Chapter 1: Stranger
A stormy weather hovers around a small village located at the farthest rural area of Gansu province, the poorest part of Raven country. In the midst of the heavy rainfall, a young woman hurriedly plucked out one by one the potato and tomato crops to keep it from getting spoiled. It was half a month too early to harvest.
A gaunt old man shouted from the window of an old mud-brick small house "Ling Ai get back here already! The weather is too dangerous for you to roam outside. Don't bother collecting all the crops, a basket will do. Your life is more important than those crops, what will I do if I lost you huh? I'm good as dead if that happens Ling Ling."
"You know what is wrong grandpa? You worry too much about me, just go back inside and take a rest, okay? Leave everything to your responsible granddaughter. It is bad for you to stand there, a flying object might hit you!" Ling Ai said as she breaths heavily and rushes back and forth around the small field near their house.
After she harvested five baskets of crops, she put it in a wagon and hurriedly pull it with her to shelter in the mud-brick house.
_tap tap tap
"Oh, my sandal strap finally snapped. Well, it already had been useful for 3 years." Ling Ai finally got in the old parquet outside the house while catching her breath.
_plop plop
"See grandpa, I am done. It wasn't that many so it was just easy. Grandpa? What are you staring at?" Ling Ai drenched in rain and water dripping on the floor.
"Who is that man?" Old man Zhang Mo, the grandfather of Ling Ai said with a surprised look on his face.
"Who's who grandpa? Where?" Ling Ai said while looking around.
"Are you blind?! I'm just old, not dense! There! There! At the path behind the hedges." Pointing it with his index finger, old man Zhang Mo had widened his eyes focusing at the shadowy figure behind the trees as it walks closer to the small field.
"Oh yeah, I see it now. He's...tall."
"That's not the point here Ling Ling! Have you ever seen anyone get lost in here; in this forest? No one, right? Because this is the farthest part of the land, we're at the edge already!" Old man Zhang Mo explained to Ling Ling.
"Oh yes! I forgot. You are right grandpa, then who is that man? What is he doing here? Do you think he's lost?" Ling Ai wondered. As it is rare to see a person who is lost or a person they do not know because the area was just small and almost all of the villagers knew each other.
Finally, the strange man surfaced from the shadows of the murky forest and the moonlight was on him.
"He is-..he...he is..he is-" Old man Zhang Mo stuttered as he was about to say something.
"Wha- what? What?! Just say it, grandpa! Just spill it. What!" Ling Ai closely listens to what the Old man Zhang Mo was about to say. Both of her eyebrows raised with expectant eyes.
"He's handsome." Old man Zhang Mo admired the stranger.
"Ahhh...that's the more reason I don't want to get old. Being old grandpa makes you appreciate every little things in life huh?" Ling Ai sighed. "He is walking towards our house. Does he need something? He really is lost, don't you think grandpa?" Ling Ai twitched her brow and her shoulders slightly sagged.
"I think so." Old man Zhang Mo had a curious face.
The far figure of the stranger becomes clearer as he walks closer towards the mud-brick house ten paces from the small field. Ling Ai and Old man Zhang Mo staring at the stranger as it gets closer.
The stranger's footsteps in the muddy field were without sound, like a leaf touching the ground and his breath was so calm.
"A house? Someone still lives in this kind of filthy place." The tall handsome young man said with disdain in his face, wearing elegant black and violet robe that had gold vignette etched. What's unique in this young man's robe is that it had long black chain spaulders loose beyond the edge of his shoulders. "I'll just erase this place then. Heav-" He rose his arms and was about to utter something but he was interrupted by Ling Ai as she cleared her throat furiously.
"Ahem! Excuse me, stranger! I would like to help you loosen up your brain because it seems that it's so dense you didn't saw that the owner of this house is staring at you while listening to your haughty little talk!" Ling Ai said angrily to the stranger.
"Eh? So insects can speak human language? I'll be more surprised if this bug that tried talking to me has a name." The young man's brow twitched. His voice sounded euphonious and crisp but brought a dreadful weight in every word he utter.
Ling Ai was fiercely staring at this stranger's eyes. She was not bothered being looked down upon or be called an insect because she believes that what matters most in life is to live with a good heart and to die with one, as what her grandpa taught her. But she won't let it pass when it involves her grandfather. Ling Ai was adopted by her father and was raised lovingly by her grandfather. For the first time in her life, she was so angry that someone insulted her grandfather right in front of her face. She was trembling to slap the stranger's disdainful face.
She ignored the stranger then turned her face at her side, she was surprised seeing her grandfather kowtowed and shudders as he had a pale face. It seems like her grandfather turned mute and just silently continued to kowtow at the front of the stranger, shuddering.
"Who is this guy?" She wondered and turned back her eyes to the handsome stranger that had a solemn face.
"What? So you don't have a name? Well, I asked an impossible question. Here's the deal that I will give you as you have amused me a bit. I'm around these filthy areas for ten days so I'll give you ten days to hide or run far away, do anything you think that can oust your rights of existing in this world. If I happen to see you within my ten days stay around these areas. I'll remove this part of the land in Raven country. But if you pass the deal, I'll grant this land to exist for another ten years." After he said it with his amused face looking down at Ling Ai as he was a tall person, he was about to turn around but Ling Ai called his attention.
"Ling Ai. That's my name and I'm not an insect. I'm a human! Someday, this insect will bring you down!" Ling Ai knew that this man was capable of doing everything he said. She whimpered her name and sincerity was in her eyes staring at the stranger.
"So an insect does have the ability to comprehend a name. How ironic and brave of you, you are more amusing than you look. Ling Ai, why don't you give it a try? Maybe you'll fail." The stranger snickered.
"Before you leave. May I have the name of the stray dog that lost its way to our home?" Ling Ai gained courage and wiped her tears away.
"Stray dog? Hahaha! You are one funny existence! Even a unique dolt like you is rare. How unexpected it is to see one. My name? You will gain your rights back if you pass my deal and you will also have the privilege to know my name. But for now, I'll tell you what most people call me...the Most Evil Emperor." After he said it, he vanished into the shadows.
While Ling Ai was stunned to what she had just heard.
"Th-the Most Evil Emperor..."
Ling Ai recollected the face of the Emperor that just came around the areas of the small village. The small village was without a name because it was considered non-existent as it was also part of the poorest rural area of the Great Raven country.
As far as Ling Ai remembered, the face of the Most Evil Emperor has pale fair skin, piercing eyes, thick white eyebrows, and a long silver-white hair. No one can deny that he was just not a person who is in the highest position of the Raven country, but everyone can agree with just one look that he has a daring handsome face and below his left piercing eye there are three red diamonds symbol aligned vertically.
What made Ling Ai and old man Zhang Mo more shocked was that in the middle of the heavy rainfall. The Most Evil Emperor was without a trace of getting wet. He was as dry as the day and not a drop of water was dripping from his robe, hair or body.
"Th-the Most Evil Emperor...was that guy?" Ling Ai's thoughts have not sunk in yet that she just stood tall at the Raven Country's Most Evil Emperor.