The Pulse Between Worlds
[Chapter 1 — "The Crow Caws Again"]
Rain pattering softly on the tiled roof. Wind howling faintly outside the clinic. A single crow caws in the distance — caw... caw...
lee wanxia
(holding a herbal compress, frowning)
…That crow again. Every night, same time.
(glances at the doorway)
And the wind feels colder today.
xian
(nervous)
Shifu, do you think the ghost stories are true? The villagers say we’re trapped in time...
lee wanxia
(chuckles, half-hearted)
Ghost stories don’t treat fevers. Stop shaking.
(turns toward the window, whispering to himself)
That crow...why do I feel like I’ve heard that crow in my sleep?...
Thunder rolls. The clinic door creaks open slowly — creak. Footsteps drag across the wooden floor, wet and heavy....
lee wanxia
(startled)
Who—?!
(rushes forward)
Oh god You’re drenched in blood! Sit down before you collapse!
Drip Drip! Blood hits the floor..The man doesn’t speak. Just stares....
lee wanxia
(staring into his eyes)
Your pulse is slow... ice-cold skin...
(voice lowers)
This... isn’t normal.
unknown
(soft, deep voice)
...And yet, you haven’t run
lee wanxia
(taken aback)
Should I?
unknown
(slight smirk)
You should have...Most do...
Crack of lightning outside...For a brief second, his face is lit—pale, sharp, ancient eyes
lee wanxia
(whispers)
You’re...not seems...normal
lee wanxia
......
You're...Not from here, are you?
unknown
(coldly)
And you... don’t remember what you’ve lost
(leans in, voice velvet-dark)
But you will...
The door creaks again as wind blows it wide open...Candles flicker violently..
xian
(panicking)
Shifu!! The rain... it’s falling upward!
lee wanxia
(to the man)
.....
Who are you??
unknown
(quietly)
...Jiangshi
lee wanxia
(chuckle)
What... are you??
"jiangshi" english translation is "reanimated corpse"
jiangshi
(soft chuckle)
Let’s just say—
(tilts head, eyes glint)
—I’m the reason time forgets this place
The crow caws again Louder... Sharper. Like a scream stuck in the loop
"still bleeding"
Soft dripping. Wind howls outside the half-open door....The room is dim. Candles flicker as thunder growls overhead...
lee wanxia pressing cloth to Jiangshi’s wound...
lee wanxia
(little worried)
you still bleeding....
jiangshi
(quietly)
Only when I allow it..
lee wanxia
(Glances up)
That supposed to be a joke?
what you think it's on your hand?
(sign)
Idiot!!
I have to do something...
jiangshi
(dry smirk)
If it were, you wouldn’t laugh anyway...
Fabric tearing Wanxia rips clean bandage cloth
lee wanxia
(muttering)
Impressive You don’t flinch, You don’t wince, You don’t blink.
(sharper)
But you walked in bleeding and half-dead...
jiangshi
(gazes at him calmly)
That was for your benefit...
lee wanxia
(narrows eyes)
Excuse me?...
jiangshi
I needed you to touch me
(pause)
...So I could feel the thread...
lee wanxia
(little taken aback and confused)
The thread??
jiangshi
(soft voice)
Between us. It's old. Tied in another time...
(leans in, gaze unreadable)
You’ve forgotten, doctor... but I haven’t...
Distant bells chime—though there are no temples near the village. Air grows cold..
lee wanxia
(stiffly)
What th...
You’re insane!!
jiangshi
(murmurs)
Possibly. But you’re the only face I see at the end of every cycle.
(quietly)
The only one who doesn’t rot with time...
lee wanxia
(low voice)
That’s... not possible...
lee wanxia
(With proud and playful tone)
Cause I am the one and only piece god create....
jiangshi
(Soft chuckle)
Yes...you right...
Candle goes out with a sudden hiss. Darkness thickens...
jiangshi
(stands slowly)
This loop has begun again.
(quietly)
Again...Something is watching tonight
lee wanxia
(reaches for a lantern)
You’re not going anywhere until You fully recover and...you are interesting I want to know you more....
I like your suspense stories and about me that I really don't know about my self
(Chuckle)
I like you buddy!!
jiangshi
(stops, glancing over his shoulder)
That tone and lines...
(chuckles softly)
You used it in the 47th cycle too
lee wanxia
what did you say?
Sudden knock at the door. Three hard knocks. Boom Boom Boom
jiangshi
(voice darkens)
Do not answer that...
lee wanxia
(hesitates)
Why??
jiangshi
(turns fully to face him)
Because tonight...
(eyes glow faintly red)
...the thing knocking wears your face
lee wanxia
(little scare by seeing his bloody eyes)
"The Thing That Wears My Face"
Boom. Boom. Boom. The door trembles slightly. Rain hisses against the windows. Wind curls through the open eaves like whispers...
lee wanxia
(focusing on jiangshi's face)
you're not normal right??
I know...
(take step back)
Who are you??
jiangshi
(glance)
I am the one from whom humans get deadly scared
again door tremble slightly
lee wanxia
ok leave it i don't care who are you just tell me why you said the things that wears my face" what gonna tying to say?
(Whisper close to jiangshi's face)
Wears my face...you mean to say someone wearing my face on their face?
What kind of demon trick is that?....
jiangshi
(feels wanxia's breath on his face..)
(low, even tone)
Not a trick. A memory... unformed, crawling in from the broken loop.
(gaze sharpens)
It mimics your regrets.
Knock turns to scratching. Nails—long, dry—scrape across wood. Scritch… scritch… scritch…
lee wanxia
(voice tight)
I need to see. If it’s just a madman...
lee wanxia
I don't want to believe your talks but I now i feel you right in some places may be cause I feel abnormal till passed 3 days and it's supernatural...
jiangshi
(suddenly in front of him, blocking the door)
You’ll go mad the moment you look
(eyes bore into his)
And I don’t plan on losing you again...
lee wanxia
(Unnecessary he Starting believeing on him
and get shocked when he said that line)
“Again”? You keep saying things like that..
(voice softens, searching)
How do you know me?
jiangshi
(quiet)
I was your shadow once. In another time. You tended the sick... I fed on the dying.
(pause)
We existed side by side... until the gods tore it away...
Anyways I will tell you everything after it
first Just let me handle this
(he just placed his one hand on the door... looking he's just blocking the door with one hand)
lee wanxia
(soft, unsure)
What... happened to us?
jiangshi
(still, voice nearly a whisper)
You chose to forget.
(beat)
And I... chose to wait
Wind slams the door suddenly—BAM! Wanxia flinches. Jiangshi doesn’t move
lee wanxia
(heart racing)
And what if I never remember??
jiangshi
(soft, almost gentle)
Then I will love you quietly, in each loop.
(dark smile)
And bleed for you again, if I must
Fire crackles weakly in the hearth. The storm slowly fades outside
lee wanxia
(murmurs)
You’re so calm...
(eyes narrow)
Too calm.
jiangshi
(dry smirk)
Would panic help you feel safer?
lee wanxia
(grits teeth, then sighs)
You're insufferable...
jiangshi
(steps closer)
And yet, you haven’t kicked me out
Their breath is the only sound now. Close. Measured.
lee wanxia
(quietly)
Only because I want answers.
(beat)
Not because I... trust you.
jiangshi
(tilts head, voice velvet-soft)
You always say that at the beginning.
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