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In the beautiful countryside of China, a mother and son were traveling down the road. "Don't wander off now! Come back you little rascal," yelled Linda Lin, a widower and single mother, to her only son. Her son, nicknamed Tou, was an adventurous and naughty boy for a 7 year old. He ran off down the road and left his mother's caution behind. He ran to the riverside, and on the bank, oddly enough, was a basket woven from golden strands. Inside, wrapped in red and gold cloth was a baby boy. Beside him lay a bag. "Mama, Mama! Come! Come quick!" shouted Tou. His mother, thought something must had gone terribly wrong in her absence, ran up to him, touched his face and patted him all over, to see what was wrong. "I'm fine! Would you just stop THAT, it's so embarrassing!" said Tou, looking around to see if there was anyone watching them, "It's a child, look!"
Linda peered to the side and took a hard look at the baby. She turned back to her son and said in a harsh voice, "We are not going to get into this kind of stuff," and started pushing him back toward the path. "No, mom, there's a bag!" Tou said persuasively. He turned from his mother's insistent push,picked up the bag and handed it to her. "Oh my goodness! Oh lord!" screamed Linda as she dumped a pile of gold into her hands, and completely ignored a very green and yet valuable piece of jade that lay with the gold. "Oh my, we are going to have to keep this", she said greedily. "Too bad this piece of junk is worth nothing though," she said, referring to the piece of jade. She turned to leave, but Tou started to complain, "I want his clothes mom! They look so shiny and new!"
"Fine then!" she said impatiently. She went back, picked up the child, and started to slowly and yet unkindly take off the baby's clothing.
"Hey you! What are you doing over there?" shouted two guards that were doing their daily rounds. "I hope you're not trying to get rid of that baby of yours," they said when they saw the basket next to the river.
"Oh no, no sir. Of course not, but..." said Linda. She was interrupted by the one of the guards, who agitatedly said, "There are no buts, now go along and don't let me see you trying to get rid of your child."
The two officers watched carefully as Linda and Tou got back on the path, carrying the baby. "Look what you got us into, just because you wanted his clothes. Now, we're stuck keeping this child!" whispered Linda harshly to her son.
Twenty-one years later, both children raised by Linda have grown up. Tou grew up to be a very spoiled and uneducated young man, who often took advantage of Li. Li, the son she picked up, on the other hand, did everything Tou and his mother told him to, in the spirit that they found him and adopted him into the family. He didn't know what REALLY involved him becoming adopted.
"Well, do you remember what day it is today Li?" Linda asked as she sat down at the small dusty table filled with a few vegetables and pieces of chicken. "Today is my unofficial birthday, the day I was found by you!" Li said happily and then thanked both Tou and Linda as he did everyday anyway.
That night, Li had the strangest dream. He dreamed of angels, of fear and terror. A war had broken out and the angels were loosing the war. A powerful, beautiful angel, the leader of them all, risked her life for her cause. Another angel, perhaps a powerful spirit, had a face of sheer evil happiness knowing that he was winning. The two were fighting for something important, but Li couldn't see what it was. And then, the elegant angel pushed herself away from the evil one, chanting and summoning the last of her powers, and a bright light streamed from her body. "NO!! Don't do it, you'll kill yourself!" Li screamed as he woke from this terrifying dream, soaked in his own sweat. He brushed his covers aside and stepped outside to the backyard. The moon was shining brightly and the stars shown remarking bright as well.
As Li looked up at the full moon, a thick cloud passed by and light from the moon oddly shone directly at Li. Li started glowing with light and was slowly lifted from the ground. He was reminded of his dream. The light seemed to be the same as the light that escaped from the angel.
"Oh my!" screamed Linda, who had gone out for a midnight snack. Tou ran out, when he heard his mother's scream. Linda was so shocked she was holding on tight to Tou to continue standing. Li turned to face his mother and found them staring at him in awe. He then slowly drifted back toward the ground. "Get out you, you alien! You strange thing, I don't want to take any part of this!" Linda screamed. She ran into her room and brought out the green jade she had found with Li. She handed it to him, relieved that now, she can finally rid herself of a child, which had not only cost her money, but most likely wasn't even human. Li, tears in his eyes, for his heart was broken to see the real foster mother's true side, he turned to leave clutching the jade to his chest.
