It all looked blurry. The greens from the leaves and the gray created by their background fused together into a cloud of nothingness. Xián Leng had been running with Pamella for some time now. She wondered where his stamina came from; he didn't show any sweat drops, or an exhausted expression. On the other hand, Pamella was. She was still in Xián Leng's arms, clenching her severed arm's shoulder, or what rested of it.

The kaleidoscope effect Xián Leng's running and jumping, made her giddy and nauseous. She felt something stuck on her chest and throat wanting to come out but couldn't. She lowered her eyelids; squinting and patted Xián Leng's chest. Without stopping, he asked,

- What is it?... What's wrong?

Pamella spoke with difficulty. Both the pain on her arm and nausea took most of her minds worries. She

could only murmur,

- Stop... Stop... Throat... Hu... Hurts...

Xián Leng started to slow down.

- What?

Pamella lightly punched his chest, not even in a matter of violence, but she was obviously trying to tell him something was urgent.

- Sto...Stop... Humff...!

Her eyes shot open and she covered with her good arm's hand, her mouth. She curled herself up, trying to get off from Xián Leng's grasp. He on the other hand wasn't going to let her throw herself off and fall into the ground or get hit by a tree in the progress. He lowered themselves and halted his race. Pamella patted him euphorically to let her down. As soon as her feet touched ground, she tried to run forward into a nearby bush but fell before even giving her third step. She stopped her fall with both her arms, but soon after felt the electrifying sensation of pain. It was too much, that as she clenched her shoulder, she angled herself forward and coughed out thick blood.

She coughed out some more, feeling much better than before. Xián Leng squatted next to her and rested a hand over her bent back. He calmly asked,

- How is it? Feeling better?

Her face and eyes were red after expending much of her respiration as she coughed. She felt faint and nodded. She straightened herself and was about to use the hem of her resting robe to clean the blood that trickled down her chin but Xián Leng grabbed her hand and said,

- We'll use mine.

But Pamella clenched his hand and exchanged a confused and questioning look. She had no energy whatsoever, to speak or do anything at the moment.

Xián Leng chuckled and with his other hand easily took hers from his. With the side of his mouth perked up into a small imperceptible grin he neared the end of his long sleeves to her red glossed lips. She moved back a little and moved her face to the side, trying to evade Xián Leng's action. He sighed and with a stern look and rash movement restrained her from moving any further. He roped one of his hands around both of her arms and middle stomach. He pressed her hard against him discarding the possibility for her to move her head as she pleased.

Pamella was feeling both breathless and tired, so she didn't put a fight. Even if she was against on the idea of staining that nice smelling robe; more like intoxicating it with the smell of blood, she could only bare it.

Xián Leng sofltly and slowly rubbed from the neck, moving up to the chin and circled around her mouth, only to smoothly pass the cloth over her glossed lips. Looking at them closely, the blood had stained those as if she had applied rouge over them. They complemented her pale and slightly flushed face and her watery eyes.

- Leng... Xián Leng?

He stopped his lingering thoughts and brought again to reality. Xián Leng cleared his throat.

- Ummm... My robe is black so, the blood won't be visible... You can stop being concerned with worthless things as this. Yours is to light in color and it would look bad if we walk around with you looking all blood stained. What would people say?...

Pamela nodded. It was a reasonable argument. The clothe that she wore before putting on the resting robe was also to light in color, which would have been worse.

Speaking of my clothe... IT STAYED BACK AT THE IN! MY BAG! OH NO! OOOOOOH! NO! NO! NO! NO! This can't be happening!

In an inexplicable way, Pamella jumped abruptly and stood on her two lower limbs. Her pupils dilatated and her head moved to every direction. She ran some steps and stopped, and again the same action. To anyone who saw her in her anxious and desperate state, it would all seem like they had come upon a mentally ill man. Xián Leng rose from where he had been attending Pamella and walked cautiously towards her. She was trembling but the air was fresh; not cold enough to make one shiver like she was.

Where should I go? I need to head back! The bag... THE NECKLACE IS IN MY BAG! Sh*t! Sh*t! SH*T! What if that general... What was his name again? Whatever! What if he dragged my bag and found the necklace? I knew I should have put it inside my top robe where I always keep it, but... But...

Xián Leng grabbed her by both arms, getting a painful screech. He let go of her broken arm and held her from the other, asking for her to look at him. She kept on looking downwards with eyes still in shock. Other than the out of the blue pain, she had a very vital problem to attend to and didn't know how. She was murmuring things that Xián Leng couldn't pick up. He put both hands on the sides of her face and made her raise her head. He was leaning too close but that didn't matter to them both. Pamella was acting like a maniac and he was worried the pain had plundered her sanity. He inquired with a worrisome look.

- Hey! What's up with you? Why are you acting this way? Is it some...

