Ah, it has been many years since I have heard that story. I suppose time does seem to continue moving onward no matter what is happening in one's life. I hope that one day, Māmā, Bàba, and I can all sit around the fire once more and tell stories like we did when I was a little girl. For now, I must think about other ways to help Māmā collect more firewood needed for the furnaces; I thought as I lugged a stack of sticks over my shoulders. I hurried back home before the sun could sit in the middle of the sky, making the day blazing hot and more tiresome to haul firewood to the wood house.
I walked on the village outskirts so no one could stop me and talk my ear off about the most recent news about the war. It is sadly all that anyone talks about anymore, even though the fight started over three years ago. Heh, three years ago, huh? I thought. It feels as though this war has been happening my whole life now at this point. That was when…; I stopped my thoughts there. I don't wish to think about it anymore at this moment. Bàba wouldn't want me to think about these sad thoughts now, would he? I held back my tears and continued as fast as I could home. Letting the sadness and rage become my fuel to push me there.
The Demon War, as it is known, began when the Demon Lord from Hell opened up the portals to the mortal plain—releasing all of his army and leaving the doorways open for more demonic creatures to surface and cause havoc on the earth. He aims to enslave humanity and eventually take down the Heavens above to rule over all. Many people fought back and continued to retaliate for his reign. This refusal to give in to his demands has kept the Demon Lord from reaching his goal. Because of this, all eligible men who could wield or learn to wield a weapon were recruited to the Grand Emperor's Army, which included my father. It left many villages defenseless to the demonic attacks. Many were destroyed, while others joined together and learned to defend themselves. Our village has been primarily unharmed by the demonic forces and has taken many refugees from the war. Many believe it is due to the village being out of the Demon Lord's way, but I know it is not because of this. It is due to the continuous power and blessing of the White Phoenix.
As usual, Māmā was at the furnaces, hammering away at the new order of horseshoes. She no longer dressed as femininely as she once did when I was a child. She learned how easy it was to dirty her clothes doing this line of work quickly. It was also not fun to help wash out all those stains. She wore a simple tunic and trousers that could be dirtied whenever needed. She had to hem some of Bàba's older clothes down to be able to use them.
"Nǐ hǎo Māmā! How are the new horseshoes coming along?" I asked her.
She continued to pound away as she replied, "So far, all is well! I believe this is my best patch yet! Zi Rui said adding a little copper to the iron was better. It seems to have made them stronger and more durable. Clever as always, that boy is. Do not tell him I said that though Yī nuò, he will never let me hear the end of that!"
I nodded towards her and put the pile of sticks beside me to rest my arms. I looked at my mother before me and saw a woman I wouldn't have recognized three years ago. A woman dressed in men's clothing and covered in soot! She would have been horrified by what she has become now if her past self could have seen the future. She cut her hair shorter and held it high to avoid the flames and liquid metal. She also did not wear makeup anymore, for she did not have the time to do so now. It seems as though Māmā has finally shed the mannerisms of a lady. I suppose this was bound to happen if she had to continue the work my father had left behind, especially when the demand for horses and horseshoes was on the rise now, I thought.
"Māmā, I am going to put the firewood in the wood house and then get ready to help you, alright?" I said as I picked up the sticks again and headed south of the furnaces. Once I placed the bundle inside the house, I gazed around to see how much wood we still had left. There were only a couple dozen logs and a handful of kindling left. There's not much to last this upcoming winter. I suppose I will have to make another big wood run with Si Yu soon; I pondered as I closed the door to the wood house.
I entered the main house and put on my work clothes to help my mother. We spent the rest of the day by the furnaces making horseshoes until sunset. When the sun was on the cusp of setting, we let the furnaces cool down so they could not cause issues at night. We then returned to the house to make dinner and finally relax for the day. A simple meal of rice and fish-filled our stomachs that night. My mother and I talked throughout the meal about many things until it was time to rest.
The following day, there was an urgent-sounding knock on our door. The knock got progressively louder and more rapid when I got to the door to answer it. Mrs. Zhou, Si Yu's mother and our neighbor, stood before me in a panic-stricken state.
