After the incident in Huiyang, I spent the rest of the time cooped up in the safety of my room. Having experienced such a terrifying and deadly encounter, I endured the best I could under the realization that any safety I felt was a misconception, and not reality. The ghosts didn’t care if I am behind one wall or twenty, just that I am there.
Our departure couldn’t come fast enough.
Thankfully, we were on the road again in short order. Now, after another miniature eternity in the confines of our carriage, our destination looms on the horizon. The general theme of the trip since Huiyang has been, invariably, up. Everything goes up in Longzhou, and that includes me.
“It is about time to go, my lady,” Jinyi warns of our impending departure. The break hasn’t been long enough for me to stretch thoroughly, but I’ll survive.
“We’re almost there…”
Jingyi pauses and follows my gaze up the mountainside. Atop the central peak of Yaolan Shan, Zhong Yue, lies the sprawling ramparts and rooftops of Nangao, one of the oldest cities in the empire. It is nothing like the imperial capital, which is organized into neat rows and grids, because it follows the contours of the mountain’s ridges and peaks like an immense dragon laid down to rest and became a city. Tiansheng is neat and orderly, while Nangao is free and wild.
“I wonder how it looks up close,” she muses.
I can’t avoid thinking the same thing. Nangao lives in harmony with nature, and so much of it is hidden behind the lush forests, but what remains visible is awash with color. The ancient fortress and its accompanying city are painted a dazzling array of bright, lively colors, but sky blue and regal crimson seem to be the most popular. It is as beautiful as the vistas that surround it, and I find the urge to examine the city from up close growing stronger by the second.
“My lady, perhaps you know the answer to this, but I thought only the imperial family could use that color of red.”
I ponder over the discrepancy for a moment, but I can’t recall anything of use.
“It is because the great dragon bestowed that honor upon the imperial family as a symbol of authority,” My dad answers while coming to fetch us. “The crimson you speak of represents the Mandate of Heaven that the most honored ancestor received from the great dragon when he established Xi’an.”
“So, the imperial family is just borrowing it?” I inquire.
“Do you borrow a gift?” my dad places a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Come, it is time to go. Tomorrow morning we will enter Nangao and you will get to see it up close.”
I grumble, but relent. The sooner we get on with it, the sooner it is over.
The wait proves worthwhile.
As we walk through the first gate and into the city I crane my neck back and stare up. It is huge! Tiansheng’s tallest walls pale in comparison to this mighty fortification, and it is but the first of many. Beyond the winding streets of homes and shops are more walls and gates that hint at the city’s long history of expansion. I feel truly fortunate to be walking alongside my father and Jingyi instead of being confined to the carriage and looking out.
“Why does the city have such large walls?” I ask. I find it odd considering there are very few threats to the empire.
“Nangao is old, even older than the empire, and possibly the oldest city in the region. Historical records suggest that it was established by a civilization predating Xi’an when the people lived on the other side of the Great Bastion. From here on the mountaintops, they projected their forces across the future empire. Before Nangao was a city, it was a fortress known as the Iron Citadel, and it lived up to its name.”
I glance about, carefully inspecting the structures lining the main thoroughfare. ‘Are these buildings truly that old, or are the oldest ones further in? They seem new, or at least well cared for, so it is difficult to tell.’
“So… which came first, Nangao or the great dragon?”
My dad chuckles. “I am not sure. Perhaps you can ask her that when you meet her?”
I scowl playfully, but set the thought aside for now. ‘It really doesn’t matter. This has been her home for as long as anyone can remember, and if my dad doesn’t know, then it's either too old or not important enough. Considering the timeline of Nangao, it might be both.’
Three aspects of the city grow in prominence as time passes. It is no surprise, considering the age difference between Nangao and Tiansheng, that the architecture differs substantially. Like Huiyang, Tiansheng features a lot of stone, whereas Nangao’s homes are mostly made from wood.
The buildings back home are strikingly individualistic and separated from each other, even if directly adjacent, and are frequently very closed off. However, in Nangao, they build long, complex structures where multiple shops and homes are interconnected. The shops are almost always on the bottom and completely open so the whole interior is visible from the street, while the homes are stacked on top of them.
The only conclusive way to tell where one property ends and the next begins is what the residents have done to personalize them. It is clear as day that the people of Nangao are a very expressive bunch, because they go to great lengths to make a statement with their facades. I suspect living in one of these neighborhoods is a uniquely thrilling experience not found in many other places.
I also experience a familiar sensation while walking among the streets and buildings, and I can recognize it immediately thanks to what I learned in the last month. If we chose to skip Huiyang and just stay on the road, I’d not be able to tell that Nangao isn’t as random as I first thought, but very precise in all aspects. The feng shui here is masterfully refined, and on a much larger scale than a singular room in an inn. Whoever designed this city must have spent a long time observing and planning the layout.
