Every time Yin Qian has one of her recurring battle dreams, she never could recall the names and places as clearly as she did this time round. 

Lord Father.. Jin Feng.. Who are those people? Where is this Nine Heavenly Cities I dreamed of? Why does everything feel so familiar even though I’ve never managed to find a way to leave Yu Lan Mountain even once since I've been here?.. 

Yin Qian tried to recall as much as she can about the dream, writing down every detail she could muster effort to hold on to before it slipped away into a distant memory once again. However, the more she tries to recall, the more painful her chest palpitates. White flashes repeatedly appear in her mind as though trying to wipe clean all traces of her recent dream. Clenching her fist, she struggled to note down what she could before the pain overcomes her. 

Before long, the loud crowing of roosters in the distance mark the beginning of yet another routinely mundane day. She finally place her brush down with a sigh of resignation. There wasn’t much she could descriptively recall due to the increasingly paralytic pain. However, it is definitely progress. Wiping her sweat from her brows, Yin Qian let out a sigh. Looking at the sunrise, one should be filled with awe and inspiration. For her, there was absolutely nothing to look forward to.

Ever since she woke up all alone on this mountain several months ago, Yin Qian has always wondered how she got there in the first place. In the initial few days since her arrival, Yin Qian tried searching for ways that could lead her down this mountain. Taking different foot paths everyday, she was determined to find a way out of these dense bamboo forests. 

However, like clockwork she would end up where she begun right before the sun sets - back at her old matchstick hut. No matter what she tried, leaving a mark on trees she passed, or even weaving a rope past the different paths she took, she could never seem to walk out of this forsaken place. Its as though this place was enchanted with some sort of magic preventing me from leaving. Frustrated, Yin Qian tried looking for signs of life on this mountain, someone or something that could help tell her who she was or why she was here. As a mortal, there was no way she could possibly break through the magic barrier without any form of cultivation. Before she can even contemplate breaking the magical barriers, Yin Qian has got to find a way for surviving in these wilderness not knowing how long she could be stuck here.

After the 36th day, she finally gave up. Yin Qian is almost resigned to the fact that she has to call this desolated hut her new home. After exploring so much of the mountain and woods, the only consolation she got was that she managed to find the nearest town almost six kilometres away during the first week - a small provincial post in the west of mountain called Bai He Town. Bai He Town is known for its fields of white Lilium Candidums surrounding its outskirts, which is mainly where it gets its name from. There was only one main entryway into the town; but yet despite trying to take different paths each time, she could never make her way down from the mountain. Once, she even tried to follow a traveling merchant down the mountain. However, once the sun starts to set, she would lose sight of her target and momentarily have her vision blurred. When she comes to, she would be faced with the same path leading back to her rickety hut. After trying various methods for the first few weeks, Yin Qian soon grew frustrated at her failures and abandoned such ideas for the time being. 

As Yin Qian stood up from her humble dresser, the first sun rays rose across the faraway plains. I’m lucky this place was filled with some basic necessities by its past owner. I hope that whoever that is, they wouldn’t mind that I’ve been staying here for the past few months. Yin Qian ever wondered how this hut stood in the middle of nowhere and yet was well-kept with some basic necessities - a bed, a simple dresser and some tables and chairs. Upon inspection, she even managed to find a small section which closely resembled a small kitchen at the far end of the hut. Why would its owners abandon such a well-kept hut? Was I its original owner?.. Yin Qian once wondered. I guess I should count myself lucky that I found this shelter instead of looking for more questions i do not have answers to, she thought to herself, diminishing more thoughts about the hut and its missing owners. Figuring out who she is and why she was stuck here was already in itself life’s greatest mystery at the moment, no need to add more it, she felt. 

For the past few months, Yin Qian found a way to sustain herself in this cold and desolate wilderness. She once found an old pair of bow and some hastily made arrows in the shed behind the hut and have been making daily hunts to feed her three meals. Surprisingly, she was a natural with the bow, never once missing a mark she set out on, always making each kill with swift skill and dept. 

On this day, Yin Qian set out once again into these woods she once hated but has grown accustomed to. Finding a good vantage spot, she squat down close to the earth, looking for signs that would lead her to her target. I’m in luck! she thought to herself. In the clearing ahead, a small movement among the grass caught her attention. I’m sorry little rabbit, Yin Qian quietly whispered a prayer beneath her breath, I’ll say prayers for you. Thank you for your humble death to support my life. Without a second thought, she drew the bow and held her breath. Counting silently in her mind, she released the bow string and whoosh! the arrow met its intended target right within the eyes. The birds perched among the foliage nearby all fluttered into the wind, alarmed by the quick shot of such an adept hunter and the merciful death of its prey. 

Steadying herself, Yin Qian got out of her hiding stance and walked calmly towards her reward for the morning. A rabbit is good for 10 coins at the market. I wonder if there is anymore out here this morning, she thought to herself. Winter is coming and looking at her bleak progress of getting herself out of here, she should start storing extra grains and warmer clothing for the harsh snow that’s to come in a couple of months. It was as though the heavens heard her request and a few steps away was a small family of elks, foraging on the leafy greens, unaware of their imminent fate. I’m really in luck today! Yin Qian thought to herself as she steadied into another stance, ready to collect today’s lucky windfall.