Lan Zhan watched rainbow droplets cascade over the cold and wet boulders, sighing quietly to himself.
Moments like these were few and precious, given his duties as Chief Cultivator, and yet he couldn't help but wonder where a certain someone was. What could he be doing now? Was he well? Did he think about him, at all?

It was at times like this, he wondered if he had made a mistake in leaving Wei Ying to go his own way. But so many things had happened in their lives, and there were too many responsibilities to consider, so it was not simply a matter of casting everything aside just to pursue his own happiness.

Uncle Qiren had decided to enter meditation in solitude in the last few days, and his brother had already spent six months doing the same. Lessons had to go on, night hunts continued, and through it all, the fragile relationship between all the clans must be maintained. There simply wasn't the time to dwell on what may have been.

A polite cough brought him out of his thoughts. Turning, he saw his brother.

"I hope I'm not interrupting you," Zewu-Jun said quietly.

Lan Zhan shook his head, a faint smile appeared before vanishing just as quickly. It would have gone unnoticed to those who didn't know him well, but his brother was waiting for it.

"It is good to see you, Brother."

"Wangji, I thought I would find you here. I wanted to speak to you first." Zewu-Jun gestured towards the path that lead to the great hall.

Lan Zhan raised an eyebrow.

"I missed you." He smiled at the younger one fondly. "I think it's time I stopped my seclusion. It's not really helping, and perhaps, if I can find something else to occupy my mind, it will get better."

Lan Zhan was surprised but happier to hear this. His brother looked a little less pale although he had lost some weight. There was a sadness behind his eyes that wasn't there before, a resignation to things that had happened beyond his control and the effort to try to come to terms with a heart breaking betrayal. But at the same time, a twinkle of humor shined, leading him to believe that his brother had something else to say.

"I think it's time for you to find him."

Lan Zhan stopped walking. It was a simple sentence, and yet filled with so much feeling. A tiny blossom of hope grew in his heart as he turned to face his brother.

"I'm sorry it has taken me so long to come to you, but I sincerely hope it's not too late?"
He placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Does brother mean...?" He found it difficult to believe what he was hearing.

"Yes, Wangji. If he is willing, please bring him back. You have my blessings."

Lan Zhan could not help the smile that transformed his face. He was finally able to go, to find the one person that meant everything to him.

****

The sun was just setting over the mountains when they left Cloud Recesses. A village just outside of Gusu had complained of a strange monster invading their local forest, and the young cultivators were thought capable of handling the matter.
Lan Zhan would accompany them to the place and leave after it was dealt with.

He rarely allowed himself to feel excited, but the promise of what was to come after the job at hand was completed, made him uncharacteristically flushed, a nervous energy to propel him forward. A hurry to reach their destination.

His feelings bled outwards, contagiously affecting the youngsters who were excited anyway at the thought of facing an unknown challenge.

"How big do you think it is?" Lan JingYi asked, brow furrowed.

"I'm sure we'll be okay," Lan SiZhui replied, trying to comfort the easily shaken one. "Besides, we have Hanguang-Jun."

There were murmurs of agreement from the three other disciples following behind.
They mounted swords and reached Meiling village in no time. The elders were waiting for them.

"Welcome, Hanguang-Jun. We were not expecting you. Thank you for coming."

Lan Zhan nodded and let Lan SiZhui speak.

"What is the trouble, sir?"

"For many weeks now, our forest has been unsafe to travel. As it is the only way in and out of our village, people try to come and go during daylight. Of course, it is sometimes unavoidable that they have to go at night. But those that left didn't come back, and we are worried about their safety."

"Bandits?"

"If only it were so!" The elder exclaimed. "We found body parts strewn all along the forest floor. And a strange sticky web, so hard to break free all around the undergrowth and tree trunks."

"Very well, let us go and see." Lan SiZhui reassured him and they left.

The moment they entered the edge of the forest, they knew something was wrong. A sharp rotting smell invaded their senses, and a thick mist enveloped them.

Lan Zhan unsheathed Bichen so they could follow it's blue light.

"Stay together."

The natural sounds of wildlife were missing, not even a breeze to disturb the leaves and a heaviness seemed to fill their minds. The younger ones were affected more and struggled to keep calm, but Lan Zhan kept them moving forward. At last they came to a clearing.

Without warning, a shrill piercing screaming filled their ears and a huge body landed in front of them.

*****

A/N

This was the first chapter I ever wrote, that people who were not myself, could read.

Looking back four months and at the beginning of book 5 in the same series, I can confidently say that all of this would not be possible without BlakSalt

I read The Rise of the Divine Oracle by BlakSalt in January 2021 and was blown away.

The book is funny, hilarious in places and there were times I had to put it down just to laugh.

Not only that, but it was so wonderfully serious in places that if I could cry, I would.

Since then, I have read it a further 2 times and enjoyed it immensely.

I looked for other books like this, and found none.

I'm not joking. Britain was under a full lockdown and I scoured Wattpad like a bee seeking honey.

And then, being a big believer in the motto, "if you don't like something, change it", I decided to write myself.

So, if you guys see a similarity between my books and those of BlakSalt it is unintentional but completely heartfelt.

They say imitation is the best form of flattery, and in that, I will agree.

However, this first book might be guilty of that.

I do not know what happened with the others, but if you stick with these, let me know what you think, because they have gone in an unexpected and very welcome direction.

Thank you for reading.

Sincerely yours,

Charlie.