The silver moon hung in the inky blue sky above the forest like a sentinel, bathing the forest with its light. The cold breeze swirled around, making the trees slightly sway. The gentle chirping of crickets, the melodic serenades of katydids, and the rhythmic buzzing of cicadas filled the environment, and the hooting of an owl was heard far away. Zhen Lixin's sobs were now subsided as he hid behind a huge tree. The fear of being caught was now dominated by the fear of being alone in a forest at a time like this. He huddled behind a large tree, legs drawn up close to his chest, and kept his eyes and ears open for any threat, despite being tired.

Amidst these noises was heard the sound of footsteps. They were made by heavy boots, but the person was walking calmly. Lixin's heart skipped a beat out of fear, and he peeked out of the tree to take a look at the person approaching. The light was not enough, and they seemed to be dressed in black, so all Lixin could see was the silhouette of a tall person slowly walking. One of his hands was behind his back while he held the other up to his eye level. Something was twirled around that arm and it seemed like he was looking at it. His long hair tied in a pony-tail swinged with each step he took. In fear of being noticed, Lixin quickly turned away again.

With each step, the stranger grew closer, yet their pace remained unhurried. When Lixin felt the stranger just a few steps away from him, he heard a hissing sound. Lixin gulped when he thought of what kind of an animal would make that noise and remembered how something was twirled around that person's arm.

Just after the hissing sound, the footsteps had stopped and Lixin held his breath. He was not going to be caught to those people, he thought. He gathered all the energy he had and lighted a small sphere of water in his right palm, and a white flame of light on his left palm. He waited, but the footsteps were heard no more. He slowly got up and took a step out. The environment was filled with the noises of animals again. He stepped entirely out of the tree, keeping the sphere of water and flame of light still on his palms.

Every step he took was cautious, and his searched everywhere for the person that was just coming his way. But, no one was there. Instead, there was something else. Through the flame of light, Lixin saw a black, long and thin snake on the ground right before him. Startled, Lixin immediately threw the water sphere at it. It became a little explosion where it hit the ground, but the snake slid away. He created another water sphere, this time bigger, in the blink of an eye, and threw it at the snake again. But the snake managed to slide away from the explosion again, now coming towards Lixin. He stepped back as he tried to create more water spheres, but a voice froze him.

"Enough."

The voice was deep, yet gentle, and it echoed in the forest. Suddenly, it felt like the whole forest had gone quiet. Lixin swiftly turned around to see where the voice came from, and saw that stranger standing just a few steps away from him. The person was tall and slender, dressed in black robes, his long hair swaying slightly as he stepped towards Lixin. His sudden appearance itself scared Lixin, but he froze when the person came closer to his flame of light and he saw the blood stains on his face. He had almond eyes as black as an abyss, and a trace of splashed blood across his left cheek.

Lixin stepped back far away from him as he came closer. The black snake slid towards him, and he lowered himself and extended his arm, letting it twirl around. It hissed, and disappeared into the man's black robes. He watched the snake disappear as he straightened up, and turned his head around to look at Lixin. Seeing that he'd caught the man's gaze, Lixin stumbled back and tried to run away. But he froze when the man slowly rose his arm, and suddenly, Lixin was feeling dizzy. He took a step back, trying to steady himself as the man stepped towards him. And then, Lixin felt his body go light as a feather. He knew he was falling back, but he didn't feel the ground hit him. Instead, two strong arms caught him. One last look before his eyes were closed, and he saw the man's face up-close, with that blood stain across his pale cheek, and his eyes as black as a void.

--

"Lixin-xiong~!"

Lixin lazily opened his eyes, but shut them tight the next second with a frown.

"Eh...? This is no time to sleep, Lixin-xiong. Wake up!" An energetic voice said.

Lixin opened his eyes again and turned his head to the side to see a tall man standing beside his bed. The man had a fluffy tail wagging behind him, and furry ears on his head. Without even looking at his face, Lixin knew who it was. He groaned and lazily sat up on his bed. Seeing that Lixin finally woke up, the man grinned.

Lixin rubbed his eye and looked at him. "Shu Ming... what- how did you get in?"

"Needn't to talk about that," Shu Ming said while waving his hand up and down. "Dress up and meet me at the Eternal Garden. We have some work to do." He said as he stepped out of Lixin's room, his tail wagging behind him with each of his steps, and probably the mansion.

Zhen Lixin stared at the door for a while, then he sighed and touched the floor with his feet. The sun rays that came through the windows in his room were hitting his long, whitish blue hair, making it look shiny. He pushed the messy hair locks off his face as got up. After dressing up in his white and blue robes, he braided a lock of his hair on the side.

"How do you like it?" A familiar, gentle but deep, voice asked little Lixin.

Lixin touched the side braid in admiration and spun around in joy, "I'm going to keep it forever!"

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Lixin subconsciously smiled as he pushed the side braid behind his back.

He pulled the doors to his mansion open and stepped out. The sun shone brightly, its golden rays filling the surrounding. Warm wind swirled around Lixin, slightly swaying his long hair. The wide streets were paved with smooth, milky white stones. On either sides of the streets were buildings of the same architectural style, but with different aesthetics. Most of them were the mansions of other immortals, a few being libraries or temples or so.

As Lixin walked in the streets to the Eternal Garden, a garden in the Ethereal Realm where no being living in it died, the scent of various rare flowers filled the air. Now and then he met another Xian who greeted him, or nodded their heads, which Lixin always returned back with a warm smile. The sound of water flowing from intricately designed fountains and the sounds of birds filled Lixin's ears as he stepped into the Eternal Garden through its grand gate.

He walked in a pathway made of white stone that meander through the garden, hands tucked behind his back. His pace was as calm as the environment as he walked, until he met Shu Ming.

