EPISODE TWO
1415 Words
Tang Xi: What?! (Shocked)
Feng Shui: You're a soul now. To disperse in twenty-four hours. You'll disperse to nothingness if you don't make a choice.
Tang Xi: I.....I want to live but not in.....in such a body. It's pretty hard to change bodies, you know?
Feng Shui: Then you leave me no choice. ( points her sword at Tang Xi's forehead and begins to forcefully extract her soul essence)
Tang Xi: Aaah, let go! ( places her hands on her head) You can't force me!
Feng Shui: It's all been predestined. ( continues to extract the essence)
[ Tang Xi wakes up on a wooden bed with a dragon tattoo on her arm. She looks around and finds out she is in a room peculiar to ancient villages. There is a bowl of noodles beside her and a bowl of soup beside it.]
Tang Xi: Where am I? Who am I? ( tries to remember but all she can recall is a fluttering white dress and a sword)
[ At that moment, a young girl of about sixteen years walks into the room holding a bowl of water and a towel]
Girl: Oh my! ( drops the bowl) Petra, you're awake. You're finally awake. ( tries to touch Tang Xi)
Tang Xi: ( stops her hand) Who are you?
Girl: What?! Petra, you don't remember your elder sister? did you......did you lose your memory? ( voice breaking)
Tang Xi: ( heart softens)( decides to play along) I'm sorry big sis, you know I'm just recovering from an accident. I'm sorry.
Girl: No problem as far as my Tra'er is back to me.
Tang Xi: Mn, same here. (Feels warm in her heart)
[ At the You manor......]
[ You Lin is sitting on her bed reading a book, while her maid, Mo Ling is massaging her feet. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. ]
You Lin: Ling'er, go check who's at the door.
Mo Ling: Yes, my lady (leaves) ....... (returns after a short while) It is Zhou Tiezhu, my lady.
You Lin: And he seeks .........?
Mo Ling: Your audience my lady, on behalf of Prince Tang Avien.
You Lin: Well, let him in.
Ling'er: Yes my lady. (Opens the door and curtsies perfunctorily) Tiezhu.
Tiezhu: Hello, Ling'er you look quite pretty today.
Ling'er: (curtly) Thanks, you may go in now.
Tiezhu: Alright (goes in) Greetings my lady.
You Lin: Greetings. It's rare to see you in my manor.
Tiezhu: Yes. I was sent by Prince Avien.
You Lin: But you're not his guard.
Tiezhu: Yes, you're right. Zikui was too busy so he asked me to come in his place.
You Lin: You also came cause you want to see Ling'er right?
Tiezhu: Zikui really asked.
You Lin: It's alright, you don't have to be embarrassed, but I must remind you that Ling'er is no ordinary maid and she hates to be forced. Keep your advances small. Don't make her hate you.
Tiezhu: Thank you my lady.
You Lin: What does Avien want?
Tiezhu: He said he'll be visiting soon to give you the invitation to the Empress' Annual House Banquet.
You Lin: Avien? (head tilts slightly) Really. (huffs) When did he say he'll be coming?
Tiezhu: Erm, well he didn't...... I mean it's a surprise.
You Lin: Oh, I'll be expecting him then.
Tiezhu: I'll take my leave then. (bows and leaves)
You Lin: Ling'er, you can come in now.
Ling'er: (walks in) What was that all about?
You Lin: Avien is inviting me to the Empress' Annual House Banquet. What do you think?
Ling'er: He should have a motive. I just don't know what it is.
You Lin: Come to think of it, it's almost the selection period.
Ling'er: But women aren't essential to the selection.
You Lin: Ling'er I have always told you to think differently in all things. Get me my weapons i want to play a little.
Ling'er: But this month is for your relaxation, my lady.
You Lin: I changed my mind. Besides, i won't be able to hide it soon.
Ling'er: But........
You Lin: Just do as I say.
Ling'er: Yes. (exits)
[ On the exact day that Tang Xi died in the modern world, there was a phenomenon of a red Dragon soaring into the skies, but no one knew what it meant. ]
[ Later that night, Petra tries to sleep but she can't. She tries to remember something at least, but all she remembers is the scene of a girl with white wings and a similar black winged guy fighting each other, but it seems the guy has the upper hand. ]
Petra: (frustrated) Ugh! why can't I remember anything? My memories feel scattered. First all I remember is a fluttering white dress and now I remember this. It's so confusing. I think I should explore this house to see if anything can help my amnesia. (walks around) (comes across a room which looks different from the rest in the house)
Ooh, looks interesting. (enters the room) (the room looks like a library with different books and scrolls) (she picks up one of them) Hmm, so cultivation really exists. What if I try to........ (regulates her breathing according to the instructions in one of the books)
(suddenly, the dragon tattoo on her arm begins to glow and she finds herself in a dark space. A medium sized red snake is also floating in the space. Runic words appear on the ground telling her to enter the contract with the snake and the procedures on how to do so) (Petra bites herself and drops blood on the scroll. The snake does the same.) (The whole scenery changes to a cultivation ground. A girl who looks about seven years is standing behind Petra.)
Girl: (Taps Petra) Hello master.
Petra: (Startled) Oh, uhm, well, uhm who are you?
Girl: I'm a Fenglong; the descendant of a Dragon king. I'm the most sought after demonic beast in the cultivation world. I'm your guardian.
Petra: Oh. You're the red snake I saw in that space right?
Girl: Yes. I am.
Petra: You said you're "most sought after" how do you mean?
Girl: Now, in cultivation, there are cultivational materials such as pills and relics. Any cultivator that can refine me into pills will have a mysterious leap in cultivation with no side effects. All cultivators want that. Also my kind is a very rare species which poses another reason why we are sought after.
Petra: If you're a dragon descendant, that means you're not up to a real dragon. If cultivators can get a real dragon, doesn't that mean........
Girl: I know right? But a Dragon is not something you can easily mess with. Even at the Empyreal realm, killing a Dragon is no easy thing. Everyone wants it, but no one can get it. That's why until we reach the Dao realm, you can't summon me out.
Petra: Why?
Girl: Because I can only be human in thi virtual space. Once you summon me out, I'll be a snake.
Only after you reach the Dao realm can I attain my human form, since our cultivations are tied together. There are special cultivators known as Diviners. They can sense me from a thousand miles away. Though I've developed a skill to hide from some of them, I can't hide from those at the Shura realm and above. If you summon me out, you could get killed and I'll be refined and you don't want that to happen.
Petra: You look cute and red. How about I call you Ruddy?
Girl: That name is childish (frowns)
Petra: Excluding your knowledge, you're more like a child.
Girl: I'm like a hundred years old. Just that snakes grow and develop slowly.
Petra: I'm your master so I can bully you.
Girl: Of course I won't let you bully me. But I'll take the name.
Petra: (Chuckles) So now what is this place?
Ruddy: This is your virtual space. It has two hundred and ninety doors with ten extra doors, making three hundred doors in total. There are twenty nine existing Dao with ten doors for each. If you can succeed in opening six doors you can ascend to a middle world. If you can open ten doors you're an unparalleled genius and can ascend to a grade 1 higher world. We are currently in a lower world.
Petra: (Raises an eyebrow) The remaining ten doors?
[ END OF EPISODE ]
- Writer
