The sun was coming in Hēi'àn De Mìmì as we arrived. I stumped forward, stunned by the sudden shift of air. I breathed heavily, gasping. We're back in Hēi'àn De Mìmì, I thought. We were in the middle of the street, townsfolks and tourists peering at us in shock.

"You ruined everything!" Chang'e shrieked suddenly. I whipped my head around as her hair fell loose. Now, she didn't look regal, she looked insane. Unhinged, even. "Hēi'àn De Mìmì is mine to take!"

"Tell that to the cops," Ushi threatened, standing up.

The Moon Hare widened his eyes. "Oh dear..." He wasn't much of a talker.

I locked eyes with Xiong, who didn't seem to be nervous. What's his plan? Deep rumbles and tremours throughout the village. Screams and shouts could be heard throughout the entire village.

Suddenly, a corpse emerged from the ground. I screamed as the dead body dug itself out, walking crookedly towards me. The doing of the son of Zhung Kui. It grabbed me and yanked me forward, but I kneed him in retort. "Someone—get off—kill it!"

Ushi sprinted to one of the fish stands, grabbing a large cleaver. The woman running the stand cursed in Chinese as Ushi ran back, jabbing the cleaver in the corpse's neck.

I gave a final kick, snarling. With all the commotion, I didn't realize that Chang'e, Xiong, and the Moon Hare were gone. Corpses started to spring from the ground as ghosts in every nook and cranny.

"All of Xiong's little puppets are taking over Hēi'àn De Mìmì!" Abahai cried out as the villagers swore in Chinese and went to protect themselves. "How are we going to stop this?"

I pondered this. "If we kill the puppetmaster, we kill all the puppets."

"Killing Xiong? Good idea!" Ushi punched a ghost in the face, but her hand fell through. Not all of the corpses were solid. "Go find Xiong and bash his head! I'll oversee Hēi'àn De Mìmì!"

"And she'll have help," a voice grunted. It was Chaluai with Jia next to her. Chaluai had a mop and thwacked it on the head of a corpse. "Stay dead, idiot!" She yelled in English, continuing to thwack.

Jia had a pan and wooden spoon, making a lot of noise. "COME ON, FOLKS! MAKE SOME NOISE! Protect our village! Let's go, townsfolk! Come on!" Jia's commanding voice boomed and she banged the pan and spoon together to make a rally. I never knew Jia could be so loud.

"Come on, let's go find Xiong!" Abahai urged me on. We took off, encountering villagers of Hēi'àn De Mìmì who were beyond horrified and terrified. I spotted a shadowy figure on the roof of my house.

Bàba and Māmā! "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" I quickened my pace, bolting to the back of my house. I climbed the fire escape to the roof, pulling Abahai up with me. My hands were slick with sweat as we arrived on the roof.

"Move and he goes," Xiong said coldly, holding Bàba by the collar. I screamed, reaching for him, but Abahai held me back. My bàba looked so sickly and this was going to affect his health. Xiong held Bàba over the edge, looking at me threateningly. He holds the power.

"What do you want?" I cried out, gasping for air. "Don't hurt him!"

"Your heirloom, the jade necklace, Xiran. Chang'e wishes to keep the heirloom that is hers, not yours," Xiong replied simply. I unclasped the necklace as Abahai let me go.

My left hand fell to my side and landed on something in my pocket. I carefully angled my body so Xiong couldn't see what I was slipping out. Māmā fan heirloom, I realized as I grasped it. I have a plan.

I tossed Xiong the necklace, my scowl deepening. Xiong was satisfied, throwing Bàba back to me. He stumbled, fazed. Abahai came to his side, supporting his arm. "Come with me..."

"You're making a m-mistake," I swallowed hard. "Chang'e is a heartless woman."

"Yes, and?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"I will have a share of the land, of course."

"You planned this all for years, didn't you?"

Xiong gave a sly grin. "I've known you longer than you'll ever know." I didn't know why, but that boiled my blood, sending me into a seething rage. I gripped my fan and raised my hand before slacking it down, taking Xiong by surprise.

The sharp end of the fan sank into Xiong's chest, right where his heart was. If he had a heart at all. I gasped in horror, pulling out the fan, blood dripping from the handle. Xiong choked, blood flooding from his wound and mouth.

He tried to reach for my hand, but I wiggled free from his grasp. "X-Xiran—" Xiong stumbled back, clutching his neck. He suddenly tripped over the roof's edge, falling down.

I widened my eyes in fear and shock. Xiong's dead, it took a few seconds for that to sink in. I watched all the corpses fall dead again as their puppet master's life slipped away.

"Xiran?" Abahai asked softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. I shook my head again, alerted. I turned around, tears in my eyes. "Hey, it's going to be okay, Xiong's gone. He can't hurt us anymore, we're okay." He enveloped me into a hug as I exhaled a shaky breath.

"X-Xiran." Bàba's voice was trembling. Abahai let me go as I walked up to my Bàba. He was on the floor, coughing and looking exhausted. Is he dying? I sobbed while trying to wipe my tears away.