He walked aimlessly for days, without stop or rest of any sort. He walked in a trance and in his head, he replayed the scene of his mother's hatred for him, and thought of the feelings of finally belonging, and the feelings of being home when he was lifted from the ground. "I want to belong somewhere, I want to be loved" was all he thought about for days. On the third day of endless walking, he collapsed onto the ground, tired and exhausted. As he fell, the jade that was in his pocket fell out. He was so sad, that he never got a chance to really examine it. So, he picked it up and looked at it carefully. It was the greenest piece of jade he had ever seen, and it gave him a tingling feeling when he held it with both hands. "You are my only friend, and you are also my only link to my past." He whispered to the jade. He placed it safely into his pockets once more. He looked ahead of him and saw that he was at the entrance to the next town. Upon seeing the town, he was reminded of how hungry he was. Quickly, he got to his feet and ran to the town, which was named Jising, which was famous for her many beautiful women that lived there. After getting a quick bite to eat, he passed by a crowd who had gathered around a woman. She was pale, yet seemingly elegant. She looked like an angel from heaven sent down to earth. Oddly, she looked like someone he met before, but couldn't figure out who. Many men were crowded around her as father made the announcement, "Here is my beautiful daughter and whoever can win the challenge tomorrow may wed my daughter, Elsa Chang." And then mysteriously and out of pure instinct, Elsa turned around and locked eyes with Li. Li felt a surge of compassion flow to him, feeling a sense of urgency for him to be part of the upcoming challenge/ He felt he was needed, though he didn't see how someone scrawny and weakened from days of not hunger could win, but he suddenly felt full of confidence.
The next day, Li went to the challenge. There was a small coffin, on top of it was a huge rock, looking as big and heavy as a boulder. The coffin amazingly, lay perfectly intact below it. "Gentlemen, isn't this an amazing site? A rock this big, you'd think it would have already crushed this coffin, but it hasn't! A magical spell has been put here, and whoever can break it, will win my daughter. Good luck!" said the father, and then oddly enough turned to leave.
Men yelled and shouted complaints that it was an impossible task, some turned to leave, others shouted that everybody should try to push the rock together and see if it can roll off the coffin. Nothing seemed to worked, and slowly as the day wore on, more and more men gave up and left. Li on the other hand, stayed until nightfall, sitting on the nearby grass and thinking of nothing in particular. At dusk, he went over to the coffin and went down on both knees. "I beg of you, sky god of above, if there is some helpless person stuck inside this coffin, please help me set him or her free, he or she doesn't deserve to die because no man has the power. Please, give me the knowledge to set the coffin free!" Li whispered, and set the jade down on the ground in front of him as an offering to the sky god. And then suddenly, the jade started to glow with a bright light. It slowly rose from the ground, just like he had, and flew over to the coffin. It danced around the coffin as if it had a conscious and was happy to know of the person inside. It rose to the top of the boulder and landed right on top of it. And then seconds later, the entire rock exploded into a million pieces. Li, after he dusted himself off from the rock debris, ran over to open the coffin. And inside, was no one other than Elsa herself. "Are you ok?" Li asked looking very concerned.
"I'm...I'm fine, thank you. You lifted the spell! How? How did you do that? Tell me now!" she yelled and grabbed Li's shirt in urgency.
"I don't really know, the jade that I have did it, here look," Li said calmly and showed her the jade.
"You're...you're the one! Please, you must come with me, I must tell you what that jade really means to you," and then she dropped her voice down to a whisper, "and the rest of the heaven world!" Li looked at her, from the dim of the moon, hesitant to believe, not to mention think about going anywhere with her. Elsa, who saw the doubt in his face, continued more persuasively, "You must trust me and believe in what I must say. Please! Don't you want to know of your past, why you have that jade!?"
"Well, yes I suppose so. Where will you take me?"
Elsa, looked around, making sure no one was around and grabbed Li's hand, not answering his question. He followed her though. And thus started their journey. They went to a small wooden house. "Here is where we will live for now, and we'll start the day after tomorrow, giving me time to tell you the story of the jade and for us to prepare food and items for the journey," said Elsa, "But first, get some sleep, we'll talk in the morning."
After an uncomfortable night of barely any sleep, Li woke early and found Elsa awake as well. "Oh, you're up, I'm guessing your curiosity kept you from sleeping. But, to know the story, you must be ready to believe and trust in what I say as the truth. Without that sort of readiness, I shouldn't begin," Elsa said.
