The last thing she saw before her consciousness fled was Hei Wuya, his face transformed by genuine fear as he reached desperately toward her through the flames. Was he... crying?
[HOST? HOST?? HOST???]
Then darkness.
She was eight years old again, skipping stones across a still pond near her family's modest home. The afternoon sunlight streamed through the leaves overhead, painting the water's surface gold and blue. In the distance, she could hear her mother humming the lullaby she sang to Su Lan Yi each night before bed.
Every evening, as the sun dipped below the Western Mountains, her beautiful mother would sit beside her sleeping mat, stroking her hair with gentle fingers that always smelled faintly of jasmine and medicinal herbs. The melody was old, perhaps as old as cultivation itself, with words that spoke of celestial gardens and returning home.
"Xiao Yi!" her father called, emerging from their herb garden, his hands stained green from crushing medicinal leaves. "Come see what I've found!"
Su Lan Yi abandoned her stones and ran to him, her small feet light on the packed earth path. Her father wasn't a very tall man, but to her child's eyes, he seemed to touch the sky. His shoulders were broad from years of carrying herb baskets through mountain passes, his eyes deep like the well behind their cottage.
He knelt down, his eyes crinkling sweetly at the corners as he smiled. From his pocket, he withdrew a tiny carved fox, no bigger than her thumb, its details so fine she could see its whiskers.
"I've been working on this for your birthday," he said, pressing it into her palm with a sheepish grin, "but I can't wait until then. It's to remind you that even the smallest creatures can be clever and brave. Just like you, my little fox."
She threw her arms around his neck, breathing in his familiar scent of pine and herbs. "Thank you, Father! I'll treasure it forever."
His laugh rumbled through his chest against her ear, a sound that made her feel safer than any fortress walls could. His hands, calloused from decades of herb-cutting and carving, patted her back with infinite gentleness.
"You are my greatest treasure," he whispered into her hair. "Remember that, always."
Her mother appeared in the doorway of their cottage, wiping her hands on her apron. Though many in the village praised her beauty, Su Lan Yi thought her mother's true magnificence lay in her hands—how they could ease pain with the lightest touch, or weave protection talismans that kept nightmares at bay.
"What secrets are you two sharing now?" she asked, her voice filled with mischief.
"Father gave me a fox!" Su Lan Yi exclaimed, breaking away to show her mother the treasure.
Her mother laughed at that, genuinely amused . "And what do we say when we receive gifts, little one?"
Su Lan Yi bowed formally, then ruined the effect by giggling. "Thank you for your generous gift, Father."
He ruffled her hair, destroying the careful braids her mother had woven for her that morning. "Such proper manners from our Xiao Yi! So adorable."
The wooden fox fit perfectly in Su Lan Yi's palm, its carved eyes seeming to wink at her when she tilted it toward the light. She slipped it into her sleeve pocket, where it settled against her wrist like an old friend.
***
"Will you teach me more about spiritual roots today?" Su Lan Yi asked hopefully. The previous day’s lesson on channeling qi had left her buzzing with excitement for hours. She'd managed to make a leaf hover above her palm for nearly three breaths before it fluttered away.
"After dinner," he promised. "Your mother has made your favorite pork and lotus root soup."
Su Lan Yi inhaled deeply, the rich aroma finally registering. Her mother's soup was renowned even among neighboring villages, infused with subtle spiritual energy that left one feeling both nourished and strengthened.
"Come inside, both of you!" her mother called. "The soup will grow cold, and the medicinal properties work best when hot."
Their cottage was small but meticulously arranged; herbs hanging from the ceiling beams in neat bundles, scrolls organized by subject on bamboo shelves her father had built, sleeping mats rolled carefully in the corner until nightfall. The central table, smoothed by years of use, held three simple bowls and a steaming pot that filled the room with fragrant steam.
As they gathered around their wooden table, her father clasped both their hands, forming a circle. "We thank the heavens for the gifts of this day," he intoned. "For the herbs that heal, the food that sustains, and most of all, for our family that give meaning to our cultivation."
Su Lan Yi squeezed their hands tightly, feeling the gentle pulse of their spiritual energy mingling with hers; her father's earthy stability, her mother's flowing grace. Though they had no sect, and their cottage was humble, in these moments, Su Lan Yi felt richer than the Heaven’s Emperor himself.
Over dinner, her father told stories of his travels to distant markets, where cultivators from different sects would gather to trade rare herbs and cultivation insights. Her mother added details he'd forgotten, their memories weaving together like two streams joining to form a river.
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"When you're older," her mother promised, "we'll take you to the Crystal Falls Market. The water spirits there trade pearls that glow in the dark, and sometimes the mountain fox clans bring their kits to learn about humans."
"Fox clans?" Su Lan Yi asked, wide-eyed.
Her father nodded solemnly. "Spiritual foxes who've cultivated for centuries. Very clever, very mischievous. Always looking for interesting trinkets to add to their collections."
"Like your carving?" Su Lan Yi asked, touching the pocket where the wooden fox rested.
"Perhaps," he smiled. "Though I think they'd find you far more interesting than any carving, Xiao Yi. Look at how smart you are!"
Later, as twilight painted the sky in shades of purple and gold, her father sat with her on their small porch, teaching her to trace meridian pathways with a fingertip of controlled qi.
