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 mind 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. 

“ . . . . . . . . . “ 

After snapping out of the daze he was in, The chunky hairless man began to pale as he realised that someone had seen them. Sl*ve trading was forbidden in all kingdoms in china. If one is caught selling or trading sl*ves then both the buyer and the seller would get killed or spend the rest of their time in prison. He couldn’t go to prison, He wouldn’t be able to survive in prison. 

   “ Who are you? How dare you spy on me!! “ The skinny, Unpleasant looking man yelled at Hua Shen, Bringin the chunky, bald man out of his daze again. His face was as white as a ghost, He already felt like this man was an idiot earlier but this just confirms it. 

Is this noble seriously trying to get in trouble this badly?! First, he wanted to buy a sl*ave from me, now he’s deliberately trying to use his status to get out of this dilemma. 

Hua Shen steadied himself on his feet and cleared his throat. He straightened his robes and brushed back his messy hair. He calmly stared at the two men in front of him with cold eyes. The 2 men started shivering and sweating from the gaze he was giving them. However, the skinny noble man definitely wouldn’t let this random human man suppress him with his gaze. 

The skinny, Unpleasant looking man with a crooked nose, Bushy eyebrows, small lips, freckles all over his face, and buck teeth, quickly tried to appear like he was above Hua Shen. He straightened his back, lifted his head high, and looked at Hua Shen like he was looking at an ant. Of course, his gaze wasn’t nearly as intimidating as Hua Shen’s. In fact, it was kinda pathetic how unintimidating it was. 

“ Who are you? What are you doing, Spy on this Laozi? “ The unpleasant-looking man used informal words and referred to himself arrogantly. He had a haughty look on his face as he smirked at Hua Shen. Hua Shen continued to stay silent as he tried to figure out who this person was. He squinted his eyes as he ran the man's appearance through his memories but He doesn’t seem to have any recollection of this man but he did remember the other man. He was called Ai Pang, If he remembered correctly. Ai Pang was the owner of a small stall that sells meat buns and chicken soup. Hua Shen only remembers him because he got a free bowl of soup and 2 meat buns from the man's daughter while Ai Pang glared at him from his stall. 

Hua Shen gathered his courage as he blankly stared at the 2 men. He breathed in and out a few times before opening his mouth. He had half prepared himself for this encounter but he still wasn’t the best at interacting with people, He barely said 10 words to the city-folk. However the city-folk didn’t mind as they were used to him and his response. 

" Who are you again? " Was what he blurted out. He immediately shut his mouth and cursed the blunt attitude that he had since he was a kid. He knew that one day, His bluntness would get him killed. It Looked like today was the day he would die because of his attitude that his mother never bothered correcting. 

The unpleasant-looking man turned red with anger and humiliation, He couldn't believe that there was someone that didn't know him!! " I'm Jian Queban!! My father is a GuoGong*!! Jian MengHe !! Show some respect for me, pheasant!! How dare you look straight at me !! Are you looking to die?! " The unpleasant-looking man yelled louder than before as he swung his arms about to dramatise things. His face was so red that Hua Shen thought that steam would be coming out of his ears soon. 

Hua Shen was quiet for a bit as he tried to remember who Jian MengHe was but nothing came to mind. However, Since This Jian MengHe was a GuoGong, That meant that Jian QueBan had a high status as a GongZi* Hua Shen didn't want to argue with this person in fear of disturbing his peaceful life. He really tried hard to stay away from the Nobles and those above the rank of commoners. 

" This one is very sorry for spying on GongZi. This one was simply walking around by the lake when This one heard some noises coming from over here and decided to check it out. This one saw GongZi inside and decided not to disturb him and tried to leave quietly but accidentally stepped on a branch. Please forgive this one for spying and disturbing Gongzi " Hua Shen formally apologised, lowering his torso and head so he was politely bowing to Jian QueBan. 

Jian QueBan felt very smug after hearing howHua Shen apologised to him. He sneered widely and folded his arms in front of his chest. 

" Fine, Fine. I'll forgive you but do not dare tell a single soul what you have seen tonight. If you do then I'll hunt you down and kill you myself " Jian QueBan made a slitting-the-throat gesture. However, It didn’t intimidate Hua Shen at all. In fact, it sorta just looked like a beaver was threatening to kill a human that was 10x’s its size. It was pitiable. 

But, Hua Shen continued to play along with him and bowed his head, promising to never tell a single living soul about this for as long as he lived. Jian QueBan watched his bow and make a promise to him. He felt like he was on top of the world right now. Besides, He could feel that Hua Shen didn't have any Qi flowing within his body so he was just an average person who was weaker than him. If he really wanted then he could kill him right here and there. 

Hua Shen excused himself, Which Jian QueBan let him go, But not without sneaking one last glance at the young boy whose hands were shackled with a chain being held by the old man. The young boy glanced up at him with a complicated gaze that Hua Shen ignored because he didn’t want to get anymore involved In this then necessary. 

