- Long'Er -

The phoenix soared in an arc around them, burning away every corpse and clearing the fog at the same time. The moon appeared in the night sky and cast its pale light upon the hill that they were trapped in, illuminating their surroundings.

With a loud musical cry, the flames around the bird's body disappeared, before it settled on Long'Er's outstretched arm.

"Oh, good heavens." Li Xun retreated a step backwards in surprise and watched as the beautiful phoenix cocked its head at the both of them. His disbelief rendered him speechless. He observed the creature carefully, scrutinising its fiery feathers.

"Is that flaming bird what they call a phoenix?" he asked.

Answering with a nod of her head, Long'Er scratched the bird beneath its chin. "It's lovely to meet you again, little Jade. Looking as gorgeous as ever, aren't you?" She smiled.

In return, the magnificent bird cooed happily. Nuzzling against her fingers.

Watching their exchange, Li Xun couldn't stop gaping at them. She could tell he didn't know which one was more surprising – the phoenix or her unfazed self who was behaving as if everything about this was normal?

Before he could blurt out an endless stream of questions, they both heard a set of approaching footsteps walking towards them. They swivelled around quickly and pointed their weapons at the intruder. A shadow emerged from between the trees and stepped into the light, radiating the sly, seductive smile that she wore on her face. Her dress fitted her curves well and she sashayed her way to them, observing the pair from head to toe.

Long'Er narrowed her eyes.

This person wasn't her godmother.

The stranger arched an eyebrow, incredulous. "My, my..." She clucked her tongue in disdain. "You guys aren't dead yet? Not even a beast or a group of corpses could kill you? You humans are more stubborn than you look, aren't you?"

"You." Li Xun's eyes darkened immediately. "I assume you're the witch who has been conjuring all these monsters?"

"That is correct, Your Highness." The woman's voice was deep and sensuous as she looked at him up and down before batting her eyelashes at him. "I must say you do look as incredibly dashing as your cousin. Perhaps even better–"

She paused mid-sentence, her eyes narrowing when she noticed the creature perching on Long'Er's arm. A disdainful look disfigured her eerily beautiful face.

"That," she hissed. "Where did you get your hands on such a treasure? No human should possess something as divine as that."

Long'Er straightened up and glowered at her. "That's none of your concern."

The witch took a step closer to them. "Give that thing to me," she demanded. "Otherwise, I'll not just kill the both of you. I'll rip your souls apart."

Li Xun stood protectively in front of Long'Er, shielding her. "Try laying a finger on her and you'll regret it."

The witch snorted before releasing a cynical laughter. "Me? Regret?" She repeated his words in disbelief. "You think you are capable of harming me? What a joke. You guys will be long dead before you get to me. If you don't wish to suffer a painful death, you better give me the bird."

Long'Er was infuriated by her obnoxious demand. "The phoenix is not meant to be used for your own selfish gain." Sensing Li Xun's confusion, she hurriedly explained to him. "This creature has incredible healing powers. If the phoenix's heart is consumed, one would gain immortality and live forever. Which is why we can't let her have it."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Really? That's just...impressive," he remarked, before swivelling to meet the witch's gaze with a guarded expression. "I guess we really can't let her get her way."

Losing her patience, the witch's face darkened. "Suit yourself, children. You won't be able to leave this place alive anyways."

Muttering a spell under her breath, she summoned another seven-feet tall Wandering Ghoul. Baring its long, sharp teeth at them, it released a loud roar and charged at them. Instinctively, Li Xun pushed Long'Er to the side and took the grisly beast on.

As both of them fought, the witch took the opportunity to attack Long'Er.

"Jade, run."

She released the phoenix and watched as it flew off obediently. This aggravated the witch's anger as she watched her target escape. She tried to chase after it, but found her path obscured.

"Get out of my way, little girl."

Long'Er remained cool and collected. "I'm afraid not."

The witch huffed in annoyance. A sword materialised in her hand and she attacked. As they exchanged blows, Long'Er, who was equipped with only a dagger, deflected the parry of attacks that were struck at her relentlessly.

Seriously, how could one be that desperate for immortality?

She knew there was a chance she might lose this battle. After all, the witch wasn't human. She was considerably stronger, older and more experienced in battles. As Long'Er felt herself being pushed back with every attack, she knew she couldn't keep defending herself forever. She needed to find an opening as soon as possible.

The witch smirked at her. "Aren't you growing tired, little lass?" she mocked. "But you can't keep running away from me forever."

"Who says I'm running?"

In a swift motion, Long'Er kicked the soil with one foot. It hit the witch's eyes, blinding her vision temporarily, before a dagger flew across the air and lodged itself in the middle of her chest.

The witch gasped. "You–" she hissed in pain. "You little bitch!"

Despite her bleeding wound, her movement never faltered. She pulled out the dagger and flung it aside. Advancing towards a now weaponless Long'Er, she attacked her with her sword with a murderous intent. But Long'Er dodged and rolled sideways, climbing back to her feet immediately. When the sword came swinging towards her direction again, she ducked and picked up her fallen dagger from the ground.

Seeing this, the witch was utterly frustrated. "You're stubborn as hell, aren't you?"

"I can say the same thing about you."

The witch let out a hiss. She lunged at Long'Er once more, but this time her sword was disarmed by someone else and threw her off balance. Regaining her stance, she aimed her weapon at the arrival of their uninvited guest, but her face paled immediately when she sensed that something was amiss.

"Who are you—" The witch gasped at the person standing protectively in front of Long'Er. Fear laced in her tone. "Y-you aren't human."

There was a prominent shift in the air which couldn't be explained in words. A radiant smile bloomed across the woman's face, carrying herself with an air of calmness. Her presence seemed to intimidate the witch and had her shuffling her feet anxiously. The latter spoke again, her voice trembling.

"Deities aren't supposed to meddle in human world affairs..."

"Yes," Long'Er's godmother agreed. "But this girl isn't just a human, she's also my precious daughter. You've offended her, which means you've offended me as well."

The wicked witch pursed her lips. In the presence of a stronger being, she was at a disadvantage. Clearly, she was aware of how powerful deities were. Her powers alone wouldn't be strong enough to beat any divine being.

Having lost the will to fight, she decided to do the most sensible thing.

Run.

She fled from the scene. Her cowardice act left the mother-and-daughter pair stunned. Giving a slight shake of her head, Long'Er's godmother turned back to meet her.

"It has been a long time, sweetheart. How have you been? Are you hurt anywhere?"

At the same time, Long'Er cried in joy at seeing a face that she had missed for several months. "Mother!" She ran to her and hugged her tightly, inhaling the scent that she so terribly missed. "I miss you so much!"

Returning the hug, her godmother patted her head. "I miss you too, child," she told her. "As much as I would love to catch up with you, you need to leave this place first. Grab your prince and leave this mountain. Jade will lead you guys out of here. Once you reach the bottom of the hill, you should be safe."

Long'Er glanced quickly in the direction where Li Xun was still fighting against the beast and warding off a horde of reanimated corpses. He was, she realised, in urgent need of help.

"What about you, Mother?" she asked quickly. "Are you coming with us?"

Her godmother winked at her. "I'll be fine. I would love to teach this witch a lesson first. We can't have her roaming around the human realm and summoning dangerous creatures simply for enjoyment, can we? Once I'm finished with her, I'll look for you soon."

Long'Er nodded. Now that she had the two most important people in the world here alongside her, she felt braver and stronger than ever.

Gripping her dagger in her hand tightly, she began slashing through the heads of the undead to save her troubled prince.