Prequel Chapter One: Xi Ying

"Autumn, noon, the sun was fierce."

It had been a long time without rain, and the flow of the river upstream was gradually diminishing.

On the hillock, inside the cave, amid candlelight.

The hamsters were having another meeting in the cave.

It was another bountiful harvest season, the table was laden with fruits of all colors. The long table was filled with hamsters, with just one seat empty.

The sands in the hourglass on the table had not fallen for quite some time.

"Who's late again?" a old, deep voice asked from the head of the table.

There was always someone late to the meetings, which made the Hamster Clan Leader's long white whiskers twitch, indicating he was getting somewhat angry.

Years of comfortable and peaceful life had made the younger generations' discipline slowly slacken, making the team difficult to manage. Thinking of this, the Clan Leader, with his squinting eyes, opened a crack and glanced at the empty seat, contemplating smacking the behind of the late youngster today. He must set an example.

The hamsters around the table, each with their round heads, looked at each other and whispered while nibbling on the fruits.

Someone felt like bad luck was coming!

Xiao Bai, cocking her head, made faces with Xiao Lan, their little fists bumping under the table. Eating the fruits and anticipating the joy of watching Big White get his behind smacked, there was nothing happier than this.

In the midst of the two little ones' gleeful prayers, a soaking wet Big White scurried into the cave and hopped onto the vacant chair, exclaiming, "Clan Leader, I just took advantage of the river to the east being shallow and crossed to the other side on a lotus leaf."

"What? You crossed the river!" everyone exclaimed in unison.

Old and young in the cave began to discuss animatedly; it had been many years since anyone had managed to cross that river. This signified that the clan had new territory, the fruits collected could fill the granaries, and from now on everyone could eat until they burst. This was a big deal, a big enough deal to be recorded in the annals of the Hamster Clan!

Collectively, everyone's gaze turned to the Clan Leader, with joy written on their faces, eager to know what reward the Clan Leader had for Big White and wanting to have Big White treat them after the meeting. Since his luck was so good, they had to share some of it; otherwise, Big White couldn't handle it all on his own.

"Humph."

Xiao Bai hummed softly; her large ears drooped, and the fruit in her mouth didn't taste sweet anymore. No ass-beating would be witnessed today, and Big White had achieved another feat. Was it really true that skill mattered more than looks? Unbearable.

"Lucky boy, that's my grandmother's homeland; she floated here on a lotus leaf in her time and then married my grandfather," said the aged Clan Leader, somewhat surprised, eyes wide open, stroking his beard, and asked expectantly:

"What did you find on the other side?"

"Reporting to the Clan Leader, it was something serious; right after I crossed the river, I faintly heard fighting noises from the hills. Carefully, I climbed to the top and ascended into a large tree, witnessing a small group of Rock Rats beating a large group of hamsters to the ground. As the hamsters were nearly at their limits, I feared being discovered, so I hastily made my escape and swam back."

"Ah!" Another cry rang out, but this time filled with fear.

"Everyone need not worry, even if the Rock Rats could cross the river, I could defeat them," boasted Little Hui, swinging his little fists, confidence oozing from him. His family had the most brothers at home, and they never lost a fight.

"Rock Rats are vicious creatures; how can we be sure we can beat them, just with your short legs and small ears?" Big Green said, patting his belly in rebuttal.

Feeling belittled, Little Hui's ears stood up angrily as he retorted, "Not fight? Then let's send you over. You're so plump; the Rock Rats would definitely like you. Maybe they won't come across the river then."

"I think even if the Rock Rats come over, we could surrender to them. As long as we don't resist, we can be friends with them," suggested Little Purple a bit hesitantly.

"You surrenderer, if the Rock Rats discover us, how could they possibly spare us? We should leave this place and hide for a while," Big Yellow slammed the table and suggested that everyone flee.

"Stop, stop, stop! Everyone quit arguing! I've heard that on the high mountains across the western river, there lives a group of mountain cats, maybe we could ask them to protect us," the naive Xiao Lan raised her little hand, thinking of a solution.

"No way, the mountain cats might eat us. You'll be the first one they eat since you're the tenderest," Xiao Hei shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"Then we should find a mountain cat that has eaten its fill, that way it can protect us without eating us," Xiao Lan argued, not conceding.

"I've heard of a kind of cat called a house cat that doesn't eat us. Let's seek shelter with a house cat and offer it fruit every day!" Xiao Hua said softly and delicately.