"I'm ready to believe in anything since I floated in air and glowed with an inner light one night, just as the jade did to break the spell. It's magical and I'm ready to believe that there is more out there," Li said quickly to assure Elsa.
"Very well then. It happened thousands of years ago, in the heavens, since time travels much slower down here on earth. There were 12 angels who were in charge of watching over that jade," Elsa said and pointed to the jade in Li's hand, "It's not a typical jade, Li, it's the key, the symbol, the power. The one who possesses it, means that by destiny, he is chosen to rule over the world of the heavens. The jade has the power of its own to find its owner, but it was expected to be many years before a new ruler arrived. And until then, we angels were the keepers. But, evil things were brewing. Xanlea was his name, a very powerful spirit, who wanted more than he had. He wanted to rule and make his own destiny. He invaded our small cloud court, killing every angel that came near him. One hit of his trident could send dozens of angels to fall to a dissolving death and becoming part of the universe itself. And we, 12 angel sisters tried to fend him off. I, as leader was the last to resort to fighting and until then, I was to stay by the jade. But Xanlea was much too powerful and soon enough he was standing there in front me, the jade floating on a ring of its own, behind me. I sent for the stars' help, prayed for faith in the powers of the moon to guide me in which would probably be my last fight. I sent shooting stars, in which he dodged and then sent whips of sunlight back at me. I started to lose strength, my movements became less swift, and my own dodges started to miss. Xanlea's whips seem to be more on target than ever before. And..."
"And he had a face of sheer evil happiness that he knew he was near winning," interrupted Li.
"How did you know that?"
"It was part of a dream I had. I remember an angel fighting him. That must be you I assume. And you pushed yourself away from Xanlea and chanted something, summoning the last of your powers. A bright light streamed from your body. That's all I know. But please, do continue your story," said Li, looking up and realizing how this beautiful woman sitting beside him was just as elegant as he had dreamed her to be.
"Well, why yes! That's amazing to think that you'd dream of it. I took the last of my powers and turned myself human so that as long as I am alive, I could still hope to recover the jade and place it in the hands of its rightful owner. I had scattered the jade to a place where Xanlea wouldn't find it, hoping it will guide itself to its owner. I lost most of my powers, but was still able to keep some of it. Being human isn't as easy as you think. I wasn't suppose to be human, I'm suppose to be dead. Everyday I loose more of the power and strength to stay alive in this world," she said sadly. Li recognized the tiredness and determination to stay alive, in her eyes, and thought how the paleness finally made sense.
"Are...are you saying you're dieing!?" Li asked, scared of the answer to follow.
"Yes, but don't worry, I'll be okay. I will help you on your journey. I won't leave you. I promise. Well, we got to get ready for your journey. We will travel to the high peak of Gongxi. That is where you can claim your throne. A throne in which you must accept, you can't deny your destiny, you can't escape it. I can see that you are a worthy and honest man. You will make a powerful and wise ruler of the heavens," Elsa said, nodding in her head in confidence.
They spent the rest of the day preparing for their journey. Li pondered the worth of what Elsa said. He believed that what she said was true, but him, ruler? To think how he couldn't even manage his own life, he wondered how he possibly could manage a kingdom of the heavens. It gave him a shudder when he thought about it.
They spent long days and long nights traveling west. They met many different people, with little conflicts now and then. Everyday, Elsa would tell a new story about how the heavens are like, and most of all, about herself and how she became leader of her group. Li on the other hand, started to pay less and less attention in what she said and more on Elsa Chang herself. He marveled on how considerate and kind she was to everyone. He liked her a lot, and that "like" turned into love. Elsa noticed and she started to worry. She should be his protector until he established rule and gain his powers needed to protect himself. The ruler of heaven shouldn't fall in love with a mere servant angel like herself. She was ashamed to have brought this. But the more time she spent with him, the more that thought dwindled to something of "I shouldn't, but I have fallen in love". They became inseparable. People that passed by them in the towns they went to, thought they were a married couple. They complimented them on how well they fit together and how kind and loving they were to one another. They'd blush and look away, but they never corrected them. Elsa continued to worry about the bad consequences that could follow from falling in love with Li. And one day, her concerns turned into worries that couldn't be avoided. Li noticed and asked her what was wrong. "It's just...maybe we shouldn't be doing this," she said, letting go of Li's hand and not meeting his gaze, "I have to leave you. You must know that, I'm dieing, all I'm going to do is cause you pain, and that will stop you from being the best ruler there could ever be."
