Chapter 1: Awkward

It was 1 in the morning, the moon was still visible at certain times if the clouds weren't blocking it. The breeze was quite chilling for those wearing only 2 or 3 layers of robes. The city wasn't very loud even though a number of people were already awake and had opened their shops. There was the occasional drunk shout from the men that didn't want to be sober yet. Most of the shops and houses were still dark as not a lot of people liked being up before the sun. It would have looked like a ghost town if not for the occasional passerby. Yet despite its cold demeanour, the village still retained a handful of warmth that made it not as frightening. 

This beautiful city is called MingYue because you can always see the moon sparkle at night or at any time of day if there are no clouds in the sky. The best place to watch the stars and moon was at the lake near the back of the city. 

People would occasionally go to the lake to watch the stars and moon at night.  

In this particular city, lived a young man who loved to paint. He had just moved into this city 3 weeks ago yet he was blending in perfectly with the other cityfolk. Whenever he had some free time then he would either paint a few pictures or give away his paintings for free. Most of the time he would give the paintings to the cityfolk that were more impoverished than the rest of the cityfolk. He claimed that they bring luck to the less lucky folks that kept them. He would give them to nobles too, But only if they requested it. Otherwise he wouldn't voluntarily seek out a noble and offer them a painting of his. 

Everyone has praised this man for his impeccable painting skills and always wanted to give him any sort of memento that was of some value but the man always refused them or said that he didn't deserve such thanks. It confused the city folk as they felt like the man shouldn't undervalue himself like that. But no matter how much they insisted, The man always found some way to refuse. The man was by far the most mysterious thing in the city thus far. 

 But what was more mysterious than the man was his paintings. It was like the man had said, They really did bring luck to the families that accepted them. The paintings that were given out truly a wonder, They were always paintings of gods. Whether they were well-known gods, Small unknown gods, Good gods, or Bad gods, He never painted or gave away paintings that weren't of gods. Soon everyone started calling him The God painter

 The people who received paintings from this man desperately wanted to repay him, So even though the man refused to take anything from the cityfolk, they all chipped in and bought him a small Siheyuanafter the young man had told them that he was homeless and an orphan. The man told them that he had been staying at inn but he didn't have enough money to stay there for very long. 

They surprised the young man with the Siheyuan and he certainly was shocked.He even started crying because he was so shocked by this. He tried to convince the townsfolk that he didn't deserve such a thing but the townsfolk wouldn't listen to him and insisted that he accept it because they wouldn't take no for an answer. 

So the young man had no choice but to accept it and thanked the townsfolk. The Siheyuan was located on a grassy field that was surrounded by a forest. There was a path that led to the city and was easily accessible.  The young man thanked the townsfolk as sincerely as he could while crying. The city-folk all felt bad for the young man. So whenever they saw the young man wandering the city, They gave him some food, Treats, and accessories. 

 MengYue had never been so peaceful before and it was all thanks to the young man who everyone called The God painter. It was only after a while of having the same routine every day did the townsfolk learn the young man's name. Either way, Everything was peaceful for a while until a certain day in December when the young man met someone who he would never be able to leave behind. 

December 14th, 3 A.M. . . . . . . . 

 Hua Shen was taking a stroll down by the lake because he couldn't sleep. It was a habit of his that he had since he was young. He would always take a walk by a lake and watch the stars and moons. Tonight, He was wearing a black inner robe and a white fur robe that was gifted to him by one of the townsfolk. He had his shiny dark brown hair laying on his shoulders as he was too lazy to tie up in a bun like usual. He had a red headband wrapped around his forehead. He was thinking to himself as he was watching the lake's surface, He often fell into dazes when he gazed at big bodies of water.  

He suddenly thought of a poem that someone used to tell him when he was younger. He would always find this person watching the ocean waves. The person with pitch-black hair and covered eyes used to tell him about his dream to become a traveller and roam the world on a boat but he was forced to give up on his dreams because his family didn't approve of him becoming a sailor. Later he lost his eyesight and could no longer pursue his dream, even after his family disowned him. That person was always reciting this poem whenever Hua Shen found him.

