Be Gentle, Immortal Master

The disciple in front of me disappeared. The pavilion I was sitting in vanished. I was standing on the snow-covered peak of Mount Hua, gusts of cold winter wind whistling past my face.

I shivered a little, and I lifted my foot to take a step forward. The snow beneath me crunched, packing down into a footprint trailing behind me. I looked around in amazement. This was unlike any vision I had seen before. Instead of a scene that I could only watch, this one made me part of it, and everything was so vivid that I could even feel the cold air and smell the frozen dirt. Undoubtedly, it would make whatever it was about to show me feel as real as life.

"Devil!" A scream suddenly sounded from a distance. I swirled, catching a glimpse of a few figures over the summit, the sound of their swords clashing echoing over the barren mountaintop. "Abomination!" Another scream followed. A girl's laugh trailed the voices, clear and bright.

My whole body froze. That laugh … I recognized her voice. It was the girl in red … It was me.

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I didn't think more before my feet started taking me running. Was this vision a real moment from the past? Was it going to show me what happened at Mount Hua over two hundred years ago? Was the test for me to stop the tragedy from happening?

The figures drew closer, and I stopped abruptly when the girl and her opponents came into my full view.

Teng Yuan had told me that the scene at Mount Hua that day was carnage. He had told me that the dirt was stained red all over the peak, and the air smelled like blood. But hearing it and seeing it myself wasn't the same. My breath caught in my throat as I stared into the lifeless eyes of a body sprawling in front of me, the deep wound on his neck still gushing blood. Beside him, another body lay with his head snapped into a weird angle, his sword still halfway in its sheath. Death had come so fast for him that he didn't even get a chance to fully draw his blade.

She was too powerful for them to fight back … This wasn't a battle. This was sheer manslaughter.

I looked up at the girl. She was still beautiful, her red dress fluttering with her motion as she smoothly and effortlessly danced with Twin Stars in her hands. She was even smiling. In her eyes, the last few men left in front of her were probably no different from a few saplings. She needed no more than a flick of the wrist to cut them down.

"Stop!" I screamed and reached for my swords. But the vision must've removed them, as my hands touched nothing over my belt. I cursed, but I didn't pause. Running straight into the path of my past self, I switched into a bare-handed fighting stance. "Stop!" I shouted again and aimed for her swords.

Her arms moved straight through my grip, and her body crossed mine as if she was only a phantom in thin air. Laughing hysterically again, her blades whistled past my ears, piercing the body of the disciple behind me.

I looked down at my hands. Why? This vision felt so real, so tangible … Why could I not touch her? Why could I not stop her?

The sounds of blades crossing slowly dwindled behind me, and I knew she was almost done with this part of the mountain peak. I stood there, not daring to turn back. Even if this vision was only my own imagination of what happened, I knew it couldn't be far from the truth, and I couldn't bring myself to watch the rest of it. The smell of blood filled every pore of me, and I felt sick.

This … was me? This coldblooded demon from hell … was me?

"Of course it's you," the girl's voice suddenly hissed in my ears. My head snapped up, and I saw her looking into my eyes and smiling at me. "Teng Yuan was trying to help you feel less guilty," she continued, "but you know the two of us are one and the same. How can you pretend you are a different person, just because you've forgotten what you don't want to remember?"

She laughed and raised Twin Stars, meeting the last disciple still standing. With a clean slice to the throat, she sent him falling to her feet, and she turned back towards me. Splatters of scarlet covered her face, and I let out a small scream when I realized that her face … had changed into mine.

The girl standing in front of me was still wearing that red dress. Still holding Twin Stars with blood dripping down its tip. But it wasn't her anymore. It was me … covered in the stench of carnage, lips curled into a devilish smile.

"We are one and the same," she said again, this time in my voice. "You've always wanted power, haven't you? You've always wanted to prove yourself and become stronger. Do you know why?" Her smile widened. "Because you remember me. You want to be like me again … And one day you will. When you have the power for it, you will tread my path once more, and you will discover how free your life can be with unlimited possibilities. A whole new world is waiting for you."

"I'm not like you!" I screamed, but she only laughed. Slowly, her figure grew transparent, and she started fading into the air like a wisp of smoke.

"Say that to him," she said, her gaze gliding over me onto a spot behind me. Then she vanished.

My breath caught. Turning around, I found the person that had been in my dreams every night for the past month and a half standing in front of me, Lightbringer in his grip. His eyes were dark, betraying no emotion.

"Qing-er," he said softly. "Did you do this?"