The final, striking detail at odds with what I am used to is the populace of Nangao. Every third person or so is not a person at all, or at least not a human person! Nangao is truly teeming with the abnormal, a veritable haven for the Yaoguai and half-bloods of the empire. It is one thing for someone with mixed heritage to live in Tiansheng, because they are legally allowed to do so, but for Yaoguai to attempt the same is unthinkable!
Yaoguai are those beasts of the world that find enlightenment and transcend their base natures, casting off a life of pure instinct for one of humanity. In doing so, they often acquire a more-or-less human appearance, though few can hide their origin entirely. Such people receive no special considerations when living elsewhere in the empire, and have no protection against discrimination, because the law does not readily define them as human. However, they are clearly safe in Nangao.
“You seem lost in thought,” my father observes.
“A bit,” I sheepishly admit to my mental wanderings. “I notice that there are a lot of Yaoguai living here and I am curious if you know what draws them to Nangao. Is there more to it than not facing open discrimination?”
“Not really. The whole of Longzhou, not just Nangao, is more accepting of Yaoguai than elsewhere. Were you to visit other villages and cities, you’d see the same thing. The only exception is a place like Huiyang, which is near the southern border of the province. They get enough visitors from Sizhou that tensions can flare up, so the Yaoguai tend to avoid them. At least, this is my observation. There may be more to it than that.”
As we continue on, I observe the people closely. Life in Tiansheng, from what I gather, tends to be structured and orderly. There is a system of expectations and decorum in place, especially among the noble clans, that dictates how people act in public. Nangao doesn’t appear to have anything like it. The people are active and full of life — and very loud.
I can’t shake the feeling that everyone is friends with their neighbors. They laugh and drink, dance about shouting all manner of nonsense, and draw attention to themselves like it is some sort of competition. Despite the raucous nature of the populace, it feels safe in Nangao. They live freely, without worry, and after living in near-isolation, I can’t shake a feeling of jealousy.
“State your name and business.”
Well, not everyone is a living embodiment of cheer. The guards of Nangao are a very no-nonsense lot, and likely the reason the rest can live the way they do. The white-furred, tiger-headed Yaoguai stopping us at the next gate is the picture of professionalism, and it manifests in an intense stare as he waits.
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“I am Zhou Xiaoming, and this is my daughter, Zhou Ran, and her servant, Xiang Jingyi. We are seeking an audience with the great dragon. I sent word ahead to arrange everything. The rest of our party will remain in the outer city.”
The guard scrutinizes every fiber of our being and logs our information into a massive book. “The audience has been granted. You may proceed, mister Zhou. I’m sure you remember all the rules.”
“Ah! I wondered if you’d recognize me. It has been a few years, after all.”
“I’m good with names and faces.”
An awkward silence descends upon us as the guard refuses to elaborate further. Instead, he just waves us through the gate. This proves to be the final bastion, or at least the last checkpoint. We have officially entered the Iron Citadel of Nangao, and I understand why. I dread the thought of assailing these fortifications!
However, I am not a siege warfare expert by any measure, so I quickly lose myself in admiring things I am familiar with, like the trees! The Iron Citadel is home to a number of ancient red maples, whose crimson leaves glimmer in the sunlight and contrast with the stark white walls and dark tile roofs around them. A handful of young attendants mill about sweeping up fallen leaves to keep the place tidy, a task that seems futile, since the trees drop more to replace them in short order.
“If you misbehave, I will have you sweeping leaves before you know it!” I tease Jingyi, but she just rolls her eyes.
“You’d be wise to consider your own behavior, young lady,” my father counters. “And pray the great dragon sees something other than brooms and leaves in your future.”
I shy away from him. “You don’t mean that, do you?”
“Why do you think these young servants are here?”
I narrow my eyes.
“Where does the water come from?” Jingyi blurts out and interrupts us as we cross a small footbridge.
I hadn’t considered it before, but there is at least one small stream winding through the courtyard, but where would it come from? Up on a mountain like this, where the citadel is the highest point on this particular peak, there is no logical source for the water to flow from.
“Yeah, where?” I ask my father and try to stump him with a difficult question.
“Where indeed?” His response is annoyingly cryptic. “You’ll find many things beyond this point that defy your expectations.”
We pass beneath a doorway bearing the characters for ‘One Sky’ and enter the citadel proper and I no longer feel the need to ask what he meant. There is no way that this all fits inside the building I saw just moments before!
