Episode 1: "The Demon's Return"

First episode of the series of Shaolin Wuzang.

## The Revival of Hei Hu

A woman was travelling through the forest with a bundle of sticks on her back and encounters a gigantic mound of shrub. She proceeded to reach her hand out and a force field revealed itself, rippling where the woman touched it. It shook and a beam of light shot out above the trees and into the expanse of sky. The shrubs and vines fell off, revealing a gigantic bell from underneath with the Chinese word "佛", meaning "Buddha", carved on it. "Save my child," cried out a woman echoing from the bell while it gonged. The woman frightened at what happened, fled and ran away while the bell cracked into small pieces while bursting in light.

"I'm free, at last! I'm free!" cried a man's voice and a blob emerged from the broken bell following after the woman. The woman fell into a lake and as she was trying to surface, the blob engulfed her and transformed her into a dark demon with a cape and green eyes: Hei Hu.

## At Shaolin

    Hua, a spirited young girl, drives through the Shaolin Temple with her grandmother. She argues a bit with her grandmother whining on how she wants to watch the Shaolin knights train rather than help with delivering laundry. To prove her point, she displays her skills using a sheet as a whip. The training Shaolin stop to marvel at her skill. She was stopped when Sanzang, the current head master at Shaolin, held onto the end of her sheet and invites her to train with them for that morning.
As the training progressed, she saw a black-hooded figure going quickly toward the temple. She is surprised and follows it. Hua knocks over a monk sweeping by the entrance but pays no mind to him and continues to follow the figure. She arrived seeing the figure enter the library. She follows up the stairs and into an open door, hearing a gruff male's voice from in it. She enters and is shocked to see books on the floor, damaged. She goes behind the screen door of the inner room and sees the figure setting fire to the books. She let out a yelp and the figure notices her, going towards her. She runs while the figure hurled books towards her with telekinesis and made a bookshelf fall on her, trapping her. She was helped by Master Sanzang and reports the cause of the fire on a "sorcerer".

Before getting out, he tries to retrieve something by turing the Buudha statue on the table left, a         secret opening on the floor opens, revealing a book on a pedestal, the first Book of Wisdom, the hidden book the "sorcerer" was desperately searching for. When he appeared, she pointed out that he was the "sorcerer".  As Sanzang asked his identity, he revealed, "A demon from the past, returned to reign over the world!" It was Hei Hu the demon of Henan. Sanzang immediately gave the book to Hua to escape with while he and Hei Hu dueled. Sanzang dealt the first blow which hardly scratched his opponent while Hei Hu's blast sent Sanzang to the wall behind him. Now Hei Hu followed Hua who was catching her breath. She ran outside onto the rooftop and onto the roof's sweeping curvature, cornered by Hei Hu. He comments that she seemed familiar in which she replied a quick denial. Hei Hu then grabbed her arm that held onto the book and she struggles to break free. Her grandmother faints from Hua's struggling on the roof. Hei Hu got the book from her and as she tries to get it back, he pushed her off the roof wherein Master Sanzang saved her by producing a gust of wind softening her landing on the ground. Hei Hu cackles as he now has the book in his possession and disappears into thin air.

    While Hua recovers, Master Sanzang goes to the burial chamber of the ancient masters where he sought enlightenment. The spirits summoned are shocked that Hei Hu escaped from his magic prison and that the first Book of Wisdom which they have been guarding for millenia had been stolen. They boast that such a thing wouldn't have happened in their time. The Shaolin Master of a Thousand Years Ago relates to him that Hei Hu was vanquished by three of his best students and urges him to find their reincarnations for only they can defeat the demon. As Sanzang asks how he will find them, he revealed that the first has already been found and that *she*did not know it yet.

## The First Warrior

Hua recovers and now is being held back from fighting by her grandmother. The young Shaolins blame her for the accident with Hei Hu and make fun of her because she was a girl and not meant to be at Shaolin. This angers Hua and she pins a Shaolin to the ground, wrestling each other. Master Sanzang overlooks this scene from a window with the master, trying to clear away his doubts reasoning that she was young but above all, a girl. The spirit master assures him that reincarnation does not bother with such details and that she will guide him to the other two warriors for "she knew them once, she will recognize them".

## To Kai Feng

Master Sanzang and Hua are now on a wagon to Kai Feng with Sanzang driving. Hua, at the back was feeling overjoyed, commenting that she thought that her grandmother would faint at her granddaughter being invited join the Shaolin school. She described it as "the best day of my life" as her dream of being a female Shaolin was being realized.  At Kai Feng, she related to the Governor of Henan of what happened at Shaolin and was dismissed for he and Master Sanzang had things to discuss.

## The Second Warrior

Hua eavesdropped on their conversation. Tang dropped in on her telling her that she it was not befitting for a servant to eavesdrop on her master, implying that she was Master Sanzang's servant. Hua boasted that she was not a servant but a Shaolin student accompanying her master who was the governor's guest. He didn't believe her for girls weren't allowed at Shaolin. Hua, angered by his comment, showed him what moves she knew to prove she wasn't a servant and the boy also displayed what he knew. The two competed each other and although Hua knocked down a stand of spears, she continued. Since they were inexperienced, they entangled each other and fell to the floor, Hua's hair being undone.

