Raising a Rebel - 1. Chapter 1

The streets of Chang’an were filled with merchants from various ranks and they loudly proclaimed prices. However, such sounds of prosperity hid an ugly truth, the merchandise they sold were people held in shackles. Some were the Han descendent of former residents, whose very storefronts were being used to sell them. There were people of all shapes, genders, and ages being paraded naked and sold like meat. Their uses ranged from the mundane services of translator, carpenter, or blacksmith to the obscene and vulgar sale of flesh for the consumption of unscrupulous men.

These became common across the land, when Fu Jian, who had made himself not merely emperor, but also Heavenly king upon seizing the throne, had decreed that all the peoples he conquered were property for the Di, his people, to do with as they please. He claimed that he had the right to rule the heavens and the earth through his blood right as the descendant of the Qin dynasty and the mother goddess, Nuwa.¹

The gods of heaven ignored the plight of the mortal realm after their disastrous intervention a century before during the Three Kingdoms when millions had perished for the right to rule. Each god had championed scions of ancient noble houses that paid them fealty, but none could offer absolute control or power needed to rule the empire. In the end, a human schemer without the patronage of any god gained the throne through means of trickery and deception. Since they were without godly patrons or magic supporting this claim, the new dynasty soon fell into civil war as rivals with similar ambitions arose. In this vacuum, the Di people journeyed east from the grasslands of the Steppes and began to conquer the people of the central plains. Their mages possessed ancient magics and demon warriors, with one being equal to 10,000 men in strength. They used these forces to defeat their enemies on the battlefield and hunt down Taoist cultivators, who attempted to stop them. When ghosts stood to oppose them, they would capture them in gourd containers filled with special elixirs that drained the essence of souls to give their warriors added vitality. The gods were paralyzed by indecision despite knowing the cruelty of Fu Jian and his people’s unnatural practices.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were not of the heavenly court nor the underworld hierarchy anymore, but they still ventured to do what they could to assist the people. However, two immortals could provide only so much assistance to the many harmed.

After observing the scene of the marketplace and holding back Xie Lian, Hua Cheng led his husband away.

“Gege, we have seen enough of the mortal world. It is worse than we have heard from the spirits.”

Xie Lian leaned into his husband’s waiting arm as they strode past the city gate, appearing to mortals as merely a pair of youths walking side by side.

“San Lang, I wish we could free all of them. I do not know what Heavenly Emperor Yu is thinking to allow all of this to transpire. Yes, there is no rightful claimant to the central plain’s throne, but it does not mean that these people should have a right to do this. Have they forgotten what they promised upon the defeat of Daji? Are they not gods of honor, who defend the innocent?”

After walking a short distance beyond the sight of the city watch, Hua Cheng kissed Xie Lian’s forehead.

“Gege, I told you to take the throne yourself after all that stuff happened. You had as much right to it as Yu or any of the other Heavenly Emperors after Jun Wu.”

Xie Lian froze at the mention of his former lord and adversary, despite knowing that he had long since been forgotten and his essence had dispersed back to the earth beneath Mount Tonglu. While he was unhappy with the current state of affairs, Xie Lian had no ambition or interest in taking the heavenly throne himself. Yu had ruled the heavens wisely for more than a thousand years, his character was that of restraint and a conservative style of orthodoxy. Xie Lian can appreciate a leader, who spent considerable time before acting, but he feared that Yu may have become too cautious after the debacle with the failed support of Cao Cao.

It was not a bad decision to pick the strongest and most adept leader of the three kingdoms that formed after the fall of the Han Dynasty. While Liu Bei had the most legitimacy of being a scion of the Han Dynasty, he could not reclaim the title for his family for the third time.² Despite assistance from the Taoist cultivator Zhuge Liang, he was too foolhardy and held too much pride in his vows of brotherhood, which ultimately destroyed his vast armies and his death. Sun Quan was the most intelligent, but he lacked capable military commanders after the death of Zhou Yu and his kingdom had the least number of troops. Cao Cao, being a noble of an ancient family, swore fealty to the current gods with rich sacrifices and temples. He also held the vast lands and armies of the north, so he or his family would be the most likely to win the struggle to become the next emperor. Yet, his advisor Sima Yi, through manipulation and cunning over generations, had taken power from his master and his master’s successors in a coup that not even the heavens could perceive. Xie Lian recognized the tragic truth in human ambition and unintended consequences far too well from his misbegotten failures with his kingdom and kin.

A loud commotion cut through the sudden silence between the husbands. In the distance, there was a large building with a stage set with glamorous and luxurious decorations, like foreign trees, flowers, and colorful set backgrounds. It would befit the grandest opera or dance troop, but there was only a single man standing on the stage. He was dressed in the finest silk robe and did not appear to be a performer. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng got closer to the stage and saw it was an animal performance, noticing a small monkey was chained to the ground with a collar on its neck.

