- It can?!

Pamella was impressed. She had known by legend, and by the books she had read, that the necklace was indeed very powerful, or Xián Leng wouldn't have been able to defeat whole armies and have to his feet even the creatures of every realm. But it was still shocking to learn that a piece of metal could have the ability to do such things. The scholar reaffirmed.

- Yes, it can. Can I see that which you hold there lad?

Pamella handed him the necklace and he looked at it attentively.

- As I thought they were broken by force with strong dark spiritual energy...

- The charms, you mean...?

- Exactly! How do you know about that young man? Only few know about the true source of the necklace's power.

Xián Leng made Master Weng glance at him when he stated,

- That would be by me.

The scholar eyed him. There was something about the individual that seemed familiar. He inquired,

- Do I know you? I've seen you somewhere before.

Xián Leng's head slightly tilted in confusion. He didn't recall knowing a Taoist scholar with the name Lăo Wēng Zhén. But he was known by most people as General Hu Xián Lèng from the Ying Empire. The scholar continued with his scrutinizing, until Jītí bragged about him taking so long to get to the good stuff.

- Old man! How long are you going to keep them waiting?! The poor guys are waiting for you to tell them about that dammed necklace.

Hei Bao scolded the bird.

- Jītí! Watch your language!

- What! I am just feeling bad for our guests~

Hei Bao directed to Pamella and Xián Leng.

- Excuse his rudeness. That bird never learns to behave; his personality has remained as wild and insensitive as ever.

Pamella smiled at him to reassure him nothing was wrong with that; which was true. Pamella had a friend with a shameless personality that sometimes might sound rude, so she was accustomed to such remarks.

Hei Bao could only shudder at her smile and bow his head away from the penetrating sight Pamella gave him while she comforted him.

- Then Master Wen, please continue with your explanation. How does the soul transport works? Can it also transport through time? Is there a way for one to return to his, or her rightful time?

Master Weng smiled and looked at Pamella in the eyes. He closed the distance from each other.

He was to fast for everyone; especially Xián Leng. With two Qi charged fingers on both hands, Master Wen unexpectedly hit three times Pamella's chest, and two times her forehead. Everyone watched in shocked wide eyed, as Pamella bleed from her nose, eyes, ears, and coughed out blood, while clenching her chest. No sound other than coughing came from her; no exclamation, or inquiry, she just stayed on her fours coughing and wheezing nonstop. Xián Leng couldn't move. He laid there sitting, breathing at an abnormal rhythm. He clenched his robes into his fists as he watched the tranquil expression on old scholar who after hurting THAT person was now tiding up his robe's sleeves.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS...

But before he could finish his cursing, and question the scholar by brute force, Pamella collapsed. Both Hei Bao, and Xián Leng went to her aid. Xián Leng was the one that picked up Pamella and rested her head on his chest, while Hei Bao checked for her pulse.

There was none...

Even Jītí was worried for the pretty lady looking young man.

- Old Man! CAW! What did you do that for?! Now you've done it!

Hei Bao was trembling how could his master and teacher act without thinking. He didn't even know the pretty young man, and just went directly to expel his soul out of his body. There were various times, when his master would do absurd, unreasonable things that till today he didn't know the trigger for such things, but never his master, killed an innocent like he did that night.

Pamella's body felt cold, and was pale as the moon, and with the blood trickling from all four openings, it was a horrific sight.

Xián Leng had a chaos with his emotions. He wanted to go kill the man that did this to Pamella; not knowing why he would, want to avenge "her", who he met only a day, or two ago, and he also felt normal; there was nothing lost, everything was alright. He was starting to think of himself as heartless, and only could lay Pamella on the floor with Hei Bao at her side still checking for signs of life and sprinted towards the scholar. He grabbed him by the collar and didn't show to much trouble to lift him up from the ground to level him with his eyes.

flew away from Xián Leng's and his master's space, to where Hei Bao was with Pamella's dead man's body. Hei Bao was uneasy, but Jītí told him to believe in their teacher.

- Believe in his doing... Remember he means good... He knows everything... Everything will be fine...

