3 A Dreaded Moment Following a Moment of Bliss

Finishing his food; Chu Fan excused himself to the restroom. As he made his way to the restroom to relieve himself he didn't notice the shadowy figures lurking nearby.

He had rushed into the bathroom before any of the shadowy figures noticed.

As the adults were busy talking and drinking they had become belligerent and ignorant of the impending crisis. Many of the cultivators present also had gotten into the partying mood an had passed out or were too smash-faced to detect these figures of the night.

As Chu Fan spent a number of minutes relieving himself he reveled over the fact that he was able to out-wit an adult like the other xianxia heroes he had idolised. He was happy with the way things were going. So much so that he said, "Things are going so perfectly. If only things could stay this way for-"

Suddenly realizing what Zhu Zhong and him had said earlier; it dawned upon him that xianxia heroes never have a truly everlasting happiness until they destroyed the Eternal Evil later on. He had been tricked by his own desire and his denial that things wouldn't go wrong so soon. He now was in a state of panic and new of the emotional pain and trial that was to come.

In a rush he wiped and dressed himself as he ran to alert the adults and children. Running with all his might and life on the line.

He didn't want to lose the family that he had come to create for himself. His sister was a person who deserved a great life spanning over a hundred years. His brother-in-law was to bring him many nieces and nephews for him to spoil. The Family patriarch was to usher the family into a new era of prosperity and they would move to the imperial city.

But as cruel as fate was; he would arrive too late. He arrived to see bloodshed as many of the guests present had died from having their throats slit. The city lord was nowhere to be found however.

Hearing voices and sounds of struggling Chu Fan peeked around a corner.

In the distance at the footsteps of the main guest hall; his sister knelt next to his brother-in-law who appeared to have his chest caved in. Standing in front of his sister and her husband was Zhu Jia's half brother, Zhu Long, armed with a spear.

The two brothers, this night, had celebrated and forgotten of their past disputes. They had always wanted things to go back to normal as when they were children. And the moment they had finally rekindled their brotherhood would be cut short.

Angered Zhu Long asked, "You insolent fools. What powers have the Zhu family provoked that would drive you to boldly attack our home?

The cloaked figures in front stepped into view illuminated by the burning paper lanterns strewn about. A womanly figure and a tall burly man walked forward, lifting their veils. They were definitely the leaders of the group as they were followed quietly by masked men.

Giving a cold glare, the woman suddenly laughed while saying, "Hahaha, you have the right to feign ignorance? Do you remember what you did to my sister Zhou Ren? If you ask me the Lunar Fox Gang is only repaying you double in what you owe me."

The Lunar Fox Gang was a notorious bandit gang throughout the Land of Priniciples. They recruited various exiled cultivators who had done many a devilish deed to get them banished form their respective sects.

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Zhu Jia said, "That woman has done her number of evil deeds, it's with great mercy that we even let her live."

Agreeing with her husband, Chu Mei stated, "Right, that woman killed the first wife of my husband and conspired to make my innocent brother's live a living hell. She got her just deserts."

Angered by their words, the cloaked lady glared at Chu Mei for a time. Then noticing something she spoke, "Eh. You look very familiar. Are you from the Peach Blossom Peaks that was destroyed a couple of years back?"

As if thunder rang through her ears, Chu Mei replied, "How do you know that I'm from there? There could only be- No, no! It was you! You massacred my family. My suffering and pain is all because of you."

Chuckling the evil woman stated, "I thought you looked familiar, you've the very face of your bitch mother. If only your father would have sold me those barrels of wine at a discounted price like I asked. And if your mother hadn't intervened with talks of a newborn and needing any little bit of extra money. I wouldn't have done what I did. That gives me an idea. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I think I'll make you suffer the way your mother did before her death."

On the verge of tears, Chu Mei screamed at the top of her lungs. To hear that the decimation of her home was all the fault of a discounted barrel of alcohol; she was brought to the brink of insanity.

Furious she yelled, "You bitch, have you no shame. For a barrel of wine,you'd be petty enough as to disregard the value of life and make us your playthings. Have you no remorse?"

Chu Fan was so infuriated by the fact that this woman that this woman would be so petty as the disregard life altogether. He could only ball his fists and cry in anger as he watched from the side with nothing he could do to help.

