Three Lives, Three Worlds: Jasmine's Fate [Hiatus]

Chapter 5 - "The Stranger Who Fled"

Huìhuà Shān Gǔ, Demon Realm

Scaling the edge of the marbled hillside, one could hear the roar upon the dry desert air, enveloped by the cool breeze, arriving much earlier than the loud thunder brewing on the horizon. The humid gust of air rose beneath, creating whirlwinds of rising sand and dust.

The cries...the moans...and worst of all...the fear, resonating from the creatures struggling to be set free. Magic silver chains they must be, because Nian Beasts were not easily tamed. It was anomalous to see the sheer number of mythical Beasts in one location. Even more unusual was that they were in the barren land of the Painted Hills Valley (绘画山谷, Huìhuà Shān Gǔ), thousands of Li away from their own habitat. Depending on the species, these creatures normally lived under the sea or the high mountain, where they remain in solitude due to their aggressive nature. With the body of a bull and the head of a lion, they came in a multitude of sizes and forms. Orange, green, yellow and blue were the dominant colors of these mythical creatures.

Now trapped -- the creatures bemoaned their fate. Louder and louder, although muffled by metal muzzles, the agonized cries and painful squeals could still be heard the closer she approached.

It was fortunate Yan Zhi had left the Nine Heavens a day earlier than she had planned. Her meeting with the Celestial King propelled the need for the investigation concerning the missing Mythical Beasts within the four major realms. She had spent the latter part of her visit with the Celestial Queen, the High Goddess Bai Qian, with whom her friendship had grown over the years. Bai Qian even addressed her as Sǎozi1 during their private time, with respect towards her late senior. Their time was cut short when Bai Qian insisted on playing the matchmaker when Yan Zhi had thought she could find some reprieve at the Nine Heavens. She should've known the Celestial Queen was bored out of her mind these days, since her children all resided at Kunlun Mountain. Instead of heading back to her Realm, Yan Zhi decided to visit a few known locations where mythical Beasts were spotted beyond their hunting grounds. If Yan Zhi had arrived any later, she would've missed the march, hidden behind a sharp cliffside of the barren valley and located West of the Demon Realm.

Setting the triple arrows on her Whistling Night Raven, the crossbow leveled over her leather strapped forearm, Yan Zhi eyed the targets from above. The sensible thing was to stand down, until further intel could be gathered. Should she call for reinforcements before taking action against the army of poachers? But the opportunity was too huge to let go. When the prize was in sight, her mind wandered...her arrows took aim at the purple-clad hidden figures a few dozen scores away. There were maybe a hundred men marching next to the Beasts, who were now in chains. The numbers didn't matter to her, they never had.

She was a High Goddess, and had been living for the last 30,000 years. Her people followed her not just because of the blood that ran through her veins, but because she never backed down from any challenge, any fight, or any danger that fell in her path. She was sensible compared to her brothers and her father; yet, blood was still blood. Yan Zhi could only hold back her bloodlust so far. She was raised to fight, raised to die, raised by the High God who regarded his children as nothing but power vessels upon their deaths.

Her birth mother was Yan Wu, the third Consort of the High God Qing Cang. He held her even more dear than Li Jing's mother at the time. When she was 15,000 Celestial years old, her mother stole her away while her father and brothers were on their hunt. They traveled beyond mountains and rivers, further and further away from the Ghost realm as possible. Yan Zhi didn't understand why they had to hide, but it didn't take long for her father to find them, within this very Valley. He was livid, angry that they had run from him. Her parents had exchanged chilling words which Yan Zhi could not understand at the time.