My Idle dreams roam far, 

To the southern land

Where the spring is fragrant. 

Wind and strings play on a 

Boat on the rivers clear

Surface. 

The city is full of catkins 

Flying like a light dust. 

People are occupied 

Admiring the flowers. 

My idle dreams roam far, 

To the southern land 

Where autumn is clear. 

For a thousand li over 

Rivers and hills cold

Colours stretch far,

Deep in flowering reeds, a 

Solitary boat is moored. 

Beneath the bright moon, 

A flute plays in the tower.  By: Li Yu 

 The poem was called My Idle dreams roam far (gazing at the south). That person always sounded so sad when he was reciting this poem. Hua Shen also felt sad whenever he heard this poem along with the sad tone of the person. So one day, He brought the person into his home and tried to cheer the person who he believed couldn't see. Then one day, That person disappeared and never came back. At least, That's what he hopes happened. 

   Suddenly, Hua Shen heard some yelling and what sounded like fighting. He turned around but didn't see anything behind him, He tilted his head out of confusion and headed towards the direction where he heard the sound. He was able to find the place quickly because He has always had good hearing and good eyesight, His mother used to play hide and seek to train his eyes and ears. He smiled as he remembered that but soon his smile gradually disappeared as his thoughts began heading towards a dark place. He quickly snapped out of it and shook his head hard and tried to focus on what he was doing. 

 The place where he heard the sounds come from was a small and crumbling building that looked abandoned. There was a candle lit at the window and He saw some silhouettes inside because of it. The silhouettes looked like an old, fat man, A thin ugly man, and a beautifully proportioned young man with raven hair and barely any clothing. Hua Shen de red would have felt very shameful wearing something like that, All the boy had on was a blck robe that wasn't covering his chest and some very short black shorts that didn;t even reach the boy's thighs.However, the boy wasn't even flustered. He held an expressionless face as he looked at the men with hazy eyes. 

 It seemed like the one of the mne was a slave trader and he was seeling the youngboy to the other ugly man. 

He was a bit disappointed that it was only slave trading, He had seen plenty of things like this before. It wasn't new or interesting to him anymore. He wasn't going to interfere because it's none of his business and he doesn't want to fight or get beat up right now. He's tired and just wants to go to bed. Plus, the young boy looked strong enough to beat the men if they crossed his line. He saw that the boy had exceptional spiritual energy but he was hiding it for some reason, Of course he couldn't hide it from Hua shen de ren. 

Anyway,  Hua Shen de ren was about to turn and leave but something caught his attention. The boy's eyes. Their gazes happened to meet for a split second but Hu Shen de ren felt like he couldn't breathe. The air felt ridged and cold Like it was mocking him or something. He felt like someone just dumped a bucket of ice water on him. 

 Red eyes . . . . .  

Hua Shen found himself unable to look away from the young boy's eyes. It was like he was being hypnotized by them. However, hearing the two men start yelling about prices made him quickly realise what he was doing and turned his face away. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest from just meeting the boys eyes. He hurriedly calmed himself down before a sudden idea formed in his head. 

That kid is the perfect muse I've been searching for!!! Too bad that he's a slave and I'm too cowardly to step in. Hua Shen thought to himself as he started walking away from the deserted house but as if God was watching, He ended up stepping on a tree branch making a loud snapping sound that alerted the two people in the broken-down house. 

Hua Shen de ren cursed god 800 times in his as he froze in place, he hears the two men quiet down before they blew out the candle in the house. 

 " Who's there!? Show yourself!!! " The fat bald man shouted as he ran out the door. He saw Hua Shen standing there awkwardly. He and the skinny man also both froze and there was a very awkward silence that lasted a few seconds. 

" . . . . . . . . . "