The Missing Princess

Hello, my name is Maya. I am a journalist for many events. This is the story of me encountering the Missing princess from an old Chinese era, Xiu Ling. I hope you could read this story that I'm about to tell, Miss Faith.

I was in my office in my apartment room when i had received a request from a client to investigate the legend of the missing princess from an old Chinese myth. They explained her tragic story in detail, :

Once upon a time, there was once a beautiful and kind hearted princess, she was the daughter of an emperor and she was loved by all. The Emperor had lost his wife after Xiu Ling was born, but he continued to raise her like any father would to their children. As the girl had grown older, at the age of 19, she was arranged to be married to the neighboring prince of another kingdom. But the girl refused to marry the prince as she is in love with another man, a farmer to be exact.

The girl begged her father to let her marry the man she loved, but unfortunately, he refused and told her that he did not want her to marry a commoner. Angered and saddened by her father’s words and decision, she fled from her palace to escape her fate.

She wanted to flee from the palace, away from all the royal duties that had been put onto her, away from the marriage. The girl had ran far away, towards the mountain. Unfortunately, the girl did not last long at the mountain as the harsh winter had taken her last breath.

Her father and servants had tried to find her but alas, her body was never found. The snow was too thick to find a body and the locals thought that she died from the harsh winter on the mountain. As many had witnessed her running towards the mountain. But there was no evidence to support that she had died.

Her sudden disappearance had made the emperor grieved for his lost daughter. And had blamed the young farmer for stealing his daughter’s heart, because if she had not fallen in love with him then she would still be alive.

For many months, the emperor had many nightmares about Xiu Ling’s disappearance and had dreamed of her haunting him in his dreams. He had heard that Xiu Ling’s supposed Fiancé had the same exact nightmare as the Emperor.

It wasn’t long for the emperor to figure out that his daughter’s soul didn’t rest in the afterlife of her death, and was filled with hatred and sadness for what he and her Fiancé had done to her. The emperor wanted his daughter to be at peace, so the emperor called a high priest to put his daughter’s soul to rest.

The priest accepted the request and climbed onto the mountain, as he was lurking through the snow, the priest was surrounded by a sudden cold mist. He was confused as he did not see any mist as he was climbing the mountain.

That was when he saw a female figure in the mist, the shape and shadow within the mis, it resembles a young girl with a pair of horns. He knew very well, that figure in the mist is none other than Xiu Ling herself.

The priest began praying so he could put her soul to rest, even if she tried to harm the man, for he knew the girl was suffering so much even before her death. The mist began to thicken but the girl did not harm him during his prayer.

After the priest had finished his prayers within the thick mist, he opened his eyes to see the mist disappear and no one was around. He was relieved, thinking he had put the princess’s soul to rest.

As he stood up from his kneeling position, he saw a single blue orchid within the snow that was a few feets away from him. He walked towards the single flower and uncovered it from the pile of snow.

The flower was unharmed from the cold snow and still stood beautifully in its roots. The priest prayed to the flower, knowing that this is where Xiu Ling’s body had lied within the snow. He did not need any evidence that this flower came from her, as she favored this type of flower from when she was a child.

After the priest had returned, the emperor thanked him for putting his daughter to peace and rewarded him with a bag of gold. Xiu Ling’s haunting had ended and she did not haunt her father or her Fiancé ever again.

At least, that was what they believed. Many tourists had encountered the spirit at the mountain, they say she was awakened from her slumber because one of the tourists had disturbed her resting place. And because of it, there were legends and stories about many people who went missing at the mountain.

The story itself should make anyone not want to go to the mountains but it did the opposite effect. Many went to the mountain out of curiosity or wanting to see if this spirit was true or not, which had caused many people to mysteriously disappear in the mountain. No bodies were found at that mountain.

And that was why I was requested to investigate the matter, to see whether this myth is true or not.

Normally, I don't accept this kind of request, especially about a ghost of a chinese girl who died centuries ago. But with the many cases of people going missing. Perhaps I could take this as a chance to see what is really going on.

I started to pack up my luggage the day I got that letter, and I told my husband that I will be out of the house for five days. He didn’t mind  and gave me a goodbye kiss as he watched me leave the house. I sighed as I drove to the mountain, feeling this pain in my chest. But I ignored it, like usual.

It took 2 hours to reach the lodge due to the traffic but in the end, i got there. I asked the front desk for a room key, went to my room number and started to get ready for the investigation. I picked up my purse that was filled with all the things that I needed for this and left my room. As I was on my way leaving the lodge, I asked the front desk about the legend of the Missing Princess.

They were hesitant about answering my questions but they simply said that they’re not allowed to speak about the rumors about the disappearance on the mountain, let alone those who had gone missing near the lodge. Guess the owner didn’t want the lodge’s reputation to be tainted by these cases. But really, the legend made the mountain even more popular, just for the sake of a joke. A suicidal joke, that is.

I sighed in frustration and thanked the front desks for their useless answers as I left the lodge. I started to explore the mountain. From what I read in the legend, the flower should be located 2 meters away from the lodge. Though, I had my doubts that the flower would still be there, after all, the flower would wither after many days due to the harsh environment. But if I could find where the flower once was, then I could possibly find the remains of Xiu Ling herself. It would be difficult to find the exact location due to the thick snow, but i’m not giving up.

I continued my search in the cold mountain, but I didn't realize that it’s going to be night soon. This was bad, the front desk told me that there will be a snow storm soon, and it’s starting to get worse.

