#xxmingyan

“what do you truly desire the most?” mingyan remembers kneeling as a twelve year old on the cold tiles of the ground, one wintery night, at the feet of the jiang sect, tears shedding down her cheeks as snow gathers upon her shoulders. “is it cultivation? Or revenge? It can only be one or the other, child. Or the jiang sect will not adopt and accept you in.” she remembers her fingers, nearly freezing as they clenched into the snow, her breath nothing but puffs of air that huff from behind her lips.

“the road to cultivation is not for revenge.” The man’s voice lowers pitying, as she turns her eyes towards her dead brother, clutching her ankle with his eyes wide open, as though beseeching her not to turn and leave him behind. “why don’t you make your decision after seeing if you have the gift for it?” she’s nothing but a blind deer in headlights as she scurries after him, the warmth of the room inviting and the hope before her refreshing.

“put your hand on the crystal ball, and we will see if you have any spirit roots that would help in your cultivation growth.” No sooner than she had placed her hand upon the crystal, the ball shone with a steady glow, flickering slowly as a pulse of five different colours bled through the seams of her fingers that covered the ball.

She hears the man suck in a breath—surprise colouring his face, before its replaced by calm ferventness.

“you…have the chaos spirit root.” His voice is soft but gentle. “one of the greatest spiritual roots for the road to cultivation.” A gentle hand rests upon her head, heavy but warm. “take the road to cultivation, child. It’s the best road for you to go.”

Mingyan watches as the doors close on her dead brother’s body, laying outside on the cold snow, a fresh layer dusting upon his deadened cheeks.