Melody stumbled, her legs weak, as she made her way up the ancient stone stairway leading to the Shaolin Monastery. Rain lashed against her face, soaking through her tattered jacket, while the wind howled like a vengeful spirit in the night. Overhead, lightning split the sky in jagged flashes, like two mighty dragons locked in battle.
"We'll make it there, baby. Just hang on, sweetheart," she whispered, her arms wrapped protectively around her swollen belly. Each step was agony, her body trembling from exhaustion and cold, but she forced herself forward. She had to.
Her mind drifted back to the moment her world had collapsed.
"You're no daughter of mine—not with that filthy yellow child in your belly!" her father had roared, his voice filled with disgust.
A man of God. A missionary sent by the Church to spread salvation among the people of China. And yet, his heart held no mercy. No compassion. Only hate.
"Get out of my house and don’t come back. May God have mercy on your soul."
The door had slammed shut behind her, leaving her with nothing. No home. No family. No future.
Her mother had died the year before, taken by consumption. If she had been alive, would she have defended her? Or would she, too, have turned away? The thought cut deeper than the wind biting into her skin.
The cold wrapped around her like a shroud, and for a moment, she wondered if she would make it. Then, through the darkness, she saw it—the light. A golden glow up the mountain, faint yet unwavering, calling to her.
A gust of wind rushed past her, and in it, she swore she heard a voice.
"Keep going, child. Your child's destiny awaits."
She tightened her grip on her belly, set her jaw, and climbed.
She would not give up. Not now. Not ever.
Master Pi-Fung, the head master and the greatest martial artist in all of China, was in the main hall with the inner hall when disciple pip came rushing in and saying an exhausted woman was here demanding to see the head man in charge. "She's not even a real person master, she has yellow hair and Blue eyes but she speaks well. She said Go-sung sent her." Pip said.
Master Pi-Fung, upon hearing the name Go-Sung, rushed to the monastery’s entryway. His mind drifted back to his younger days as a disciple, when he himself had been in need of aid—and Go-Sung had been the one to provide it. She had asked for no payment, only that he one day repaid her kindness by helping others in turn. Now, four decades later, that moment has arrived. He would not let this chance slip away.
"Madame, what can I do for you?" Master Pi-Fung asked.
"Please, take me in," Melody pleaded. "Let me work as a translator—I speak four languages—and I can cook very well. And… please, accept my child when he is born. I beg you. We have nowhere else to go."
At that moment, the sky erupted in a brilliant display of lightning, yet there was no sound—only an eerie, deathly silence. It was as if the heavens themselves were illuminating Melody. Master Pi-Fung watched in awe, taking this as a divine sign. His decision was made. He would take them in.
The monks and disciples all agreed that Melody’s culinary skills were exceptional, and her translating abilities allowed several monks to focus on other duties. She quickly became an invaluable part of the monastery.
Late one night, after months of quiet resilience, Melody gave birth to a boy who would one day change the monastery forever. She named him Robert Chong Smith, choosing "Chong" in honor of Master Pi-Fung’s middle name—a tribute to the man who had given them refuge.
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Dragon: The Legend Of Robert Smith
RomanceIn China he was called Buddha reincarnated but all he wanted was to live quietly with others.
