《The Sun's Scent and the Moon's Tune.》


 Prologue

    The ¡°Hibiscus Hamlet '''', that¡¯s what people called a very small town in the southern region of the Jing Province. Even though its real name was ¡®Sunji¡¯, most travellers and townspeople preferred to use the so popular expression every time they talked about their journeys there; the so characteristic smell of the Hibiscus flower grown in the land, always left a huge impression to the area¡¯s visitors and after so many years of growing the plant the nickname stayed there for ages, even centuries.


    ¡®Sunji¡¯ town was a very special one, the families living there all shared a bond no one else had ever seen in the whole Jing Providence, even in the entire Zhou dynasty. They had known each other for centuries, and generations were raised together, making their affinity so perfect that made the most welcomed visitor feel as a non-desirable one. Of course, with such a tight union between families, the secrets were even bigger, and they protected each other as their own lives, hence the second alias of the small village ¡°Conundrum¡±.


    For everyone, the townsfolk and their lives where a huge mystery, even Mr. Zhang, a well known merchant who visited Sunji regularly knew nothing that the people didn¡¯t want to reveal, they were so tight-lipped that it felt like a ghost town sometimes, everyone doing what they had to do but never really saying more that they were meant to say. Not only were people reserved and serious, but they also had the ¡®Shutdown season¡¯, four months of no contact with the outside world, the excuse? Hibiscus cultivation.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    In this small world where word of mouth was the most common communication form, the rumors were even bigger than the town¡¯s secrets, from demonic cultivators to an immortal town, people were fast to create the most incredible and strange stories every time they heard of the enigma Sunji was. They knew little and took every hearsay as a children''s game ignoring, that between their words the reality truly hid.


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    Every name and detail is fantasy and has no relation with real people or history; the names used are purely for story setting, but the story is set in an imaginary world with its own rules and facts.

 Run (1)

    The rain hit with strength the body of the running boy, his sandals were black from the mud and his light colored clothes had turned dark from the wet soil that splashed over him everytime he stepped on the wet ground.


    His body was cold and his hands shivered without control but he kept running, running without stopping because he knew it was all he could do.


    ¡°Run Feng-He¡± - his mother¡¯s words never left his head- ¡°Run until your feet bleed and then keep running, never look back and never comeback, run until you forget your name and your mother¡±


    The boy knew he could never forget her, he could forget his own name, but never the woman who loved him and saved him.


    He kept running, and he never stopped; days, weeks and months went by but the young boy continued, even when his feet bled and he forgot his own name, he just kept pushing himself to walk, to jog and run, under the cold rain, the snow and the burning sun, Feng-He kept his promise until he could no more.


    Until he forgot her, his mother.


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    ¡°Meifeng! Come here right now! Stop what you are doing and help your sister with the water!¡± - the strong voice of Mother Lai resounded in the family¡¯s yard, and touched the ears of the little girl that was hiding behind the big Banyan tree, she was quite sure her mother had the wooden stick she always hit her with, but she preferred to hide with fear than help her sister go for water to the pond. ¡®How boring it was!¡¯


    Mei-Mei, as everyone called her, was the little princess of the Lai family, and not only was treated as the most precious gift by them, the families in their town also loved her and protected her, making her a little capricious and playful. The girl hated everything she considered boring and loved adventures and stories of martial arts and powerful heroes. She dreamt of leaving to explore the outside world and make a name for herself but she knew she was most likely doomed to stay in her little town forever.


    ¡°Meifeng! If you don¡¯t go with your sister I will take away the new book Old Fang brought you yesterday!¡±- her mother¡¯s voice took her out of her thoughts, and with fear she came out from behind the big tree. - ¡°Mama, you know how much I hate going to the pond!¡±- she whined.


    Mother Lai came closer to the whining girl and with a wooden stick she had on her hand hit her softly on her butt. ¡°You always whine and cry and your sister ends up going alone, you go and help her this time and I¡¯ll talk to your father about the classes you want with that new teacher in town¡± - she promised.


    The little girl¡¯s semblance changed completely, and with a smile kissed her mother and ran looking for her sister, ¡®Oh! How excited she was just imagining her new class and her dancing moves with the beautiful melody of the zither!¡¯


    ¡®Run Mei-Mei, run so you can dance like the wind¡¯ - she thought.