Laughing hysterically now, the woman stated, "It's fine, as long as you know my name; you can find me in the afterlife and demand payment. My name is Zhou Nu. Where the darkness looms, I shall lurk. Fear me, for you cannot fathom my potential to wreak havoc."

And with a wave of her hands, Zhou Nu commanded her followers to attack the group before her.

The burly man rushed towards the spear wielding Zhu Long. And in response Zhu Long thrust his spear at the man's throat with precision.

In the next moment a shattering noise was heard. It was the sound of the tempered spear shaft. The other party had using his mastery of the earth element; hardened his body to be able to withstand blows and appear virtually impenetrable.

The burly man grabbed a hold of Zhu Long before he could dodge and put him in a bear hug. Turning his body into a hard stone form again; he began to squeeze Zhu Long until cracking sounds could be heard and the struggling man fell lifeless. Zhu Long was then tossed aside where he landed like a dead fish.

Crying, Zhu Jia reached out and shouted, "Brother, my dear brother! Our life wasn't meant to be this short. If possible in our next life; let's be brothers again and love each other as we should have."

After saying that, a lackey approached him saying, "Shut your yap with that glib shit. Now, Die!" Followed by a sharp sword light that would pierce Zhu Jia's throat spraying blood everywhere.

The group then turned to face Chu Mei. Encroaching on Chu Mei; one of the men said while slurping, "It's been a while. I'll savor this piece of meat tonight."

Zhou Nu then proceeded to laugh at the misery surrounding her. She loved to see others suffer as it fueled her insatiable god complex.

Hearing her laugh, Chu Fan screamed with all his might as he didn't want to see his sister die like there mother. He grabbed a bowl and threw it aiming for Zhou Nu's face. To his avail the burly man caught the bowl crushing it as it mad impact with his palm; only a sizable shard had made it's way to slice a chunk of meat off Zhou Nu's mouth. Her left side of her lip dangled as the flesh as if the flech had been cut using a jagged rock.

Furious and in excruciating pain, she yelled, "Catch that fuc***g pig, I'm gonna fu*king roast him alive."

In the midst of distraction, Chu Mei felt that she'd rather choose death than allow herself to be Zhou Nu's plaything and die in the same fashion as her mother; especially in front of her brother. So she ran to the closest sword user of the group and impaled her self with his drawn blade.

Seeing this scene Chu Fan could not do anything but cry and shout, "No, Sister Chu Mei. You can't leave me to be in this world to be alone. I have nothing now. What do I do?"

With her last breath, Chu Mei shouted, "Run idiot! Grow strong and get revenge!"

Having no choice but to comply, Chu Fan followed his sister's words and ran. He ran as fast as he could.

The men gave chase and all that was left at the scene now was Zhou Nu and the bodies of the dead. She walked up and said, "You really think you can just die and escape my wrath. She then produced a plain looking mirror of a green and red color. After chanting an incantation she drew out the souls of those dead near her and confined them inside of the mirror itself.

Walking away she chuckled lightly as to not put any strain on her cut lip.

As Chu Fan ran, the group of men chased him. He ran through the city and ended up hiding in a dog hole.

Recovering his thoughts, he noticed that he had forgotten about Zhu Zhong, Zhu Hua, Zhu Ling, and most importantly Huang Mudan. And so he bravely stood up and made his way back to the family estate to look for the other children.

As he neared the front gate he heard screaming. It appeared the children were hiding earlier and were, at this moment, being gathered by the Lunar Fox Gang.

"This is a pretty good haul boss." said one of the men.

"They'll fetch us a pretty penny on the slave market. As for this girl, we can hold her for ransom; if her father tries anything funny we can simply slit her throat." said the tall burly man as he began to laugh.

Angered, Chu Fan chose to wait for the appropriate moment to distract the group of bandits.

Zhu Zhong who had found the body of his father sat quietly; the anger on his face was comparable to that of a death god.

Huang Mudan was angered and would fight back and struggle incessantly, barking any number of insult she could come up with.

Zhu Hua and Zhu Ling cried like there was no tomorrow.

Then there came a loud boom from behind where Chu Fan was; and all the bandits ran to the front gate to see what was happening.

Chu Fan seeing this as an opportunity to save what was left of his family entered from a dog-hole next to the front gate of the estate.