The bird had tried to sound convinced, but the pauses in his speech established the fact that even he didn't know what their master planning was. They could only wait and see how the argument between the old and young men progressed.

Xián Leng was emotionally unbalanced and had only grabbed hold and lifted the poor scholar's body and left it that way for some time.

- Why...?

Master Weng kept on smiling with eyes closed, and slightly laughing. This bothered Xián Leng greatly. The man was unbearably shameless, something Xián Leng did not tolerate. He shook the scholar.

- Yah Yah YAH! Don't shake me so hard, I am an old man you know. Now now, don't be unreasonably violent towards an innocent blessed soul as me. Put me down, and...

- YOU AN INNOCENT SOUL! WHY YOU...!

Xián Leng was about to punch the laughing old man across the face, until he felt something like a push received at his chest. What was supposed to be a "push", and "smacks", tickled him, so he dropped Master Weng from his grip and gave a few steps back.

A foggy white figure started to materialize, but still looking transparent it was giving him a recognizable glare with a distinctive pout, that only he had seen on the now dead as a fish out of water person on the floor. The figure acquired the characteristics of a young beautiful woman, with a small stature; almost childlike. It had medium long hair, and big eyes, which if not been foggy they would have stricken anyone with a heart attack. The voice sounded of an innocent young maiden, only that it carried an angry tone to it.

- Hu Xián Lèng! 'WHAT IS IT WITH YOU?! Why would you be so violent towards Master Weng?! Master Weng are you alright?

Xián Leng steadied himself grabbing hold from a nearby tall drawer. He was lost. Everyone, except the scholar.

- Don't mind me young lady! Come sit with us now. It sure must have felt so tightened being inside a body that's not yours. Let's chat now~

The table was silent. Hei Bao and Jītí were intensely staring at the sitting, but slightly floating fog maiden in front of them, and next to Xián Leng. This one was some little inches separated from the plasma textured strange woman next to him.

Who is this? How did she know my name?! More important... Pamella's DEAD and I'm sitting here waiting for her murderer to speak up!

Then, the scholar started, and as he said he clapped in amusement.

- My fellow friends, I give you... PAMELLA!

Xiáng Leng almost fell from his seat. He looked at Master Weng, and then at "Pamella" then back at Master Weng. He was this way for about twenty seconds until Pamella with her warm undefined plasma hands, grabbed his face to stop acting as if he'd gone crazy. The feeling was strange, but he couldn't say it was uncomfortable; it was just, different. Xiáng Leng inquired.

- But... How? Who? What...? Huh?

- Stop that too! Master Weng please explain us why in the world, did my soul come out from that body? HOW to EVERYTHING is my question!

Stroking his well-kept beard, he smiled wider.

- I'm myself astounded as well. Something of your host body seemed rather strange, plus the way you moved was still a little stiff, which meant your soul wasn't accustomed yet to it. But what gets me more is that your soul materialized quite well for just a mare soul. This is amazing! I've only read their existence in books but look wat the Heavens have granted me! A LIVING SOUL! WONDERFUL!

He said this while laughing happily and drinking his tea. Pamella saw her tea cup and sweet bread, which, because of Master Weng's soul expulsion move, couldn't be finished. She couldn't taste them, but she could imagine their taste, and pouted at her bad luck. Pamella asked the same thing all were asking themselves.

- Excuse my ignorance, but... What is a "living soul"?

- Well Pamella, it's a soul whose body is still living, or let us say in its whole function, rather than living. It's not disintegrated, or decomposing. Both your soul, and body are still connected somehow; generating warmth.

Xián Leng thought,

So, that's why it felt warm when she held my face.

Master Weng continued.

- Also, for you to be materialized almost completely, it means your body is near. Possibly somewhere here in the capital.

Pamella's soul brighten up, and directing herself to Xián Leng,

- REALLY?! Oh my god Xián Leng you heard, that didn't you?!

- I did, but let me see if I got it right... You are Pa. me. lla? The maiden's soul who was trapped in that man's body and...

- And comes from the future! Yes! That's me!

Hei Bao, Jītí, and the scholar screamed at the same time.

