A hundred years before

Cui Yanbo was curled up in a corner, her head buried in her knees, the fire raging around her. The heat engulfed her, making her feel like she was sitting in a live furnace, but even though she was very scared, she refused to cry, and instead bit her lip, curling up tighter. Someone had just come... someone scary, who'd seemed to take away something from her and then replaced it with something weird, something that didn't fit, left in a hurry, leaving behind only a clear, tinkling sound and a crying Yanbo, and then the fire had started.

The fire had been raging for perhaps an hour now. But she hadn't been burned yet. All she felt was the smoke in her lungs, choking her, but she refused to cough, to cry, and sat there like a little statue. Faintly, in the distance, she could hear her mother's cries, but Yanbo couldn't get out. There were no windows in the room, and the door was probably the only thing keeping the fire out of the room. The foundation of the house creaked eerily, and Yanbo let out an involuntary shudder.

Suddenly, the door was blasted open with great force, and the heat rolled in in a big wave, hitting Yanbo in the face. She wanted to let out a cry, but in the end, only the quietest of whimpers escaped her lips.

Yanbo risked a glance up, and saw a girl, about five or so years older than her, dressed in a set of white robes and a golden belt with a tassel. A cultivator, she recognized. Her brothers were cultivators. The girl immediately came over and scooped her up, even though she must've been getting heavy, at ten years old, and holding her with one arm, she waved her other arm vaguely, and small baby paper cranes made of some sort of flaming paper emerged from her sleeve and the curtains of the fire parted for them.

"Stuck in a burning house and don't know to cry for help? Your stubbornness will be your downfall someday." The girl muttered under her breath, but Yanbo was staring at the girl, mesmerized by the look of her concentration, and the way the baby paper cranes followed her instructions, circling around them, leading their way out. Yanbo reached her hand out, and the girl rushed to say, "don't touch!", but Yanbo grabbed one anyway, not caring about the flaming paper. Surprisingly, her hand wasn't singed, and the baby crane seemed to settle on the palm of her hand obediently. Yanbo suddenly smiled. She hadn't smiled for a while. She liked those baby cranes. She liked the fifteen-year-old girl who could make the baby paper cranes. She tucked the baby crane tight in her grip and refused to let go of it.

The older girl sighed and didn't fight with Yanbo for it, instead leading her out the front door. As the exited, there was a loud clamor of noise from her mother.

"Yanbo! My daughter, you made me so worried!" Her mother rushed over, and the older girl was slightly surprised, setting Yanbo on the ground. Yanbo clung to the older girl's robes and looked up with big eyes, feeling slightly shy.

Yanbo's mother was busy checking up on Yanbo and making sure she wasn't hurt at all, and so it took her a moment to realize what had happened, and she turned to Jinghe with a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you so much, cultivator. May I ask your name?" Yanbo's mother asked politely.

The older girl dipped her head slightly in respect. "I'm Lin Jinghe, junior cultivator of the Desert Sect. I did only what I was supposed to, there's no need to thank me." Jinghe glanced towards the house, whose flames had been nearly put out. Yanbo turned her head to follow Jinghe's gaze at the same time as an eerie silhouette appeared in the fire, flickered, and then seemed to run away. Jinghe frowned, but said nothing further in front of the mother and her daughter. Her gaze flickered to Yanbo, and then dipped to see the gray outline in the vague shape of a flame on the back of her neck, exposed by the loosening of her collar. What a unique birthmark.

Yanbo's mother patted Yanbo's head. "Quick, thank this cultivator for saving you. Don't be so rude and silent." Yanbo's mother chastised Yanbo, and she quickly tore her eyes away from the flaming house and gazed back at Jinghe with her big, wide eyes. Yanbo shuffled up to Jinghe shyly, one thumb stroking the wings of the little paper crane in her left hand with a sense of anxiety.

"Thank you, cultivator." Yanbo glanced around nervously, and then down at the little paper crane in her hand, swallowing before squeezing her eyes shut and holding it out to Jinghe. "Do you... want it back?"

Jinghe felt slightly awkward, and her gaze skittered around. She wasn't sure how to treat the little kid.

"No need. You can keep it, if you want. And in little moments of danger, it can even help you. If you ever come visit the Desert Sect, present it, and they'll definitely take you in." She replied. Jinghe hesitated, then reached out a hand and patted Yanbo's hair. Yanbo reacted with a slight jump, instinctively moving her head out of reach. Jinghe smiled awkwardly again, and then stood up.

"Some of my clanmates are helping you put out the fire and restore your house." Jinghe told Yanbo's mother. "It will only take an hour or so. Unfortunately... the fire possesses the mark of someone from our Desert Sect. I will definitely look into this. I'm thinking that it's just a junior cultivator who let their fire get out of control and was too embarrassed to admit it or look for help, but if it had malicious intentions behind it, we will definitely bring them to justice." Jinghe said succinctly and briskly.

