Chapter Text
Once upon a time there was a little boy
living on the streets of Yiling-town:
had no place to live, no food, no toys,
dreaming of a home, of being found...
Once upon a time there was a youth
living in the place called Lotus Pier:
years passed as one and his self-worth
suffered constant grief – and disappeared.
There were respect and love, of course,
being felt for him by his disciples,
his "family" put up with him, at most,
or he endured their abuse in cycles.
The leader of the sect, just as its Madam,
were examples of the flaws and failures
of matrimony ties and all the bedlam
of being self-absorbed and rich and famous.
Their children were as socially inept
(despite their status and upbringing),
as arrogant as they've been let
by their parents and conditions of their living.
He was their brother, but de-facto - not,
for he'd been named their servant on repeat.
His "sister" was resigned to what she'd got.
His "brother" used him as a piece of meat.
Once upon a time there was a teen
studying cultivation methods, idling,
in the sect of rules, that made him cringe
at their restrictions, their narrow-mindedness.
His only solace was another boy
(the youngest heir of the Gusu Lan Clan):
he couldn't help being playful, lewd, but coy
in his vicinity - so brazen, unrepentant.
He was expelled for being brash and rude
(he only tried to fight for his clan's merit):
his efforts to explain brought him no good,
just helped dissolve his "sister's" future marriage.
Once upon a time the Qishan Wen's decree
forbade all cultivators' nightly hunting:
to show their power and their right to be
the rulers of the world (or their country?).
Their leader - Wen Ruohan - was cruel and mad:
he tried to break the righteous cultivation basis
with his vile methods of dissecting dead
and living men, thus fueling his craziness.
The Qishan Wen Clan tried to use its might
to domineer over sects and commoners:
tried justifying with their "greatness" their right
to do whatever, with no grace, only by force.
They tried to use as hostages the heirs of the clans
to make them desperate for their surrender
(and since they didn't think and didn't give a damn,
the sects and heirs took the bait without pretending).
There were senseless posturing and preaching,
there were fights with words, and even swords,
there were those, who didn't mind the ditching
of their comrades for their new "overlords".
There were torchings of the Great Sects,
there were needless killings left and right,
there were vast amounts of resentment
to start the overdue Campaign against their plight.