1 The Old Man And The Spirit

"Do you hear? The third prince had been sent to Fengbao Zhidi in the west to investigate the attacks of the so called demons that had get out of the hellish lands from the other side of the mountains." An old servant said to another as they make their way into the busy streets of the good market. It was a cloudy day so far, full of moisture that make the day hotter than it should, yet the streets were filled with merchants of all kinds and people doing their business, as usual.

Yushan was a small kingdom made in the center of a valley between mountains in the north, a place that was naturally guarded by the Jade Mountains, as per its name, but despite the first rulers, that were favored by the gods of the mountains for their fairness and sense of justice, the ones in the power now were tyrannical and cruel, with the only exception of the third prince, called Jin Wu Zui, the gold innocence of the mountains, as his mother had rightfully name him, hoping he will not be tainted by his father or siblings.

However, as the people loved the younger prince more, for his natural innocence, talent and care for the commoner's from which his mother had been taken into the palace, jealousy and envy make the life of the third prince quite hard and to a point he was always dealing with the most dangerous tasks of the kingdom.

It was no secret that the nobles wanted the young man dead and he would had been killed if not for the rules of the mountain gods forbidding kings for killing his descendants, or a great calamity will fall over all royals. However, back in then, almost at the beginning of time, the gods could be found deep into the mountains, if you were lucky or blessed enough to cross their path as the first founders of their kingdom had, but those days, several centuries later, the god seems to be absent from the lands, thus wicked things begin to happen all over the kingdom.

At first it was subtle, but later thing became more drastic and the people begin to be abused by their rulers. Soon, the kingdom divided in two fractions, the ones at the top of the mountains, which belonged to the nobles and the ones in the valley, which were the commoners that planted rice and other necessary things to make a living and an outer ring for the army that keep the people in check and defended the valley when things from the other side of the ring of mountains came.

With the army so close and bordering all the kingdom, the life in the valley was not exactly easy, they were pretty much slaves of the upper nobles that controlled the army in return. The third prince mother was once a commoner taking away from a farm to become a concubine, given her beauty and talent. She was a smart woman that aside from working on the farm, teaches the kids to write and read. Teaching to write and read was something only the nobles did, so even if it wasn't exactly forbidden, it was not permitted among commoners either.

It was that what attracted the attention of the guards and the rumors of the female scholar eventually reached the king, which was captivated by her beauty when she was presented to him for punishment. Having to choose between becoming a concubine or killed, she opted for living, even if it was in disgrace. The reason, while she was still alive, she could play the royals game and make her own plans that had make her son the most beloved in Yushan and if the gods help her… she could dethrone the current king herself… or so most people believe in silence, sometimes praying she one day could succeed. However, that was still a long way to go and the third prince was still young, with barely reaching twenty that year. A shame the king was determine to get him killed despite the taboo among the royals.

"I'm sure prince Wu Zui was sent to be killed by the demons that lurks outside, so they could blame his death to them. Damn royals that wants to get rid of the prince, knowing he had the favor of the people instead of the crown prince or even the king." The other man responded with sadness. The third prince was not only loved by commoners, but also by servants of the palace or nobles as well.

"Ah, the gods had forsaken us for generations. Our kingdom is now just a fraction of what it once was, with only this part of the kingdom been prosper while the rest been drown in poverty. I wonder if they can still hear our prayers, otherwise prince Wu Zui is going to be killed this time for sure." The first servant told the second, which sighed.

"Let's just hope that if we keep praying, the gods will keep the prince safe on his journey to the west. We should spread the word to make more people visit the old temples. If we annoy the gods for long enough, they may even grant us the wish and make him king." The second said, which earned a hush from the first one.

"Don't go saying such things so casually, if any of the palace guards heard you, all of us will be beaten to death. The gods no longer hear our prayers or this kingdom will have not divided into two fractions… but I hear there is a small rundown shrine in the east mountain of the city that can hear someone's prayer." The old servant added.

"You mean the shrine guarded by the huge Buda statue and the two foxes? No one can enter that shrine anymore. The king make sure to forbid the land surround it and is now a lost swamp full of poisonous vipers, so no one could disturb the dragon king that it said sleep there."

"Of course the king will make it dangerous, but it's not impossible to go there. Have you never hear of the story of the ghost kid? It's said there is a spirit of a kid that was unjustly killed by a palace guard that roams in the night screaming out for justice. Sometimes I had walk the street at night at my master command and heard the cries of the kid asking for redemption. He ask for an offering to his poor soul, so his spirit will not starve in the next life and in return it will deliver the wish to the dragon king." The man whisper, but his listener only laughed as his tale.

"That's just an old legend… no one's wish had been granted in three generations. We should just keep praying to the mountain gods to awaken. It's really all we servants can do. I have to go now…" The man said, hastily retreating and blending with the crowd of servants making errands for their nobles.

"A legend, huh? We will see about that." The old servant whisper to himself as he turned and walked his own way.

