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Living on your own when you’re still a young child was not an easy task. Hence the boy struggled as an orphan aimless in the vast cultivation world for exactly two years. The child was in the woods close to the most prominent sect in the lower cultivation world: Sisheng Peak in Sichuan when his luck suddenly turned again. When the young boy, with muddy feet, grimy cheeks and ripped clothes felt at his lowest, the sect leader Xue Zhengyong stumbled over the lonely child and took him in. Although that little orphan argued and didn’t want to be a burden to the charismatic man, Xue Zhengyong was a young father himself and couldn’t bear to know that such a delicate young one was thriving on his own.
Living under the same roof with hundreds of aspiring cultivators turned out to be not easier. Luckily he did not suffer hunger, he gained weight and was always dressed in clean and proper robes. However, Shi Mei was a timid child of seven years and his physique was closer to a little girl than a rascal. Many disciples picked on him for his very feminine and pretty features, especially because his spiritual powers didn’t really grow as fast as that of other cultivators. Many of the young disciples speculated if this adopted child of sect leader Xue really had cultivated a core. Thus he was first given the name Xue Ya, when he was introduced to the sect leader’s actual son Xue Meng. As this young lord was an only child, he was also spoiled rotten by his parents and his elder apprentice brothers and sisters. Hence the young lord behaved somewhat selfish and often presumptuous - but for some reason, his manners towards Shi Mei were considerate and especially kind.
The boys were only two years apart in age and so Shi Mei became Xue
Meng’s older apprentice brother. Even though they both did not have a Shizun yet, they were excited about the idea of learning under the same master one day. Xue Meng was more of a smart aleck and spoiled as a young master could be. However, in Xue Meng’s bratty and spoiled nature, there was also great generosity. Not only did they play with all his toys, Xue Meng gave access to all his books. Shi Mei was gluttonous for books and hungry for knowledge. Above all Xue Meng always shared his sweets with Shi Mei. The young lord of Sisheng Peak considered this as the best proof of his friendship with Shi Mei. The orphaned child himself enjoyed the secure surroundings of something like a proper family, which he has not had after escaping his previous home.
Weeks and months turned into a year in which the two boys shared moments of laughter and moments of a blithe childhood. They both studied cultivation as all the other common disciples without a master yet. Xue Meng formed a spiritual core very fast and so did his improvements. Shi Mei on the other hand didn’t live up to the expectations in cultivation afterwards either. His abilities remained rather below average. This frustrated the boy to a great extent when he was honest with himself. However, Shi Mei inherited other talents that involved the vast knowledge of healing, and his great interests in pharmacy and the study of plants grew with each and every day. During the earliest years however, he didn’t really notice.
One evening, Shi Mei sat in the sect leader’s private kitchen area while huge raindrops knocked on the windows and the wind howled outside. A cosy fire crackled under a black cauldron with a viscous substance that already smelled refreshing of herbs. Shi Mei supported his head on one hand and seemed to be deep in his readings. Some silky hairstraints framed his soft, rosy cheeks as his eyes danced up and down with the books’ lines. The young boy didn’t recognise when the eager, energetic steps of a bubbly person ran in.
“Shi Mei, what are you doing?” Xue Meng’s voice said eagerly. He sat down next to the other boy and realised that Shi Mei was completely absorbed by his readings and wouldn’t even register an explosion. Xue Meng’s elder martial brother neither noticed his voice or the sweet scent of tanghulu which he placed in front of the two. The younger one gently joged Shi Mei’s elbow and finally gained his attention.
“Young lord? You’re back!” Shi Mei said politely.
Xue Meng answered with a nod while taking one of the tanghulu and started eating. Shi Mei put on one of his soft smiles.
“I’m sorry I didn’t hear you coming in. Are you free for tonight?” Shi Mei asked while closing the book. Xue Meng nodded, but his face changed when he read the book’s title ‘Common Tea Plants and Their Effect on the Human Body’. Shi Mei noticed the surprise in Xue Meng’s eyes and hastily mentioned: “Madame Wang kindly lent it to me. Young lord seems happy this evening.”
“Yes! I finally found a Shizun who accepted me!” Xue Meng explained eagerly.
Shi Mei’s smile took a second before it bloomed. “Oh, that’s great!”
Xue Meng on the other hand noticed that Shi Mei’s happiness wasn’t immediate and so he understood the reason. He handed Shi Mei a tanghulu to eat.
“Don’t worry, they can’t all turn you down, right?” Xue Meng tried to comfort his best friend.
“Mn. I only have to focus more and practise a lot,” Shi Mei agreed and reservedly ate a little off the tanghulu. He always ate the tiny candied fruit with some hesitation. Shi Mei didn’t like to refuse to eat anything that was offered. Since he knew the bitter taste of hunger, he couldn’t bear to refuse food if it wasn’t necessary. Xue Meng noticed, but spared his friend the countless comments he always made on the topic. Instead Xue Meng suggested: “Why don’t you ask Tanlang Elder if he becomes your Shizun?”
Just as Yuheng Elder or Xuanji Elder, this Tanlang Elder received quite some respect. Unlike the first mentioned elders however, Tanlang Elder majored in a branch of cultivation that relied on medicine, healing and other pharmaceutical principles. Among all the twenty elders who theoretically could become Shi Mei’s master, it would be the most consequential decision.
Shi Mei answered immediately: “He already rejected me.”
