1 River Of Time

"Jiang'er, it's time for you to marry your childhood sweetheart," a woman said.

Quan Jiang smiled at the woman in front of him. She was his mother named Luo Yuan. She was quite pretty for the average eyes and the pride of his father. The two of them smiled at each other as excitement filled both of them.

Lin Fengfang was a beauty famous across the Soaring Swan Country. No young man doesn't know and dreams about her at night. She was born in the small Lin Clan.

The Lin and the Quan Clan were quite close. Quan Jiang and Lin Fengfang used to play with each other as a result. As time went by, the two of them had a spark. Thus, the wedding today.

"Mother, thank you for supporting me. I shall go now," Quan Jiang said.

"Go."

Luo Yuan pushed Jiang forward, and he exited the door.

It was a building packed with people with seats on two sides. They were the villagers from the Lin and Quan Village. Quan Jiang was familiar with all of them.

He was currently at the front, and he just exited the right door. He smiled and looked over to the other side.

A 19-year-old lady wearing a red cheongsam(Chinese dress) smiled at him. Her face was like a blooming flower. Her cherry red lips tempted the soul of the onlookers. Her beautiful eyes were as clear and alluring as spring water.

She lightly swayed her body as she walked toward him. Her nice curves carved themselves into the minds of everyone.

"Hun, you're making me embarrassed," Lin Fengfang said with a slight blush.

Quan Jiang's heart fluttered seeing her cute appearance.

*Bam!*

The closed door of the building suddenly opened with a kick. A handsome young man walked in. He had sharp eyebrows and an intense gaze. He looked around and settled his eyes on Lin Fengfang.

"Feng'er, I have come to change your fate! A flower as beautiful as you needs to be planted beside a towering tree like me!"

"Zeng Wei!" Quan Jiang shouted in anger.

"Quan Jiang, don't move, or I will massacre everyone in here!" Zeng Wei shouted.

He lifted his jade sword and pointed it at Quan Jiang. His intentions were clear to the villagers. They inched backward in fear of his blade.

Several men entered the building and backed him up. It was easy to tell that all of them were powerful experts.

"Zeng Wei, my woman is not yours!" Quan Jiang screamed.

"Wei…"

Contrary to Quan Jiang's expectation, Lin Fengfang walked toward Zeng Wei. Quan Jiang tried to grab her, but a man stepped out from behind Zeng Wei and pointed his sword at Quan Jiang's throat.

Quan Jiang could only watch as Lin Fengfang walked beside Zeng Wei. She looked away and bit her lips.

"Jiang, don't take revenge. This is for your own good," Lin Fengfang softly said.

"Fengfeng!" Quan Jiang called out in heartbreak.

"Feng'er, are you willing to come with me?" Zeng Wei asked.

"Y-Yes." Lin Fengfang bashfully nodded her head.

"Y-You!!"

Quan Jiang couldn't believe his eyes.

"Aha! Quan Jiang! I already conquered her heart back at the Minister's Party!" Zeng Wei sneered.

"No way!"

Quan Jiang widened his eyes in disbelief.

Zeng Wei pulled Lin Fengfang close to him and embraced her. She leaned her body against his strong body willingly like an obedient wife.

"I…"

*Crack*

Quan Jiang's heart shattered. His hopes, his dreams, his love, were all gone.

He looked behind him and saw the twisted expression of his mother. She was grieving for him. She also understood what this meant.

He looked around and saw everyone looking at him pitifully.

"Brother Jiang, give it up. The Zeng Clan will massacre us if you resist further," a 'good' friend advised Quan Jiang.

Despair.

It filled Quan Jiang's heart and crushed it to innumerable pieces.

"Hmph. Let's go," Zeng Wei ordered and left with his men.

Quan Jiang kneeled on the ground and slowly closed his eyes. He fainted because of shock.

*Thud*

…

Quan Jiang slowly opened his eyes. He found himself laying on his own bed. He looked outside the window, and bright stars lit up the sky.

He slowly regained himself.

"Fengfeng!"

Quan Jiang sat up and panted. Fear and despair filled his mind again. The image of Lin Fengfang leaning on Zeng Wei's chest like an obedient wife haunted him.

"Ahhhh!"

Quan Jiang grabbed his hair in anguish. He couldn't take it.

The door to his room suddenly opened.

"Jiang'er! Calm down!" Luo Ruyan shouted in a panic.

She sat beside him on the bed and rubbed his back.

"No…"

Quan Jiang covered his face with his hands and tears couldn't help but flow out. Everything was within his reach earlier, but it all changed when Zeng Wei came in.

"There are other girls out there. She's only one bitch," Luo Ruyan cursed as she spoke.

Quan Jiang became silent. He never expected his mother to call her a bitch, but he didn't get angry at her. She was right.

Seeing that he started to calm down, Luo Ruyan left the room and closed the door with one last look at him. She was sad and angry at his son's current appearance, but the Zeng Clan was too powerful for them to do anything.

"Only one bitch, but she's the other half that completes my heart. How can I live further?" Quan Jiang murmured.

He sneaked out of the window and ran off without letting his mother know.

"Hahh… Ahhh… Hahh…"

Quan Jiang panted. The sound of a powerfully flowing river water sounded in front of him. This was the Death River which was a famous place for people to suicide in.

The powerful currents made it impossible to swim up.

"If there is an afterlife, I will still marry you…" Quan Jiang murmured sadly.

He then jumped into the river without any hesitation. The powerful currents battered and bruised his body. His instincts controlled his body to swim upward, but the river pulled him down as if something grabbed his leg.

…

When Quan Jiang came to, he found himself flowing through the stars. Colorful and bright. It was as if he was a part of the starry sky.

The water here was much calmer. It brought him forward at a relaxing pace.

He looked around and found visions of events flowing in the shallow waters. He saw a man with a blurry face flying through the sky. He swung his sword and the magnificent clan under him was rent to ashes.

In another one, he saw a peerless beauty taking a bath in a hot spring. The foggy mist prevented him from seeing her naked body, but he was sure that she was one hundred times better than Lin Fengfang.

There was also another one that was very blurry. He could only see a faint bluish-black silhouette of someone or something.

There were also scenes from the past. Most were his times with Lin Fengfang. He ignored them with a pained heart.

And then one of those visions caught his eyes. It was Zeng Wei, but much more older and handsome.

"That's me!" Quan Jiang exclaimed.

He saw an older him standing on top of Zeng Wei's chest. He seemed to be saying something. With a swish of his sword, he sliced Zeng Wei's head off.

"This… this…"

The vision changed to another event, a different scene, but what he saw sent chills running down his spine.

"Was that really me?" Quan Jiang asked himself.

His mind spun and the despair inside his heart was tainted with something else. It was a dark flame.

The flame of revenge!

Hope and ambition filled Quan Jiang's being. He then saw a bright light at the end of the river, and he entered inside it.

…

"Hahhh!!"

A mouthful of water escaped Quan Jiang's mouth. He looked around him and found himself laying on a beach while the hot sun cooked his skin.

He looked around him and felt something in his hand.

"H-Huh?"

He opened his hand and saw a wet and tattered page.