Hua Shan's Western Peak Shrine

I felt around quite blindly in pitch darkness, pelted by wet blobs of snow.

My foot hit a crevice, and I stumbled.

Yun's sturdy grip on my arm tightened, and she pulled me backward, narrowly saving me from planting my face into the snow.

"Noble Concubine Ling, are you sure you don't need help? We could arrange for you to be carried up." she said faintly.

Instinctively, I turned to my right, where she ought to be. But although I could feel her hand on my arm and her breath near my cheek, I saw nothing.

In these conditions, where we couldn't - well, I couldn't at least, see even an inch in front of our faces, we had been steadily making our way up the mountain.

You would be forgiven for thinking we had gotten ourselves into hot water - how could it possibly be safe to hike up the mountain in these treacherous conditions? Perhaps we miscalculated and ought to try it again during daylight?

Nah.

It had been a practice for ages for this ascent to be done at night. According to the maps the convoy held, the last leg of our journey was marked by extremely dangerous tracks, with areas scarcely large enough for one person to pass through.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid.

My gloved fingers had nearly frozen over and barely provided any grip against the icy rock walls. If it wasn't for the trained mountain climbers accompanying us as part of our convoy ensuring our safety, I probably would never have made it this far.

As the night dragged on, I was gradually able to see more and more in front of me. One inch turned to one metre, turned to... whoa!

On the face of a steep, jagged assembly of rocks perched across a river, 20 something people perked in a single file, balancing packs on their bags and holding onto a thick guide rope.

Beyond the river, a temple stood in the distance on a raised platform, a worn path barely visible from the bank to the main entrance. Torches lit up around the perimeter cast long, sinister shadows across the snow.

We had finally reached Hua Shan's Western Peak Shrine.

Just behind the gates, a knobbly, bent old man waited earnestly, a thick coat slung over his Taoist robes. He had a round face, sagging cheeks and his face was etched into a permanent smile.

Upon seeing us, he moved forward with the assistance of a cane, and a gust of wind blew his hood back, revealing a shaved, shiny head.

"Abbot Xue! You needn't have come out to receive us!" Lu Qing Yu stepped out from the front of the convoy, immediately greeting him in a respectful manner.

He even tried to grab his elbow to help him along like a filial child, but Abbot Xue only dodged with surprising agility.

"Nonsense! You're the Emperor, how can I allow you to show courtesy to me! Go back, go back!" Abbot Xue hushed with fervor, his voice barely a whisper.

Abbot Xue suddenly looked up, as if sensing my gaze.

His hooded eyelids retracted, revealing clear, bright pupils and a sharp gaze. His eyes were a deep blue mixed with inky purple, an anomaly in the Huaxia people.

Then he abruptly looked away. "Come in, come in, all of you! You must be tired from your journey! Rest a night first, then we'll talk in the morning."

Abbot Xue waved his sleeve, and a group of monks filed out from the side of the temple, beckoning us to follow.

Hua Shan's Western Peak Shrine had a modest installation of guest houses along the border of the temple. Palanquins and piles of supplies parked around the back as well as the increasing number of guards as we neared the guest houses gave no surprise as to who might currently be inhabiting them.

Our convoy split as Lu Qing Yu and I were led to the innermost guest houses, the immediate entourage followed to attached servant's quarters, and the rest of the convoy had separate accommodation further away.

A hush fell over the night as we padded through the guest house.

The guest houses were bare, devoid of any striking colours, with not a decoration in sight or anything out of place. I was shown to a medium sized room and promptly shut in.

I looked around and examined the windows and walls before settling down on the bed. I knew that the guards were outside, but this was the first time in awhile that I had been left to my own devices.

The silence too was unnatural. In a sacred place like the temple, all visitors should make an attempt to be at peace, modest, and not move around too loudly.

Overcome with exhaustion from the tough journey, I fell into a deep slumber.

In my dream, I was back in my old world.

Aimless and disoriented, I stumbled along the asphalt. All around me were grey high-rise buildings dotted with street signs and flashing lights.

Music blasted from a speaker at the store nearest to me, which sold novelty goods. In one of the outer aisles, a small group of girls in blazers and short pleated skirts laughed and tried on the items in the store, before posing for a picture.

In my confusion, I collided with a passers-by.

"Watch where you're going!" an angry voice came from below. A middle aged lady with curly red hair snarled, elbowing me one more time for good measure before she trotted off with her shopping cart.

Was I.... Was I back? How did this happen exactly?

Everything was foreign to me now. The fast tempo and bass of the music, the lingo the passers-by used on the street. The smartphones and vehicles on the street. How clean everything was.

Had everything been a long dream?

What... What had I been doing before? I shook my head, as if trying to uncover the thick haze in my mind. Bare walls... the trek up the mountain... the temple!

A sharp ache formed from the effort. I looked down at myself, intending to inspect and see if I had really transmigrated back overnight.

That very moment, the world spun. I was knocked onto my back, then floating in the air. My vision turned to white, and a slightly sweet smell hung in the air.

I turned my head, and the next moment the stark wall of the temple's guest house entered my gaze.

I had achieved equilibrium at last. I could even feel the coarse bed linen beneath me. Surveying the room, I discovered something that hadn't been there before.

A small incense burner sat at the wall opposite my bed, with a single joss stick embedded. So that was where the sweet smell had come from.

I felt a chill go down my spine. Where did the burner come from? Had someone entered the room while I was sleeping?

For some reason, I didn't have a good feeling about it. I wanted to turn over and go back to sleep, to pretend I hadn't noticed anything.

But I did. And I was wide awake now.

The presence of the incense burner was boring into me, willing me to come over.

I crossed the room.