Prologue to the Legend of Nanshao
In the south of the Celestial Empire, there was once a beautiful kingdom that was surrounded by thousands of mountains and rivers.
This kingdom was known as Nanshao.
Very few people knew the history of this country, and they had never heard of the legends of this country.
There were only some stories that were sung by people of unknown dynasties and generations that were passed down in the Miao people's loud and clear songs. These songs echoed through the clouds, echoing and winding in the valley. The echoes seemed to never disappear. They gradually spiraled up toward the clouds, perhaps reaching the sky and being heard by the immortals.
"Why are the Miao people singing in the valley?”
Before the Miao elders recited the legend, they had to ask the children first.
The children would definitely answer loudly,"In order to let Phoenix hear it!"
The old Miao clansman plucked the strings and asked in a cold voice,"Will the phoenix return after hearing the song? Would he bring back a beautiful princess and a brave warrior?”
The children wanted to hear the legend. They were anxious and said,"I will, I will."
Therefore, the Miao people began to play the lingering zither and sang,
"Nanshao is a beautiful paradise. The dew on the grass is as bright as the stars in the sky. Each family had a large piece of land, with golden rice and pigtailed seedlings!”
"The entire mountain range of Yunnan is the crown of the gods. Nanshao is the shining diamond on the crown, placed in the center.”
"One day, invaders came from afar, killed our people, and burned our houses. What fell on the grass were not dewdrops, but the tears of the girls and the blood of the warriors.”
"The Miao warriors repelled the invaders, but half of them were dead. Only half of the battlefield was left alive. The second time, the invaders came again. This time, they brought evil gods. Black demonic winds blew and red blood rain fell. The wind was poisonous, and so was the rain. Beautiful nations are now filled with poison, and the gods weep for it.”
"The furious Celestial Thearch sent out the five Gods of Water, Fire, Wind, Thunder, and Mountain, as well as the Celestial Thearch's daughter, Hanba, to defeat the Evil God. The evil gods were repelled and the violent barbarians escaped. However, Hanba and the gods fell in love with this land and were unwilling to return to heaven.”
"The Water God clapped his hands and laughed in the billowing waves, not hearing the frightened cries of the Miao people. The God of Fire danced in the flames, ignoring the Miao people's bones that were burned to ashes in the fire. The wind blew up houses, cattle, and sheep. Trees fell, crushing many people to death. Thunder God kept playing drums and playing music, but the remaining Miao people were so scared that they hid in the cave and hugged each other in fear.”
"All of this is not as good as Hanba walking lightly once. As long as Hanba's skirt swept across the land, it would become an eternal wasteland. Her body was filled with the most scorching death, turning the green color into scorch. She evaporated the water 1,000 feet underground into the sun. The livestock were all dead, and the wolves on the mountain rushed down to eat the dead pigs and dogs, as well as the people who were not dead.”
"So the Miao people cried again. When the barbarians came, they could pray to the gods. Now that the one who hurt them was a god, who should they pray to?”
When the old clansman sang to this point, the children who were listening on the grass widened their eyes in anxiety. They closed their mouths tightly and did not dare to make a sound. It was as if the land they were familiar with had become desolate. Corpses and skeletons were everywhere. Terrifying wolves stared at them with blood-red eyes as they slowly patrolled their dilapidated homes.
The old clansman plucked the strings of his zither, and the sorrowful wrinkles on his face suddenly turned into a smile. He said in Elder Qian's voice,"
"Are the poor Miao people going to perish? No! The gods could ignore the Miao people, but the mother of the Miao people would reach out her loving hand and chase away the man-eating wolf.”
All the children laughed. This was a story they had heard countless times. It was also at this moment that the old clansman would ask,"Who is the mother of the Miao people?"
All the children would answer loudly,"It's Nuwa!"
The old clansman plucked the strings and continued to chant,""Nüwa lives in the farthest sky, managing the morning light and the evening glow. Her face was as bright as the dawn and the rosy clouds, her eyes were as gentle as the moon, and her heart was as soft as the stamens of flowers that emerged in spring.”
"But Nüwa's courage was like the collapse of 999 mountains. No one could stop her.”
" She heard the cries of the Miao people, so she rushed from the furthest and furthest Heavenly Palace to the Human Realm. She collected the water, fire, wind, thunder, and mountain into the five spiritual pearls and chased Hanba back to the heavens, so that they would never be able to wreak havoc in the human world again.”
"The Celestial Thearch was very angry when he found out and forbade Nüwa from returning to heaven. Nüwa had lost the qualifications to be a god and was about to face death. King Miao built a temple for the great Nuwa and took care of her.”