"Don't say that! Do you know how much I love you? Every moment that I'm with you counts, I cherish every moment, and if there is anything I get out of being a ruler, is to make you alive and well. I'd do anything for you. This is why I'm here, this is why I want to be ruler...to be with you!" he said, trying to persuade her.
"No! I don't want you wasting your energy, power, and time to save me and or think of me when...I'm... gone!" she cried out in between sobs. Li took her in his arms and they held one another for quite some time.
They continued their journey later on that day, holding each other closer than before, letting not a moment past by them without it being cherished together. As days past, and they drew nearer to Gongxi, Elsa told Li of the dangers they could face. There was a guard at the entrance that was put there to guard to watch over the secret gate. Only a true ruler could defeat the guard. And worse of all, Xanlea could arrive.
On day 45, they reached the top of a very steep mountain, and there, they saw the entrance, marked by the words "Gongxi".
"We are finally here. But whatever happens, we will always be together, mentally and physically," Li said to Elsa. He took her hand and they both entered the cave. There, in front of a huge door was an old man, almost crippled like on the ground. Li immediately helped him up, and asked if he was all right. And then suddenly, the old man turned into a huge water dragon. "For your kindness, I grant you one power. Then I will challenge you, since I can see that you believe you are the future ruler of the heavens. Think wisely before you tell me the power you desire. You, Elsala Angeles, you must let him fend on his own, you are forbidden to help," said the wise old dragon. And thus, Elsa stepped aside to the rear of the cave entrance.
Many different thoughts raced through Li's mind. There were so many powers to choose from, ranging from invisibility to the ability to fly. "No, I need something that will help with the challenge. Something strategic," Li thought to himself.
"You are a smart old dragon who has lived his life serving this door, guarding it, waiting for the right person. And now, you may go home and rest in peace my good friend. For by asking me to choose a power, you ARE challenging me. So, in turn, I ask for the power to be good ruler of heaven!" he said triumphantly.
"To be good, is something of a merit. That is what is most important. Not that you have a certain amazing power, not to be a ruler or to have infinite power, but to be good, THAT is the key word. You are the one! As for granting you the power to be a good ruler, you have the power inside you, and it shows, just by asking for it," roared the great dragon. Elsa gasped with surprise by Li's luck of wisdom.
"I will now show you the way to the center of the cave," said the dragon. But the minute the huge iron door opened, a gust of wind surged through the cave. And who entered but Xanlea himself. Li could see the power he possessed, just by his presence, and immediately knew it was enemy.
"Thank you for opening the door. You're attendance is no longer needed," Xanlea said and with that, he swung his trident, hitting the ancient dragon. The dragon fell, grimaced in pain, changed back to his human form and died.
"Run Li!" Elsa screamed. She grabbed his hand, and both of them ran into the dark cave, with Xanlea following close behind.
"I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!" growled Xanlea.
"We're going to be stuck in here forever, without the dragon as a guide," Elsa said in anguish as they continued to run through the dark cave. After a long time of running, practically in circles, and out of breath, Elsa tripped and fell, completely exhausted. Upon falling, her hand touched upon a medium size rock. As she slowly stood up, she grabbed the rock for support. A bright light shone through the cave, once again, the same light that shone from the jade and Li. And then, a crack formed on the side of the cave and opened. Elsa and Li peered through the crack and discovered a huge fountain that shined of a bright green light. "Oh...my goodness!" screamed Elsa in shock, "Luck is with you, my love!"
The fountain was remarkable. A bit of steam was in the air that smelled of spring. Water was flowing out of nowhere, down through the little opening and magically around a little golden plate. Li went closer to the fountain to find that the plate was in the exact shape of the jade. "Hurry, you have to secure your throne! Put the jade on the plate" said Elsa hurriedly.
"But, you! What will happen to you when I do this? Tell me!" yelled Li, over the sound of the water.
"No, there isn't any time!" She took his hands, which was holding the jade, into her own and rushed over the fountain. Together, they placed the jade onto the plate.