"Remember, little one," he said, his voice gentle but serious, "true cultivation begins not with power, but with understanding. Observe nature, recognize patterns, find balance in all things."
"Like how the vines know to reach for sunlight?" she asked, watching the moonflower vines that climbed their eastern wall, their buds just beginning to open as dusk deepened.
His smile was warm with pride. "Exactly so. You have your mother's insight."
"And your stubborn determination," her mother added, emerging from the house to join them. "Heavens help us all. She’s going to grow up to be a handful"
They laughed as the first stars appeared overhead, their small family complete in all the ways that mattered.
"Soon," her father promised, "we'll take you to see the Celestial Flowers that bloom on the mountain peak. They only appear once every twelve years, and the time approaches."
"Will they help my cultivation?" Su Lan Yi asked, always eager to get as strong as the immortals in her parents’ stories.
Her mother smoothed her hair, each stroke filled with love. "They will help your heart, little one. And that is where all true cultivation begins."
As evening deepened into night, Su Lan Yi drifted to sleep to the sound of her parents' quiet conversation and soft laughter.
***
It was finally her birthday. Now a nine year old, she felt so much older and wiser. Her parents had driven her off with silly reasons and excuses, but she knew they were planning to give her a surprise.
Bored and antsy for her party, he threw one last stone across the water's surface. It skipped five times a personal best, before sinking beneath the gentle ripples, finding a new place to rest. Oh, so this was the power of being a nine year old? She couldn’t wait to be immortal!
Satisfied with her achievement, she turned toward home, gathering a few interesting pebbles and a peculiarly shaped leaf to show her father. He always appreciated her "treasures," saying that observing nature was the first step to understanding the great Dao and your own spiritual root.
Then a piercing scream shattered the peaceful afternoon air. It was followed by more, and soon there was a lot of noise.
Su Lan Yi froze for an instant, her heart stalling before erupting into a frantic rhythm. That scream was her mother's voice. Without conscious thought, she was running, her bare feet barely touching the ground as she sprinted toward home, the gathered treasures falling forgotten from her hands.
The smell reached her first- acrid, wrong, and nothing like the fragrant herbs her mother burned or the pine incense her father favored. Black smoke billowed above the treetops where her home should be, a malevolent cloud that seemed to devour the very sunlight.
Su Lan Yi broke through the treeline and stopped, a strangled cry escaping her lips.
Her home was engulfed in flames.
But these weren't ordinary flames that leapt and danced with natural energy. These burned with an unnatural blackness at their core, consuming everything with terrifying efficiency. The heat struck her like a physical blow, driving her back several steps even from this distance.
"MOTHER! FATHER!" The scream tore from her throat as she lunged forward.
Strong hands caught her, lifting her bodily away from the inferno. "You can't go in there, child," a village elder said, his weathered face ashen with shock. "The fire. it's not natural. Nothing can survive that."
"THEY'RE STILL INSIDE! THEY NEED ME!" Su Lan Yi fought against his grip with all the strength her small body possessed. "LET ME GO!"
The cottage's thatched roof collapsed inward with a terrible roar, sending a geyser of sparks and black flame into the sky.
Something caught Su Lan Yi's eye then: a small object tumbling from the window to land in the dirt several paces from the burning structure. The carved fox, her father's gift, which had rolled out of her robes from the previous day. The flames caught it instantly, the delicate wooden sculpture blackening and curling in moments before her eyes.
"No," she whispered, her struggles ceasing as reality crashed down upon her. "No, no, no..."
Her entire world, her gentle father with his silly stories and carvings, her mother with her healing hands and protective talismans, their small cottage filled with love, wisdom and life, all of it, devoured by an unnatural fire before her eyes.
"I'm sorry, child," the elder murmured, his voice breaking. "There's nothing-"
Beyond the gathered villagers who were frantically trying to control the spreading fire with buckets of water that seemed to make little difference, a movement caught her attention. A hooded figure slipping away behind the houses, moving with unnatural quickness. Something about their manner, their furtive retreat, struck Su Lan Yi as wrong.
With the sudden clarity that sometimes comes with shock, Su Lan Yi knew with absolute certainty that this was deliberate.
Without conscious thought, she bit down hard on the elder's hand. He yelped in pain, his grip loosening just enough. Su Lan Yi tore free and ran, not toward the burning cottage, but after the retreating figure.
Through the village and into the forest she pursued, her grief and horror transforming into a cold, sharp blade of purpose that drove her forward. The figure moved very quickly, but Su Lan Yi knew these woods intimately from countless expeditions gathering herbs with her parents.
Finally, the hooded figure paused in a small clearing. Su Lan Yi crouched behind a fallen log, watching as they withdrew a vial containing what looked like black sand. They uncorked it, raising it to eye level as if studying its contents with satisfaction.
Su Lan Yi shifted her weight, and a dry twig snapped beneath her foot.
The sound was barely audible, but the hooded figure whirled around instantly. Though the hood's shadow obscured any features, a palpable malice emanated from beneath it- a coldness that made the summer air freeze in Su Lan Yi's lungs.
"A witness," the figure said, in a voice like glass scraping against stone. "How inconvenient."
Su Lan Yi remained frozen as the figure approached, one hand extended toward her. Black energy writhed around their fingers like living shadows.
"Your parents were unnecessary," the figure said. "Let's see if you are, too."
Terror broke Su Lan Yi's paralysis. She turned and ran.
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