She exclaimed.

- I left my bag at the in!

Xián Leng was stupefied.

- Is that it...? If it is the bag, we'll get you another when we get to...

She moved her head from side to side.

- No! No! The necklace... The necklace was in the bag! I need to get it back! Who cares about the ugly bag! IS THE NECKLACE XIÁN LENG! Without it what's the reason to get to the kingdoms! Without it the charms won't work! DON'T YOU GET IT! WITHOUT IT...?!

He pulled her head towards his and screamed; eyes red and beastly.

- SHUT THE F*CK UP! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER! WE ARE VERY FAR AWAY FROM THE IN! THERE'S NOTHING YOU OR I CAN DO ABOUT IT! YOU'RE A MESS RIGHT NOW AND THE GOOD THING IS THAT YOU GOT AWAY ALIVE! YOU HEAR! YOU'RE ALIVE! THAT'S WHAT MATTERS! NOW STOP ACTING LIKE A COMPLETE FOOL OF YOURSELF AND REST! YOU HEAR!

Pamella looked at him as if he had grown to horns and if fire blasted out from his mouth every time, he screamed at her. She slowly started to speak but was interrupted by him with another scream.

- DID YOU HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID! I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE STUPID NECKLACE OR WHATEVER! SO, TAKE IT OUT OF YOUR MIND FOR NOW!

It's your STUPID necklace idiot, and the only way for me to get my body and my way home. How annoying is when you have conversations with people who don't get the importance of the stuff they own. Or even worse, to not know they even own them.

She plainly said,

- Fine. I won't speak about it anymore. I'll just sulk while you cure my broken arm.

She made him sit on the grass and sat in front of him. After a moment of puzzlement, she said,

- Well... Aren't you going to cure me?

He raised an eyebrow.

- How do you expect me to?

Pamella chuckled. It was truly unbelievable.

- Isn't there some fragment inside that memory of yours that is about CPR, First Aid, "Hello, 911 help!". Something like that.

He was lost in all the alien like speech. He didn't know what she meant by the last statement, but he tried to dig in his poor lost memory if he had one in which he had attended someone with such injury.

Pamella tilted her head sideways. She thought about the cultivation movies and written novels she used to read. She wondered if it wasn't easier for him to transfer spiritual energy to her arm. Can't bones mend like that?

- Xián Leng can't you use your energy to cure my broken bones? Surely you must still remember how to.

Xián Leng did remembered faintly how to but even so it wasn't broken bones for which he used his Qi. Spiritual energy wouldn't cure broken by Qi bones, nor grow them. It could alleviate the pain, maybe even make one feel his, or her body like new, but never cure it. He could at least erase the pain, but she required some other method to put her shoulder back together.

Pamella then thought about when in PE class they would teach how to "Massage and Bandage" the ones that got fractured, or broken arms, legs and onetime, ribs; although, that last one went to the hospital. Maybe, she could use her basics, but she couldn't do it alone.

Xián Leng said sternly,

- Stay still. I'll try my best to dissipate the pain.

You're the "Lord of Darkness"; the "Beast's Man-Dog Warrior"; the "Invincible Shadow". What can't you do?! Garden maybe... but... What can't you do?!

Pamella straightened herself and let Xián Leng work his magic. He raised both his hand and one went clockwise while the other went counterclockwise. Both of his palms collided and with his thumbs intertwined, he drew a circle with his opened palms; gathering Qi, enough to supplement the wound. He placed both palms over Pamella's shattered shoulder and energy flowed freely into it. She could feel it tickled from her shoulder to her whole arm, off to her entire chest. Even her heart felt like millions of butterflies fluttering inside, in any moment about to flutter like in tempest. Her pain was being substituted by a numbing feeling; pleasant to be precise.

Xián Leng stopped soon after and asked,

- How is it? Is it less painful?

Pamella didn't feel anything; nor pain, nor pleasant, just... Nothing. It didn't hurt anymore, but as he had said her bones were most likely still broken and needed to be attend to. If only they had something to wrap her arm in place, but they didn't have any of the bandaging she had used in class. She saw some nearby broken branches and thought for a moment. She took of her robe's sash revealing a honey dewey skin chest, and arms; slightly reddish at where she had gotten hit. Xián Leng suddenly grabbing her robe and stopping it from falling from her shoulders more than it had, inquired.

- What are you doing?!

Pamella held unto her sash and without showing her true embarrassed discomfort coolly answered.

- What do you mean? Didn't you say I needed to attend to it even if you helped with your Qi? Well, this is the only way I can think of. You just need to let go of the robe and help me knot this in place.

Xián Leng nodded. It was far better to get her to a doctor, but they were definitely too far from one.