- FROM THE FUTURE?!

She reaffirmed.

- About a one thousand one hundred and fifteen years from now.

Hei Bao exclaimed.

- That's impossible! No one, not even well taught monks have been able to move across time, and travel to the future, without disappearing whole in the process! Either they died, or their tries were fruitless!

Jītí bragged.

- You must be lying! You must be an evil ghost!

Hei Bao,

- You, dumb bird... Haven't you've been listening Master Weng?! She's a living soul not a ghost, or she would have been cold, and giving us goosebumps!

- But...!

Master Weng interrupted.

- Very nice observation Hei Bao! Now all of you stop babbling nonsense! The answer to the time travel lies on the necklace. The necklace has the power to make one master of time and space, thus, it explains your time travel young lady. It is truly amazing, that in just one day I get to prove with my own eyes, secrets of the spiritual world! A true living soul~ and even comes from such a loooong time! Today I am blessed indeed~ Hei Bao fetch me paper and ink! I must write this down!

Pamella continued asking.

- And... How do I get back to my time after I get my real body?

-... You must restore the necklace to its original state. You must find and connect the Five Wise Spirit's figures back on it. Only then you can go back to your own time.

Master Weng continued explaining while walking to the dead man's body on the ground. He this time hit three times his forehead, and two times the heart area on the chest.

- First YOU must find your body. It won't be long until this body starts to reject your soul, which can't stay out from a body too long, or else you'll disappear from existence.

Xián Leng was glancing at Pamella's foggy soul. This was the one who he had been fighting with all this time. This was the one he had been protecting and had made him feel strange emotions. The person was really a female. That explained her bashfulness when he tried to wash with her, and when he took off his clothe before getting into the water back at the pond.

- ...

Now recalling the events, his face became slightly red and warm. When Pamella looked towards him, he averted her gaze.

She wanted to explain herself better of who she was, to assure Xián Leng that she was real, and not a fraction of his imagination, but she suddenly disappeared from his side, leaving him again wide eyed. Then, Wú Chù Zhī's body sprang up.

Master Weng,

- Now, now... Don't rush it, or you'll make yourself dizzy. Here eat some bread, it'll make you feel better. Hei Bao, Jītí! Come! Help me clean up, and show our guests the way to the bathhouse, and their room.

Pamella was eating hungrily the bread and was too distracted that she didn't pick up what the old scholar said. Xián Leng thought,

I might be imagining thing, but that old man had just said everything in singular for two people. Not just that, a man and a...

He looked at the "man" eating with glittering eyes.

A woman?...

He started to feel a little bit uneasy.

Master Weng, Hei Bao and Jītí came back to the room.

- I don't want dirty people to sleep and walk around the home I lend them! Now you three go, and wash yourselves, if you don't want me to throw you out!

Hei Bao exclaimed while blushing.

- Excuse me! Master Weng I can't...

- Nonsense! The bathhouse is like the size of this room! It'll hold you three perfectly. You two stop looking like I've sentenced you to death; especially you miss. Judging from your expression, I guess you haven't bath in a public bathhouse with men before, but no need to fret these men. Can't you see they are perfect to bath with, your eyes won't suffer as mine did when a big Pig entered the bathhouse I frequented in my younger years. I was traumatized for life!

He said the last remark while shivering from the awful memory.

The scholar's statement was extremely shameful. Yet, as Pamella gulped down the last piece of bread, she thought, while looking at the red faced Hei Bao, and up at Xián Leng, who refused to even glance at her, but surely had his side face red, all too his neck, and ears.

They are certainly perfect to bath with!

She was the one who started to walk towards the bathhouse, and with a smirk that could count as making her more handsome than she already was, looked to her back towards them.

- Well you heard 'im! Let's bath~

Both now they now wondered if it was the other way around. Shouldn't they be the ones to be frightened of her...

[Jiĕ]- Chinese for Miss. I was planning to use "Xiǎojiě" because it sounded more formal, but I read in the mainland now it could mean "prostitute", and I certainly don't want my character to be referred to as a brothel girl *lol*