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Spring

Feng Ju (1)

Feng Ju (1)

Apr 18, 2020

The witch Feng Ju looked out from her balcony cut into the hard stone of the mountain. She could see the vast wilderness of the forest below, stretching for miles into the distance, somewhere down there was the home of the warlock Chen Lin, and soon, she would have to travel there. Only that morning she had received a message from one of his pet blue jays, it had come wrapped in a silk ribbon that she now held in her hand as she leant against the ridge. The wind whipped her black hair in all directions and the decorative metal chain on her forehead felt cold against her skin. It was morning and she could hear the familiar call from above her, the great hawks were circling, it was lucky the blue jay had left early or he might have fallen victim to their unforgiving talons. Girlish laughter echoed from behind, she turned and peered into the hollowed out cavern, it was probably the maids preparing for the day.

Feng Ju turned back and continued surveying the scene. She had chosen this mountain on the edge of the forest for her home many years ago. She could not abide the ocean and found the dense undergrowth of Chen Lin's home too claustrophobic. The tall rocky outcrop had seemed the perfect solution; she had soon grown used to the chilly winds and ominous creaking of the rock. With the help of her apprentices, a few young girls chosen from all corners of the land for their potential, she had carved herself a palace high up on the cliff face and there they resided intermittently during breaks from Feng Ju's frequent trips.

She had never been good at staying in one location, which was another reason why Feng Ju liked being so up high on the mountain, she could see many different places at once and feel she inhabited them all simultaneously. Feng Ju bound back her hair with the ribbon and stared hard at the horizon. Somewhere out there, something was stirring. She could sense the power of the Spirits rising and falling as they clashed. Recently, she had become all but convinced that she could actually see the blue flashes of light in the distance, like far-off bursts of lightning, but she knew that was impossible. At first she had dismissed Chen Lin's foretelling of Spirit wars as ridiculous. The Spirits had skirmishes, as did every race, but full on battles? Spirits were immortal unless killed by another Spirit's powers, but this was sacrilege and a sure signifier of dangerous times ahead. She knew it had something to do with the prophecies, Chen Lin had hinted that much in his messages, and the last time she had seen him he had also talked of a great change to come.

He was always more involved in the world than she was, Feng Ju had chosen to seclude herself from the people around her, focusing on channeling her powers while Chen Lin concerned himself with the histories and the politics. He had even travelled to the Royal provinces twice over the last five years, though quite as to why she could never force out of him. Feng Ju licked her lips; they were growing dry in the mountain wind. Her face was much younger than her age would have dictated and her mind even more so. No grey ran through her black locks and no creases were visible beside her large green eyes. Witches and warlocks often lived longer than normal mortals, a luxury of their powers, and the ability to hide that age came with it. Feng Ju believed Chen Lin was probably older than her, but his boyish face and thick hair would suggest otherwise.

She remembered the first time they had met; she must have been no more than sixteen. Her mother had died and she had gone on one of her long trips immediately after the burial. Trekking through the forest to the west of her village she had spotted a man standing between the trees watching her with dark eyebrows perched in a bemused frown. Feng Ju had been unafraid, for she had inherited the gift of spell-casting from her mother's side, and so she had carried on, ignoring him. After a short period of walking however, she had found herself becoming more and more weary, and began to even stoop over from tiredness like an old woman.

Eventually, she had collapsed by the remains of an abandoned campfire and wondered why on earth she felt so unfit when she had been walking so much recently? Her mother's illness had been a trying one and long and plentiful escapes from the shrouded house had been a necessity for Feng Ju to keep her sanity. She was just remembering the words of the clerk who had overseen the burial, 'Death is a blessing...' when she had heard a strange voice between the trees,

"So very kind of you,"

Feng Ju had looked up and saw the same man again she had sighted miles back, leaning against a silver birch, smiling at her. He wore long dark robes and bright slippers.

"What are you talking about?" Feng Ju had snapped, in no mood for company, especially a mysterious man in the woods.

"To give that wood sprite a lift, so kind of you," the man grinned cheerfully.

