They trekked over the snowy terrain in bad humour for a day. Though snow abundant and the chill too deep in their bones, they could have used the swords to fly over in such mild wind. But Zhang Cai did not let them. He repeated over and over, he insisted that he could not fly. That it was far too cold for him to rise more than a meter high up, and they had to stay low so no beast awakening from their slumber could see them to aim at them.

But more than ever, he knew why he fought so hard against Li Huan‘s, perhaps, last remaining enjoyment. He could not let things progress further, and what Li Bo argued against him did not matter. How precious his sister‘s happiness was to him did matter, but it did not matter so dear to him that Zhang Cai would abandon his friend to lone suffering and probable death. So he kept at it, and in withholden tears Li Huan agreed with them and put away her sword.

They put another layer of socks on their feet and tied the ends of their robes to both ankles to not let snow in. Another cloak, much heavier and made of leather and scales, hung on their shoulders coming down to their heels, and they dragged that beautiful black and green gloss over the snow to wipe out their footsteps. Those they didn‘t filled up on their own.

As they progressed further and it became evident that this snowstorm would pick up, that it would not end so simply, Zhang Cai wished for one thing and one sole thing only; that they would not encounter danger, that they should walk over mountains and swim rivers but not strangers who wished them harm. That they did not meet with Xian and Spirit Beasts who had reason but not control over their greed, or Mankind that knew how to control but did not care over it, as they had better and stronger greed than other species disturbing the world.

A day passed, and they pitched a small camp to eat and replenish Qi. They sat beside a campfire lit by Zhang Cai, and above them Li Huan pitched a spare cloak like a cloth and steel rods to support it . A shade spread around them, and the fire seemed too little to warm them up.

An hour later they resumed. Crossroads were just around the corner, he thought. Or they had already passed it. Perhaps they were in it now; over where the crossing and the roads were, which they might have missed or Li Bo led them without them knowing of it. But he asked none of these. He did not dare ask anything related to their journey. Another glum feeling slithered in his throat like the past.

He hated the snow and the ice and the cold.

A few more days after, he saw a small hill rise up in the horizon in the rare moment of the snowstorm subsiding for mere seconds. Though the scene went away quick, Zhang Cai saw the dotted mountains and blue-white peaks donning their tops and the greenery below the crowns quite clear. Too clear. They were near. They picked up speed at this revelation.

Every few hours, Zhang Cai helped Li Bo hide the strange pill he swallowed from Li Huan‘s eyes. When they pitched camp he would let Li Bo disappear to scout, and he would come back in a few minutes with wetter shoulders and sleeves. Everytime he went away out of sight, Li Huan watched his way, and Zhang Cai requested her help so that she might not look all the time and wear herself out.

This gloomy attitude of hers and strange, feverish bond to her brother turned more evident as they approached closer. He felt, Zhang Cai knew, some foreboding sense of realization that he would not like. As it was with such gut feeling, he knew this Li Estate was not the home of the siblings. Their home was different. No one would shoulder such difficulty so glum if they were on the track to home. Even he, chasing after his dear home, had not put such sorrowful smiles and dark eyes.

But again he never enquired. And he had no chance to enquire. Perhaps a day later, or a few days more, Zhang Cai and Li Bo and Li Huan all froze in their steps at the reveberating tremors of a roar spreading around them.

‘‘Where does it come from?‘‘ Zhang Cai asked. He put one hand on his blade and the other on his chest. He could not let them burn.

‘‘From south.‘‘ Li Bo pinpointed. His face was not so much fair after sweating for so long. Hollow cheeks accompanied the pale countenance. ‘‘It is close. Too close.‘‘

‘‘It sounds strong.‘‘ was all Li Huan added. She already had her dark blade clenched tight, ready to swing at whatever would come.

‘‘Let us be at haste.‘‘ Li Bo said and they went up north over almost dashing. They ran and ran, but did not use Qi, and soon they heard another roar much closer.

A stomach-ache struck Zhang Cai. His guts screamed in pain.

‘‘Is it chasing us!?‘‘ He shouted in panic. They could not meet any enemy here. They should not.

‘‘How could it,‘‘ Li Bo answered, unsure himself. ‘‘We have no tracks, we have no Qi left behind...‘‘

Here his gaze went to Zhang Cai, and Zhang Cai‘s to his own hand that lit up those flames.

‘‘Flames...Xian?‘‘

‘‘I made sure to burn that forest so any and all would set their eyes on there-‘‘ Li Bo stomped harder on the snow. ‘‘How in the heavens‘ name could they ever come here this far?‘‘

‘‘Is it a different one? One that was slumbering near?‘‘

‘‘We are past that territory for days.‘‘ he said.

