"It was said that after the creation of heaven and earth, the half-serpent goddess Nuwa created humanity. Whenever demons ran rampant, she always stood forth to save the people."
"Once, humans angered Heaven by failing to show it proper reverence. The Heavenly Emperor sent down the evil gods and stars of calamity to wreak havoc across the land. He also ordered Gonggong to unleash the waters of the heavenly river and drown the land of China. The gods of the four directions fled to the celestial realm, but Nuwa alone remained in the human world, doing all she could to stop the gods and demons from bringing disaster upon its people."
"At that time..."
"Draped in red and clutching her serpent staff, Nuwa raced across the land. She killed Gonggong and stopped the flood, slew the Black Tortoise and repaired the pillars of Heaven, subdued the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger, and drove away the stars of calamity and the evil gods. At last, peace returned to the four directions. Afterward, the Heavenly Emperor grew furious and severed the hills of the Jianmu Tree, cutting off the ladder to Heaven!"
"From then on, Nuwa and the stars of calamity could never return to the celestial realm."
"Hundreds and thousands of years later, the people of the four regions of China no longer suffered at the hands of gods and demons. They had long since forgotten the existence of this goddess. Yet the legend of the half-serpent goddess still lives on among the Miao people of our southern lands."
Beneath an old waxberry tree south of Shengyu Village, Wang Xiaohu, Ding Xianglan, Ding Xiulan, and their master, the Flame Immortal—all members of the Flame God Cult—sat eating sweet-and-sour waxberries as they listened to a Miao girl tell them the story