An old woman who went by the name Fan Dong, hated how good things had to come to an end and how the true cruel reality of life had to show itself. Fan Dong was someone in her late fifties, and was the only person who decided to stay at the village when everyone left. The soil of the village's farms had become less fertile throughout the years, and due the popularity of the new city of dreams, many of her fellow people couldn't help migrating to that city or villages nearby it.
Fan Dong used to be a brave warrior of the village who protected and took care of the village since she was fourteen. She didn't want to leave the village because of her attachment to it, but as days passed by, she began to feel lonely and was filled with regret and realization. Her attachment to the village was too great, because she had spent a lot of sweat and blood to keep it standing. In the end, nobody had cared to improve the village, and were like fleas that moved away the moment they found a better host.
Fan Dong wasn't angry of their decision, but was disappointed and regretted listening to traditions of her father instead. Her mother had died trying to give birth to a son, leaving her the only one of the family to pass the tradition onto.
When Fan Dong was eleven years old, her father died as well because of a beast that he couldn't handle due to his age. With both her mother and father gone, and was left alone to defend the village. There was not a single person that was brave enough to try and face the beasts after they heard about the gruesome death of her father, and as a consequence, there was no one who she could pass her role onto since she couldn't bear a child while taking care of the village.
When more than forty years had passed since the day her father died, everyone were still passive. It made Fan Dong assume that if the sacred city didn't exist, her fellow neighbors would simply end up dying when she becomes too old to protect the village. Thinking back, she found it quite funny how her father had such idiotic morals and tradition.
*Sigh* "And I am an idiot for not leaving the village when no one wanted to become my successor instead of them all having to defend and hunt by themself..."
'If only my frail body could keep up with my wisdom' She thought, as she wanted to start anew and support better people who could support her in return.
The last ten people had left together, and Fan Dong was left alone to ridden her stress. Fan Dong sat in a meditative position, thinking about the things she could've done better in life. The days passed by with her taking care of herself, and stealthily murdering beasts that entered the village in search for a place to hang around. After a few more months of a repetitive boring life, the people from the village came back as lost children that had found their home. Fan Dong was still busy practicing her spear attacks near the forest, when she heard the bustling of people.
"Well! Well! Well…! What do we have here?!" Fan Dong questioned in disgust when she saw people entering the buildings that they used to live in.
"You think you lots can just come back here and return with your normal life?!"
"It's our own home! We can do what we want!" A young man rebutted with great arrogance and fury. Fan Dong didn't get offended by the young man remarks, since she was able to confirm how filthy the village and especially her father who supported it was. She didn't reply to the young man, and simply took her stuff before walking away from the village. A few of the older folks tried to apologize and begged her to stay, but she didn't stop to listen, and continued walking away.
After traveling for a few months, she was able to find the magnificent peaceful place she was longing for. Thanks to her hunting instincts, she knew what area not to tread on, and was able to make it to her dream paradise without much harm. She wanted her place of eternal rest to be somewhere nice. Hence why, she searched for her dream location to spend the rest of her days in peace.
While Fan Dong was looking at the spectacle of the place, she noticed that there was a bit of light coming out from the gap behind the waterfall. Filled with curiosity, she walked through the gap before entering a cave.
"Oh, my bad! I didn't think there would be someone over here already."
Fan Dong did not except someone to have similar ideas as she did. The man had wide hair, and when she looked closely, she could see that he had a mature look similar to hers.
What confused her, was the atmosphere around him. It seemed as if he was brimming his life, due his movements that were as smooth and flexible as a young and powerful warrior. She decided to ask him why he looked so healthy, which he simply answered with the fact that he was immortal.
At first, she didn't know how that was possible, but when he was asked her if she knew about the sword of Vengeance, she was able to remember the folklore that her father had told her about when she was a rookie student. The old man was of course Ling Lan, who had explained what he had done to the rising city after he became a sword.
"Ahh! So that's why they came back, huh?!"
"Haha! You thought them a good lesson! I wonder how those arrogant younglings will struggle to survive when they realize the harshness of the world? Ha!"
...
The two lay on the hard ground, staring at the stars while laughing at the development of the new generation. They had a lot in common, with the only difference being their development in a different environment.
Fan Dong was more of a lone wolf, while Ling Lan was a part of a group. What made them have things in common, was the fact that they had both become lone wandering wolfs that searched for peace after having to deal with cubs that wanted to become dragons.
Ling Lan began to talk more about his life, and the sword that helped him due to it resonating with his character and his state of emotions. Fan Dong was intrigued by his story, and felt bed for his past. She was glad that there was something to help him at the least, and wondered if her desires could be understood as well. She asked Ling Lan if it was possible to find a sword with her character, which he replied by saying that he simply did not know.
He told her that she could try at the least, since there might be an actual chance for her. After countless minutes of pondering, they both agreed to leave the next day, to head in the direction of the sacred grounds.