Red Blossom in the Snow

Blackness.

Shao Ling's life did not flash before his eyes when he died alone in a hospital bed. It was like a dreamless sleep; it seemed like one moment he was awake in agony, and the next he awoke in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar world.

Once again Shao Ling found his consciousness adrift in a black ocean. He noticed a few pinpricks of light dotting the darkness, like stars twinkling in space.

[Did I die again?]

It was a bizarre thought to have.

The pain of having his meridians destroyed in an instant had vanished. In its place was... nothing. Shao Ling felt as if he'd been given a numbing anesthetic but kept conscious. He tried moving his arm, but discovered that he was unable to sense the presence of an arm, much less move it.

[So much for my martial path. Well, I guess I already learned how worthless determination and effort is in my last life... Mm, maybe that's a bit unfair. My new family and Master Yao were willing to support my unreasonable pursuit of martial arts, even if it was pointless in the end. Hell, I broke through to the f*cking Qi Gathering Stage! That's worth something. Even something worthless has its own worth. That's got to be some kind of proverb, right?]

The stars in the dark were silent.

[I hope that powerful senior at least dropped Master Hu off by a doctor if she'll go through the trouble of killing me on a whim... If it was going to end up like this, maybe I should've focused on trying to escape the cycle of life and death rather than pursuing my own foolish desires. Ha, look at that, I'm one step closer to Buddha- not that I'll likely have the privilege of carrying my insights from this life to my next reincarnation. Or I might, since I'm such a lucky guy.]

The scenery before him suddenly changed without warning.

Shao Ling stood- or rather, floated, in a black void amidst misshapen chunks of rock varying in size from as small as a golf ball to larger than a football stadium. He was still unable to move or feel.

[Is this like the waiting area for people to be reincarnated? I don't see any beautiful goddesses or smartass gods waiting around for me... I hope mother and father don't cry too much. Oh, I guess I won't be able to guarentee Shao Yun's extra share of the boar. Maybe she'll get mine now that I won't be eating any.]

His thoughts were abruptly cut off by a tidal wave of white that washed over the world, encasing the floating debris in crystalline cocoons and freezing the void itself.

In that instant nothing existed but cold. It wasn't a cold that Shao Ling felt with his body, but one that pierced his soul like a million swords mercilessly plunging into his very being. The sensation was beyond pain, it was the sensation of his very existence being extinguished like a lit match tossed into a blizzard.

[Wow.]

Even as he felt himself being erased from existence, Shao Ling admired the supreme Yin essence he felt from the realm of ice he found himself in. His vision was reduced to a field of pure white, but it didn't particularly hinder his comprehension of what he was experiencing. The world of ice that devoured Shao Ling was actually the manefestation of Pure Yin Laws, comprehension of the very essence of Yin. Shao Ling had a natural affinity for Yin Qi due to his Extreme Yin Meridians- a double edged sword that also reduced his affinity for Yang Qi to a fatal degree- but the Pure Yin Laws exhibited before him were far beyond his understanding. However...

[I think this glimpse of the essence of Yin has greatly increased my understanding of Yin Qi. If I were to cultivate Pure Yin Laws, I think my comprehension of them would be at least a hundred times deeper than it would be just relying on Extreme Yin Meridians.]

With that thought Shao Ling's consciousness faded like the setting sun being rapidly overtaken by the night.

[I guess I'm a foolish martial artist until the end.]

Shao Ling couldn't feel his lips, but he felt that they'd probably be twisted into a wry smile just then.

Red.

An explosion of red came from Shao Ling's body, which was filled with feeling all at once. Hot was the word that best described the feeling, as if a chain of volcanos were errupting beneath his skin and sending dark red flames spiralling outward in a beautiful explosion in the Pure Yin World, like a blood-red flower blooming on white snow.

[Woah, what's this power? It's so damn hot... I'm buring alive, but it feels so good! But it doesn't make sense. This profound energy flowing out of me is Yang Qi!]

"HAHAHAHAHAhahaha!"

Shao Ling awoke with manic laughter echoing in his ears. A veil of clouds hid the stars, but the light of the moon could be faintly made out through the wispy gray curtain. A cool breeze brushed against Shao Ling's face as if to rouse him as he lay on his back staring at the sky.

[...Was I dreaming?]

He lay there on the ground for a while, taking in the sound of the rustling leaves, the crickets mournful melody, and the sensation of the cold ground leeching the warmth from his body. The lumpy earth which served as his bed left far to be desired comfort-wise, but it was a welcome feeling after the loss of all feeling.

Taking a deep breath, Shao Ling turned his attention inward, as he probed his meridians with his conciousness.

"Damn it. That woman sure healed me."

It was as if a skilled surgeon had punctured his meridians innumerable times, preventing the deadly accumilation of overcompensatory Yang Qi which those born with Extreme Yin Meridians experienced. The result was a system of meridians like a straws with holes in them; they're capable of distributing Qi throughout his body, but are unable to absorb Heaven and Earth Qi at the accelerated rate necessary for martial cultivation. He would possess the lifespan of a normal human, but his cultivation level would steadily waste away with insufficient Qi to replenish it, resulting in Shao Ling returning to the strength of a normal man with no hope of going further down the martial path.

Shao Ling sat up painlessly; the meridian-altering procedure was flawless, but weighed on his heart like an anchor of despair. He scanned his surroundings, and found that the beautiful senior who crippled his cultivation was gone.

[Oi, not planning on checking up on your patient, Miss Doctor?] he thought darkly.

Shao Ling leapt to his feet, ignoring the protests of his cramped muscles, and practically flew over over to Yao Hu's side when he caught sight of him. The martial artist's robes were soaked in a considereable amount of blood, but Shao Ling gasped when he saw that Yao Hu's legs, which had been missing a moment ago, were once again attached to the rest of his body.

"Ha. Hahahaha."

Shao Ling sunk to his knees in relief.

"I guess I have something to thank you for after all, Lady Yin."

Lady Yin was the name he privately assigned to the senior who took part in killing the old zombie, maimed Shao Ling's meridians, and saved Yao Hu's life.

"That world of Pure Yin... That was you, wasn't it?"

Shao Ling's instincts told him that the world of white he had witnessed was related to the powerful enemy of the old zombie. Based on the enemies the old zombie cursed, she was probably "Ice Sculpture," but Shao Ling felt he did not have the right to call her that, nor was he of the vulgar disposition to do so. He had managed to gain insights into both Pure Yin Laws and Yang Laws due to the strange dream he had; although, it didn't matter so much now that his martial path was definitively severed due to the mutilation of his meridians.

He looked at his master's face, which was bisected by two savage looking scars. The menacing expression that Yao Hu perpetually wore looked more relaxed as he breathed peacefully with his eyes closed.

"I suppose it's not such a bad trade off. I do feel bad about the support I've received on my martial path. Father even bought Hazard Beast Bone for me. Hm, my lifespan should end up the same as a mortal or in the Qi Gathering Stage I was at before my meridians were altered, so it balances out in a sense- in fact, Master Yao's life puts this ordeal thoroughly in my favor."

Shao Ling heaved a heavy sigh. In all honesty he still felt numb about the whole affair, and he knew it would probably take a while for the reality of what had been done to him to sink in.

[I know that Lady Yin healed him with some mystic technique, but I remember that medical common sense fro my old world said that you shouldn't move an injured person. There won't be any ambulances coming, but the palanquin should be arriving soon.]

The black sky above took on a more gray hue as dawn drew nearer, and Shao Ling sat cross-legged on the ground to wait.