However, this was no ordinary animal performance act, when the monkey began to beg the man in fine silk clothing. Its voice was like that of a weak child, desperate and in need.

“I am hungry sir, I have not eaten for three days and I have not drank water for seven days. I will do anything for a scrap of food or a sip of water.”

Xie Lian’s heart was touched by his pleas and wished to intercede, but Hua Cheng motioned him to notice the presence of a dozen demon soldiers in attendance. While they could overcome such foes, it would tip off Fu Jian that immortals were near his capital and he would call forth all the powers at his disposal to hunt them down. Hua was trying to protect his husband from engaging in a larger conflict neither of them was ready to engage in. Not even to save the single life of a child, no matter how pitiful. There was already too much blood in the world.

The well-dressed man on stage took out a leather whip and began to beat the small creature. Its cries of agony and mercy entranced the crowd with joy and laughter, while Xie was aghast at the brutality.

The man tells the crowd, “This monkey boy wants to be treated as an equal, but he is only slightly more valued due to rarity than the young Han swine and Qiang vermin that we use to pleasure our soldiers. They are fed once a week and given water twice a month. Only the people of the Di can have all the meat, fruit, and water under the heavens. Long live Heavenly King, Fu Jian!”³

An echo throughout the crowd roars, “Long live Heavenly King, Fu Jian!”

Only Xie and Hua did not utter those words, which went unnoticed by everyone except the child-like creature on the stage. His eyes glistened with fresh tears as he gazed at Xie and Hua.

The creature utters one word, “Please!”, directed at Xie and Hua.

With memories of his lifetimes as a homeless youth in exile, a beggar for scraps, and a thousand stabs from a bloodthirsty mob, Xie leaped into action. He readies Ruoye (若邪), his silk band and personal weapon, for action. Ruoye was born after the suicidal deaths of both Xie’s parents and his own failed suicide attempt, so it did not require spiritual energy to wield and no one would be able to sense his true power level from its use.

The whip was displaced from the man’s hand as Xie approaches him “Leave the child alone, you have done enough.”

Smirking at the demon soldiers in the crowd, who eyed the young shabby-looking Taoist cultivator.

“Big words, Daoshi, have you not realized that we have twelve members of the blood regiment, each equal to 10,000 men? It is a death sentence for you to show your abilities like this. Even though you possess magic, you cannot hope to match even a single of our king’s men “.

Smirking, Xie hopes this gambit will work “Then I wish to challenge your king’s men, if I should best them, then you must free your captive.”

The crowd roared with excitement to see their soldiers in action against this foolhardy Taoist youth, who appeared no more than eighteen and weak compared to the muscular demon energy-powered soldiers. All twelve soldiers went up to the stage without uttering any additional words and began to advance on Xie, but Ruoye quickly dispatched six of them by wrapping around their necks to the point of unconsciousness. The other six brought out their blades and began to approach the youth in multiple directions, but Xie using speed and experience outmaneuvered them. Being immortal, he could not be killed by these weapons, but Xie knew the key to avoiding detection of his status was to use his superior speed against them. Though they may possess the strength of 10,000 men, these demon soldiers were only as fast as normal men. If they cannot strike with a sword or punch with a fist, then their advantage was nullified.

With the last soldier unconscious on the floor of the stage, the crowd scattered and ran in fear of the young Taoist cultivator that had bested their men. Hua was standing to the side, smiling at his husband, who was tactful and honorable as always.

Xie goes to the cowering man and menacingly speaks, “You shall release the child and cease your enterprise, lest I return and seek your blood.”

The cruel man threw the keys to the metal collar and ran in the direction of the capital’s gate. Xie knew that they would be away from there before any reinforcement arrived.

Xie speaks softly to the child, “Hello there, my name is Xie Lian. I’ll release you now and then we’ll leave this place.”

The child makes an inaudible noise of joy, “Oh you came, my prayers were answered. Are you one of the immortals that the slaves talked about, who would offer mercy to human suffering?”

Xie did not answer the child’s question, but instead redirects it, “Where are your parents little one? Did you come to the forests or hills like other monkeys?”

The child answers with a tinge of sadness, “I have no parents, I was born from a stone. I know of others you speak of, but they are not like me. I can walk and speak like a human, unlike them. To them, I am not a normal monkey.”

Xie smiled at the child, whom he recognized from his years of study as one of the Nuwa’s celestial stones, incarnated as a primate. He had heard of three other primates appearing in the world, each being born from a stone due to the various points of chaos since Nuwa departed this universe.³ They each had reached different ends, some being named as gods in their own right, while others descending into barbarity as demon lords. Their natural powers were immense and destructive, while their personalities are tempered by chaos. Xie knew that the monkey had already been exposed to the worst of humanity, being a slave to a cruel master and witnessing untold evils.

How would he and Hua help this monkey understand virtue and honor with such a bad beginning?