A Love Written In The Stars

Mei urged her horse into a swift gallop, the wind catching in her hair as the competition grounds came into view. Her sharp eyes quickly found Yìzé among the gathered crowd.

Leaping from her mount, she strode toward him with urgency. "Where is Cheng?" she demanded.

"In the forest, with the other competitors," Yìzé replied calmly.

"And why aren't you with him?" Mei's tone was clipped.

"Escorts are strictly forbidden from entering the competition grounds," he explained, despite his confusion.

"Is something wrong?"

"Hopefully not," she replied, though her concerns were visible. The forest was treacherous, and without protection, Cheng was vulnerable to more than just wild beasts.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the rising applause of the crowd. All eyes turned toward Prince Feng, who strode into view, his chest puffed with pride as he displayed a freshly slain deer. Cheers erupted, and one by one, other competitors began returning, each bearing their kills with triumphant smiles.

Mei scanned the line of arrivals, but there was no sign of Cheng.

She cast a troubled glance at the darkening sky, where heavy clouds gathered, a storm was coming.

"Where is he? Why hasn't he returned?" her voice was barely audible over the restless wind, her anxiety rising. Something felt wrong.

Her gaze darted across the bustling grounds until it landed on a secluded entrance to the forest. Seizing the moment, she slipped away, making sure no one saw her.

Thunder growled in the distance, a low warning that reverberated through the air. She carefully made her way along the muddy path with only one thought in mind—she had to find Cheng, before the storm unleashed its fury.

Mei froze at the sound of voices ahead, carefully parting the foliage, she spotted Prince Yizong and Xuan crouched over a set of tracks pressed into the soil.

"The prints lead that way," Xuan said, pointing down a shadowed trail.

"Then we follow," Yizong replied, straightening.

As the pair moved off, Mei slipped behind a broad tree, her breaths shallow to avoid detection. Once they were a safe distance away, she began trailing them, her steps light as she darted from tree to tree.

The forest was growing quieter now, the calls of returning competitors fading as more emerged with their kills. Only Xuan, Yizong, and a few other latecomers lingered in the woods.

Meanwhile, Cheng dragged through the forest, losing strength as blood seeped from his shoulder, weakening him by the minute. He needed to find shelter—and fast—before the storm hit.

Through the haze of pain, he spotted the cave entrance he had noticed earlier. It wasn't far now, he pushed forward, his vision swimming as the first raindrops began to patter against the leaves.

Not far away, Mei wove in a rush through the trees, her gaze darting between the forest. Suddenly, a flash of blue caught her eye—Cheng's robes, her heart leapt as she rushed toward him.

Mei's breath caught in her throat as she reached Cheng. He was barely upright, his body swaying and his movements were sluggish. The jagged arrow shaft protruding from his shoulder was a brutal sight, blood soaking the fabric of his robes and dripping onto the forest ground.

The sky opened up, and rain began pelting down as she rushed to his side. She wrapped her arms around him, supporting his weak frame. His skin was clammy under her touch, and his pulse, though thready, still beat faintly beneath her fingertips.

"Cheng!"

"Mei..." he whispered hoarsely. Seeing her face, he nearly collapsed from relief, but her presence gave him strength.

"What happened?" Mei asked, she gently examined the arrow embedded in his shoulder, her fingers hovered near the wound, unwilling to cause him more pain but desperate to assess the damage.

With a sudden burst of energy, Cheng weakly grasped her arm, pushing her away. "No... you shouldn't be here..." he rasped, his voice breaking under the strain.

Mei's eyes widened as his breathing grew shallow, each inhale labored. Dark, inky tendrils began to spread beneath his skin, twisting and writhing like living shadows. "I… can feel it…" he gasped, his body trembling as the unnatural force slowly took hold.

But Mei only held him tighter, her arms anchoring him against the storm. "Don't speak," she pleaded, "Save your strength, Cheng. I'm not leaving you."

His grip on her hand was feeble, but his desperation was clear. "Go… please," his breath uneven. "I'm losing control. You must…"

The words were fragmented, she couldn't make sense of what he was saying. "I don't..." she said, her eyes searching his.

"Please…" he whispered again, his hand tightening briefly before falling limp. "Go."

But Mei ignored his plea, she glanced around and spotted a cave, its dark mouth just visible through the sheets of rain. "We need to get you to safety," she said, more to herself than to him.

Mei half-carried, half-dragged Cheng into the cave, her muscles straining under his weight. A flash of lightning illuminated the dark interior as she gently laid him on the hard-packed earth, carefully turning him onto his side to ease his breathing.

