Thousand Cloud Village, Qingya Province.
The Qingya province was a mountainous region covered in dense forests inhabited by wild demonic beasts and Yaos, rarely spotting human breath. The Thousand Cloud Village was one of the 6 great Villages located in the Qingya Province.
Yun Zhen was of the youngest generation in the Thousand Cloud Village. He was an orphan, his parents missing after a beast tide years ago.
His situation led him to scramble about during the early hours of the day ever since he was a child. At first, no one wanted to hire a snot-nosed brat, but an old, kind lady that ran a noodle shop hired him as a handyman.
Four years passed since then, and today, if one asked him, he could describe the art of making noodles down to the smallest detail!
Unfortunately, as fate had it, Yun Zhen often heard stories of gods and immortals as he served in the late afternoons when the shop was packed with customers.
Only he knew how many nights he spent dreaming of becoming a great immortal, riding his sword to battle and killing countless demons!
Life was unforgiving though, and no such opportunity arrived.
Until one day...
~
A young boy skipped trough a dense bamboo forest holding a broken bucket.
He looked to be around 12 years old. Dense, ink-black hair brushed past his shoulders every time he jumped, while a pair of onyx eyes scanned the forest with childish playfulness.
This was Yun Zhen!
His brow had an air of playful innocence, untainted by mortal dust.
The sound of running water broke the stillness of the forest. Yun Zhen looked around in confusion for a couple of seconds, then his eyes lit up as he spotted his target.
A broken well!
The hand clutching the bucket soon loosened as he threw it inside its pitch black mouth.
Enough time for half an incense stick to burn passed, before a decrepit, angry voice resounded from the darkness, "Kid, how many times have I told you that this thing doesn't have water!"
Yun Zhen mischievously giggled as he peered over into the darkness, "I don't care, you old man tricked me last time!"
"How in the three heavens did I trick you, kid?" the voice replied, exasperated.
"You said that you'll bestow upon me the fortune of immortals if I brought you a rope, but you went back on your word!"
"You little thing really mean to anger this Seat to death! How am I supposed to climb out if you bring me an old bamboo rope? It unfurled as soon as it reached me!"
Unconvinced, Yun Zhen angrily barked, "Forget it, forget it, you old man can't keep your word. Even after I fetched you the rope, you told me to bring a few clansmen so that they can help you up, but by midnight of that day, I ended up getting scolded! They could not see this broken well even if it was below their noses!"
The voice was silent after his outburst, in the end letting out a shallow sigh, "You brat really know how to scold the locust while pointing at the mulberry!"
"..."
After arguing with the voice for some time, Yun Zhen left.
He really wanted to believe the old man in the well, but he was deceived in the end.
"Sigh, I should listen to old Gui and stop messing around!"
The shop had more customers than usual these past few days. Aunty Lu, the proprietor of the shop, could barely handle it. Yun Zhen messing around in the forest these past few days made her lose a pair of hands, which bought quite some trouble in the kitchen.
Yun Zhen quickly made his towards a makeshift stone cottage at the periphery of the village. That was his home, and even though it wasn't much, it made him feel blessed with a roof over his head.
After washing up and removing the dirt off his legs, he scrambled towards the restaurant.
The noodle shop, a one story building with an old tiled roof and slightly grey walls, was located in the southern side, near a road that ran trough the village and was constantly packed with travelers and merchants.
Yun Zhen quickly made a round-about and sneaked in trough the back door, nimbly making his way over sacks of flour, arriving in the kitchen.
An old man known as Old Wei was chopping vegetables, while a younger man that looked to be in his early-twenties was preparing the broth. He was Old Wei's grandson, going by the name Wei Lin. At the storefront, a middle-aged woman with long, slightly-greyed black hair was holding 6 cups in a single hand, and 5 steaming pots of soup on the other. Her dark eyes were vibrant, even though a faint trace of fatigue could be noticed between her brows.
She moved with grace between the many tables packed with customers, some newcomers even looking at her in surprise, 'How could a mere waitress move like that?' they thought, as they greedily devoured their food.
Yun Zhen was accustomed to this.
It had to be said that his respect for Aunty Lu was immeasurable. After spending 4 years working for her, he learned that she was originally a highly sought-after courtesan in her youth, but she managed to gather enough money to regain freedom just from playing the Qin!
Some old customers knew about this story, and often came by the shop to ask her to play a piece, only to be laughed at and dismissed by Aunty Lu, saying that 'she wasn't in her prime anymore'.
At this time, the old man noticed Yun Zhen with the corner of his eyes. Letting out a chuckle, he asked, "Did you visit that mystic well of yours again?"
Yun Zhen jumped like a cat that got its tail stepped on, "Grandpa Wei, don't make fun of me!"
"Keke, Old Wei is right, who asked you to spout nonsense at the guarding post a few days ago? Not only did those warriors find nothing, but they also came by to ask for you!" Said Wei Lin, shooting him a mirthful look.
Yun Zhen immediately turned gloomy. Being reminded of that event made him want to find a hole to hide in.
'Not only could those good-for-nothing guards not see the well, but they also came back and scolded Aunty Lu for raising someone like me,' Yun Zhen lamented, as he picked up a razor and started peeling radishes in a corner.
As he peeled the radish with unblinking focus, he secretly thought while gnashing his teeth, 'raising a little lying snake, was it? Just you wait!'