© Barbara Boot 2021. Cover art by the author. Published by DR21 Publishing. All rights reserved.
One morning whilst out in the forest collecting herbs, Lǐwù (Gift) comes across a dark brown horse; busy munching some long grass that is growing around the base of a tall tree. It has a saddle and bridle but no rider. This makes the Healer look around to spot someone lying on the ground around five feet away. He runs over to discover it is a beautiful young lady dressed in a light blue robe, who is barely alive.
Lǐwù starts to hover his hands over her and when he reaches the lady's head he discovers the poor woman has taken a heavy blow to the back of the head. A pice of skull is lodged in her brain and large cracks snake across the surface. There is even a small blow to the side of her and intense bleeding. There is nothing he can do, because no Healer has the capability of fixing a brain, for it is a complicated organ. All the young god can do is make her final moments as comfortable as possible. He uses his abilities to dull the pain of her injuries, then removes his half coat placing it over and goes on to build a small fire. The warmth seems to revive the young lady and a moment later her eyes begin to open. They blink a few times before they settle directly on him.
“It is all right my dear. I am a Healer. My name is Xù Xiàjì Lǐwù (Summer Gift). Son of Hóng and Xīng-lóng,” he tells her in a soft voice, gently taking hold of her left hand.
Hóng is a Dusk Dragon and Xīng-lóng is a Snow Dragon. The couple adopted Lǐwù after he was discovered abandoned a beautiful weaved basket in the forest near their home.
The young lady smiles and she whispers, “Please...hide it.”
Lǐwù watches the lady's right hand open to reveal a large stone in the shape of a teardrop. It shimmers like glistening clear water in the light that has managed to make it through the thick canopy.
The lady hands it to him and whispers, “Please...keep it.... s-safe for me.”
“I will,” he answers, watching her lips form into a another smile.
Then the young lady’s eyes close, she seems to take one last breath before she passes away.
The Healer can sense the young lady’s heart has stopped beating; he closes his eyes and whispers, “Do not worry, I will keep your stone safe.”
The young god places the pretty stone inside a cloth bag, that dangles by his right thigh and watches a black portal with a god edge open and out of it steps an Ancient.
This hooded black cloaked creature stands around twelve feet tall with glowing orbs for eyes. That range from blue to yellow. This one appears to have blue as they shine out from his deep hood. They are the rulers of Other Realm Gods. A place that is very different from this world. Everything is on a much grander scale, including everyone who lives there. The reason the two realms coexist with one another is because of certain events which took place during a period near the end of the Neolithic, which lasted almost two centuries. It is referred to as, 'The Battle of the Paranoid Pixies' or by its common name, 'The Dark Chapter'.
The moment he waves his bony, heavily ringed hand over the deceased woman it release her soul to him.
The Ancient speaks with a deep echoey voice, “Come a long my dear, your family are waiting for you."
The lady nods and floats up to land upon the palm of his right hand.
Lǐwù is a rare form of Purple eyed Healer, his kind went into hiding centuries ago. They are the only Healers who have the capability of seeing into the other realm with the aide of teardrop shaped pupils that lie under the main ones. Even though he was only born with the right one, he can clearly see the spirit of the young lady.
The young Healer looks up at her and asks, “Please my dear, are you able to tell me your name?”
The Ancient shakes his and replies, “I am afraid, young Healer, she is unable to tell you, for she does not remember.”
Lǐwù gives her a kind smile and informs her, “That’s all right. I will lay your body to rest.”
“She says thank you. Here allow me to place her on the horse for you," offers the Ancient and gently picks up the body.
The young god quickly mounts the horse, to take the corps in to his arms and replies, “Thank you.”
“No problem. Now we must go.”
Lǐwù bows his head in respect and watches a stunning sword appear by the Ancient's side. The blade is as golden as the setting sun. It moves on its own, to slices the air in front of the Other Realm God to crate a portal for him to step back into his world. As the young Healer rides a way, he hears a soft rumble of thunder when the portal closes.
