In the beautiful Heaven Realm, flowers bloomed in the sky and clouds moved like gentle rivers. The fairies here were graceful, calm, and very hardworking.

Well… most of them.

Qi Lian, a small fairy with silver-white hair and bright eyes, was not like the others. While the others were busy pouring rain, painting the wind, or writing destiny scrolls, Qi Lian was…

Sleeping in a tree.

“Qi Lian!” shouted another fairy from below. “You skipped cloud cleaning again!”

Qi Lian yawned and rolled over. “I’m busy with important fairy stuff. Like… dreaming.”

The fairy huffed and flew off. Qi Lian smiled and stretched. He was bored. So bored.

“Maybe I’ll go explore,” he said to himself. “There’s that old ruin near the edge of the Heaven Realm. The one everyone says is forbidden.”

He grinned. “Perfect.”

Qi Lian snuck past the guards using a very genius plan — pretending to be a floating log. He stuck some leaves on his head and rolled down a hill.

It worked. Somehow.

He reached the edge of the realm. The sky was darker here. Cold wind blew through the trees. In the middle of a broken stone platform, he saw a giant rock — black, cracked, and glowing with red lines.

“Oooooh,” Qi Lian whispered, eyes wide. “Creepy. I love it.”

There was writing on the stone, but he couldn’t read it. So he did what any normal, responsible fairy would not do.

He poked it.

The ground rumbled.

A loud boom echoed through the air.

Qi Lian jumped back as the stone cracked. Red light burst out. Wind swirled around him. The broken seal rose into the sky, glowing like fire.

“Uh-oh,” he said.

Then, a deep voice spoke.

“You dare wake me.”

Qi Lian turned around.

Standing there was a tall man with long black hair, sharp red eyes, and a dark aura so powerful it made the air feel heavy. His clothes looked like they were made of shadows and fire.

“I…” Qi Lian blinked. “Are you… lost?”

The man looked at him. Slowly. Like he was deciding whether to burn him or crush him.

“I am Xie He. King of the Demon Realm. Who are you, little fairy?”

Qi Lian scratched his head. “I’m Qi Lian! Nice to meet you. Wait. Did you say Demon King?”

Xie He stepped forward. The ground cracked under his feet. His power spread out like fire.

Qi Lian held up both hands. “Okay, calm down, Scary Flameface. I just touched a thing! It’s not like I meant to break you out!”

“You—” Xie He raised his hand. “I should destroy you.”

A fireball formed in his palm. Qi Lian stared at it.

Then, he said: “Hey… your face looks kinda familiar.”

Xie He paused. “What?”

“You look like someone I knew in a dream,” Qi Lian said, smiling. “Maybe you were my cat. Or… a fish?”

The fireball disappeared. Xie He looked confused. Very confused.

Qi Lian walked up to him and poked his chest. “Why are you so grumpy? You just woke up from a nap. I’d be happy if someone broke my seal. Wait… am I your savior now?”

Xie He stared at him for a long moment.

Then, he said, “You talk too much.”

Qi Lian shrugged. “People say that a lot.”

Behind them, the broken seal pulsed one last time… and cracked into dust. A mark appeared on Qi Lian’s wrist — glowing red, shaped like a flame.

He didn’t notice it.

But Xie He did.

His eyes narrowed. That mark… it looked exactly like his seal mark. The one used by the general who defeated him years ago. The one who had—

No. It couldn’t be.

This fairy was loud, foolish, and messy. The general was cold, clever, and serious.

Still…

Xie He turned and walked away. “I’m leaving. Don’t follow me.”

Qi Lian grinned and skipped after him. “Too late! I already decided I’m your guide!”

Xie He growled. “I don’t need a guide.”

“You do now!” Qi Lian said, holding up a map. “See? We’re here. And food is that way.”

“I don’t eat fairy food.”

“But I have spicy tofu.”

“…Tch.”

And so, the Demon King walked into the mortal realm for the first time in 500 years… with a bratty fairy skipping beside him, waving a tofu box.

To be continued...