The Witch Doctor

Bleak was the sky, torn asunder into erratic fragments. The last ginseng anchor, the young monk, had expired but the absence of the sword caused the Worldedge to destabilize. Relentless rain started falling out of the sky. It never stopped again.

The Kingdom of Chu had gone to war with King Zhao of the Zhou. He gathered one million troops, centralizing all military resources and planning to stage the largest naval offensive in history. King Zhao was a renowned ruler who undertook several fruitful campaigns, and he was bound to succeed in a similar fashion this time around.

On the mastership on the Han River, the lines cracked open the sky and the earth, causing interminable tremors.

"What...are these abnormalities?", inquired the King.

His leading advisor told him to ignore it, blaming the weather on sheer chance and commanding the fleet to continue on the route.

King Zhao stood up at the hull, overlooking the coastline of Chu's harborside cities.

Drawing his sword, he declared, "I, unparalleled leader of the invincible fleet, shall conquer the Kingdom of Chu with ease and swiftness."

Rain began to fall, pattering all over the wooden outside of the vessels. To make matters worse, they were unable to approach the shore because of the vicious rainy winds of the infinite storm.

Ka-cha! The planks beneath him splintered in half and ships sank.

The King and his army drowned.

Only one survivor resurfaced, clutching on a wooden board for the entire time. It was the chubby monk from the monastery at the edge of the world dressed in a bulky suit of leather armor.

Spitting out water, he constantly murmured to himself, "I have to notify the Abbot of White Deer Temple about the loss of the Heaven-devouring sword. I must, only he has the solution to this problem."

Swimming through seas with the wooden board, he finally arrived at the port town of Chu at midnight. Crawling on the docks, he saw a sailor tying up a rope to a wooden pole.

The monk sighed in relief, "Hello there friend, do you know the directions to White Deer Mountain."

The sailor never turned around, but he continued his motion of hoisting in the rope of a boat. At a closer glance, the monk saw that there was no boat. He was just pulling the rope back and throwing it out again.

Pacing back a few steps, he questioned, "What are you doing?"

The sailor twitched his feet a couple of times and turned his head around, screaming, "He's the enemy!"

Local soldiers came out from their hiding spots inside the buildings, surrounding the monk in an encirclement. Everywhere he glanced, he saw archers positioned at the windows, on the boats, and the roofs.

Nervously pointing his spear at the monk, the General demanded him to put his hands up. The monk chuckled, moving in a flash of light towards the General and successfully disarming him.

Holding the General in front of him, he declared, "I am not the enemy, the Zhou fleet is destroyed along with its King."

The soldiers laughed, "You think we will believe you? Guys, let's capture him!"

Everyone rushed toward the monk, forcing him to throw the General into the sea so he could get onto the roof of the buildings. Running on top of the roofline of the coastal shops, arrows whizzed past him as he tried to escape. But, just as he was about to turn the corner, he was shot in the back, causing him to fall into a farmer's cart of hay.

Luckily, his pursers couldn't find any traces of him and relented. He hid in the hay for two hours as an old man reached his house on the outskirts of the town. As the elderly figure unloaded the cart, he felt a person's foot.

"Who are you?"

The monk tried to explain, "I was being wrongfully chased. They think that I am the enemy but I promise I'm not."

The old general looked like he was about to explode, "How could you! You are my enemy now as well."

He tried to attack the monk with his bare hands, but this maneuver was evaded.

"Wait. I have the secret to everlasting life."

The General hesitated, "Show me the proof."

The monk reached into his robes and gave the General a withered piece of world-anchoring ginseng.

"The world will collapse soon, the sky will fissure like a shattered plate. Eat this and you will gain 100 years of lifespan."

The General snatched it and threw it down his throat. Nothing happened.

"You have to take a nap. I promise."

He grouchily obeyed, but not before he chained up the large monk to the wooden pole outside of his one-bedroom house. As he fell asleep, the monk carefully plucked three black flowers, crushing them into a paste. He approached the farmer, made sure that the old guy was asleep, and began rubbing the General's hair with the odorless, black flower paste.

When the old man woke up, he went outside to the pond next to his house and looked at his reflection. He was elated upon seeing his dark black hair full of vitality.

"Give me more of that medicine."

The monk shook his head, "The only place you can find it is at the temple in White Deer Mountain. Unless if you know the directions, I'm afraid you cannot sustain your longevity."

The old general rushed to go get his friend, the town's witch doctor Tong.

Tong, a stocky figure dressed in all green, entered the room a while later, each of his steps shaking the foundation of the house. Sitting down at the table, he laughed when he heard the question posed by the General, answering, "That's an impossible feat. The monk has a stubborn doorman who won't let anyone in, not even the King of Chu. The royal army once tried to attack White Deer Temple, but the terrain is unnavigable. The only path is an extremely slim set of stairs blocked by the Doorman. You need to collect three objects: a pearl from the deepest trench, a feather of a silver eagle, and the shed skin of a Kingsnake."

The monk stood up from his chair and looked at the old soldier, "I have the pearl. You need to find a way to buy a feather of a silver eagle. I know a place where the Kingsnake resides."

The General asked, "What if you escape?"

Tong interjected, "He won't if you make him give you the pearl."

The large monk cursed the witch doctor in his head but threw the pearl to him.

"Wait for my return."