Chief Hodong puffed his cheeks in annoyance, feeling as though he should’ve killed Elder Jun the moment he pranced through the door waving that arrogance he usually had after returning from the outer plains of Huaxia.

As he sat down, he pushed himself up from his bed and began, caressing the air thinking of of Xiabo Ling. You’ll be mine soon. He thought.

“If I had been patient enough, she would’ve been mine tonight.”

“Dong? Is something wrong?” His wife asked softly.

“Yes, everything’s wrong.” He said, turning to her.

Hodong’s wife was once the most beautiful woman in the Hollow Mountain Village, a fact he took pride in when he married her, but like most things, that grew old, so did her beauty dissipate.

Now, she was just a lump of flesh that bore him two sons. An honour for her, despite her withering away like a leaf.

Hodong smiled at his wife’s groggy face, then he caressed her left hand, feeling the wrinkles on her forearm, making him shriek in disappointment. “Don’t worry, I’ll fix this Kai Chen problem.”

“You always do.” She said, kissing his cheek.

Hodong kissed her back, sliding his hand around her waist, feeling her loose skin. It annoyed him how wide her waste had gotten.

The girth she experienced after childbirth, was like a boulder, compared to a branch. He licked his lips, thinking of the old days when he couldn’t wait to see her after a long day.

She placed her hand over his own and then shook her head. “I’m too tired, just lie with me for a bit.”

“In a minute,” He answered with a smile but rage roiling within.

He pushed himself up off the bed, feeling the cold wind of the night caress his chest, sending waves of goosebumps down his back. Then, stalked himself toward the window, peering through it, looking over the village he’d inherited.

Many things passed through his mind as he stared into the crimson moon, but the one adamant he had, was that of Xiabo Ling.

He reminisced about when he first laid eyes on her when she came to him as tall as a twig, hoping he would be her teacher.

The little girl wanted to be a physician, as she wanted to learn to heal people. Hodong was skeptical, as most people within the Purple Mist Valley couldn’t read, but Xiabo Ling was different.

She could read, her memory was excellent, but most of all, she was eager to learn, and so she did.

Unlike the other apprentices he had, she wasn’t skittish or hesitant whenever she saw blood, which made her perfect to be a physician.

As he began reminiscing of his time back in Shaanxi, working as a physician. He was young, energetic but mostly proud of the skills he’d inherited, despite his young age.

Those skills, allowed him to amass a small fortune by helping the rich, as the poor couldn’t afford his prices.

That was until he made a fatal mistake by misdiagnosing one of the most powerful clans within Shaanxi.

The Xia Clan.

Hodong misdiagnosed the Patriarch of the Xia Clan. He proclaimed the Patriarch to have contracted red skin flu. However, in truth, he had yellowsting fever.

When Hodong was treating the Patriarch, the herbs he used only served to enhance the yellowsting fever, which was what the Patriarch had contracted.

The patriarch died within a few days.

Hodong recognised his mistake, but before he knew it. The new Patriarch had ordered another physician to take a look the former patriarch’s body.

Hodong disappeared that very day, not wanting to feel the wrath of the Xia Clan itself.

He journeyed throughout the Central Plains for years. It was the most stressful time of his life, something he would ever admit to anyone, but that was his life experience.

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The most stressful part of his trek during, was the fact that he had to give up his true name. Just in case, The Xia Clan were hunting for him. No one would hunt for ‘Hodong’, He thought.

…and no one did.

The thought of him changing his name left him bitter. Have to discard his name? That was a travesty to one’s ancestors! But in the end, it was that…or die from Xia Clan.

Eventually, Hodong made his way to the Purple Mist Valley and found some form of semblance, something he never thought was possible since his left Shaanxi.

After all, it was a remote valley in a remote part of Sichuan.

No one came here, so he grew comfortable.

He incorporated himself into the three villages, providing numerous suggestions to the village chiefs

Suggestions on how to improve the village itself. As a Physician, and someone who came from Shaanxi, which was evident from his accent. His words held weight, which eventually led to him becoming the Hollow Stone Mountain Chief.

A chance he surely couldn’t let go.

Now, with the Old Jun disappearing on months end, only return to stop his plans. He never wanted to work with Kai Chen, but with Lim Fu in the picture, he had no choice, if he wanted Xiabo Ling for himself.

The frustrating thing about all of this was the fact that Hodong personally trained Xiabo Ling. He watched the little girl age like wine, curves emerging in the right places, which filled him with lust.