‘‘What if they followed all the way from the forest?‘‘

Both had their heads tremble at Li Huan‘s words.

‘‘But how would they so inconspicuously?‘‘ both said. And they cast a look back at the thick snowstorm ever-growing, and saw a thread of Qi controlling the air to transform harsher. Not the kind that created, but the kind of gentle push that helped the storm gather strength.

‘‘Rocksmote!‘‘ Li Bo said. ‘‘Run! Do not halt your steps even for a moment!‘‘ He shouted.

Their feet picked up speed and they used Qi to shoot forward. One leap after another they reached an inhuman pace, stepping over meters until a sharp whistle rang in their ears and Zhang Cai felt three sickle shapes cut through his chest.

‘‘OUGH!‘‘ He retched, his stomach churned, and the terrifying force behind the claws sent him shooting away from the duo to smash through patches of snow.

At each collision he left blood trailing him.

‘‘What?‘‘ He said out loud. ‘‘What!?‘‘ He saw something, but he was not sure. He felt pain, indeed, and in his hazy scarlet vision he saw red chrysanthemum and lotuses blooming on him in such intensity he felt warm and no more cold. He tried to stand up, but his leg did not answer. He tried to push his arms up, but the limbs did not answer. An insane sweat poured down his scalp.

In that state, unaware of what happened and what was happening, he looked up and saw the majestic silver-blue scales of steel glitter in the silver landscape. Perhaps almost diamond, he could say, but this hazy vision provided no help. The four horns adorning like crowns, the top of the sharp head turned to his face, up on them a gold iris flashing Qi out.

‘‘/+&)(//^&(/!‘‘

‘‘What?‘‘ he answered. He did not understand what that pale long tongue uttered.

‘‘!/(=(/)!(^=)^(!=^)(‘‘

‘‘I don‘t understand,‘‘ he said.

The Xian, now he recognized, raised its hind legs up and roared into the sky. From its maw four times his size rose a sphere of blue and aquamarine, thrusting and crackling with Frost Qi that froze everything around.

‘‘You who have seen what should not have been, lay your life for my ancestors.‘‘

A dark blade sliced through the Qi sphere and shattered it. Blue spread like rings over the terrain and snow rose in waves. Air caned, winds whipped at them, and Zhang Cai found a small hand going over his burning chest.

‘‘Calm down.‘‘ Li Huan said. She had a bandage-like cloth on her fingers. She swept them over and the three swipes seared against his inside.

Zhang Cai irked back. His back against freezing cold, his front flaring in intense pain, he attempted to roll. He wanted to roll, to throw away this pain by smashing against the ground. But Li Huan pushed him down—she had been as strong as him with cultivation, and in this state he had no chance to go retaliate.

‘‘CALM DOWN!‘‘

She swiped the cloth again. He screamed.

Then the snow rose and rose and some washed over them. A warmth spread to his right, which burned and turned hot and then shone bright volcanic red.

Zhang Cai took a single peek and he forgot all about the pain.

Li Bo stood on a flying sword, brandishing his dark blade enveloped by a thin layer of molten crimson. The heat intense, his eyes grave, he sliced up at the descending maw of the Rocksmote Frost Xian and cut through its scales.

The Xian forced its jaw down still, unstoppable in force, and slammed Li Bo down to the ground with sheer strength.

‘No!‘‘ He shouted. Zhang Cai sprung up and tried to rise up. His legs gave up; he fell face first on the snow. ‘‘No! Don‘t fight! You need to run away!‘‘

Li Huan caught him from the shoulder and pulled him back.

‘‘YOU! STOP!‘‘

He saw her twisted, fear-ridden face. ‘‘You stop! My brother is strong! You need to stop!‘‘

It did not make sense what she said. Or was she trying to say another thing, unable to utter it? Did she have a feeling that things were not the same as they looked?

A roar reverberated in their eardrums, and another molten crimson ray melted the terrain. As if awakened by the warmth, Li Huan poured from a bottle a liquid on the cloth and swiped over him again.

‘‘Endure, Caicai,‘‘ she mumbled. ‘‘Endure so I can go. So I can help...we can help.‘‘

For a moment he held his scream, but then he could not and let it out. His throat felt like it would tear apart, and his chest felt as if it would split into two and spill all the heart and lungs he had until now. But they did not. When he felt the earth rumble and his back shivered, he saw his chest no longer bleeding.

‘‘Wrap this-‘‘ she did not finish her word and sprung up on her flying sword. She shot off to the battle he could not gaze at.