What had caused such a boom was the arrival of the city lord, Huang Dan, and his crew of cultivators.

Earlier the city lord had also left the party to relieve himself. Seeing as the toilet was preoccupied, he rushed into the nearby forests to relieve himself. Buzzed from the alcohol, he peed for a bit. As he was ready to head back to the party, he heard the sounds of people yelling and struggling. Quickly sobering up he made his way into the city to recruit the various sect disciples that had come to recruit new students.

The cultivators that made up his group were all of high standing in their schools; well known for their heroism and bravery. The sects present were: the Nine Nethers Sect, Immortal Flower Sect, Five Fingers Mountain Sects, and the most prestigious Skyward Sword Sect.

The bandit group were unprepared for an ambush and scrambled to think of a plan. And then they realized that they had hostages. Looking over at the group of children they discovered that the group of kids had disappeared.

Noticing the movement of dust at a nearby dog hole; the bandits rushed to capture the kids in front of the house.

The city lord and cultivators also took notice of the children running towards them; and then they saw the bandits making their way to retrieve the children.

The children were leaded by Zhu Ling and Zhu Hua, followed by Zhu Zhong and Chu Fan besides each other. The slowest of the group was Huang Mudan who was exhausted from her struggling earlier.

As the Lunar Fox Gang caught up to the children, the bandit carrying a sword caught Huang Mudan by her wrist.

The Lunar Fox Gang then made a demand, "City Lord, we know how much you love your daughter. Have these cultivators leave and we'll let your daughter go unharmed near the city gates."

Before the city lord could speak, his daughter yelled, "My father doesn't make deals with murderers."

She then proceeded to bite a chunk of flesh from the bandit's right wrist. He reacted by backhand slapping her on the face.

Noticing his actions, the bandit look towards the city lord who was the very image of a war god locating his target.

With everything having gone wrong, the bandit slashed his sword down at Huang Mudan.

The city lord could only extend his hand as he was far away enough that, even with his cultivation, he would not reach Huang Mudan in time.

In a split moment, Zhu Zhong ran in front of Huang Mudan to receive the sword slash. He was determined to become a sacrifice to at least save a life tonight. He had no problems with death because he had no family left and was an orphan; resolving to join his mother and father in the afterlife. And so he closed his eyes anticipating death.

As he was standing in front of Huang Mudan, he felt a shove from his left side. It was Chu Fan who would save him.

At this moment, Chu Fan's adrenaline level shot higher than the night skies. Everything around him slowed. He saw Zhu Zhong jump in front of him and to his amazement Zhu Zhong was willing to die. Determined to save the "hero" of this story as well as someone he considered a dear friend.

In the spur of the moment he thought of a move from his past life. And in a rush to execute the move he shoved Zhu Zhong out of the way; propping himself in front of the sword that was swiftly approaching in a downward slash.

Chu Fan struck a horse-stance pose and suddenly clapped above his forehead; catching the blade as it barely sliced into his glabella.

Chu Fan grit his teeth at the pain and said to Zhu Zhong, "You fool. You can't die yet. You haven't got revenge for your father yet. Dying now would be the dumbest thing you ever did. Your father gave you life so that you could achieve great things. And as long as I live; I swear that this sworn brother of yours will always be your family." With blood running down his face, he smiled and angrily shouted, "Now Run!"

Huang Mudan was also surprised as she had never seen Chu Fan give off such an aura of heroism before and was stunned silly. She had forgotten of the serious situation and sat there like an idiot.

In the next moment Zhu Zhong grabbed Huang Mudan and ran towards the group of cultivators led by the city lord.

At this moment Chu Fan was tightly gripping the sword, he had successfully executed the fabled "Bare-Handed Blade Block." And he would not let go.

This prompted the bandit to kick him with all his might and the Lunar Fox Gang took to flight for their lives.

The group of cultivators then took to chase in the night as they fervently sought to avenge the Zhu family.

The adults that stayed to protect the children were the city lord and the most senior of the cultivator sects.

When everything had calmed down, it was dawn. With emotionless faces, the children took a final look at what used to be their home as they made their way to the city lord's mansion.

There, they were cleaned and their clothes were changed for fresh new pairs. They made their way to the conference hall where the city lord and cultivators from earlier were discussing the best course of action.

Being noticed the children quietly made stood in front of the crowd of adults, patiently awaiting any news.

