Roars of laughter and cheering echoed through the busy streets of Northern Border’s Capital, Xiatong City. In particular, the ever-sanguine Jade Maiden teahouse was abuzz with patrons coming and going, drawn by the charms of its cheerful and healing atmosphere. Jade Maiden Teahouse would be the prime example of an old saying “laughter is the best medicine.” Within those four walls, not even the frequent murders within the city could put a damper on the mood. Although the teahouse itself was somewhat run down from the outside, the stories being told were what was luxurious and priceless. After all, the storyteller himself was an heir to a long legacy of storytellers before his time. 

“Today, I will tell you all the stories that have been passed down since my great-grandfather’s time,” said the storyteller. The audience all hushed themselves in unison, pairs of eyes fixated on the old storyteller. 

The storyteller was an old man with gray hair. He called himself Tea Master Yu, and adorned himself with a traditional black robe with golden markings around his sleeves that had long since faded. In his bony hands was a creamy white fan with delicate calligraphy that had been well-kept and in perfect condition. The front of the fan was graced with the words “Sun and Moon intermingled,” and the back “Till the sky lights again.” He rarely used props or brought down fans with calligraphy or painting, but this particular fan told a story that would captivate anyone. This fan had been hung up on the Jade Maiden Teahouse Wall of Poems for a while now, but he never took it down to tell its story before. The fan was the most prized possession of Jade Maiden Teahouse.

“Before Heaven ever graced us with her gaze and blessed us with Ghost-slaying Masters, there were two prehistoric kingdoms that isolated themselves from the life of the commoners. They called themselves ‘the Celestials,’ super beings that were out of this world.” Tea Master Yu opened his fan, gracefully showing the audience the writing on it. “One half belonged to the Sun, the other belonged to the Moon. Their kingdoms were either scorched by the light of the Sun or draped in darkness by the Moon. Not yielding to the day and night cycle that was created in their wake.”

As Tea Master Yu spoke, a figure silently appeared from the entrance and treated himself to an empty table at the farthest corner. Although he appeared to be the strangest-looking man in the room, somehow he blended in just fine. And because everybody’s focus was on the old Tea Master Yu, he didn’t scare anyone off with his sheathed sword draped on his side, or intimidate anyone with his fierce appearance, befitting of a warrior.

The stranger appeared to be a wanderer, possessing a humble sword from an unknown origin, and draped around him were some regular robes. It was apparent he was not from a sect, as he also did not embellish himself with any kind of gems or riches or even patterns on his robe, not even a piece of jade. His skin was sun-kissed, almost otherworldly in a city full of fair-skinned maidens and light-skinned scholars. Perhaps his inky black curly hair may have been a factor for him seeming more rebellious than kind. His hair draped over part of his face in strands, causing his eyes to poke through. This evoked an image of a sinister monster lurking in the shadows for its prey, hidden deep in a tangled forest.

“There was the Sun Kingdom, and the Moon Kingdom,” Tea Master Yu said. “Forever at war with each other.

“But that allowed our illustrious Moon Prince to rise. He became Emperor Yue shortly after, many even referred to him as the Moonlight Monarch and the Enlightened Warrior of the Swords Art, for his gentleness and his talent in all weaponry relating to the blades.”

“What did he look like?” a young woman suddenly blurted out, unable to contain her excitement, so much so she was on the edge of her seat the entire time.

“The Moonlight Monarch possessed the most Heaven-shattering beauty ever known to mankind. His hair was mystically white, glowing like snow falling under the moonlight. Just one glance made one feel their carnal desires overflow. There was no one that did not once long to be embraced or embrace the Moonlight Monarch. And because of that, he looked at himself as a curse, always covering his face with an opaque veil.” Tea Master Yu answered. “A face that healed all. If one ever saw him smile, that would mean good fortune would smile upon them too.”

While everyone whispered amongst themselves in amusement and surprise, the strange wanderer at the corner seemed to be a bit anxious. His hands clasped together, as he impatiently listened to the Legend, partially also because he felt something similar to dark Qi in Xiatong. The way Tea Master Yu described Emperor Yue reminded him of something similar in his dreams.

“The war waged on, yet Emperor Yue had grown tired of it.” The storyteller continued. 

“However, a single spark changed it all. The Sun Princess proposed to the Moonlight Monarch. She pleaded for his peace truce, asking him to marry her. He was hesitant at first, but then he accepted her plea.”

“That’s it? They lived happily ever after?” A guest was particularly displeased with the abrupt ending, but then Tea Master Yu halted him.

