บท 18: Marked by Death

This was another secret she wanted an answer for. Why had he hidden even this from her?

Yun Da Xia felt a tugging on the sleeve of her robe. She leaned forwards, more compliant with the invisible energy now that she knew there was no true ill-natured intent. Led out of the chair, she followed; her footfalls being the only noise in the quiet.

It was a little eerie. She would need to find a way to make this place a little less somber.

She was made to walk inside the house; the door seamlessly opening wide for her. Cautiously, Yun Da Xia stepped over the threshold, eyes widening at the sight before her. The entrance opened up into a large round room with high ceilings; books lining the walls from top to bottom. There weren't any candles or modern day bulbs to light the room, but it was brightly lit nonetheless. Physically, it was impossible to have such a large space within a small, single storied house, but she was already inside a ring. With the way of the trade, this shouldn't be much of a surprise.

'for'

'Cultivation'

The energy maneuvered her past the scattered tables and chairs around the room, bringing her towards a section of the bookshelves containing thick, hardbound books. Yun Da Xia grazed her fingers over their spines; a sense of nostalgia coming forth. Some of them had made her way into her hands as a child.

They were wonderful books that had helped her in the past. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be any help to her now.

"Can you bring me master's notes, please?"

At her request, the book from before materialized in her hand. Although six hours would not be enough for her to break into the second level of Earth cultivation, it would be enough for her to comprehend the fundamental differences between the two types of cultivation methods. If luck was on her side, then she could begin her proper cultivation tomorrow.

She settled on a divan, wondering if there was a bedroom somewhere. Once she started journeying, she could just stay in here instead of paying for an inn.

Shaking her head, she placed her attention to the book of scribbles; stretching her shoulders. Just deciphering master's handwriting might take up four hours.

"Please tell me when dawn breaks outside." Her fingers flipped to the first page.

If she could describe how the two cultivation techniques differed, it was like walking versus ice skating. On one hand, you propelled yourself forward with the back foot; on the other, you propelled yourself with the front.

Unlike her usual confident conduct, she fumbled every so often in practice.

Flaring her energy, the technique felt like going against the natural way of the body; like a salmon swimming upstream. Perhaps that was why this method hadn't been recorded before. Practicing cultivation had always been said to be moving with the flow of life, never against it.

Despite her earlier calculations, she broke through to the second stage of Earth cultivation. The energy had been churning inside, opposite to what she had done before. Her flames had become brighter and bolder when she had done it that way. To be honest, when she felt the barrier of the second stage break within her, she couldn't believe it. Weren't the capabilities of red manifestation a little too overpowered?

What more someone with purple manifestation–who has had enough resources to aid them on their journey?

The same teacup from before appeared in front of her, heat still rising from it. Yun Da Xia had no idea what time it was, but she was grateful for an intervention. "Thank you." She took a small sip. Chamomile–her favorite. Looking down, she paused; seeing the peculiarity in her reflection and remembering her shock from a while ago.

"Is there a mirror here?" Yun Da Xia asked. The initial awkwardness of talking to nothing but air was gone now. A silver handled mirror appeared in her hands in the next second. Her eyes caught a string of red. What in the world? Why is there a red streak in her hair?

She pinched the blood-colored strands between her thumb and index; tugging on it. The sharp pain affirmed that, yes, it was truly connected to her head. It had never been there before, so it must have happened once she regained her cultivation. Thankfully it had been dark out, else she didn't know how to explain the oddity. Hair dye certainly hadn't been invented yet.

Red. Her energy manifestation had changed color and so had her hair. She didn't know what it meant, but she wasn't going to let anyone else find out. Materializing a pair of scissors from her inter spacial ring, she positioned the blades as close to her scalp as possible. With a snip, crimson strands fell to the floor, disappearing from sight.

She didn't have an explanation for it now, so she wouldn't dwell on it. It wasn't as important as figuring out her purpose for being in this world.

The girl rubbed her eyes, "Isn't it dawn yet?" It felt like she had been studying and cultivating for days. Although she shouldn't be physically tired after cultivating, she was. All the events of yesterday and today were likely catching up to her.

'not'

Her eyebrows raised at the response. "Huh. So how long until dawn comes?"

'Six'

'hours,'

"What?" Yun Da Xia couldn't believe what she had read. She scanned it over again to make sure it said hours and not minutes. She was sure that she had returned to her room fairly early, had entered this space about an hour before midnight, and had stayed in here for a long while.

"Are you sure its six hours until dawn?" She slowed her speech. This thing might need to double check.

'indeed,'

"Why?"

'hour'

'is two'

'hours,'

The simple words shocked her to the core.

Yun Da Xia wanted to cry. This was a cheat! A year to the outside world became two here. To a cultivator, time was incredibly precious. The more ranks one ascended to in their youth, the more beneficial since higher cultivation ranks would take so much longer to surpass.

Even taking into account the speed of her breakthrough today, she accounted for at least two months before she could go to the academy with her father's blessing.

Now, she calculated a week. If she maintained her progress and cultivated in this space, then it would only take a week for her to be on the same level as her peers. Her heart thumped.

Maybe even higher.

A yawn escaped her lips; eyelids softly fluttering with against her will.

Even if she was brimming with excitement, exhaustion quickly engulfed her. Concern colored her thoughts. She had experienced much worse in the past and had never experienced this kind of fatigue. This body needed to be tempered as soon as possible.

Her eyelids continued to flutter against her will. Like she did every time, she tried to resist the lull of sleep; knowing that terror would overwhelm her in slumber.