"Chen'er, don't pick the plums before they are ripe!" A woman's warm voice came from across the orchard.
She stood with a woven basket at her side. Her long silver hair hung in a simple braid. Wearing plain linen clothes, she looked like a quiet village woman.
"I just want to try them!" Li Chen called from a branch above.
He picked a plum, took a bite, and his face twisted.
"Sour! Ahhh...!" He fell on the ground, still holding a plum in his grip.
"Hehe... Serves you right," Lin Yue laughed, brushing the dirt from his cheek with her sleeve.
A tall man watched them from a short distance. His arms looked strong from years of farm work. His eyes showed there was more to him than that. Li Kai, a husband, a father, and also a Holy Body possessor.
For years their life stayed quiet. No sects, no battles, no gods. Only the sun, the soil, and peace.
That night Lin Yue sat by candlelight in their wooden home. She looked at the stars. But today, one of them blinked in a strange way.
"Li Kai,"
He walked to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You saw it too?"
"It is a signal, they found me. The Lin family or someone even stronger, I'm not sure."
"After all this time?" His jaw tightened.
"I cut off my spirit connection even lost half of my strength, but pride in the Upper Realm runs deep. I was meant to marry into the Bai Clan. But I ran away with you instead. To them that is a shame they won't forget... they can't."
"Then we leave," he said. "We find a safer place."
She shook her head. "Not this time. They sent someone far stronger than us. We will not even see them coming."
He held her hand. "Then let me go with you."
"You cannot. Your holy bloodline is too risky. If they find out who you are…" She stopped speaking.
He looked her dazed face and pulled her closer. "Then let me protect you. One more time."
The next morning Li Chen saw his parents waiting by the stream.
"Chen'er," Leaning against her husband, Lin Yue called.
Li Kai placed a jade pendant in his son's hand. It glowed with golden runes. "This was your grandfather's. Never take it off. If anything happens, it will protect you."
"Dad, what is going on? Why are acting like this?" Li Chen asked, clutching the jade pendant in his hand.
Before anyone spoke, the sky over Liang Village turned dark. The wind roared. Birds flew away. Within a few seconds, the whole surroundings turned into a calamity-prone area.
Then a thunderous voice rolled down from the clouds.
"Lin Yue. You have brought shame to the Lin Family. Your punishment... We'll discuss it later."
A huge hand came down from the sky. Its force split trees and pushed the river backward.
"NO!" Li Kai shouted. He stepped in front of Lin Yue.
The seal on his bloodline had now shattered.
"Li Kai, don't!" Lin Yue cried. "You will die!"
"I would rather die than lose you!"
Golden light burst from his hands. He jumped into the air and struck the giant hand. The land shook. The light burned the sky. For a moment the giant hand stopped, then it came down harder.
"Father!" Li Chen yelled, running toward him as fast as he could.
When the dust cleared, Li Kai lay broken and bleeding.
"Why?" Lin Yue's voice shook. She had already appeared beside him, placing his head on her lap.
"Because I love you," He looked at her, then at their son. "Chen'er, live. Become so strong you can break the heavens if you must."
The voice above echoed again. "We only want the woman."
Chains of gold wrapped around Lin Yue and dragged her.
"Mother! No!" Li Chen ran toward her. He extended his hand to grab her, but the golden hand pulled her into the sky.
She turned to him one last time. "Remember. You are more than this realm..."
Her voice stopped. The clouds faded, leaving behind a dead body and a few tears on the ground.
That night Li Chen knelt at his father's grave. The pendant pulsed in his hand, the last gift that his father gave him.
"I will find you. Both of you. Even if I must fight gods."
Above the village, the stars seemed to stir.