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The Archives of the Celestial Court record: "Even the immortals bow their heads when passing the Shadowjade Mountain, for it bore witness to the union of a Dragon and a Phoenix, and the birth of legends''.
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Nine years later.
A tall mountain stood towering above a small village. The mountain was beautiful with waterfalls dotted around the mountain, falling hundreds of meters down into misty pools, eventually they formed a small river at the bottom of the mountain.
At the base of the mountain, green bamboo with black vertical lines thrived. Halfway up the mountain, the landscape began to change. The thick bamboo forest gave way to hardier vegetation such low shrubs, and creeping vines that clung to jagged rocks. The air grew thinner and colder. Clouds often gathered here, wrapping the mountain in white. Above this line, the world turned harsh and silent. The upper area of the Shadowjade Mountain were cold and barren, its rocky slopes often had snow even during the warmer months. Only the strongest of creatures roamed there, such as snow leopards, mountain eagles, and the rare shadow wolves.
Nine children sat in an open clearing below the mountain, before them sat an old man. The old man had long white hair and despite his frail appearance his back was straight like an arrow. On his legs his walking stick rested, it was made of dark wood, possibly made of one of the trees that also grew in the area. He wore black robes and dark grey boots, making a nice contrast to his white hair. He wore a silver sapphire ring on his right hand, the same hand that usually held his walking stick.
"The Shadowjade Bamboo covers about halfway up the mountain," the old man said, gesturing with his walking stick toward the distant slopes. "Some more tenacious bamboo grows even higher, going further than halfway up the mountain."
''Does anyone know why Shadowjade Bamboo prefers to live on this mountain?'' The old man asked.
A child, about nine years old flung his arm up, waving it about, looking to be the one to answer.
''Yes, Tianyu, why?'' The old man looked towards Long Tianyu and smiled. This child was always eager to answer and to learn.
Long Tianyu was quiet for a few seconds, contemplating his answer.
''Teacher, my father once told me that the Shadowjade Bamboo grows here because it fears the sun and that the mountain has many mineral veins." Long Tianyu looked forward, eager to see if he was correct.
''Mm, good, yes. We also named the mountain, Shadowjade Mountain because of the bamboo growing here''. The old man looked towards a tall Shadowjade Bamboo next to him. The bamboo's surface was a bright green that gleamed with vertical dark lines that had a soft, dark luster, as though the mountain's shadow had seeped into its veins.
The child flung his arm up again, waiting to be allowed to say something. The old man allowed it with a nod towards him.
''Teacher, have you ever been at the top of the mountain?'' Long Tianyu smiled and looked happy, hoping that his teacher was as strong as he thought.
The old man smirked.
''Haha, I wish! To be able to climb the mountain you would have to be as strong as a cultivator! No mortal man like me could do ever do that. Actually, there are cultivators that could fly, too. With their spiritual qi, they can soar above the heavens themselves''. The old man spoke with grandeur and looked up towards the mountain, as if hoping to see someone fly over it.
The child, Long Tianyu followed Teacher Song Ming's eyes and also looked up, through the tall Shadowjade Bamboo as it swayed in the mountain breeze and towards the peak of the mountain. A yearning stirred within him, a desire to one day climb this mountain, perhaps even harness the qi to soar above it like the legendary cultivators that Song Ming spoke about.
A child named Hua Qingqing sat next to Long Tianyu also flung her arm up in the same manner as he did. The old man looked back and nodded, allowing her to speak.
''Teacher, have you ever seen someone fly?'' Hua Qingqing asked Song Ming.
''Haha, no, child. Those cultivators are far, far away from this land. Though I have heard during my travels to nearby towns that some merchants there have seen some. Maybe one day you will be able to see one for yourself''.
Hua Qingqing, smiled widely, her eyes crescent-shaped with hope. She, like the rest of the children dreamed of becoming cultivators, strong, able to use qi to strengthen their bodies and even fly.
Song Ming looked towards the children. Long Tianyu, Hua Qingqing, Lin Yue, Xiao Chi, Nong Xuanfeng, Wang Mei, Song Xue, Chen Jie and Zang Liu.