"Nǐ hǎo Yī nuò, is your mother awake as well? You both are needed in town for an urgent village meeting. There is important news that all of the villagers must hear. I urge you both to hurry over as quickly as you can", implored Mrs. Zhou.
"Of course, I will get her immediately, and we will hurry! Thank you very much, Mrs. Zhou, for telling us", I said.
"Of course, my dear, now I must tell the others. I will be there shortly to join you all once I have done so. Until then, Yī nuò," she said swiftly, leaving the front gate before I could shut the front door again. I headed towards my mother's room to wake her and tell her the news. However, before I could knock on her door, she opened it and was fully clothed for the day.
"Good morning, Yī nuò. I overheard you and Mrs. Zhou talking. So I got dressed as quickly as possible. I'll make a quick and light breakfast for us to eat while we walk down there. Go ahead and hurry up, getting dressed, please", my mother said as she walked past me and towards the kitchens. I did as she asked quickly, and we both were out of the house with rice balls in hand and headed towards the village meeting hall.
When we arrived at the meeting hall, what awaited us there was the cacophonous sound of early morning chatter. All of the people of the village were women, children, and elderly, as well as any men who were sent back home due to various conditions that made them unable to fight in the war. With hardly any men in the village, the women and elderly carried on the men's duties and continued the work of their duties as well. Over time, everyone eventually forgot the older ways of living and began to work together for the village's survival. All noise in the hall finally stopped once the head village elder entered the room. Once she stood on her podium, all bowed their heads in unison before sitting down. The Head Village Elder lifted a bundle of cloth and then cleared her throat before speaking.
"Good morning everyone. My apologies for urgently awakening you, but I bring distressing news." She unfolded a bundle of cloth, and we saw were black tree limbs, "These limbs were found in the Eternal White Forest. They were attached to a pure black tree at the forest's edge. When burned, these limbs create a toxic fume that harms and could even kill someone if inhaled. The trees, both pure and not pure, around the black one have also begun to darken in color like the black one. This has made the other elders and I believe this corruption is spreading to any nearby tree. We are still not sure what is causing the trees to become corrupted. Still, it can only be due to the continued presence of the Demon Lord and his demonic army.
"As we all have heard in our youth, the Great White Phoenix once blessed these lands before from demonic corruption. However, due to this", she gestured towards the blackened limb again, "I, as well as the other village elders, do not believe the blessing is with us anymore. For over three years, we have been kept at bay from the war, the real effects of it. We have been protected by The Eternal White Forest and the Phoenix's Blessing, making our village a small haven from Demon Lord's influences. It has helped us greatly and to those who came to us seeking our aid. I dread to say this, but I believe the Phoenix's Blessing does not have enough power to continue onward from this point on." She paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "With this rate of corruption being close to our village, I fear we won't have enough firewood to make it during this coming winter."
Many people gasped out of fear. However, she continued, "I ask you all here this morning to warn you of this and ask for your aid in making a plan. I will listen to any suggestions in earnest," announced the Head Village Elder. Many began shouting answers, such as moving away, quickly chopping all the wood down, and even cutting down some of the houses for firewood. Some even suggested drastic solutions, such as throwing out all the refugees and only saving ourselves. The hall ensued with arguments all along the room. I looked towards my mother and saw her face in total shock and disbelief. What I planned on doing next would make this even worse. I stood up and waited for the Head Elder to acknowledge my presence. She saw me standing patiently, demanded the hall be silent, and gestured towards me.
"My sincerest gratitude, Head Elder, for allowing me to speak," I said. At the same time, I bowed to her, "I propose a suggestion that may seem outlandish, but there is a great possibility it could work. If I may be so bold, allow me to venture into the forest to look for a descendant of the White Phoenix and ask them for a phoenix feather. If I could retrieve one, it could warm the meeting hall for the whole winter. Doing so would limit the use of firewood and allow us to use it only when we need to. It would be a lower risk for the village to lose one person and a possible high reward for us all if successful."
The hall erupted with laughter and yelling of obscene words. Many began calling me an insolent child, and others said what I proposed was preposterous and ignorant. "There were no more phoenixes; look at the state of the forest," some screamed. I stood there, took their criticism, and awaited the Head Elders' words.
