don't you wait for me upstairs, in your new room?" the sky demon proposed, making Xiao Fung slit his eyes. Jade giggled and nodded.
"All right, I'm going." She stood up and went upstairs, feeling unusually and mysteriously cheerful. Only when she got there, she stopped and thought better. "Hmm... Why do I have the feeling he said that just to make me move away from that wonderful potion?"
'Do not cry...' a voice echoed in her mind. She could not identify its owner.
"Who is there?" Bai Tsa asked at the darkness around her, but her voice just echoed sadly.
'Do not cry, you never cried because of a human...'
That was true. Bai Tsa had never cried because of a human. Or had she? She did not remember having ever done that. Even so, she had the feeling that had happened once, though she had preferred to forget it.
'... and from now on, I shall never cry because of a human again...' her own voice was heard.
Bai Tsa's eyes widened. Had she said that? Then, another voice was heard, but this time she could recognise it.
'At least not until he returns. If you ever cry because a human again, you will know that he is back,' her brother Tso Lan said. For some reason, Bai Tsa got angry when hearing those words.
"That will never happen! I will not make the same mistake again!" Bai Tsa shouted in unison with her other self, who she could not see. She was so confused. Why had she said that? Why was she feeling so miserable? "I will never fall in love with a human again..." she and the other voice bitterly muttered at the same time.
'I will come back for you...' the mysterious voice echoed one more time. Bai Tsa felt tears of sadness and hatred coming to her eyes.
"Quiet! Be quiet, all of you! Leave me alone!"
"Bai Tsa!" a louder and echoless voice called her and the mermaid woke with a startle. She was in the sitting room, at their hideout, panting and coming out in cold sweat. Before her, Xiao Fung and Hsi Wu stared at her in concern.
"Bai Tsa, what is wrong?" Hsi Wu asked.
"You don't look so well. Do you want me to call brother Tso Lan?" Xiao said. Bai Tsa caught her breath and sat up.
"No, no, I'm fine..."
"Really?" Xiao made sure, sceptical.
"Yes. What is it? Did something happen?" she wanted to know.
"It is time for you to drink the second potion," the wind demon answered, raising the glass filled with the pink liquid. The water demon took it and slowly drank it up. She was trembling a bit and stunned because of her strange dream, so she took a glance around to get it out of her mind.
"Where is my slave?" she asked.
"Out in the backyard," Xiao Fing said, nodding at the door.
Bai Tsa stood up, looking rather annoyed.
"Uhn... Do you need anything, Bai Tsa?" Hsi Wu offered, finding his sister's behaviour very strange.
"No. Just leave me alone," she said dryly.
The two brothers shrugged. "All right..." they replied. Xiao Fung grabbed the bowl, sat on the sofa and drank the rest of the potion. Hsi Wu rolled his eyes and Bai Tsa took the violin before heading to the backyard.
When she left the house, she felt a cold breeze blowing softly on her face. She took a deep breath and looked around; the sky was a bit less dark in the horizon, but many stars could still be seen.
Bai Tsa looked towards the pool. Valmont had his back turned to her and was sitting near the pool, holding his knees and leaning his chin on his arms.
She smirked, pleased. "Good thing that you have understood you cannot escape from me," she commented in an arrogant tone. Valmont did not answer, just stood up and turned to her.
At the instant Bai Tsa saw his face, she dropped the violin. Valmont lowered his glance to see the instrument on the ground, expressionless.
"What... What happened to you?" she asked, amazed. Valmont looked at her again.
"Excuse me?" he asked coldly.
Bai Tsa blinked in confusion. "You look so... so... young," she said. 'Young' was the most neuter word she could think of.
Valmont smiled slyly. "I drank the potion sooner than I was supposed to," he explained simply.
"I see. That was very clever of you," Bai Tsa replied, recomposing and picking the violin. She slowly approached him, taking a human form. "Teach me a bit more," she ordered sharply, raising the violin and the bow in her hand. Valmont opened his mouth to protest, but Bai Tsa silenced him with her free hand. "Do not speak, just do as I told you," she said and narrowed her eyes. "Now."
He rolled his eyes and sighed, knowing it was useless to argue with her. The mermaid smiled, seeing he would obey her, sat down on the place where he had been when she had arrived, and positioned the violin and the bow. In an adult human form, she could hold them with more delicacy. Valmont knelt down behind her and held her hands to show the right movements.