The wanderer’s ear perked up as he eavesdropped. His left eye twitched unpleasantly, almost rather disappointedly like a rejected maiden, until Tea Master Yu continued to speak.

“Not quite, Emperor Yue didn’t marry the Princess out of love. But out of sympathy for her situation.” He answered patiently. “Yet, he refused to show his face to his wife and was reluctant to even look at her.

“The Princess soon descended to mortal life. There, she ventured on her own and saved a Demon Venerable. They soon fell in love, and the Princess left her Celestial life behind.

“It was unknown whether the Moonlight Monarch was happy for her or displeased that his supposed Empress had run away from him.” The Tea Master sighed, his lips curved in a slight smile. “Life of a noble was hard, especially in the Eon of Celestials’ Ruling.”

The wanderer sensed something approaching from afar, and although he wanted to doubt that it was anything, he couldn’t help but feel something bad coming. It’s the same dark Qi he felt from earlier. 

“Years later, the Sun Princess became a legitimate wife to the Demon noble despite her status in Heaven. Then she gave birth to a plump child–” 

Before Tea Master Yu could finish, roars of screaming and yelling started to get louder from outside of the Teahouse. The wanderer was disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to finish listening to this highly-requested legend. Rushing out to check what the ruckus was about, the wanderer was only able to see a dark ghostly qi, so thick one couldn’t even see their hands in front of their face. It had claws, destroying everything in its path–people or property, all the same. Booming business stalls were destroyed, the once lively street of Xiatong now stained with its own people’s blood. 

The wanderer attempted to attack the ghost, unsheathing his sword and decisively striking down the thick cloud of ghostly Qi. Yet his slash reflected elsewhere and destroyed a nearby cargo instead as if the ghost had some kind of barrier. With no time to think, he was left with no choice but to charge in bravely upon seeing the ghost about to strike a maiden down. He took the hit head on, and his chest was pierced deeply, almost through his ribs and into his lung. If its claws pierced deeply onto the left side of his chest, it would’ve been his sorry heart. The brave hero tightly knitted his brows in extreme agony, biting down his bottom lip to suppress the ever-spreading pain from his chest. He buffed up his chest, and with a surge of spiritual energy flowing out when he exhaled, he was able to knock the ghost back, forcing it to retreat its sharp killing claws. Though before it retracted its claws, it moved its claws sideways, creating deep bloody gashes on the hero’s chest.

This maiden, however, was extremely useless, screaming at the sight of blood instead of running away. And even worse, she fainted after screaming her throat out. The entire street became more chaotic, the wanderer could not help but feel overwhelmed. He couldn’t just vigorously charge at the ghost since its attacks could bounce off, hitting a civilian instead. The only choice for him now was to slowly and painfully lead the vicious ghost out of the city’s perimeter.

“Qi Wenxin, I admire you for your might.” The ghost sneered. “But I can’t promise you that you’ll be able to walk away from this unscathed if you keep getting in my way!”

Somewhere far away from Xiatong, there stood the floating mountain of Guangfeng Peak—the most supernatural thing in this world aside from ghosts and other superstitious beings. The mountain itself was just a big floating mountain with a generous amount of land. It had a healing river flowing from the side of the mountain that traveled all the way down to the earth below–people call it the Heaven’s River, inspired by the belief that cultivators walk up the stairs before their ascension to immortality. Heaven’s River itself was also seen as the main entrance to Guangfeng Sect, the most notorious sect out there, though its master had closed up the entrance, allowing no entry. This also restricted his disciples from going anywhere else without his permission. Especially after the Cataclysmic Ghost had almost destroyed his Sect.

Its master was no other than Wu Fulin, a figure famous for his ability and innate talents. He was a fighter, even developed his own fighting style that was so elegant that if one ever saw him fight from afar, they would describe him as a little jasmine flower drifting on the icy Luo River amidst a raging storm. Though his upbringing was unknown to most, nobody dared to question his position as a master, already achieving immortality at the age of 26 and having also ascended to Heaven. Yet he returned back to his sect right after, not interested in the otherworldly riches and pleasure of being worshipped. His disciples greatly revered him, always giving him the utmost care and respect despite his harsh teachings.

Deep within the Lecture Hall of Guangfeng Sect, Wu Fulin almost drowned himself in scrolls and booklets in his own little study. He was a neat person. Yet how did his work pile up this badly…

This wouldn’t do. He needed someone to organize his study again before the pile of scrolls got so high, it reached his neck. Just as soon as a person came to mind, someone knocked lightly on the door.