“Oh.” Xue Meng immediately lowered his gaze. If it was any other fellow disciple, he would have made a half-teasing comment at this point. When it was Shi Mei however, Xue Meng felt as if all his tough face softened and his ribbing turned into serious encouragement. Although Xue Meng’s status ranked higher he both saw the other as his Shixiong and his best friend. So the young lord of Sisheng Peak cleared his throat and climbed onto the table. Shi Mei slightly panicked trying to give his friend clear signals of coming down and sitting properly again. Xue Meng however bowed before Shi Mei as if he was a gentleman and said in a very fateful voice.
“Don’t worry, Shi Mei! I will teach you everything I will learn from Yuheng Elder’s lessons. I know, I know, don’t look at me like that. You’ll see, I’ll master a lot within a few weeks and then I can teach you everything in return!”
Shi Mei chuckled on the matter, but neither rejected nor accepted the offer. Instead he still smiled towards the younger and started inquiring more about the infamous Yuheng Elder. Xue Meng, now obediently sitting next to Shi Mei again, enthusiastically talked about his master, Chu Wanning, Yuheng Elder in the greatest tunes. Xue Meng would make a splendid storyteller as he sketched out the most famous stories about how Chu Wanning could mend rifts between the borders of the worlds.
Shi Mei listened keenly, soaking in all the information about this mysterious man everyone heard about but avoided to speak to. Since Xue Meng also hardly ever talked directly to Chu Wanning yet, his knowledge beyond their fellow basic lessons was quite limited. Hence the two boys changed subjects and topics of their conversations. They chatted and laughed together while eating the sweets Xue Meng had brought with him. Of course, Shi Mei ate the sweets as well, although not as much. He wasn’t too fond of them and so Xue Meng kept eating most of them - ignoring Shi Mei’s mocking comments that his teeth would rot if he ate too much sugar.
In these carefree days of their childhood, Shi Mei’s and Xue Meng’s rooms were next to each other. Even their beds were arranged in the same manner and placed alongside the same wall. Thereby they could easily communicate with each other late at night or early in the morning. The two boys often used a series of codes through knocking against the wall. They developed these together and knew them by heart. Speaking in regular voices would do as well, however having their secret codes for their personal messages was a lot more fun. Besides, Xue Meng’s parents would not know at which times they talked to each other. Of course as young children never wanted to sleep, they communicated mostly when they should be asleep in the first place.
This particular evening the thin walls revealed a bitter event to Shi Mei. When Xue Meng entered his room that night, he was whining and whimpering. Judging by the intensity, the young lord of Sisheng Peak didn’t even try to keep his voice low anymore. Shi Mei had already laid down, but his lantern still cast a dim light for him to read some more. His readings mostly consisted of cultivation techniques that concerned healing and other protective spells as well as pharmacy. This particular book was about healing herbs and Shi Mei had also borrowed it from Madame Wang. Hearing Xue Meng being in pain however let the boy get up without hesitation. With his candle in one hand, he sneaked out and knocked on the door before entering.
“Young lord, what’s wrong?” Shi Mei asked in a concerned voice.
Xue Meng’s lips slightly twitched and his eyes appeared teary. “My stomach hurts.”
Shi Mei smiled warmly while shaking his head. He sat down on Xue Meng’s bed, feeling his forehead first to exclude other troublesome conditions such as a fever. Luckily though, Xue Meng seemed to be fine this time. Shi Mei exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Young master, I told you not to eat too many Tanghulu,” Shi Mei said, his voice slightly stricter than he intended.
“Shi Mei, my tummy really hurts, a lot” the younger one whined.
“Mn. Leave it to me,” Shi Mei said now in a softer tone. He breathed a blessing kiss on Xue Meng’s hair as he got up to leave for a moment.
The older boy returned with a bottle, a mortar and pestle as well as a small bag. Xue Meng had impatiently waited for his martial brother’s return and tried to sit properly when Shi Mei finally showed up again. Shi Mei sat down on the same spot once more and started grinding a few herbs from the small bag. He also added a few drops of the liquid from that bottle. Xue Meng observed him attentively the whole time his shixiong was working.
Shi Mei noticed the curious eyes which tried to stay focused to not show any pain. “This is medicine. Not a very strong one and… it might not taste very good either.”
Xue Meng accepted the small cup and drank the viscous medicine in one single gow. As the medicine touched his taste buds, Xue Meng fought with himself to swallow everything without hesitation. His face however turned really ugly and he uttered a noise of disgust.
“Sorry,” Shi Mei said and made the younger boy lay his head in his lap. “I don’t know how to make it more pleasant. It’s quite bitter, isn’t it?”
“Bitter!? That is hell on my tongue,” Xue Meng complained, but everything seemed so much better while resting on Shi Mei’s lap.
“That is because Young Master didn’t listen to me,” Shi Mei explained gently and ruffled his friend’s hair. “I guess it will take a few minutes to take effect.”
Xue Meng nodded and closed his eyes. Shi Mei felt warm to him. Not only as a person, but also his personality. Shi Mei always was kind and gentle towards him, so Xue Meng felt especially protected in his friend’s care. Xue Meng would even fall asleep on the spot, if only Shi Mei would watch over him.
His eyes flung open again in surprise when he felt that Shi Mei rubbed his aching stomach. It was a reaction out of surprise, but Xue Meng soon accepted the touch and relaxed completely in the care of his older martial arts brother. Just as Shi Mei predicted, the nasty tweaking and pinching pain started to ease after a few minutes. Xue Meng’s small body soon relaxed even further and his eyes turned heavy with sleep. Shi Mei hummed a little melody, which his mother often hummed for him when he was very small. He probably could not remember any of the lyrics, because he had been too young back then. Nevertheless he remembered the tune like no other song in his life. Shi Mei kept it in his heart and used it quite often. He continued for a while comforting Xue Meng with small pats until he fell into a deep slumber. Shi Mei chuckled looking at the sleeping face of his best friend. It looked so peaceful and relaxed as Xue Meng lay there with his head cushioned in the older’s lap. The young lord’s cheeks even turned a little rosy in his sweet dreams.