I am truly stunned speechless. It is not a fortress in the way I expected, but an immense library with books and scrolls filling shelves as far as the eye can see. Floors ascend towards the heavens and platforms of carved stone float between them, connected by a myriad of bridges and pathways. Water flows from high in the misty clouds gathered where the ceiling normally would be and cascades in wondrous falls as it descends the grand library and enters an immense pool behind her.
All of it pales in comparison to the one who owns the place.
She lies upon a massive throne of gold and jade, relaxing languidly like I often do back home while reading, and is swathed in robes of pure white and dashing crimson. I know it is the great dragon because of the long white tail with a crimson mane and tuft at the end coiled about the throne and the branch-like horns sprouting from the crown of her head. She herself is paler than I, yet her limbs seem to have been dunked in crimson ink and swirled with jade patterns like glorious fire.
The great dragon, Ruyilong, looks up from the book she holds and smiles. “You’re late, Zhou Rong.”
I eye my father when she uses his given name to see his reaction, but he merely smiles and bows. “I thought we arrived on time, but perhaps I was mistaken, your excellency?”
Ruyilong sets the book aside and rises from her throne. Despite being only a finger’s width taller than myself, she possesses an aura of grandeur and power that fills the entirety of the One Sky Pavilion. There is no way I can ever compare!
“Perhaps,” She makes a quick gesture of her wrist and snaps a paper fan into the palm of the other. It hadn’t existed a moment before! “Or perhaps fate and reality have decided to deviate yet again?”
My father chuckles. “Only you could say.”
Ruyilong slowly, but purposefully, takes the last step down the stairs leading up to her throne and then flicks the fan open. It bears a beautiful red and white dragon upon a golden field. “Have you come to browse my library again, or have you finally come to fulfil your wish?”
The way she speaks about my father’s wish puts the hairs on the back of my neck on edge.
“No, I am afraid I will disappoint you yet again. I know the price of your wishes and I am not prepared to take that risk today.”
“A shame,” Ruyilong laments while speaking in a disarmingly smooth, silky tone. “I expected one, but not two. Whom do you bring before me today?”
She folds the fan and hides it behind her back while looking me and Jingyi over with a critical eye. My father makes a quick gesture to prompt me into action and I curtsy. “I am Zhou Ran. He is my father.”
“Is he?”
I am taken aback and nervously glance at him. He nods, so I answer. “No, no he is not.”
“No one gets to choose their parents, but you could have been taken in by much worse than him,” The way she looks at my father makes me feel like there is some history between them. “He cherishes you, and the lengths he’d go through to keep you safe are unlike anything you can imagine.”
I try to resist blushing, but suspect I fail. “I love him very much…”
Ruyilong smiles pleasantly and turns to Jingyi. “And you?”
“Xiang Jingyi, your excellency,” Jingyi replies with a professional curtsy. “I am Zhou Ran’s personal maid.”
“More than a mere maid, no?”
Jingyi flushes as red as the dragon’s robe. “She’s my best friend.”
The dragon nods, pleased with the answer. “She values your service almost as much as your friendship. It seems the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree with you two. Your father is one of my most loyal servants, and you have inherited his loyalty.”
Ruyilong points to me with her fan. “And you… well, let’s take a look, shall we?”
Her hand rises slowly and the tip of her finger rests against my forehead. I tremble, unable to reconcile my curiosity with my anxiety, until she swipes her finger along my head as if turning the page of a book. I blink as the room shines with bright, golden light as thousands — no, millions of characters fill the air!
“History cannot be changed, but destiny remains uncertain. A fate is bestowed upon everyone, and it is up to you to choose whether you embrace it, or resist it. When the time comes, what will you choose?”
“If I do not like it, I will resist it!” I reply with as much confidence as I can muster.
“Your fate will take you to many places, and you will endure endless challenges. It will not be easy, and defying it will be harder still,” Ruyilong tips her head back and smiles, looking down her nose at me with an oddly comforting arrogance. “But your fate is to challenge and be challenged. It never ceases to amuse me!”
“What is my fate…?”
She ignores me and addresses my father, instead. “You brought her here for a reason, no?”
“I did. She is no longer safe with me, so I came here hoping you’d provide sanctuary.”
“I will not, but there is a place well suited to her,” The great dragon returns her focus to me and banishes my life story from the air with a flick of her wrist. “She will go to the Taiyi Sect’s Red Dust Pavilion near the outskirts of Nangao. I will provide everything necessary for her approval. There she will acquire the skills to challenge her fate, and find the allies she needs to remain safe until then.”
I gulp and trade a worried look with Jingyi.
Ruyilong turns away and slowly returns to her throne. “Worry not. She will remain with you until the end of your journey or you will undoubtedly fail.”
She sprawls out on her throne once more and my father approaches a few steps. “May I make a request, your excellency?”
