Chapter 8: The Immortal Who Chose To Live
"Master Shifu, where are we going this time?"
The man, whose actual name was Huang Jianyong, simply smiled as he glanced over his shoulder, but continued to leap from tree branch to tree branch without hesitation. As if gravity was optional. Xing Xia shook his head with a sigh, but continued to follow him anyway. Who knew what mischief his Master Shifu would lead him into for 'training' purposes this time? Still, he trusted him enough to not dive too deep into questioning, while also knowing he'd likely regret it. They had been together for half a century now, a bond of trust had naturally formed in that time.
Forty years ago, the man had proposed to take him as his first disciple and he had accepted after some thought. It had served his purposes at that time; he'd needed to come to the other realm, but he had worried about being strong enough to survive here. Getting here at all had been an issue that only vaguely crossed his mind. With the olive branch offered by Huang Jianyong, not accepting it would have doubtless be unwise, even if accepting it could have been equally so. He had known little about this Master Shifu at that time, only that he liked to seek him out to lament from time to time. Actually, he still liked to do that and Xing Xia still needed to open his purse to pay his bills.
Yet following this sometimes irresponsible and irrepressible Master Shifu of his had not been without merit. He had cultivated easily to the next stage of Body Tempering and was partially through this current one as well. This was a decent rise of cultivation by anyone's terms, despite his root being not favourable for lone cultivation purposes. After all, where each stage of core formation took years to surpass, each stage of Body Tempering would take decades. Later, each stage of Mind Tempering would take him centuries, while in each stage of Soul Tempering he could expect to linger for millennia. Of course, that was if he could break through the bottleneck and endure the tribulations that came with them.
He shook his head, throwing off the notion, while keeping one eye on his Master.
Huang Jianyong stopped suddenly before a sizeable pond into which a waterfall crashed in thunderous vigour. Droplets sprayed into the atmosphere and captured by the light peering through the tall treetop canopy, they formed a seven coloured tribute to the churning waters. Sheltered by the rocks and trees, the waters and their surroundings looked clean and untouched.
The water vaguely reminded him of the lake in his former dimension.
Since he'd been reborn in his twin brother's body, he'd lost access to that dimension. He could only assume that it was still in his original body, wherever that happened to be. Despite roaming here and there with his Master Shifu, he'd not found even a hair of one of those people, so had no clues to whether his former shell lived or had died. After all, although his time had reversed, did not mean that it ran parallel to this realm.
For one thing, the years were longer here, days and nights seemed to be unaffected by season and the weather was ever mild of temperament. As for how long had passed; well it was just due to his excellent memory and attention to that detail that he could calculate it with ease.
He'd learned so much about this realm either from his Master Shifu or from his kind Grand-Shifu and his Martial Uncles and Aunts and 'cousins'. Honestly, interacting with the members of his Master's Sect had tempered much of the hatred he'd held in his heart towards Cultivators and the people of this realm. That old man, Grand-Shifu had been how Huang Jianyong described him, innocent and pure of thought. He was like the gentle grandparent that Xing Xia had always wanted as a small child, the one who always welcomed their grandchild with a warm smile, taught them to play checkers, but made sure that the child won more often than not. Who gave them a slither of cake, while winking conspiratorially behind their own child's back. That he'd survived to such an age was likely attributed to his own deceased Master and other members of the Sect, though he did hold much strength within as well.
Then there were his Martial Uncles and Aunts, who taught him things that his own Master Shifu neglected to, such as how to recognise the evolution stage of different beasts, how ward off evil ghosts, what constitutes as devil cultivation instead of a righteous one; there was quite the fine line. Despite all their care, he still could not get close to women, disappointing more than a few of his female Martial cousins, who would have liked to be on more intimate terms. They might have felt that their spring had come, their intentions were equal companionship not for his furnace body (naturally, he'd not shared this small fact with anyone but his Shifu), but he still could not accept their feelings. But he no longer felt sick to his stomach if one of these good sisters brushed past him, just uncomfortable.
This was one of the reasons he often followed his Master Shifu out of the small Sect, of which the Grand-Shifu was its Master and his disciples were its heads, despite the man leading him into trouble more often than not.
"What are we doing here, Master?" He asked, cautiously.
"I found this place a few years ago and thought it looked like a great place to relax," the man replied, with no glimmer of ill intent. That did not mean Xing Xia could wholly let down his guard, however.
Regardless of Xing Xia's feelings, Huang Jingyong leapt down from the branches and reached the water's edge. Xing Xia followed him, feeling the coolness of the distant spray, the tension seeping from his shoulders. He knelt down and cupped the waters with one hand. The water was tepid, slightly lower than his body temperature, but not freezing. Refreshing. Reminding him of those days so long distant past where he and Xing Jia had played in the mountain lake near the village. It's waters had actually been a few degrees cooler, but did not have the taint of being recycled and reused. A smile crept upon his face in remembrance.