After they finished hanging Pamella's arm in place and giving support to her shoulder with the branches they waited for Hei Bao to get back and meet them. It was rather late, and there was still no sign of Hei Bao. The air was picking up and it remained fresh for some time, but it later started to make the half-naked one get goosebumps.

Pamella tried hugging herself with her good arm, but it didn't help at all and even if she put the top of her robe over her, the air would find a way to sneak in and give her cold smooshes on her skin. Xián Leng saw she was having some trouble with getting warmed up and scooted over to her.

She sneezed a little and cleaned her nose with the hem of her robe. A warm and pleasant-smelling piece of cloth wrapped around her; seconds later she recognized it. She turned and saw that Xián Leng was next to her looking at nothing beyond the trees. Without looking at her inquiring face, he stated.

- You were shivering. Thought you needed it.

He referred to the same cape he lent her the time they fought; more him than her, the water ghouls. She didn't answer immediately but she mumbled her thanx and tucked it closer to her body. She sank into it leaving only her eyes and nose a top from her cloth nest. She breathed in.

Even if he hadn't giving some of his energy, just this was enough to make me forget the pain and the worthlessness of my arm.

The cape was warm; making her drowsy. Her body swayed and her eyelids slowly closed and opened, evading to fall asleep.

Xián Leng raised himself and sat in front of Pamella, shifted his shoulder and chest towards her. He placed his hand on the back of her head and made her lean unto him.

- Rest if you're tired. How... How did it feel to have your shoulder broken like that?

Pamella closed her eyes and answered; leaning a little closer than before.

- I felt like dying and I've never died, so imagine that feeling. An unimaginable feeling that can't be put into words.

She paused and thought for a moment; planning her next question.

- Xián Leng...

- What?

She softly caressed her hanging arm.

- Have you dreamt more about... about your past...

He chuckled and glanced down at her.

- Where did you come to the conclusion those dreams are from my past...? I never thought so.

Pamella shifted a little.

- They aren't?

- It is not that they aren't, but I rather think they aren't. In most of them the people in them they don't have any faces. The dreams also turn into nightmares in the majority of cases; unpleasant things I do not wish to talk or think about happen. So, I abruptly make myself wake up.

She asked,

- How?

He sighed and unconsciously stroked her hair.

- I just... I kill myself.

- ?!

Pamella was stunned.

- Of course, I don't die but I either slit my throat, hang myself, drown, or jump off a cliff. The real pain transforms into sadness when I wake up.

Pamella straightened to look at him face to face.

- Do you remember their voices, do you recognize them? Don't you feel pained to not know most of your past, or yourself?

It was an irony because, she was the one that didn't want to let him know about his identity or his past misdoings. And here she was asking if it didn't bother him being oblivious. She started to feel bad for Xián Leng and considered telling him, but the place and time weren't the ideal.

Maybe, when we are at Jīnhuáng I'll tell him... A little... A little at a time... Not all... But I'll tell him.

The flower smell on Xián Leng made her curious as well.

- Xián Leng...

He looked back at her, commenting,

- You sure are full of questions today.

Pamella continued.

- I just feel like I want to know things about you, even if you can't answer them all. The books don't know everything about you, especially your personal stuff.

He raised an eyebrow.

- Stuff?

- Yeah! Like, some of your things, you don't remember but the less relevant you do. I want to know about those.

He laughed.

- You want to know about insignificant "stuff" about me? If it is unimportant, why would you want to learn about them "stuff"?

She knew her wording was being made fun of, but she ignored that fact and asked.

- You know, you and your cape smell good; like flowers, but in all of them I've smelled, I never smelled a flower like it. Do you know its name?

She was referring to the red flower from the tree Xián Leng had appeared from. He answered,

- I myself have never seen or smelled anything like it either, but to be honest I don't know how it smells.

Pamella looked at him shocked. Confused she asked.

- You don't?! But, it's all over you. I can even tell when you are near or far off. The smell is very potent. How come you don't...

He again made Pamella lean on him. Hugging her lean muscled masculine yet soft body unto his chest.

- If you like it so much, you can rest while you smell more of it.

Pamella tried to push him away, but she was embraced stronger.

- I didn't mean it that way!

He covered them both with his cape and leaned against the boulder's thin face.

She asked again.

- Have the flowers ever appeared in one of the dreams?

Xián Leng's breathing stopped. After a second it resumed, and he answered monotonously.

- I don't remember...

Pamella knew right then, he was lying. The breath halting, the suspense, and his tone of voice made it clear, but she didn't want to make him more hesitant. One thing she had learnt after meeting Xián Leng, was that he was sensitive and brought his emotions into the surface without fearing what could happen after. If she wanted to tell him the truth, she needed to be patient with him and not agitate him.

The two were almost one after all. If she didn't want to lose her path and way of thinking, she couldn't make Xián Leng suffer any more he had already.

So, everything at its pace.