As the bright sun beat down on the village with fiery intensity, the thirteen-year-old Chen watched from his hiding place as the innkeeper stormed out of his tavern, waving his right fist in the air furiously.

"You little scoundrel. I'll find you."

Behind the taverner was his assistant, holding a grey bag which Chen recognized all too well. It was his swapped bag of pebbles. He held his breath and observed them in total silence. He was tired of this life. His unaligned scavenger life. There was nowhere he could fit in. Nobody wanted him. The villagers chased him away whenever he tried to take their unwanted and discarded food. Some even tried to remove his curse by subjecting him to cleansing ordeals. Could he blame them for treating him like a plague? Maybe he was a plague. If only he could fend for himself and his sick father. If only his soul was awakened.

Watching the two men, he could only imagine what the innkeeper would do this time around if he was caught. His last ordeal was still fresh in his memories. He had barely escaped with his precious life. He had treated him like a cursed scaran. But this time around, he had prepared well in advance. Yet he could still get caught. Ever since failing his second and last rite three years ago, he had been living this way. Yet he was no thief. Chen consoled himself he was only borrowing them. Even if they were unwanted food and herbs. They would all be returned with extras once he had enough of his own. He continued to monitor the two men who kept on searching for any traces of his whereabouts.

Following a series of curses and angry shouts, the inkeeper finally gave in. He took something from his pouch and gave it to his assistant, followed by some instructions. After the innkeeper had gone back inside and the assistant had left, Chen let out a soft breath of relief. He glanced at his prized bag and gently stroked it. That was too close, he thought. Next time, he might not be so fortunate, but there was no alternative until his father would recover. He heaved the bag on his shoulder and headed home. For the night, his sick father would have the needed herbs and food.

On his way home, he glanced at the misty Heavenly Forest to his left. The sacred home of the spark of Changxi, their fallen patron goddess. There were rumours the place had high grade medicinal plants, but the dangers of the area were far too great for any dwellers to handle. Only the goddess' priests and acolytes could withstand the magical power of the place. Not to mention if he was caught entering the sacred Forest Of Heavens, the consequences would be dire. If only he could get some medicinal plants for his father, Chen thought. He sighed as he continued walking.

Half way home, his legs nearly gave way when he saw a familiar sight. A group of young hunters, leaving the seeker's clearing. He recognized them well enough. The newly aligned young hunters of the Wei clan. They were led by Bai, the fourth son of Wei Bojing, the village's chief elder and the leader of the largest and most powerful clan in the village of Tang. The group was a constant thorne in his aching flesh.

Why are they still here at this time? Chen asked himself.

He knew they should have left the training ground by now. A troubling development for him. He had planned to go in for the bag and wait till the hunter's clearing was empty before going home. The crucial part of his plan was to avoid the Wei kids by all means. And he had waited a long time in his hideout to make sure of that. Yet troubles waited for him.

Cautiously, he glanced at the group. From their looks, they were already in a foul mood. He sensed troubles heading his way. All the villagers knew well to avoid any confrontation with the members of the Wei clan. Especially the angry ones. Their actions were really troublesome. For him, it was even worse. He remembered when he had wandered too close to the hunter's training centre. A practice target he had become. For many days he was bedridden.

Quickly, he increased his pace and moved to the other side of the road, away from the immediate sight of the young hunters. Maybe, he could sneak pass them. But despite his best effort, they swiftly cut off his path. It was as if they were expecting him. Mind still in turmoil, Chen heard the dreaded voice of Bai.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? It's the village scum. The sneaky scoundrel himself. Oh, you're not even a true scoundrel. When we thought the day couldn't be better, suddenly, here you are. Well, too bad for you."

Not again. Chen thought. He could imagine the ordeal awaiting him this time around if they got hold of him again. His hoard of precious herbs and food would certainly be gone. Whether they were unwanted food or not, the Wei group wouldn't care. He shook his head. He couldn't allow that to happen. Not today when his father was seriously ill.

He glanced at the way he came and saw that it was blocked too. His eyes darted around furiously in their sockets as he weighed his options. He could run, but never could he outrun them. Hunters who had already performed their soul awakening. They were stronger and faster.

"A word just reached us for your capture. Well, to recover what you stole. Not that we believe them of course. We just want to confirm your innocence," Bai said before signalling one of the other boys, "Take his bag. Let's see what the scum got today."

A quick look around without a single word, Chen made a run for the nearest place he could think of. The sacred Heavenly Forest. He heard pounding footsteps behind him but didn't stop. He was almost at the sacred forest when something hit him on the back. A slingshot or a blow? He couldn't tell.

The impact knocked him into the cover of the trees before hitting the floor hard. It took him several, long, minutes to regain himself. Groggily, he opened his eyes and noticed the forest was filled with denser blue-green haze of mist. Heavens magic mist, some said, conjured by the guardian of the forest.

Only the village's priests were allowed to enter the woods without suffering the consequences. His father had told him about the guardian of the forest. A forgotten spirit whose magic still lingered on in its afterlife. With great difficulty, he managed to get up on his feet before looking around. All other parts of the forest had disappeared, except for a lightened path which formed to his right.

As he wondered if he was awake or dreaming, he heard a compelling whisper, coming from the other end of the narrow way. Drawn by its power, Chen followed it until he came to a small place where the light from above met the luminance from below. Transfixed on the image before him, he lost awareness of time. Never had he seen anything like that. At the centre of the light was a phantom figure he couldn't make out.

"I've been expecting you, Chen. Come," the figure said in a soft but commanding voice.

Chen saw nothing but the light. It was calling to him. Soon after he entered the light, he lost his consciousness. An hour later, he woke up to find himself at the edge of the sacred forest, facing the rocky hillside.

He couldn't remember how he got to that part of the forest, but was happy to have escaped the problematic group of the Wei kids. He was even happier when he saw his bag of hoarded herbs and food. He quickly checked it and smiled satisfactorily. Everything was still there. Right now, that was the most important thing to him. For the time being, he decided to avoid going to the village centre. Squinting his eyes, he could make out the outline of his home on the far side of the sacred forest.

"Papa, I'm back," Chen said expectantly as he opened the bamboo door to their little hut.

Receiving no answer, he knew something was wrong. He dropped his bag in a loud thud and hurried to his father's side. The former acolyte lay on the bamboo bed, unresponsive. His eyes tightly closed.

Overcame with fright, Chen shook his father's body and called out to him again, "Papa!"

Without wasting time, he crushed all the healing herbs together and mixed them with the Sage Water from the Shallow Grass river. After getting a rough mixture of the herbs, he poured it into his father's mouth. Several minutes later, his father regained a bit of himself before drifting off again. At that moment, he knew his father was dying from the mysterious sickness. But he wasn't going to watch his father die without him doing something, anything. There was only one place left for him to go in order to save his father from the hands of death.

The Heavenly Forest.