The governor and Master Sanzang entered and the governor his son, Tang to him. Sanzang, remembering that Hua would lead him to the other two warriors, deduced that Tang must be the second warrior he was searching for.

Tang was against the idea of being at Shaolin for it was for peasants and not for the governor's son. His father persuaded him to go reasoning that their family line had not had a Shaolin knight. Tang consents but tells his father that he would not stay at a monastery his whole life, arrogantly claiming that he has a far more glorious destiny awaiting him. His father gives him a sword that belonged to his ancestors to encourage him further.

## The Third Warrior

As Master Sanzang drove the wagon, Hua and Tang were arguing over the incident at the library, Hua defending the fact that she saw Hei Hu creating fire from his own hands which Tang strongly doubts because of his strong conviction in science. Meanwhile Sanzang was doubting whether they were prepared to fight against Hei Hu. Along the way, a stone broke one of the stokes on the left wheel which led Sanzang to announce that they had to walk. Hua went over to the edge of the cliff to scout ahead and called attention to a village nearby, volunteering to get help. Tang waited leisurely in a comfortable position on the wagon, pointing out to her that he would be needing a soft bed for the night. Hua left him an irritated expression.

    She went down the hill, over a boulder and up the hill where the village was located. She found the village quiet and seemingly empty. As she was about to call out another time, a pair of arms grabbed hold of her, covered her mouth and pulled her into the tall grass. A boy who seemed about her age from the village was hiding from Black Foxes raiding their village. He plans to wait and rescue the trapped villagers after they leave. She questions why the boy doesn't save the villagers trapped in the barn. He commanded the girl to keep quiet as he didn't want to get caught and as if on cue, a Black Fox spotted them and they were chased.  As one Black Fox was about to strike them with a spear, Cheng pushed over a bunch of bamboo leaning on the wall, catching the Black Fox off guard and they escaped with more Black Foxes chasing after them. Hua saw a sheet drying out in the clothesline and turns it into a whip for defense. He also used a broom by the barn to to defend against the Black Foxes, his mother calling out his name, Cheng. After Hua hears his name, she introduces herself in the midst of battle and Cheng remarks that this was not the time for introductions. They fought off the Black Foxes for a short while since Hua's makeshift whip was torn by a sword and Cheng's broom broken by a mace. The two held onto each other firmly for dear life, fearing it their last moment as a Black Fox was about to strike them.

## Reunited from Times Past

Just in the knick of time, Master Sanzang arrives with Tang, saving them. Sanzang gives Cheng a staff for a weapon and for Hua, a whip made from an indestructible weave. Before attacking, Tang announces punishment on those who attack him, the governor's son. Cheng is surprised while the Black Foxes laugh it off as a joke. Everyone then engages. Tang shows his skill by swiftfully cutting up the garments of a Black Fox cleanly rendering him embarrassed and dropped on by his own weapon. Hua demonstrates her expertise with the whip by easily disarming Black Foxes her way. Cheng, being attacked by a Black Fox shielded himself with his staff, causing it to disassemble into a sectional staff, which he wields just as well. Tang rescues Cheng from a behind attack and Cheng returns the favor by pushing him to safety, unknowingly on a mud pile. The Black Foxes retreat and Master Sanzang stops Hua from pursuing.

As Tang recovered from being dirtied, Cheng borrrowed without consent his sword to cut the rope tying the entrance of the barn. With the villagers freed, Cheng runs to his parents and Hua returns the whip to Sanzang which he denied saying that she earned it. Tang took a bath and is drying up during dinner at Cheng's house.
Cheng's father related to Master Sanzang that the Black Foxes spoke of Hei Hu being their chief saying that the villagers would be in service to him because he would soon be master of the world while Cheng's mother  explains that the Black Foxes asked if the villagers knew of a book and comments that she found it odd since none of the villagers knew how to read. Master Sanzang complements Cheng's courage and invites him to join Shaolin at which Cheng chokes from the food he was eating. Tang questions this rudely and Cheng's siblings glare at him, causing him to admit that Cheng is a good fighter. Master Sanzang closes with the words, "Whether a governor's son or a peasant boy, we must forget out differences and work together for common good. We must unite as one to keep evil from overtaking the world."

## Evil's Triumph

    In a cave, the secret hidingplace of the Black Foxes, Hei Hu announces his possession of the first Book of Wisdom in which the Black Foxes rejoice greatly over.

## Back to Shaolin

    Back at Shaolin Temple, the three warriors, Hua, Tang and Cheng train alongside the Shaolin knights although clumsy in their steps. Master Sanzang is praised by the master for finding all three warriors but Sanzang still has doubts of their readiness and the lack of time. The master reassures him by telling him of the need for his teaching and guidance.