He did feel it was a pity though that he was a sl*ve, Otherwise, he would bring the other person back with him and use it as a muse for his paintings. However, He could barely take care of himself. So how would he take care of a younger boy? He barely had any food in his house because he doesn’t usually eat, which yes, it is very unhealthy to do so but Hua shen only cares about his paintings. 

Guess it just wasn't meant to be . . . . . Maybe it's a good thing though. Seeing his red eyes every day might make me lose control and do something unforgivable. Hua Shen removed his gaze from the young boy and turned to leave. 

However, Before he had even gotten 10 steps away from the place, A silver dagger came flying at the back of the head of Hua Shen. Thankfully He was half-prepared for a fight and had his guard half-up the entire time. He easily dodged the dagger that was thrown by the Old bald man. The dagger hit the ground and disintegrated the grass around it. 

He turned to face the two of them, The bald old man had a look of utter anger and Jian QueBan was a bit surprised but nothing more. He still held a smug look on his freckled, Tan face. He didn’t bother saying anything either as he felt that it was interesting and He didn’t really care if the commoner died or not. 

" Why did you throw that dagger at me?” Hua Shen inquired, tilting his head to the side, “ I was leaving and promised not to tell a living soul anything about what happened here. Do you still need anything from me? " Hua Shen furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He clearly was given permission to leave so why was Ai Pang attacking him.

" Do you think that I can just trust the words of a stranger? Do you think I'm a fool!? I must kill you so I can make sure that you don't tell anyone about this! " Ai Pang yelled as he pulled out another dagger that was similar to the one before. It was a silver dagger with a silver handle but the tip of the dagger was black. Ai pang got into a fighting stance and produced five more daggers, Ready to kill Hua Shen. 

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Siheyuan \= A siheyuan is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing and rural Shanxi. Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used for residences, palaces, temples, monasteries, family businesses, and government offices. 

GuoGong \= Imperial duke; Awarded to generals or high ranking civil officers 

GongZi \= Duke's son; Eventually GongZi Became a generic honorific for all young male gentry. 

Hua Shen cursed his luck in his mind. This is exactly what he didn't want to deal with. He sighed in his heart and decided to try and talk his way out of this. If that didn’t work then he would have to Run. He hates fighting, And If he’s given the chance then he’ll just run away. Even if he is labelled a coward, at least he is alive. 

" I thought your . . . . . Client (?) Already let me go " Hua Shen tried to reason calmly with the baldy but his words didn't seem to get through to him as the baldy threw 5 daggers simultaneously at Hua Shen. Hua Shen dodged them all and watched how the daggers disintegrated everything they touched. 

" I don't trust you!! You've bewitched the other townsfolk, Including my daughter!! Why would I let a demon go free?! " Ai Pang yelled as he pulled out more daggers, However, these were different because they had black blades instead of silver like the ones he threw previously. The other ones had a very small amount of regular poison, but these ones were on a whole different level. 

Mó dú* Hua Shen recognized the poison as soon as he smelt the fragrance the daggers were giving out. He felt shocked in his heart but didn’t show anything on his face as he looked at the Daggers in Ai Pang’s hands. 

This guy Seriously thinks that I'm a demon. 

" Why are you so convinced that I'm a demon? I don't have a golden core, I don't cultivate nor do I even remotely look like a demon. You can ask that person next to you, he can sense that I don't have any Qi in me. 

I'm not a threat to you " Hua Shen really hoped that pleading like this would work because he really doesn't want to have to fight these you, especially if one of them has Mó dú. This was probably the most troublesome situation that has happened to Hua Shen since he arrived a few years ago. 

Ai Pang Hesitated, Looking over at QueBan to see if he was telling the truth. " Is that true? Or is he lying? "  He Inquired. He studied Ai Pang’s face for any movement but Jian QueBan kept quiet. He started getting nervous about this and he was right to be. 

QueBan was quiet for a while, He looked as if he was thinking about something. Suddenly he smiled, It looked like a normal smile but the 3 other people there with him could feel the pressure he was exuding. Ai Pang and the young boy felt it the most. 

Ai Pang started sweating and his breathing became laborious. His legs couldn't hold him up any longer and he collapsed to the ground. He dropped the daggers In his hands and clutched his robes covering his chest. He couldn’t even speak, he felt like his throat was closing, suffocating him. The young boy did the same but their breathing was much more laborious than Ai Pangs. 

Hua Shen, however, Felt barely anything. There was a very small amount of pressure on his shoulders but nothing too bad. He turned his head and saw the 2 other people on the ground, trying to breath but were having a hard time doing so. He then realised that he made a very big mistake. He quickly turned his head to where QueBan was but his spot was empty. 

Shit! 

Hua Shen looked all around him, He tried to use his ears to listen for any sounds but there was nothing in the area. but didn't see him nor could he see any movement coming from anywhere. He was starting to get anxious, Trying to predict what the other person was trying to pull. All of sudden, His eyes focused on the boy that was breathing heavily and was leaning against the door frame on the ground. 

