The night sky reflected in the river below. The hills stayed humble as they rested in the distance. It was the Chinese temple that rested as a lighthouse for the souls of the past. Along with a peddle tree that acted as the grim reaper, letting its leaves fall on the river below.

They surrounded two lanterns that had released been released. As the lanterns floated as swans, they had a story. Within their lights were two lovers named Fang and Hai. Unlike most love stories, they were both ugly and poor, with Fang being an ghostly looking orphan and Hai being a petty criminal with the body of a dog. In their loneliness and fear in the world, they found each other, having been together since childhood.

Eventually, Fang and Hai got married and had the most beautiful girl in the world, named Lili. They lived together in a small house within the hills, away from most of their village. They remained as close as a family ever could, with only Lili coming down to get food and money for her beloved parents. Thanks to Lili’s fair complexion and hair as lovely as the night sky, many in the village went to see her travel. It was to the point that her presence was treated as the northern lights, which only resulted in her becoming more mousy and dependent on her parents.

Lili always feared that one day, she would be greeted by one particularly aggressive admirer. And she was right. There was one man, who only allowed the name Mei, who constantly pursued Lili. He was handsome enough, but resembled a mannequin to Lili.

“You would be the prettiest bride in my kingdom,” Mei always told her as she walked by.

“Just leave,” Lili always said, never believing a word he said.

But no matter how much she pushed Mei away, either physically or emotionally, he persisted. He even tried to go to Lili’s quiet home, only being unsuccessful due to her chasing him away in time. But one day, as she walked to her home, Mei stayed as quiet as a church mouse. He realized that he would be better if he didn’t ask Lili at the first chance he got.

She didn’t even notice anything amiss. All Lili did that night was clean the house, kiss her parents, and went to bed. Mei, however, snuck into the house in the dead of night. He quietly broke into the house through a ajar window, with the only barrier between him and Lili being a wall. What gave Mei away was the cricking of his feet, which woke both Fang and Hai up.

When they saw the demon holding his hand to their daughter’s room, they immediately attacked. Unfortunately, Mei proved to be too fast, quickly ripping Fang apart. Hai let out a bloodcurdling scream at the sight of the death of his beloved wife, all the happiness they had together flashing before his eyes. With tears in his eyes, he attacked Mei with all his might. Hai let out a good punch or two on Mei, but it wasn’t enough.

Eventually, Mei bit down on Hai’s neck, causing him to bleed to death. Hai’s choking alerted Lili, jolting her from her slumber. She opened the door, soon crying at the sight of her dead parents. As Lili held onto them, Mei declared his intention to marry her. Too overwhelmed with grief, she reluctantly accepted.

However, before Mei could take her, Lili asked if she could light lanterns in honor of her parents. He let her do so, but only when the sun was rising and he was away. Lili spent the entire night making the lanterns for her parents, testing if they could swim in the water. When morning arrived, she quickly ran to the river nearby. Lili lowered the lanterns to the river, guiding them to their path.

Once the sun fully bathed itself in the daylight, Mei snatched Lili as his own. That was the story behind the lanterns. But it didn’t just end with Lili being taken away. The grief of Fang and Hai over the fate of their daughter, even over their own, was too powerful to be contained and sent away. As the fire from their lanterns grew brighter, they started to have a flicker of light.

And just like how a single flame could start a forest fire, Fang and Hai were gifted with the passion to come back to life for the sake of their daughter. Fang’s spirit became a bright bird, her feathers being the very fire that used to be her tears. Meanwhile, Hai’s skin engulfed into a mighty serpent. As the lanterns dimmed, their souls ran across the land. Both Fang and Hai looked for their daughter, appearing like lightning in the clouds.

But Lili wasn’t anywhere visible on the ground. Instead, she was captured in a palace hidden deep within the mountains. Mei was dressing Lili in a red cheongsam, gushing about her beauty. But she didn’t say a word of protest, as she was as sad as she was beautiful.

