What happens when you discover what lies within?

Ling Yun gazed in profundity at the clouds drifting across the blue sky.

The grass blew gently along in the wind dancing along to a merry tune that he couldn't hear but wished to.

He grasped the clouds with his fist.

"Ah ! I wish I were so free ! " , he muttered, "Even though both of us share the same name our lives can't be anymore different !"

"Oi ! What are you doing out there ? Come back this instant , we have work to do !"

A very familiar voice rudely awakened him from his dreams

"Can't you leave me in peace for a single moment ! Get off my hair, already !"

"No I can't young man ! You better listen to your mother , unless you wish to starve for the entire day!"

He couldn't help but sigh in exasperation.

"Fine , I'm coming along"

Unknown to him there were two people having an involved discussion about him at that instant.

"Are you sure he will be fine ? I mean look at him ! He spends all his time with his head in the clouds instead of participating in honest farm work ! I really don't know what will we do with him !"

'You are worrying too much as usual ! Give him some time ,Kids are like that at that age after some time he would come out of his own fantasy and settle down properly ."

Ling Yun 's father leaned toward his mother till their eyes met.

"Trust me on this one " , he said expressing his firm confidence .

His mother nodded hesitatingly still not sure even so the discussion had come to an end after all in a farm in the countryside there was always some work or the other to do.

Unfortunately Ling Yun's father's confidence was misplaced .

One night , a couple of years later his son ran away from home leaving just a letter behind.

The next day Ling Yun was walking along the riverbank , his luggage slung over his shoulder , whistling away in abandon.

Free , he was free at last.

No more washing stables or sties or pigs or cows.

No more milking or bowing to every whim of the chickens !

He was free to pursue his own destiny.

He couldn't help but express his joy at the top of his voice singing along as he made his way downriver to the next town.

Surprisingly he stopped abruptly mid-song .

He rubbed his eyes once more to check if he wasn't dreaming .

Although he had heard of such incidents happening before but it was still weird to see one right in person.

In the middle of the river what appeared to be a dead body was floating along downstream with the current.

Now Ling Yun wasn't a busybody but most of the proper rites and customs had been drilled into him from a young age and one of those involved a proper sendoff for the departed.

Although he couldn't say that he was an expert at that compared to the temple priest after hearing for many times even a idiot would remember something , right ?

He couldn't help but sigh .

He didn't know if the body was abandoned or not but regardless since he had found it , a proper burial was in the cards.

Besides coming from the countryside he was a big believer in superstition .

Who knows if the corpse would return as an unquiet dead to revenge ?

That would be the worst !

The thought was enough to terrify him down to his roots.

Plus doing a good deed would certainly signify a good start to the journey ahead ?

"Thank your stars , corpse ". Ling Yun grumbled before placing his luggage , stripping himself and then jumping into the water.

"Brrr! "

The water was freezing cold !

What did he expect anyways in the middle of autumn in the northern regions ?

Seriously , he was beginning to regret this .

Luckily the current wasn't too swift and he was able to easily reach the corpse and he tugged it with a force.

He nearly fell into the water.

Astounded he realized that the body of the man was lighter than it looked .

A fact which made it easier for him to tow it to the shore.

"Phew ! " , He wiped the sweat of his brow and lifted the corpse on to the bank.

He hurriedly wore his clothes to prevent from being frozen and then began the ceremony as quick as he could so that he could head on his way earlier

"Unless one reaches the permanence of the Sun , the Moon or the Stars.."

His leg hit unintentionally against the corpse .

"Ouch ! That hurt .Still surprisingly it's warm ! "

"Wait ...warm , By the Heavens this man is a..alive !"

He roared out astonished .

He didn't know what to do !

Dealing with corpses was one thing that was known to him but how do you save a dying unconscious man !

He wasn't a healer and even if he was there was nothing he could have done not when the healer in his former village only knew a single remedy for all ails !

Take a herbal concoction !

Where was he going to get a herbal concoction in the middle of nowhere ?

Okay , don't panic , He told himself.

Luckily unlike the other ignorant lads in the village he had done a great many reading of novels in the past with the Wuxia novels being his favourite.

He decided to try the methods he had learnt from those great sources of information.

After all they had served him great use before in winning many a argument in the village before.

'Okay stay calm .'

"Step 1 . Check if the chap has a pulse or if he is breathing"

He tried his best to do that by holding his hand and feeling.

'Wait a minute .. What does a pulse feel like ?"

"Fine , let's forget it let's try listening for the breathing"

He calmed himself down and held his right ear as close as to the man's nose as possible but try as he might he couldn't hear nothing even when his ear touched the other's nostrils.

"So that one was a failure as well . Let's move on to Step 3 . Supposedly pushing against the chest of an unconscious person many times can get his heart to what was the word , right 'Jump-start !'.

He couldn't help but feel delighted at the fact that he had remembered such a complex word .

But wait a moment ..

He was forgetting something wasn't he ?

Right , the man .. the man on the ground.

He gritted his teeth and began punching the man in his chest when that didn't work he moved on to kicking then combo moves he had learnt while wrestling.

But none of them were working at all !

