China, Daishan mountain.
Holding on to his newly acquired medicine, Wang Xiao worked his way over to the steep set of stairs that led up to the temple and sat on the lowest one. Upon examining the state of his forearm, and assuming that his shoulder was none the better, Wang Xiao figured he may as well keep ripping up his ornate outer robe to use as a bandage.
Removing his outer robe, he clumsily pulled the fabric apart at the seams and haphazardly wound the fabric around both injuries, tying them off with a crude knot. When he was done, Wang Xiao raised his head to look back at the stranger but found the other already staring back at him. Somehow, Zhang Yao's steely gaze did nothing to reassure him, suddenly fearing that he would either attack him or leave him to die on this god-forsaken mountain.
"Err... brother Zhang, thank you for the medicine. I'm sure it will heal in no time," he stammered, confused as to why he was suddenly feeling shy underneath the other's gaze.
"You're a cultivator."
Wang Xiao noticed how it wasn't a question but rather an abrupt statement. Rather than reply, he nodded slowly, confused by the other man's blunt personality.
"Then why are you so weak" replied Zhang Yao as he took one step closer towards him.
Feeling even more nervous than before, Wang Xiao felt with his left hand for the step behind him and, upon touching it, hoisted himself up one step above from where he was sitting, climbing the staircase backwards and away from the approaching stranger.
Zhang Yao frowned at this behaviour, failing to understand that he was the one making him uneasy.
"Zh-Zhang YuanJin! Wh-why did that wolf attack me? W-was it possessed? Poisoned? Cursed?" fired off Wang Xiao as he progressively climbed further up the steps towards the temple.
Whenever Wang Xiao became nervous, he had the bad habit of stammering and messing up his words. This stranger was most definitely making him nervous, ever since he had so effortlessly killed a giant wolf. Plus, if there was one thing that Wang Xiao knew, it was to mistrust anyone who sought too much information about his cultivation and his reason for being up in the mountains.
He had sworn to keep his mission secret from everyone, especially strangers in the woods. Wang Xiao hadn'T expected to come across another human being so far up in the mountains. Bowu temple had been abandoned long ago, making it both inaccessible and uninteresting for people to visit. Why, then, was this man standing there with him, so close to where Wang Xiao needed to be for his mission. Perhaps, this red-robed figure was after the same item as he was.
Lost in thought, Wang Xiao failed to notice how the other bore his gaze into him, scrutinizing his features and silently taking in his appearance.
"It wasn't a normal wolf, that's for sure," replied Zhang Yao, oblivious to the other man's discomfort. "I've been tracking its pack across this mountain for a week, looking for its lair. I believe that it was being controlled by some other entity. It's unusual for wolves to directly attack humans without any provocation. Unless ..."
"Unless what?"
Zhang Yao opened his mouth to reply but held back his words, thinking that perhaps he shouldn't be talking so openly with a mysterious man lurking in the fog, alone and unarmed. After a moment of reflection, he asked instead: "why are you on this mountain?"
Wang Xiao didn't reply, only staring ahead with his chin up in a defiant stance.
Both unanswered and unasked questions hung in the air between them, with both men wary and mistrusting of one another.
Hoping to change the subject, Wang Xiao stammered, "y-you're a rogue cultivator, aren't you?"
For a brief moment, Zhang Yao's eyes flashed with anger and fear, which Wang Xiao caught immediately. Realising this was the wrong question to ask, Wang Xiao gulped down his rising bile and said instead, "y-you don't have to answer. L-look, we ... we both need to share this mountain top for specific reasons, so why don't we do what we each came here to do, and then forget we ever saw each other."
At this point, Zhang Yao was very much tired of this stammering, bloodied young man and, deciding on the spot that he wasn't worth any more of his time, he turned away from him and walked off towards the shade of the forest.
Wang Xiao watched him retreat into the tree line and waited a few minutes to make sure he was completely gone before finally getting up from the steps of the temple and walking up the remaining distance. It struck him how obedient the other man had been. Ultimately, it didn't seem like he was interested in entering the temple. Perhaps Wang Xiao has misjudged the situation and the other had truly only wanted to help. Guiltily, Wang Xiao looked back over his shoulder towards the tree line but saw nothing except thick grey fog and a crumbled dark form on the ground.
Upon reaching the doorway, Wang Xiao thought how he had probably been rude and a little bit silly to mistrust someone who had just saved his life. However, his mission was far more important than some random red-robed man who was busy hunting wolves. Wang Xiao's purpose in coming to this remote temple was to retrieve a sacred document, hidden deep within the walls of the temple, and nothing was going to deter him from his goal.