“A wish, by chance?”
“A request, I’m afraid, though one I hope you will consider.”
The great dragon seems positively annoyed by his response. “Fine, make your request, and if it amuses me, I will grant it.”
I have never seen my father kneel in front of anyone before, but today he kowtows three times in front of the great dragon. “Your excellency, I request a simple thing. Keep her safe from harm. Ensure that she has the chance to stand on her own two feet so that she may learn to protect herself. Fulfill this father’s humble request and I will be eternally grateful.”
Ruyilong scoffs. “You’re already eternally grateful, you pedantic fool! Fine, fine… it is of little consequence to me. I can grant this request of yours.”
A snap of her fingers heralds the appearance of three items that fall into my hands and I scramble to catch them before they can drop to the floor. I have no idea what they are, but as soon as I close my hand around a dragon-shaped jade pendant it comes to life and burrows into my skin before I can react.
‘That can’t be good…’
“I have given you three things. The first is for use immediately upon arrival at the Taiyi Sect. They will admit you to this year’s class as an initiate and your friend will accompany you. The second item is to hold on to. Keep it safe until you are accepted as an inner disciple and are faced with a choice about how to proceed with your training. You will receive a suitable gift from me at that time. The final thing is my protection. I will protect you when you most need it one time, and one time only. After that, you will be on your own.”
My father bows, and encourages us to do the same. “Thank you, your excellency! We shall never forget what you have done for us today!”
She lazily plucks the book she had been reading from nearby and splits it open. “Next time you come here you had best be prepared to make your wish. Begone!“
I blink and find myself looking down the street of Nangao a moment later.
“It was a pleasure to see you again, mister Zhou. Until next time.”
We turn to face the guard that admitted us to the citadel earlier and I look up the path beyond the gate. ‘How did we get out here?’
“Thank you. Hopefully, I will return soon! Come along, girls. We have a lot to do and not a lot of time for it!”
My dad seems to be taking this a whole lot better than I am, but I clutch the two jade slips and scurry off down the road. The great dragon defied all of my expectations, and I can’t tell if my mind is all fuzzy because of what she said or whatever she did to get us outside so quickly.
Did we just… reappear, or did we forget ever leaving under our own power? I will probably never know, but I will certainly never forget my first meeting with the great dragon, Ruyilong.
Character & Setting Guide
Huiyang — A city on southern Longzhou; had a brief problem with ghosts
Longzhou — One of the northern provinces, ruled by Ruyilong
Yaolan Shan — The Cradle Mountains; a large mountain range across northern Xi’an
Zhong Yue — The Central Great Mountain; roughly the center of the five great peaks of Yaolan Shan; also known as Naidi, or the Enduring Emperor
Nangao — The capital of Longzhou, seat of power for Ruyilong
The Great Bastion — Kind of like the Great Wall of China, except a little different
Yaoguai — Supernatural creatures endemic to the world; they have various origins
Zhou Ran (Zhōu Rán — 周然) — The main character!
Xiang Jingyi (Xiāng Jìngyī — 相婧祎) — Zhou Ran’s maid; also best friend
Zhou Xiaoming (Zhōu Xiǎomíng — 周晓明) — Zhou Ran’s father, Headmaster of the Imperial Academy
Ruyilong — The Great Dragon and ruler of Longzhou
Yaoguai and Spirit Beasts
This is the first real introduction of Yaoguai within the setting, but spirit beasts came up once before when we first met Ban Shuyi. Yaoguai and Spirit Beasts have a lot of overlap, and thus can be easily confused, but the important thing here is what it means for them in the empire.
Ban Shuyi, somewhere in her lineage, has a Spirit Beast. Now, it doesn’t necessarily mean that someone got freaky with a giant fox spirit, but one way or another, that Spirit Beast’s power is passed down through that family line. An individual like Ban Shuyi is often disparaged by the intolerant, but is considered a full citizen by the law code of Xi’an.
A Spirit Beast is a creature or entity believed to be born from the qi of the world. They are relatively rare compared to Yaoguai, and hunting or killing them is considered illegal. A Spirit Beast is considered to be one of “the spirits”, which are non-physical entities present in all aspects of the universe, whether mundane or godlike. Spirit Beasts have just taken on a physical form.
Yaoguai, often considered monsters or demons, begin with a physical form. Most are creatures elevated to sentience and naturally attuned to qi, but humans can also be twisted by malevolent energies and become dangerous Yaoguai. For most, the end goal is to attain a human physique. This allows them to blend into society and to cultivate like a daoist. Yaoguai are natural cultivators, and often very powerful, but they have extreme difficulty ascending without a human form.
We’ll learn a lot more about both going forward as they are quite common in Longzhou (for reasons)!
