Huai Ren

“Any news from my son?”

The man paced back and forth into a small room. The golden flames of the lamp illuminated every corner of the small room. It flickered and his long black robe swept the wooden oak floor that creaked silently against his footsteps.

“We are waiting for Cheng Du's signal, your highness.”

“What about the God of Medicine? Have you found Bien Que, yet? I am sure he's hiding somewhere out there.” The man clenched his jaw and rubbed his greying chin.

“Unfortunately, he made it to the mortal realm, Emperor Huai Ren. He injured his leg upon escape. A general in the North helped him escape but I am certain they haven't gotten that far.”

Huai Ren had planned it with Tian Huang. The shadow army Tian Huang secretly trained would ransack the borders at his signal. The God of Medicine will somehow surely intervene and help heal the wounded mortals. That's when the soldier will try to catch him and lead him to the beast realm where Huai Ren is waiting. With a weak and imbalanced Qi, it will be easier to trap the God of Medicine inside the beast realm.

“A general, huh. . .”

“I believe he failed to open the path to the heavenly realm and failed to ascend because of his injuries. He was last seen near the Forbidden Dungeon in Southern Zhi Province near the imperial palace where we sent Cheng Du.”

“Hmm. . . I'm sure Cheng Du will take care of it. Any word from my filial nephew, Prince Tian Huang, or anyone from the Huang clan? Ha ha! Oh, what they would give up for the throne. Those fools!” Huai Ren clapped.

“His assistant is on his way to deliver his message. I heard his younger brother had just conducted an exam for physicians. The emperor must be gravely ill. They even accepted physicians who are of low birth status. I heard Cheng Du took the exams in order to be closer to the emperor,” the servant with a snake-like tongue said.

“I am sure he'll do well. Have some of the army stand by the imperial palace. Cheng Du will need help to catch the dragon. I need my brother's weak body to take my spot so I can leave this wasteland immediately.”

He stared at the moon from an open window illuminating the lifeless mountains outside surrounding the Phantom's wasteland. “Why bother looking for the cure when my dear brother doesn't have much time.”

“Indeed, your highness,” the servant replied.

“I've been spending too much time here in the Mountains of Sin that I'm starting to think that I deserve all the crap they're shoving me just because they thought I am impure. That I supposedly taint the blood of the dragon descendants and the whole royal family. And that I resembled the serpent more than I resembled my father.” He touched the windows but the zap of invisible energy burned his palm badly. He looked at his palm apathetically as it healed slowly. He made sure to build his place near the invisible border.

He had been locked up in the beast realm for some time he got accustomed to the pain whenever he attempted to cross the invisible boundary that separates the real human from half-humans like him at the edge of Phantom wasteland. He tried to walk straight outside to the glowing lights separating the wasteland from the mortals before but he was nearly fried to death. He didn't wake up for three days and realized that his Qi had weakened.

The moment Huai Ren was born, his fate was decided. When the wet nurse saw the scales of the serpent on his shoulders and the red mole on his palm, he was discarded.

Like trash.

The royal family didn't want anything to do with him. They say his birth was an abomination and their father, the late emperor Wang, had ordered to kill him to prevent an eternity of bad luck by angering their ancestors.

While his twin, Emperor Wu, the ‘true descendant of the dragon’ according to the ministers of the court, was spared and cherished.

Huai Ren never forgot the court lady who took him and raised him as her own. He was twelve when news of a half-beast was spotted roaming around the mortal realm. Until they've found them in hiding. The court lady did not survive the poisoned arrow that struck her from behind while protecting Huai Ren as they escaped.

Back then, he didn't understand the gravity of his situation. He didn't understand why his existence was considered a threat to the mortal realm. He kept running until he reached the edge of the mortal realm and fell into a pit. He tried to get out but he couldn't. There was this barrier that wasn't there when he fell. He discovered that mortals aren't able to see him beyond the barrier. He traveled for months inside this lifeless wasteland. He met creatures like him. He also met souls of humans who were punished for their crimes in their previous lives. They were thrown into the Mountains of Sin where they were doomed to spend their eternity.

Huai Ren vowed to take whatever his brother cherished away from him. All those years, he carefully planned how to get out of the beast realm until one fateful day, an opportunity came knocking. He met Tian Huang while he was hunting a foreign invader.

He promised the souls that they would be free in exchange for their help making him the emperor. Even if it meant using his adopted son, Cheng Du and his nephew, Tian Huang.

“Speaking of Bien Que, the last time I saw him, he transformed into a bird. Tell the shadow army to look closely even if they had to bring me every animal from the mortal realm. The God of Medicine emits a very unusual aura and you'll know it when you look into his eyes.”

“Yes, your highness, I will inform them.” The servant hissed.

“There would be no sense catching the dragon if I couldn't find the God of Medicine. I need his powers to fix my Qi when I get out of this realm. What about the General who helped Bien Que escape? I hope he's dead. I don't want to have to kill him twice.”

“He was badly injured when the shadow army ransacked the Northern border. One of the soldiers said the general suddenly vanished after being swathed in an intense blinding light. That's where we lost them.”

“Hmm. . . interesting.” said Huai Ren.

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