Turning his head back towards the temple and focusing his mind on the task as hand, Wang Xiao walked into the temple, letting the heavy door slam shut behind him.
---------------------
10 days earlier
---------------------
Yi Clan, courtyard.
"Brother Wang! Brother Wang! Wait, you're walking too fast, brother Wang!"
Wang Xiao smiled to himself. His shidi was running after him again, no doubt wanting to share a meal or play a game in the midday sun. He stopped and turned to face the clan leader's youngest son, Yi Ling. "What is it this time, A-Ling? Did you drop your rice cake in the pond again? The fish will grow fat because of you."
Yi Ling caught up to him out of breath, clutching a scroll in his hand and extending it towards Wang Xiao. "No ... no, Wang-ge, clan leader has a message for you ... he ... he asked me ... to ..."
Seeing how flustered his shidi was, Wang Xiao smiled gently at him, took him by the shoulder, and led him to a stone bench in the courtyard. "Calmly A-Ling, tell me what sect leader wants from me."
Yi Ling took a deep breath to steady himself and handed the scroll to Wang Xiao with a bashful smile. The two of them had a good relationship, even though Wang Xiao was already in his early twenties and Yi Ling was still a teenager. Yi Ling was a good student in the sect but, being so young, he tended to get overexcited and run around everywhere. Clan leader Yi often asked Wang Xiao to watch over him and guide him, knowing full-well that he had a lot of influence over him, more so than his blood brother Yi Huang.
Wang Xiao took the scroll and unrolled it, silently reading out its contents to himself:
"A-Xiao,
I've just received word from a reliable source that the 'One Thousand Souls' manual has been located. As you know, this book is extremely important and should not fall into anyone else's hands. I am hereby sending you to Bowu temple to retrieve this book. Take no one with you and do not tell anyone what you are looking for. This book's existence must remain secret and well guarded until the time is right.
I expect you will not disappoint me.
Clan leader Yi."
Wang Xiao's heart skipped a beat as he re-read the letter just to be sure. Unbelievably, the long-lost One Thousand Souls manual had been found, at it was up to him to bring it back safely to the Yi clan on behalf of the clan leader. Legend said that this manual had the power to control life and death as if it were a mere game. However, with such great power, it was rumoured that the book was evil and could easily corrupt anyone who read it.
If that was the case, Wang Xiao wasn't sure how the clan leader would use it and whether it would be a danger to him and his clansmen. Still, the book was too valuable and dangerous to be left alone in a musty temple. Anyone could easily snatch it from the temple's walls and use it to harm others. Wang Xiao had to hurry and get to it first before anyone else did.
Yi Ling tugged relentlessly at his sleeve, pulling him out of his thoughts and back to the stone bench in the courtyard. Wang Xiao turned towards his shidi with a lopsided smile and asked: "A-Ling, do you have any fire talismans on you?"
Yi Ling cocked his head sideways, trying to figure out why Wang Xiao didn't have any himself, while he pulled a talisman from within his robes. "I have one, why?"
"Can you set fire to this scroll? I don't need a copy of this letter wandering around the world" replied Wang Xiao.
Nodding, Yi Ling closed his eyes and, squeezing the talisman between his forefinger and middle finger, muttered the fire incantation. Half a second later, the talisman burst into bright red flames, which he set next to Wang Xiao's scroll. As expected from a fire spell, the paper quickly caught fire and burned within minutes.
Once only the embers were left, Wang Xiao felt confident that it was safe for him to leave the clan and start his mission. Telling him only what was strictly necessary, Wang Xiao let Yi Ling accompany him to the edge of the clan gate. The giant ivory gate was richly decorated with characters relating to literature and scholarly studies. Wang Xiao let his hand run along its side as he walked past, thinking of how many times he had come and gone from the clan while on missions.
Before the two separated, Yi Ling pulled out a small packet and handed him a rice cake he had hidden in his sleeve. Wang Xiao laughed when he saw the cake, saying "how typical of you A-Ling! I knew you had a cake up your sleeve."
Yi Ling smiled shyly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while offering the cake in the other. "Wang-ge, I don't know where you're going nor for how long, but at least take this with you."
Wang Xiao smiled and ruffled the boy's hair, took the proferred food, and said "thank you, A-Ling. Be good while I'm gone and don't overfeed the fish."
Yi Ling pouted at this remark, saying "I don't feed them on purpose!" before Wang Xiao walked away from the clan gate and into the city.