Hua's Life

Chapter 2: The Night of Secrets

The streets of the city felt unusually alive that evening, the kind of night where the air buzzed with excitement and mystery. The delicate drizzle of rain against the pavement added an almost ethereal charm, while a cold wind blew, prompting pedestrians to tug their collars higher against the chill. Despite the weather, the streets were filled with people, most of them heading home from the day’s activities, their hurried footsteps echoing in the growing darkness.

Among them, one figure stood apart—a woman in a white dress, an umbrella in her hand. Her attire, seemingly inappropriate for the chilly weather, seemed to be of little concern to her. Her steps were calm, measured, and the soft glow of streetlights cast her shadow long across the street. She appeared to be in a quiet conversation on her phone, her voice soft but carrying a hint of calmness that betrayed the urgency of the night.

"Dad, are you keeping track of me again?" she said, her voice tinged with the slightest hint of amusement. "You always seem to call at the right time!"

On the other side of the line, the voice of her father responded, light-hearted yet concerned. "Ha! No, no, I’ve learned my lesson from last time. It's not that I’m watching over you, but A Shi is coming home tomorrow. You’re not planning to miss out on seeing us, are you?"

An Hua’s lips curled into a smile as she paused beneath the dim light of a street lamp. "I’ll be home tomorrow evening, Dad. Don’t worry, this time I’m coming home for good. But... I might need to pick up a gift for Ah Shi."

She could feel a pang in her chest at the mention of her family. For years now, she had distanced herself, but her father’s voice always managed to tug at something deep inside her. It was hard not to, especially after everything that had happened.

Yes, An Hua had stayed away from home. She had gone to the Fei Forest Valley to recuperate as she had exhausted herself by using her power.

She had gone to this forest as it was the place where Gu Kaidè and his wife Li Shuying had met her for the first time.

They had gone to Fei Forest for trekking and had come across her when she had just woken up, after her Master/Mother had sent her away from that horrible place by risking her life. The last thing she saw of her mother before coming to this place was her being pierced by the icicles that were being shot by those so-called righteous ones who felt they were entitled to their lives.

Her family's lives were just a pawn in the hands of those higher ups. It had gotten worse after her father's death, who had sacrificed himself while saving the life of an Elder's Second son from a cursed beast. Her father's sacrifice was a joke as they felt he was entitled to do so as he was a Cleric.

They wanted their lives as her mother had declined the Elders' request of teaching their people on how to rear the Flowers that were used to produce nectar for the Immortality potion. If her mother tried teaching the people, her life energy would drain rapidly which was risky for her. It was forbidden in her ancestral rule to teach this art to others that did not belong from their bloodline. This rule was made when someone had used this method to create a poison and had almost destroyed their honor and their source of livelihood.

The elders didn't believe a word that her mother had said and had called her selfish and haughty. Even her father had not been taught by her mother and could only utilise the nectar from the flowers to further enhance the vitality of his medicine and healing abilities. But other people just wanted to believe in what they wanted to, and not the truth. There were many reasons why they were hunted down but the most driving factor was their greed and selfishness.

When she had first been sucked into this place, she thought it was a different world but soon she found that, her realm and this place were from the same world. It was just that, only those powerful elites had knowledge about such existence.

In the eight years that she had been living here she had not sense any familiar feeling of people from her realm. She had gone to the auction to return a favor on the request of the Old Man who had helped her the last five years.

"An Hua! hello! are you there? Hey, dear what happened? Why aren't you saying anything? What's going on??" came a voice from the other side of the phone.

"Sorry, dad. I was just thinking of something. Of course, I'll come back tomorrow evening. Don't worry this time I'm coming home for real. I need to buy a gift for Ah Shi. So dad, see you tomorrow" said An Hua, as she was shaken up from her past by the call of her father.

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. As she listened to her father’s farewell and hung up the phone, An Hua felt a sudden sense of displacement. She had been walking absentmindedly while talking, and when she looked around, she realized she had taken a wrong turn. What should have been a familiar street had led her into a dark, narrow alleyway. For a moment, she stood there, the quiet of the alley surrounding her, and then sighed in annoyance. She had to turn back.

But before she could do so, a sudden groan broke through the stillness of the night. It came from further down the alley, followed by a heavy thud, the unmistakable sound of someone slamming against a wall. An Hua’s instincts kicked in at once—there was something familiar about the feeling, something that pricked at her senses. Her curiosity piqued, she began to walk toward the sound, her steps light but purposeful.

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See you in the next chapter 🥰😇

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