"I'm so sorry, I-I brought so much shame to this family. I disappointed you and Māmā—you two were overjoyed when Nǜshì Lian pa-paired me up with Xiong so I wouldn't be alone." I sniffled. "I ruined everything a-again."

"You ruined nothing, silly girl, don't cry," Bàba grunted, smoothing my hair. My tears ebbed as I took deep breaths. "You won't be alone. You have Ushi, yes, I heard from your māmā that Ushi is leaving, but she will visit. You have Abahai, he's older than I remembered, more mature."

Bàba squinted at Ahabai, who was quite flustered. "Uh, thank you, for calling me mature."

My bàba coughed, wheezing. He's actually dying, I realized. "Bàba, I-I have something to tell you. Auntie Ponyo's dead, she died weeks before I was born. X-Xiong has been using her corpse as a messenger," I told him and his eyes went wide. "I think she died from the same illness you have."

"Family illness," he sighed, his chest going slack before rising slowly. "Watch out for that horrible sickness when you grow up, Xiran. You'll have to move on without me, I-I think I'm..."

Dying, I finished silently. "I love you, Bàba."

"Me too, Xiran. Tell your māmā about my ugly truth, okay?" When I nodded my head, Bàba let out another heavy sigh. His eyelids slid down and his breathing pattern became uneven, his body going still. Abahai rubbed my shoulder as I took a few more deep breaths.

I was devastated, but thankful that Bàba found peace with his secrets—the ugly truth. He has been holding the brunt of these ugly truths for his whole life, it interfered with life in Hēi'àn De Mìmì and his marriage with Māmā, but now?

He was at peace and bliss.

I let go of my bàba's body and stood up. "Are you okay?" Abahai asked, concerned. I am now, I nodded.

"Xiran! Abahai! We found Chang'e!" Ushi shouted, climbing up onto the roof, her eyes widening at Bàba's body. Abahai mouthed something to her something—shut up and ignore it, Ushi.

"That crazy lady is a kicker," Chaluai said, climbing up. Her usual outfit changed, she was wearing a very see-through dress shirt and I was able to see her black bra under. "And did I mention she's crazy?"

"Let me go!" Chang'e roared, stomping her foot childishly. I stalked up to her, mustering all the courage I had. She glanced at me, scowling. "You killed Xiong and expect me to be so hurt? Ha. I was never going to share the land of Hēi'àn De Mìmì with the boy."

I grimaced. "You're honestly so evil, Chang'e."

"Evil? I am evil? I beg to differ."

"It's the ugly truth, everyone has them. Now, how do we send her back to the Moon Palace?" I asked, pondering. I noticed a white hare struggling to climb the ladder but managed to hop onto the roof.

"Moon Hare!" Chang'e cried out in relief. "Quickly, help me!"

"I can send us back to the Moon Palace," the Moon Hare told me. Chang'e's face twisted into horror and disgust. He produced a mortar and the vial of the Elixir of Immortality. There was still some liquid inside.

"Like an alcoholic shot!" Ushi exclaimed out of the blue as if she heard my thoughts. Chalaui rolled her eyes, but mouthed, I could use some alcoholic shots right now. "We can reverse everything and send Chang'e and the Moon Hare back to the moon!"

"Traitor!" Chang'e screeched as the Moon Hare poured the remaining contents of the elixir into the mortar and some herbs. The Moon Hare, unbothered by Chang'e's rude curses thrown at him, continued until he created another cocktail.

"Master Chang'e," the Moon Hare said, his slender rabbit ears twitching. He held up the mortar as Ushi bonded Chang'e's wrists to prevent her from escaping. "I know you terribly miss your husband, Hou Yi, at some point in life.

"But his land, your past estate, will not replace the lonely ache in your heart. Your intent of past love has molded into something more sinister, eviler. You have proven yourself a danger to Hēi'àn De Mìmì and yourself. You must return to the Moon Palace. I know, you shall be lonely, but there are consequences to your actions. You took the Elixir of Immortality for yourself. You caused the pain you suffered."

Chang'e looked stunned, or more likely, blank. "I-I—" She cut herself off, ashamed. She shot glares at all of us but didn't say much more. The Moon Hare took a sip before raising the mortar to Chang'e's pale lips. She drank and closed her eyes.

Ushi backed away, releasing Chang'e. A searing light blinded us as the two disappeared, back on the moon. I let out a sigh of relief, glad the ordeal was over. Chaluai rolled her eyes. "Chang'e is still a crazy b—"

"Chaluai!" Abahai exclaimed. The Soontornvats argued as I looked back on Bàba's body only to see that it was nowhere in sight. I didn't know how I knew, but I silently thanked Hou Yi for watching over us.

I crouched down, seeing the empty Elixir of Immorality. Abahai and Ushi bent down with me as I picked up the glass vial, inspecting it. It was crazy to see how this tiny vial of eternal life caused so much harm.

But today—today, I would start living my best life.