Of Dragons and Phoenixes: Fates Interwoven

Outer space.

Amidst the calm darkness and endless twinkling stars, a strange event took place that day.

With a cracking sound the fabric of reality seemed to be broken as a three meters tall tear opened in space, and, from inside it, walked a lonely, hunched, old man.

He took a good look at his surroundings, his head tilted as he wondered in what sort of corner of the universe he had set foot into.

"Hm?" Seeing the blue planet far away, a memory sprang inside of his mind and he laughed. "To think I would come to Earth a second time… what a surprise." Laughing in a joyful manner, he disappeared in a streak of lightning.

Once he had disappeared, the void of space returned to its usual calmness. Yet, it wasn't until long later that a second crack appeared, revealing the figure of a woman.

"That damned bastard!" Her cold voice made the space around her vibrate. "Until when will you run to be satisfied?" Her glowing eyes looked toward Earth as she mused over it. "To think he'd run to our ancestor's homeland…" Shaking her head, she left thought thoughts aside and disappeared in a flash.

This time, the galactic sea of the solar system truly returned to perpetual calmness.

Sometime later, Y City, Earth, Nangong Street.

For the residents of Y City, the Nangong Street was better known as the Food Avenue.

It was not only filled with all kinds of shops and restaurants, but many street stalls were positioned around it all year round - much like a festival. That also made it extremely busy and bubbling with excitement.

The colorful place was a sight to the eyes, and today, one could see an old man jumping from stall to stall.

His presence, however, seemed to be completely ignored by everyone around him. He'd ask for a serving, eat and then leave. While walking along the street he was like a mirage or ghost, neither bumping on nor touching the uncountable pedestrians coming and going.

Suddenly, he smelt a nice scent in the air and turned to look - only to see a stall selling steamed buns. The last time he had come here, he didn't have the chance to eat them.

It was not as if the place he had come from didn't have those types of food, but, somehow, Earth's chefs were all top-grade for him.

"…rong Yueshi, your brat! Where is my order?" Approaching, he heard an old man shout in a joking manner - clearly feigning anger.

He saw one of the people behind the stall laugh and shout back, and smiled. His name was Murong Tianchen, and despite it not being rare, it was a nice coincidence to meet someone with the same character in their name. Maybe, this was also fate.

While he was thinking, he suddenly felt his body shudder and his spirit tremble. His old face immediately paled as someone's soul sense washed over him. Making an ugly face, he looked longingly at the stall for a while.

"Shi'er, we are almost out of spices. Why don't you go buy some?" The other person behind the stall, a beautiful looking woman, suddenly said.

Hearing her, Tianchen could not help but allow a smile to creep up his cracked and old lips. Then, as he watched the boy leave, he turned into a ray of lightning.

An instant later he had a bag in his hands filled with warm, steamed buns. Hm? No, he totally paid for it. What would people think if he went so low as to steal food from a small stall!

Then, he proceeded to follow the boy.

He watched as the young man ran at a fast speed, diving into the crowded street and, masterfully, maneuvering through it. It was obvious that he was used to congested places.

Tianchen, however, couldn't care less about that. His mind was on cloud nine as he thought about the fact that, this time, he was going to be the 'older monster' and give someone a 'fateful encounter'.

Laughing boisterously, and thinking this was truly fate, he followed Yueshi as he turned into a side alley.

To his surprise, though, the moment he made a turn, he saw the boy standing still and glaring right at him. He immediately became flustered.

[…]

Yueshi always had good senses, so when he felt someone was following him he didn't doubt it in the least. He also did not try to call for help, for he doubted anyone would do so. Instead, after walking in an alley, he decided to confront his stalker - only to find it was an old man.

"Kaham! Kaham! Boy, what do you think about fate?" Clearing his throat, the old man asked him so. However, Yueshi did not answer, merely glaring at him. "I believe there is a strand of fate connecting both of us, so I decided to give you an opportunity to change your life!"

He seemed delusional, going on to make a passionate speech. Eventually, Yueshi could not hold his words back anymore.

"I am not going to give you any money." With that said, he got ready to leave. He was a tiny bit concerned about leaving his mother alone, after all.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait!" To his surprise, just as he turned his back toward the old man, he appeared right in front of him. Yueshi was shocked and immediately retreated a few steps.

Then, what came next completely astonished him.

The old man waved his hand and a fierce wind immediately started to blow in the alley, forcing Yueshi to close his eyes. When he opened them again, the person standing in front of him had completely changed.