"Would you like to take a dip?" He heard the words of his Master, but did not look up therefore failed to miss the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
"En," Xing Xia agreed, probably too quickly. And so, they shed their outer robes and slipped into the cooling depths. Xing Xia shivered as he broke the surface of the water and then a laugh escaped his throat. Droplets fell from his dark hair and trickled down his handsome face before returning to the lake in ripples. He'd never grown his hair long, much to the dissatisfaction of the Grand-Shifu, but it did reach to his chin now as he'd become lax in cutting it frequently over the last couple of decades.
Huang Jianyong returned his wide grin, nodding to himself that he had known this would be a good idea; his young disciple could be too serious and too tense at times. There was more to life than cultivation after all. That said, a dark shadow rose from the surface of the lake, coating them both in its darkness.
"Oh, so you are still here!" Huang Jingyong called out to the lakes' guardian beast, not noticing the sudden paleness of his disciple, who groaned as he ventured a glance backwards.
He knew this had been too good to be true!
Sometime later, the beast fled to the depths to lick its wounds, while Xing Xia huffed, exhausted by the unexpected exercise, lying at the side of the lake. Huang Jingyong looked somewhat disappointed. "I thought that it would put up more of a fight than that!"
Xing Xia gave him an expression of exasperation, tugging at the hem of his inner robes in a pleading manner. "Master Shifu, really?"
Huang Jingyong chuckled before grabbing his disciples arm and tugging him upward with ease. Xing Xia didn't expect to be grappled this way and couldn't find his feet, falling into his Master's arms in a clumsy manner. Huang Jingyong wrapped his arm about the younger man's slender waist. "Seems we still need work on your stance," he tutted, teasingly. Grasped in such a hold, Xing Xia could not stop the blush from rising in his cheeks and quickly pulled away.
In truth, their interactions had become more ambiguous over the last few years and his heart would quickly start to race whenever they shared even a little body heat. But he didn't dislike this feeling. Rather, he longed for it more. He had thought such feelings as love were impossible for him, that his previous life had permanently scarred his soul and his heart. It was just, no matter how he might want to fill this void within this life, they were Master Shifu and disciple. This was a line that could permanently alter the respect and trust that had formed between them. His eyes instinctively sought out the man, who now sat in lotus position beside the lake, warming his body in the sun's rays. He still wore his wet inner robes, which clung to his body like a second skin. Xing Xia couldn't dwell upon this though as there was an unfamiliar expression upon Huang Jianyong's face that he couldn't quite place. There was relief, but also satisfaction and his smile was so filled with feeling that Xing Xia felt his heart once more increase in speed, almost deafening him.
"I've been waiting for you to realise," Huang Jianyong told him as he held out his hand, beckoning his disciple to approach him. Xing Xia felt powerless to resist, but it was not like the time when he had no will, he did have will, he just didn't have the want.
But he did not immediately stretch out his fingers, his hand hovering about the offered one for the moment. "Realise what?"
Huang Jianyong was not displeased by his hesitation and calmly answered his doubts. "For you to realise that your feelings for me are the same as my feelings for you. You have my heart, Xing Xia, I have simply been waiting to hold yours." And with that, Xing Xia gave up and accepting the hand before him.
*****
Feelings unleashed were not immediately reflected physically; perhaps Huang Jianyong had sensed the difficulties his beloved disciple had with intimate contact for he never pushed him for more than he was willing to give. It made their first joining all the more beautiful once the last barrier crumbled and Xing Xia gave his body to his Shifu willingly. His Shifu, his lover, his Dao Companion.
*****
Another few decades past and Xing Xia realised his age was about that of which he reached in his last life, at least in terms of number of known years. His mood lowered to melancholy as if in mourning for the man he had been and once more for the sacrifice his brother had made for him.
At this time, his lover returned to him, having left for half a year to chase for the treasure that he himself had long forgotten about. That same treasure that had caused their paths to cross in his home realm.
"Beloved," he reached out his hand to Xing Xia. "Will you come with me and help me finally return it to whom it belongs to?"
Xing Xia naturally agreed, better than linger within the Sect boundaries in sorrow and self-pity.
Their relationship had reached the point where though they might separate for short periods of time, they would always return and make it seem as if those days, weeks, years vanish had without a trace, no longer important, no longer relevant. No matter how much they missed each other in those forgotten moments, all would be well once they laid eyes upon each other. Therefore, they never said goodbye and never said hello nor welcome back anymore. They did not feel the need.
Just like this time where Huang Jianyong only said one sentence on his return before they left the Sect together on this quest and Xing Xia did not question him at all.
Their journey took nearly two lunar passes, the full moon rising twice and now just waiting for the return of the new moon for the third time, when they came to the location that Huang Jianyong believed the inheritance was located. They had travelled on foot sometimes, by tamed flying beast others in order to reach this distant place. According to the people in the closest town, this was the location of the Emerald Leaf-Dragon Sect.
The Sect was said to be mysterious, some claimed that if one laid eyes on one of the ladies of the Sect, one would be mesmerised, their soul stolen away. That their figures were lithe and their scents bewitching. However, these flowers were also deadly, like red roses with their sharp thorns. It was said they carried upon their person's deadly poisons, plus any man that took their fancy would be whisked away, never to be seen again. How much was truth and how much was rumour, it was not certain. But it did appear that the Sect was matriarchal and that the men of the Sect tended to be guardians, loyal soldiers and protectors of these women.
