Approx. 1200 ago
Li Qiaohui, a young village girl that yearns for peace and solitude, must live through the harsh world surrounding her. Her cultivation is bigger than most of the disciples in the clans, although she's looked down by any high-class.
She is sitting down, cleaning snow peas and daikon.
"Qiao! Do we have any more bok choy left?" a woman's voice is heard, probably her mother.
"None, I'll go buy some more!" She says, standing up, fixing her clothes as she takes off to the main center.
The market is crowded, children running around with kites and wooden figurines. She walks down the street, tapping on her shoulder her flute, the hanging talisman attached to it ringing its bell at the slight breeze. Her footsteps unnoticeable, she scans the area. She quickly runs up to a stand:
"Grandma, do you have any more bok choy left?"
"No dear, a young fine man took the last one." She shakes her head in acknowledgement. She continues strolling until she spots a kid having his toy taken away forcefully by a man. She observes the scene unfold before my eyes.
"Hey! Give it back!" the kid yells, pulling the man by his cloth.
"Knock it off, spoiled little shit. Don't get in my way!" he pushes the child.
"Watch your mouth grandpa! Give the toy back to its owner." She says, walking up to them and stands in between them. He scoffs.
"Who are you to tell me what to do, lady? You think you can fight me and win? Hah! What a stupid girl!" He says proudly.
"No but I at least win in having manners and respect!"
"Respect?! Little girl, you don't even know what respect is! Let alone true power." he says, looking up and down at her;
"Although, you'd make a fine lady by my side, no?" he adds, laughing.
"How dare you! You're nothing but a filthy old hag!" She says, disgusted by him, and takes the kids hand and runs away. The man calls his friend and runs after them, pissed off.
They run through the crowd, trying to lose sight of the bad guys. She brings the child to a secluded spot and crouches down to his level:
"Here, take this as a little reward for being a good kid." She says, smiling down at the little one, handing him a wind-catcher.
"Be good and don't cause trouble for the elders." The little guy bows down in gratitude and quickly runs up to his mom. The men were nearby. She takes off into the forest to lose track of them. When she gets far enough from them, she takes a good look around, trees enveloping her from every side.
Li Qiaohui explores ahead, reaching a nearby river, taking a breath to calm herself down. She sets her feet free from the shoes, feeling the water tickling her skin, crouching down and kneeling as she dips her hand in the cold water and scoops it up to satisfy her thirst. As she drinks quietly, her reflection in the water is disturbed suddenly by a hand reaching up out of the water. There was someone drowning.
She jumps into the lake and starts swimming as fast as she can to save the helpless man's life. When she reaches him, she grabs his arm and puts it around her neck, trying with all her strength to pull him to the surface. A fish jump up and down, agitated around our feet.
She carefully lays him down on the wet grass to check if he is still alive, meanwhile she notices that he is dressed very unusually. He is wearing a suit and a pair of soft trousers that matched with a black tie. His clothes are very expensive and made of high-quality materials. She was used to men wearing hanfu, which consisted of a jacket or a tunic that reached the knees and straight trouser, often in dark colors, complemented with traditional hats.
"Get back on track, Li Qiaohui."She says to herself, then checks his pulse, feeling blood run down her hand as she touches his opened scar. Tsk. "So annoying."
She rips off some of her cloth and wraps it around his ankle.
"Doofus." She takes a moment to look across his face, silently mesmerized by his features.
"He looks so familiar yet so strange..." The little lady says in a calm whisper. She's so intrigued by ... by the strange man lying across her lap, unconscious. Her fingers brush across his face, tracing his nose, eyelashes, jaw. It was quite the view. She pulls her hand away and helps him sit up straight, resting his head on a tree.
"I must be going crazy... I ate poison". She sits down next to me, looking up at the sky for a moment. She takes another glance at me: "What am I going to do with you, hm?" she chuckles, in disbelief herself.
For the time being, she walked around the river, ripping another small piece of her cloth, wrapping a sharpened stone around a stick and tied it up tight like a spear, hunting down the fishes in the flowy river. Sunset quickly captured the scene, making the view warmer. She looks up ahead, as butterflies fly past her ear into the bliss.
I stir awake, the dim light creeping through my eyelashes as I open my eyes slowly, meeting with the leaves above me. The shine is so bright that it was blinding me. Am I dead? Is this heaven? I sit up a bit straighter, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes as a young lady appears in front of me.
Her hair... was chestnut brown... not too long and not too short, all messy. Her figure slim and delicate, her skin sun kissed. Dressed in a...dress? No...too many layers to be a dress. What was it? Pink? Purple? What shade?... I try and open my eyes more, focusing on her figure. She turns her head around, her eyes meeting mine. The blue in them. God. How can such a shade exist? Her pupils blown wide; her pink lips slightly parted. My hand subconsciously reaches slowly to her, weak.
"You're awake. Quite the heavy sleeper, huh?" She giggles, the sound reaching my ears. My vision gets better slowly and realize I'm not talking to an angel, but... a... little girl?
"Where am I?" I ask, groggly
"Yan Zhi river. Don't you remember you were drowning?"
"I was drowning?" "Yea. I pulled you out just in time. Be grateful I didn't leave you dying in the water." She says proudly. I scoff.
"Please. Like I believe you, a little girl dressed up ancient. And where even is Yan Zhi River? Never heard of this place before."
"Ancient?! My clothes are very brand new! Don't mock my style!"
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." I say mockingly, standing up tall. "Where's my stuff, lady?"
"I don't know. As I told you, I found you literally drowning!"
"Look. I don't got time for this. I have an important meeting to attend, and I can't get distracted now. Where's my stuff?" She drops the spear down, walking up to me, standing before me.
"I told you. I. Don't. Know!"
"I can't deal with this right now. Fine! Let me at least contact someone on your cellphone." I look down at her, her head barely reaching my shoulder, making this more amusing than it should be. She looks confused for a second at me, her head tilted slightly.
"Cell-pho-ne...?"
"Or a laptop or- something. Anything!" I look at her like I'm talking to a wall, not even amused. "Are you kidding me?"
"I should be asking you! You're the one here saying made-up words like a maniac!"
"Listen up, kid. I don't got time to play around with you. Where are your parents?"
"I'm 22, mister. You don't need to know any of my parent."
"A 22-year-old with no cellphone and pure crazy? Great. Just what I needed." I mock. "If you're not going to cooperate with me, then don't."
I fix my tie up. As soon as I take a step away, an ache creeps into my body from my ankle. I look down, seeing the cloth wrapped around the scarred leg.
"Not even thankful for saving your life. What a moron" She murmurs under her breath, pouting slightly. She fixes her attention on fishing up food