I'll Heal You

Shao Ling watched the old man's bones collapse to the ground like hyper-realistic movie props. The experience was so surreal that the unrealistic death scenes of movie characters seemed more grounded in reality than what Shao Ling had just witnessed.

The viscous black fluid- Shao Ling's no longer believed it was blood- continued to corrode at the senior's bones like industrial-grade acid, but the bones refused to melt; it looked like they were coated with tar, and the old man's blackened skull maintained an eternal grin, at least until the the moment that the sizzling substance managed to corrode it away, but that time looked to be far off.

[What just happened? I know that as a reincarnator from another world I don't have much room to say something is weird, but alternatively, that makes me an expert on weird, and that was certifiably insane.]

"What did he do to me?"

[He considered it a gift, but who knows what sort of gift that old zombie would give a junior?]

Recalling the feeling of something entering his brain, Shao Ling closed his eyes and tried to find a hint of the sensation of a vast ocean he felt before. After a few breaths of searching, he accepted that it wasn't something he could casually detect.

[I'll look into it more when I get back home. If I can't find anything, Master Yao- Master Yao!]

The realization that Yao Hu was missing struck Shao Ling like a lightning bolt.

[I mistook that old zombie for Master Yao, but he must be somewhere nearby!]

"Master Yao! Master Yao! Can you hear hear me?!"

Shao Ling frantically searched the area around the shallow crater as he called out for his master. His body had recovered somewhat from being victim to an undead meteorite, so he was able to quickly comb the area.

Logic told him that if he was able to escape relatively unharmed from the uncanny phenomenon with his meager cultivation, then it would be a breeze for Yao Hu.

Still, Shao Ling was unable to suppress a nagging anxiety in his heart; the events of the night had drastically shaken his perception of what was possible.

Before long he came across a sight that stopped his heart.

The scent of iron was thick in the air. Yao Hu lay on the ground as if he had leaned too far back on a chair and fell over. His black robe was pristine, save for a bit of dirt from falling on the ground. The jarring aspect of the scene was that his legs were missing below his thighs, and ground beneath him was soaked with blood.

[No. No no no no no no no this can't be happening. This is a dream, right? I had that weird dream, maybe I still haven't woken up?"

The strong scent of blood and eerie look of peace on Yao Hu's usually menacing face kept Shao Ling from convincing himself that he was dreaming.

"A doctor. I need to get him to a doctor. Hahaha I guess it's good that I'm sickly, we have plenty of doctors."

Shao Ling approached his master like a robot, and saw that there were several severe burns on his body.

At some point Shao Ling fell to his knees, he didn't know when, but the next second it seemed his trembling fingers were on Yao Hu's neck, checking for a pulse.

The man's neck was cold like a corpse, a comparison that Shao Ling quickly banished from his mind as he starred at the unmoving man. Yao Hu had become a huge part of Shao Ling's second life. If Shao Wei was Shao Ling's second father, he considered the scarred man with a menacing air to be a beloved uncle.

[Damn that old man! Why did he have to fall here?! Couldn't he just break all the bones in his body like a normal person instead of hitting the ground like a cannonball?!]

After what felt like a century, Shao Ling felt a weak thump, followed by another after a few more centuries.

"Ha. Hahaha I knew you were too stubborn to die, you Demon Tiger!"

Shao Ling clenched his teeth, then forced a smile.

"Come on, let's go home."

As he reached down to pick up his master, Shao Ling felt the pressure of Heaven and Earth lifting off his shoulders, but his guts remained thoroughly knotted.

"Oh, there's someone else here."

The voice was feminine, soft, and clear. It could've been a pleasant voice, save for the fact that it was devoid of emotion and sent instinctive shivers down Shao Ling's spine. This night had been too strange by far, and anyone he encountered was extremely suspect.

While holding his master in his arms- a simple feat due to his breakthrough into the Qi Gathering Stage- Shao Ling slowly turned around to the face the source of the voice.

Angelic. That was the first word that came to Shao Ling's mind when he beheld the beauty before him. Her long black hair was darker than a raven's feathers, and her skin was like freshly fallen snow that contained a healthy glow. She wore an elegant silver robe that seemed brighter than the moon. All this gave her an air similar to the eternally youthful, aloof, and beautiful angels Christianity spoke of in his previous life.

Shao Ling found himself unable to speak as he felt an unfathomable power sweeping through his body that gave him the feeling of falling into an icy lake.

"It looks like this pair fell casualty to our battle. Oh, and this one has Extreme Yin Meridians."

Shao Ling's Head spun at those statements.

["Our battle?" Could she be the one of those who that senior cursed? She seems a step from Nirvana, but she doesn't seem like a shiny b*astard. Could she be the daoist? Or the ice sculpture? If she fought that old zombie she's unquestionably more powerful than I can imagine, judging by the state that senior was in. He was incredibly powerful, so she must be even stronger! No, that's not right, that old zombie cursed three people, so they must've cooperated in order to defeat him, which would mean that he was as strong as three of them! That or he was really good at drawing the ire of powerful people.]

Shao Ling was less than an ant to figures at that strength, those with the might of gods- or demons!

[It's no wonder she could detect my abnormal meridians at a glance. Wait, what will happen if she finds whatever that senior put in my body? Damn it, there's no way she'll look kindly upon a junior favored by that damned zombie!]

Shao Ling looked to the beauty's face, but discovered that no matter how hard he tried to focus on it her facial features were a blur to him, and he soon dropped his gaze as his eyes ached as if he had been staring at the sun.

"It's good that the old demon didn't try anything. Possessing you wouldn't have done him any good, but it would've resulted in your death as well. I'm impressed that he could overcome the temptation."

The beautiful senior said these terrifying words in her cool voice, which grasped Shao Ling's heart in a frigid fist.

She swept out her left hand- which bore an exquisite ring that looked like it was carved out of high-class jade on her ring finger- and the old zombie's sizzling bones disappeared.

[Is that an interspacial ring from my old world's cultivation novels?!]

Shao Ling was too startled to pity the senior for having his bones picked up like trophies by his enemy.

"In celebration of the death of a great enemy, I'll heal you."

The statement was as unceremonious as a falling leaf.

Before Shao Ling had time to process those words, an overwhelming pain far greater than anything He had ever experienced swept through him. At some point he released an agonized scream that would put banshees to shame, and the beautiful senior disappeared.

[She destroyed my meridians!]

Shao Ling's hazy mind was barely able to form this thought before the world was engulfed in darkness.