While a melody was being formed, Bai Tsa could not help but smile. She felt so good near this man and at the same time, disturbed. As if there was something sorrowful about him that she did not want to remember. Even so, she wanted to be with him. And now, her mysterious happiness was getting to muffle that unpleasant feeling deep inside her heart. It was as if his proximity made her feel safer, even though she was aware that she was much stronger than him and definitely did not need his protection.
She could feel his breathing above her shoulder and his heartbeats on her back. She had not been this close to someone for... ages. She looked at the horizon, where the sun was beginning to rise. It felt so good that she wanted to stay like this for a long time.
To her disappointment, Valmont let go of her hands and backed away. He had just taught her how to play a short melody, now he was letting her continue it by herself.
She bit her lip and mentally cursed. "Hmm... Do that again, will you? I cannot remember all of it," she said, trying to speak as coldly as possible. Valmont backed away again – to Bai Tsa's even greater distress – and sat down beside her.
"Just try. I know you will remember everything," he said firmly but softly.
Bai Tsa looked away and prepared to play. Surprisingly, she moved naturally, almost automatically, and the beautiful melody was played one more time. She could barely believe it, she had no idea how she remembered it. It was as if she had already known it.
She smiled, happy for having made it. Her gaze fell on the water in the pool, where small waves were formed by the wind. Even with chlorine, her element inspired her – as usual – and she added some notes to the melody. The sun had fully risen by now, reflecting on the water. Bai Tsa could smell the salty water of the ocean, sensing the sea near San Francisco. That gave her even more inspiration.
When she finished, Valmont, who looked rather uneasy, stood up. Surprised, Bai Tsa turned to him.
"Hey, where do you think you are going?" she asked.
"I'm going in," he quickly answered. Bai Tsa put the violin and the bow aside and got up to stop him.
"Wait-" she said, but because she got up too fast and was not so used to human legs yet, she sprained her ankle and fell to the ground.
Or rather, she would have fallen, if Valmont had not held her. Well, she practically almost fell on him as well, it had actually been a reflex of him. Even so, they two froze in that position; Bai Tsa being held in Valmont's arms, the both of them facing each other. If he were any other person – or even one of her siblings –, Bai Tsa would have already pushed him away and made some nasty comments. However, she could just keep staring at those blue eyes.
She vaguely noted that their faces were approaching. As if those eyes were attracting her, trying to remind her of something. Now she was at few centimetres away and her lips were almost touching his.
"What are you two doing?" Xiao Fung's voice made them startle and Valmont accidentally let go of Bai Tsa, which caused her to painfully fall to the ground. The water demon yelped and he flinched. She shot him a deadly glare and he looked nervously at her, probably praying that she would not hit him again for that.
She then remembered Xiao Fung, who was standing by the door, open-mouthed. She got up and cleared her throat.
"He was teaching me how to play violin," she answered.
"But it did not look like he was teaching you how to play violin. That instrument is on the ground, there, and you were... you..." He pointed at them, incredulous. Bai Tsa and Valmont avoided glancing at each other.
"It's just that I sprained my ankle and almost fell, so he held me. It is nothing you are thinking," the water demon explained. Xiao hardly laughed.
"That is what everyone says," he remarked and Bai Tsa's eyes glowed red.
"Xiao, nothing was happening! Take care of your own business!" she shouted, angry.
The wind demon took a step back. He did not mean to anger his sister like that, it could be too dangerous. The mermaid turned around to get the violin and the bow and then rushed into the house, glaring daggers ay her brother when she went past him. Xiao flinched and waited until she was gone to turn to Valmont.
"You," he called, pointing at him. "The others want you and that other human to go and get more food, because it is all over. Oh, and I have to go with you, to keep an eye on you." He rolled his eyes at the last sentence, obviously not appreciating the idea of babysitting mortals.
Jade did not know why, but now that she was an adult again, she felt infinitely better. She was not even having stomach-aches anymore. She just wished she could have slept a bit more. She could only sleep from five until eleven in the morning, when Hsi Wu had waken her up saying that his siblings had demanded that she went to get more food.
She went downstairs, hiding a yawn, and headed to the sitting room, where most of the demons were. Dai Gui, Tso Lan and Shendu were the only ones who were not around, but Jade did not bother to wonder why.
"You!" Po Kong said, pointing at the girl. Jade raised her eyebrows.
"Me?"
"Is it true there is a lot of food in those..." The mountain demons glanced at Valmont before going on, "... supermarkets?"
"Yeah, that's true," Jade answered, not getting Po Kong's point.
"Then I am coming with you!" the mountain demon announced.
"Good, now I don't have to go, right?" Xiao said hopefully. "Come on, I spent the whole night watching those mortals, give me a break."