Wasting no time, she sprang into action. The wind had scattered fallen branches near the cave entrance, and she quickly gathered what she could find, along with medicinal herbs clinging to the damp earth.

Inside, she found a cluster of dried branches tucked into a corner, likely left behind by a previous traveler. She arranged them into a makeshift firepit, her hands trembling slightly as she struck flint to spark a flame. The fire crackled to life, casting soft light and warmth across the cavern walls.

Mei turned her attention back to Cheng, kneeling beside him. His skin was ashen and his breath shallow. She touched his shoulder lightly, and his eyes fluttered open, their focus hazy.

"Cheng," she called him. "you're safe now."

With great care, Mei helped Cheng sit up, she tore strips from her dress, quickly fashioning a makeshift bandage. "Bite down on this," she instructed softly, removing the first layer of her robes and offering it to him.

Her fingers trembled, but her focus remained on keeping him alive as she gripped the arrow shaft. With a sharp snap, Mei broke the head of the arrow free, and Cheng's body tensed up as a low growl of pain escaped him, his grip tightening on the robe in his teeth.

His face contorted, but he didn't make a sound beyond that strained growl, his eyes shut tight against the oncoming agony.

Mei relaxed a little, then began pulling the arrow from his shoulder, but before she could make any real progress, Cheng's hand shot out, gripping her arm.

"Wa... wait," he groaned, his voice strained as the pain tore through him, his teeth ground together as he struggled to maintain control. "Do... don't touch it... leave it."

Mei paused, her hands frozen mid-motion. She could see the sweat beading on his forehead, his body trembling with the intensity of the pain. She gave him a moment to breathe, to gather some strength.

"Cheng, I'm pulling it out now," Mei's voice was a warning before her hands moved to do what had to be done.

"Wai—" His voice barely formed the word before the pain hit. Cheng's breath hitched and his body stiffening as the sharp, burning sensation tore through him. Mei acted swiftly, pulling the arrow free in one brute motion.

The world around Cheng exploded, his body convulsed violently and his limbs thrashed with an uncontrollable force, he narrowly missed Mei as he writhed, the pain overwhelming everything else.

"Arrrrggghhhhh!!!"

A raw scream tore its way out of Cheng, muffled by the robe he bit down on, but it couldn't contain the excruciating pain that coursed through him like wildfire.

He tried to breathe, tried to push the pain away, but it was everywhere—overwhelming, suffocating. He felt his heart pounding in his ears, drowning out all sound, and every breath he took felt like shards of glass scraping through his chest. His body spasmed, thrashing uncontrollably, but no matter how hard he fought, the pain remained, an unrelenting force that refused to release its grip.

Mei, though doing her best to remain composed, felt his suffering in every fiber of her being. Each scream, every violent twitch of his body reverberated through her, making her stomach turn with helplessness, but she couldn't let go, her hands pressed firmly against him, she couldn't allow him to succumb to the torment that was about to consume him.

"Stay with me," her voice was shaky as she felt herself losing grip. She could feel her heart beating in sync with Cheng's ragged breaths, his skin was covered in sweat and blood, his face contorted in pain and fear.

She kept her hands on him, trying to hold him in place, but he seemed unaware of her touch, caught in the chaos of his own body. His breaths came in short gasps, as if the pain was choking the life out of him. Mei's heart ached as she struggled to keep him from slipping away.

"I... I can't... brea..."

Mei's heart squeezed at his words, a tear falling down her cheek despite her desperate attempt to remain composed. "No... no, Cheng, listen," she pleaded in a shaky voice. "Breathe... please... Cheng... breathe."

His eyes met hers, but they were distant and unfocused. He was fading, and Mei could feel it deep in her bones. Panic rushed through her chest as she fought to keep him tethered to this moment, to her.

"Cheng? Breathe... please!"

Mei was desperate now as she watched him slip into unconsciousness, his eyes losing their light. "Cheng, listen to me! I'll never forgive you if you go!" Her tears flowed down freely, a stream she couldn't hold back. "Please, Cheng, focus on my voice." Her hands trembled as she checked his wound, her fingers brushing against his skin.

That was when she noticed the alarming discoloration—his skin was flushed, an angry red spreading across his body. His temperature had spiked, dangerously high.

Poison.

Mei's blood ran cold.

Cheng's hands laid weakly by his side, his body trembling as the fever took hold. Mei didn't waste a second. She quickly returned to preparing the herbs she hoped would counteract the venom. The night was falling, and with it, Cheng's chances of survival unless she acted swiftly.