“Come in,” Wu Fulin said, already feeling so dazed from looking at the many booklets he kept that he felt as if he’d retch from “word-sickness.”

The study’s door flung wide open. A youth, around his teenage years, held a letter in his hand tightly. His gaze was tense, worrying Wu Fulin with one look. The disciple gave Wu Fulin a bow to greet him.

The youth was handsome, there was no doubt that once he became an adult, he would be a dashing young man. His hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, caressed by a silver hairpin. The robes around him were white, with light purple jasmine petals patterns adorning his empty bland sleeves. Around his silver belt, was a little piece of jade dangling from it. Around his waist was an ordinary sword, as he had not received his own sword from Blacksmith Wang yet.

“What is it?” Wu Fulin sighed. He dipped his brush in a bottle of ink and elegantly added onto his journal about Essences and mystical creatures. Although his eyes were fixated on his book, he was still listening to his disciple, like an overworked father with his expression worn out yet serious.

“Shizun… There was an attack on the Northern Border’s capital,” the disciple hurriedly explained, spreading the letter out in front of Wu Fulin so he could see the content of it.

“Is it urgent? Were they able to identify the ghost?” Wu Fulin tiredly asked. He was unable to keep his eyes up. His speech became more sluggish the more he tried to focus.

“Mild casualty thanks to an unnamed hero. It could’ve been worse. Though the ghost itself seemed to be around rank seven or nine, Shizun.” There was a sense of urgency in the disciple’s tone, jerking at the heart of Wu Fulin.

“Were there other sects at the scene?” Wu Fulin asked, getting up from his desk and preparing himself to leave immediately. 

“Assumedly so, Shizun,” the youthful disciple answered. 

Though he was hesitant to say something after, in the end, he decided to take the risk, afraid he would lose this chance upon seeing his Shizun preparing for his leave.

“Shizun, let me come with you. After all, it’s been a while since you’ve let us leave the mountain.” The youth wasn’t expecting Wu Fulin to say yes to such an idea the moment he uttered his thoughts. Immediately, he held back his tongue when Wu Fulin walked past him without saying a word, thinking Wu Fulin would punish him by making him copy down scriptures again.

“You must promise me one thing.” Wu Fulin halted at the door, his back still turned away from the young disciple. “Li Touliang, if I separate from the group, seek help, but do not come looking for me. Stay with any sect leader that comes to our aid.”

“Yes, Shizun!” Li Touliang turned around immediately to do another bow at his Shizun, his face beaming with immense gratitude for this opportunity, like a little dried-out hydrangea getting watered.

Back in Xiatong City, the chaos had ceased, but the wanderer had lost track of the ghost. It had disappeared like a thick cloud of smoke being blown away by a strong breeze. After all, ghosts could not last long during the day.

Somehow, he was relieved that he was able to catch some breath, already at his limit due to the ghostly Qi emanating from his wounds and suppressing him from healing. He’d slowly make his way back to the Jade Maiden Teahouse to see if there was anyone hiding in there. 

There were indeed people there, already helping each other clean their wounds and getting ready to leave to somewhere safer for the time being. The wanderer, Qi Wenxin, suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure panting laboriously behind the curtains. He came over to offer help, recognizing the person at first glance. It was Tea Master Yu. It seemed that a piece of the ceiling from the Teahouse had broken down and crashed onto his right ankle somehow. He couldn’t walk, and his tolerance to pain was terrible, but he’d live. With proper treatment, he’d be able to walk again.

“Ah, gongzi, please, let this old man take care of himself.” Tea Master Yu appreciated Qi Wenxin’s attempt at helping, but he didn’t want to owe the wanderer anything. Especially when Qi Wenxin’s injuries were far worse.

“Please tell me the rest of the story.” 

“What?” Tea Master Yu blinked, hearing a familiar request at such an odd moment.

“Who was the child of that Princess?” Qi Wenxin kneeled down to level himself with the tea Master.

“Aiya, it was an old legend, but since you asked, the child of the Princess was called the Sun Child.”

“What about the rest of the legend?”

“Ah, this old man has forgotten.” 

“Thank you, regardless.” Qi Wenxin sounded as if he was about to leave and head straight to his next destination, but then he carried the old man in his arms like a damsel in distress, causing the old Tea Master Yu to startle greatly.
“P…Please gongzi, this old man can take care of himself-” 

Poor old Tea Master Yu had fallen victim to Qi Wenxin’s bad skill in treating wounds. One could only wish the old man good luck by lighting him a mountain’s worth of candles.