Now , Ling Yun was in full on panic mode.

"What do I do ? What do I do ? " , he couldn't help running around here and there in his nervousness.

"Right there's one thing still that I can do !" , a lantern was lit inside his head !

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes struggling at the thought of what was to happen.

"Good bye my future ! I had hoped for this to happen in a much different circumstance ! But whatever as they say Saving a Life is better than building a seven storied pagoda ! I hope that this counts as some merit."

He closed his eyes and moved in close until his lips were inches from the man's .

He reached down .

"Zap !"

Ling Yun was thrown backward and he landed in a very ungainly manner on his butt.

The man got up with a start his wet hair was still crackling with blue sparks and his eyes held an immense amount of an unspeakable fury.

"Whoa ! " , Ling Yun muttered in surprise , "I never knew that it was so effective ! So the moment is really as magical as the novels say ! "

The other man looked at him his brow congealing into a frown. It was now that Ling Yun noticed that the man had beautiful sculpted features akin to a painting.

"What a sissy ! ' , he thought sourly.

"What did you do to me ? " , he asked softly his tone as emotionless and still as a lake in the mountains.

Ling Yun incensed retorted hotly

"I just saved your life that's what ! And you ..you even did that.. did whatever that thing was ."

The other man looked at him curiously as if he was staring at a whole new world

"How did you save my life ? " , he asked in the same tone.

"You ...You weren't breathing , okay and you were drifting all the way down Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't come along."

The other man tilted his quizzically as if he wished to know the answer to that as well.

Ling Yun sighed .

He just couldn't be bothered with such an ungrateful prick.

But wait a minute ...

His heart began to quicken as he thought of a possibility .

"Are you a ...a Martial Arts Master ? " he asked aloud in a manner he felt was as solemn as possible.

"Why do you think that ? " , the other man responded.

"You know ' cause of that zapping and that sleeping thing you were doing earlier was it the legendary turtle breathing skill ?" He began explaining animatedly his hands moving here and there all the time .

The other man unfortunately was still not affected if anything he was taken aback by the passion exposed by Ling Yun.

"I have never heard of any turtle breathing or whatever it was you were saying ."

"Okay forget the turtle breathing I may be wrong on that one , But there is no doubt that you , my friend are an expert in the field of Martial Arts ."

"So what if I were ? What has that got to do with anything ?"

The next scene nearly frightened the other man out of his wits.

Ling Yun had latched on to his legs and was grovelling under his feet.

"Master this humble disciple of yours , Ling Yun , salutes you !' , he exclaimed zealously.

Sweat began to emerge on the other man's brow clearly he had never been in such a situation before.

"But I really don't know any martial arts ! "

'What do you mean you don't know , you can't trick me Master ! Being persistent is one of my best qualities , Never Fear !"

"Uh...'

At last the other man couldn't take it any longer and decided to do something , anything to get out of this situation.

"Here , give me your hand !"

"Right away master ! Are you going to do one of those legendary transfers of divine power ! It really is my lucky day ! "

"You talk too much ."

"What ? "

The man sighed exasperated .

"Give me your hand !"

"Fine ! Don't be so edgy !"

The other man grasped Ling Yun's hand for an instant before letting it fall back .

He sighed with pity in his eyes.

"It appears we have no fate among us I am afraid ."

'Wait ..There's no way .. No it couldn't be . It is just one of those jokes isn't it , Master !"

"I can't be your master but that doesn't mean that your fate is entirely sealed it is just that a certain illusory path shall be out of reach for you forever."

'What does that mean ? Could you stop speaking in riddles ? Is there some sort of an agreement that if you wish to become a master you must certainly speak cryptically ?"

The other man laughed on hearing this , his laughter as fresh as a clear mountain stream

"Not everything that appears to be hidden is unclear , not everything that appears to be to be understood is clear. You will know that someday , my friend."

"Tell me though , why are you so obsessed with learning Martial Arts ?"

Ling Yun nearly fell down in his surprise.

"Why you ask ? Seriously " , he looked for confirmation to which the the man nodded in response.

"Let's see . Umm from where I came from there is hardly anything going on apart from the occasional attack by an wolf and even that has stopped being so frequent after the new measures taken by the court . So it is not like we have anything to do apart from you know , milking the cows , feeding the pigs and whatnot " , he elbowed the other man hoping that he would understand.

Unfortunately just as he expected the other man didn't seem to get it

"Sounds like you lead a peaceful life .From what I have heard the turbulent world of the Rivers and Lakes isn't peaceful at all , your life could be in danger at any point of time . Why would you choose a perilous life compared to the pleasant one that you were leading earlier ?"

"Perilous ,you say . How did you forget the endless freedom and the romance. The prospect of having peerless beauties drinking with you and ..Wait a minute just forget it ."

" I have been feeling that you and I we just talk at a different wavelength . "

"How about this then I am going to go for a prosy explanation , the sort that you master types seem to like ."

"Oh !"

Upon being confronted by Ling Yun's pointed stare he hurriedly pretended not to how said anything.

"Right , okay here goes .One day I discovered what truly lied within me ."

"And ? " , he said softly his ears pricking up in response.