"Whatever, Xiao. I want to go. Someone has to save some food from Po Kong," Bai Tsa said.
"Hey!" her sister protested.
"Go on, then! I want to see a banquet tonight for our meeting!" Tchang Zu demanded.
"What meeting?" Jade asked curiously.
"It is none of your business," the thunder demon growled.
"Let's go already," Bai Tsa called, standing by the door, one hand on the doorknob and the other grabbing Valmont's wrist.
"Wait! I am coming with you, too!" Hsi Wu decided at the last moment.
"I don't like this. I just hope no Chan shows up and recognises us. The group is too big, and that is not discreet at all," Bai Tsa muttered.
"Bai Tsa, relax. Right now, the Chans must be thinking of a way to locate Mei Liang," Po Kong said serenely.
Hsi Wu snorted. "And that is exactly what we should be doing instead of buying food," he pointed out dryly.
"Hsi Wu, we will do that this evening. There is no need to hurry. Mei Liang will not release her brothers today. Those things take some time," the mountain demon replied, annoyed with her siblings' bad mood. Jade, on the other hand, looked rather happy for being able to leave that house for a while and be around other human beings. Valmont, however, did not stop glancing around anxiously, as if trying to come up with a way to escape.
"Here we are," Jade announced and the group stood in front of a supermarket. When they entered, Po Kong's eyes widened and she gaped.
"It is... paradise...!" she murmured, amazed.
Bai Tsa rolled her eyes. "Po Kong, it is just a supermarket. And close your mouth, you are starting to drool and attract everyone's attention," she said, frowning at the people who were staring at them. Jade and Hsi Wu went to get trolleys and the group began examining the shelves.
Po Kong stretched her arm into the first shelf and dragged everything she could onto the trolley. Jade's eyes widened and she turned to Hsi Wu and Bai Tsa.
"Uh... Who is going to pay for all that?" she asked.
The two demons pointed at Valmont. "Him," they answered at the same time and Valmont moaned in frustration.
Ten minutes later, the two trolleys were all full and Hsi Wu had to bring a third one.
"Po Kong, control yourself," Bai Tsa said, watching her sister nearly filling the new trolley with meat.
"I can't, it is so much food at the same place!" She looked around and saw the biscuits section. "I want those too!" she shouted, pointing at them.
"Shh, do not shout," Bai Tsa hissed. Hsi Wu, Jade and Valmont pushed the trolleys after the two demons, getting tired of it.
The mountain demon filled the trolley with so many biscuits and candies that some of them fell to the floor.
"No, no, please..." Valmont murmured, looking like he was going to cry every time Po Kong emptied a shelf.
"Bai Tsa, you will have to get me another cart," she said.
"Only if you promise that it will be the last one," her sister demanded.
"Oh, all right, I promise."
Bai Tsa turned to Valmont. "And you, go and get the money we need."
"I have to find a cash machine," he said.
"Hsi Wu, go with him. If he runs away, I shall kill you both," Bai Tsa told her youngest brother.
They three went off and Jade looked at the remaining demon. "So, have you ever considered being on a diet?"
"Hmm... No," Po Kong answered, smirking.
Bai Tsa then came back with another trolley and let Po Kong have it.
"You take those two carts while we take the others and wait in the queue," she decided.
"Right," Po Kong answered, looking madly at the shelves with crackers. Bai Tsa and Jade went towards the checkout and took their place in the shortest queue.
"Did you know that the line you're in is always the one that takes longer to move?" Jade asked rhetorically, smiling.
Bai Tsa looked coldly at her, an eyebrow raised. "Dreadful, isn't it?"
"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you are just ordinary people in a normal day at the supermarket," Jade commented, hoping she would annoy the demon.
"Good, because that is exactly what we want people to think. We are in disguise, remember?"
"Tch," Jade snapped, frowning.
They were almost getting to the checkout when Valmont and Hsi Wu returned.
"Sorry we are late; we couldn't decide how much money was necessary. So, where is sister Po?" Hsi Wu asked quickly. At that moment, Po Kong came with not two, but three trolleys, which were so full that the food was falling everywhere.
"Oh, no..." Valmont covered his face. Then, the man at the checkout called them and they went on.
It took him quite a while to register everything and get to know the price.
"Uh... It's... hmm... 540.59 dollars..." the cashier said, unsure.
"Fi... Five... 540 dollars?" Valmont shouted in shock and fainted.
"How did it get so expensive?" Jade asked, astonished.
