A lush forest on the mountain foothill bathed in the sunrise. Green trees and nice moisture lingered. Carried by the strong gust of wind, the fragrant smell of mountain flowers swayed from heaven to earth, reaching a young man's nostrils.
Sitting on a mossy branch, he was lost in thought. His gaze distant and indifferent.
As the wind whistled by his long black hair, making it flutter, free to roam the world.
Midst the sound of leaves trembling in the wind, a sound of cracking twigs invaded the ears of the young man.
Taking a deep breath of air, he soon jumped off the tree's branch. His bare feet, indifferent to the jagged and uneven surface of the ground, step by step he got closer to the sound of cracking.
In mere moments a figure of a beast appeared. Luckily it was just an ordinary tiger.
For a normal person, it might be a problem, but for this young man, it was merely a lost kitten, a cub.
The tiger did not attack; instead, it turned back, as the prey was too troublesome to deal with.
The young man did not chase; instead, he just walked further. Passing all kinds of critters and plants, indifferent to the young man.
Before long, the lush forest was cut by a wooden wall. Standing guard on it was a burly man, with an iron spear tightly gripped in a calloused hand.
Glaring with his middle-aged eyes at the young man ready to give a long lecture.
"Young man, where have you been? Hmm? Did I not say that a kid like you should stay in the village!"
Angrily shouting at the indifferent man, but different from usual, he stopped rather quickly. As a somewhat sinister light flashed past his eyes.
With an aloof disposition, the young man walked around the wooden wall reaching the village gates.
The guards standing there didn't even give him a glance. Inside feeling displeasure towards him.
They were here to guard the village gates from dangers; dealing with an unfilial kid like him was not their job.
After passing the gates a figure of a woman came running at him, bringing with her a smell of hydrangeas. She was their clan's jade and pride, Sang Yun.
Sang Yun, with her small and delicate fists, launched a barrage of punches at the young man while saying in a displeased tone.
"Stupid, Sang Wu Yan. Why are you leaving the village, then there is a tiger crawling around the place?"
The young man Wu Yan had nothing to say. He knew that Sang Yun was worried about him, but for him it was like chains, chaining him down to this small world of hers, just like others.
So by saying nothing, he is distancing himself from those chains, escaping the small world that's created to bind him.
Sighting Sang Yun stopped punching Sang Wu Yan, giving up on fighting against him, instead choosing to tag along with him.
Both usually walked together like this, from their childhood to their adolescence. Sang Yun was worried about Sang Wu Yan because he was their clan's future and her saviour.
Even then the world was gloomy and dark for her, Sang Wu Yan was there, not saying a word just listening and carasing her hair while she was feeling down.
The clan was not perfect; some clan members were unfriendly to her because of her parents.
Time melted fast. Both soon reached a humble settlement, as the smell of medicinal herbs greeted them. Next to the hut, a bunch of plants were growing, while some were tied to the roof, drying under the sun.
Inside, a decrepit wooden table stood with all kinds of tools, from a stone grinder to clay crucibles. On the shelves next to the table, there are clay pots containing powder of all kinds of herbs.
Walking inside, both started to work. The day had only started, and a lot of work had to be done before sunset.
They were making powders and other supplementary ingredients for the local doctors and making sure to stock up before the travelling caravan arrived in the middle of the year.
Grinding sounds could be heard as Sang Wu Yan ground some herbs while Sang Yun gathered the already dried plants, placing them next to Sang Wu Yan.
Finishing with this task she started making their breakfast. She was going to make some soup with mushrooms and peas. As for lunch, they would eat the soup again, and for dinner, they would eat an unlucky forest dweller, and if that didn't work out, they would gather berries and edible things, going to sleep with half-satisfied stomachs.
Breakfast started to cook as soon as a small fire burned in a small furnace, heating up a pot, away from the herbs.
Sang Wu Yan finished grinding and started to gather the clay pots with the powder into a self-made backpack from leaves and twigs tied up by a plant rope.
Their day was going as usual, after breakfast, Sang Wu Yan and Sang Yun would leave to deliver the powder to the doctors and alchemists, since he and Sang Yun didn't have a space to keep the powder from getting moisture.
Walking in a comfortable silence, both of them went up the mountain closer to the village's centre, where the important people lived, while the two of them lived near the walls, that's where the poor and ostracised people lived.
Taking a couple of more steps, they arrived at the doors of the clan's most respected doctor.
Knock, knock.
Knocking quietly, they entered, walking through the small hall into the storage room, placing their clay pots there.
After that, they would go to the doctor and take their payment and a few empty pots to exchange for their own.
Walking out they met a tall man with a nice-looking face, Sang Liu. Sang Yun was expecting Sang Liu to cause trouble, but instead, he came with a request.
Saying in a displeased tone, not even hiding his disposition.
"Hmp! Wu Yan rejoice, the clan leader whants to see you this instant. So get moving you ussless dirt bag. Oh, and Yun is not allowed to come."