It was a beautiful morning, and the sun cast its warm rays upon a mountain which housed the temple of the Shao sect.
A young man, clad in majestic golden robes of the Huo sect, knelt before his master. His chin was raised in quiet defiance, as the soft breeze caressed his angular face and long silken black hair.
His piercing green eyes, glowing with a hint of nonchalance, locked onto those of the older man standing before him. The air seemed to vibrate with tension, as he boldly declared, "As of today, my training with you, Sect Leader Xie of the Shao sect, has come to an end."
The older man, Xie Kai by name, clad in dark grey robes of the Shao sect, had an unreadable expression on his face, but a flicker of surprise danced in his eyes.
"So you believe you're ready to leave the nest, young man? You haven't finished your training. How dare you decide to call it quits without my permission." He spoke with a low and measured voice.
The young man's gaze didn't even waver, as he spoke, "You told me to broaden my knowledge of spells, and so I memorized countless books on spell theory. You instructed me to hone my martial skills, and I diligently practiced swordsmanship for seventy days…"
"….Yet, despite my dedication, you've never once taught me a single spell, and I believe you aren't planning to do so at all. So with the knowledge of this, I would like to end my training and leave."
"The leader of Jinxing asked me to keep you here for three years. It hasn't even been up to half a year, and you think I would let you go?" Xie Kai said, chuckling without humor.
The youngster smirked, already expecting Xie Kai's reply. "How about this, then? I won't ask for a refund of the money I paid for my training." With that said, he got up from his knees and turned around to leave.
"Jiang Yichen!" Xie Kai yelled the name of the defiant youngster. "Where do you think you are going? I never said you could leave."
Jiang Yichen turned around, looking at the Shao sect leader with quirked eyebrows. "Does it look like I'm seeking your permission?" He asked and proceeded to leave.
Xie Kai scoffed in mockery of the young man. "Having being born from an affair, and then abandoned by your supposed father, it's not surprising to me that you wouldn't know to respect your elders. I refuse to teach a brat like yourself. Your father sealed your spiritual core, so there's no way you would be able to learn spells even if you are taught."
Jiang Yichen's face contorted in anger as the man's cruel words assaulted his ears and mind. Without turning back to look at him, he said, "Bullshit! I'm going to find myself a seasoned master. Someone very powerful and skilled, unlike you quacks!"
….
Meanwhile, in the bustling city of Huayang, a certain boat which was peddled by two men, was gliding across a narrow waterway.
Amidst the serene atmosphere, a young man clad with white robes which was soiled with mud, sat at the boat's stern, with his head resting against the wooden deck. A white blindfold covered his eyes, and his fiery red hair danced softly in the breeze.
As the boat navigated through the calm waters, it suddenly hit a submerged log, jolting the vessel a little bit and causing the young man's head to be knocked against the deck.
The man let out a groan as he stirred from his deep slumber. As his consciousness seeped back, the young man's hands instinctively went to his temples, massaging it to ease the throbbing pain he felt. The blindfold which was unfamiliar to his touch, confused him, and he groggily lowered the blindfold, revealing a pair of gleaming grey eyes.
The light from the sun was almost blinding as if he hadn't used his eyes in a long while, and he had to shield his face from the sun with his palm, allowing his eyes adjust to the brightness.
Looking around, Mingyu's eyebrows creased in confusion. 'Where am I?' He wondered, wracking his brain to remember the latest events, but his memories seemed shrouded.
But slowly, pieces of his memories of the events of the previous night began to flood his mind. A fight scene between himself and a number of Jinxing Mages played in his head, followed by the events that ensued afterwards.
His memories shifted to the scene at the tavern, and he remembered himself desperately grabbing a woman. Her terrified face flashed in his memories, followed by the image of the dragon's scale which was stained with his blood.
He remembered whispering a spell, which made his spiritual power flow into the dragon scale, and then all of a sudden, the blind man whom he had first grabbed when he arrived at the tavern, emerged from nowhere, and pushed the woman aside, accepting his soul into his body.
The rest of the events that ensued remained blank, but he knew something else had happened.
Wasn't he supposed to be blind? Mingyu thought to himself as he rubbed his chin. But why is it that I'm able to see?… Is it because I'm a different soul?
Mingyu's mind was riddled with different questions as the last words of the real owner of the body played in his head. 'My body is yours to possess.'
What the hell did he mean by that?
It made him wonder about the true identity of the owner of the body he currently possessed – which he believed was clearly someone special.
"Ah, Yinzhi! It's such a relief that you are awake." A much older man among the men on the boat exclaimed as he eyed Mingyu. "You weren't waking up since I found you unconscious on a pile of mud, this morning. That got me really worried? Are you okay?"
Mingyu pressed his lips into a thin line, not trusting his bratty mouth to say anything without exposing himself, so he simply bobbed his head up and down, nodding his answer, while looking into space as if he were blind.
"Try to bear with the motion sickness. We will get to our destination in a bit, okay?" The man said, and Mingyu nodded once again.
'Why the hell do I even care if I get exposed?' Mingyu questioned himself, his brows quirking in disgust of his newly found politeness. I am Mingyu, a ruthless and feared assasin.
Without thinking, he stood up with the aid of a walking stick, and the man looked at him m, worriedly. "Sit down, or you will fall."
The man's words fell on deaf ears, as Mingyu ignored him. The man's brows creased in confusion at Yinzhi's sudden strange behavior. Shaking his head, he returned his attention back to the other men that were pedaling the boat.
Mingyu saw that the boat was approaching a pedestrian bridge, which was slightly above the waters. Seeing this as a perfect chance to flee, he smirked and said, "Thanks for your hospitality. I'll be getting off now."
The boat got close enough to the bridge, and Mingyu jumped, gripping the underside of the bridge's supporting girder, his hands wrapping around the cold, damp metal.
For a moment, Mingyu hung there, suspended above the water, his dirtied white robes fluttering in the breeze. But as he attempted to pull himself up, his arms trembled, and his grip faltered.
What the hell!… I've no strength! Mingyu exclaimed inwardly, frustration etched on his face.I take back what I said about the owner of this body being special. This body is so useless!
His arms felt like leaden weights, refusing to cooperate. His fingers slipped, barely managing to maintain his grip, and he knew that at any moment he would lose his grip and fall into the water. So, he decided to do the one thing he could do at the moment — scream for help!
"Mister! Help me!" He yelled as loud as he could. "Help!!!"
The man who had not realized when Mingyu had jumped off the boat, became alarmed by Mingyu's sudden cry for help, and he was shocked to the core to see the supposed blind man barely hanging onto the bridge.
"How did you… Yinzhi! Hold on!" He shouted while tapping the shoulder of one of the peddlers, "Turn the boat around! Go back!"
Mingyu's hands began to tremble from holding up his weight, even when it hadn't been up to half a minute. "I'm going to fall! Hurry!" He screamed in a very high pitched voice which sounded irritating, even to his own ears.
But it was already late.
His grip loosened completely, and it felt like time had stopped as he slowly descended into the waters, which gladly welcomed him with open arms.