Zhang Cai trembled, grunted. His stomach rumbled; a pain so sharp and warm came over him that he did not have the spirit to stand up, to rise, to look forth at all the sounds and shouts and the roars that kept his ears busy and his heart beating hard. He took one foot forward, and he lunged so that he could garner strength from his thighs to stand.

Another forward, his toes curled. He put both arms down and pushed the ground. He did not push himself up. He pushed against the ground. Inch by inch, his shoulders rose above and his back straightened. He found his feet unsteady, and his knees trembled. But he had strength. And intense pain. But he could stand up now.

IF he could stand up now, he could move. IF he could move, then he could run. IF he could run, he could fight!

He could fight! He could go to that place a dozen meters away, which exploded and wrecked every single moment and let out whirlwinds of Qi shaking his entire being. He could, so he struggled more. He gnashed his teeth, chattered, and one he felt crack under the pressure.

But then his legs stretched straight.

He found himself standing upright, gaze above, shoulders firm. He trembled, and felt as if he would fall at the weakest of winds and the faintest of touches. But he did not. And he looked forward.

Li Bo rose and rose in the air, a trail of steam followed his flapping cloak and a hawk-like illusion of fire descended from his blade. Flames spread, scarlet dyed the sky above him, and it fell on top of a aquamarine sphere of condensed Qi.

Both forces smashed against each other mid-air and exploded.

‘‘Those who are against us, let it be! We come here for retribution alone, not to pursue! Let us be, and you shall be safe!‘‘

The Xian flapped its wings and rose, roaring with all its might. Rocksmote could learn a common human language and speak it well. But not this well.

What manner of Xian was this, to have scales reminiscent of Spirit level diamond but of forged steel? Which one would don on their back and tails and head iron spikes and feather-crested plates as armor?

As if this one imitated a Spirit level Xian. As if...it were a child admiring an adult.

‘‘I am a cultivator!‘‘ Li Bo replied. His blade had long been covered in crimson fire revolving around it. The storm of fire came round and round until it turned into a faint sheen of scarlet around the edge.

‘‘I am a cultivator.‘‘ He said, solemn. ‘‘I have a duty to protect my own, and to exterminate your own. Do not hold a grudge.‘‘

‘‘Then let it be, your deaths will be my mark of ascendance to the Threshold!‘‘

Li Bro...

Zhang Cai took a step forward. He touched his chest and felt it warm. I lost too much blood...I don‘t feel anything except warmth...

That did not matter.

He cast a look and saw his blade lying on a patch much too far. He could not reach it fast, nor in adequate time. He glanced around and saw his master‘s map and books lying safe not much farther. But not the spatial bag. Not on him, nor on the ground.

I have to use myself.

He put one foot forward, pulled the other back. He willed it, his stomach churned, and chest sizzled. Qi gushed out, and he lost one Pull of the two Pulls worth Qi while drawing it up.

That did not matter.

From his feet, as if he forgot all instruction and control, and he had no idea what Qi was or how it worked, he propelled himself up. Winds screamed and he shot off like an arrow, chasing the flying figures of the Aquamarine and Scarlet slamming against each other in the sky.

I have twenty pulls left. He counted. If I lose one for each two, it is essentially ten.

That did not matter.

An inferno rose in the sky and pieces of frost scales rained on him. Zhang Cai brushed past some, and some stabbed on him. Another Pull wasted and he shot forward again without losing momentum.

I can‘t catch them with linear movements like this.

How then?

If he could continuously pull the Qi, transform it, and expel it at the same time...

He attempted, but his stomach retched. The Qi turned wind too quick, and it slammed against his insides.

No! Don‘t fuck with anything!

All he had to do was shoot up and distract. Or to land something on that Xian. He could not, perhaps, even pierce its scales. But if it turned away for one second alone, that would be enough for Li Bo who fought when he was not supposed to.

Another pull went away and he saw a claw slam onto Li Bo‘s blade. His feet struggled to stay on the flying sword, both knees and the blade shivered.

In return he slashed a wave of flames at the Xian, breaking a dozen of the thousand scales and tearing its under-flesh apart. By now there were more than a dozen slashes like this covering its body, all concentrated near its belly.

The fucking stomach it is!

He could strike if there were no scales.

Without shouting nor grunting, without alerting both sides he pushed four complete pulls worth into his feet.

A storm brewed under him and shot him so fast his eyelids flapped against his forehead. The mouth wide, shoulders compressed, he put the remaining three into his fist.

Metal sprung forth, the element of Man, and turned into three claws the size of his torso. Just as they gleamed under Li Bo‘s scarlet flames, the dragon‘s head snapped back towards Zhang Cai.

