Birds chirped as a young man with dark straight hair tied in a bun sat still. He was shirtless, and all he had on was underwear. He had well-defined muscles, that guided the water.
On a rock under a waterfall, the pressure of the water pressed against his shoulders. It was early and there were no signs of the sun coming up.
Cool breeze roamed, carrying mist off the water's surface, but despite this, Qi steamed, unaffected by the cold. His skin was flushed and slightly swollen.
Still, he sat there meditating. With his eyes tightly closed, his eyelids trembled with strain.
Within his meditation, his elixir field manifested as a world ablaze. He walked this burning world, which scorched hotter with every step he took.
From a distance, he saw a young man standing in front of a burning bridge. Hovering above his head, were bold letters that read 'Ju Ying'.
Qi chuckled, and then we walked toward the man.
"Are you ready to make your choice?" the man asked, he then waved his hand and a table materialized before them. On both sides of the table were two chairs.
Like everything else, the table and chairs were on fire.
The man pointed at the chair on Qi's side and said, "Sit"
"I am fine standing," Qi said. The man kept pointing without saying a word. After a while, Qi sighed.
"Fine, fine, I'll sit," Qi slowly took a seat.
Ju Ying opened his palms. In his right hand was a gold pill. In his left hand was a silver pill.
Qi reached out for the gold pill. It ignited and he pulled away. He then reached for the silver pill. It moved as Qi tried to grab it.
He quickly grabbed it and put it in his mouth swallowing it instantly.
The world suddenly flipped on its head. He looked down and saw the sky beneath him. He quickly jumped onto the chair holding it tight.
Realising it was hot he let go.
His awareness returned to him. He opened his eyes to see water. The sight of water calmed him down.
Immediately, he felt energy coursing through his body. He got up from the rock and made a fist.
He gestured at hitting the rock always stopping at the last second. After a while, he closed his eyes.
He punched the rock and opened his eyes. He was disappointed when the rock was still standing.
He got out of the river and started to get dressed. He took solace in the fact that punching the rock did not hurt as badly as before.
As he was walking away he heard a crack. He turned around to see that the rock had split.
He jumped and pumped his fist in excitement. As he walked back home, he smiled as he remembered time with his father.
His father, Bai Wu a martial arts practitioner, explained to him that not everyone has the talent for cultivation.
Bai Qi despite his name had no aptitude for qi condensation. He had been trying to cultivate for years to no avail.
"I want to be strong like the heroes in your stories," Qi always said with a bowed head.
One morning Qi woke up to see his father standing outside his room. He was only nine years old then.
"Today I will teach you a secret technique called bunny path," his father said. Without wasting any time, Qi rushed to do his chores.
After he met his father outside. He had a stick he was using to draw in the sand.
"Stand here," Wu said pointing at a circle on the ground. Qi stood in the circle, and around him were smaller circles.
There were three types of circles, bigger ones that could fit both legs. A slightly smaller one that could only fit one leg at a time and the much smaller ones. Those could only fit if he stood on his toes.
"Move without stepping on the lines," His father instructed. Qi tried but failed the first time.
The second time as he moved he lost his balance and fell.
The memory made him realize how far he had come.
"The Heirs are in town," Qi overheard a lady say before she hurried away.
"Ah, I forgot, it's their birthday," Qi said, he watched as the heirs passed through town.
They were being carried around in a palanquin. They threw out thin gold bars. Qi rushed to pick some from the ground.
As the crowd fought for the gold bars. Qi was shoved, and he bumped into the palanquin bearer.
The bearer fell and the palanquin fell along with him.
The crowd gasped and went dead silent. Two other palanquins behind the called one also stopped.
Their bearers set them down. An heir crawled out of the fallen palanquin. He was in a white silk robe with gold motifs of flames. On his back was a motif of the Houyan.
A burning Phoenix, in a similar gold color. The heir got up and the bearer lay at his feet.
"Lord Flame, I ask for your forgiveness."
The bearer lay at his feet, and Qi joined him.
"It is all my fault, Lord Flame. I am very sorry," Qi said with both arms stretched with his forehead touching the ground.
The Lord Flame, a young man embellished in gold accessories. He made a fist about to hit Qi.
Another heir from the palanquin behind grabbed his fist. The Lord Flame looked at him and he shook his head.
The Lord Flame looked around and saw the crowd staring. He snatched his hand.
"Get up, we are leaving," he said to the bearer. He got up and lifted the palanquin.
The Lord Flame got inside and they left. The other heir who stopped the Lord Flame gave Qi a couple of gold bars.
He then got back in his Palanquin and also left. Qi went home to show his parents the gold bars he was given.
"You should not have taken it. The Houyans give nothing for free," Wu said and walked away.
"Don't let it bother you. Your father is just being cautious," Lady Xian mentioned to Qi.
Qi listened to his mother and went to his room. There he counted how many gold bars he collected.
After counting he had fourteen rose gold, seven white gold, and one yellow gold. Qi smiled and put the gold bars into a pouch.
He lifted a stone tile, dug, and dropped the pouch in it. He covered it up and placed the stone tile back on it.
Later that day, Qi and his family were having supper. Houyan guard barged in, ushering in the three heirs.
Qi and his parents bowed when they saw the Lord Flame.
"Welcome, Lord Flame. How may we be of service?" Wu asked.
"We misplaced some gold bars and we were directed here," the Lord Flame said. He gestured and the guards entered the room.
They turned the whole place upside down. After a while, the guards got out and shook their heads.
"Lord Flame, let me," the heir who gave Qi the gold bar said. He came out dangling a white pouch.
"Seize him," the Lord Flame said.
"I have not…," Qi said, and his father shused him.
"Lord Flame, it seems there's been a mistake," Wu said.
"Are you calling me a liar?" the heir with the pouch asked.
The third heir chuckled.
"No Lord, it seems the pouch was found in my room," Wu explained.
The Lord Flame's eyes open wide. He looked at the Lord with the pouch. He nodded and asked the guard to arrest him.
"No," Qi screamed and lunged at the guards. He was slapped and he fell to the ground.
His mother held him back as they both cried as they took his father away.