Xing Xia felt a flutter of unnerve in his stomach, a sense of foreboding. This only worsened once they reached the boundary. There was an air of familiarity about this place.
He looked sharply at Huang Jianyong and his lover seemed to be watching patiently for what expression would appear upon his face. He needn't question whether the man had become aware of something in relation to himself, but he also believed that he was not yet aware of everything.
His eyes slid away uneasily. "You never once told me what this inheritance of yours looked like," he said, glancing at a few places upon the rugged surface of the mountain before them, recalling the weak points that would cause this barrier to collapse.
"Did I not?" Huang Jianyong mused in his usual tone of voice, as if the two men were simply on one of their usual outings... not that those generally ended well either. Xing Xia couldn't help the upward curve of his lips, shedding the discomfort returning here had caused. Actually, instead, there was a sort anticipation of closure within his belly, as if finally realising that his footsteps had always been leading here to this time, to this moment.
Huang Jianyong's lips also curved as he nonchalantly described the stone in a few words and watched as his beloved nodded, understanding achieved. "However, although I have been here before a couple of times, I've not been able to break the barrier that protects them. A short while ago, I discovered a clue to them and was enlightened. Thus I sought for your help, beloved."
"Leave the barriers to me, Jian," Xing Xia reassured him, "just be wary as you distract them."
"Of course," Huang Jianyong stole a kiss before leaping up onto his unsheathed sword, the brilliant weapon only revealed to sing the elegy of others deaths. Master and weapon flew above to a distant point and began to attack the barrier without restraint. Naturally, such caused the ringing of alarm bells to sound about the Sect and brought forth many to defend against him.
All the while, Xing Xia stole about those weak points; it seemed he attacked them at random, but in truth, while attempting to keep his sanity in his last life, he had calculated the best way to use them in order to completely destroy the array supporting the barriers. In any other order, the Sect would notice more swiftly his sabotage and might even be able to secure them and see to his death and this whole quest would be futile.
Of course, he had suspected that they would not fail, regardless, but it did not hurt to be cautious.
The barrier fell with a loud cracking sound and he withdrew his own sword, Silence Reborn, the gift Huang Jianyong had given him as they exchange vows beneath the Heavens, informing the Gods that they were Dao Companions for the entirety of this life and if the Heavens were willing, the next as well. The silver blade pierced easily the first guardian to rush him and the next as well and he was not so kind of heart to leave the screaming women who fled from him alone. None of these people were innocent, they all were aware, all were taught how to breed and how to use the Gu that were truthfully the 'poison' this Sect created for their own use.
Blood flowed upon the ornate pavilions and was splashed across the marble columns, all this was it not built upon his own? Therefore, they would pay for all of those lost years, only then his need for vengeance would be sated.
His memory brought him to her palace pavilion, where he was imprisoned in a tiny, dark and dirty corner, far from her luxurious quarters. She appeared in front of him, her bodyguards circling her as well as the maidservants who were far stronger than the pathetic guardians posted about the boundaries. He flicked the tainted blood from his sword as she looked on in disbelief.
"How did you free yourself?!" She cried out in disquiet, clutching the location where her Gu was yet finding that it was peaceful, no signs that the life of its male counterpart had been extinguished.
Xing Xia felt no desire to enlighten her, simply raised his sword. In the last life, he wanted to die to escape her, now he just wanted to kill her. No longer could this realm support them both. One of her guardians sensed this and rushed forward, while she screamed to keep him alive; after all, he was their golden finger, their Sect's treasured tool. This foolish command was of course in his favour, for as they tried only to subdue him, he would not return such 'kindness'.
Even though there were many of them, they all fell to the flurry of his sword and he came to realise just how weak the Sect had kept their men. The maidservants were better, their martial arts stronger, but he was an Asura unleashed, he would suffer a thousand cuts in order to end their mistress' life. That said, once he saw the light dim in her ugly eyes, he reached for a pill in order to save his own.
"You bastard!" A wraith of yin screamed and rushed towards his unguarded back, however hers was also so and blinded by fury, she failed to sense the man behind her before he took her life.
"My Martial Uncle has also been avenged," Huang Jianyong mentioned as he looked at the lifeless corpse of the woman who had a hand in this cycle of destruction. For it were her whispers on that man's pillow that had made him stray and caused his rising envy that he might steal that which did not belong to him. His eyes turned to his beloved and a expression of concern filled them as they flashed over his numerous wounds. "Are you well, Xia?"
"I will live, Jian," he reassured his husband. "I am sorry that I caused you worry."
"Do not be, beloved," the man reached for him, cupping his hands about his jaw and pressing their foreheads gently together. "I should not have brought you here."
"No, you were right to," he replied, returning the intimate touch. "There is something else I need to do, you may not agree to it at first, but it surely is necessary. Come with me?"
"Always."
And with that, Xing Xia led Huang Jianyong to the distant, dark room, where his former self was trapped and was waiting to be freed.
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