❋❋❋
When the people of the small village see their Healer returns riding an unknown horse and seated in front of him is a young woman; some of the men rush over to help.
Lǐwù informs them what has happened to the young lady, one of them offers, “We will find a nice resting place for her.”
“Bless you Wang Yong,” replies the young Healer as he dismounts.
Another man helps to take the body from the horse, then leads it away to the stables.
The Healer heads inside the infirmary. A large single floor building that stands at the heart of the village next to his home. He gently lays the body down on a bed. This is when notices there is a small cloth pouch attached to the left-hand side of her belt. Lǐwù carefully removes it and opens the small flap to discover all it contains is a little bamboo scroll that has been tied with a red ribbon. It is clear from the colour and texture this scroll is very old. It could fall apart if not opened with care. He gently places it down on the table, removes the ribbon and slowly unrolls it, until he starts to see beautiful handwriting. Even though young god is unable to read it, he does recognise the style of handwriting and the formation of the characters.
“Oh my goodness, this is an ancient Chinese. That looks like it was written by my uncle Huī yè,” he gasp, removing the stone from his cloth bag. “ I wonder... Could this have something to do with you?”
A small group of women enter the infirmary, and one of them who is dressed in an off white robe asks, “Lǐwù, would you like us to prepare her for burial?”
The Healer turns around to face her and answers, “Not just yet, Qiūyuè (Autumn moon). I need to examine her clothing, as there could be things on it which might help me to discover where she came from.”
The lady nods and agrees, “Yes of course. I will help you.”
They work together to collect from bits of twig to bugs caught in the young lady’s hair. The sleeves of her light blue robe show she was making her way through the forest at some speed, for both have tears in them from being snagged on things. When they reach the lady’s boots Lǐwù notices a piece of a sticky creeper is clinging to the hem of the robe.
“Wait, that only grows in the east part of the forest, near a stream,” he utters, carefully removing. “As I myself have found pieces of it stuck to the base of my robe.”
“Then she could have come from the east village?”
“That is one possibility,” agrees Lǐwù, raising his thin white eyebrows.
When Qiūyuè sees that hint of intrigue in the god's expression, she shakes her head and implies, “I know that look, you plan to go there?”
Lǐwù's head titles slightly to the left and responds with with a voice full of curiosity, “Well, I need to follow the evidence, to find out where this poor girl came from.”
The lady nods and stats, “You are quite right. However, you are not to go there alone.”
This makes the young Healer look at her confused and points out, “I am a god. I will be fine.”
Qiūyuè gives him a stern glance and shakes her head. “I will fetch my husband,” she insists as she walks out of the room.
Lǐwù is unable to stop her, he shakes his head as he knows she means well. He just carries on examining the dead lady’s boots. Both of them have more of the sticky creeper stuck to the tassels and some of the hooked hairs have capture tiny black seeds.
“Yǐngzi méiguī? (Shadow rose) Another plant that can only grows in the east forest. You have traveled a long way. I wonder why?”
One of the ladies steps a little closer and expresses, “She could have been running from something?”
The young Healer nods and answers, “Yes, the evidence does suggest that. Or was she in a great hurry to get somewhere?”
“That is what we need to find out,” comes a man’s voice.
The Healer smiles, he looks over to the door and replies “Good morning Hong.”
“Morning. I cannot believe you found her in the forest. The poor girl, so young. I’m am here to accompany you to the east village.”
When the General sees him, shake his head. He leans a little closer to whisper, “Look, I know you can take care of yourself, however if you were to have a blackout, in a strange place-”
“Yes, yes,” interrupts Lǐwù, giving his head another slight shake. “Anyway Qiūyuè you can get her ready for burial.”
Two women place a screen around the bed, so they can undress and wash the body placing her in clean robes before wrapping her in a sheet.
Qiūyuè is picking up the dead lady’s robe from off the floor, when she hears a small tickling sound. She looks down to see it is a ring, the lady picks it up and calls, “Lǐwù, take a look at this?”
The Healer walks over to one side of the screen and asks, “What have you found?”
The screen moves back and Qiūyuè holds out her right hand.
