Tao wasn't one to judge. Stealing was always the last resort of the desperate. After working hard got you nothing, after begging got you nothing... People didn't steal for fun. They stole to survive. Tao looked at the fox, a prawn cracker hanging from its mouth. "Might as well join me," said Tao, [...]

He did it again. Tao remembered the first time he called upon fire. It was a winter in Beijing, and Tao had spent the past few days freezing on the streets. He needed food – money – so he took to Financial Street, where all the government agencies were. It was dangerous to [...]

There were very few things Tao thought he could be impressed by. In Beijing, he grew up running around the streets, passing through ancient Hutongs and temples, always under the shadow of the Imperial Palace. But this... This was different. Carved into the very mountain itself was a gate, two massive stone doors [...]

The dragon ripped through the clouds, lightning trailing in its wake. It screamed once, its voice thunder – sorrow and pain – as it floated, weightless, above the heavens. And then it fell. It plunged through the sky like a meteor, falling backwards down to the mountains below. From its side, a spear [...]

"Do you know what temperature blood freezes at?" The moon bobbed heavily in the sky, its bone-white light trickling down onto the mountains below. A young man stood alone on the forest path, a specter in the night fog. He was comfortable there, at ease even. His eyes were as cold as the [...]