Thread by @fuhrermochi

1001 Nights #2ha AU

There was once a fearsome Emperor. Taxian-jun.

He marries a woman every few days and kills her by morning. He has killed hundreds of women since his reign.

"Master Chu, please help us!"

"Please! My daughter is beautiful. I'm afraid he'll take her next!"

Chu Wanning is a powerful rogue cultivator. As beautiful as he is righteous.

Locals could easily identify, by the way he dresses in all white, that he's a disciple from the Wubei temple.

No one knows why he no longer identifies as one of them. All they know is that

Chu Wanning, the Beidou Immortal they'd call him, is a powerful master always willing to help others.

After his long trips, he'd always return to the local poor villages with some kind of new tool or specially modified hardy seeds that could brave droughts and other vital goods

The Beidou Immortal never regales them with tales of his grand travels on his own accord but the villagers, especially at the marketplace, had grown very fond of the recluse man over the years and always urges him to talk to them.

Chu Wanning may be reserved but

his heart is still made of flesh and the warm welcomes are too nice and sweet for him to completely ignore.

Chu Wanning, because of his helpfulness towards the locals, would often be shoved with local produce.

The world is cruel and many people were still starving whom

Chu Wanning could not help. But life is not all terrible. These people who could afford to take care of each other do and many of them, especially in this particular village, cares for them too.

So he finds himself from time to time sitting at the center of the market square and

sharing his experiences of traveling around the lower cultivation world.

When Chu Wanning spoke, no one interrupts, and even buyers at the market would speak in low voices so they could eavesdrop. Everyone listens because their little world could really use any entertainment

and this cultivator doesn't know it but everyone loved his voice and he had bearings like that of a learned prince. It was easy to want to listen to his tales and stories.

Till one day, when Chu Wanning arrived at the same marketplace to gather supplies for his next travel

he was ambushed by a barrage of beggings and pleads.

Chu Wanning was puzzled but urged them all to calm down and tell him of what's happening.

"Taxian-jun! Taxian-jun has arrived at the lower cultivation world!"

Chu Wanning's eyes narrowed.

He has heard of the name but in this day and age most news travel slow and most happenings of the upper cultivation world often do not reach or concern the lower cultivation world.
And Chu Wanning, having had some terrible experiences at Rufeng, tend to stay out of their business

Upper cultivation world matters are upper cultivation matters. That's what Chu Wanning tells himself. They have more than enough wealth and cultivators to not be of concern to some random do-good nobody like himself.

But it seems like...

"Please!" a man begged.

"He's going to take my daughter!"

Chu Wanning recognises this man.

"Slow down," Chu Wanning said. "Speak slowly so I may understand."

The man tries his best to gather himself.

"Taxian-jun he's.. the Emperor from Linan. The Rufeng sect is now part of the Wushan Empire."

"He seeks to unite all of Ming. He has taken over Rufeng and several smaller sects' territories."

"The mad Emperor marries a woman every other day. The Empire needs an heir afterall, he would say, but then he would change his mind and by dawn she would be dead. None of the

women has ever survived their wedding night. Hundreds are already dead but Taxian-jun is too powerful to stop."

The man starts sobbing pitifully.

CWN knows this man. He's the richest man of the village. Which doesn't amount to much as this is such a poor village but..

Chu Wanning can tell where his concern is coming from.

Everyone is afraid but this man had the most to fear. Chu Wanning's heart squeezes.

His daughter is better fed and better cared for than any woman in this village and it's no surprise she grew up to be the village's flower.

Indeed this man's daughter is the most beautiful around here.

Chu Wanning spoke to the man. "Is he demanding a tribute from the village?"

The man nods. "Yes but we declared we could not afford it. An official had come knocking at the village head's house and said

that the benevolent Emperor has decided to believe the declaration and so we do not need to provide monetary tribute for His Majesty but..."

The man started crying and Chu Wanning had to supporting him. Chu Wanning wasn't good at comforting people. He could only hold the man's

arm awkwardly in attempt to make him stand up as he's clinging onto Chu Wanning's snow white robes from where he knelt on the ground.

"Master Chu, H-His Majesty demands for the most beautiful maiden in the village be presented to him to marry!"

After that the man's words were

near indecipherable amongst his sobs.

So Chu Wanning turns to another villager who's looking at the man at Chu Wanning's feet sympathetically.

"Is this true? Can this Emperor not be reasoned with at all?" Chu Wanning asked.

The woman shook her head.

"Impossible," she said.

"Once Taxian-jun demands for a bride, she must be delivered to him. And he must confirm that she is indeed beautiful. If any village or even city fails to deliver as Linan had once by delivering to him an ugly beggar under the veil in place of a rich nobleman's daughter,

Taxian-jun would raze the whole place to the ground."

Chu Wanning's eyes widened.

Insane! This Taxian-jun is much too insane and cruel! Why?!

"You must stop him, Master Chu!" The people begged. "You are the strongest here! The young lady is going to die otherwise!"

Chu Wanning clenched his jaw, not letting the squeezing in his heart over the sheer brutality of this world outside what his old shizun had provided him at Wubei Temple see just how much it has affected Chu Wanning.

Chu Wanning said as calmly as he could muster:

"Even with my cultivation, I could not defeat whole empires alone. I'm sorry."

The marketplace is almost completely silent. One can feel the sheer hopelessness in the village.

"But."

The old man suddenly stopped crying and looked at Chu Wanning with so much hope in his eyes,

Chu Wanning felt the urge to look away as he spoke his next words.