Before he was a hunched and poor looking old man, yet now, he was a young man in his twenties with long white hair and shiny, golden eyes. There was also this strong aura around him that gave one a sharp feeling, which almost made Yueshi think that he had gone crazy.

'What aura? This is not a damn novel!' Rebuking himself, he shook his head. The surprise, however, did not decrease.

"Haha, are you surprised?" With a smug smile, Tianchen seemed satisfied with his reaction. "Well, then, I don't have much time, so let me give you the gift I promised!" While saying that, his hand glowed and reached toward Yueshi.

And before Yueshi could say anything or even try to dodge, it had already touched his shoulder.

The next thing he knew, his world exploded into a white light, not long later, a bolt of piercing pain went through his head, throwing his mind in the abyss of unconsciousness.

Saying he was out for good, Tianchen's smile widened.

"Now, now, just enjoy your trip! As for me…" He laughed foolishly. "I don't have to worry about that thing anymore!" Whistling, he got ready to leave when, suddenly, someone shouted from behind him.

"Murong Tianchen, let's see to where you will run now!" It was a cold and sharp voice that made all the hairs on his body stand on end.

Without even turning back he immediately flew in the air, prepared to bolt away at his fastest speed without even replying back.

"You bastard! If you are a man then stop right where you are!" The voice boomed in his ears.

He immediately stopped where he was and turned toward the speaker, a bewitching woman.

"Woman, who do you think you are! I am the manliest man amongst men, one with a brave heart!" He shouted back, yet, when his eyes met hers, he immediately bolted away at the fastest speed. "Fuck it. Tell me which man is not afraid of his wife?" Finding a random excuse, he flashed away in a hurry not daring to stop for a second time.

Well, at least he had thrown that thing away. If his wife ever caught him with it… he shuddered, clenching his legs and feeling his little guy twitch.

Meanwhile…

Yueshi rubbed his head as he forced his eyes open. After an initial dizziness, and after his blurry vision recovered, he was surprised to find out that he was standing in a foreign place. It was a small wooden room that could better be described as a shackle.

Lying in his back, he could see a wooden ceiling filled with holes, and the wooden walls surrounding him were in such a bad condition that it was surprising they were still standing.

"Urgh…" A groan escaped his lips as he moved his body to a sitting posture.

Going over what had happened, he wondered how much of it was a dream, and how much of it was reality.

At first, he could not come to believe it was real, but something inside of him seemed to tell things were not that simple. Then, while he was wondering, the door leading to the room creaked open.

"Shi'er, are you alright?" It was a sweet voice that he did not know.

The stranger soon entered the room, and Yueshi was momentarily stunned.

The person that had spoken was a young girl that did not seem to be in her twenties yet, she had dark brown hair that cascaded down her back and honey-like eyes that captivated him with a single glance.

If he had to be honest, she wasn't exactly beautiful, instead, there was this feeling of purity to her that made his heartbeat madly in his chest.

"Shi'er?" As she called the endearing term once again, his eyes regained their focus.

"Hm… who are you?" His first thought was that she was, probably, mistaking him as someone else. Yet, the way her eyes swayed at his words gave him a bad feeling.

She immediately rushed ahead, and before he could do anything, she placed her palm on his forehead.

He was not merely surprised, but almost bewitched as her eyes stared right at his own, and her face stood centimeters apart from his.

Her pink lips, he noted, enticed him in a way he could not describe.

With a frown, the girl removed her hand, and before he could even think about complaining, placed her forehead against his.

His heart thumped loudly in his chest, making him wonder if she had heard it. As if that was not enough, as his eyes wandered here and there, and with her arched forward to measure his temperature, the cleavage between her breasts was exposed.

Even the old, tattered robe could not take away the charm of the milk-white path between her two mounds, making his heartbeat even more furiously.

Fortunately, just as his mind started to run wild and short circuit, her voice finally reached his ears.

"You don't have a fever…" A while later, she put some distance between them and sat by his side. "I am your sister. Can't you really remember?"

All thoughts in his head disappeared as her words boomed inside of his head. When he recovered, he could not help but scowl inside of his mind.

'What the hell has that man done?' His fists clenched as he wondered. Then, looking at the girl once more, he managed to squeeze a few words out.

"I really don't know." Shaking his head, he half-lied.

"Maybe you hit your head too hard?" She asked, perhaps more so to herself than to him.

He did not know what to say, and worries already started to show up in his mind.

The girl, however, had already taken as true that he had lost his memories.

In such a situation, the only thought going through her mind was to stimulate him, hoping he would be able to remember a few things. Which meant, for Yueshi, that it was time for some answers.