Pain.
I drift in and out of reality.
I slip into consciousness and leave it, the lines between waking and dreaming blurred.
The burning on my back - the lines, the wounds - ache, burn, pulse. Each heartbeat, each throb sending bolts of pain shooting up my spine.
Until I fall back into the black…
and feel nothing.
A man, or a woman? It's hard to say. They press on my back, rubbing something cool into the wounds, bringing me relief at first. But they are so rough, so hasty.
As if this is a punishment.
What I can't tell is if the one being punished is me or them.
I feel a bit better, the pain receding a smidgen.
But then I try to move. Each movement brings with it a fresh wave of agony.
I burn to the touch.
Then they go. They don't come back. I'm lying there.
On the floor?
On the bed?
I cannot tell.
All I know is that my body pulses.
It beats to a rhythm that's not my own.
And it feels good.
It feels powerful.
And as soon as it comes, the feeling is gone.
Water. I need water.
My throat is oh so dry, so parched. It grates on itself like sandpaper. I try to lick my lips but my tongue has no moisture left to spare.
"Water, please." I croak.
But I simply speak to the walls.
Won't someone quench my thirst. Only if they knew how much I craved it, they'd rain a flood down on me. Anything to slake my need.
But no one does.
So I just keep lying there.
There are noises, outside my window. Celebrations maybe? Whatever could they be celebrating? Ahhh, yes the tournament.
That was today.
The cheers go on. On and on for hours on end, I hear trumpets, drums, crying, screaming, shouting, laughing, fighting… fighting and more fighting still.
Then I hear a loud shriek.
And then I hear nothing.
And then comes everything.
Clamour, screaming and chaos and amidst all that, something else.
An aura - a pressure oh so familiar.
Its weight crushes me down, makes my body tremble unconsciously in fear, the micro movements tearing into my nerves, sending streaks of molten metal through them.
And with that aura came another?
Two Golden Core cultivators.
What were they even…
Well it doesn't really even matter does it. What does it have to do with me?
It doesn't, right?
If it doesn't, then why are those two auras…
Getting closer?
They must be passing by.
No, they're coming right for me.
"Thump…thump…thump."
Two rhythmic sets of footsteps, approaching with purpose.
"THUMP…THUMP…THUMP."
They get closer, louder, until they reach near me and stop.
I want to raise my head, I want to look.
But every movement is agony, I can't bring myself to shift even an inch.
"...here's the bastard as promised." someone said, most of his words too soft for me to hear. Was it my Uncle? It was hard to be sure.
"....damaged beyond bel…what did you do?" The other man said in a hushed tone, yet again mostly inaudible.
"...not your problem…take him before I kill him."
Kill me?
The declaration jolted me into consciousness.
I tried to look up and see who was the one who said it, catching an eyeful of my Uncle staring at me, disgusted and angry, standing side by side with a large muscled man, looking a bit too smug for his own good.
I wanted to get a better look at him but even such a simple motion racked my body with pain.
"GRAHHH."
A loud groan escaped my lips as I waited for the moment to tide over.
What was happening? Who is this man? Why is he taking me?
Where is he taking me?
"Fine…leaving…my problem now…not a finger on him."
That was the last thing I heard before the cell door slammed open and someone's hand grabbed my arm, hoisting me up onto their back.
Given the size I'd assume it was the man next to Uncle, but my current condition prevented me from being sure.
Even more so considering the act of being pulled like that irritated my already tender wounds, the lancing spikes of pain intense enough to push me back into the sweet release of unconsciousness.
I dreamt.
I didn't dream often, and even when I did it was usually incomprehensible.
Not this time.
This time I dreamt pure and clear.
I was in a room, unmarked, undecorated, gray from the floors to the ceiling and in the middle of the room there was a white marble dais.
The dais was plain, simple, unremarkable but that's not what caught my eye.
Right on the center of the dais stood a book.
THE Book.
It was the sutra, the cause of my worries, the reason for my pain. There, right in front of me.
But over here, I felt no fear.
No worries.
No apprehension.
I walked up to it, felt its warm and smooth leather slide under my fingertips, flipped it open and I began to read.
I lived a hundred lifetimes in that moment.
I experienced the journey of every man and woman to ever cultivate the sutra.
In one lifetime I was an immortal, in another lifetime I was snuffed out too young; I was a poet, I was a warrior, I was a leader, I was a rebel, a martyr, a coward, a vassal, a traitor, a judge, a criminal…
I was alive.
I experienced it all.
I loved what they loved.
And hated what they hated.
I laughed, I cried, I bled and then I died.
They taught me, not words, not sutras, not techniques — but truths.
Secrets.
My mind became strong.
And as this ancient wisdom inundated my soul, the old fractures in my dantian quivered, almost as if they remembered what it was like to be whole.
It wasn't repaired yet — oh no.
But it was waiting.
And then I woke up; not a single memory of the lives I lived remained in my mind but they left a mark.
Light burned my eye, the other in total darkness.
It had been years since I had seen this much light, the window in my cell had always provided a woefully inadequate amount.