Shu Ming was squatting down beside the pond, looking at the fish swimming inside, before he noticed Lixin approaching him from afar. He immediately stood up and his tail wagged fast.

Shu Ming was demi-human; being half cat, and half human. He was one of the powerful immortals within the Ethereal Realm, almost the same rank as Zhen Lixin.

Lixin felt like the environment suddenly turned chaotic as he saw Shu Ming run towards him. He stopped in his step and not a second later, Shu Ming was already standing next to him. He grinned at Lixin, his hands tucked behind his back and his tail wagging.

Lixin smiled at him. "So? What work do we have?"

"I'm glad you asked, your highness," Shu Ming said with his usual playful voice. "It's a trip to the mortal realm."

Lixin sighed and touched his forehead. "Again?"

Shu Ming shrugged, "Seems like it. His highness, Gou Jian, called me over this morning, and told me that there was some trouble in the mortal realm."

"What trouble?"

"A phoenix has appeared."

Zhen Lixin rose his eyebrows. "Oh?"

Phoenixes were not very common creatures to encounter. It is said that there are a few dwelling in the Duskvale forest, but no mortal nor immortal had ever encountered one in the forest, making it just a myth. But, what everyone knew was that phoenixes did exist, and they existed in the Fallen Realm.

The Fallen Realm was where all the corrupted spirits lingered, the realm itself being theirs. It was like the opposite of the Ethereal Realm, the ruler of it being Min Xuan, whom Zhen Lixin had been longing to meet since almost 400 years.

"Can I know gege's name?" Little Lixin asked the man who kneeled before him, healing his wound on the knee with his palm. Faint green sparkles slipped out of the man's palm that was on Lixin's knee.

The man smiled and looked up at Lixin. "Why do you wanna know?"

By now, Lixin had gotten used to that deep voice, but he was still surprised when the man smiled, and those empty black eyes had a twinkle in them.

"Why not?" Lixin asked as he inclined his head.

The man smiled almost to himself as he focused back on Lixin's wound and said, "It's Ming Xuan."

"Yes," Shu Ming said with a nod, walking around Lixin, his playful voice now having a serious tone. "It has been spotted flying around in the sky in a village situated close to the Fallen Realm. No harm to anyone has been caused yet, but we should capture it as soon as possible."

Lixin watched Shu Ming walk around him, "But how could a phoenix be flying freely in the mortal realm? I thought they were not let easily out of the Fallen Realm."

Shu Ming stopped before Lixin. "That is the case," he said, and his tail had stopped wagging. "The Serpent is said to keep them within his realm, for a reason who knows why. So, it must be either his intentional doing, or the phoenix slipped out on its own."

"Ming Xuan wouldn't-"

"There you go calling him by his name, again. You don't even know if it really is his name," Shu Ming said as he wagged his tail aggressively.

Zhen Lixin smiled nervously and scratched the back of his neck. "I still prefer that name over his title..."

Shu Ming rolled his brown eyes. Lixin continued, "Anyways, as I was saying, Min X- The Serpent... wouldn't do such a thing. I mean, he didn't for years, so why would he now?"

Shu Ming sighed, "That, we don't know. But either way, we should capture it before it really does cause any harm."

"En. Do you know where it is as of now?"

He shook his head in response. "But," He put his hand into his left sleeve and took something out. It was a radiant feather with an intense shade of red and gold mixed together. "I can track it down with this." He said with a triumphant smile.

Lixin's eyes widened at the sight and he stepped closer to Shu Ming, taking a good look at the feather. "How'd you get that?"

Shu Ming grinned. "Picked it up while searching the village."

Lixin took the feather into his hand and looked up at Shu Ming, for Shu Ming was taller than him. "Shu Ming, if there are more feathers in the mortal realm, we must look for them as well. These feathers are said to have the ability bring back the dead or grant immortality."

Shu Ming nodded, "Ji Mengxi and Li Mei are already on it."

"Ah," Lixin nodded. "Enough wasting time, then. Let's go."

Shu Ming's ears straightened and his tail wagged in excitement. "En."

--

Zhen Lixin and Shu Ming walked down a cobblestone street lined with shops and stalls in the mortal realm. Humans and demi-humans filled the streets, but Lixin and Shu Ming were highlighted among the crowd, for their noble looks and expensive robes. Hawkers and traders called out especially to them, and they caught the eyes of young women and kids. Lixin smiled or nodded at them in politeness, while Shu Ming was busy sniffing the air and running around. Lixin let him do his work on his own and walked over to an accessory stall.

"My lord! To what do I owe this honor?" The owner of the stall, who was an old man, came around the stall to stand in front of Lixin.

Lixin smiled warmly at him. He knew the owner didn't know who exactly Lixin was, but was just showing respect because of his noble aura, but he couldn't have cared less about that.

"I will just look around," he said.

"Yes, my lord." said the old man and he stepped out of Lixin's way.

The stall sold many accessories it seemed, as there were bracelets, necklaces, earrings, headpieces, and hand fans. Lixin extended his arm to grab a hand fan that went along with his robes' colors, but he was interrupted by Shu Ming, who suddenly appeared beside him. The owner was startled, but Lixin was not, for he'd already sensed Shu Ming approaching.

"Found it." Shu Ming said, his ears straight up.

Lixin nodded politely at the owner of the stall and turned to Shu Ming. "Where?"

"In the Duskvale forest."

Lixin's eyes slightly widened at his words. Duskvale forest, where once he had been hiding in, and was approached by a stranger with blood stains. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Let's go."

Shu Ming nodded and took the lead, his ears straight up and tail wagging with excitement, and Zhen Lixin followed him.