"most people would have perished" "what?" I looked around me,trying to see where I was. "Most people would have perished—while fighting the painted one" I looked at the woman in front of me. she had dark brown hair, it almost looked black, it shimmered in the light almost like obsidian. And her eyes were a light brown colour, in the light that shone from outside it almost looked like honey. Her face seemed almost perfect except for a small scar on her cheek. I looked the woman up and down then groggily asked who she was, where I am, and—most importantly—where Meilin was. the woman laughed at me, it was a melodious sound, which did not surprise me, a woman this beautiful would have a beautiful laugh i had thought to myself. "My name is Hua Chun daughter of Huxian" she said her voice like a beautiful melody made my head ache slightly less. she smiled at me softly then said "your name is Xu Baihe right? Who's your parent?" she asked excitedly m—my mom's name is Xu mei" i was silent for a while then hesitantly said "a—and i never knew my dad" she looked at me empathetically then said in a soft and gentle tone "most of us don't gods are busy people, too busy to be there for their children. Did your mother ever tell you who your father is?". "Godly parent?" I looked at her like she had 3 heads, my head hurt, I didn't know where I was and some crazy woman was talking about godly parents—does she really believe that she's half god. I tried to get up and run away but as I jumped up I quickly fell back down in pain. "Don't do that kiddo you're still hurt because of the battle" Hua Chun said softly while holding me in her arms. "th—the battle" i said softly trying to remember what happened "my dizi where is it, do you have it" i asked "its all i have left from my father "your—father" Hua Chun mused. "its next to you—we mended it for you, and prepared some clothes for you" i looked around me in a panic and to the left of me laid some clothes and on top of them my dizi i grabbed it fast and held it tightly while reciting a poem under my breath. "your father left it for you?" Hua Chun asked softy "can i take a quick look at it dear?" her voice somehow sounded even more beautiful than before, it felt wrong, almost unnatural to refuse her. It felt like if I said no, I might never forgive myself. so i hesitantly handed it over to her and watched her inspect it. I do not know what she was looking for, it was a simple looking dizi, some symbols and a small poem about the god and goddess who created the humanity Nuwa and Fuxi. after examining my dizi she smiled and gently put the dizi back on the clothes beside the bed then looked at me and told me in a stern yet gentle tone that i need to go rest a bit more and that she will answer any questions when i've rested enough and healed a bit more. after which she gently brushed some stray hairs from my face pulled the blanket back over my body and before long, my eyelids grew heavy and i was gone again
I woke up multiple times that day, or I assume it was only one day. for all i know multiple days could have passed. I remember seeing a few different people the times I woke up. I remember seeing Hua Chun a few more times just sitting next to me meditating, I remember seeing a boy with shoulder length dark brown hair, blue eyes, and glasses, and some other people too.
"how did you rest dear" Hua Chun asked me her voice sounding ethereal i tried to think of an answer but all i could do was stare at meilin. she was safe, but she looks—different. "your a—fox—person" i said probably looking just as dumb as i sounded. "a huli jing" she said looking embarrassed. I took a long look at her. Her eyes were the same brown colour, her hair still so brown it looked black. but now with a slight orange streak. and most noticeably she has fox tails and ears. "w—what's going on—where am i—what happened—" i had so many questions, but i figured id just ask the most important ones first. Hua Chun opened her mouth to speak but the tall boy talked first to answer my questions "you are in shāngǔ cūn, a safe haven for bàn shén, you were found by the painted one, a yaoguai of immense power, and somehow managed to not only live but also defeat him. and lastly." "and in case you were wondering my name is Xue wen, son of Taibai Jinxing" his voice was sweet and gentle, every word he said felt like a warm and gentle embrace. "come, put on the clothes we prepared for you and let us show you around the town" Hua Chun said, her voice made me feel at ease, it was music to my ears. I looked to my left to the left of me, there lay clothes folded up neatly and my dizi lay on top of it.
"What is this?" I was looking in a mirror at the clothes I was wearing. I was wearing a pastel purple hanfu that looked straight from the Han dynasty. I gently picked my dizi from the ground and put it safely in the dài of the hanfu. I looked at Hua Chun, Xue Wen, and Meilin and opened my mouth to ask more questions but before I could make any sound Hua Chun put a finger to my lips and told me in a soft, gentle, whisper-like tone to come with them. without saying a single word i simply nodded yes and followed them outside.
It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. It was a small village hidden amongst the mountains. I saw a 7 story tall pagoda, multiple temples I was dying to see inside of, a handful of siheyuan, a blacksmith, and so much more. This place was so beautiful it was almost impossible to articulate, just imagine the most beautiful place ever, a valley filled with tall trees, gorgeous white mountaintops, the clearest bluest sky you'd ever seen, and within it was the most beautiful town you'd ever seen, imagine a town in the song or han dynasty beautiful architecture and looking like it was filled with magic. I had never seen anything even remotely as breathtaking. It took a while before I realised Hua Chun and the others didn't stop to let me have a moment of awe and instead kept walking. I sprinted towards them quickly trying to catch up to them. Hua chun spun around and started talking about the village. "this—is shāngǔ cūn, it is a safe haven for us bàn shén. it is a place where you are safe. it is surrounded by magic borders, and illusions making it nearly impossible for mortals, monsters and even bàn shén to find their way in without either a child of Huxian or a huli jing" she smiled brightly as she talked every word making me want to pay more attention, i didnt want to disappoint her by not knowing something so i tried my utmost best to not just listen but remember what she was saying. We walked through the entire town, past a small river surrounded by rice fields, past a peach orchard, past the siheyuan, temples and blacksmith. along the way we walked past many people. all wearing similar styled clothes but in different colors. I didn't pay any of them much attention because if was in awe staring at Hua Chun until in the corner in my eye i saw someone, it was a girl—she looked a bit older then me. she was covered in sweat. in in her dài she had put a sword, i wasnt sure what type of blade it was, but it looked beautiful even sheathed. It looked just as breathtaking as the one who was carrying it. "what do you want" the girl carrying the sword asked in a harsh and bitter tone, but her voice was gentle, like a birds song in the crevices of the morning I could listen to that voice for hours not caring what was being said to me. "s—sorry uhm" i talked in a panicked and hushed voice trying to make myself smaller after each word i dared to utter "i was just admiring" i was silent for a score before blurting out "the sword—admiring your sword" in a panic. The girl scoffed and quickly walked away but behind me i heard both Hua Chun and Xue wen laughed softly and teasingly yelled after the girl "aww are you blushing" then continued walking.
