Li Xiulan was absolutely determined to win this competition. She was extremely well-read compared to many others her age and had a good handle on grammar. The catch was that she was advanced for her age. The competition had no age restrictions on it. She could potentially be up against old, wizened monks who spent all their days writing poems and ballads. If that was the case, her already slim chances would disappear.

To combat this, she locked herself up in her room writing and reading nonstop. She finished an entire novel before midday, then wrote an essay about it. Then, she went back and double-checked every fact she had written and gave herself a score on accuracy. Her mother would then read the essays to score her on style. Li Xiulan found herself writing upwards of five essays a day, only pausing briefly for food breaks.

Her mother was, understandably, horrified. She was filled with pride at the thought of Li Xiulan dedicating herself so seriously to her studies, but as every essay that she read improved by leaps and bounds, she began to fear that perhaps Li Xiulan’s chances weren’t as slim as she had thought. With every passing day, she also saw Li Xiulan’s skin grow paler and her hands grow red as blisters formed from where her quill rubbed against her skin. Motherly instincts finally overtook the pride Li Jing felt after a week and a half of Li Xiulan’s training.

She peeked into Li Xiulan’s room to find her sitting on the floor in front of a short table, hunched over in concentration.

“Xiulan?” Li Jing called. Li Xiulan’s head raised slightly from a novel about farming techniques.

“Yes, mama?” she called back, still keeping her eyes trained on the pages.

“I need you to run down to the village for me. It’s something very important.” Li Jing carefully approached and placed a hand on the novel Li Xiulan held, pulling it away from her.

“Wait, wait, I only have a few chapters left, I’ll go when I’m done-” Li Xiulan complained as she lunged after the book, missing and falling on the ground. Li Jing closed the book and placed it back on a shelf in the corner of the room.

“It’s important for your own studies too. I heard that a new merchant has come to town with a collection of rare and valuable books. I thought you might want to go down and take a look,” Li Jing coaxed. Li Xiulan, still lying on the floor where she had fallen, grumbled.

“Can’t it wait until the end of the day? I was in the middle of how to identify dangerous weeds that can damage crops…”

This was precisely what Li Jing was afraid of. Li Xiulan looked like she could hardly even pick herself up.

“No. The merchant is a traveler, I hear. If you wait even a little while, he might be gone,” Li Jing said. Li Xiulan sighed and started trying to slowly peel herself off the ground.

“Fine, fine. I’ll go. If I’m not back soon, come looking for me. I want to finish that book before dinner.”

She brushed past her mother as she left her room for the first time in days. She ran her fingers through her tangled hair a few times to try to fix it up a little before going out in public, to no avail. Right as she was about to leave, Li Xiulan saw her father’s shrine out of the corner of her eye. After a brief moment of consideration, she bowed to it.

“Please give me the motivation to continue my studies,” she said in a single breath before turning around and pushing open the front door.

Li Xiulan was the type of person who enjoyed going outdoors every once in a while. Despite that, upon opening the door, it was like her eyes were being assaulted by the radiant beams of light from the sun. She groaned and covered her eyes with her sleeve. 

“Whoever this merchant is, he’d better be selling the greatest novels on earth,” she muttered, stepping out of the house and letting the door close behind her. Her eyes began to adjust and she lowered her sleeve as she walked down towards the village. Living on a hill made it so that the walk to the village and back was substantial, much further than the average house on the outskirts of town. After she had made it halfway down the hill, her spirits had lifted considerably.

Although she grumbled and complained, Li Xiulan was truly grateful to be out of that house.

She had devoted herself to her studying, but the only thing keeping her going was the thought of finally being able to become a cultivator and fight demons. What was a few weeks inside in comparison to a lifetime of freedom and adventure? She had clung to the thought as boredom overtook her mind and pushed her to the brink of insanity. If she didn’t win this essay contest, well, she might really lose her mind.