"What wood sprite?" Feng Ju had looked around her, confused,

"The wood sprite that has been clinging to your back for the last two miles. I daresay he was heavy?" The man walked forwards a step then held out something white in his hand. Feng Ju had jumped as she had felt something slide down her back, and gasped as she saw the moss on the ground beside her compress under little footprints heading towards the stranger.

"What on earth...?" Feng Ju had grimaced.

"Old rice,” the man laughed, “for some reason wood sprites love it. "

Feng Ju's mouth gaped as she saw the food from the man's hand disappearing in large gulps.

"How did I not feel it?" She exclaimed and immediately began twisting her arms so as to rub her back furiously, determined to get anything else off it.

"They like to jump down on unassuming passers-by and latch onto them for a while,” the man explained, “being invisible, the poor human vehicle just thinks they are getting worn down by the walking. I'm sure you could have gone much further without him."

The man grinned broadly, "Don't be alarmed, he will have caused you no harm, except perhaps a minor backache later."

"How did you see him?" Feng Ju asked curiously, scowling at where she supposed the wood sprite might be.

"I see a lot of things other people don't," he looked at her pensively, "like your sadness for instance."

Feng Ju had felt a lump in her throat and tightened her grip on the ground, "I just lost my mother."

"I am sorry, and so young..." the man had replied and got to his feet shooing away the invisible creature.

"Was she a witch also?" he added casually.

And so it was that Feng Ju the witch met Chen Lin the warlock. He had taken it upon himself to teach her control of her powers and she taught him potions that she had learned from her mother, a renowned herbalist whose concoctions never ceased to amaze him.

"Brilliant!" He would exclaim as she handed him a list of ingredients she had learned off by heart, "Such a unique approach!"

When they were not practising together, Feng Ju would always find him pouring over old scrolls and manuscripts and often whilst in the same room, he could seem many miles away.

Drawing her eyes away from the horizon and back down to the forest, which was now starting to have its dark green shades illuminated by the morning sun, Feng Ju wondered if that was exactly what Chen Lin was doing now. Head buried in piles of parchment until the little bird rejoined him with her reply. Another peal of laughter burst from inside and a young girl with flowing dark hair and a narrow face came out.

"Feng Ju, the black rats have escaped again and catching them is proving rather hazardous for the furniture."

"Thank you Liu Zhi, I'll come and deal with it," Feng Ju replied.

The girl smiled, and cocked her head, "Is something wrong Feng Ju?"

"I hope not Liu Zhi, but we shall be travelling this afternoon, please make preparations, you are to accompany me."

"Where are we going?"

"The forest, we are paying a visit to Chen Lin," Feng Ju answered.

Liu Zhi grinned, "We make so many visits to the forest as of late, perhaps I should always be packed?"

Feng Ju raised an eyebrow at her apprentice and turned to look out from the balcony again. Liu Zhi bowed and backed through the doorway.

Feng Ju rubbed her temples slowly, she wasn't sure if it was the bright light of the morning but she had a headache coming on. Suddenly a gust of wind swept up the side of the mountain, the ribbon in her hair was pulled undone and flew away towards the balcony's edge. She ran to catch it, snatching out her hand and just managing to close her fingers around the silk before it was lost to the mountainside. She leaned heavily against the stone balustrade to catch her breath again and looked out over to the east side, something caught her eye down below. Straightening herself up, Feng Ju leaned over as far as she dared and stuck out her head. She could see figures entering the forest.

That's strange, Feng Ju thought to herself, most men are afraid of the Great Forest, what kind of hunting party would dare to go in?

The sun's final rays heaved themselves up from behind the horizon and stretched across the plane. The sunlight fell upon the men and Feng Ju could see sword hilts glinting. Before she could get a closer look, however, the last of the figures disappeared into the trees. Well, if they are to enter the forest without a guide, I doubt I shall ever see them re-emerge.

Feng Ju sighed as she stepped back, looking down at the ribbon in her hand her lips rearranged into a faint smile. She tucked it securely in her robes and walked through the carved doorway into her home.