The peachy lips of Shi Mei suddenly morphed into a serious expression. He couldn’t help but think that Xue Meng was an incredibly lucky boy. Furthermore he was far better off than Shi Mei in a lot of ways. A family of his own who loved and cared for him and he could do many things he wanted to try. Shi Mei felt genuinely envious. He had a family once too, although a very different one. His mother loved him with all her heart. He was not so sure if his father’s paternal love was real. Xue Meng sure never had to question his mother’s or father’s love. It was rather obvious and although nobody would blame a young orphaned child to become bitter and green with envy, Shi Mei would lie if he would not admit that he liked Xue Meng with all honesty. Letting all these different thoughts run through his mind, Shi Mei stared at the ceiling while repeatedly stroking through the little shidi’s long, silky hair. It took Shi Mei a while, but he also fell asleep just like that. He remained in the same sitting position with Xue Meng fast asleep in his lap.
In contrast to the spoiled-rotten young lord, the cheap orphan dreamed a nightmare. In that utterly unpleasant dream, Shi Mei watched himself living an old life. He was much younger, not even that homeless child yet, but rather a happy little butterfly. Shi Mei soon realised that this dream was rather like a recorded memory, deeply engraved into his mind, throbbing against his heart. The little prince sprinted towards his loving mother Hua Gui, with his chubby arms stretched out towards her. Shi Mei’s mother was an unspeakable beauty, and in his memories she was always a little too skinny, but still a very elegant woman. Her hair was long and ebony in colour. It seemed as smooth and shiny as silk and cascaded loosely over her shoulders. Some humble silver and delicately arranged accessories adorned Hua Gui’s raven hair. That bluish hair complemented her soft features and made her rose red lips stand out even more. His mother’s face was still crystal clear in his memories, and Shi Mei found her appearance extremely alluring as her skin had a shade of pearl. The shape of her eyes were perfect peach blossoms, which Shi Mei himself inherited. Only Shi Mei’s irises did not have the same emerald tinge, but were in a gold-like amber colour.
The little Shi Mei smiled and giggled heartily in that memory. This was a time when he was so young, he felt protected by both his elder sister and even both his parents. Shi Mei remembered how carefreely he enjoyed his life in opulence. He still knew how to laugh in this wholehearted manner back at that time. That was why this little Shi Mei giggled happily and repeatedly addressed his dear A-Niang. His entire person was like an untamed butterfly with endless possibilities in his future. Shi Mei remembered that he was only satisfied when his dear mother picked him up to welcome him in an embrace. Back then, he also carried another name. A name he almost forgot once in a while: Hua Binan.
Shi Mei had never expected that the arms of Hua Gui would not feel like the safest place in the entire world any more. However, for some reason, this dream felt alarmingly familiar. A cold shadow grabbed Shi Mei’s heart, and he immediately knew where this scene of a sunny morning was taking him back to. His sleeping body would tremble slightly, but was the only person who could notice also asleep. Hence, the young boy could only watch his memories take place in a relentless time loop. Golden rays broke through white curtains that morning. The breeze brought a faint scent of lavender through the open windows. The day when that divine curse fell upon his existence smelled of honey dew and was blessed with Hua Gui’s warmth. He was about to kiss his dear mother on the cheek, but he stopped moving as he noticed the unusual appearance of his father. Never had the eyes of his father shone with a greenish glow as of snakes. His hands gave the impression of shiny grazors. Shi Mei’s chubby, little childlike face suddenly froze. It didn’t even take seconds before something trickled down Hua Gui’s lips and an annoying drizzle bothered his cheeks. A deep red, uncomfortably warm liquid wrapped around the young boy. Shi Mei’s laughter and happiness disappeared at once. Shi Mei felt unable to produce any more sounds, not even a scream. Every sound was quenched in his throat as his shrunken pupils witnessed a row of teeth breaking through the snowy skin of his mother’s neck. Right under her jaw, on the right side, two sharp canines pierced into her carotid. Shi Mei’s own father painted his room a chaotic crimson. The wet sounds of munching raw flesh resounded in Shi Mei’s ears and a desperate cry that demanded in a gurgling voice: “A-Nan, run! Remember the flower! Remember its purpose!”
And as the little boy ran, a stream of golden tears followed him into the vast, dangerous wilderness. A defenceless child sought shelter in a ruthless world full of careless individuals who either cared about power, money or spiritual powers. They would hunt him down if they found out about his golden tears. They would eat him alive, just like his own father ate Hua Gui’s raw flesh. Never again would Shi Mei dare cry the tears of gold.
Shi Mei woke up with a start. His heart weeped in silent agony. The young disciple of Sisheng Peak was not only orphaned, he was also without a master who cared about him. Nobody would ever shelter him from the winter of this world. Now, the past haunted him like a reminder that his survival would never be guaranteed. Shi Mei looked down to his lap. His best friend still slept calmly, clinging to his body as if he trusted him with his life.
Shi Mei sighed in relief. At least he had Xue Meng’s friendship. He shouldn’t care about masters or the broad wide world out there. As long as he could stay at Sisheng Peak, a certain degree of safety was ensured. However, these thoughts calmed Shi Mei’s racing heart not in the slightest. He remained sleepless for the rest of the night, thinking about that flower. Countless images of the past flashed before his eyes. A pool of blood and in its centre bloomed a purplish black flower similar to cross between a spiderlily and a lotus flower. This flower was the very last remnant after Hua Gui, who served her husband as a meal for boosting his own spiritual power. Shi Mei shuddered in disgust, his stomach bothering him with the tanghulu he had eaten earlier that day. He almost ended up as a piece of magical flesh as well. Not worth living on his own, because his spiritual core wouldn’t produce enough power to be of any worth in combat. As a male child, Shi Mei wasn’t even worth a quick fuck for dual cultivation. Shi Mei’s heart throbbing hard against his ribcage as fast as a drum announcing war.