I tried to fight off the storm but my body is slowly getting cold and weaker with every step I take. It wasn’t long that after I took another few steps, I slowly lost my vision and consciousness. I then collapsed on the snowy ground.  I can’t die here, I thought to myself. And just when i started to lose hope of surviving this storm, i saw a glimpse of a figure in the midst of the storm, and then I passed out due to the cold.

I thought i had died in that storm, but I was proven wrong when I was woken up by the smell of freshly made soup. I took a glance in my surroundings, I was in what appears to be a bedroom and I was tucked in the bed with a warm towel on my head. There was a fireplace in the room, with the fire being lit brightly to warm up the entire room. The room itself was decorated like any normal bedroom.

I was confused how I got here, but I seemed to get the answer when a young girl with light blue hair, blue eyes and seemingly odd pale skin came into the room, holding a tray with a bowl of warm soup, a wooden spoon and a glass of water. The girl looked young, probably either 18 or above. She wore a long white dress that reached to the ground with long sleeves that seemed to be a bit too long, with her hair being tied up into a pair of buns on either side of her hair. She looked so elegant and beautiful, like a porcelain doll.

“Oh you’re awake” The girl smiled in relief, seeing me awake from my slumber. She went beside me and placed down the tray on the dresser that was beside the bed I was sitting on.

“Who are you? And where am i?” I asked, demanding for answers out of her.

The girl looked hesitant at first, “My name is Xiao-Xing, I found you on the ground unconscious in the storm, so I carried you to my cabin to heal you”  She answered.

Her answer was suspicious, first off, i’m a grown woman in her mid 30s and yet somehow this seemingly young girl managed to carry me to her cabin. And second, no one had mentioned that there was a cabin in the mountain, even the cases of the missing people had no mentions of a cabin nearby.

“I’m guessing that you’re here to see whether that story about the missing princess was true or not?” The mysterious girl asked.

I looked at her surprised by her sudden ask, “How did you know?”

The girl giggled at my shocked expression, “You’re not the first one to come to these parts of the mountain just to see the truth behind the legend”  She smiled.

I thought I saw a glint of curiosity in her eyes, but I didn't ask her about that. “How many people did you encounter in this mountain? And were they still alive when you saved them?”

Xiao-Xing looked a bit surprised, though she kept her calmness. “I had met many people, yes, but i couldn’t save all of them, i could only save some, most had…. probably died from the cold environment by the time i found them”

I looked at her with suspicion, “What do you mean probably? Did you not see their corpses in the snow?” . I knew this would angered her but I don't care, this is about people’s bodies disappearing from thin air.

Xiao-Xing looked down at me with her blue eyes, she seemed to be in deep thought. But then for no reason at all, the girl made a pity frown at me. “Oh poor you…. You’re so blinded by your own fantasy that you don’t seem to see that your love life is going through hell” The girl grabbed my chin and made me look at her with her blue eyes.

“There is nothing wrong about my life, and you know nothing about it!” I hissed at her. I refused to let myself be taken in by this girl’s words.

She continued to stare at me for a few minutes before letting go of my chin, “My apologies, you just seem to be showing some pain in your eyes so i thought you had a rough life”

I rubbed my chin, looking at her with slight fear and suspicion, “Thank you….. For saving me…” I said, not wanting to admit that I was thankful for what she did for me.

Xiao-Xing looked at me, still had pity in her eyes. “No problem, when this storm disappears then you may leave my cabin whenever you desire to” She then leaves the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

I took this opportunity to recover, and eat the food that I was provided by the owner of the cabin. She may be suspicious, but if she was the one responsible for the missing people then she would have finished me off on the spot or left me to die in the cold snow but she didn’t. And instead, she took me into her home to save me from death. I’m a potential witness and yet, she didn’t kill me.

I decided to warm up to her after I finished eating, and things went well between us. Though she still had that pity look in her eyes. But i didn’t question it. The day before the storm was gone, she told me to return home a day early for reasons unknown. I was confused but i took her advice since there was nothing else I could be doing in the mountains, knowing that the story was just a myth.

I said my goodbye’s to Xiao-Xing as I walked back to the lodge to pack all of my stuff and return home. I returned the key to the front desk and drove back home a day early.

As i was driving home, i had a sense of anxiety and stress. My heart was pounding against my ribcage but I tried to calm myself by taking a few deep breaths and convinced myself that everything will be fine. But that was a false hope.

As I walked to the front door of my house, I heard a woman giggle inside. That was when fear and anxiety filled my heart, as I opened the door to see my husband making out with another woman, on our couch. My heart shattered into pieces but I wasn't sad. I was furious at him and the slut he was with.

He tried to make up an excuse for what he did but I told him to pack all of his things and leave the house with his whore. I had my suspicions that he had an affair behind my back but I chose to look away because I loved him. And when i was hit by the reality in front of me, i could no longer keep up with his bullshits and set myself free from all the aching pain in my heart.

Maybe this is why Xiao-Xing advised me to return home early and why she had pity in her eyes, she wanted me to see the truth and let go of him so I won't suffer anymore.

Weeks had gone by, I divorced my ex-husband after I kicked him out of the house and now I have a much better life without him in my life. I wanted to thank Xiao-Xing for advising me, so I drove to the mountain on a Sunday.

I didn’t bother to go to the lodge since I won’t be staying in there today. But as I went to where the cabin was located, the cabin was nowhere in sight. I thought i had maybe made a wrong turn or something but i was sure this is where the cabin was supposed to be.

I returned to the lodge, and I asked the front desk where the cabin that was 2 meters away from the lodge is. They looked at me with a confused look on their faces, as if they thought I was crazy or something.

I asked them what was wrong, and then... one of them answered : “ Miss, there was never a single cabin in this mountain. Just this lodge”