Her eyes always had to have time to adjust from the bright light outside. This meant she had to spend a few minutes standing in the doorway blinking at the main cavern. Today was no exception; she stood in her usual position and tried to ignore the sounds of a commotion to her left, undoubtedly the result of the apprentices rounding up the rats. The rats were not a nuisance, unless they were misbehaving. They were also not, as Chen Lin often suggested they should be with a look of some disgust after he'd nearly stepped on one for the fourteenth time, hapless victims of her magical experiments. The rats were Feng Ju's friends, or rather, neighbours with whom she was generally on friendly terms. They had been living in the mountainside before she had decided to move in, and once she had established herself she saw no reason to drive them out.

The only problem, which occurred about once a month was when, by their sheer number, they traversed through her magical barriers and invaded her property. One or two, could be perceived as merely 'visiting guests', but one or two hundred, and it was considered time for a rat-catching session.

"Why do you insist on catching them humanely?" Chen Lin asked once as he sat, rather too upright on the edge of his seat, attempting to drink his tea as an apprentice ran past with an elaborate ivory cage.

"Would you have me catch them inhumanely?" replied Feng Ju, rather amused, after decades of trying, she had finally found something that disturbed her ever-composed friend.

"Don't you think it needs something more permanent? I sometimes think you make the spells deliberately weak."

"Why would I do that?" Feng Ju smirked.

"You enjoy these little invasions, you always time them for precisely when I visit you," Chen Lin’s voice lifted ever so slightly higher as he was forced to shake off a family of stout rats attempting to scale his leg.

"Can you blame me for wanting the company?” Feng Ju sighed. “You're so busy nowadays I barely see you."

The warlock looked up at her, "I'm sorry Feng Ju, my errands as of late have been rather demanding, we shall spend more time together when I can."

Feng Ju found herself feeling rather embarrassed, she had not meant Chen Lin to take her complaint seriously, just to tease him a little.

"Besides!" She had declared putting her cup down and gesturing towards the struggling apprentices, "Aren't those cages too lovely not to use?"

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Spring
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Song Jie is a young girl hidden in the Emperor's councubine houses, desperate to escape.

Ren Yu is a boy from a mountain town, looking for meaning.

Feng Ju is a witch high up in the mountains with her maids and her rats.

Something is wrong with the world.
Something has happened that will bring them all together on a path to find the answers.

A sweeping tale of monsters, greed, friendship and love.Read more
Subscribe

81 episodes

  • Prologue 1
    Episode 1 Prologue 1
  • Prologue 2
    Episode 2 Prologue 2
  • Song Jie (1)
    Episode 3 Song Jie (1)
  • Song Jie (2)
    Episode 4 Song Jie (2)
  • Song Jie (3)
    Episode 5 Song Jie (3)
  • The Choosing (1)
    Episode 6 The Choosing (1)
  • The Choosing (2)
    Episode 7 The Choosing (2)
  • The Choosing (3)
    Episode 8 The Choosing (3)
  • The Choosing (4)
    Episode 9 The Choosing (4)
  • Ren Yu (1)
    Episode 10 Ren Yu (1)
  • Ren Yu (2)
    Episode 11 Ren Yu (2)
  • Ren Yu (3)
    Episode 12 Ren Yu (3)
  • Ren Yu (4)
    Episode 13 Ren Yu (4)
  • Ren Yu (5)
    Episode 14 Ren Yu (5)
  • Ren Yu (6)
    Episode 15 Ren Yu (6)
  • Feng Ju (1)
    Episode 16 Feng Ju (1)
  • Feng Ju (2)
    Episode 17 Feng Ju (2)
  • Feng Ju (3)
    Episode 18 Feng Ju (3)
  • Feng Ju (4)
    Episode 19 Feng Ju (4)
  • The River People (1)
    Episode 20 The River People (1)
Ep. 16 Feng Ju (1)

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Feng Ju (1)

Feng Ju (1)

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