The Secret of Yue

***ARTEMIS***

"Artemis?" Yue called and snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you going to ask that one question that's lingering in your mind? Or do I have to take a guess?"

The longer I observed her, the more I notice the look in her eyes. It was the same look as Liu Fen; someone who had been through a lot and gained many experiences.

"Fine. Why do you look like Lei?" I asked.

"On the contrary, it's Lei who looks like me. Or to be more specific, he looks exactly like my father, Liu Qing."

I froze. 'What did she just say?'

"What? I heard you correctly, right?" she nodded. "It's not the Liu Qing that we know right?"

"I guess I have to formally introduce myself now. Even though the Han Dynasty has long been ended," she stood up and curtsied, just like those martial artists I had seen in wuxia dramas. "I am Liu Yue, daughter of Emperor Yue, Liu Qing, and Empress Wei, Hong Qin Yu. I am also a core disciple of the immortal Lingjian Sect."

I was quite baffled at my seat and did not know how to respond. It was one of the few moments I would be utterly and genuinely surprised.

"I am also Lei's biological mother."

"WHAT?!"

My eyes widened even more at her last statement.

"But- but- but Lei and Chen's mother is Zhang Hao Ling! And she's dead!"

"Well, she was the legal life."

"Lei and Chen are fraternal twins. I mean they're born in the same-"

"Day, yeah. July thirty-first."

"Then how?"

"Hao Ling and I gave birth in the same day, but mine, Lei, was born first. And since the Zhang's don't want to ruin their reputation they made it look like Lei and Chen are fraternal twins with Hao Ling as their mother." she sounded a little bitter as she said those words. "But it's fine. I am aware that I do not have the qualifications of a mother."

"You can't just decide that." I retorted, feeling a little angry at her statement.

"Artemis, I am a warrior. I am not mother material."

Hauria's words suddenly echoed in my mind; "The woman, you have to help her."

"Is this what she meant?" I mumbled.

"Who meant what?" Yue asked.

I shook my head and eyed her. 'This won't do.'

"Miss Yue, no matter how much you turn the world upside-down, inside-out, Lei is still your son. You are still his biological mother." I said in a 'matter-of-fact' tone.

"Lei won't accept it much less believe it."

"You don't know that. Lei, he's… he's a lot more mature than you think."

"Artemis, you're projecting your experiences on him. But let me tell you, it's not the same." she said.

"What do you mean?"

She smiled and then sighed. "You grew up being neglected by your mother and stepmother. You craved affection and attention. When you met your real mom, you were easily able to accept it because it was what you needed. It was what you wanted. But Lei is different."

Liu Yue smiled bitterly once again. "Lei had a mom growing up who showered him with love. And that was Hao Ling. He already has a memory and the image of a mom. Do you get what I mean?"

I was just observing her as she talked and I noticed many things.

'Whoa, maybe I should've been a psychiatrist.' was a passing thought I made but I shook my head and focused on the situation.

"I sort of get it, but let me tell you what I noticed." she motioned for me to go on. "First, despite the smiles, your eyes look sad and you also look bitter whenever you talk about Lei thinking of the former Madame Zhang as his mother. Second, your eyes sparkle whenever you talk about Lei in general. And lastly, you actually care for him more than you think."

She was silent for a few minutes and looked guilty and sad.

"I think we should tell him. He has the right to know the truth about his birth."

"Do you think he will accept it? Will he accept me?" she sounded like she really wanted to but was very uncertain.

"It'll take some time but considering the kind of person he is, probably not too long. But yes, he will learn to accept it."

"Do we have to tell him about my background immediately as well?" she asked.

"Uhh… that? Maybe we should save that for last." I answered and chuckled.

"I think so too."

"Wait, another question; how do you know my father? And does he know about your… immortality?"

"Hahaha! It's not immortality Artemis. I merely have a long life span. But he never mentioned me to you?" I only shook my head. "Huh. That brat. I even used to babysit him or maybe he's just in denial?"

"What about Uncle Wu Fen?"

"He knows I'm immortal but he doesn't know about my family."

"And Liu Fen?"

"Uncle thinks I'm dead."

"Oh, sorry about that."