“Remember to smile at our wedding, my dear,” Mei smirked as he shut the door behind him.

Eventually, Lili broke out in tears over her fate. But as luck would have it, she overheard her parents crying out for her. Even confined within, Lili figured out a way to call out to them through an old song that they sung for her. Fang and Hai heard this, rejoicing at the sound of their daughter. Unfortunately, their cries were overheard by Mei.

Before Lili could do anything, Mei bursted back into the room. His form changed from a human form to a warped monster, with his elongated arms reaching out to Lili. Fang and Hai still managed to reach their beloved daughter thanks to her calls.

“Mortals really think that they can escape fate,” Mei mocked. “Any so-called blessings you believe you possess mean nothing.”

He hissed as he launched towards Fang and Hai, managing to tackle Hai. But Fang used her fiery wings to burn Mei’s back, causing him to scream in pain. Fang didn’t spare Mei mercy though, as she rushed to bite him on the neck. Even through the flames, Mei managed to bleed a little bit of black blood. It stood in contrast to Hai, who despite having his skin pierced by Mei, didn’t shed a single tear of blood.

Hai rose, clawing at Mei alongside his wife. Fang and Hai brought Mei down to his knees, but it wasn’t enough. With a loud scream, he managed to summon the strength to push them both away in a blast of energy. Mei only grew stronger, growing as he crawled back to Lili.

“Come on my bride,” he demanded as he grabbed onto her arm.

“I will be yours now. Even if your parents kill me, they will still pass away and leave you alone.”

As Mei wrapped around Lili, she desperately tried to crawl at him. It was to the point that she started to tear at the fabric of her wedding dress. As Lili looked at her transformed parents, she could no longer feel either fear or sadness.

Rather, she felt rage as red as her dress. In response, Lili took one of her free hands to choke Mei. Her hand burned on the demon, but it was enough to make him scream. It was also enough for Fang and Hai to recover, flying in to their daughter’s aid. Their talons grabbed onto both of Mei’s shoulders, holding as tightly together as though they were holding each other’s hands.

“Hua, run,” they both told Lili as they began to rip Mei.

She listened as she jolted out the room on the cue of Mei’s final dying screams. Mei’s corpse became pure fire upon death, engulfing his palace. Before the flames could touch Lili’s dress, Fang and Hai came to their daughter’s aid. They grabbed onto her by her shoulders, flying her away from the destruction.

After a long flight in the skies, the family came back to the temple. With the danger gone, Lili bursted into tears as she hugged her parents. She didn’t even care that some of Fang’s flames burned her a little.

“We missed you so dearly,” Fang cried out.

“And we’ll miss you more,” Hai whispered soon after.

Lili let out a massive weep as her parents began to leave her once again.

“Please don’t leave me,” she cried out. “We can still resume life as it has always been.”

“I’m sorry dear,” Fang solemnly spoke. “But we have passed away , and there’s nothing we can do to become mortal humans again.”

“But there’s nothing I can do now,” Lili broke down. “There’s nothing.”

“As the river flows along, so will you,” Hai reassured. “You are a strong girl.”

Those words were enough to dry Lili’s tears.

Both Fang and Hai disappeared like a sunset, leaving Lili standing alone. Her face became stoic as she left the temple behind. Lili did briefly look back at the lanterns still floating in the river, understanding that that was all that was left of her parents. But she still went to take her stuff from her old home. Over the years, Lili moved to the kingdom to start her adulthood.

She managed to rise in power thanks to her compassion and charm, eventually becoming an adviser. Lili had riches that she couldn’t have imagined, living within golden palace walls. Still, while she enjoyed her ability to be an inspiration to her people, she still remembered her past. There were times when she would go back to the temple where the lanterns were lit. Lili would still look for her parents’ lanterns, making sure they remain lit.

A few times, she could hear them from afar.

“Glad to see you again,” Fang and Hai would say