"I could maybe... try to buy you all some time to escape."

The villagers gasp and murmurs start filling in the silence. Many starts asking him how.

Chu Wanning closes his eyes.

"The Emperor sent you a bridal sedan for you to send your daughter to him tomorrow did he not?"

The man nodded. Chu Wanning took a deep breath. He should probably think this through as there's no way Chu Wanning could pass off as beautiful and so this will /definitely/ incite

Taxian-jun's anger but... this is these people's best shot. Chu Wanning could only pray these people could move fast and that the mad Emperor is at least a little bit foolish along with that madness.

"When the guards come tomorrow, I need you to send me off. I can wear a veil, yes? After that, please, quickly make your escape."

Chu Wanning turns his head from the man to the crowd.

"All of you. Head quickly to where the Wubei Temple or Sisheng Peak is and find shelter. I will never betray your secret once the Emperor finds out it's me underneath but my silence could only stall a full military force for so long.

Please have the sects inform the rest of the llower cultivation world if possible."

"But... What about you, Master Chu?"

Chu Wanning hopes he looks as confident as he tries to sound.

"I'll be the one to marry Taxian-jun."

One vegetable vendor jumped to her feet. "But he'll kill you!"

Chu Wanning tried to calm her down and the crowd which are steadily getting louder.

"He might be so angry he'll chop your head right off!"

Chu Wanning doesn't want to die. But he isn't too afraid.

His sense of duty to the common people preventing him from letting his fear take over.

"We'll be in the wedding chambers alone by then. He'll only remove my veil then, wouldn't he?" Chu Wanning said. "He'll be alone save for a few guards."

Chu Wanning tried to give a reassuring smile but it probably comes off as more awkward than anything.

"I could not fight a whole army alone but I might be able to defeat one person."

That's a lie.

Chu Wanning isn't so deluded to think that someone with such power to take over Rufeng could be so weak. This man sounds like he could be Chu Wanning's match. Or even worse, with a few elite guards on standby and willingness to kill (which is something Chu Wanning does not have

as killing a human being isn't something he'd do if he could help it--his master had always told him he won't survive this world with this weakness of his as it would give his enemies openings in his hesitation), Chu Wanning is likely as good as dead meat.

But his lips are sealed and the brief wedding procession is time he could afford and these people need. What's his live to all these people's? He can afford this.

He's got nobody in this world anyways.

His master has told him he had wanted nothing to do with Chu Wanning anymore and Chu Wanning has since then feared creating any meaningful bonds with anyone else if he hasn't ruined any potential from the get go by being so cold, unsocial and awkward due to him always assuming

the worst in others' words or actions by accident.

He tries so hard to be more understanding but.. without confidence, till today, Chu Wanning's still very much alone.

But that's okay right now. A good thing even.

For, now, he has the least to lose by being Taxian-jun's bride.

Chu Wanning finally got the people to go head home and pack as it was getting dark and they, at least most of them, needed to be on the road from tonight.

He can afford to use some holy night guardians as decoys. He hopes for them to be enough for spiritual energy sensing cultivators loyal to Taxian-jun who might be sent here to evaluate things tomorrow.

When Chu Wanning went to his ratty little home that night, he looks himself in the glassy pond out his window.

Ugly. So ugly.

He slaps himself on the cheek with both hands. No. Now is not the time to be worrying about this.

Chu Wanning buries himself in his knees on the bed.

"Married huh..."

If he survives this, technically he'll be married.

He'd be the Emperor's concubine. His legal wife. Even if he runs away.

He has no idea how he feels about that.

As he goes to bed that night an insane thought crosses his mind before he took some pills from his travels to mute the mad little voice.

The mad little voice whispers to the man in the dark.

Wouldn't it be nice... if marriage could make someone look at him a little?

Notice him. And maybe...

Chu Wanning took a whole other mouthful (enough to kill a non-cultivator) of pills and practically knocked himself out.

The next day was a mess.

The rouge made him look even more ugly and the tint under his eyes made him want to run away.

Chu Wanning looks down on his hands and bottom half of his deep red and golden robes.

He could not stand looking at himself in the mirror.

His own home had no mirrors as Chu Wanning had no need of such luxury that would only serve to remind him of his advancing age and his own awful frowns and too-sharp glares.

"You look very beautiful, Master Chu!" The girl doing his hair says.

She looks at him in the mirror and Chu Wanning wants to disappear.

"Who knows." She says, eyes filled with some sympathy even with the smile on her face. "Maybe the Emperor will fall in love with your beauty hm?"

"Ridiculous."

The girl winced.

Chu Wanning curses himself. She's probably just trying to lighten the mood.

But there. She just proved the point in Chu Wanning's head for him.

No one could ever like Chu Wanning. He's too harsh with his words and impatient to think them through and

now he's scared an innocent girl even more in what is clearlh a very stressful time for the whole village.

Chu Wanning sighs. The girl dabs a few extra dabs of powder that could in no ways be enough to cover Chu Wanning's physical flaws on top of his internal ones.

Chu Wanning could not stand this anymore.

"That's enough."

The girl bowed and shut the door behind him.

Chu Wanning stares at himself angrily. His expression must be scaring the girl too. So ugly.

He wants to break the mirror so badly.

"THE EMPEROR'S MEN ARE HERE!!"

Chu Wanning closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He gathers himself and shoves all his self hate and insecurities under his usual aloof and haughty mask.

He steps outside. Here goes nothing.

He walks out and enters the bridal sedan.

(to be continued!)