I lived in the mountains of the Jade forest in the Yun kingdom territory near a small village. I avoided the town of Lanling at the bottom of the mountain like it was a plague, not like there was one. I used to live there when I was young but because of an unfortunate accident, I was forced to flee, however, the rumors that followed had already begun to spread like wildfire throughout the land shortly after my ascent up the mountain.
There was talk of a walking corpse in the Jade Forest that killed passersby. It was said that the corpse was of a young boy, a child, who had been brutally attacked by a beast and lost his life, mind, and soul becoming a fierce walking corpse that terrorized the forest.
The rumors were not entirely false. There was a corpse on the mountain of the Jade Forest, that was about the only truth, but the boy wasn’t attacked, he didn’t kill, and he wasn’t a child. I'm 18. Yes, I’m the so-called fierce corpse of the Jade Forest as shocking as it sounds. I never intended to cause harm to the people of Lanling and never will but to them, I’m only a monster.
I only wanted to spend whatever time I had left on the mountainside living a peaceful life as much as a literal dead man could somehow live. Of course, I eventually developed a routine and things were amazing. Every day I would wake up, clean the home, feed my cat which I named bamboo, wash my clothes, then tend to my garden because hey I may be dead but I still need food and discipline. Everything was going as normal until a knock so loud it shook my little bamboo home at its very foundation came from my door.
Out of natural curiosity, I peered out of the side window near the door to hopefully catch a glimpse of my guest. As soon as I saw his golden and black clothing, armor shining in the light, I immediately knew whoever this was, he was a noble and by the looks of it with that golden sword strapped to his hip, he was out for my head. “How did he find me?! I made sure to set up an array so something like this could never happen?!” I shouted in a low whisper.
The man out my door appeared to be around 19 and had quite a handsome face but even then I was still terrified. The Nobel grew more agitated and eventually with one single blow my door came crashing in. I attempted to escape but was suddenly stopped by the Nobleman grabbing the collar of my shirt and tossing me to the ground like a fish into a boat.
With the way he tossed me and how swift he pulled that sword I could have sworn this man had schadenfreude in his heart. My cold body ached from the sudden fall, yes I still feel pain, and the Noble began to say “You must be the beast of the Jade Forest, if you have any last words speak now or forever hold them in your grave.”
His words were full of malice and hate but I was full of fear. I pleaded “Please, I have done no wrong! I swear I never hurt a soul, those were merely rumors of frightened village folk!” I could feel the tears forming under my eyes as I continued “I’m just a kid, I live alone. I have no reason to be a nuisance.” I was in a state of mortal fear, I had lost a reason to show face to an enemy as I groveled for quarter at his feet.
Defeated, the Noble began to lower his sword much to my relief. “What is your name?” He mumbled with regret. Finally being able to catch my breath I hesitantly replied “My name is Li Min.” sheathing his sword the Noble took a step back and bowed politely “My apologies, Li Min. I hadn’t realized the possibility of a walking corpse with no hateful intention. My name is Yun Qiling.”
Yun Qiling? YUN QILING?! Of course, the man who tried to kill me had to be the son of Emperor Yun Fengxi, with my luck why wouldn’t it be? Sighing, I stood up to properly greet him, having been on the floor the entire time. “It’s a pleasure to meet you young master Yun, but… may you please be so kind and fix the door you damaged? I just installed it.”
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Villainess here!~ hopefully you're enjoying my little short story Don't worry there's more to come I did have an image of the two but I lost it so I'll redraw them and publish it in my last chapter we'll see hopefully~ 🌸
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The Noble, The Beast, and The Jade Forest
FantasyThey say a beast lives on the mountain side of the Jade Forest, a ferocious walking corpse. But what if that monster was no different than a normal man? what if a nobleman was after his head? But instead of hate festering like a disease between an u...