"My father kept it under wraps." she smiled bitterly again. Whenever the topic of family came up, she would do that. "I was born like my father, physically weak and with blocked meridians, but somehow I was a lot worse. His got cured by Aunt Riya but she was unable to cure mine. They almost lost hope you know and I was told that I wouldn't even reach sixteen years old."

"How did you end up in Lingjian Sect?"

"Artemis, do you know what immortal sects are?"

"I've seen it in dramas." I answered and I was pretty sure my uncertainty was very obvious. "And I think Lei had starred on some."

"Yes. Chinese dramas depict that a lot. And I've seen Lei's dramas as well. Anyway, when I was five my father had Aunt Riya and Uncle Qi sneak me and Tao out of the imperial palace and brought me to Lingjian Mountain."

"'Uncle Qi' would be Lee Hyun, right?" she nodded. "And Tao would be that guy who's cooking food for my brother and friends in the kitchen."

"Yes. He's also a teleporter like Kai. Anyway, the leader of Lingjian Sect succeeded in curing me but I had to undergo training and meditation for a very long time. I guess you could say I became a cultivator."

"Just like Seven."

"Once I was fully cured, I set out to Han Dynasty to see my family." tears started to fall from her eyes. "Mother was already dead, and father was retired. But when he saw me, he was actually able to recognize me and apologized repeatedly. A month after that, even though he was only in his forties, he died. Aunt Riya left and seventh uncle secluded himself. Uncle Li Er retreated to Langya Hall while the other adults I knew were nowhere to be found. My cousins also did not know about me so I just returned to Lingjian Mountain and pursued immortality with Tao."

She wiped her tears.

"I'm being too emotional geez. And I'm supposed to be really old."

"No matter how long it had been, or how good or bad your memories are with your family, they're still the ones that bring the best and worst emotions out of you." I said.

"Is that an advice from an assassin?"

"Maybe." I chuckled and she joined me. "By the way, you're an immortal or at least you're more than a thousand years old. That would mean you, Tao and Liu Fen are the oldest people in Earth right now?"

"I wouldn't say that if I were you. There are deities and old spirits that live among us." she replied.

We started talking more comfortably and shared some stories with each other. We sort of became close friends. I almost forgot that she was my boyfriend's biological mother. Our chat was cut off when Kyle entered the room and asked us what was going on. We told him the most important information in our conversation; "Yue is Lei's biological mother."

"HA?! But… but she looks way younger than us! She looks to be on her teens! Sure she looks like Lei so I was thinking they were relatives or something."

"Big brother, Asians tend to look younger than their age especially with proper care."

It seemed like my like my older brother's head was overheating because of the information so I just decided to switch topics.

"By the way, how is Xander with that hairpin?" I asked. "I was really surprised when he started crying upon seeing it."

"I actually have no idea. He's playing happily with the others right now but I did see him study it, or rather stare at it, this morning."

"That hairpin is made of a material called 'eternal ice'." Yue – should I call her aunt? Or not? – said.

""Eternal Ice?""

"Ice imbued with life force and powers. It's an ice that's alive. It will not melt even with the highest of temperatures."

"Even in a pool of lava?" I questioned.

"Unless that lava is magical then that hairpin is indestructible. Although I noticed that he seems to have some connection to it. Well, it's up to him to find out. Don't you think you guys have something to solve first?"

"Right. We have to help Tim and dean first." I turned to Kyle. "Where's the codex?"

Kyle headed upstairs and a few minutes later he returned with a stack of documents on his hand.

"Uh sis, we have a problem."

"What now?" I groaned.

"This?" he showed us the document. "Is not the codex."

"WHAT?!"

I grabbed the pile of old paper on Kyle's hand and looked at it. How did we know it wasn't the codex? It was simple; even though there was a pile of paper, only two pages had something written on it. The first page was the name Codex of Souls in black cursive letters and the second one had a short poem:

"The land of chocolate hills is in the east

In a country once ruled with a Spanish fist

The cave of stigan is the place to look

Follow the trail and find the book

Be careful upon your search

You might miss the birch."

I shook in annoyance and disbelief.

"What the hell is this?!"