Parallel Universe.
Water Blue Planet.
Mid-October, the twenty-sixth year of the Republic of China.
Deep within the rolling Yanshan Mountains, a scrawny young Taoist novice, no more than ten years old, trudged along a rugged mountain path. His small, soot-streaked face was etched with streaks where sweat had run down. Dressed in a grey Taoist robe patched in several places, he wore cloth shoes reinforced with scraps of animal hide. On his back, he carried a bundle of firewood weighing several dozen pounds.
His name was Luo Jiang, known affectionately as Jiangwazi. He was eleven years old. Four years ago, his master, a wandering Taoist, had rescued him from a pile of corpses. Because he had lost some of his memories, his master brought him back to Tianyun Taoist Temple at the foot of the Yanshan Mountains and took him in as a lay disciple.
Aside from practicing martial arts and studying Taoism with his senior brothers every day, he spent his time learning to read and write under his master’s guidance, identifying the properties of various medicinal herbs, or venturing into the mountains to gather firewood. Occasionally, he would manage to catch a wild chicken or rabbit to add some meat to the temple’s meals, providing a rare bit of flavor.
Although Tianyun Taoist Temple followed Taoism, it did not forbid meat. In these chaotic times of war, merely having enough to eat to survive was considered a blessing, and nobody fussed over strict monastic rules. The core tenet of their practice was essentially to follow one's heart, free from excessive dogma. However, his master, Xuanyunzi, had set one rule: he instructed his disciples to avoid eating oxen, even if someone were selling one.
In July of this year, the sound of heavy gunfire erupted outside Wanping City. Even at the foot of the Yanshan Mountains, the distant, intermittent explosions could be heard echoing from the city. Later, when the senior brothers returned from buying supplies in town, they reported that the invaders from across the sea had launched an invasion, defeated the local garrison, and occupied Beiping City.
After the invading troops took Beiping, most of the wealthy residents, sensing the dire situation, had long since fled. The city was left to the common people who had nowhere to go, along with a few traitors and lackeys who stayed behind. The brothers recounted how the invaders had slaughtered those who resisted, while the traitorous dogs acted as guides, scouring the city to capture people. If the brothers hadn't escaped quickly, they likely would have been seized as well.
Now, the grain shops and supplies in the city were controlled by the invaders. Anyone caught selling grain privately was immediately arrested, causing the price of food in the city to skyrocket several times over. For safety, the master had forbidden the senior brothers from entering the city, opting instead to buy necessities from nearby villages. Fortunately, the temple still had some stored grain, and with the brothers hunting in the mountains and gathering wild fruits and vegetables, they managed to scrape by.
Luo Jiang spotted a large boulder not far ahead and a faint smile touched his face. This was his usual resting spot. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickened his pace. After a few breaths, he reached the stone and set down his heavy load, feeling his body finally lighten. He rubbed his shoulders, which were sore and swollen from the biting ropes, and then sat cross-legged on the ground to meditate and recover his strength before returning to the temple.
Over the past few years, he had persisted in meditating every night. His master would periodically procure medicinal herbs, soaking them in baths for him to help build a foundation for his future martial arts training. But because he was still young and his body not yet fully developed, his master did not use harsh, fast-acting medicine, opting instead for a gradual approach to temper his constitution.
Although the medicinal baths hadn't increased his strength significantly, his health had improved immensely since he first arrived. Back when he had retreated with the troops, he rarely had enough to eat and spent every day amidst the roar of gunfire, leaving his body frail. Now, he rarely fell ill.
Luo Jiang longed to cultivate inner force, hoping to one day split stones with a single palm like his senior brothers, or like his master, Xuanyunzi, who could tap a stone with his palm—leaving the surface pristine while the inside was pulverized into powder. It was a sight that filled him with envy. His master had told him that this was the Wudang Sect’s "Bone-Melting Palm," which required deep inner force to execute, and he urged him to practice diligently so he could develop it as soon as possible.
Half an hour later, Luo Jiang opened his eyes and stood up. Though he hadn't yet cultivated any inner force, most of his physical stamina had returned. In their spare time, his senior brothers would teach him the methods for circulating inner force, often demonstrating the techniques and pointing out the flaws in his footwork and strikes.
His senior brother, Yuan Shan, perhaps out of pity for his young age and orphaned background—and because he was the youngest in the temple—was especially protective. He often reminded Luo Jiang that inner force wasn't something built in a day; it often required years or even decades of bitter, disciplined practice to achieve.
Luo Jiang stood up and stretched his body, then headed toward a narrow, well-worn path. Nearby, there was a small stream. Having gathered firewood here so often, he was intimately familiar with every source of wild fruit and every spring in the mountains. He arrived at the stream, knelt down to wash his hands, took a few sips of the cool spring water, and splashed his face, feeling refreshed. As he washed, a jade pendant hanging around his neck slipped out from his robe; he tucked it back in.