Did he not have any other chance to learn more of cultivation, except if he would follow his mother’s direction of the dream he just had. Shi Mei’s breath hitched, growing more and more exhausted with a cold panic. The metallic stench of blood clung to his nose now and if he didn’t calm himself down very soon, he’d probably wake up Xue Meng. He took a deep breath and started focusing on reality again, soothing his overthinking, stinging, hurting mind with a mantra. Could he really take the remnants of his mother and use it to help himself. Maybe, if he did very well, he would even be able to help others of his kind, so they wouldn’t end up as a dish on lowly cultivators who didn’t have enough talent to increase their cultivation skills in a decent way. Shi Mei shook his head as if he wanted to convince himself that there was no way to actually resurrect the flower.
Or… was there…?
Time flew by as if it wanted to tell Shi Mei that his peaceful and leisurely days would soon be over. Sometimes Shi Mei felt like that recent nightmare mocked him in company with time. Living in a community in the mountains helped not a bit to solve all of his still remaining problems. If Shi Mei wanted to obey his mother’s wish, then he had to find a way to revive that flower which his Hua Gui had cared for a long time ago. It wasn’t dead, but once he summoned it, Shi Mei would have to nourish it with enough of his blood to live. Since time was not a friend of his and the circumstances didn’t let him practise cultivation under a master, the young disciple often sat in the common libraries to research. His researches were not limited to medical techniques any more, but bordered onto the demonic arts. He studied most of those techniques for his self defence. Although he knew that he would most probably never need them to argue or fight with disciples of Sisheng Peak, he could never let his guard down in the first place. For the more complicated and effective arts that were based on yin-energy, however, Shi Mei did not have enough spiritual powers to do most of them.
Almost everything happening at Sisheng Peak were open secrets. Nothing could be hidden from the vast amount of disciples nor from the various masters. Such an open secret was the problematic disciple who always hung out with Sisheng Peak’s young lord. As time passed, Shi Mei was known for being more concerned with ancient scrolls in the library pavilion than martial arts. Furthermore, Shi Mei was also known to be the only disciple who even Xuanji Elder rejected. Thus everyone in the sect knew his spiritual powers were insufficient and his core must be especially weak. At least some of the unfriendly disciples enjoyed gossiping and at times they also liked to provoke conflicts. Shi Mei never avoided open conflicts nor backed away from defending himself. On that particular day however, fate seemed to play a suspicious act.
On this especially rainy afternoon, Shi Mei strolled through the upper woods of Sisheng Peak to search for plants, berries and other medical herbs. His talent lay in the healing professions, so nobody would question why he would wander the woods on such a rainy day. However, he also searched for that infamous spot of auspicious land he heard about just a few moments ago. Such a spot of land was rich in spiritual energy and improved one's cultivation dramatically. He encouraged himself that he would be able to summon the flower if he absorbed the high concentration of spiritual energy. Since Shi Mei heard that these power-spots were not necessarily uncommon in mountainous regions like Sisheng Peak, he wanted to head out and seek his luck. Deep in his mind, the distant voice of his mother was constantly reminding him of that flower. That flower was so dependent on spiritual powers to appear, but Shi Mei lacked exactly that.
Earlier that day, when the rain still was a light, but constant drizzle which would drenge everyone’s clothes within a few minutes. Shi Mei happened to meet Xue Meng’s beloved master, Chu Wanning by chance. The impression left on him was quite unexpected. He had never talked to Chu Wanning in private before. Not even when Xue Meng came back from a lesson. Shi Mei usually never brought an umbrella on rainy days. He simply liked the feeling of cool drops cleaning his skin. As of recently however, Shi Mei nowadays had this scary idea of his skin giving off a metallic scent that grew too strong if it wasn’t subdued by rain showers. Thus making sure his skin wouldn’t stink off blood, he enjoyed the light rain on his body and stared into the little river to observe a few koi enthusiastically swimming in the water. He still intended to find some herbs in the first place to hand them to Madame Wang who always made supplements for tea off them. Suddenly, however, the rain stopped bickering down on his head, but the sound of pitter-patter never ceased. Shi Mei curiously peaked upwards and saw the beautiful, but fairly cold face of Chu Wanning. He silently shielded the young boy with his umbrella. Even when Shi Mei already returned his gaze, he gasped almost breathless and quickly paid his respect: “Yuheng Elder?! Good morning!”
“Mn,” Chu Wanning replied with a nod.
“Thank you very much for your consideration. This humble one just searched for some leaves,” Shi Mei explained, “It’s been a while since we last met outside a fellow lesson.”
His attention fell upon Chu Wanning’s shoulder, the white robes soaking up every little raindrop. It was exactly like their very first meeting on a likewise rainy day. However, last time they parted ways in a rainshower, Xue Meng told him that his Shizun had caught a really bad cold. Chu Wanning about to answer, widened his eyes as the young boy in front of him corrected his hold around the umbrella. His rather cold hands pulled out a piece of thick cloth and pressed it gently on Chu Wanning’s shoulder. It immediately radiated a comfortable warmth which dried up the wet clothing. Chu Wanning let out a sound of approval.
