4 Chapter 1

Yu Lian stared blankly at the intricately wooden-carved wall in front of her, lips parted slightly and her dark, long eyelashes fluttering on her eyelids. Her hand rested against the strings of the guzheng*, absentmindedly tapping her index finger on a single string whose sound became a muffled whisper below her pale skin. The tips of her left hand felt the buzzing numbness from playing from hours before, her thickened skin preventing any rawness and pain. It was a pleasant, familiar feeling.

The house was a cramped little thing, and beams of light streamed through the curtains brightly illuminating the inside space where she sat. Pieces of clothing were strewn around the sides of the building and an aged, yellowed paper of a crane painting was intricately woven into the sliding panel door.

Right outside a trickling stream that led deftly to a tiny aquatic garden where lotuses scattered about the greens. Clothes were hung on a line connected from a rusty, protruding nail atop of the window from outside where dew fell in steady droplets.

It was quite strange that the night before, thunder rolled across the outskirts of the Han empire with a distant rage. Lei Gong* must have been in a bad mood; it stormed in abundance for the first time in two weeks. It was known that the thunder god with one stomp of his staff had the power to rattle the earth of Di* (地) from above. But to rain so heavily as it did Yu Shen* was undoubtedly angered too but ironically blessed the lower world the night before to fertile the crops. No wonder the farmers were in a good mood this morning.

Regardless of the reason, she hated the thunderstorms; she couldn't possibly play while the booming voice of the gods absolutely subdued any sweet melody which was struck from the zither. In addition to the booming sound, she often sensed the presence of other lost entities, wandering the premises outside.

You see, Yu Lian couldn't see them. But she could sense them, attracting lost souls who did not have a fulfilled death and yearned for a place of rest.

But for now she was left alone with her thoughts savoring the near quietness.

Good. She liked it that way.

Yu Lian could tell the earth was drying from the earthy smell of wet, fertile soil outside becoming progressively more subtle meaning that it was finally dry enough to go outside. Inhaling deeply through her nose, she felt around for her walking stick, eyes unblinking before the corner of her lips curled upwards into a triumphant smile upon brushing the smooth piece of bamboo with her nail.

Upon sliding the door panel open, the girl was greeted in an amicable sense of warmth from the mid-afternoon not yet present within the interior of her house. She stood there for a few more seconds basking in the dewy air before going to retrieve the body of her beloved instrument while her loosely-pinned up hair swayed just above her dainty hips.

Unable to drag the guzheng too far, she gently placed it on the front porch and just beneath the very ends of the roof so she could feel the sun on her hands. Her soft hands slid inside the box in search of her finger picks. She wrapped the fabric around the tips of her fingers.

Yu Lian plucked each one of the 21 strings on the zither, each producing a beautiful melancholy cry, as the vibration from her fingertips moved all the way up to the very top of her head. Pressing down with her left hand created a smooth rift in each benign sound allow the music to tell a tale; each note a word and each chord a painting which gave rise to a likeliness to its entirety.

Each breath, each exhalation which slipped from her lips was nearly lost beneath the pastoral land and creatures and spirits alike who stopped to listen.

She paused and so did the various entities. Pressing her palms to the surface of the strings, she muffled the vibrations and cease to play any longer. Yu Lian listened again for the quiet, nearly inaudible, high-pitched squeal. It repeated once more and then it was gone.

Yu Lian pushed herself off of the ground with her walking stick and unraveled the fabrics from her hands once more. Once shuffling her feet into a pair of slippers, she made her way down the porches. Gliding past the aquatic gardens and feather leaves of bamboo while placing one foot after another rather punctiliously. The fertile soil and damp grass squeaked and indented inwards beneath the smoothness of her shoes.

She tapped the area around her with the bamboo and poked the tiny lump that laid in the middle of the grasslands. It gave another quiet groan in protest.

Curiosity compelled her and Yu Lian found herself bending down to touch the creature. It seemed fairly tame, whatever it was. Pleasantly surprised, she was greeted by a smooth, scaley surface no more than a meter long. The ridges, which she assumed to be scales, grew smaller as she descended to the tip of the thing, and before long gently brushed the back of its neck. She recoiled her hand which was now slick with a thick, iron-scented liquid that flowed from an area of the large gash on the creature's perfect skin.

At the touch, it hissed and seemed to coil up into a spring-like shape, though she couldn't tell if it was from pain or malice towards her. The blind girl immediately drew back, startled at the sudden aggressive sound; it was almost at she could feel its beady red eyes boring holes into optics but regardless gently smiled at it.

"It's okay," she cooed reassuringly. "You'll be okay, don't be afraid."

It was quiet, almost like it heeded her words. Taking this as a sign of approval, Yu Lian gently scooped up the small creatures in her arms and pressed it flush against her chest. The poor thing seemed to tremble slightly in her arms and quivered on her forearm but soon weakly buried its head in the crook of her arm.

By the time she retrieved her walking stick and made her way back to the house, it was evening and the sky turned the warm shades of orange, pinks, and purples. Crickets started to awaken from their daylight slumber to fill the peace of the night with their chittering. She walked around her guzheng* which was still on the porch and slid open the door. Making a small, makeshift bedding, Yu Lian laid the creature comfortably on the surface and assembled some cloth and water from the well just right outside. She pressed the damp cloth lightly on the wound to disinfect it as the creature seemed to whimper softly.

"I know it hurts, it'll be over soon," Yu Lian whispered. It seemed rather stupid of her to be talking to a snake that wouldn't even be able to understand what she was saying. But in all honesty, she actually liked having a creature in the room, even if it wasn't human. After the distinct red liquid mostly removed, she lightly placed some gauze on the wound and wrapped it with a thin layer of cloth. "All done. That wasn't so bad, right?"

Yu Lian lowered her non-seeing eyes to the snake and beamed. It glanced up at her once, then lowered its head as she used her index and middle finger to gently pat it gently just beneath the head. Letting out a sound of contentment, the white snake was soon flaccid as it drifted off into a deep slumber.

After confirming that the creature was in fact asleep, Yu Lian retrieved her guzheng which still sat on the porch; the wood and strings were chilly from the night breeze that had swept through the area not long ago. She then propped herself on the wooden bed in the corner of the house and allowed herself to bask in the presence of the snake further. It is such a tame creature, and strangely somehow gave her a little bit of comfort just knowing there was something with a beating heart just ten feet away.

As the earth turned and a rich blue engulfed the sky with its calming presence, the little orbs scattered amidst like bright, white splattered paint across the canvas seemed to grow brighter. Circular orbs of spirits glowed an ethereal, faint hue of blue and yellow unbeknownst to the vision of mortals. The large circle that laid upon the clouds hidden in the dark seemingly staring down with round, expecting eyes and the glow of the central empire in the near distance seemed to scatter and fall into ash which glittered around the two beings inside the house.