And out of the water rose an ancient, long forgotten book. Li picked it up, seeing that the title was "My life as ruler of the heavens." He opened it up and magically, words flew out and displayed the following in front of Li: "Son, I see you have found your destiny. You have grown up without me by your side, but I hope this book will guide you on your way to becoming a GREAT ruler. I'm proud of you."
"This belonged to my father, I...never imagined it!" exclaimed Li.
"Ha ha too bad you won't be able to read it!" said Xanlea with an evil grin, who unfortunately found them. He held up his trident and was about to strike Li, who was so surprised and lost for words that he didn't even think of moving out of the way; only stood there, almost waiting to be killed. In that split second, Elsa jumped in front of Li and the trident struck her instead. She screamed in dreadful pain, but she grabbed the trident and with the last of her strength and power, pushed herself toward Xanlea, forcing the power of the trident onto Xanlea. The minute the trident hit Xanlea, he shattered and disappeared along with the trident.
All of this had happened in less than a minute and Li immediately realized that Xanlea was gone, and Elsa was about to die, he ran over to Elsa, picking her up in his arm and held her close. "No, you can't! You can't die on me! I should have died, not you! Not you! Speak to me Elsa!" he said with tears in his eyes.
"It'll be ok, don't be sad. I was dieing nevertheless, but at least I died for YOU," she said in a small whispered voice. She reached up and kissed Li. A scream of heartbreak broke out from Li as the kiss ended with Elsa dead in his arms. The entire cave shook as if it felt his pain. And then the jade, once again, became full of light and life. It shone brightly and changed into a small necklace. It flew over Elsa, dancing around her once more as it once had when she was in the coffin, and then fell around Li's neck. He could feel himself grow as if he possessed infinite power. He felt light as if he could float. But he resisted the urge to try. Li looked down at the jade and said, "You are part of my life now. But Elsa, she IS my life. Don't you understand? How can destiny say I must be ruler but not have the person I love, be part of it!?" he said in tears, "Please, show me, give me the power to heal her. She told me once that I shouldn't use my power to try to save her. But I must try, and you, my jade, you must help me!" He kissed her and held out his hand over her heart. He thought of the bright light that shone on the jade and on himself, he thought of the first time he saw Elsa, how they fell in love and how she risked her life for his. He prayed and hoped. And then amazingly, his hands shone with that remarkably and unmistakable bright light once more. He could feel the power of the light flow from him to Elsa, and slowly Elsa returned to life. She coughed and whispered his name.
"I'm here, I'm right here," he said, holding her more closely.
"You saved me? How? I thought I was dead. I felt myself drift and I could hear my fellow angel sisters calling to me. But then, I heard you! You were praying and calling for me to return. And I fought back the desire to see my sisters."
"I asked the jade to help me and it did! You see," he said, showing her the jade that had turned into a small necklace. "What is it like to...be an angel? Because I feel oddly lightheaded," he said with a grin of curiosity. Elsa laughed with joy to be alive, but also because her powers had returned as well. She felt like her real self. She stood up and took Li's hand. And then they started to rise from the ground. The cave opened up and they soared through the sky feeling free. They flew through clouds, relaxing and having fun. Li felt like he was home there, in the sky. And he recognized that it was the same feeling he had when he first rose from the ground the night his mother had kicked him out of the house. With the book in one hand, Elsa's in the other, they rose to the very top of the clouds and where there was a huge assembly of angels waiting for him. Li and Elsa landed, and he looked down and noticed that he was able to stand on a cloud! Elsa nudged him to go forward. He stepped toward the angels and as if he knew what he was going to say all of his life. He loudly announced, "My fellow angels, I am LiXing, son to my father the former ruler, PhaXing, and now, your new ruler of the heavens! I bring you news and reassurance that all will be well. Together we can end all corruption, and evil. We can help each other! I hope you can accept me and know that I need as much help from you as you need from me."
The angels were shocked. He sounded exactly like PhaXing, who they admired so much for his wisdom and consideration to others, and acted as a father to all. They bowed and smiled with welcomed love to LiXing. Li and Elsa were shocked as well, especially Li, for he didn't even know his full name a few minutes before. They lead Li to his new home, with Elsa right beside him.
LiXing, like his father, became known for many great things he accomplished and did over the thousands of years that he ruled. And when LiXing died, he became known as one of the greatest rulers of heaven.