PART ONE

Another month was gone. Zhu Hong looked at the calendar. Only three months now and she would be twenty-five.

She sighed, what could she do? She would have to get married and her life would be over.

That was the rule of Dixing. Being of the lowest class, she had worked for her father since she was little, obeying him like her mother did. She had been lucky enough, her father was a good man and never treated them badly, but being poor he needed her help too. As a child, she had not resented her condition, she obeyed her parents wanting to help as much as she could.

But it was a hard life, they never had any money and had to work to grow something to eat. As she grew older, she learned to hunt and could help the family with some meat. When they got older she worked harder, and when they died two years ago she cried for them.

But life had been a little easier.
She hated the thought but it was true. She was alone in the world, she missed them, but every day she only had to provide food for one person.

Last year she had started looking around, searching for a young man that she could bear to live with. That was her only chance, to find someone decent and convince him to marry her.

She had tried, she had really tried, but she couldn’t find anyone.

To live with any of them, to obey those ignorant beasts for the rest of her life was unthinkable.

But months had gone by and her time was almost up. She’d be twenty-five soon, and she knew that someone would claim her as his wife, she had seen it in his eyes.
By law, she couldn’t refuse. A woman couldn’t refuse a man, couldn’t disagree with a man, couldn’t dare to raise her voice to a man.

He wanted her, but he didn’t love her. He wanted her as a sex toy, then the lust would end sooner or later and she’d become his slave.
How long could she hide? They would search everywhere for her, they’d send guards and she’d be punished. She would then be forced to get married or be executed.
That was the rule of Dixing. She’d die for endangering the peace, disrupting the order of things... nothing would save her, if they let anyone break the rules, others might rebel.

No, she knew that death was in her future.
Every day she went out to sharpen her skills, she had become really good at hiding and at hunting, all those things that might help her live another day once she inevitably tried to escape.

Because she would try. She had no doubt about that.

She wouldn’t give up her life easily, the day of her birthday she will run, and hide, and run again, and when they will find her, she will rejoice in having lived for herself never giving up, and she’ll take her life herself.

Today, like any other day, she went out with the same intention in mind, get something to eat and then practise her skills. She walked farther than usual, she wanted to learn as much as possible about the forest that would become her first hiding place.

Her eyes looked intently at every tree and every bush, imprinting in her mind where food could be found, which tree could be a good hiding place, or hunting spot... and then she saw it.

She would have missed it hadn’t she been so concentrated on every branch and every leaf.
There was a hole in an otherwise perfectly normal tree, and there was something inside.

A note.

She looked around carefully, but she was alone in the deep of the forest.
She took the note, and her eyes widened:

“If you’re so desperate to risk your life,
follow these directions
and pronounce these words:
I found the note of the Ghost.”

Zhu Hong gasped and looked around again, scared. Was this a trap? Was someone following her?

She moved quickly and climbed up a tree to have a better view but she really was alone.
Was this a real note from the Ghost of Dixing?

She had heard of him once, he was a wanted criminal for going against the Crown, which to her sounded like a good thing.

There was still a chance that it might be a trap, though. She hid the note in her vest and started to go back home.

Then she stopped.

Why wait any longer? Her chances of survival were very short, she always thought that she’d treasure any day she managed to live hidden, then kill herself. What could she lose by trying?

She would try to be as careful as possible, ready to run at any sign of danger, but she would treat the note as her best chance.

She turned around again, took out the note and read the instructions carefully, moving in the right direction.

She didn’t go back home first. She had no possessions worth taking with her.

She walked a long while then stopped. This was it, she thought. This was where the Ghost sent her, if it really was him.

She checked that nobody had followed her, but that was the best she could do.
She took a deep breath, raised her head high and said, “I found the note of the Ghost."

After a few seconds of silence a voice, low and kind, asked her: “Are you ready to risk your life? Nobody knows what’s on the other side.”

Zhu Hong wanted to ask 'the other side of what?' but didn’t. It wasn’t really important, her birthday was near and she had made her decision.

“My life is already at risk, my days are counted, come what may I’m not scared.”

A figure appeared, his green and brown vest a perfect camouflage in those woods.
“Come with me then,” he said and he took her hand. It was a gentle touch, and she accepted it.

He lead her through a secret, hidden path, towards the forbidden world of Haixing.