for a moment, then continued to read the passage:
The members of the Meng family have a lot in common — being all stunningly good-looking
and
charismatic. Secondly, their power, which can either allow them to be extraordinarily optimistic or cause great
destruction, can be unleashed easily and therefore must be controlled, as it can cause great destruction. To be
able to do so, they
all have to pass a test held at the Great Wall.
Abigail’s eyes widened. How would she be able to make her way to the Great Wall, her destined
destination? She racked her brains: a magic carpet? A secret doorway? She practically turned the room upside
down and still found nothing special.
She kicked the book bad-temperedly. “I guess father was gibbering nonsense after all.” She looked down
at the floor as a flood of tears overcame her. After a while, the tears ceased and Abigail sighed. Her eyes rested
on the diary — a drawing of the Great Wall was roughly sketched on its last page. Inquisitively, Abigail peered
at it.
Suddenly, Abigail got the fright of her life. She was sucked into the book, falling headfirst into the
drawing and eventually banged her head hard on the floor. Wincing, she got up and took a look at her
surroundings, only to find an endless ribbon of blocks. Sure enough, she was at the Great Wall, the magnificent
architectural structure that people of Qin sacrificed their lives for!
Out of the blue, someone patted her on her shoulder. Abigail nearly jumped out of her skin, and screamed
shrilly. “Arghhh!” she turned and sprinted away, yet the person was faster to stop her in her tracks. The person
advanced toward her, and Abigail was frozen as an ice sculpture.
He spoke slowly but clearly, “I come in peace. Are you Abigail Meng? We need your help.”
Abigail swallowed. “Yes I am. Not sure if I can help but... I come in peace too.” She was lost in words,
and her throat was dry.
“
I am Benji, Benji Meng. Other than you, I’m the other person left on Earth who has Meng blood. I know
this sounds ridiculous but I don’t know how I should explain it to you. The Meng family is coming to an end!
You must help me restore the family pride and defeat our enemies, the Qins, descendants of the Qin emperor
who tried to marry Lady Meng Jiangnu... They have been resentful all this time for Lady Meng’s trickery.”
Abigail suddenly felt that something was wrong. The descendants of Meng Jiangnu all called her Meng
Jiangnu, not Lady Meng Jiang! She stole a sneaky glance at the approaching person, who wore a hooded cloak
and had his hands in his pockets. Could he be a phony? She decided to trust her own instincts.
Abruptly Abigail aimed a kick at the person’s stomach, making him double up in pain. Then she reached
inside his pockets, fishing out a pistol. She put it against his head. “Tell me the truth now, or I’ll shoot you.” She
ordered.
With his eyes wild, the man poured out everything, “I’m a Qin family descendant who’s been ordered to
assassinate you. Shame on you, your ancestor was a filthy hoaxer!”
A flood of wrath and rage filled Abigail’s mind, and she heard the sound of waves roaring in her eardrums,
mixed with the wailing wind. It was a sense of grief, fury and loneliness that she did not think any other emotion
would surpass. And she decided to let it burst free. If she died in this explosion of emotions, the whole world
would die with her. Let the last descendant of the Meng family die in a heroic blast of anger!
She concentrated hard and let her emotions escape in one giant, colossal BOOM! Abigail thought of her
father, her friends and the entire world that was coming to an end soon. She felt a sensation of freedom, and that
was the last thing she felt.
* * *