Xiabo Ling was as astute as she was smart.. She began to notice his lecherous gaze. Once she’d learned enough from him like the ungrateful bitch she was, she took herself back to the Purple Mist village, leaving a hole in his heart and a mind, holes he filled with lust.

Years might’ve passed, yet that lecherousness never left him. It only heightened each time he saw her whenever he visited the Purple Mist Village.

After years of waiting, Hodong couldn’t take it anymore. The thoughts of poisoning him were prevalent, but he knew well enough that Xiabo Ling would do an autopsy.

Once she checked his liver, she would know he was poisoned.

Instead, he hatched a plan. He reached out to Kai Chen, the second in charge of the Stone Bear Band.

He knew, that Lim Fu, would never go for the plan as he realised the Bandit Leader was comfortable with how things were within the Purple Mist Valley.

When Kai Chen and Hodong met, they hypothesized that Xiabo Jun would be the problem, so when next he leave for an extended period, thats when they would start their plan.

However, they still needed to get rid of Lim Fu first.

Hodong acquired a rare poison found within Sichuan and tweaked it for consumption. He advised Kai Chen to feed itto Lim Fu over for a two-month period.

Then, he could take control of the Stone Bear Band, that way he could have Jiang Li in a heartbeat.

However, Hodong didn’t expect for Xiabo Jun to return with a Martial Artist. Everything he worked towards the past few months could end instantly.

No, this Zhao Xing has an Axsumite child, that’s his weakness, He thought. “I can put that thing to some use.” Hodong said, caressing the windowsill, imagining Xiabo Ling’s succulent face.

“Yes. I’ll have Kai Chen get me that child. The Northern States have a fetish for such creatures. So it would be best for me to simply sell her there.” He pondered.

Hodong stalked himself to his closet, pulling free a black cloak that would keep him warm. He sauntered down the stairs, barely avoiding the creaks within the wood hoping not to wake his wife and children. Then scampered through the door.

The crimson moon sprayed its light across the village, a red hue of mist gathering within the village. It was as if ice had a mind of its own as wists through the village freezing Hodong’s fingertips.

Luckily though, no villager was awake, leaving the town as dead as the ore within the mines.

Hodong crossed his hands, then made his way to the forest, and travelled a few hours into the night, finally coming across the cave in which his wheat beads were placed.

“What are you doing here Old Man?” A man with a scraggly beard said, raising his spear to Hodong’s throat.

“To check on the wheat, I have to ensure you stored it properly or I won’t be able to make a coin from it!”

“Coin!?” Another bandit said, scoffing. “This is ours you old fool! We took it from you!”

“…You may have taken it from me, but if it’s spoiled, how are you going to make enough to feed yourself, hmm? May I remind you that Kai Chen and I, have an agreement? I’m simply fulfilling my part of it!” Hodong said coldly.

Hodong slapped the spear from in front of his face, eyed the two men up and down, flared his nose as walked past heading into the cave, ready to inspect the wheat.

Hodong entered the cave, feeling as though he was walking in a void of black decrepit darkness. The moment he set his foot down, a haunting, dreary feeling washed over him making goosebumps ripple from his neck all the way down to his calves.

The tapping sound of dripping water from the stalactites that served as teeth throughout the cave certainly didn’t help either.

The cave wasn’t deep, nor was it an actual system, but a simple cave which happened to be twenty meters deep.

The light from the crimson moon fluttered into the cave-like petals of the newly bloomed flower, providing a tranquil ambience to the haunting cave.

In the short distance, thirty bags of wheat lay on the ground leaning on each other covered by a large red thick blanket, about ten meters long.

Hodong approached the blanket and began sifting his hand through it, looking for moist wheat berries and leakage within each bag.

After checking each wheat sack and feeling satisfied with the state they were in. Hodong dusted off his hands and headed back to the cave entrance. “The sacks were well placed the blanket also shows no form of moisture, well done.”

The two men ignored his words which annoyed Hodong, but he said nothing. He began to strut his way back down the hill, and then that burning question he had in his mind finally came forth. “When will Kai Chen bring Xiabo Ling?”

“Now that her father’s back, he has to die first before we bring her to you.” One of them said bitterly.

“I have something to report to him,” Hodong said.

“Tell it to us, and we’ll report it back to him.”

“I’ll do it myself,” Hodong said.

Hodong didn’t say another word, he just left, leaving the two men to do them, guard the wheat berries till they were ready to be sold.