Heaven on Earth (人间天堂)

Chapter 1

A sea of inferno swamped the village---rolling waves of flames that stretched out beyond the horizon. Fires spread as rampant as a pestilence, hearing neither the pleading cries of the townspeople and cultivators alike. The bane of their existence refused to be extinguished no matter how loud, and it was as if the 9 suns Hou Yi shot down seized the thrones reigning the ethers once more.

Where was the heavens when such a cataclysm occured? They seemed to have turned a blind eye to the razing conflagration capable of engulfing even their thrones if it were to be let loose in their realm. "The great Heaven would not favor anyone, it only helps those who are virtuous;" what significance does such a proverb hold when they created another to forbid immortals from involving themselves in worldly affairs? When they regard mortals as beings that could not equal nor surpass them?

Thou shall not slander celestials---the irony this unspoken rule hides was clearer than waters as they insulted cultivators just by watching. For it was the case, was it not, as they simply stood by while those who had yet to become one of them endeavor? It could be found in plain sight, when flame, like a candle's, sparked yet another and another despite only shedding little life from themselves.

It seemed that hundreds who shared such grievous fate, also possessed inauspicious omens in their Shí Èr Gōng. Because if that was not the case, then why, one by one, did almost all perish under the merciless heat?

The answer depended on what luck they had left.

Two children remained an exception of mere tenths. Perhaps, they were spared due to the presences of certain stars in their Zi Wei Dou Shu Chart. But there was no time to thank what heavenly bodies they were born beneath, simply too preoccupied trying to depart from this tribulation alive.

The both were a pair of siblings---brother and sister. Seeking shelter under the wreckage of their demolished house, they relied only in each others' warmth to keep each other calm.

Bai Xuan, the eldest of the two, held his sister close to him. "Don't worry, Gege will keep you safe."

The air was pungent with blood and smoke that simultaneously cremated bodies to ashes. Sounds of blades clanging and striking did little to no help in quelling the two's constant fearful flinches. It was supposed to be a sign of hope, an answer from the heavens, but ought the common people be grateful for it? The strongest cultivators present could not extirpate this catastrophe, so how could they thank something that had yet to eventuate result?

Bai Xuyi tightened the arms wrapped around her brother's waist as she buried her head upon his tattered robes for comfort.

Her lungs had long felt suffocated, throat strangled, as if a snake encircled her torso and threatened to asphyxiate her until she was wrinkly and emaciated. They swelled up with polluted gas, not air, burning with such ferocity---all she wanted to was rip them apart. The small wounds scattered in her entire body stung, too.

For a moment, the thought of a Jiangshi sucking her life force was plausible. But she had yet died. And though, in her sight, the world seemed darker than ever---she's sure it's not the case for those qi absorbers. She did not know their competence in differentiating nights and days. Having done it for centuries, they must have been puzzled to wake up to a world where the sun did not set. As the folklore stands, surely, before she is doomed to her grave, these pests would leave her be?

They may have been led astray by the ablaze sky, but for Bai Xuyi, she could never have lost her way.

For her, the sun took the form of a smiling boy---the one whose body curled to act as a fortress. It flared even brighter as he smiled softly down at her with a reassuring expression, becoming clearer so when he forced himself to appear stronger at his weakest, "You're okay---we're okay, everything's going to be just fine. We're going to get out of this alive, alright? I'll make sure of that."