Tunnel of Meditation

"Looks like we can help you," said the female bird. "Or, I can help you."

Ying Hua and Old Man Mo looked at each other. While their bodies were still floating in the air, now they were twirling their fingers over their heads, so that the wind gathered which sucked in some of the fruits that grew in the surrounding trees.

The fruits fell on the ground, waiting to be eaten.

"This is a reward for you guys," Ying Hua said happily. "So how are you guys going to help us?"

"Follow me!" said the female bird, leaving all her friends behind because they had to collect the fresh fruits so they wouldn't be eaten by other birds that weren't their flock.

Ying Hua and Old Man Mo's bodies had already solidified for the birds to see them. Together they flew towards the East, into the denser forest. The trees were growing bigger and wider with more and more bushes. Several predators who were hunting appeared, as well as several animals meditating to become a demon.

Finally, they stopped near the edge of the ravine, where a mound of earth was quite high.

Although she had not received any explanation, Ying Hua could tell that this was the location of the Yellow Wings Bird Temple. "The white energy of the universe is gathered here. I can see it. This must be where the temple is buried."

"You're right," said the female bird. "There is a yellow-winged bird that often roosts and builds a nest here. He's a bit weird so my friends and I don't want to talk to him. But since you have good intentions and benefit us, that's why I want to help you."

"Weird?" Ying Hua asked the female bird. "What do you mean?"

"The bird doesn't want to be friends with the other birds. I thought he was just shy. But he always refused every time we tried to take him flying and looking for food. He prefers to befriend the banyan tree in front of the Qing Palace. I think he wants to become a demon to get close to the emperor. Therefore, he asked for some information from the banyan tree."

"Are you able to communicate with the banyan tree?" Ying Hua asked. But unfortunately, the female bird shook her head.

"No, because the banyan tree has a very bad temper. Only that strange bird was willing to befriend him. Maybe it's because the bird often brings water for the tree, so they get along very well."

"But can you talk to the trees yourself?" Now it was Old Man Mo who spoke.

And even though the female bird still felt hurt for him, she still answered the question, "Not all trees are intelligent and can talk to other creatures. Most of them can only communicate with fellow trees. But the banyan tree is different. It's a little holy. I heard that it got power from a magic hermit because it helped him to survive. But no one knows the authenticity of the story."

Old Man Mo and Ying Hua looked at each other again, as if they were tired of dealing with this riddle.

"Then where is the bird?" Ying Hua glanced around. "He's nowhere to be found. I just found a banyan tree. There wasn't a single bird."

"It often just appears out of the blue," said the female bird, which now seemed to be flapping its wings even harder. "He is very mysterious indeed."

"Then how do we find him?" Ying Hua asked again.

But the female bird just shook her head, as if she didn't care. "My job is only to show you the location of this shrine. If you guys want to find the bird, then I can't help." Just as she flew and was about to leave Ying Hua, she suddenly screamed because Old Man Mo suddenly attacked her.

Not only she was shocked, but also Ying Hua.

"Old Man Mo!" Ying Hua shouted in shock. "What did you do to her?"

"She must be lying, Princess!" accused Old Man Mo without any evidence. "She must know where the bird is but won't tell us, because she wants to leave immediately."

Hearing this, the female bird rattled and protested. "I am not lying! I don't know where the bird is. You… you old horse! Never accuse others carelessly!"

"What did you say? Old horse?" Old Man Mo almost attacked her again if only Ying Hua didn't stop him.

"Never mind, Old Man Mo." She looked around and then asked the female bird to leave. "There's no point in pressing her. I know she's telling the truth."

"Did you just steal her brainwaves?" Old Man Mo looked hopeful. But when he saw she shake her head, he let out a sigh.

"But I caught some energy from the temple ruins buried in the ground." She floated and darted into a small tunnel that was beside the mound. It was dark in there and perhaps only Ying Hua's fist could pass through. But she knew something was hiding there. "He is in this tunnel or this hole. Looks like… looks like he's doing something like…" She closed her eyes again, trying to focus. "He is meditating."

"Meditating?" Old Man Mo looked even more anxious than usual. "Then how can we talk to him and ask him to help us, Princess? Do you know when he will finish meditating?"

"Unfortunately, I didn't know about it," Ying Hua whispered worriedly.

Amid their confusion, suddenly a gust of wind appeared from various directions, like being sucked in and gathered around a mound of earth that was more than the height of the adult human body. The wind swirled like it surrounded the temple.

Old Man Mo's body was blown away quite a distance and was even coughing with wounds on his internal organs.

Ying Hua turned her head, and then looked up. "This wind has the white energy of the universe. This type of energy will usually injure the demons. No wonder Old Man Mo was blown away and injured." She turned to Old Man Mo. "Does this mean the bird doesn't want Old Man Mo to approach?"

She was stunned and had time to daydream about how to approach the yellow-winged bird. Without knowing it the wind was now surrounding her and even sucked her energy quite strongly. Until she realized that her body was now collapsing on the ground and failed to fly back for a while.

"Princess!" shouted Old Man Mo. "Get out of the way! The wind sucks your strength! You may not survive later! Get out of the way, Princess!"

But before Ying Hua could stand up, her body was suddenly pulled by the wind and carried around in the air. Her body went limp, and her vision became blurry. In a short time, she fainted, and she felt her body crash on the rough and hard ground, slip, and finally hit something very hard.

"Princess Ying!" Old Man Mo's voice was heard once until finally Ying Hua didn't hear or see anything anymore.

***