"Right, right, right, we'll seek shelter with a house cat and offer Xiao Hua to the cat," Xiao Bai felt the idea was feasible, grew more delighted as he thought about it, grabbed Xiao Lan, leapt onto the chair, threw his hands up and danced, his little behind wiggling, and sang: "Cats eat mice, that's a myth, seeking shelter with a house cat brings support and reliance, Rock Rats come over and are all knocked over."

A group of hamsters chattered noisily and ended up in a mess, without reaching a conclusion for a long time, until they all looked toward the Clan Leader, waiting for him to make a decision.

"Alright, alright, I've heard all your suggestions. I've decided that tonight we move together, using the cover of darkness to quickly pick all the lotus flowers in the river, and from now on, no one is allowed to go near the river to avoid being discovered by the Rock Rats," the Clan Leader declared.

As soon as the Clan Leader finished, he left the chair at the head of the table to himself, leaning on a cane, he slowly walked to the entrance of the cave, looked up at the already gloomy sky, heaved a sigh of relief, and muttered, "Ancestors bless us, let it rain, let it rain quickly."

...

A green-dressed maid with her hair tied in a bun stood inside a pavilion, finishing the last word, and closed the blue book she held in her hands.

Outside the pavilion lay an opulent garden filled with various colorful flowers in full bloom, set against the backdrop of green leaves, stretching out their petals. Farther away, there was an artificial hill beside a pool, with winding corridors and pavilions embraced by climbing vines and swaying bamboo, refreshing to the soul.

"That's it? What a crappy story. Childish. Do I look like a child to you?" A slender girl lay in the pavilion on a White Jade Chaise Longue, idly stroking a silver cat in her arms, with a pair of embroidered shoes placed on the ground.

The young lady wore a white robe dress, its snowy hem cascading to the ground like a waterfall, a blue jade-like belt loosely tied around her waist in a bow.

Her face was covered with a white translucent scarf, outlining a delicate nose and revealing half of a small mouth, unclear in features; her dark hair spilled messily over the chaise, her fair neck adorned with a black gem that resembled a void, seeming to absorb the surrounding light.

Her feet bare, one curled at the edge of the chaise, the other lazily dangling over the side, swinging rhythmically.

Two maids stood by the chaise, one gently fanning the young lady, the other half-kneeling at the side of the chaise, peeling an unknown green fruit.

"Father says the author is talented, what a waste of fame. To produce such storybooks, deceiving a child's playthings," the girl in white huffed, her small mouth parting slightly as the maid brought the peeled green fruit to her lips, simultaneously taking a silk handkerchief to gently wipe the juice away from her lips.

The young lady waved her left hand to dismiss the maid, her delicate hand pale as snow, revealing a forearm of glistening skin where the veins appeared a faint blue, as if she were a flawless white jade, brought to life and shaped into human form by a divine being, merging seamlessly with the White Jade Chaise Longue.

"You're absolutely right, Miss. This storybook is utterly boring—ridiculous that some people think it's good, even a bestseller," the green-dressed maid nodded vigorously, agreeing.

"I heard Miss just returned home a few days ago, spent her days wandering around, even watching ghost plays from the south in the middle of the night. The master must have listened to someone's slander to buy these storybooks to entertain Miss," the maid fanning also chipped in, "The ghost play last night was way better."

"Exactly, you understand me best," the girl under the scarf smiled, saying cheerfully.

"Meow," her silver cat in her arms also gave a timely, childish meow, its pair of amber and gold eyes gleaming like jewels.

"Miss is right, ghost plays are indeed much better than these storybooks," said the green-dressed maid while playfully sticking her tongue out at the fanning maid and covering her eyes.

"Father must have never read this storybook—he's been fooled by those booksellers outside. No, I have to tell him. I'll say... hmm, that this author's storybook is very good and that he should buy more of them. Once Father reads it for himself, the look on his face will surely be priceless. Haha!" The more the girl in white thought about it, the happier she became.

No sooner had she thought it than she acted. Flicking her right thumb against her pinky, the blue book flew unexpectedly from the green-dressed maid's hands up into the air, tumbling down onto a small table as a gust of wind came, rapidly turning the pages, bringing the hamsters in the illustrations to life, hopping up and down as if dancing merrily.

The young lady, still holding the silver cat, gracefully rose from the chaise and, in a single step, leaped out of the pavilion, her feet touching lightly upon the grass as though she were skimming over water; in the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the distance.

"Hey, Miss, wait for us," the green-dressed maid, caught off guard, hastily picked up the book and grabbed her embroidered shoes, chasing after the girl with two other maids in tow.