"Thank you so much," Yanbo's mother repeated again, and Jinghe gave Yanbo's mother an awkward nod. As she turned and left, Yanbo's wide eyes stared at her retreating figure, wanting to reach out and grab the robes of the older girl, play with the golden tassel at her waist, but couldn't do it at the same time.

***

Jinghe was the receiver of many thanks that night from Yanbo's parents and Yanbo's three brothers, who rushed back down the mountain as soon as they heard the news. Jinghe recognized them to be Mountain Sect cultivators.

"Thank you for restoring our house." Yanbo's father said again. "Thank goodness we don't have to rebuild it like last time..." He let out a sigh. Yanbo looked down at her feet. She had heard the stories about that time. Jinghe did not, however. She frowned, leaning closer to Yanbo's father.

"Last time? This has happened before?"

Yanbo's father nodded gravely, and the oldest son, who had stayed to talk with the cultivators about the incident, took the responsibility of explaining. His words were succinct, brisk, and the story was told with efficiency.

This was what had happened: ten years ago, on the day of Yanbo's birth, a few hours afterwards, a fire had started. This time, since their three brothers were still at home, they were able to get everyone out, but Yanbo had been crying so much they'd been unable to fully save the house. The strange thing was, after that fire, Yanbo never cried much. But even though they'd been unable to save the house, they'd recognized the signature of the Desert Sect in the flickering flames. Since they were of a small clan, and the fire had been relatively weak and hadn't hurt them at all, they never went to the powerful and rich Desert Sect to make a fuss about what had happened. However, they'd always remembered.

Jinghe seemed to take on a thoughtful expression. Yanbo watched Jinghe in silence. She took a tiny, hesitant step towards Jinghe.

"And you've always lived here? Ever since Yanbo's birth."

Yanbo's father nodded gravely. Yanbo took another hesitant step towards Jinghe.

"So there was a similar fire, both with the magical mark of the Desert Sect, at the same house. That's unlikely to be a coincidence."

Yanbo's father nodded and sighed. "The first time, I was willing to believe that it was someone that had had an accident and didn't want to step forward and take the responsibility. I didn't think there was much to be won by making a fuss out of it, anyways. But now it's happened again... I don't know if we ought to speak up."

Yanbo's oldest brother straightened. "We will take this to the Desert Sect." He glanced at Jinghe with slight hostility, and Yanbo's father cast him a glare.

"Be polite to her. She saved Yanbo from the fires and brought people to help us out. Don't be so ungrateful."

Yanbo's oldest brother reluctantly took away his hostile glance and pressed his lips together, unwilling to admit that he was, in fact, being ungrateful.

"I will present this case to my Clan leader. I will try my best to investigate, but... I'm afraid I won't be able to find anything. Even though the fires have just been put out, there's hardly any evidence to be found." Jinghe considered for a moment. "Why don't you do this? Take a look around in your home and see if the potential criminal has left behind anything or if they took away anything. You'll be the best to check, you know what belongs in your home and does not. If you find anything, please tell me or one of my clan members."

"Thank you, thank you."

Yanbo took another step towards Jinghe. Jinghe suddenly felt a tug at her waist, and she made to stand up and send out a flurry of paper cranes on whomever had dared touch her Sect's golden tassel, but held back when she realized it was Yanbo. Yanbo stared at it with interest.

Yanbo's oldest brother's eyes widened. "Yanbo." He hissed. "Yanbo! Don't touch that. It's very precious to the people of the Desert Sect. She's going to get mad."

Jinghe wasn't sure what to say. She had never met someone who had the courage to touch the golden tassel of the Desert Sect, much less a little child, and felt a little flustered before she gathered herself again. She gently took away Yanbo's hand.

"You can't touch that." Jinghe explained.

Yanbo tilted her head to the side. "Why?"

"Because... it's very important to me. And I don't want it to... get lost or get broken."

Yanbo bobbed her head, understanding. She looked at the little paper crane in her hand. She wouldn't want the little paper crane to get lost or get broken, either.

Yanbo's father looked towards their house, which was largely restored. With a big smile, he turned towards Jinghe.

"In order to thank you for your timely help, why don't you all have dinner here? Even though we are a humble family, my wife's cooking is very good, I promise you'll be satisfied. We don't have any money or anything particularly valuable, other than some heirlooms, so this would be our only way to repay you." Yanbo's father offered. Jinghe felt rather out of place, with a feeling of being in the spotlight. Normally, everyone had always turned to her seniors and the adults and never went through her.

"I..." She trailed off. "I'm not sure if I can accept this on behalf of my seniors. Why don't you ask him, over there, he's the oldest." Jinghe pointed, and she was about to lead them over when Yanbo's hand closed around her robes, holding it tightly.

"Over there." Jinghe pointed, and stayed behind with Yanbo.

"Little kid, why do you keep holding onto my robes?" Jinghe asked, feeling rather flustered, but keeping it neatly buried behind a calm face.