The path leading to the village was actually quite pleasant. The dirt had been packed down from years of walking back and forth, so the grass was thinner where she walked. Around the path, the grass was much fuller and taller and a forest surrounded the hill, birds twittering in the branches. Clusters of white flowers were scattered around, giving off a sweet scent. The entire hillside was a colorful patchwork of vibrant greens, whites, and yellows. Li Xiulan took a deep breath, letting the fragrance fill her lungs. She found herself smiling.

The only unpleasant thing about the walk was that the village was at the end of it. As she got closer, rows of small wooden homes and stores appeared. Children shouted and ran in the streets while adults milled around aimlessly, looking for something to buy. Most adults worked in the fields during the day, so the remaining people were those who had nothing to do but watch over the children. It was an extremely dull place.

As Li Xiulan entered the village, several eyes turned to her. She ignored them and kept moving. Subconsciously, she began to play with the ends of her hair as she realized why they were staring more than usual. She didn’t exactly look presentable right now; she had run out of the house without even a glance at her clothes. She wore a thin gray robe over top of a white robe with a small white belt around her waist. The attire probably would have been alright had the belt not been crooked, making her gray robe hang open and reveal the white underneath. Coupled with her already tangled, hardly-even-tied hair, she was surely a sight to behold.

She ducked between two houses and re-tied her belt. She pulled the ribbon out of her hair and quickly tried to tie her hair in a more presentable manner. After patting down her clothes a few times to get out the wrinkles, she emerged onto the street once more.

Despite her best attempts to clean herself up, she still received odd glances as she walked down the street. You try to tie up your hair that fast and see how it goes, okay? she thought, glaring back. Her glares deterred a few of the onlookers who resumed their work. Those who kept looking scowled deeper.

Li Xiulan was aware of how the villagers felt about her. Over the years, she had learned to spend as little time around them as possible to avoid being made the subject of new rumors. These efforts were mostly in vain, as she was still a popular subject for gossip. It seemed that every time she returned to the village some new story about her was being passed around. Not that it mattered to her -- she was the daughter of a god. They could insult her all they liked, but it wouldn’t change the truth.

Li Xiulan scanned the streets for the merchant her mother had told her about. Couldn’t she at least have gotten a description? A name would have been helpful too. As it was, she was wandering about the village aimlessly, peeking into shops and looking at goods sold at stalls. Although she was grateful for the distraction for her studies, it was exactly that. A distraction. If she ever wanted the chance to become a cultivator, she had to devote herself fully to winning this competition. 

She sighed as she reached the entrance of the village, having not caught sight of a single book merchant. Turning back, she looked over the entire street once more. She recognized all the merchants she could see besides one, who appeared to be selling candy to a group of small children. Even if he was a traveler, it didn’t seem like he was the one she was looking for.

“Maybe he already left,” she muttered to herself. “With my luck, I wouldn't be surprised.”

With a sigh, she began walking back through the village. At the very least, not finding the merchant meant she could go home earlier and finish her work for the day. Even so, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

Before Li Xiulan could take a single step, a child ran past her and collided with her knee. She cried out in surprise as she stumbled, flailing her arms frantically to keep herself from falling over. The child kept running, not even seeming to register that he had nearly barreled over someone. Li Xiulan managed to regain her balance and rubbed her sore leg. 

“Hey, you! Watch where you’re going!” she yelled, trying her best to put some rage into her voice. The child ignored her, instead running up to the candy-selling merchant she had seen earlier. The child seemed enthralled, totally absorbed in whatever the man was telling the group of children surrounding him. Li Xiulan stepped forward to take a closer look.

The man was middle-aged. His hair was dark with patches of wispy gray running through it. Half of it was tied up in a neat, picturesque bun while the other half ran freely down his back, ending near his waist. He wore a dark green coat and pants, typical attire for a merchant. To his side was an old, beaten bamboo hat that had clearly seen better days. The only thing that stood out about him was his eyes. They were dark, but when the light hit them the right way, they lit up with the color of jade. Those eyes made him appear soft and kind, like an elderly grandfather returning from a long day at work.

