Prologue :
It is often said that one should treasure the time spent with the ones you love. You never know what could happen to you or your loved ones, and you will not know if this will be the last moment spent with those you cherish. Fairmeadow has high walls and beautiful gardens, and a river cuts through the middle of town. Lived Mei Hua and her family. Her father, Mei Xiao, was the owner of a shop trading in clothing. Mei Hua's mother, Mei Len, is a guzheng master who played for social events in town and taught others how to play guzheng for her job. Mei Hua's brother, Mei Li, wants to become a martial artist. Still, their parents are trying to persuade him to follow a different path.
A woman wearing a green dress with long black hair sits playing the guzheng alongside her twelve-year-old daughter. Mei Hua is wearing an Azure-colored dress with butterflies on it. Her hair is adorned with a flower hairpin.
Mei Hua tells her mother after failing to copy her mother's technique, "Mother, why is it that when you play the guzheng, your playing sounds so much more beautiful than mine."
Mei Len turns her head to look at Mei Hua and softly replies, "If you practice, it will come to you with time."
Mei Hua replies with a pout.
"But, it seems so natural to you. How long have you been playing the guzheng for mother?"
Mei Len replies in a sweet voice.
"I Have been playing the guzheng for 30 years and have practiced my techniques daily. Persistent practice and patience are the keys to success."
Mei Hua asks her mother with a bright smile.
"Can you show me how you do the yoazhi? I believe it is one of the most beautiful of sounds."
Her mother replied, "OK, little Huaer, let me show you how to do the yoazhi."
Mei Hua says with glee,
"Mom's the best."
"To make sure you understand the Yoazhi well. It is an advanced guzheng technique where the musician's thumb pick is used to strum a singular string complexly to make a beautiful and melodious sound, always remember that this technique movement comes from the wrist going back and forth, but not from your arm."
Mei Len uses her thumb to rapidly pluck outward and inward on a single note on the guzheng to demonstrate how the yoazhi is performed to Mei Hua.
Mei Hua Says like this
Mei Len adjusts Mei Hua's hand position and says, "Close, it is performed like this."
Mei Hua says with a radiant smile, whose beauty is similar to that of a pearl, "I did it."
A man in a blue robe slowly sneaks behind the two ladies and says in a deep voice, interrupting their conversation.
"What did my little Huaer do?"
Mei Hua states with an expression of shock on her face.
"ahh! Dad, you scared me."
Mei Xiao laughs in a robust voice.
"ha, ha, ha."
Mei Hua says with a pout.
"Not Funny Dad "
Mei Len says with a playful smile.
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"she was learning to play the guzheng from me and managed to play the yoazhi. "
Mei Xioa says with a broad smile as he comes and picks his daughter up with a hug.
"My daughter is so talented."
Mei Len says to Mei Xioa with a worried expression
"I hate to interrupt this beautiful moment, but where is Mei Li? I thought he was with you, but I do not see him with you."
"He told me that he was helping you today at home."
Mei Len Says with a worried expression.
"He better not try to practice martial arts behind my back again. Does he not know how dangerous the Jianghu is?"
Mei Xioa says with a frown.
"I will go looking for your brother. Little Huaer, stay home with your mother while I am gone."
Mei Hua reply
"OK, I will see you when you get back home."
After eating dinner with my mom, Mei Hua went to sleep. She pondered what had happened with her brother. Mei Hua is sure her brother will get an earful from their parents when he gets home. Brother Mei Li is obsessed with becoming a martial artist. However, since Mom and Dad say that the world of Jianghu is very dangerous, they heavily discourage him from becoming a martial artist.
Mei Hua wakes up to yelling coming from down the stairs. She carefully and quietly walks to the top of the stairs, where she sees her brother and mom yelling at each other. Her brother wore a green robe with black hair tied in a Chinese-style man bun, while her mother wore a blue dress.
Mei Len Says to Mei Li as she continues to bandage the bruised hands of her son.
"You were trying to practice tree punching techniques again. What have we told you about the dangers of learning martial arts."
Mei Li
"But Mom, it's my decision to learn martial arts; I want to be a capable martial artist."
Mie Len says with a furious voice.
"Don't you know how dangerous the Jinaghu is! Members of the Janghu are not even provided the same protections as a normal civilian."
Mei Li says
"I want to pave my way and have the power to take the situation into my own hands."
Mie Len says with a furious voice.
"So many fools die trying to join the Jianghu every year!"
Mei Li responds to his mother with a retort.
"If I break through to the Cloud Walking realm, I can even live to be 200 years old; the risk is more than worth the reward.
Mei Len responds with a sigh. As she finished bandaging his bruised hands.
"Otter foolishness, It is rare enough for anyone to achieve the Essence Refinement realm; you think you will bypass it and make it to the Cloud walking realm."
Mei Li says in a huff as he gets up and starts heading toward the stairs
"If I do not have a goal worth striving for, what's the point! You just want me to become a clothing merchant like father!"
Mei Hua comes down the stairs to find her mother crying. When Mei Len sees her daughter, she tries to conceal that she is crying just now. Mei Hua goes over to her mother and gives her a hug.
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A few months passed by, and Mei Hua took lessons about the guzheng from her mother while their father taught Mei Li about the family business. Every chance Mei Li got, he would sneak away to try and learn more about martial techniques. Mei Hua did not understand why Mei Li was so stubborn, even though he knew he would get reprimanded whenever he got caught. But Mei Hua still cared deeply for her brother. Whenever someone tried to bully her growing up, he was always the first person to come to her rescue.
One day, Mei Hua noticed he had sneaked away from their parents. Mei Hua follows her brother Mei Li when he sneaks away to practice martial arts. Mei Li was a young teenage boy in a green robe with black hair tied in a Chinese-style man bun in a clearing. He punched an ironwood tree with his hands while in the horse stance. Mei Li practiced various punching techniques he had seen the town guards use during their training.
Mei Hua calls out to her brother
"Lier, what are you doing over there!"
Mei Li Replys as contiunes to train.
"Huaer, I am trying to increase my resilience and the force behind my punches."
Mei Hua asks with concern as she approaches her brother
"Is that not painful for your hands."
Mei Li Says
The pain of training is but temporary for the rewards that you gain from it, and besides, I have these medicinal pills that prevent me from seriously injuring myself."
Mei Hua says with a look of realization
"So that is what you have been spending your money on."
Mei Hua hears a big crash from the distance. She grabs her brother's hand.
Mei Li says to Mei Hua.
"let's hurry home. I have a bad feeling about this situation."
They run back toward Fairmeadow. Mei Hua hears another crash and sees the forest behind her go up in flames.
Mei Hua says as she runs next to her brother
"What is going on"
Mei Li responds by saying.
"I do not know, but we must get out of here."
A burning branch falls toward them, and Mei Li pushes Mei Hua away from him. The burning branch fell between the two of them. Strangely enough, the flames are snuffed out by a sudden strong wind that blows Mei Hua and Mei Li up into the air, where a massive crack in the sky becomes visible. They are both blown into the spatial crack.
Mei Hua cry's out, saying.
"Lier!"
Mei Hua drifts into unconscious from the strong force pulling her into the spatial crack.