“I’m sorry, Yuheng Elder, but I don’t want you to catch a cold in the rain. Although I’m very happy and honoured by Yuheng Elder’s kindness, I’m okay with this kind of rain.” Shi Mei said in his gentle voice, which by itself sounded just like a pleasant rain shower during the summer heat.
“Mn,” Chu Wanning plainly replied.
Shi Mei bowed again to show his respect to the martial arts master.
“If Yuheng Elder does not mind, Shi Mei would like to go and find a place to meditate and cultivate on his own. Shi Mei has just found what he needs for herbs, so it would be appropriate to focus on increasing some prowess,” He explained.
A hint of surprise glimmered in Chu Wanning’s eyes, “If you would like to meditate and focus on your mental strength, why don’t you go and find a piece of auspicious land filled with spiritual energy?”
It was probably the first time Shi Mei heard the other talk properly with him. His own answer consisted of an enthusiastic nod. Shi Mei heard the term auspicious land for the first time, but since it seemed like the perfect place to cultivate, he only knew one answer.
“In that case you should follow the path up. There should be a cave with a hot spring on the other end,” Chu Wanning explained.
“Is that so!? Thank you so much Yuheng Elder. Shi Mei will search for that place,” He answered with a broad smile on his face. Chu Wanning nodded without saying another word and turned to leave.
Shi Mei had breathed a sigh of relief. He almost thought Chu Wanning had come personally to talk to him about the letter of promotion. Chu Wanning was the only among the masters Shi Mei had not dared to ask if he would take him inn as a disciple. Chu Wanning, Yuheng Elder the Beidou Immortal of the Night Sky, seemed to be the top master of all the elders who taught at Sisheng Peak. So far, Chu Wanning had taken only one disciple, who was Xue Meng. Chu Wanning certainly had his reasons for not teaching more, but Shi Mei could never wrap his head around as to why. He was a mystery to everyone and maybe, he simply enjoyed being that way. Shi Mei never wanted to ask Chu Wanning to become his Shizun in the first place. Not because Shi Mei thought taking him as a master would be a bad decision, but rather because Xue Meng would have to share Chu Wanning’s attention. He believed at the same time that Chu Wanning would never take another scholar under his teachings and a boy with such limited spiritual powers wouldn’t suit the infamous Beidou Immortal of the Night Sky. However Chu Wanning did not mention his letter with one syllable, but shoved him in the right direction. In this way Shi Mei ended up searching for that piece of auspicious land and actually, it did not take him too long to find the mysterious cave.
Shi Mei quickly sped up and climbed the wet hillside with aspiration in his young heart. The rumours about auspicious land were true and Chu Wanning, the most respectable elder he knew, recommended him the direction to search for one of these places. The rain had turned into a downpour and mercilessly drenched his entire being. His clothes absorbed both the rain from above and soaked the thick drops of water from the plants surrounding him. The young Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast felt as if he flew upwards, although his footwork wasn’t the best, everything was so much easier than usual. This must be the power of the prowess surrounding the area of auspicious land. It seemed to call for Shi Mei instantly. He arrived at a glade after about an hour, and indeed, a cavern came into sight. A deep, black hole in the middle of dark grey stones seemed to draw his attention. Shi Mei’s heart beat violently against his ribcage, but this time it was because of joy. It was just like Chu Wanning had told him.
Every step Shi Mei walked resounded against the wet walls. Although the rainy, misty weather caused the temperature outside to drop a few degrees, the cave itself seemed far warmer than the forest outside. Gentle little streams trickled along the cavern’s walls. Shi Mei now and then heard the silvery dripping sounds of water puddles along his way. His eyes only slowly grew accustomed to the sparse light in this warm place. After a ten minutes walk, however, there was a spacious room inside - a hot spring in the midst of this beautiful place. Shi Mei nodded to himself with a bright smile. He suddenly understood the hidden intention to direct him exactly to this cavern. This auspicious land was enriched with the prowess of water. Countless little spiritual dragonflies and frogs surrounded the hot spring and Shi Mei’s eyes shone in the light of their beautiful blues and purples they emited. The cave bursted with spiritual energy, if he meditated for just a little while, he would surely be able to summon the remains of his mother’s flower. Shi Mei knew the easiest way to make use of prowess was to open his mind and heart to it.
According to Hua Gui, the flower of Eight Sufferings and Everlasting Hatred would appear if a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast called upon it with their demonic qi. This was the only clue Shi Mei had and he only remembered her words from a faint memory. In one of the many books in the library, he read that this flower is said to be fed by the blood of a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast, however, Shi Mei would soon understand that the blood alone would not help the live, grow or bloom. His childish determination would be satisfied enough by the fact if the flower just appeared once before his eyes. This would be the start of his revenge on all the cultivators, on all those silly people who put spiritual abilities above everything. Shi Mei hesitated a bit. He attentively felt his body and finally, the young boy seemed to understand his currently overflowing qi. He closed his eyes and mumbled words of a foreign language, nobody spoke anymore. These ancient words seemed to stimulate the flow of energy in his body, and, for the first time there was a flame of prowess forming outside of his body. It was a strange feeling, equally exciting and scary at the same time. The mantra he chanted over and over again, forced him to stretch his arms in front of him. The palms of his hands pointed upwards, while a stinging pain pierced through his skin.
‘This magical divice needs a blood-offer. The blood offerings of a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast’ A strange, distorted voice resounded in Shi Mei’s head. He dared not ask what the mysterious voice meant. Shi Mei let out a muffled groan. He felt exactly whenever he spoke a syllable of the incantation, something cut open his skin and used his flesh and blood. It trickled down beneath his sleeves. Thus he started undressing the outer robes immediately, so they wouldn’t get too stained with his demonic blood. As he chanted the summoning ritual, it was even more difficult to move freely. Every muscle in his body hurt with a strange burning. Shi Mei tried to subdue his screams. However, as he was just a child, he could barely endure the burning pain intruding his flesh. The young boy would have liked to stop, but an unexpected motivation flashed before his eyes.