Lǐwù sees sitting upon her palm is a bronze ring inlaid with an unusual stone. He picks it up to hold it into the light and says, “My that is beautiful. Wait, that stone is nearly the same as this one.”
They watch him pull a stunning teardrop shape crystal from his bag and place it alongside the ring.
Hong nods and agrees, “It does look like it was cut from the same stone,” pointing his hand towards them.
“Yes they are very alike, my dear husband. Are there any markings on the ring?”
The Healer looks all around it and replies, “No, nothing. Never mind I will place them in my bag. Gentlemen you may take her away.”
Two men perform slight bows as they enter, to place the wrapped body upon a stretcher and carry her out of the room.
“Right, to the east forest,” announces the young god, pointing his hand towards the open doorway.
The General nods and walks with him out of the infirmary. They get on their horses and ride off down the narrow dusty road.
❋❋❋
It takes them around three hours to reach the east forest. They both dismount and look around, to see broken branches and fresh hoof prints near a large puddle of water.
The Healer comes across the sticky plant happily crowing near some low-lying bushes. “She must have come through here,” he says, pointing it out to Hong who nods in agreement.
This makes them continue to search the area, but they are unable to find anything else which could lead them to were the young lady had come from.
They soon arrive in the village just as it is beginning to get dark and find a small inn for the night. The following morning they start their enquiries. All the people gives them the same answer, they did not see a young lady riding a dark brown horse. However, the ones living near the road do recall hearing a horse galloping down the street in the middle of the night. The only problem is, they have no idea if it was the young lady or one of their neighbours hurrying home. Plus there is no telling where she had ridden from. Because all that lies beyond the village is nothing but open land as far as the eye can see, with high mountains, home of the green and red creature dragons, lies in the distance.
They return to the inn to collect their houses and head home. Lǐwù makes a stop at a field that is covered in little yellow flowers to pick a nice bouquet for the unknown lady’s grave. When he gets to the top of a small hill, he sees all the people of his village have also had the same idea, for the gave is covered in lovely bunches of flowers. He places his near the top and continues down the hill to collect the scroll from the infirmary. The young god wraps it in some cloth and heads next door to his home; where he goes on to place it on his desk along with the stone and the ring.
Then he walks over to a stunning stone table, it has dragons carved around each leg, that lies in front of the window. Its light grey surface is coved in message incantations that have been burnt into it. Lǐwù picks up a piece of thin tissue like paper and uses the special black and grey quill to write his dear uncle Huī yè a message, informing of the scroll.
❈❈❈
Huī yè is an ancient Night Dragon, his kind are the largest form of humanoid dragons, he stands around six feet three, with deep red hair that reflects like the flames of a fire. The long fringe frames his human-like features with stunning bronze cat-like eyes that fade into gold dust at the edge; also with the rest of the eye being black it gives the impression of an explosion happening in each of them.
His beautiful mat-black spiked scales in some places are scared from the Battles of the Paranoid Pixies and some are even missing, leaving behind light grey voids. This was caused by the creatures tiny pin sharp blades that easily slid between the scales ripping the tops ones off in such away they never grew back.
Huī yè lives on an land that lies off the coast of Korea along with his dear wife the beautiful Snow Dragon Xuě méiguī, who was Dampa until she awaken from a deep sleep in the Xia dynasty. They are both about to sit down to an early evening meal when they hear crackling sounds coming from the other side of the hut.
"I wonder who that could be?" the Night Dragon mutters turning his attention to the message table.
Out of the sparks appears a crumpled piece paper that unfolds as it floats down to the surface.
Xuě méiguī takes a look and informs him, "It is from Lǐwù, he writes, I have recently come into possession of a scroll that was written by you uncle Huī yè, a long time ago."
The Night Dragon's eyes open wide, he points a hand to his board chest and utters, "Written by me... hmm I wonder what it could be?"
The Snow Dragon places a pot of rice on the table in front of her husband. "Let's go once we have eaten my love," she suggests, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Huī yè nods and they both tuck in to their evening meal.
