(Voice from the darkness)

Come... closer…

Who are you?

I am... the forgotten soul. 

 

Who are you really?

I am your future… your fate. I am what you will become.

(Cruel laughter erupts all around her from the darkness.)

Three years later.

New blossom town

Xu Shirong rode into town in the dead of night. His horse was teetering on the edge of collapse from the relentless gallop. He was trying to return home before the first snow of the year. He had promised his fiancee that he would be back before their wedding ceremony. Business matters delayed him back in the last city he'd stopped in. By riding nonstop through the week, he was hoping to  make up for the delay and arrive in time. 

He roused the sleeping innkeeper out of bed and got a warm room for the rest of the night. He was finally entering into deep sleep when a rooster sounded the alarm. It was time to wake up. After a hearty meal in his room, he went to take his horse from the nearby stables.

"Can't you do something about my horse?"

He asked the old snaggle toothed stable hand and looked at his inert horse with a worried eye. He felt a little guilty, but he was pressed for time.

"You rode the horsey without taking proper care. It's exhausted. Almost died, it did. But no worries. I'll take good care of it. It'll be ready to go in no time. No time at all."

Xu Shirong was glad that the stable hand was competent despite his sloven appearance. 

"A few days and you will be back on the road. Good as new!"

The man said as he cracked open the mud seal of a pot of wine. A strong smell of alcohol filled the area. Xu Shirong tsked, wondering how to resolve his current conundrum.

Xu Shirong hadn't expected to be delayed again. The horse was an indigo mane horse. The species were known for their speed. It was a precious gift from his grandmother to commemorate his engagement. He couldn't leave town without his horse, but on the other hand, if he stayed, it would be a wedding without a groom. That wasn't the way he intended to begin his marriage. 

"I'm in a hurry. I can't wait. Is there another means of transport out of this place?"

He was concerned after seeing the state of the stables. The stalls stood empty except for his horse and an old donkey in a corner stall. It looked as old and decrepit as the stable hand who was currently shaking his head to his question.

"Aren't there any horses in this town?"

"Song wan owns several horses. Several. they are his prized possessions. Treats them like his children. He won't be open to you hiring them."

The stable hand said, pouring himself another drink.  

At least somebody in the dead town- if it could be called a town- had something to offer him. The answer was more than he'd expected. 

"Take me to him."

The stable hand shrugged and downed another drink. He led the way to a shop some distance from the stables. 

It was a small shop resembling a stuffed bag overflowing with items. More wares for sale were displayed outside the small shop. His guide stopped outside.

"I've shown you the way. Song wan should be inside. You'll know him by his air of satisfaction."

The stable hand turned and left a moment later. Xu Shirong was taken aback by the abrupt disappearance of the stable hand but he wasn't about to be deterred. He stepped into the dim interior of the crammed shop. Inside, countless objects filled every available surface. Books, dried food provisions, farming equipment, furniture, curious trinkets, clothes and much more were in stock.  

Xu Shirong ventured deeper inside, his eyes active constantly. Before he could be sidetracked by the shelf of eye catching trinkets, he located the owner. He recognised Song wan the moment he saw him. The stable hand hadn't been wrong in his description of the man. A smile hung on his lips like sticky honey. Its taste was sweet to only the taster but sickening to anyone looking.

"Master Song wan? I need to discuss some business with you."

"Business? Sit! Sit! My lord. Tell Song Wan what he can do for you?"

His voice was loud in the shop. His smile stretched even wider as he ushered Xu Shirong to a chair- the only object free of clutter in the shop.

He explained his emergency to Song Wan and his proposed solution. He would leave his indigo mane horse with Song wan. In turn he would take one of Song wan's horses to the city and return it for his own horse the following month. Song wan perked up at the mention of the indigo mane horse. He had a deep fondness for horses and kept a number of them in his private stables. Unfortunately, the indigo mane horse wasn't part of the line up. He himself owned five pure bred stallions in addition to a two horned desert horse that he'd bought after years of saving up. It was the pride of his stable.

Never in his life had he thought of owning an indigo mane horse. It was simply too expensive for his pockets. It was a horse fit for kings. Trying to own such a sought after species with his status would be the height of hubris on his part. However, this deal was literally a gift horse. There was no way he was going to say no. He wasn't averse to owning it for a period of time; no matter how short that might be. His friends and fellow horse enthusiasts would die of envy. He chuckled to himself and glanced at the painting hanging behind him. 