"And here I am ."

The other man said nothing .

He turned his head towards the blue sky his pensive gaze breaking through the clouds .

"What happens when you discover what truly lies within ... " , he muttered for an instant before sighing.

"Thank you " , he said softly

"For saving your life ? " , Ling Yun queried.

'No , not for that".

He got up swiftly in a single elegant movement.

"Here !" , he tossed something at Ling Yun , who caught it shakily , he found out that it was a single piece of jade with the character 'Wind ' carved on one end and 'Second' on the other.

"Give that to General Breakeven in the Blue Wind County City and I'm sure he will find a way to fulfil your ambition ."

'General Break a what ? Hey ! Wait where are you going ?"

The other man who had already began walking turned his head back with a smile

"Towards the distant Horizon "

'The what ... Can't you speak normally for a moment ?"

"Farewell , if fate wills we shall meet again !'

"At least tell me your name before you leave !"

He swiftly turned and vanished in a single moment that left Ling Yun gaping in awe . In his preoccupation he nearly missed out on hearing the man's response but somehow it found its away into the depths of his mind.

"Feng Zichen"

After a moment's pause Ling Yun continued his journey as well towards Blue Wind County city and the fate that was beckoning him.

Ling Yun opened his eyes.

Another night had descended into the world and here he was marooned on top of a tree.

Part of the reason was his fault of course , although he had nothing to fear whatsoever from the Fang clan still as a precaution he had taken a much longer route around in order to avoid being stopped from them .

Who knew if they had some mystical method to figure out the culprit ?

He wasn't willing to take the chance.

Any trouble would just worsen the situation for him.

But unfortunately even though he had thought that he had considered all of the problems that he would face on his return he could never have believed that he would have strayed into a murderous demonic beast's territory.

The Tyrant Bear was a beast that could rival a middle tier Refining Qi stage cultivator and it didn't take kindly to any intruders.

Luckily the beast had just awoken from its sleep allowing him to escape for shelter to the top of this tree.

But he was well aware that in a battle of attrition he pretty much had no hope.

Which meant that he had to win somehow in a frontal showdown .

He sighed.

To win he must calculate first to ensure that the maximum likelihood lay on his side.

To calculate he must first discover what lies within him and the beast .

It was easy to understand the beast.

Regarding him ?

It was even easier .

He was it's bane.

Sometimes the answers were like that .

Extremely simple.

Meanwhile in another region in the Emerald Forest two people were having a conversation .

One of them was an old man who appeared to be of advanced age .

Even so there was a certain bearing in the way he held himself that informed others to belittle him at their own risk.

Surprisingly he was standing deferentially and making his report demurely to the other person .

'Young master , the work has been done your servant has finished the job perfectly !"

"It was as you predicted all I had to do was to 'loosen' my concentration for a bit and that fool Fang Guihao took the bait . He must most likely have been digested in the belly of a beast !"

The other person who had been sitting quietly on top of a stump till then finally began to speak

"Hush ! Old Lao , He is still my dear cousin after all ! Calling him a fool is inappropriate . Many of those in the family who love him would have your hide for what you said earlier. I really don't have anything personally against him it is just that he was a little too loved , you see especially by my grandfather ."

"Of Course , I do understand that. Never fear Young Master Xingchen ! Your path ahead is secure ! Still I don't get it that flower in the greenhouse could in no way be a threat to you , why did you have me remove him , especially now at such a crucial time."

Fang Xingchen sighed and lifted himself up elegantly from his seat.

He began treading with his hands crossed behind his back.

"Old Lao ! Have your ever considered what happens when you discover what truly lies within other people ?"

"No , Why ?"

'It gives you power over them " , he responded softly.

"Power to make .." , he lifted a twig and gently blew on it making it glow with a strange sheen.

"or Break them "

He broke the twig in his hand with a single fluid moment.

"Trust me , Old Lao on this one .This is the best time for an 'accident' to happen. Of course , you would certainly be punished for your negligence . I hope you're not worried regarding that are you ? "

"No , no , of course not ! "

"Good when the time comes the 'accident ' shall certainly become a act of deliberation "

"You don't mean ..?"

"I'm sure the family would trust if we called wolf one time .Don't you think ? "

The old man couldn't help chuckling in response .

"Of course , young master ! By the way I just coincidentally remembered that the Meng and the Song clans send their teams today as well."

"Then I'm sure they must have had something to do with the very unfortunate 'demise' of my dear brother Guihao ."

"Why of course ! Young Master Guihao was really , really brave taking on many enemies single-handed , using his Air Step to great perfection .But what a pity they were too many and in the end I couldn't reach on time !"

"Good "

"And Old Lao "

"Yes ?"

'You said most likely didn't you earlier ."

"I did "

"Then you have to make it unlikely is it clear , otherwise things might get a bit messy .I don't have to tell you what will happen to you then don't I"

"Of course not Young Master , I know what to do "

"Well then Good Luck ! and one last thing "

"Can you get me a fruit from a Hundred Year Gingko on your way back ? "

'It really is the season and I'm dying to have one "

"Certainly , your wish is my command , young master !"