Yanbo stepped closer. "You look very pretty." She said suddenly, and Jinghe blushed.

"Thank you. But I have important matters to go do, can you let go?"

Yanbo seemed suddenly embarrassed, letting go of the robes and running away. Jinghe stared after Yanbo for a few moments, perplexed and interested. First, she was blunt and honest, speaking her mind, and now she was shy and embarrassed, unable to face her anymore. Jinghe smiled to herself and then went her separate way.

***

In the end, the few people of Jinghe's clan that had been passing by and saved Yanbo's house stayed for dinner, and Yanbo once again scooted up close to Jinghe. Yanbo's eldest brother squinted at Jinghe, vaguely suspected that Jinghe must've bewitched the kid so that her normally reserved and lonely personality had suddenly been changed. Yanbo's second brother watched curiously for a few moments, then smiled to himself, paying them no mind.

Yanbo tugged at the golden tassel, and Jinghe looked unsure of what to say to the little kid. Ought she tell her off and be strict, or should she be more reasonable and let the little kid do what she wanted? Jinghe pressed her lips together and looked over at Yanbo. "What is it?" She asked.

Yanbo held out the little paper crane in her palm. It was still flaming, but the flames didn't singe her palm at all. "How did you make these cranes? How did you control the fire?" She asked shyly. She paused. "It was really cool."

Jinghe smiled nervously and looked away. "You think that was cool? Well, it's cultivation magic, from the Desert Sect. That's why we can control fire. But if you think that's cool, you ought to see some of the things my master can do. And ask your brothers to show you sometimes. Mountain Sect people can control and manipulate metal, that's very cool, too."

Yanbo shook her head. "I've seen them practice sometimes. It's not as cool as these paper cranes." She said bluntly, and Yanbo's eldest brother seemed to grind his jaw. Jinghe laughed nervously.

Yanbo seemed to brighten up a little. "I know. I want to be a cultivator when I grow up, and I want to be able to manipulate fire just like you."

"Silly kid." Jinghe said, patting her head. Yanbo squirmed away, and Jinghe pulled back her hand.

"I'm going to go ask my parents right now." Yanbo said, and then walked, with measured and controlled steps up to her parents, who were sitting on the opposite side of the table. The adults sat on one end of the table, while the juniors sat on the other side. Yanbo tugged at her father's sleeve, and then at her mother's sleeve.

"Father, mother, can you send me to the Mountain Sect so I can cultivate, too? I want to learn how to control fire, just like Jinghe-jiejie." Yanbo asked. "I will be sure to learn well and earn respect for our clan."

Yanbo's mother glanced at Yanbo's father briefly before giving Yanbo a small smile. "Yanbo, the adults are talking about important matters right now. Why don't you go play with your brothers, alright?"

"Can I?" Yanbo asked, ignoring her mother's words.

"We'll talk about it later, okay?"

"Can I?" Yanbo repeated, stubbornly holding her ground. Jinghe realized she might've caused some trouble for the adults, so she rushed over and kneeled down next to Yanbo.

"Yanbo, don't bother your adults, they're busy discussing some things right now. Why don't you come with me, I'll show you some cool tricks, alright?"

Yanbo tilted up her chin, and then smiled slightly. "Okay."

Yanbo's father glanced at Yanbo, and then at Jinghe. Jinghe was smiling back softly.

What a phenomenon, Yanbo's parents were thinking. Yanbo only smiled once in a blue moon. This Jinghe character must be really good with children. They had three sons...

Jinghe led Yanbo back to their side of the table, and Yanbo ate her bowl of rice obediently while she watched Jinghe create small flaming paper cranes, making them fly around, settling on Yanbo's shoulder, on her head, tickling her cheek. Yanbo continued to smile throughout the evening.

After the dinner was over, Yanbo stood at the doorway of the kitchen. Her mother was washing the dishes, and her father was speaking to her mother, both wearing wary and grim expressions. She waited patiently for them to notice her and allow her to come in.

"You know it's not possible for her to do so. You know the best out of all of us what happened on her day of birth." Yanbo's father was saying urgently.

"But you understand her stubborn character. Now she's set her mind on cultivating, she'll want to go up that mountain and seek tutelage no matter what. Instead of having her run away and not know where she's gone, why not just let her go and try it out. When she realizes it's not possible, then she'll give up and come back home. She's still young. Let her try it out, she's not stupid, she knows when to give up." Yanbo's father said gently.

Upon hearing this, Yanbo straightened her back slightly, thinking silently what she should say in order to get her mother to allow it.

"Absolutely not." Yanbo's mother said, her teeth gritted, her mind clearly set. "I will not allow it. We all know going up the mountain will be a waste of time for her. She's a bright kid. If she focuses on studying, she'll definitely be able to do something great. She doesn't need to become a cultivator."

Yanbo's lips turned down, and she racked her brain harder. She paid no attention to her mother's first comment. If she set her mind to it, she saw no reason why she wouldn't be able to succeed. And thus, her plotting started.