But why just one eye?
I raised my hand, body protesting the move as I felt a rough cloth covering my darkened orb.
Bandages.
Someone had dressed my wounds.
My mattress was also comfortable, far too comfortable.
Where was I?
It took a few seconds, but eventually I adjusted to the light, taking in my surroundings. My room was small, barely enough to fit two beds, and plain but tastefully so.
It was clean, pale blue curtains drawn back to let the light reflect off the polished wooden floors.
It was warm, and it was cozy, but…how did I get here? I couldn't remember much, the last memory I had was me being beaten and eventually carried away. Everything was blank after that.
While I was taking stock of my surroundings, I heard a click as the door slowly opened and a woman walked in.
She wasn't exactly pretty, almost plain, the years showing in the creases beside her eyes. But she walked with poise and grace.
With dignity.
As her eyes fell on me a gentle smile covered her face, and she moved closer.
"Looks like you finally woke up dear. You were in quite a condition when you were brought in."
I tried to reply only for thirst to clench my throat.
She saw my reaction and immediately poured me a glass of water which I swallowed down greedily. One wasn't enough and she soon handed me another, allowing me the opportunity to recover.
"Where am I?" I croaked out.
She smiled and said, "Why, you're in the Tang Clan Infirmary, dear."
"Excuse me?" I said with incredulity before I could stop myself. The Tang clan, our eternal rivals, the reason we couldn't call ourselves the greatest clan in Seabreeze City.
What was I doing with them I thought. How did Uncle allow this?
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?" I said gingerly, hoping, nay, praying that this was all just a bad joke.
"Quite sure dear, my husband brought you in two days earlier all bloodied and beaten up when he came home from that tournament in the Lei Clan. Something about winning a bet and taking in a useful stray? I usually can't make heads or tails of what that man thinks so I just try to clean up after him."
I either must still be dreaming or this entire sequence of events is someone's attempt at a rather poor joke.
I was being cared for in enemy territory. I almost wanted to laugh at the situation, I had never been treated this well in my own clan let alone one that would happily see me dead.
Something had happened.
If only I could remember what.
I had to find a way to escape, maybe the door? No, she would stop me.
Would she stop me? Was I a prisoner?
Before I could question her further the door slammed open and a young man walked in, his muscled frame forcing him to squeeze through the doorframe.
He sported a shock of red hair on his head that seemingly defied gravity, covering him like a lion's mane.
He ignored me and gave the woman a small polite bow,
"Mother, father requests that the Lei bastard be brought to his study as soon as he wakes up."
The woman slaps the boy's arm lightly with an admonishing look on her face.
"Tang Lou," she said, almost exasperated, "You cannot talk about guests that way, how many times must I drill this into your head."
Guest? What were they saying? I thought. I don't remember being invited, I can't remember anything.
"Yes mother." The youth said, rolling his eyes. He then turned to me, finally acknowledging my presence.
"Well? Are you going to sit around there all day?"
I looked at him, confused.
"What the hell is going on." I said.
"Why am I here, what bet did someone supposedly win? Where is my Uncle."
The thought of my uncle and what he would do the second he found out I was gone made my body tremble unbidden, an action that didn't go unnoticed by either mother or son. Nevertheless I forged on.
"I need to go back, if he finds me missing he'll kill me."
"The only place you're going to is my father's study. He has summoned you and you will not ignore him."
"You don't understand," I said, my breath coming in short quick bursts as panic started to surge.
I couldn't breathe
"He will kill me, he genuinely will, I have to return before he notices I'm gone."
Tang Lou sighed. He came close to me, threw off my covers, and picked me up in a rather familiar manner, almost like this had happened to me before. The action sent jolts through my wounds although it was almost bearable this time.
He marched out of the room with me on his shoulder, his mother in tow yelling at him to be gentle.
I tried beating his shoulder, imploring him, screaming at him, and when that didn't work begging him to let me down and send me back, but he simply ignored me.
Eventually I gave up, resigning myself to my fate, taking in my surroundings.
We crossed a courtyard, decorated with trees and flowers, a small stream cutting it in half. Around me were people in long rows, practicing techniques, going through drills, training their bodies.
They all greeted Tang Lou as we passed by them, giving the bandaged stranger on his shoulder weird looks.
We or rather, he kept on walking, crossing numerous little huts, not overly extravagant but still clean and simple, tiled in red, something that seemed to be a recurring theme here. Eventually, after a couple of minutes we arrived at a large pagoda.
I stared at it in awe, never had I ever seen such intricate architecture, such detailed tilework, such deep rich colo…
I didn't have a chance to admire it fully as I was unceremoniously thrown inside, the impact jolting my body.
As I moaned and groaned and eventually pulled myself to my feet, I came face to face with a man…
No.
A mere man could never give off such a dangerous aura.
My body rebelled against me, urging me to get away.
A musclebound behemoth, sporting the same shocking red hair as Tang Lou, staring me up and down with the bored look of a predator toying with its prey.
He opened his mouth, canines razor sharp, and said.
"Hello, Lei Ni."