The merchant seemed to be telling the children a story. The boy who had run into Li Xiulan held a pouch in his hand, which he excitedly handed over to the man. Li Xiulan narrowed her eyes in suspicion; surely this child knew better than to hand a stranger his money, right? What if he was a thief?

The man accepted the pouch with a smile. He turned it inside out and showed it to the children, revealing that it was empty. He placed a handful of candy inside the pouch and closed it, shaking it up. When he opened it once more, the candy had disappeared. The children around him gasped, grabbing at the pouch to make sure that it was really gone. The man laughed and reached behind the boy’s ear, pulling out a single piece of candy.

Li Xiulan relaxed. It seemed that this man was really nothing more than a simple merchant. Such a trick was easy to accomplish with minimal prior knowledge. She could probably do it herself, if she felt so inclined. The important thing was that this man did not seem to be stealing from children. 

Well, even if he was, it wasn’t really her business. She wasn’t exactly a keeper of the peace. Even if she did stop a thief, people would probably find some way to pin the crime on her instead and throw her in jail.

With that thought in mind, she proceeded to walk back towards her home. She had only made it a few more steps before she heard the exclamation of a child.

“Her? Mister, she’s strange. Nobody in the village talks to her.”

The words could easily have been about anyone. There were plenty of odd people around that nobody talked to, she was sure. Despite that, Li Xiulan found herself looking back to find the merchant staring directly at her.

A surge of fear shot down her back, making all the hair on her arms stand on edge. He’s just a merchant, she thought, taking a hesitant step backwards. Why am I afraid?

She turned away and kept walking. There was something in her mind that made her want to turn back and look again, but she refused to heed it. Step after step she walked, but she seemed to get no closer to the edge of the village. In fact, as she looked around, the buildings suddenly seemed completely unfamiliar to her. She had taken a right at this road, didn’t she? Or was it a left? Straight?

She pushed through, taking a left down a small alleyway. The village was little more than a few rows of houses clustered together, so no matter which way she chose, it would eventually lead her to the edge. Or, that’s what she thought until she emerged from the right side of the road, right back where she had started. 

Unconsciously, her feet moved backwards.  Her eyes darted back and forth, desperately trying to locate the exit. How is this possible? This must be some kind of magic! The entire village couldn’t have just changed on its own!

The village, usually a straight road with buildings on either side, had become a labyrinth. She ran forward, back, left, right, somehow returning to where she had begun. Panic finally began to settle in. She was trapped.

A firm hand suddenly fell upon her shoulder. Li Xiulan jumped and whipped around, throwing the hand off of her. She was met with laughs and strange looks from the gaggle of children surrounding the merchant, whose hand was now lying on her shoulder. He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling up. 

Li Xiulan took a step back, glancing around. The village appeared normal again. She could recognize the streets once more, seeing the exact path she always took home. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as her gaze returned to the man. Had he cast some kind of spell on her to keep her from walking away? Despite the man’s kind eyes and smile, she could not place any trust in him. If she got caught up in another spell, she could be in serious trouble.

“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” the man began. He shooed off a little boy who was glaring at Li Xiulan, giving her an apologetic smile. “I saw you from across the street and wanted to speak with you.” Perhaps he saw the distrust in her eyes, as he spoke quicker. “I am a traveling merchant, you see, and I had some wares I thought you might be interested in.” Li Xiulan raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, I’m not interested in purchasing any candy.” She spoke bluntly, hoping to deter the man from speaking any further. The man simply laughed.

“No, no, you misunderstand me. I think you would appreciate what I have to offer you.” Before she could even react, the man reached into his sleeve and pulled out a charm. It was a tiny porcelain rabbit, carved to be holding a little golden bell, with red swirling details on its eyes and sides. Nothing about it was particularly special, and yet Li Xiulan found something inside herself was drawn to it.