《Daiyu's Ascent》43. Hei Siwang
Advertisement
A few days later, Tang Daiyu left the palace, escorted by Helian Taiqiang. As the anniversary of her parents' deaths drew near, she had decided to go to the Lotus Temple located at the summit of the next mountain over. He offered to walk her there, and she agreed.
On their way, she tightened the snow leopard fur coat around herself. Noticing, Helian Taiqiang took off his thick, camel fur and wrapped it around her.
"What about you?"
"I'm more used to this frigid cold than you are. Plus, my clothes are warmer than your dress to begin with."
Unable to argue with him any longer, Tang Daiyu put up with his selflessness. They descended the mountainside and entered Tongwencheng. Going west, they cut through the city before coming upon the bottom of the next mountain over. Tang Daiyu stopped and looked up. Shielded by fluffy white clouds, the Lotus Temple couldn't be seen. But she knew it was there.
Helian Taiqiang said, "We should get going if you want to make it there by tonight."
She turned towards him. "We can get up the mountain in just a day?"
He nodded. "It's not as bad as you think."
"Okay. Let's go then."
~~~
Around lunchtime, Tang Daiyu and Helian Taiqiang came across a mountain spring. He filled their two water bottle gourds. She looked around and saw an antelope prancing by. Her sai dropped into her hand, and she threw it. The blade sunk into the animal's chest, piercing its heart. It dropped to the ground, thudding, causing Helian Taiqiang to turn around and gape.
"Lunch?" Tang Daiyu asked innocently.
He nodded without saying a word. After making a strong fire, he cooked the antelope over the red-orange flames. The heat also helped to warm them both up.
Advertisement
"Ms. Tang?"
"Yes?"
Helian Taiqiang finally asked her the question that had been burning in his mind for the past few days. "Where did you really learn your martial arts? You said before that the martial arts Master Liang taught you didn't stick. During your confrontation with First Prince a few days ago, I noticed that your martial arts, indeed, aren’t from Swift Breeze Sect. At least, not as far as I'm aware."
Her eyes flicked over to him. She studied her companion, deciding whether to trust him or not. Rule number two: don't be foolish enough to trust anyone completely.
Going against her conscience, Tang Daiyu chose to take a leap of faith.
Sighing sadly, she began, "My father had tried to teach me a few basics when I was a child. I was stubborn and didn't want to learn. So, you're right. The martial arts I know aren't from Swift Breeze Sect."
Tang Daiyu turned her head away from Helian Taiqiang, shame blushing her cheeks. Sadness filled her eyes.
"In the two years I spent on house arrest in Chang'an with Baobao, many nights after he had fallen asleep, I practised a special type of martial arts. The skill sets I have are designed to kill. They focus on stealth, speed, flexibility, and agility. I cultivated anger, fury, and hatred to fuel my impure qi and power my martial arts. These demonic martial arts were taught to me by a black-clothed, masked master who visited every night, somehow managing to avoid the notice of the Imperial Guards that were always stationed around the inn. After I was taken into the palace though, I never saw my master again."
"So," he began, horrified. "You practice Hei Siwang?"
Unable to look him in the eye, she closed her eyes and nodded. Helian Taiqiang let out a long breath. She waited for him to scold her.
Advertisement
But instead, he asked, "Does Master Liang know?"
She shook her head. "I know how to tamper my qi. He never noticed anything, and I haven't told anyone this, let alone Zhou-ge. I knew he'd be so disappointed in me, so I couldn't bare to face him."
"Ms. Tang, Master Liang needs to know."
"I know, I- I just..." she sighed sadly. "I don't want to see that day just yet. I've already disappointed him before. This would break him, that... I'm sure of."
Helian Taiqiang gave her a displeased look. "I don't know much about Hei Siwang, but I've heard things. Rumours that whoever goes that route end up changed... and never for the better. Surely, you know the risks?"
Tang Daiyu hummed in affirmation. "Yes, I do. My master warned me way back when. Now though, I've already started to notice the side effects."
Alarm flashed across his face. "What do you mean?"
She sighed. "A few times, when I've confided in Zhou-ge, he's noticed that my plans are too cold-hearted. I don't factor in how they'll affect the innocent citizens. I have one goal, and that's to make Emperors Jianyuan and Rong pay. Nothing else matters." After a brief pause, she added quietly, "And I never used to be like this. I always cared about everything and everyone. I would get so upset if even an insect was killed in our household. Brother Liang remembers who I used to be. He knows who I am. So, these changes in me aren't going unnoticed by him."