"This painting has really changed my luck."

He muttered under his breath. 

"What did you say?"

"A-hem! Nothing! Nothing!"

Song wan brushed away the question but Xu shirong nevertheless noticed the subtle action. The only words he could find to describe painting were simple and inconspicuous. He had taken a good look at his surroundings before sitting down but he had failed to notice the painting of a flock of geese over a pond. For a fleeting second, he thought he saw one of the reeds around the pond bend as if the wind had blown over it. Before he could look closer, the illusion vanished. It was probably the lighting in the shop, a trick of the light.

Song wan closed his shop without further ado. They stopped by the stables to inspect the indigo mane horse before heading to Song's place to choose a suitable horse. Song wan wasn't surprised when Xu shirong chose the two horned desert horse. It was known for being sturdy and it could ride across long stretches of land before needing much rest. 

With the selection over, Song wan invited Xu shirong back to his shop to conclude the deal. He wrote down the understanding between them and Xu shirong's information. Xu shirong was surprised at the man's detailed manner of handling the deal, but he was glad that he could continue his journey without any delay.

"Scholar Xu, please take good care of desert Rose. She is my favorite horse. In turn, I will think of your horse as if it were my own." 

"Thank you Master Song wan. I promise to keep my end of the deal."

"Of course, scholar Xu. We have already agreed on the penalty for breaking the contract. I will be gaining an indigo mane horse if you don't return so i'm not worried in the least."

He chuckled again and looked at the painting with his patented satisfied smile. Xu shirong found his curiosity roused again.

"Master Song Wan, can you tell me about the painting? Is it for sale?"

"For sale? Oh no, no! You can buy anything in my shop except that painting. A master gave it to me as a gift. I couldn't! I couldn't!"

Xu shirong smiled. His clan was at present considered a quasi noble one but it was still at heart a merchant family. He was aware of all the little tricks merchants used. 

"I see. That's too bad. I'm on my way to get married. The painting would have made an excellent gift for my beloved."

"Congratulations! Congratulations! Marriage is a man's greatest fortune. Congratulations again scholar Xu. Even though i can't sell you the painting, how about I give you something else instead?"

Song wan sustained a one sided conversation as he looked through the shelves of trinkets for a fitting wedding gift.

"My father gave me the best advice when i was getting married. He said love fades with time. If one is lucky, it becomes friendship. It helped me through my first marriage and my second."

"You have two wives?"

Xu shirong asked with faint curiosity. He knew the practice of men marrying two, three and more women was prevalent in other kingdoms. The Chu kingdom considered itself a progressive forward thinking kingdom. The long line of female rulers had seen to it that the people eschewed most practices that put women at a disadvantage. Clans headed by women stood on equal footing with everyone. His own Xu clan had chosen his grandmother as the head after his grandfather's death. 

"I don't look like a man with two wives, do i? It's all thanks to the master. My wives' squabbles almost drove me to death. But then I got those two paintings. I put one in my home and left the other here. Ever since, my wives have become the best of friends and my shop prospers. My joy is like a river."

The more Song wan spoke, the more Xu shirong became intrigued. Could a painting actually do all the things Song wan was saying? If the merchant spoke the truth, then it was no ordinary painting. He finally understood why Song wan seemed to have a smile permanently affixed to his lips. He'd intended to leave right after collecting the gift, but he ended up losing track of time in simple conversation with the contented Song Wan. The intrigued Xu shirong was like a sly dog unearthing a big bone. He wasn't leaving unless he was taking the bone along with him.  

When he finally got on his horse to leave the town in the late afternoon, there was a rolled up painting of wild geese in his travelling pack. He had used up all his savings to buy it after convincing the shop owner that he believed the painting would bring joy and bliss to his matrimonial home. For the rest of his journey, he would have to make bed under the skies. Even that prospect couldn't erase the joy he felt. Even though he didn't know the truth about the painting, he was smart enough to know that it was a worthy purchase. 

He rode through the night and all through the next day, remembering to stop and water his borrowed horse from time to time. 

A week later, he saw the twinkling night lights of the Holy cultivation city of Chu kingdom in the distance. Relieved, he spurred the horse on and rode for the towering gates.