The Blue Mountain (The Forbidden List Book 2) by G R Matthews Page B

the one storey buildings told of a time when the temple was more densely populated. During his time in the library he had never come across a scroll that dated the construction of the temple. It seemed as though it had always been here and to suggest anything else was heresy. There were, in some rooms, painted scrolls hanging on the walls that showed the hustle and bustle of the temple at the height of its power. Men and women of every colour, size and fashion, were depicted conversing, buying and selling in the market square, playing games. On the finest scrolls, ghostly images overlaid some of the figures, indications of the symbiosis of spirit and person.
    “Zhou, put me down. Save your strength,” she said.
    “It’s not far. Stop talking.” He smiled down at the small woman in his arms. In truth, the power in his arms and chest was intoxicating. He felt as if he could carry her forever. He recalled picking up his wife, swinging her around during the early days of their marriage, before Shui was born, when they had time to dance, planting a kiss on her welcoming lips. Zhou stumbled, his legs tangling, and fell to the floor, spilling Xióngmāo onto the stone slabs. She cried out it pain.
    Zhou’s hold on the spirit fled and a wave of tiredness swept through him. He dragged in a ragged breath and looked to Xióngmāo. She was lying on her side, her face towards him. Her eyes were closed. He scrambled on all fours over to her. Pressing his fingers against her delicate throat he checked her pulse, it was strong and steady. He sat back for a moment, gathered his strength and reached again for the thread of blue. It was there, he could see it in his mind’s eye and he sent his ghostly fingers towards it, to grasp and pull it to him. He could not reach it. He tried again. Picturing the thread and fingers outstretched towards it, making to grab it and missing. The thread remained out of reach.
    Zhou sighed and with no other options, slipped his arms beneath Xióngmāo’s unconscious form. Lifting her, he set out at a much slower pace in search of Boqin.
     
    * * *
     
    Zhou barged the door open with his back, shielding Xióngmāo, and staggered into the building.
    “What happened?” Boqin rushed over, reaching out to take Xióngmāo from Zhou’s arms.
    “We were attacked,” Zhou panted.
    Boqin laid Xióngmāo on the floor and bent over her. Zhou saw him check her pulse and then gently lift an eyelid. The great bear let out a sigh of relief.
    “Go and get a drink.” Boqin did not turn from Xióngmāo. “I’ll put her to bed. She needs rest. Then you can tell me what happened.”
    Zhou collapsed into one of the wooden chairs near the table and filled a cup with water from the clay jug. He was pouring a second cup when Boqin returned.
    “What attacked you?” Boqin asked.
    “Is she going to be all right?” Zhou said at the same time.
    “Yes, she just needs rest. She has expended a lot Qi and, from what she managed to tell me, some of it was drained from her. I didn’t get much else before she fell asleep again. What happened?” Boqin said.
    Zhou sat forward, pinching the bridge of his nose and started to explain.
     
    * * *
     
    “I’ve never heard of anything like this before.” Boqin sat back, a perplexed look in his eyes. “We must gather the others. Some of them may know what this means.”
    “Boqin,” Zhou said, “the horse creatures. They were the same. Can there be two of the same spirit?”
    “No,” Boqin shook his head, “there is only one spirit of each animal. One true spirit, at least. When you have travelled the Spirit World some more, you will see pale reflections of the Spirits. But of each animal, there is only one real spirit. All the animals of this world are born of that one. A Wu can only bond to the true spirit.”
    “Then how can there be more than one of those horse creatures?”
    “I don’t know and I don’t like it. Something has changed.” Boqin slapped his hands down