"Enough!" screamed the Head Elder, "Yī nuò's proposition is not horrible. For if there is a Demon Lord amongst us, why couldn't there be more phoenixes?" The room was silent again.
"Yī nuò, what you say would be true if you succeed. However, tell me, what do you suggest we do while we wait for your possible return or if you fail?" the Head Elder demanded from me.
I thought about my following words carefully, then said, "While I am away, everyone should start working on moving into houses near one another, especially if they are closer to the village, as well as combining their firewood and food. The fewer houses that need to be warmed up this winter, the more we can save our firewood. As some have suggested, even tearing down older buildings or unused ones will give us a larger stockpile of wood. We can overcome this, everyone. We need to believe in one another and unite. Like the White Phoenix had the villagers do in the past."
The Head Village Elder sat and listened to what I said carefully, then pondered my request more thoroughly. During this time, the other villagers began whispering with one another. Some were in agreement with this idea, while others wanted nothing to do with it at all. My mother still sat there stunned and mouth agape towards me. Pure disbelief filled her eyes, but something else that I had seen and experienced once before myself. Fear. Pure fear for someone they love and possibly never seeing them again. Then, the Elder silenced the room once more. She had come to her deliberation.
"Our young and noble Yī nuò has offered to venture into the Eternal White Forest to retrieve a feather from a phoenix and offers us another solution to see us through this winter if she fails. I leave this to everyone here to vote. If you agree with this plan, raise your hand now," the Elder commanded. Many shot up their hands in agreement immediately, while others, like my mother and friend Si Yu, did not.
Then, out of my eyes, I saw my mother raising her hand. She did so shakingly and timidly but held her ground firmly. She held my hand with her free one and looked me in the eyes, giving me the look she gave my father before he left. The look of her giving her approval and believing I can do it. Other naysayers saw her, and they, too, lifted their hands slowly along with her. Eventually, everyone had their hands raised in a unanimous vote of agreement.
"Then it is settled then. Yī nuò will have the rest of today to prepare for her journey; she will leave tomorrow at first light. Everyone else will begin preparing for shared housing in the village and move all resources to the meeting hall. A group of people will begin harvesting trees; if you encounter any black or darkened trees, leave the area immediately and head in the opposite direction. Another group will search for old or unused buildings around the village and outskirts. Mark them somehow so another group can know where they are and quickly begin to tear them down. Now get to it, everyone! We do not have all day!" the Head Village Elder yelled.
The villagers got up, formed groups as instructed, and quickly began to do what was commanded of them. My mother, Mrs. Zhou, Si Yu, and I all grouped up together and headed back to my home in wordless agreement. No one tried to dissuade or plead with me not to leave, for they couldn't. They knew that my mind was made up and that the village agreed. I couldn't refuse my commitment to the villagers, especially now. I was like my father in that way.
They helped me pack for my long journey ahead. We filled a pouch of food, water, clothing, and some flint and steel for easier firemaking. My mother then handed me my father's old bow and jian sword that he had left behind for us to use if we needed them. I did not want to take both of them with me and leave her mostly defenseless, but I knew she wouldn't let me go if I didn't take them with me. I accepted them from her wordlessly and held them tightly. We then prepared our final meal together for a long while: Peking Duck, which we saved for a special occasion. We all ate in silence, accepting the fate that had been placed on all of our shoulders. Eventually, Mrs. Zhou and Si Yu headed back to their home and said they would meet with us again before I departed in the morning. We all slept restlessly that night.
The following day rose quickly. I was awoken by a soft knock from my mother, telling me it was time to get up. I quickly got dressed and gathered everything that would be needed for my journey. I headed out the door, and before me stood all of the village. Their heads bowed towards me in respect when I approached the front gate, including the Head Village Elder. She then rose from her bow and hugged me, as well as a blessing for good fortune. I headed toward the forest's edge and was stopped by a tug on my arm before I could enter. I turned around and saw tears in my mother's eyes.
"My Yī nuò, my little promise, please come back to us. Even if you do not find the feather, that is okay. Promise me you will be back before the first snowfall, please", my mother, who had not spoken to me since yesterday morning, begged me.
"I promise Māmā. You have my word", I said. I kissed her on the cheek and gave her one final hug before venturing into the forest before me.
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