"here we are" Xue Wen said softly his voice wavering slightly as he looked up to towards the sky. I looked at the doors of the pagoda and then looked to the others and asked them why we were here? "because he wants to see you" Hua Chun said in a tone i hadn't heard from her before. "he?" i said softly not sure if anyone could even hear me. "Erlang Shen, protector of sichuan, nephew of the jade emperor. one of the most powerful gods in the heavenly bureaucracy" i looked at him with wide eyes "a god—is here—and wants to—see me?" I wasn't sure what to say but before i could even begin to think of anything the door opened to reveal the insides of the pagoda. in the middle of the first floor was a tall, bronze statue of what i assume to be erlang and his famous Xiàotiān Quǎn. the walls were adorned with paintings depicting different gods, stories, and more. I looked around before a second before Hua chun whispered in my ear in a soft and gentle voice that we need to go upstairs quickly, that erlang was not fond of waiting. As we ascended the pagoda the rooms became more lavish. There were vases, weapons, armour, relics fo the past in every floor. until we reached the top. At the back of the room sat erlang shen his Xiàotiān Quǎn sitting idly next to him. "welcome young one" he said his voice booming, somehow it sounded like he was all around me. "hi sir" i said softly, i wasnt entirely sure what to say to him. i mean what did you say to aa god. "you are dismissed" he said looking at Hua chun and Xue Wen and Meilin" they bowed and swiftly exited the room. "sit down little one" he said gently, let me asses you, let me find out, just who your parent is" he said it in such a relaxed tone like this was normal, like this was a regular afternoon for him. "ok—sir" i said softly as i stepped closer and sat down in front of him. he looked at me for a few moments then closed his eyes and said what I assumed to be a prayer. Then a third eye, on his forehead opened. It looked at me for what felt like hours, studying me, looking straight into my soul, or so it felt. After a while the eye closed again and erlang opened his two eyes slowly. then looked at me with a gentle smile. and for the first time i studied his face. he looked to be in his late 20s, he had many scars, but most prominently he had a large scar along his left face. "Xu Baihe, daughter of Fuxi, creator of humanity, music, and bagua. welcome to Shāngǔ Cūn. here you will be trained in taoist, military, martial and scholarly arts. this world is a dangerous one, especially for half ones like you." I looked at him for a second my hand gripping my dizi "Fuxi—i—" "yes child your father is the god Fuxi" he spoke gently, which I thought was unbecoming of such a terrifying and dangerous god. I wasn't sure what to say, how to feel, what to do i just stared at the wall behind erlang. i looked at it for so long before realising what it was depicting. It was Nuwa and Fuxi creating humanity. after a while i started to feel tears streaking down my face, i quickly wiped them away but Erlang Shen saw them and sighed softly "your father, he will contact you sooner of later, as far as i know, you are the only child he has had in over 1400 years" i looked at him and tried to read his face, I wasn't sure if i believed him, and i wasn't sure if he believed himself either so i just smiled at him and nodded weakly. "you are—dismissed" he said softly and with a single wave of his hand he sent me away. "wait" i yelled out to him immediately regretting yelling at him. because he isn't just a god, he is Erlang shen, protector of sichuan. in the stories i know he is depicted as a last resort option for calamities. like when Sun Wukong tried to overthrow heaven. "I'm sorry—sir," I said hastily, my voice wavering slightly. "its alright—young one" he said awkwardly "ask your questions" that—that monster from earlier what was it—and—and this place—why am i here—and" before i could ask more questions erlang interrupted me. "That monster from earlier was a guai, the one you faced was a strong one who we know as the pained one" he said his voice strong, unwavering, his every word carried authority and was absolute. "this place is under my protection and huli jing illusion magic. it is the safest place to be, do not worry young one" he said trying to sound comforting. and you are here because yaoguai like the painted man hunt Bàn shén. they believe if they kill and consume the flesh of one they will attain absolute immortality. so they hunt you endlessly stopping at nothing" as i listened to his words my legs began to fail me and I felt my knees buckle, and before i knew it i fell to my knees. tears streaking my face. "i—im sorry sir—i—i" before i could begin to apologize for being so weak in front of him his dog came up to me and licked my face then laid next to me trying to comfort me. I looked up at Erlang Shen and saw him smile at me "she likes you" he mused. I patted her behind the ears "good girl" i whispered under my breath. "young one" Erlangs voice boomed throughout the room. "it is time for you to go—your training will start tomorrow at first light. you will meet with the lady Hua and meditate. good day. and with yet another wave of his hand i was told to go. i patted his dog one more time then slowly stood up and turned to leave. staring at the weapons, paintings, vases and other treasures at each different floor. until i was at the last floor standing in front of the door.