Crimson red blood flowed down pale skin.
His blood felt like acid wherever it passed his open wound.
A pair of frozen eyes stared in shock. Hua Gui’s voice yelled at him: ‘A-Nan, remember the flower!’
Cold sweat gathered on his forehead and slowly rolled down his face. As much as the young boy tried to keep his body focused it didn’t obey him and trembled violently under the sheer strain of pain.
He saw the red eyes full of madness of his father as his teeth ripped out chunks of flesh and sucked the blood of Shi Mei’s mother up until there was nothing more left than cleanly gnawed bones.
Shi Mei coughed up a mouth full of blood. It spread on the ground with a splash. Although howling like a beaten stray dog, he did not cry his golden tears. He endured the suffocating pain that gagged his throat. Shi Mei knew that if anyone saw he cried golden tears, life would turn far worse than it was. He wanted to scream and stop repeating the mantra, but the demonic side of his existence forced him to continue chanting the summoning incantation.
A faint light shone on the ground in front of him. It was the same spot where his blood sank into the fresh moist soil. The blood stains floated upwards again, shining in a pale purple and started morphing into something which looked like a flower. Indeed, the Flower of Eight Sufferings and Everlasting Hatred appeared before his eyes. Just like his mother had told him, it looked like an odd crossing between a spiderlily and a lotus flower. Its petals seemed almost black, but in truth their colour was a very deep purple. Shi Mei panted exhaustively as he looked at the flower in awe and the immediate pain gradually eased. The Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast raised his hands and his lips formed just one word: “A-Niang.”
His slender fingers embraced the pretty flower, but remained on the same spot without minding the chilly soil he sat on. First after a few moments, when the aching of his limbs was more bearable, he decided to try recovering a little in the hot spring. Thus Shi Mei got up on his feet and started undressing in a great anticipation to wash off the stains and smears of blood. He stored the flower in his heart to hide and keep it safe for now. From now on he had to feed it with his blood, so it would be ready to take root in whatever being Shi Mei would choose as a host.
“What the heck is going on here!?” A voice from the cave’s entrance caused Shi Mei to freeze for a second. Before he had freed himself from more layers of his clothes, the young boy turned around hastily. His bright, but tired eyes caught sight of an older disciple of Sisheng Peak. One of the kind that the younger and the more inexperienced cultivators avoided to meet. Although he didn’t know his name, Shi Mei recognized his looks and understood he was one of the disciples under Tanlang Elder. One of those who ridiculed him for being rejected, even though he was highly interested in medical cultivation and healing. Shi Mei guessed this older martial brother had been following him to begin with. That bully probably followed him since he was so carefree and Chu Wanning had talked to him. Anybody would get curious if Yuheng Elder actually talked more than a few words with him. On the other hand, if he had seen him summoning the flower of Eight Sufferings and Everlasting Hatred, then it was not even questionable why his martial brother reacted this way. Shi Mei would never be able to hide the fact that this amount of Yin-energy was coming from his body and core. This was something he would never be able to explain well or even in a satisfactory manner to anybody. Shi Mei dragged some air while his thoughts ran in circles.
“I think the fellow older disciple is mistaken. This cave does not belong to anybody but to the place itself.” Shi Mei said while greeting the martial arts brother formally and added. He instantly hoped his voice wasn’t shaking too much. “I don’t claim this land for myself. I just came to practise.”
“What a coincidence! This is my place to practise and as long as I am here, I will not accept youngsters without a master or family.” The other boy explained and walked over to Shi Mei. That older boy quickly got hold of Shi Mei’s arm and pressed onto his open wounds. “I especially won’t allow any lowly Shidi, if they are messing around with dark cultivation.”
Shi Mei’s expression slowly turned dark and cold with every word the older person said. His cold expression subdued the pain radiating from his arms, which the older cruelly squeezed with his stonger hands. Shi Mei knew about the extreme competition among a lot of students on Sisheng Peak, but Shi Mei didn’t expect one of the disciples to play this kind of trump card on him. Truly, none of them should look into dark matters, but what this person said about his family situation was inacceptable. Anger boiled up in his stomach in a flash as his brain was processing what the other disciple said. Shi Mei didn’t care if someone threw some words at him or even cursed him, but the situation would immediately change if that someone talked negatively about his family and other things he had absolutely no control over.
“Or what do you call these wounds and the amount of yin-energy in this cave? I almost thought there suddenly was a barrier between the underworld and ours right here.” The older one said.
Shi Mei wimpert with the increasing pressure on his arms. “Let go! Shixiong, let me go!! I have no idea what you’re talking about! How could it be that I was using so much spiritual power? You should know my core-...”
“Shut up, you dirty rotten dog! In the end you tried to meddle with the barriers between the worlds to cause some havoc. I know green teas like you, they all act innocent and delicate, but in the end they are sly, just because they can’t handle their parents abandoning them. I bet you mommy and daddy knew what kind of critter you really are and decided to give you away.”
Shi Mei’s eyes narrowed to slits. For the first time in his life, he probably noticed the other side of his bloodline rebelling. His mother was eaten alive. She did not choose to die this early. Neither he nor his mother chose to be born as a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast, doomed to become a dish on the golden plates of noble cultivators. Hua Gui was innocent and wanted to raise her son and his half sister together with a man who deceived his entire family.
