1 Chapter 1: Kun Shang

Who gets to govern the law of creation and destruction in this universe? Kun Shang thought as his horse trotted through the springtime woods.

He was riding on a tall brown horse, parallel to a dirt road that was in the distance on his right. In the area around him, trees sprouted randomly with shrubs and grass scattered. They were regrowing their lush green colors back for the spring. The tip of his mystifying blue sword waved up and down from behind him through the movement of his hip. Kun Shang put one hand over the sword handle on his side, just enough to warm it with his hand, before grabbing the reins of the horse again.

A muscle jumped in his sharp jawline. His body was rather relaxed for his frustrating thoughts. His legs hung limp, his hands rested on the horse's neck, enjoying it like a casual stroll.

So this sword used to have incredible powers?

The many questions that circled his head since he left the Palace were left unanswered. The more he thought about it, the more hopeless he got. As a retired Golden Bodyguard of the Emperor, this mission must've been the toughest one yet. Forced to take part in a competition by the Emperor, only to receive an ancient sword and three impossible missions, Kun Shang clenched his jaw in anticipation for what lay ahead. However, no look of concern crossed his youthful and handsome face at all. In fact, his face was emitting too much calmness and composure.

"Something evil, something big is going to blanket upon us in the future and not even Heaven can help."

This serious statement made by the Imperial Prophet was the reason for his first question above. Someone in the near future was going to destroy Earth, and they are going to be so powerful that not even Heaven can help us? If someone was going to decide to destroy the world, then what does that make of the person who created it? Or simply, how could they get to decide what to create and what to destroy as if humanity was their toy? Thus, it brought him back to his first question. Who gets to govern the law of creation and destruction in this universe?

Heaven was going to turn inside out and the world would end in a turmoil? Kun Shang was not one to believe in superstitions and omens, and this certainly sounded like an omen based on the Emperor's dreams. However, that did not alter the fact that the Court relied a hefty amount of their decisions on such things. Including sending him out of the Palace in search of absolutely ridiculous things. Two ridiculous things, to be exact. The third one sounded more realistic. Supposedly, these three things were going to save the entire world from becoming extinct.

Of course it would.

"It was His Majesty, his dream of having a conversation with a Heavenly Dragon." Kun Shang thought back to when he asked how they came up with the three missions. "The Dragon said take out the sword, and help save both worlds."

"What does it have to do with the Dreamer Princess of Yanwei Kingdom? The Dragon never mentioned her."

"The Princess is the beginning of everything."

Hearing the familiar trotting noises of a common domesticated animal, Xiu'er opened her eyes, frowned for being stirred awake, and then peeked behind the tree. She was resting on the ground with her back against the rough bark of a red pine. Her eyes hit Kun Shang at the perfect moment, as if planned and written by fate many times over.

Kun Shang was riding a brown horse dressed in plain traveler's clothes: a dark robe made from a rough fabric, a belt at his waist and a maroon scarf wrapped around his shoulders. His sleeves were rolled up revealing thick arms and masculine hands. His hair was in a neat bun but she could tell he had been traveling for some time by the way some ends became loose. He was coming in her direction but he was still farther in the distance.

Xiu'er turned back to her shoulder where a small beige monkey sat with large eyes and a fluffy tail.

"A'Li, where do you think he's going?" She squinted her eyes and tilted her head. "Why does he look so familiar from this angle? Let's wait til he gets closer. As long as he doesn't take oranges off our tree, he should be on his way. You know how much I want my oranges."

But it was too late! Kun Shang had spotted the ripe orange tree a couple of yards ahead of him, the only fruit tree among the other trees that looked good enough to eat. She gasped in territorial fright when she saw him pick something from inside his belt and flicked it at the tree. The stem of an orange was hit and the fruit made its descent down. Kun Shang exclaimed a "Haiya!" and galloped at full speed towards the falling orange.

Xiu'er, on the other hand, had already sprinted off her position as soon as Kun Shang smacked his horse. She knew she had an advantage because the orange tree was closer to her and because she was faster. Xiu'er kicked herself off the ground, and canon rolled, looking like a flash of shadow in Kun Shang's eye. She landed not far from where he pulled back and steadied his horse.

Taken back at the person who stole his attention away from the orange, and literally stole his orange, Kun Shang, in the slightest, furrowed his brows as he turned around. The neigh-ing of the horse startled Xiu'er for a moment and she gasped, but once it halted, she stood up straighter and both young adults looked each other in the eyes.

Xiu'er was wearing layers of torn clothes of different colors, but mostly scraps sewn together, with a tattered scarf that wrapped around her shoulders that could be morphed into a hood, but had fallen off. She pulled out a layer of her tatters as a pouch, which was already full of oranges, held together by one her hands. Her other hand held his orange. His gaze lifted to look at her face.

Her face was a softer egg-shape with hints of baby fat, her eyes were large, her nose was small and dainty, her mouth was slightly smaller than normal, making her lips a little thick and soft. She was a full head shorter than him, and probably a lot younger than he was. Xiu'er lifted her chin in pride.

Although noting all of the strange girl's outfit, a specific aspect of her caught his attention the most. More specifically, a certain thing on her. There was a baby monkey casually riding on her shoulder, giving him a snarl and an evil eye. Both of them knew that domesticated monkeys were hard to come by, so what was special about her that such a monkey would let itself be so close to a human being?

After scanning him quickly, she looked up and met Kun Shang's eyes. His cheekbones were chiseled and masculine, his eyes were an oblivious dark brown color, his nose bridge tall, the top of his lip had a dip in the middle. He was extremely handsome and tall. She gasped when she figured out why he looked so familiar.

Oh my god… it's him!