The man looked at the moon, it was a full moon night, since the war had ended, the air in the town felt lighter and livelier, he knew he should not forget the sacrifices made by the brave soldiers who fought till the very end, till their last breaths and till their blood ran cold.
In his colorless world, in a world where he had no one to lean on nor help, he craved a world where he could return the townspeople's favor by helping them, but he was far from being treated. But then a certain named appeared in his mind, 'not a name...', he thought, 'but my lady always helps the people of this town without asking for anything in return, she truly was noble... in both name and title'. He closed his eyes to feel the warm breeze on this cold night, but his mind kept drifting to a certain person, to a certain figure who recently started getting recognition in his town, "this year's spring is truly magnificent".
It was the next morning, a new day, he got dressed up and walked through the streets of his town for the thousandth time and finally reached the manor where the young noble lived. He stared at the ground and softly knocked the door.
With every passing second, his heart raced faster, the door slowly opened without making a single sound but soon he heard a soft hum, the lady of the manor had opened the door herself, 'how unusual', he thought. He slowly looked up at her and as their eyes slowly met, and as his empty mind slowly started filling up with a thousand possible expressions her face may make, her hair which were a darker shade of brown resting on her shoulder moved as she leaned down to take a quick look at the man's face, from her silk hanfu that enhanced her otherworldly beauty to her beautifully made hair that ever so lightly swayed with the soft breeze. The man was surprised, 'can such a beautiful lady ever exist?', he thought and noticed how beautiful the world looked, it was as though the entire world was alive, he didn't recognize anything he was seeing even though he knew it was his town, but it seemed more colorful now.
A single drop of tear rolled down his cheek leaving the spring goddess in complete shock but soon the man wiped his face and apologized for his behavior, 'what a strange human', she thought, but it pained her heart to see him cry, she welcomed him to her manor and asked whether he was alright, "I'm fine all thanks to my lady... I'm truly grateful for everything my lady had done for our town', she smiled and his heart raced faster, "I wanted to return my lady's favor... would you kindly let me work with you?", he thought of all the times everyone had helped him even when he was nothing but a mere orphan, with no origins and no fate, he would be delighted if the spring goddess, the lady would take him under her wing and let him serve her for as long as his body allows him.
The spring goddess's gaze never left the man's as he spoke, was it her love for humans that she felt bad for him seeing him so desperate? He felt so different from the other humans she had ever met, his low voice which sounded so strong was so delicate, she could not help but accept his sincere request, she wanted him to live a happier life, a life where he would not bow to anyone, a life where he would be remembered and loved by everyone.
'There was silence in their hearts, there was love in their eyes, as tranquil as the sea and as ever so breathtaking as the heavens.'
It was raining that night; the skies were filled with the same joyous tune that a certain goddess was known for. The pure crystal-like sound that flute produced made the spring that year seem so beautiful, like an everlasting love and a man was enjoying that melody while going through the streets, returning to his humble house near a field of beautiful carnations and the very goddess these townspeople celebrated, was looking after them.
The goddess sat near a pond in her manor, the small koi resided in it, and as she watched them go on with their lives, her mind drifted to a man, to someone she had met, the one who cried so suddenly, 'I wonder what could have been troubling him so much...', she stared at the koi, how they too worked hard to live in their tiny world, just how humans fight back almost everything to survive, their will is stronger than gods. She looked at a different fish in the same pond, 'although they're both fishes, they're so different. He really reminds me of this fish...', she closed her eyes and imagined his face, she imagined his strong will, his will to survive and to serve her to thank his people in a way, her eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Chun Xi, why do you not return to your place in the heavens, us gods do not belong in the human realm.", the goddess looked up at a man, it was the Jade Emperor himself, he who felt no compassion towards humans and gods alike, someone who believed that gods were above humans, a god who maintained order in the world, "I refuse to leave this little town Shangti", he was far more superior than she was, she knew it, compared to a mere goddess of spring, he was the god of law, order, justice and creation. She did not hate him, she liked that he was strong enough to support the other gods and beings in the celestial realm, no one dared to oppose his commanding voice, his cold eyes could pierce through even the strongest of armors.
He demanded her presence, something she couldn't deny, he who ruled over the celestial realm demanded her presence, the goddess looked up right into the jade emperor's eyes, "I shall be there soon". And with that he left, the light radiating off of the jade emperor disappeared, leaving Chun Xi alone in the darkness of that calm night. She sat down again, looking at the scared fishes in her pond, thinking of the people she would have to leave behind but shaking off her worries, she focused on her duties, she can't keep helping the people of that town, they'd have to do it alone from now. The spring goddess got up to retire for the night and while passing the living room, she remembered the encounter responsible for how she felt.
"When the water runs dry, sit and watch for the rising clouds."
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Months had already passed by since the appearance of 'the noble lady' on earth, a disciple who followed her through all unknown dangers, he strangely felt the need to give up everything that he was for the noble lady, unknown to his own desire to help people, and to feel important, he wanted to feel like a giver like the lady he had the utmost respect for. Her dahlia eyes were so loving yet mysterious, he did not know a thing about the lady he followed everywhere. The disciple studied hard to become capable, and alas after a year of studying, he could finally say that he indeed was capable, he was a herbalist.
~
The now capable disciple was carefully picking medicinal herbs for a medicine he wanted to make, though it was still hard for him, he was thankful that he wasn't a burden anymore. Looking back at the manor where he now resided, he got up and kept the herbs in a bottle and carefully placed it inside his bag, "the sun's about to set soon, I must hurry back.", minutes later he was at the entrance of the manor and saw the lady whose smile glowed brighter than the sun itself and, his eyes and back lowered in respect. He heard a light chuckle in response followed by the lady's words, "_____, look up, there's no need for an herbalist such as yourself to bow like this", he lifted himself and looked at the lady, "as you wish my lady. I would have to take my leave now; I have finally found the herb I was looking for... I must make the medicine before they dry up", the man who once was so tiny, so meek, has now become so formidable. Their eyes met, once again, and the lady could finally now see the man's clear resolve in his eyes, "indeed, you should make haste". As she watched the man walk away, she thought of the embers starting a fire.
The herbalist looked down at his bag of herbs, the leaves glistening from the water droplets. He slowly placed each glass bottle in a line, analyzing each plant, his eyes shifted to the wild dahlia, the colors slowly appearing back as the man sighed, 'what is happening to me...?', he thought and slowly muttered, "who are you?", he thought of the noble lady he worked under, the one he had been following aimlessly. Holding the dahlia in his hands now, he wanted to crush it but he simply couldn't, his fingers twitched in annoyance at his own incompetence, once more he felt so weak, he felt so weak whenever it came to her. He would occasionally decide to leave the lady's company but his own body failed to listen to him, as if she controlled him, he had already begun hating her but he couldn't crush her, he couldn't hurt her. The disciple would watch the lady every morning when she would walk around the garden, seeing how the grass became greener and livelier whenever she was near. She made it easier for him to see the world, he needed her because he knew she wasn't a human.
"The lady is ill, ____ please treat her with your exceptional skills... the remedies we tried did not work on her...."