Shi Mei shuddered with both anger and pain in his heart. His eyes, although mere slits, shone with a pale, icy yellow in the darkness. He almost never lost his temper, however now that he was in a preferable place, his core immediately reacted to the surrounding prowess.
“How dare you!?” Shi Mei muttered, almost inaudibly.
“What did you say?” The older one asked. It seemed the older disciple had reached the limits of his patients as he drew the sword on his waist. Most of the students at Sisheng Peak practised swordsmanship to a certain degree. However these swords were given to them by their masters, hence Shi Mei had no sword at hand. A panic crept over his spine as the young Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast saw the glowing blade, which reflected the prowess emitted from the spiritual dragonflies in the darkness of the cave. In his panic and his inner fury, Shi Mei instinctively reacted. He focused his spiritual energy as much as he could and loaded this energy into his hands. Although Shi Mei didn’t have any training in how to produce attacks with his qi, and although he was aware that quarrels involving open combats like these were not accepted in the sect, he just had to give into his newborn fury and defend himself. Even Shi Mei’s voice sounded like the storm outside. “How dare you! Insulting… my parents!? You have no-...”
Shi Mei managed to form a little ball of energy, straining his fragile core. His heart pounded violently and fast. The pain in his arms spread further in his entire body once more, but he ignored it all. In the next second, a blueish shimmering ball of water type qi and a blade loaded with spiritual energy were about to clash.
“Leave Shi Mei alone!!”
Shi Mei froze, his spiritual attack dissipated into nothing before it could crush with the older disciples’ sword. There was a clang the next second, Shi Mei closed his eyes tight and fell backwards. His back felt as if it would crack any second as soon as he hit the solid ground and coughed up another mouthful of blood. When Shi Mei opened his eyes again, he saw the back of a child similar in age as him, holding his own sword against the older bully’s. His amber coloured eyes sparkled with an unexpected happiness and relief when he finally realised who had come to his side.
“Young Lord!?”
“Shi Mei, are you alright?” Xue Meng asked and pushed the bully with a quick attack. Now it was this youth who struggled standing up and it was his turn to cough up a fair amount of blood. Shi Mei remained on the ground, his eyes turned round and red with tears. He nodded desperately: “Yes, yes, Young Lord, I am okay, please don’t worry about me. He just… Young Lord, he accuses me of such horrible crimes!”
“Don’t worry, I’ve heard everything he said!” Xue Meng explained and waited until the Elder Tanlang’s disciple got on his feet again. “How dare you spread these lies about Shi Mei!? He is like my brother, my best friend!”
“Best friend or not, I have seen what he’s done here. Those were clearly experiments with dark magic!” He repeated his words once more.
“Lies!!” Shi Mei argued, his voice was struggling and hoarse.
“Shut up! You might be able to fool the Sect Leader’s son, but I’m not as blind!” The bully stayed by his opinion and got ready for his next strike against Xue Meng, who was about three heads shorter than this older disciple. Still the Young Lord of Sisheng Peak, Xue Meng did not fear confrontations like this. Not because of his status as the sect leader’s son, but because he trusted his best friend and he indeed knew how to defend himself and Shi Mei. A confident smile bloomed on Xue Meng’s youthful face.
“Then tell me how a person with an undeveloped spiritual core is supposed to handle and deal with demonic cultivation!? There’s something amiss in your words, don’t you think so too?” Xue Meng said. “Besides, aren’t you feeling ashamed of yourself? Look at you, you’re even taller than Shi Mei, you’re older and much more experienced. Furthermore…” Xue Meng’s eyes were tinged with a little touch of arrogance as he continued. “Being mean to your juniors is already quite a weak personality trait, but this behaviour of yours is really…”
“This behaviour is unacceptable.” A calm but equally cold voice promptly joined the scene. All three students of Sisheng Peak turned around.
“Yuheng Elder?!”
“Shizun!”
Chu Wanning’s gracious figure stood behind the three fighting youngsters. He was dressed in snow white garments as always and it seemed to Shi Mei as if a life saving fairy had descended the sky. The calm but frosty eyes were fixed on the bully as he added, “As a Shixiong you should encourage your Shidi to practise his abilities in cultivation.”
“Yuheng Elder, I was here first and only asked Shidi if he would kindly leave me alone as long as I am meditating on my own. I need that space.” The disciple explained. Shi mei remained silent as he felt incredibly wronged and stunned how carefreely this older martial brother lied. He blew his cheeks with air, but he gave up on arguing. He knew exactly what his Shixiong was planning to wash his hands of it to look like a completely innocent disciple. Oh, that anger inside Shi Mei’s chest wouldn’t calm down, although he felt so exhausted and in pain. However, Chu Wanning nonchalantly mentioned, “Besides, Shi Mei has a Shizun.”
Shi Mei’s eyes instantly grew round and big. Xue Meng’s eyes lit up and he clapped his hands: “Shizun!? Does that mean Shizun decided to-...”
“What?” That older disciple asked in surprise.
The bully asked the correct question. Shi Mei almost asked the same. As far as he knew, by this morning he did not have a master.
“I am his master and advised him to practise at this place. Now that it’s been a while, I wanted to check on my disciple. Usually, I would expect other disciples to be role models for younger ones especially.” Chu Wanning explained. He seldom lectured other pupils in this way. Chu Wanning was not a master whose talents lay in his words, but rather in his actions. Hence speaking and explaining himself felt rather odd.