Huang Dan then looked at the group of children and started to speak. He said, "We've discussed amongst ourselves and figured the best course of action now is to send each of you to the different sects as a way of protecting you. Seeing as we've offended them they'll surely come after you individually. With the protection of a sect, the Lunar Fox Gang wouldn't dare attempt anything."

Chu Fan than asked, "You're planning to separate us? We're only orphans, surely you can meet us halfway somewhere."

With Chu Fan's knowledge of cliche placement: Zhu Ling would go to the Five Fingers Mountain Sect, Huang Mudan and Zhu Hua would go to the Immortal Flower Sect, and he and Zhu Zhong would go to the Skyward Sword Sect. Everybody would be chosen based off their tests and aptitudes; and Zhu Zhong and Chu Fan would be chosen based on their bravery and heroism.

He had about seventy percent of it correct.

The city lord explained, "Zhu Ling shall go to the Five Fingers Mountain Sect and become an outer sect disciple, Huang Mudan and Zhu Hua will go to the Immortal Flower Sect as outer sect disciples, Zhu Zhong will go to the Skyward Sword Sect as an outer sect disciple, and you shall go the Nine Nethers Sect as a studying disciple."

Nodding his head in agreement at first Chu Fan came to a sudden halt. He felt dizzy and rubbed his head only to feel stinging pain from the slash he received. He knew he was the last choice and just a consultation prize for the Nine Nethers Sect. The sects held a prejudice towards aft individuals.

The Nine Nethers group was composed of a bunch of wizard virgin cultivators, allowing only men exclusively as their cultivation methods only suited men and not women. Those that lost their true essence, AKA virginity, would be exiled as their lifelong cultivation's prowess would be halved; benefiting the lady they slept with.

Stopping the city lord, he said, "Wait, this isn't how it's supposed to go. I'm supposed to enter the Skyward sword sect as a disciple too. I can't go to the Nine Nethers Sect."

Confused the group of adults asked, "Why can't you go to the Nine Nethers Sect? And why must you go to the Skyward Sword Sect?"

Chu Fan sighed and shook his head. He then went on to point his thumb at himself and say, "Of course it's because I'm qualified to go to the Skyward Sword Sect. Plus, I can't leave my sworn brother to be alone. I'm the only family he's got left. Look at him so pitiful, he needs me for emotional support. Being so lonely might breed a heart demon in him, halting cultivation entirely."

Noticing the point in his argument, the Nine Nethers Sect readily agreed with him and nodded.

The Skyward Sword Sect felt they were being duped and stated, "Regardless, you have your nephew, Zhu Ling. Why do you not go with him?"

Chu Fan interjected with, "He's ten years old. He's old enough to look after himself. He's not as emotionally disturbed as Zhu Zhong is. And we'll meet again after a while to get revenge anyways. I'll tell you what; just make me a studying disciple and I'll be a servant for the sect also."

Hearing his reasoning and offer, the adults were baffled by this witty and quick thinking child. To make an offer despite being given an answer of, "No" The group of adult couldn't help but applaud Chu Fan's determination and tenacity.

Their interests were piqued; and so the Skyward Sword Sect senior asked, "What kind of chores can you do being so young?

With a spry smile, he said to them, "I can cook. As a bonus I'll personally deliver the food I make."

Surprised at his claim, the Skyward Sword Sect senior asked, " What can you cook? Are you willing to demonstrate for us?"

Now knowing he had scored big this time, Chu Fan's face wore a perverted smile. All he said was, "Of course. No problem."

The other children who knew him well only shook their head at Chu Fan's shamless tactics and scheming. The mood had lightened by a more than enough that the children had forgot about the events of last night.

And so the group made their way to the city lord's kitchen.

Entering such a grand kitchen, Chu Fan was elated as he began to open every cabinet and look to see what ingredients they had.

The only ingredients the city lord had at this moment were short-grained spirit rice and vermilion hen eggs; he had a wide assortment of herbs, spices, and oils but no other meats.

And so Chu Fan thought for a second and began to cook.

In a matter of minutes he presented a plate of a mountain of golden grains of rice mixed with sesame and scallions. This was a dish he made himself many times in his past life when he was low on cash; and all he had was day old rice and eggs. It was name by Chu Fan to be "Discount Fried Rice."

