The Demon Prince leaned towards the furious Xiao Yu. 'I'll tell you something. The blow the old hag gave Ah Sa...yeah, it’s meant to kill,' he whispered. 'She's been hit with the famous poison palm of the old hag. There is no cure and even as we speak, the poison is coursing through her veins. She will die a horrible death. Your dear Ah Sa is going to DIE,' he finished, emphasising on the last word. He let go of Xiao Yu's fist knowing full well that he would not attack for the time being. Xiao Yu had paled in fear for Ah Sa while he listened and now he rushed to Ah Sa, cradling her in his arms.

 'You'll be fine right? You won't leave me right?,' he said through tears.               

 Ah Sa smiled at him through her bloody lips. 'Xiao Yu...Don't be upset...I...I'm not Ah Sa...'            

 'What do you mean? Of course you are.'     

 'No I'm not. She is,' Ah Sa said, pointing over his shoulder. Xiao Yu turned and looked behind him. He was greeted with a familiar shadow which caused him to recoil with shock and confusion when he finally saw her physical features.                  

  'Ah...Ah Sa?' Xiao Yu asked, looking first at the Ah Sa in his arms and the Ah Sa standing at the entrance of the cave. 'How...'  When Ah Sa saw 'Ah Sa' wounded and weak in Xiao Yu's arms, she lunged at the Demon Prince, dealing harsh blows mercilessly. The Demon Prince retaliated and they exchanged blows in this manner. Meanwhile 'Ah Sa' was explaining these strange happenings to Xiao Yu.         

 'Xiao Yu, I'm sorry but I'm not Ah Sa...I'm Joey.' When Xiao Yu failed to respond, she continued. 'After I failed my mission to make Ah Sa heartbroken so master could turn her into a demon, I went back to accept my punishment. But when I reached the entrance of his lair, I heard him conspiring with the old woman about how they had changed their aim from Ah Sa to you. They want to make you heartbroken so that they can turn you into a demon. They planned to kill Ah Sa, to make you lose the one you loved most. So I...I kidnapped Ah Sa through the green smoke and used my appearance changing technique to make myself look like her,' Joey explained. 'After that I joined you on the journey. When I kidnapped Ah Sa, I knocked her unconscious so I guess when she regained consciousness she made her way up.'              

   'Why?' Xiao Yu questioned, his expression dead serious.              

  'Huh?' Joey asked, not understanding what Xiao Yu meant.             

'Why did you change positions with Ah Sa? Why? Did you plan on preventing foster father from killing Ah Sa by taking the blow for her?' Xiao Yu demanded. 'Why did you do that? You are my friend! You should have told me! I could have protected you,' Xiao Yu said as his emotions overtook him and he wept. He hugged her. 'Now you've been hit by the poison palm. You're going to die...Why did you do that? Why?' He was going to lose his best friend. He didn't want that. No...           

     Joey was shocked at Xiao Yu's reaction. He loved her. No doubt as a friend but that was more than she could ever ask for. Her sacrifice was worth it. She smiled as she said her last words.            

   'Because I love you. Goodbye Xiao Yu.' Xiao Yu froze at her words. She loved him? For real? He thought that she had said that back when they had been travelling together to cause a misunderstanding between he and Ah Sa but now...Just as he was thinking these thoughts, he felt her head thump down on his shoulder. She...She was gone...He wept as he realized that his only friend in the world was gone forever.