This pendant was from his mother. Every night before sleep, he would touch it and remember her kind face. He often wondered if she was still alive or if she had perished, and many nights he would hide under his covers, weeping for her. As for his father, his appearance had grown blurred in his memory; his father was rarely home, and his two older brothers had gone off with his father’s unit. He could count the number of times he had seen them on one hand.
After being stunned by the shockwave of a shell, he had lost some of his memories. It was only when he saw this pendant that he began to slowly piece those fragments back together. He remembered his father’s eight-cornered cap with a red star that glinted in the dim light of an oil lamp. The last time he saw that red star, it was only for a few seconds. He recalled a raspy voice shouting:
"Comrades! Charge! Cover the international division's children and the logistics unit's retreat!"
As that raspy voice echoed, he had seen a tall back. He didn't know if that figure was his father, but it felt familiar. In the moment that figure turned, he saw the red star on the eight-cornered cap catching the sunlight, still glowing with that crimson hue—then, the shockwave of a shell blast knocked him unconscious. He never saw his brothers during the retreat.
"Little Junior Brother, you’re back! Are you tired? You’re in for a treat tonight. The senior brothers caught a wild boar, and it’s stewing in the big pot right now. Can you smell it?" Brother Yuan Qing helped him offload the firewood and shared the news of the feast.
"Oh! Really? That’s great! We get to have meat again!" Luo Jiang was overjoyed, slurping back the saliva threatening to drip from his mouth.
"You bet! The eldest brother led a group to hunt it down. Brother Yuan Chen said they saw a wild deer too, but it was too far away to catch. They’ve already set traps, though, so we’ll probably have venison next time!" Brother Yuan Qing said as he carried the firewood into the woodshed and tossed the rope back to him. Luo Jiang noticed the corner of Yuan Qing’s mouth twitching as he, too, fought back a hungry swallow.
Tianyun Taoist Temple was a branch of Taoism that belonged to neither the Quanzhen nor the Zhengyi sects, though it shared deep roots with the Maoshan and Wudang sects. There were eighty-three people in the temple. Five were of the same generation as the master, Xuanyunzi, and the rest were their disciples of the "Xuan" generation. Luo Jiang knew nothing of the temple's history; he was too young, his master hadn't told him, and he had never thought to ask. He was just a child, at an age where he simply wanted to play and be well-fed, never giving such things a second thought.
Several more days passed. Luo Jiang continued to gather firewood, though he had to venture further into the mountains, as villagers from nearby hamlets were also scouring the forest for winter fuel.
One day, returning from the mountains, Luo Jiang smelled a rich, savory aroma before he even reached the temple. He quickened his pace. Upon entering, he found his senior brothers looking grim. Even Brother Yuan Hui, who usually teased him to make him laugh, was silent, wordlessly helping him unload his wood. Luo Jiang didn't know what had happened, but he was young and didn't dwell on it. He simply ate his fill of venison that night and went to his room to meditate.
The next morning, Luo Jiang woke up, but instead of the usual chatter of his brothers, there was silence. He didn't think much of it, washed his face at the stone basin, and headed to the kitchen. The brothers weren't there, either. Thinking they had already eaten and left him leftovers—as they often did to take care of him—he ate some cornmeal buns with pickled vegetables, finished a bowl of wild herb porridge, and washed his dishes.
He grabbed his rope and woodcutter’s blade, ready to head back into the mountains. But as he passed his brothers' living quarters, he saw no one. The entire temple was deathly quiet, which finally made him uneasy.
"The invaders are ravaging our Dragon Kingdom, slaughtering our people, and leaving the land in ruins. The country is on the brink of collapse—how can the Tao survive? We of Tianyun Taoist Temple are soldiers, too! Today, all juniors and disciples, follow me down the mountain to resist the invaders and drive them out of the Dragon Kingdom!"
"Drive them out of the Dragon Kingdom..."
Before Luo Jiang could reach the temple gate, he heard the shouts of Master Xuanyunzi and his brothers. He hurried forward, running out the gate to see his master, his uncles, and all the senior brothers assembled, each armed with a blade or sword and carrying a travel pack.
"Master! I want to go fight the invaders, too!" Seeing them about to leave, Luo Jiang ran over and shouted.
Xuanyunzi’s face softened with a gentle, loving look. He reached out to pat Luo Jiang’s head and whispered an instruction. "You are too young. Go when you have grown up. Besides, the temple needs someone to keep watch. You must stay here and guard the temple."
"Then when will you and the brothers come back?" Luo Jiang nodded, but he was heartbroken at the thought of them leaving.
"We will return once we have finished off the invaders. You stay here, watch over our temple, and wait for our return, hear?"
After Xuanyunzi finished with a smile, a look of grim determination flashed in his eyes. "If we do not return... then we do not return. Move out!"