None of the three boys from Sisheng Peak weren’t able to say anything. Shi Mei was as surprised as his bully and immediately forgot that he had been extremely upset just a moment ago. His anger had dissipated and the spiritual energy in his hands was long gone. However, this was certainly the proof he wanted. If he was at a place with enough spiritual energy floating around, he was indeed able to make use of it. His spiritual core just couldn’t store it efficiently enough. However, all of this wasn’t as important any more. He bowed before Chu Wanning and said in a guilty, but at the same time sugar glazed voice, “Shizun, this disciple is very sorry. I could not train on my own today, but if Shizun would allow me to do better tomorrow, I would like to do better. I swear to Shizun, this Shixiong of mine is accusing me of something I haven’t even dared thinking!”
“Don’t worry Shi Mei, nobody would believe that.” Xue Meng said. The young lord walked beside his best friend and helped him to stand up again. He looked at the other’s wounds, his expression grim. “Man… look at you. Does it hurt a lot?”
Xue Meng patted his shoulders and supported Shi Mei so he could stand freely. The slender boy nodded and leaned his weary head against Xue Meng’s shoulder, but cast that bully a meaningful glance. Shi Mei wasn’t sure if Chu Wanning or Xue Meng could even notic his sly glance over to the older disciple. Making himself a bit smaller and weaker always helped in this corrupt world. Shi Mei figured this out long ago. At the same time, he also knew that if Chu Wanning expected him to be here and use this place, there would be no doubt this bully would not bother him a second time. Shi Mei walked over with the help of Xue Meng and he looked up to Chu Wanning, his eyes shone with an intense light of admiration and gratefulness.
“So, Yuheng Elder received my letter?” Shi Mei asked.
“Mn.” Chu Wanning replied.
“Will Yuheng Elder teach me just like the Young Lord?” He asked curiously.
“Mn. Your determination is enough for now. Let’s see how much you’re willing to work.” Chu Wanning said.
“I will do my best, Shizun!” A bright smile bloomed on Shi Mei’s face. It had been a while since he was able to smile this genuinely. However, the wounds on his arms were still bleeding through his robes. Now that Shi Mei’s body could relax and the adrenaline in his blood dissolved, he still lost consciousness on Xue Meng’s shoulder.
“Shixiong!?” Xue Meng asked in alarm. “Shi Mei?!”
Chu Wanning held two fingers onto his new disciple’s forehead and nodded once. “There’s no worry. He’s just exhausted. Let’s go home.”
He did not ask anything about these mysterious wounds on Shi Mei’s body yet. These wounds clearly amited a high level of yin type qi. His only reaction to this matter was to stop the bleeding immediately with a white cloth before taking his two disciples back. Leaving the older disciple under Tanlang Elder behind and signalling that he would soon face severe consequences.
When Shi Mei opened his eyes the next time, he felt the sunlight pleasantly shining on his face. It almost tickled his nose, so he sneezed before he realised that he must have slept a lot and dreamed of even weirder things. He noticed Xue Meng still lying next to him. Comfortably curled and snuggled up to him. Silent snoring resounded from his mouth. Shi Mei felt as if it was that recent day, when his Young Lord suddenly cried over a bad tummy ache. This scene felt almost like a deja-vu.
So, were the past months of struggling and verbal abuse just an unpleasant nightmare?
When Shi Mei sat up and rubbed his eyes, a stinging and burning pain shot into his arms. Both his hands were bandaged up to his elbows - and he soon realised that everything that he dreamed of, obviously actually happened. After all, this was not Xue Meng’s room either, but his own. Shi Mei gasped in surprise, the flower of Eight Sufferings and Everlasting Hatred was real and he had managed to summon it. He sighed in relief while looking down at his Shidi. Xue Meng looked comfortable. So he gently stroked the long, dark hair out of Xue Meng’s face.
‘Don’t worry Young Lord… if I ever take revenge on someone, I won’t hurt you. Thank you for believing me, Young Lord.’ Shi Mei thought by himself. A small blush spread on his cheeks as he finally felt that he could always count on Xue Meng. A warm feeling filled his heart and it was almost like the warm hug of his parents. Shi Mei was sure that only true friendship, and a real family could feel like this. So he too, should give that gentle care, which he experienced through his half sister.
Xue Meng opened his eyes as soon as Shi Mei’s slightly cold fingers touched his skin. The younger one sat up sleepily and rubbed his eyes. As soon as Xue Meng saw Shi Mei smiling, he sat up excitedly and took his hands carefully.
“Shi Mei! Shi Mei! You’re awake!”
“Yes I am, Young Lord, please I didn’t fall ill nor was I hurt too much.” Shi Mei said and patted the other’s shoulder.
“But, Shi Mei, we’re disciples under the same Shizun now! Can you imagine how much fun this will be!” Xue Meng explained even more energetically.
Shi Mei nodded, a light pink blush still remained on his face. “Yes, Yuheng Elder is incredibly gracious. I wonder if he considers me a worthy disciple.”
“He will! At some point. I’m sure we will become great cultivators and some day we will be able to mend the barriers between the worlds just like Shizun does.” Xue Meng’s eyes shone like obsidian jewels as he spoke. He was careful with Shi Mei’s wounds to not hurt him, he just had to see if the wounds had already started to heal properly. Shi Mei nodded, but remained silent. He already had his master plan in mind in order to raise the flower his mother cared for. He could only hope that Chu Wanning was willing to teach him the magic involving barriers. Shi Mei however felt for the first time in his life that having a family could mean comfort and warmth, but at the same time his heart throbbed. He felt incredibly grateful to have Xue Meng who always stayed by his side, supported him and believed in his Shixiong. However, he also felt a heavy presentiment growing stronger in heart and it almost held him in a violent chokehold. After all, the flower of Eight Sufferings and Everlasting Hatred was a demonic flower and he had yet no clue how to handle her properly. This however was another story.