Once they have eaten, Xuě méiguī uses her abilities to put out the fire, before they leave the hut, unfold their wings and fly to the young Healer's home.
Lǐwù is in the kitchen just finishing making his evening meal when his aunty and uncle come into land in the back garden. The door opens and they both take it in turns to remove their boots in the pocky entrance before stepping up into the room.
"Uncle, you will find the scroll on my desk," he says, gesturing with his hand to the open doorway.
The Night Dragon gives him a kiss on the forehead and questions, "How did it come to you?"
When the young Healer tells them all about the young lady he found in the forest near his home, he watches their eyes widen to emphasises they are surprise.
"No surely not," whispers Huī yè and continues out of the room.
"That did not sound good," emphasises the young Healer watching his aunty shake her head.
The Snow Dragon tries to reassure him by gently patting the side of Lǐwù face. "Now my dear boy, you carry on with your meal whilst yè fēngbào (Night storm) and I take a look at those items."
"All right aunty," answers the young god, taking a seat at the table.
Xuě méiguī gives him a quick kiss then goes and joins her husband in the other room, to find him crouched by the desk with his left hand over his mouth.
"What is it wǒ de yè fēngbào (My night storm)," she asks all concerned.
The Night Dragon moves his hand away and utters, "I cannot believe what I am seeing after all this time."
This makes his wife peer over the tops of her husband's large wings and gasps, "Wait, I know for a fact I hid that teardrop in that lost village... How did it end up with the fortune tellers?"
Huī yè pulls her close and expresses, "Your guess is as good as mine, wǒ kě'ài de huā (My lovely flower). My this takes me back to when I was first dating you."
Xuě méiguī chuckles, "Back when I was a man."
The Night Dragon starts to kiss her long neck and whispers, "I will say one thing, I do not like this."
"Neither do I, wǒ de yè fēngbào. Tomorrow we will have to pay the fortune teller a visit."
"Aunty, uncle she was not dressed as one... So why do you need to see them?" Lǐwù questions, as he takes a seat beside them.
"Ah, you see dear boy, I gave that ring and scroll to the fortune tellers a long time ago."
The young Healer gasps, "Oh my goodness!" placing a hand near his mouth.
"And I left that shard inside a house that lies in the lost village, that has been claimed by the desert," expresses the Snow Dragon, pointing her hand to it.
The young Healer places his empty bowl down on the floor and questions, "Oh now I understand. It makes me wonder did something bad happen in that village?"
Huī yè sits down, he crosses his legs and answers, "The King of that village had unleashed a creature, that had been locked away in a cave for... we do not know how long."
Xuě méiguī holds the young god close and tells him, "Give you a rough idea, the creature had been in there since before your kind disappeared."
The Night Dragon nods and takes up the story, "I should say what happen to that village was before the Dark Chapter."
Lǐwù's eyes grow wide and he gasps, "Oh my goods. What had my people summoned, that they had to lock it way."
"A creature from the Shadow Realm known as a Desire Demon," answers the Night Dragon. "Now according to scrolls the Cloud Dragons have on your kind, tell us only a well experienced summoner can control."
"A master?"
"Yes, you could say that my dear boy, or a well trained novice. Not a child or someone who was yet to master those skills. So he was unable to control the creature and a Night Dragon, no member of my family, in their panic locked him away. Why they did not just send him back is a real mystery."
The young Healer nods in agreement and adds, "That is strange. Also why did they not get an elder. As that is what I would have done."
"That is because you are a sensible young man," expresses the Snow Dragon, rubbing noses with him. "You understand your limits and you would never go showing off to a friend. That is what we think might have happened at that cave."
"I agree it does sound like it. So when the King came across that sealed cave, he just had to find out what lay within."
Huī yè nods and tells him, "You are quite right dear boy. Once they had made a small hole it broke the seal and the Desire Demon was free. Now they are not evil, however, this village was in the middle of a crises and their King was pretty useless. So it was not long before the creature was locking on to bad thoughts and dark wishes."
Lǐwù places a hand to his chest and stats, "I think I am beginning to understand why the village fell when people were like that. I take it though my people did not use them in the same way?"