That night, the old man sneaked out of his room he shared with other servants, carefully moving around in the late night, making sure everyone was fast asleep. He knew by heart all the changes of post in the mansion by the guards and headed for the kitchen, in which he will take a thing or two to use it as an offering to the kid's ghost. He was already on his mid-sixties, so he had nothing to lose if he was found out and be beaten, but if the legend was true and the kid could reach the abandon shrine, it could save many people's lives and perhaps change the way things were now and granted prince Wu Zui a chance to be the king they all were desperately waiting for.

He went out at the already planned change of guards and carefully walked down the streets, making sure to hide as much as possible, as there was a curfew taking place at that time of the night, until he hear the moan of a kid crying. The spirit was not one anyone could see, but all of them could hear him just fine if close enough. So even if he could not see the kid spirit, he approached the place in which his cries were the loudest.

"Kid… if you are truly there, I'm sorry you had suffer injustice, but most of us had suffer from it too sooner than later. Here is my offering to your poor soul. Go ask the dragon king in the old shrine to protect Prince Jin Wu Zui from any harm into the west lands. He is already halfway there by now and perhaps by doing so you will also find your own justice." The old man said as he leaved the offering on a stone bench, then left.

As he walked away, the kid smiled and bowed to the old man for the kindness. It was true he was now a spirit, but not a common one by any means. He was a messenger from the heavens, since he die. It was not that the heavens had not hear the claims of the people, but that the temples in the kingdom were all sealed long ago when the first king going stray make sure the people had no way to pass on their prayers to the heavens, only leaving intact the shrine of the dragon king, which was the only immortal on the Jade Mountains.

For him to be awaken, a prayer must be done on his shrine, but as the place was too dangerous for humans at that time, only the spirits could go there. He had collected the old man's prayer to offer it later to the dragon king. Thus, he took his offering putting it on his pants pockets and headed to the mountains in the east, crossing the swamp and forest that surround it and soon he reached the shrine that have a big Buda statue at his back yard.

The place reeks of ancient power. The dragon king that was currently sleeping was said to be the son of the black dragon king of the north, which was considered to be a god and the two stone of foxes that guarded the shrine came alive as he arrived to their door.

"Hey you! Ghouls are not allowed here, go back to hell!" One white fox yelled from above a pillar.

"Idiot, he is not a ghoul, but a white spirit. He had the mark and all…" The other white fox said as he looked at the boy's forehead that had the mark of the heavens.

"Huh? From heaven? Are there still messengers out there after so long gone? Are the gods descending to earth again?" The fox on the left pillar asked.

"The realm of the heavens is sealed, as you know… this is why our master is trapped here for centuries." The fox on the right remained him.

"Ah, right… hey you kid, how many centuries had passed since the Yu dynasty?" He asked.

"More centuries than the humans can handle." The kid answer.

"Oh? Are the humans down the mountains in trouble? They were granted a safe place to stay a long time ago when Shennong fell in love with a mortal girl that was escaping from demons and teach her people of farming and herbal medicine, protecting the humans on his mountains." The fox continue.

"Oh yes, Shennong was indeed a savior, but he is gone and the humans left behind had long since turned wicked with their own people. This shrine had been surrounded by a swamp infested with poisonous snakes, which make it hard for the farmers to come and pray to the gods. The rest of the temples of Shennong had been sealed away centuries ago." The boy told them.

"Wait what? Who dared to seal a god's temple?" The one on the right asked angrily.

"It was under the command of one king… I think that it had been influenced by a demon lurking in the shadows down the mountains. I had never seen it, but had feel its presence several times before, so it may had been his work as it influenced the weak minds of the humans." The boy said.

"Impossible! These mountains are sacred lands!" The other fox yelled.

"Not anymore. Go down and you will see for yourselves. I had collected one wish from a local old man, hoping for the dragon king to awaken and protect the third prince Jin Wu Zui from been killed by those the current king had called demons. He is currently the only hope of the people that is suffering from many injustice. The prince is a man of virtue and full of merits, he truly deserve to be protected by the will of the heavens. Now I have fulfill my duty as a messenger, it's finally my time to rest in peace." The boy said just before he vanish, leaving behind only a small translucent sphere that floated in the air.

It was the prayer of the old servant that was taken by one of the foxes that looked to one another. They had perhaps sleep for way too long, so it was time to awaken their master, Lord Yin Yue the silver moon of the heavens, better known as Yinse, the silver dragon of the Jade mountains.

AN: The cover of this book was made with photos found on Pinterest and Google. All credits to the original creators, I only mixed their art. This story is pure fictional with some twist on the Chinese mythology and culture. Thanks for reading.

Shennong is the patron of humanity in the Chinese mythology. The legend said he teaches humans about agriculture and herbal medicines among other things for which he is recognized.

Yin Yue means silver moon, Yinse is simply silver, while Jin Wu Zui is gold innocence or so it said my translator, I know nothing about Chinese writing. Yushan means jade mountain and Fengbao Zhidi is land of the storm.