It slapped forth its wings and rose up. Zhang Cai missed the target.

‘‘Futile!‘‘ It roared.

But Li Bo came under its now open belly and tore through the clouds cloaking them. A red sun came to be in his hands that stretched into another blade covering the dark metal, and without giving a reaction chance to the Xian cut into its bloody guts.

‘‘‘ROAR!‘‘

With howls and in apparent agony the Xian fell back, flapping away and away. The low pain-threshold of Xian proved to be the most fatal weakness of it here. Most of its blood rained on them, but Li Bo did not stop his pursuit.

Zhang Cai caught the small figure of Li Huan turning larger and larger, descending from a high point no one knew, a lance of flames burning with her blade.

Just as he started to fall, she struck Xian's well guarded head.

Fuck...

Quickly, he disappeared from the sight of the duo. He had a complete pull remaining, but it did not seem enough to stop his fall. High chill of the sky and its frozen blasts hit him in his descent, pulling down and out the fickle warmth out of his chest and heart. And he picked up speed, and the wind turned into a storm pushing against him.

What the fuck did I do that for...

He might have been able to run.

No. He could not have such thoughts.

When he saw the clouds recede and the blizzard swallow them whole in its gray mist, Zhang Cai closed his eyes. He felt no need to see the same scenery over and over. What he needed at that moment was a bout of respite to regain his calm. To recollect what he learned, what he had been taught, and what he experienced.

The chill crawling up his spine warmed up and he no longer felt the storm battering its winds at him. All senses of his seemed to tune down, so that he might think faster. So that he might think deeper; think of the more important, more precious things. Bit by bit he felt the touch of his toes and his fingers, and the squeaking of his knees and his scalp freezing from the sweat.

When he heard the last drum of his heartbeat, his eyes shut open.

What fucking epiphany!?

He was frostbitten, and he had lost too much blood. The amateurish covering of the bandages on his chest flapped around, about to come undone, and through their gaps cold seeped easier into his organs.

There was no important thing to think or reconsider, or a truth to be reached here. There simply was death, and he had felt it squeeze his very own heart.

Zhang Cai‘s heart drums took a frantic pace.

I was about to die...I was about to die...I was about to die...

With a single peek over his shoulder through the blizzard he saw the ground inching at him.

I am about to die!

What could he do, then? All he had was a pull of Qi and nothing more but a battered shivering body.

Wind! Just give me wind! Just let me stay up!

His stomach churned, his chest swelled forth. He had just the thought of a strong tempest in his mind, and this image of a fierce whirlwind came to be in his hand. It did not exist out of his hand, nor exploded into being as always. It seemed to seep out with his Qi at the same time, existing in the same moment he extracted it.

For a moment, he understood the mechanics of Li Bo‘s crimson blade.

After that moment, the ground gave way beneath him.

His fall was so sharp and quick, he still could not lift himself up that easily. The tempest stretched out like a string and striked at the snow-cloaked earth, spraying both the cold white and the dear brown of it all around. Then it pierced the surface, battered at the rocks laying underneath, and broke them as well.

Zhang Cai slowed and slowed, until between him and the earth was mere five meters, and the tempest died.

He fell face first into the hole winds carved and smashed his head onto a boulder. The slab cracked.

‘‘Haah! Haaah! Haah! Haah!‘‘

His breath ragged, Zhang Cai glanced at the blood trickling down his forehead. This was bad. He could not hurt his head. He should not have hurt his head. He could hurt anywhere but not his head. It was forbidden.

‘‘Fuck!‘‘ He tried to move again, but there was no response. Unlike the last few times he wercked his body, this was not the usual silence of his body. He had no control. He could not signal his muscles the motion to compress, nor his tendons to stretch. Nothing. He thought, and he did the natural thing that existed in all men and women from birth.

But there was nothing.

And then he realized he did not feel the cold as well. And the supposed wound on his forehead.

His eyes shut close, and he saw himself above his body, glancing at it from a place impossible to look at. The world aimed at him everything it had. Its winds drilled down at him and its snow rained down at him. The rocks he dug and the earth he sprayed out all flowed down to bury his unmoving feet and his shivering chest.

His eyes opened, and he was back.

What...what the fuck. What the fuck.

‘‘What the fuck!? What the fuck!? What the fuck is this!?‘‘

He could not speak up. All he said turned into mutters unable to hear.

What was this state? What was he doing? What was this...this...

In all the thoughts invading his faint consciousness, he found nothing comprehensible. His capability to think faded away. He had nothing remaining but his sight to comprehend the world around him and he saw nothing but a scarlet pile of snow building up.

Ah...master...