"Is that why you made a big confrontation against my First Brother a few days ago?"
She nodded slowly. "I left the palace in anger that day. I've been used by Rong before; I didn't want to be used again. So, my anger fueled my impure qi which in turn stimulated the side effects of Hei Siwang. You know what happened that day, I don't think I need to explain myself further."
"Ms. Tang, do you know if there's a way to reverse the side effects? Can you cleanse yourself or be cleansed of Hei Siwang?"
Finally, for the first during during the whole conversation, she met his eyes. The woeful look that shone in her irises spoke volumes. Her voice was soft and bleak when she finally answered.
"Once Hei Siwang is begun, there's no turning back. I can never reverse the process. It's too late for me now. Sometime in the future, the consequences of Hei Siwang will overwhelm me."
"And?"
"I'll either become lost to the impure qi that surges inside me or I'll die."
Helian Taiqiang stared at her, a mixture of worry, horror, and concern flashed across his face.
She looked away once again. There's only one way to free myself from this curse.
Advertisement
Dragon Hack
Rich's life sucks. He lives in a dystopia, His father's an abusive creep, his mother's up to some shady stuff, and he's pretty sure he's going to die a virgin. He can't do much about the first few problems, but a new darknet game might give him a shot at getting laid. But even the most well-laid plans go astray, and he ends up with way, way more than he bargained for. He gains a character with the rarest of all races: Dragon. But it's a two-way street, and strange occurances and problems soon have Rich wondering if this is truly a game, or something far more sinister... WARNING: Contains verbal abuse and harsh language. The language and sentiments used do not represent the views of the author. The dystopia portrayed is meant to be a cautionary tale, rather than a criticism of any existing group or political faction. CLAIMER: My name is Andrew Seiple. I am a writer, and I both write this story and own the rights to it. I will be posting this story on Spacebattles.com, SufficientVelocity.com, RoyalRoad.com, and my Patreon. I reserve the right to remove it from any and all platforms as needed to facilitate my sinister long-term plans. (Except for Patreon. The story there ain't leaving.) If you desire to read this story faster, note that my Patreon is generally going to be several updates ahead of all publicly-available threads. Cover art created by Ambelia Parris, licensed per agreement.
8 239Rebirth of Destiny I
In a world where magical runes called Rebirths rest in the hands of hostile nations, fourteen-year-old Aiden lived a quiet life in a small town conveniently named Khalm. Born with crescent-shaped irises and silver hair, young Aiden was never bothered by his unusual birthmarks until the night his life as a simple delivery boy changed. He was the 'Rebirth Destroyer', someone ruling powers deemed a threat. Chased by death and the foretelling of the world ending by his hands, Aiden soon finds that there are few people he can trust. My stories are fantasy-based and heavily influenced by classic Final Fantasy games ( by classic I mean 1-10 ) and other Japanese Role-Playing Games I used to enjoy, with one difference; the main characters are Black. July 2022 update! After months of deliberation, I've decided to continue with this cast of characters in the next books instead. The loose ends in this story have been keeping me up all night. I've gotten started on 2 sequels to this; Rebirth of Destiny II based on the good ending and the alternative ending. After I get a good backlog built up they'll be published once a week.
8 172Abnormal
A world run by a system of Godhood, rocked by an era of change, one woman must find her way through life, now that her only avenue in her supposed destiny is now closed to her.
8 94Sword Art Online: New Reality
This is a Re-written Story of my Sword Art Online: New Reality or SAO:NR (A Fan Game) story I wrote a few years back. EACH CHAPTER WILL BE REALLY LONG AS THE MINIMUM OF 3,000 WORDS TO THE MAX OF 5,000 WORDS.THE STORY IS WRITTEN TO BE LIKE A LIGHT NOVEL. What if... you were in Sword Art Online? How would you react? How would you respond to this? This story follows some of the Main events of Sword Art Online, while branching off into a new perspective. You are in the shoes of Kirin. But as a SAO Beta tester, he uses his knowledge of other games and some beta exploits to climb the floors of the floating castle. Would you like to hear his story in this new reality?
8 204Into You
"This is very dangerous" "Sometimes you need to be a little dangerous"
8 189Right On The Money Honey - Michael Hardy
"Who'da thought a right on the money honey'd ever fall for a broke boy?"OrIn which Liz and Michael meet at a bar while she's visiting Nashville and they hit it off. Inspired by Broke Boy by Hardy. I own my own characters. [7/7/21] - [7/31/21- 8/24/21]
8 312