It was impossible to know who had aptitude to cultivate and who did not, no one in the village were able to test their talents. Only those in the sect were able to do that with a special stone. Yet his gaze lingered on Long Tianyu and Hua Qingqing. They were bright, perceptive, and unusually attentive, especially for both of them were only nine years old. Hope stirred in the old man's heart, though reality was harsh: it had been many years since anyone in the village showed any form of talent for cultivation. In the past there were rumors about Hua Qingqing's mother and Wang Mei's father, but Song Ming wasn't sure.
''Alright, that is enough for today. Get up with you, it is time to go back'' Song Ming said while standing up, leaning slightly on his walking stick.
Long Tianyu and the children followed Song Ming back towards the village. The mountain path was made by the people walking up and down the mountain, some trying to gather food for their poor parents, while others gathered materials to sell.
On the way down they greeted several of the villagers walking on the path. Next to the path wild flowers of different colours grew, many had different colours and some were like the bamboo, jade green with dark lines on them. Long Tianyu wasn't sure of their names.
The children were playful along the path back, though they tried their best not to anger the old man, despite his kind appearance he did also have a temper that could shake the heavens.
Long Tianyu and Hua Qingqing walked next to eachother, somehow they always seemed to find eachother at one's side.
Long Tianyu was a boy of medium build, neither the tallest nor the strongest among the group of children, but there was a quiet steadiness about him. His dark hair fell in slightly tousled strands. His eyes were sharp and alert, dark as polished onyx.
Hua Qingqing was a small, lively girl, no taller than most of the eight- or nine-year-olds in the village, yet she carried herself with a natural grace that made her seem older. Her hair was long and black, often tied loosely with a simple ribbon, allowing strands to fall around her face and frame her bright eyes. Those eyes were her most striking feature. Her eyes were like peach blossoms, soft and bright, curving like crescents when she smiled. Even when she was playful, there was a spark of intelligence and awareness that made her seem almost ethereal, as if she noticed more than she let on.
Long Tianyu's gaze wandered to Wang Mei, Lin Yue, and Xiao Chi. These three children came from the more prosperous families in the village. Their clothing was sturdier and more refined than the others, robes dyed in deeper hues, stitched with careful precision, and boots polished enough to gleam faintly in the sunlight. In their homes where plenty of food and comfort were taken for granted. Ahead of them, Song Xue walked with a quietly next to her relative, their teacher, Song Ming.
Nong Xuanfeng, on the other hand, had a simpler outfit, patched at the elbows from hours of work at home at the forge. Chen Jie and Zang Liu's had to join with their parents in the mountain mines, their hands were calloused and blackened by stone dust and the tools they used. Despite these differences in wealth and upbringing, the village thrived on cooperation rather than division. Life here was harsh, and survival depended on each individual pulling their weight. The mountains did not care if one were rich or poor; a misstep could cost lives, and no family could afford to lose even a single member.
Long Tianyu focused back to Hua Qingqing.
''Qingqing, do you think we will ever see someone fly?'' Long Tianyu asked, his voice full of hope.
''Of course we will. Maybe we will also be able to fly above, in the sky just like those immortals''.
Hua Qingqing smiled and looked up towards the sky. The sun was high and above them, with a few clouds covering the mountain drifted along the sky, though not being able to stop the sun from shining down. Hua Qingqing sounded arrogant, but Long Tianyu knew that she, like him, had ambition to cultivate.
The group of teacher and children finished walking on the mountainous path and began instead walking on a stone pathway, made by the stonemasons in the village. It wasn't fully patched with stone, and some grass grew between the stone blocks, but it worked well. Next to the stone pathway there were stone lanterns, now during the day they were not lit but usually during the night they were to help the villagers walking back to the village.
Long Tianyu and the other children neared the village. A sign hanging over the entrance swayed slightly in the wind, its once bright lettering had faded over time, but the words "Xincheng Village" still stood proudly carved into the wood.
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End of chapter 1 - The Shadowjade Mountain