"Uhn... It must be because of all the wine I just got..." Po Kong confessed. Bai Tsa took the wallet out of Valmont's pocket and handed it to Jade.
"Get the right amount," she ordered. Jade took 100 dollars out of his wallet, raised a brow and looked at the three demons.
"It's not enough, we still need 440 dollars..." she said.
"And 59 cents," the cashier corrected, but was immediately silent when everyone glared at him.
"Then go and get more!" Bai Tsa demanded.
"Hey, I don't have my wallet with me, and Valmont is the only one who knows the password for his account," Jade replied. Some people in the queue looked apprehensively at the group – especially because none of them had bothered to help Valmont yet – while others began to complain about the delay.
"Why don't we just kill that idiot?" Po Kong suggested, causing the cashier to pale.
"Isn't there any other way?" Bai Tsa wondered.
"Let's cast a spell on him!" Hsi Wu hissed.
"We cannot do that, there are too many people here! Do anything strange to them and related to magic and soon we will have the Chans coming here after us," Bai Tsa retorted.
"Can we pay him with a slave?" Po Kong asked, pointing at the cashier.
"Of course not, Po Kong! Then they would really find out who we are!" Hsi Wu snapped.
"Hey, hurry up, you!" people in the queue shouted. Bai Tsa growled in exasperation and knelt down next to Valmont to shake him violently.
"Wake up, you worthless moron! COME ON, WAKE UP!" She yelled and slapped him hard, making Jade and the other humans flinch. The security guards frowned and glanced at each other, unsure whether they should intervene or not.
"Stop that, you're gonna kill him!" Jade said, moving her away from Valmont. The Brit moaned and slowly opened his eyes, rubbing his face where she had hit him. Hsi Wu helped him stand up and dragged him out of the supermarket. Jade slapped her forehead while Po Kong and Bai Tsa forced smiled to the cashier.
It was one o'clock and very hot at the city of San Francisco, especially when one had to carry some heavy bags with tons of food. Since Bai Tsa could not stop complaining, Jade had convinced them to take a little rest and eat ice-cream at a park. Even the demons had to admit they liked the ice-cream, which was new to them. The only one who refused it was Valmont, who was sitting on a bench – beside Bai Tsa – almost catatonically.
"Will he be all right?" Bai Tsa wondered, poking at his arm. Jade, who had sat on the ground next to the bench, turned to take a look at him up and down.
"Yeah, I think so. He's a little shocked now, but he'll feel better soon enough. He already faced much more shocking situations," she answered calmly.
"Are you sure you do not want ice-cream? It's good, look," the mermaid said, lightly shaking her ice-cream in front of his eyes in an attempt to revive him. The man looked at it vaguely, but then shook his head and went back to stare at nothing. Bai Tsa shrugged and kept eating her ice-cream.
Jade smiled, observing the whole park. There were many people of all kinds around them, especially children. She began to wonder what Jackie and the others were doing right now. What about Julia? The girl had been losing control over the jewel the last time, could she control it now or was it the other way round? In any case, she was in the hands of a dangerous demon, and that was not a good sign.
Her smile died and she discreetly glanced at Valmont, feeling a bit guilty. No, he certainly would not be all right any time soon, because he had more things to worry about besides money. He might be the greedy leader of a criminal organisation, but still loved his daughter, Jade was sure about that. How was he feeling at this exact moment?
She sighed and let her gaze wander around the park again. Suddenly, she saw someone who seemed very familiar. She narrowed her eyes and was sure about who it was. He was sitting on a bench on the other side of the park, looking quite depressed. Her guilty feeling returned with full force and she thought she should go and talk to him. She quickly ate the rest of her ice-cream and got up, determined.
"Hsi Wu, I'm... going to buy a newspaper," she said.
"Why?" the sky demon asked in suspicion.
"To see if something strange happened. It may be a clue for Mei Liang's whereabouts," the girl answered, proud of her lie. Hsi Wu thought about that for a moment and nodded.
"Good idea. I will go with you."
"No!" she shouted and everyone stared at her. "I... I mean, don't bother. I promise I'll be right back," she said nervously.
"Jade, wherever you go, I go," he insisted. Jade knelt down and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Hey, don't you trust me? I promise I'll be right back," she whispered. Hsi Wu sighed heavily, but agreed. Jade grinned gratefully and turned around.
She ran to the other side of the park, glanced back to make sure that was not being watched, and approached the boy who was on the bench. When her shadow covered him, he raised his glance and his eyes widened.
"Yade?"
"Hi, Paco."
To be continued...