Both Dragons shake their heads and Xuě méiguī tells him, "It seems your people would only summon them at a time of great crises. For example, there is a drought they will wish and desire it to rain. The Desire Demon then would bring in Storm Dragons to help."
"That makes sense. So what happened in the cursed village, were you able to stop him?" the young Healer asks, his eyes full of wonder.
"Well in a way we did, Lèguān trapped the creature in a containment stone," informs the Night Dragon, pointing his hand at the shards. "These along with one more piece is all that remains of it."
Lǐwù's curious expression turns to shock and he gasps, "He could not send him back."
"That my boy," says Huī yè, taking hold of the young god's shoulder. "Is where you come in. Once all three pieces are together under the light of a full moon... Or was it a crescent moon?" he ponders, looking to his wife for help.
This makes the Snow Dragon start to laugh and gives him a the cheek. "Sorry wǒ de yè fēngbào, I do not remember."
"Wǒ kě'ài de huā, nor should I expect you to. When all of this was such a long time ago."
They kiss squashing Lǐwù between them, making him quickly yelp, "Ah! Stop! I am here!"
The couple quickly part and they both apologise by giving a soft hug.
The young Healer shakes his head in disapproval of his uncle and aunty's mushy moment. He then goes on to ask, "How am I going to set the Desire Demon free?"
Both Dragons look to each other and their mouths partly open as if they are about to give him the answer. However, they remain silent and frown like they are in deep thought.
"All right think back to that day, I am guessing aunty Lèguān was not the only help you had, right?" Lǐwù questions watching them both begin to nod.
"You are quite correct," answers Huī yè, raising his spike eyebrows. "Yuèliàng and his son Yèwù, along with Bīng féng were there..." he takes a moment to think, his eyes grow wide and he gasps, "The archives!"
The young Healer look at him all confused and queries, "You are saying the answer lies there?"
"I am indeed, dear boy," answers the Night Dragon, gently taking hold of his arms. "Think about it, the young one would not have known the spell to summon the Desire Demon."
Lǐwù's eyes grow wide and he announces, "He must have stole a book... A book of summoning spells. You are hoping it also contains spells to return the creature home?"
Huī yè nods and implies, "It must contain the returning spell, otherwise it seems a bit daft to be lugging around two books. I am going on what the Yǒngyuǎn's (Eternal) have done with their summoning books, both spells are on each page or back to back."
"Speaking of the archive," says Xuě méiguī. "If by chance, there is such a book there, it is going to be so old and fragile I can see Bīng féng asking you to come to them."
The young Healer gets all excited and squeaks, "That would be amazing!" Then his happy moment seems to pop, he frowns and asks, "Wait, how am I going to reach their island?"
Huī yè smiles and suggests, "Why, by the use of a door... I mean a gate."
Lǐwù's eyes blink with bewilderment and he mutters, "Gate?"
The Night Dragon gives a happy nod and informs him, "On the island where the other colony of Snow Dragons live, is a tower that contains a gate. A portal that can be activated with the use of crystals that are inscribed with a certain symbol. One of them opens a door directly to the home of the Cloud Dragons."
Xuě méiguī gently pats the young Healer's back and expresses, "I would not be comfortable flying you all the way there. A cross a sea where the winds are unpredictable."
Lǐwù nods and agrees, "You are right, it would be the safest route to take. I just hope they allow me to use it."
"As long as you explain to them why you need to use it, they will be more than happy to activate it for you."
"I understand uncle," replies the young Healer, as he rises. "Ooh this so exciting. I will ask grandpa Xuěhuā about a summoning book."
Just as Lǐwù sends the message through the message table they hear a feminine voice call, "Son?"
The young Healer goes trotting out of the room answering, "Mother?"
Xīng-lóng and his husband Hóng are pleased to see Lǐwù appear in the hallway.
"There you are my sweet son," says his mother with relief. "You had us all worried when you did not arrive for dinner."
The young god gasps, placing his hands over his mouth and mutters, "I had forgotten all about that."
