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Ancient Fragment #5
Rain fell upon a scarlet land. A lone man stood beneath the storm, each flash of lightning painting his form in terror and silence. Noted down in "Blood and Thunder," page twenty-one.
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A small child, about ten years old, carried a bamboo basket on her back as she foraged for mushrooms in the forest. Tall and thick red pine trees rose more than two hundred meters above her small figure as she hummed a happy tune. She felt the most relaxed in the forest. It was peaceful here, with soft wind brushing her cheeks and birds chirping high in the canopy.
"Xue'er, don't go too far!" called the middle-aged man as he knelt to pick some round, yellow mushrooms.
He smiled as he lifted one carefully. "Yellow Sun Drops. It's been a while since we've seen you. This would be helpful for Ruyan."
Further ahead, the young girl suddenly stopped near a stream.
Two bodies lay motionless on the shore.
"Ahhh! Father!"
Jin Xue’er fell backward onto the ground and screamed in horror.
"Xue'er! What happened?!"
Startled by her scream, the man dropped the Yellow Sun Drop onto the soft moss. The bamboo basket filled with mushrooms tipped over as he rushed toward his daughter.
The man came to a sudden stop before the two bodies.
"Xue'er, go back!" the man said, glancing at his daughter as he checked the bodies.
They're alive... but what is that awful smell?
Both the man and woman smelled horrible, with black and blood stains all over their clothes.
Jin Xue'er hid behind a tall red pine tree, peeking out as she watched her father assess the situation.
What happened to them? Their clothes are dry, so unless they have been here for a long time they shouldn't have come from the stream.
The man stopped questioning it. He took a small water container from his belt and splashed its contents onto the young man’s face, shaking his shoulders and calling out. Even so, Long Tianyu remained unconscious, though his breathing was steady.
The middle-aged man turned to the woman instead, who appeared to be in slightly better condition. As he reached toward her shoulders, her bloodshot eyes snapped open and she touched her storage pouch.
A blade formed instantly in her hand, stopping just short of his throat.
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Hua Qingqing remained silent for a moment before her strained voice finally asked.
"Where are we?"
The man stared at the blade in horror, realizing they had encountered an exalted immortal.
"Miss," he said carefully, "you're in the Red Pine Forest, near Chisong Village."
Hua Qingqing frowned weakly. An old memory from many years ago emerged, when she had left Xincheng Village together with her brothers and sisters...
Chisong Village.. Red pine Forest... Jin Lian...
"Let go of my father!"
Jin Xue’er rushed forward, clutching a stick with trembling hands. Tears welled in her eyes as she raised it threateningly toward Hua Qingqing.
"Xue'er! Stop!"
The man shouted in terror. He had heard stories of immortals killing mortals for the slightest offense.
For a brief moment, Hua Qingqing saw Jin Lian’s shadow in her stance, tall and fearless, holding a golden spear.
Her gaze shifted to the man and the blade vanished.
Hua Qingqing’s strength gave out completely as she collapsed onto the ground, exhaustion overtaking her.
"Do you know someone named Jin Lian?" she asked quietly, gazing up at the sky as the wind rustled the pine needles overhead.
Before the man could answer, Jin Xue’er shouted,
"That's my big brother!"
Hua Qingqing’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“I see.”
Her eyes closed, and she fell unconscious.
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In her exhaustion Hua Qingqing dreamed of scenes years ago, the road to Moondragon City.
She and Long Tianyu sat in two old carts that were taking them there for the sect selections. In the carts sat their brothers and sisters, seven of them in total. They were not siblings by blood, but by choice, having grown up together in Xincheng Village.
On the eighth day since leaving the village, as the carts wound through a grove of towering pine trees, a lone figure emerged by the roadside. A teenager, no older than fifteen, stood there with a golden spear slung across his back. He wore a simple black hanfu bound with a red belt, and his dark eyes, fixed on the forest road, glittered with hope. His stance was straight and alert, though the dirt on his boots suggested he had traveled a long distance on foot.
The carts slowed as her sister’s parents, Wang Shuren and Wang Lihua, exchanged a glance. Wang Shuren leaned forward slightly.
"Why are you out here alone, boy?" he asked.
The teenager hesitated, then took a small step forward. "Senior... my name's Jin Lian. I left my village a few days ago, but my horse ran off while I was traveling." He shook his head. "Anyway, I was hoping for a ride, but no one's willing to take me. Are you heading to Moondragon City?"
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As the carts resumed their journey, Jin Lian began to talk.
“I’m from Chisong Village,” he said.
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"Chisong is a big town, surrounded by really tall red pine trees. Some are so wide eight grown men couldn't wrap their arms around one. They reach higher than the clouds, and when the wind blows, it sounds like a river through the mountains."
The group stared in awe. Long Tianyu tilted his head, clearly fascinated.
"Trees that big? Really?"
"Yes," Jin Lian said with a faint chuckle. "I've climbed a few. You feel tiny, like you could disappear if the forest wanted you to."
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Eventually, Jin Lian stopped asking questions, but he kept talking, words tumbling out without pause.
"Back in Chisong, I lived with my father, mother, and little sister. I left a couple weeks ago, hoping to make it to Moondragon City. I feel like I've let my family down, losing my horse and almost everything I own."
Hua Qingqing's youngest brother, Xiao Chi leaned closer to Jin Lian, interest sparking in his eyes. "You're brave to leave home alone. Why go to Moondragon City? Are you hoping to join a sect too?"
Jin Lian's expression grew serious. "No, I'm not interested in the sects. I'm joining the Scarlet Battlefield," he said. "I want to become a general one day."
Jin Lian fell silent after that, staring down the road as if trying to see his village through the trees.
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End of chapter 5 - The night of nostalgia
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