"The auspicious Kirin and Phoenix came to the temple to serve Nüwa. When Nüwa gradually grew old and died, her heart turned into a pearl. The phoenix hatched, the qilin guarded, and after a hundred years, a peerless beauty finally grew out of the pearl. She had the same appearance as Goddess Nvywa. She knew everything about the past and everything about the future. She also knew the incantation of the five spiritual pearls and the past when Goddess Nvywa died of old age alone in the human world for the sake of the five spiritual pearls.”
"Prince Miao made her a female priest to protect Nan Shao in Nüwa's place. Once, when there was no rain for a whole year, the female priest took out the Water Spirit Pearl and summoned the distant river water. The river water rushed up to the sky and fell on the land of Nanshao. There was once when locusts as many as sand flew from the east. The female priest took out the Fire Spirit Pearl and summoned the flames from the distant volcano to burn all the pests.”
However, the priestess was not a goddess. She was a human, so she fell in love with another human. They gave birth to another pearl, and the Kirin and the Phoenix took care of the next descendant of Nüwa.”
The children already knew the whole story, but they still had to say noisily,"Then, hundreds of years passed! There were a total of seven descendants of Mother Nuwa!”
The old man sighed, and the sound of the zither was faint.
"After several hundred years, under the protection of the seventh female priest, the Miao people on the mountain and by the water's edge increased. They covered all the mountains and all the waters. However, they were also divided into black seedlings and white seedlings. Sometimes they loved each other, but sometimes they quarreled.”
"The Nuwa Temple is by the river, so the new female priest is a Bai Miao. One day, the warriors of the Black Sprout rushed to the temple and begged the female priest to save the Black Sprout. It turned out that there was a big fire on the mountain. The ominous black smoke filled the sky, and the clothes of the God of Death enveloped the palace. The female priest hurriedly brought the Water Spirit Pearl and used her boundless magic power to set off a thousand-mile-long wave, extinguishing the flames in the field. However, for some reason, the water kept flooding. The residents of Bai Miao cried for help in the waves. Their houses were washed down and their families were separated.”
"The female priest vaguely saw a monster rolling in the water. She knew that this was a monster causing trouble. After summoning the Water Spirit Pearl, the female priest was exhausted and did not have the strength to fight the monster away. However, she heard the cries of her people, so she ignored everything and bit the sword in her mouth, diving into the water to fight the monster.”
" The female priest and the monster fought underwater. One moment, it was a huge wave that rushed up for half a day, and the next moment, it was a boiling wave. After seven days and seven nights, the water finally calmed down. I don't know if the monster or the female priest died.”
"All the people prayed and prayed, hoping that the female priest would swim out of the water and be safe. Gradually, the water receded, but there was still no sign of the female priest. The Black Miao King was anxious. He sent out all his soldiers to look for the female priest everywhere. Including the king himself. He personally walked through the mountains, through the thorns, and through the dangerous swamps. He finally found the dying female priest in the mud.”
"The Blacksprout King was overjoyed. He was a great warrior, but he was so happy that he cried. He carried the female priest's weak body and returned to the capital. He took care of her personally every day, watched her take medicine, and asked someone to play music for her. When the female priest regained her beauty and divine power, she became the queen of the Black Miao King. From then on, the Black Miao and the White Miao were a family again. They were the common king and queen of the Black Miao and the White Miao, which was also the Witch King and Witch Empress.”
"The Witch King and the Witch Empress lived a loving life and gave birth to another pearl…"
" A pearl gives birth to a beautiful princess. The princess 'skin is like the snow that never melts in the Heavenly Mountain. The princess' fragrance is like the ice water that has just melted in the spring river. The princess 'laughter makes the orioles sing along with her and makes the commoners outside the city smile. The Shaman King loved the princess as if he loved his own life. The Miao people loved the princess as if she was their own child.”
"But one day, the water poured in from the distant sea and poured down from the dark sky, flooding the Miao people's homes. The High Sect Master of the Black Sprout Tribe asked the Witch Empress to cast a spell to quell the flood, but the Witch Empress was helpless. The Miao people were extremely disappointed. Could it be that the sacred Witch Empress had lost her magic power?”
All the children held their breaths. They knew that what was about to happen next was a truly tragic story, a legend that would last forever in Nanshao.
The old clansman's zither music was even more sorrowful. It was like a knife cutting through the cold air, making it difficult for people to even breathe." The Shaman King suddenly imprisoned the Witch Empress and the Princess at the bottom of the water prison and took away the Witch Empress 'Snake Staff.”
"Why did you imprison the great Witch Empress? Why did he imprison the pure princess? The Miao people cried and asked."