"You certainly have son. It is a good job your mother and I understand there is a reason behind it, hmm?"
Lǐwù nods and quickly goes on to explain, whilst they make their way to the sitting room where Huī yè announces, "Evening you two."
"Uncle! Aunty!" Xīng-lóng gasps, giving them in turn a hug.
Xuě méiguī places a hand to her chest and admits, "It is also our fault for keeping your son distracted."
"Well that is understandable when something like this comes up," express Hóng as he takes a look at the items. "My question is why was the girl seeking a god when all they had to do was send Longwei a message."
This statement makes the Night Dragon slap his hands and groans, "Stupid."
"Wǒ de yè fēngbào, you are not stupid," whispers Xuě méiguī, giving him a hug. "Like you said yourself this happened a long time ago... Hold on," turning to face the Dusk Dragon. "Hóng, how could you possibly know that? Also when did my dear nephew give the fortune tellers a message table?"
The Night Dragon's eyes narrow, he gives him a soft shake and demands, "Yes enlighten us, young one."
Hóng's eyes open wide and gasps, "My word you have not called me that since I became a father."
Huī yè starts to laugh and expresses, "Now I suddenly feel very old."
The Dusk Dragon gives him a hug and explains, "I have grown up with that story of the lost village. It was grandpa who told me during the Dark Chapter uncle Longwei giving the girls a table, so they could contact him in an emergency. It is looking like that information has not been passed on to the next generation."
Xuě méigu nods and agrees, "You are right it is shame it has not been passed on."
"Wait, this makes no sense," mutters Xīng-lóng, folding his arms.
Lǐwù takes hold of his hand and asks, "What makes no sense mother?"
Xuě méigu gives him a kiss on the forehead and address the family, "No mortal will ever step foot in that cursed place. Then why would one go there? Could it have been the tale of lost treasure that can be found there. They dig up that beautiful crystal and then hand over to the fortune tellers when they could sell it for a large amount of money."
All the other gods stand for moment in complete silence, the evening breeze blows through the room carrying with it the sent of rain.
The young Healer starts to close the shutters and utters, "You are right mother, none of this makes sense."
All the Dragons sit down and Xuě méiguī pour each of them a cup of tea.
"Fear," whispers Huī yè, tilting his head slightly to the right.
Hóng points his hand at him and gasps, "That's it fear. They were afraid to keep it."
"Of course," mutters Xīng-lóng. "Because the main gods who use them are the Dreamers."
Xuě méigu nods and utters, "There is our answer. They are the feared gods since the Dark Chapter."
Lǐwù starts to laugh, he shakes his head and expresses, "Mortals are strange people. Even when they fear something they still take it, instead of just leaving it alone. Then why not hand the crystal over to a Mountain or Forest God, surly there is one of them in either location?"
The Night Dragon shakes his head and moans, "This is problem with mortals, they are unpredictable creatures."
The rest of the family all nod in agreement. Then they turn their attention to the message table when a loud crack comes from it. It is soon followed by some sparks hovering near the centre of the table as the message appears.
Lǐwù stands up, he walks over to it as the ball of paper unfolds and says, "It's from grandpa Xuěhuā. He is going to check the archives tomorrow, and asks me not to hope too much as there might not be a summoning book by my kind there."
Xīng-lóng gives him a hug and Huī yè expresses, "We have to take into a count not many books that were written by Purple eye Healers have been discovered."
"That's true uncle. I will send grandpa a message back. Then anyone up for around of wéiqí?"
Hóng walks on his knees over to his son, he takes hold of him by the shoulders and informs him, "You owe me a game?"
The young Healer turns around to face him, he bits his bottom lip as he answers, "You are right father."
The Dusk Dragon claps his hands. "Right let's play."
Huī yè and his dear wife move over to the other small box board that lies at the other end of the seating area to play Xiàngqí a type of chest game, whilst Xīng-lóng happily plays the Gǔqín. Once the half moon has reached its highest point in the night sky they all decide to turn in for the night.
ns 172.70.178.131da2
然後按「加至主畫面」