Cheng moaned as the fever ravaged him. She worked furiously, grinding and mixing the herbs, but her eyes were never far from him.

His eyes were barely open, the sight hurt her, but she couldn't stop. Time was running out.

Without warning, Cheng's eyes snapped open, and he rose to his feet in an unnatural, jerky motion. Mei froze, the leaves slipping from her hands in shock. His pupils, once as dark as the night, now glowed with an eerie scarlet hue, and a low snarl tore from his throat—a voice that was not his own.

Mei couldn't comprehend what she was seeing, her mind struggled to make sense of it all, he looked like a corrupted shell of the man he had been. "Cheng?" she called softly, as if to confirm what she was seeing.

Cheng looked down at his hands, like he was seeing them for the first time, a twisted smirk spread across his face. He took a step forward but fell back, growling in pain from his own body betraying him. Then, his head jerked up, his gaze locking onto Mei.

For a long moment, he stared at her, his eyes studying her with an intensity that made her feel exposed, as though he were reading her like a scroll.

Mei was too startled to make a move.

"You're empty," he said in a cold and foreign voice. Before she could process his words, he lunged at her with feral speed, his movements so wild that she barely had time to dodge.

Mei rolled swiftly out of his reach, springing to her feet in one fluid motion and her gаzе fixed on the man before her—no longer Cheng. The speed at which he attacked was unnatural, his movements were a blur of aggression. An oppressive, sinister energy radiated from him.

When he charged again, her instincts took over.

As he barreled toward her, his hand outstretched to seize her, she ducked and fell back in a swift motion, slipping past his grasp. In an instant, she regained her footing, and planted a foot firmly to the ground, her Qi surged forward, invisible yet powerful, flowing through her body like a wild force of nature. In one swift, decisive motion, she struck her palm hitting the center of his back with a force that reverberated through the air.

Cheng slumped to the cave floor, the unnatural light fading from his eyes.

Mei stared, both horrified and confused.

She approached him slowly, every instinct telling her to stay on guard, when she was certain he was fully unconscious, she gathered him into her arms. His body burned with an unnervingly high temperature, whatever force had taken control of him had left a deep, painful mark—one that seemed to have drained him completely.

Mei knew she had to break Cheng's fever before it did irreversible damage. She scanned the area, and then, by chance, her eyes fell on it—a small underground pool, its waters fed by the rainfall.

Summoning every ounce of strength, she lifted Cheng and, with great effort, dragged him toward the water's edge, his body burned against hers like an open flame. At the pool's edge, she tore away his robes and lowered him carefully into the frigid water. His breath hitched as the cold struck him, his body spasming briefly in protest before going unnervingly still.

Kneeling behind him, Mei cradled his burning forehead in her hands. She closed her eyes, focusing all her energy. Slowly, she channeled her internal force into him, feeling the healing currents flow through his body. The energy surged through his veins, seeking out the toxins, working to neutralize the poison that ravaged him.

Hours slipped by as Mei carefully maintained the delicate process of healing. Then, at last, Cheng awoke, his eyes opened in a state of confusion. The last thing he remembered was the ambush in the forest, the searing pain of the arrow, and then… nothing. Now, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.

Mei shifted in front of him, her hands trembling slightly as she cupped his face, "Cheng?" Her voice was soft but anxious, as though she needed to hear him speak, to know for sure that it was him and not the dark presence she had witnessed earlier.

Cheng's eyes met hers and he blinked slowly, unable to believe the sight before him. Her face, so close, seemed almost unreal. Was it truly her? Was he still trapped in the nightmare? He could barely find his voice, his breath shallow as he stared at her, struggling to process the reality of her presence.

Cheng shut his eyes, too exhausted to think any longer.

Had he wanted her presence so badly that his mind conjured this illusion? How long had he lain at death's door, hovering between this world and the next?

He opened his eyes again and saw Mei still by his side, her healing touch easing his pain. Cheng squeezed her hand weakly, needing to be sure. No, this wasn't a dream—she was really here.

Mei smiled with relief. His mind was clear for the first time since the attack, and the fever had broken. Now, they just had to survive until help arrived.

She crushed the herbs and packed them around his injury, quickly stopping the bleeding and wrapping the wound.

As Cheng fell into a deep, exhausted sleep on the cold floor, Mei kept tending the fire. Though his condition had improved, she still couldn't shake her worry.

She watched him as he slept, the firelight casting shadows on his face. Even while resting, signs of pain still showed. Her Qi had cleared the toxins, but the trauma to his body would take longer to mend.

Mei gently touched his forehead. The fever had not come back, but his face was still pale. She knew this would be a long night.