"The Black Sprout's Moon Worship Sect Master said that the Witch Empress can't quell the flood because she's not the real Witch Empress but a demon.”
"Black Miao's Moon Worship Sect Master said that the female priest from before is already dead. It was the snake demon that took on the appearance of the female priest and married the shaman king. The princess she gave birth to is also a demon. He had personally seen the Witch Empress climb to the peak of the capital in the dark night and absorb the essence of the people. That was why she was so beautiful!”
"The Black Miao's Moon Worship Sect Master also said that the flood in Nan Shao was summoned by the Witch Empress. The Witch Empress is a snake demon woman, and the demons are her subjects. He had seen with his own eyes that the Witch Empress had used an evil spell to awaken the Magical Beasts in the gale. That's why Nan Shao is in trouble."
"Black Miao's Moon Worship Sect Master forced the Shaman King to kill the princess, but the phoenix carried the princess and flew into the sky, disappearing into the clouds.”
"The warriors of the Black Sprout were furious. They surrounded the palace on the mountain and wanted the Shaman King to kill the Shaman Empress. They surrounded the temple by the water and set fire to Nvguo's statue.”
The warriors of the White Sprout were furious. They gathered to fight against the Black Sprout. The White Sprout and the Black Sprout started fighting again. The brothers killed their own brothers, and the fathers and sons killed their own fathers and sons. The ancient Nuwa, the seven generations of priests, who were sleeping under the land where the stars grew, also woke up and sighed sadly.”
" The Witch Empress in the dungeon heard the laments of her ancestors and the cries of her people dying. The Witch Empress can only shed tears of sadness."
"King! The Witch Empress said with tears in her eyes," The Spiritual Pearl has been stolen, and I can't quell the flood. Please let me duel with the Magical Beast!"”
"But the Shaman King refused to release the Witch Empress, and the Witch Empress had no choice. The people's killing and the Magical Beasts 'clamor tore the Witch Empress' heart apart. She hoped that she would turn into a stone statue and coldly forget all her sorrow.”
At this moment, the children's eyes widened. They knew that the Miao people would not perish, just like how the Witch Empress would not die.
"The Witch Empress prayed to Nüwa day and night. Nüwa heard her poor daughter's voice and sent the bravest man in the world.”
"Outside the temple filled with water and smoke, the legendary hero appeared. He was like the wind, like a shadow, he could go wherever he wanted.”
"He entered the palace and found the Witch Empress's lost staff. He entered the dungeon and rescued the Witch Empress, who was trapped in a place where all the darkness gathered.”
" The Witch Empress retrieved the Snake Staff, and she ran out of the dungeon with the legendary hero. When they arrived outside the palace, they met the panic-stricken Witch King and the Moon Worship Sect Master. The Moon Worship Sect Master called many warriors to attack the Witch Empress and the legendary hero. These warriors were all killed by the hero, dying one by one in the main hall of the palace and on the stairs of the palace. The Moon Worship Sect Master pulled the Shaman King and fled to the highest Jadeite Altar. There was no way out.”
"The Shaman King asked the Shaman Empress, are you really a witch? Do you really want to kill me?”
"The Witch Empress said with tears in her eyes,'My King, you don't believe in the sun in the sky, but you are close to the glow of will-o'-the-wisps! You treat the descendants of the God Clan as demons, but treat demons as your confidants and brothers! You drove away your beloved wife and beloved daughter, but you got close to your murderer and enemy. But, my king, I still regard you as my sun, my heart!”
"This pair of Moon Worship Sect Masters suddenly stabbed the Shaman King's heart from behind!”
"The Witch King's blood splattered on the Witch Empress's body. The Moon Worship Sect Master wanted to escape, but he was killed by the legendary hero.”
" The Witch Empress looked at the torrential flood in the distance. She knew that the warriors of the Black Sprout did not mean to harm her. She also knew that the warriors of the White Sprout still respected her. She also knew that the Witch King still loved her and their princess deeply. Thus, the Witch Empress jumped down from the Jadeite Altar. Just like before, she used the last of her magic power to kill the magical beast that caused the flood.”
"The Magical Beast is dead, and so is the Witch Empress. The flood had receded, and the cult master, who had no evil intentions, came to deceive the Miao people into killing each other. The people of the Black and White Miao returned to their homes and could live a peaceful life on this land with stars. The young girl could sing among the flowers and wait for her lover.”
"But the legendary hero was carried away by the phoenix, just like how the princess was carried away by the phoenix.”
"Where will the phoenix take them? Would a hero be with a princess? The Miao people look up at the sky every day, singing the legends of the past and calling out to Nüwa's daughter, hoping that the phoenix would hear them and fly back to Nanshao's palace with the hero and princess…"
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