The aroma of scallions, sesame, and egg-encased rice caused many of the cultivators to salivate. It was a dish they'd seen before; but the very dish that this child had presented them seemed to be of another level.

Without any hesitation, the group crowded around the dish began to eat.

With faces of ecstasy, they seemed to enter a euphoric state as they hadn't had good food in a while. On their travels to Mulberry city, they'd only eat dry rations and cheap junk foods as they were on a budget and could only spend extravagantly using their own savings.

The Skyward Sword especially needed a new cook as their current cook was merely given his role as a punishment and his skills in said area were nonexistent.

Looking at one another, the Skyward Sword Sect nodded and said, "We agree to your proposal, student Chu Fan."

The other schools were devastated because they would have made their own offers. But seeing as Chu Fan had his sights on entering the Skyward Sword Sect; they could only concede and respect his choice."

Having settled the matters on where the children would go, they took another days rest before heading towards their respective sects.

That night, the children all slept together as that would be the last time they saw each other after that.

Before going to sleep, they played and chatted all night long. Eventually the city lord came and spanked them all individually while instructing them to be good children and going to sleep; in which they would take turns laughing at the pained faces each child made.

Soon they all fell asleep. And in the silence of the night, one of the children got up and made their way to another.

The child who got up was Huang Mudan, she had made her way to where Zhu Zhong was sleeping.

In this moment Chu Fan woke up. He saw a figure with her hair covering her face looking at him. He wanted to scream but when her heard the voice of the "ghost" in front of him, he knew it was Huang Mudan.

Huang Mudan, in the darkness of the night found her way to Chu Fan thinking he was Zhu Zhong.

She then whispered to "Zhu Zhong", "Brother Zhu Zhong we won't be able to see each other for a while after this. I have no worries for brother Chu Fan because he's always so cheerful and brave. But if you ever feel you need someone to talk to and Chu Fan isn't around; feel free to contact me with this Mandarin Duck Parchment paper." Following this Huang Mudan kissed "Zhu Zhong" on his forehead and placed a package under his pillow.

The Mandarin Duck Parchment Paper was a magical treasure; it was one that scholars and cultivators would use to converse with a loved one. It was crafted from the skin of a pair of Mandarin Ducks that died of old age. Their bond that transcended death would allow others to convey their feelings and words wherever and whenever a person so desired. It was also important to note that it was virtually indestructible as it was: water-proof, dirt and dust-proof, tear resistant, and fire retardant. If a person were crazy enough, they'd attempt to us it as an armor.

Chu Fan could do nothing but cry over his mixed emotions.

His first love in this life would come to kiss him only because she thought he was the "other guy". And she loved the "other guy" for the fact that he hid his feelings and appeared mysterious. He fit that very description. The only thing was that he was fat and wore his facade very well.

He was mentally strained most of the time as he had to come up with ways for him to still exist in the story and become the hero.

Chu Fan cried himself to sleep that night and woke up with puffy eyes and bags. He was the very image of a panda.

And so dawn came, the vermilion rooster crowed, and they prepared to leave.

Saying their farewells, Zhu Ling, Zhu Hua, and Chu Fan hugged each other goodbye.

Zhu Ling shook Zhu Zhong's hand and headed off with his Five Fingers Sect seniors.

Huang Mudan said her farewell also and hugged the boys one at a time. She hugged Zhu Zhong first and tried hard not cry despite one tear streaming down her cheeks. Their hug lasted a long while until Zhu Zhong pushed her away out of awkwardness.

Recomposing herself, she turned to Chu Fan. She hugged him and said, "Big Brother Chu Fan, in the future you must watch Zhu Zhong well. Make sure he's fed well. Thank you for cooking for me all these years. If possible, in the future, I look forward to eating your new dishes you cook. Also, thank you for hearing me babble everyday. It helps to have someone to tell my problems to. I don't have much to give you besides these gold chopsticks with your name engraved in it."

And there he cried, it had been one of the only gifts that he liked in all of his two lives. In his past life; his family didn't understand his hobbies and preferences and would gift him gift cards and/or cash only. This simple gift of chopsticks meant a lot because someone had put a lot of consideration into it for him.

After wiping his tears and snot, Zhu Zhong and Chu Fan would make their way towards the Skyward Sword Sect.