“How… dare you…”

She held onto the cold, limp body in her arms. Tears streamed down her face as she glared hatefully at the person before her.

“How dare you take him from me!”

The man sneered.

“Take him from you? How dare he take you from me? How dare he take you from us? Do you not understand your duty? You’ve become lax ever since you allowed yourself to become enamored with this child. Come back to your senses. He was never worthy of you anyway.”

“That is not for you to decide! I’m the only one who can decide who is and isn’t worthy of me!”

“It’s too late now. He’s already dead. Not even you can restore the dead.”

She looked down at the body in her arms: her dearly beloved, who had been murdered in cold blood. The man was right. She could not bring back the dead. Even she did not have the strength to turn back time to that degree.

But that didn’t mean there was nothing she could do. She wasn’t out of options.

Qi gathered around her, swirling like a thick silver mist.

The man’s eyes widened.

“What are you doing?!”

“I’m not letting him slip from my grasp. If I can’t bring him back, then I’ll simply go with him."

“You’re planning to ignite your soul?! Are you crazy?! Even if you reincarnate, there’s no guarantee you’ll find him!”

“No… I’ve already seen to it that I can reincarnate with him.”

“You mean you… fuck! Why?! Why would you do that?!” The man screamed hysterically, but she just smiled.

“You don’t need to know, and I’m under no obligation to tell you… but I will tell you this: Do not interfere with us. If you even try, I will see to it that you suffer. I will kill you and every person related to you, down to the tenth generation. I will wipe your very existence from the heavens and ensure not a single person remembers who you are.”

“DON’T DO THIS!”

“It is already too late. I hope you and I never meet again.”

The man tried to stop her, but the Qi she was releasing was far beyond anything he could produce. He couldn’t even get close.

She tightened her grasp on the body in her arms and buried her face in his hair. Liquid silver tears continued to stream down her face and fell onto his dark hair.

“We’ll be together soon. Wait for me.”

***

Wu Jian howled as he was struck in the face. The world tilted as he spun like a top. He struck the snow-covered ground with a harsh thud, crying out once more as he smacked his elbow against the cold surface. A stinging sensation spread from his cheek to his jaw. His elbow also stung fiercely, and blood was trailing across his skin, dripping onto the ground.

With a wince, Wu Jian pushed himself up. He reached up to touch his cheek and jerked his fingers away with a hiss of pain. The sudden movement also sent a sharp jolt through his elbow.

Tears gathered in his eyes, causing his bullies to jeer at him.

“Ha ha ha! Look at this wimp! Check it out! He’s actually crying!”

“Can you believe this pathetic shrimp is the heir to our clan?”

“There’s no way we can let a baby like him remain the clan heir. He’ll bring shame to our forefathers. I think you should become the clan heir, Yong Gōng Zǐ.”

Three people stood over Wu Jian. All of them looked similar. Wu Yong, Wu Ming, and Wu Fei were all members of the Wu Clan, just like him. Wu Yong was Wu Jian’s older half-brother. He had dark hair and the shape of his face was similar, but his eyes were cyan instead of black. At ten years of age, he was two years older than Wu Jian, which meant he was bigger and stronger, too.

Because he was the son of their father’s second wife, Wu Yong was not the clan heir despite being older and stronger. That could change when they both came of age. He could challenge Wu Jian for the position then, but this was how things were right now. Wu Jian wondered if that was why Wu Yong constantly tormented him. Was he jealous that someone so much weaker than him was the clan heir simply for being the son of their father’s first wife? They had used to get along so well, so he almost struggled to imagine why his brother had changed this much.

Wu Yong often bullied Wu Jian when no one else was around. That was why Wu Jian tried to stay in crowded places, but Wu Yong and his lackeys had caught him when he was coming back from the restroom.

Snow fell from the sky as Wu Jian lay on the ground, tears pricking his eyes. Freezing cold trails of tears caused his cheeks to tingle, mixing with the sting of the blows he had received. His hands and shins felt like they had been turned into blocks of ice as white powder gathered on his body. Perhaps he should be grateful to winter’s chill, for the frigid temperature has numbed his cheek and elbow to the point where he couldn’t feel the pain as acutely.

“What’s the matter? Get up. Stop acting so pathetic!”

“Wimp!”

“Stop bringing shame to our clan, you pathetic excuse for an heir!”

“You look like a girl. The least you can do is act like a man.”

Wu Jian sniffled and tried not to cry as Wu Yong’s two friends verbally harassed him and his smirking half-brother stared down at him like he was worth less than dirt. Their words struck him to his core. What made it worse was how nothing they said was false. With his pale skin, glossy black hair, and delicate appearance, he really did look like a girl. Everyone always said so. Even his father often said he wished Wu Jian could be manlier.

As his three bullies continued to taunt and tease him, hurling insults that cut deeper than his injuries, someone leapt onto the snow and rushed over to them. It was a young girl about the same age as Wu Jian. She had pure white skin, long dark hair, and large eyes the same color as the bright blue sky. She stood in front of Wu Jian and spread her arms wide as though to protect him. Her back was to him, so he could not see her expression, but he could easily imagine the glare she directed at the three boys.

“What do you three think you’re doing?!” asked the girl. Her voice was young and girlish, but her tone was sharp and cutting like a drawn sword.

The three boys froze.

“Now, now, Meiying, we weren’t doing anything,” Wu Yong began, stuttering. His cheeks were red. “We were just giving my younger brother some pointers. That’s all.”

While Wu Meiying was considered an oddball by most members of their clan because of the strange things she said, her pretty appearance was enough to earn the admiration of all the boys their age. Even some of the older boys were smitten with her. Wu Jian often got many jealous glares thrown his way whenever they were together.

They were always together, so he was pretty much always glared at.

Wu Meiying turned around and looked at him. Her vibrant eyes gazed into his, then looked at his bruised cheek and the blood dripping from his elbow. Her face flushed with anger as she whirled back on the three boys. Her glare must have been powerful, because all three took a step back.

“You are giving pointers to someone outside of the training hall? Do you take me for a fool? I know what you are doing. You will stop bullying Jian right now, or I will tell Yōushì Shūshu and Àiliàn Āyí about this,” she declared, referring to Wu Jian’s father by the informal title of “uncle” as though to declare how close she was to him.

Wu Ming and Wu Fei looked toward Wu Yong like they didn’t know what to do and were waiting for his orders. On the other hand, Wu Yong gazed at Wu Meiying with a face that Wu Jian couldn’t parse. All he knew was that he didn’t like it. He didn’t want other boys looking at Wu Meiying like that.

“Tch. Come on, you two. We’re leaving,” Wu Yong said at last. He gave Wu Jian a glare and said, “You really are a disgrace. Someone who hides behind a girl for protection isn’t worthy of leading this clan. I promise you, I will take away the position of clan heir once you come of age.”

“That is not for you to decide.” Wu Meiying bared her teeth at the older boy.

Scoffing to hide how unsettled he was, Wu Yong turned around, gestured for his two lackeys to follow him, and walked off. Wu Ming and Wu Fei hesitated before chasing after him.