His gaze faltered when Hua Shen sensed something wrong. He ran over to the boy and saw the shackles that were on his wrists start tightening. They were crushing the boys wrists and were very close to breaking. 

Great, Well I can't really ignore this now. Why did this have to happen? I simply wanted to take a peaceful walk around the lake and yet this had to happen!! Curse you, God!! Do you have to plan my every move?! 

Hua Shen glanced around again and when he saw nobody and felt no more pressure, He swiftly picked the boy up and ran as fast as he could back to his home. It took more than 5 minutes to get back to his siheyuan. 

He had to run around the lake, Through the city, and Down a forest path to get to the gate of his Siheyuan. 

He quickly made his way through the inner courtyard and quickly entered the Main room/ Principal room. 

He closed the sliding bamboo door and hurriedly laid the young boy down on his bed. The boy's breathing had gotten worse and his face had started paling. Hua Shen hurriedly looked around the room and found a grey fluffy rag next to a basin of water. 

He soaked the rag in the water before ringing it out and started to gently wiped away the sweat in the boy's face and arms. When he got to the chains still fastened to his wrists, He saw the boy's wrist had started turning purple. He set the rag down and placed his left hand on the chain that was squeezing the boy's right wrist. 

He closed his eyes and started chanting something in an ancient language under his breath. Soon after, The window behind Hua Shen burst open, Allowing the chaotic wind to thrash around the room, Messing up the blankets, Vases, and other nik nacs in the room. Hua Shen didn’t even flinch as he focused on the chains. 

Hua Shen's left hand started faintly glowing a grey colour as a faint grey mist appeared and began wrapping around the chain on the boy. Once the mist was tightly wrapped around the red rusty chain, It started to emit a dark light and cracks started spreading across the chain, allowing it to fall off the boy's wrist. His wrist had turned purple already and was now slowly regaining its porcelain colour. 

Hua Shen then did the same thing to the other chain and watched as the suffering boy slowly started calming down. He was relieved that it worked but he was exhausted now. Doing things like this usually used up a lot of his energy. Finally, He tucked the boy in with the white silk blankets that had golden lotus stitched into them, which were a gift from a townsperson who liked collecting different types of silk from other countries. Hua Shen had gifted him a painting before so He traded the painting with a silk blanket. That was what all the city-folk had agreed on, They would trade a product of theirs for a painting. Hua Shen had experienced how stubborn the city-folk could be so he agreed with that plan.  

Hua Shen left the room after making sure that the boy was sleeping soundly then headed to the kitchen, that was just down the hallway from the bedroom, because his stomach was yelling at him. He didn’t have much in the kitchen as he didn’t eat much. He only ate when he used the technique he had just used, Otherwise he wouldn’t eat at all. 

After grabbing some apples and meat buns from the cabinet, Hua Shen remembered that he had some work still left to do in his study room. He took a bite of the meat bun before spitting it out. He looked at the old meat bun that had mold and dust on it before quickly throwing it away along with the rest of the meat buns. He wiped away the dust on the apple before dunking it into a clean water basin to wash away the remaining dirt. He took a bite of the apple as he walked out of the kitchen. 

He headed there after nodding to himself. As he was walking down the brightly lit corridor, He looked up at the night sky that was slowly turning an orange-ish red-ish colour as the sun rose from the east. Hua Shen was mesmerised by this scene no matter how many times he saw it. Back on his mountain, He would watch the sun rise and set with his mother and . . . . . 

No no, stop thinking about that! I have things to do!! I can't afford to be distracted right now !! 

Hua Shen shouted to himself as he furiously shook his head, Taking his sights away from the beautiful scenery and quickly walking to his study room which was just a corridor away from his room. He took one last bite of his apple before he stored it in his inner robe. He slid the doors open and surveyed the room to make sure that everything was In place before entering the room. 

He walked over to the table and picked up some 5 paper scrolls and 2 paper books. He looked them over before deciding to put most of them in his storage ring. Most of them weren't very urgent, Except for one. It was a scroll that was fairly new, you could still smell the scent of ink coming from the words that were neatly drawn on the page. Hua Shen sat down in his chair that was crafted out of oak and started reading over the scroll. 

After 3 or 4 minutes, He put the scroll down and sighed quietly. The scroll was a request from a noble family that wanted Hua Shen to paint something for their daughter's 3rd birthday, which was next month. The family didn't care what the painting was as long as it was beautiful and of high quality, They even said that they would pay him for it. They said that no matter the price they would give it to him, It was anyone other than Hua Shen. They would have accepted right away and probably demand many ridiculous things. 

Hua Shen was considering whether or not he should accept this request because he doesn’t like mixing with the nobles when suddenly he felt a slight disturbance in the air coming from his bedroom. He guessed that his guest was awake, So he decided to put the request at the back of his head for now and went to check on his guest. 

Mó dú \= Demon poison 

Main Room/ principal room \= The homeowner's bedroom, usually in the back of the property with 2 side courtyards next to it.