Shi Qingxuan was very happy for Yu Yanli.
They were happy she'd found a place for herself, and happy she had new friends and a very cushy sounding place to stay, full of happy cultivators in awe of her amazing cultivation skills. The sort of skills everyone had once been convinced Shi Qingxuan possessed, before it came out that they had none at all.
They were happy for Yu Yanli with her cultivation, and happy for Xie Lian with his worshippers, and they were happy to work for all the happy, comfortable looking people who could afford to buy their calligraphy. That was Shi Qingxuan, always happy!
The paper tore beneath their brush. For a moment they just stared at it, as the ink soaked from their brush into the ragged edges of the tear.
Ink costs money, said their brain, helpfully. And so does paper.
They looked up at the customer with a smile. "Very sorry about that sir! I got a little too excited, you know how it us with us artists, haha. Let me just grab a new piece of paper and I'll start again."
It was apparently going to be one of those days, when all the (admittedly pretty terrible) things in their life became too awful to ignore, and Shi Qingxuan moped around like a useless lump until things started to feel better. Which they always did.
After a few more torn sheets of paper, ink-splashed customers, and incorrectly drawn characters, Shi Qingxuan gave up on today as a bad lot. They groaned as they pulled themself up from the ground, and sighed as they noticed how much ink they'd managed to splash on their clothes. Not that it made much difference, after months of regular use Shi Qingxuan's 'nice' calligraphy outfit was looking nearly as grubby as their regular clothes.
At least the weather was warming up. It still hurt to move, but not as much as it had a month ago. And it would hurt even less in another month more, until the seasons turned and the cycle began again. Year after year, day after day, of surviving and getting older until one day it would all stop.
Come on Shi Qingxuan, you old grump, they thought to themself. You've had a pretty good life, all told. And things will seem better when you get home and can have a nice lie down. They had plans to hang out with He Xuan tomorrow that he'd barely even tried to get out of, which hopefully meant they'd soon have something to eat other than rice, peanuts, and limp cabbage. Ning Mo had more to work with these days, but cheap bulk food was still what it was.
As they started the long walk home they passed the open door of a fancy looking restaurant, and got a whiff of spice and roasting meats. Perhaps they would have something to eat, then go home and have a lie down. It looked like this place specialised in pork dumplings, and since Shi Qingxuan had chosen to work in a nice part of town the dumplings might even contain real pork.
Unfortunately, there were downsides to being in the nice part of town.
"You think I didn't see you begging on the street just now?" said the man staring down at Shi Qingxuan as he blocked their way into the restaurant. "This is for paying customers only."
"And I can pay," said Shi Qingxuan. "Look!" They held out their money pouch, currently fairly full after a few days of work, most of which had thankfully been more successful than today. The sensible part of Shi Qingxuan's brain, which sounded suspiciously like He Xuan, suggested that it might be a good idea to back down before this guy got physical. But Shi Qingxuan was tired and hungry and grumpy and they just wanted some dumplings, dammit.
"And where did you steal that from?"
Ooh, that was it. "I beg your pardon?!" Shi Qingxuan's voice went cold. "I am many things, but I am not a thief! Nor, in fact, am I a beggar!" They held up their calligraphy supplies triumphantly. "I am a professional calligrapher!"
The other customers looked up at Shi Qingxuan after this loud outburst. That's right, look! thought Shi Qingxuan. See what a jerk this guy is?!
But of course all they saw was a trouble-making beggar bothering a poor honest businessman. Shi Qingxuan noticed a group of fashionably dressed women quietly whispering to themselves and making disapproving looks, and consoled themself with how overdressed the women all were. Shi Qingxuan might be poor, but at least they knew not to accessorise cultivation robes with chunky jewellery.
And then they stopped and looked at the group of women again.
"You'll be a pile of bruises if you don't get out of here!" said the man.
Shi Qingxuan didn't reply, too busy staring at the one woman who never looked up at them, instead doggedly reading the menu like it was some ancient holy text.
"Hey!" The man knocked Shi Qingxuan's bad shoulder, and they hissed in pain. "I said get out of here!"
"Yes, yes, of course, I'm very sorry, sir," said Shi Qingxuan, bowing as deeply as they could without dropping their calligraphy kit. "Enjoy your meals, everyone! I won't bother you again!" So much for dumplings. They turned towards the door, and heard some more muffled whispering from the table of women. Shi Qingxuan hoped their dumplings were nothing but gristle.
"You'd better not," muttered the man, before turning to a customer with a bright smile. "Finished your meal, ma'am? Did you enjoy it? My apologies for all this commotion, the city magistrate really should do a better job of keeping the streets clean of riffraff."
"I am outraged!" Shi Qingxuan turned in time to see the customer give a spirited toss of her neatly coiffed hair. "This poor boy simply wants a warm meal. He has made it clear that he can pay, why should he not be allowed to enjoy the same food as the rest of us?" She sniffed. "I have a mind to speak to your manager."
"O-oh, thank you... kind lady," said Shi Qingxuan, bowing their head. "I uh... I'm sorry for any trouble."
"No, it is I who should apologise, for sitting and saying nothing when- well!" She coughed. "The point is, will you let this innocent soul find sustenance on a cold and lonely night? Or will my friends and I be forced to find somewhere else to eat?"
It was barely a few hours after midday, but Shi Qingxuan understood the importance of poetic licence. They kept their head down to hide their expression.
Once she'd successfully brow-beaten the manager, Yu Yanli went to sit back with her friends. "Sorry about that, haha," she said, smiling, as she sat down. "I guess something just came over me. I made such a scene, how embarrassing!" Her tone slipped smoothly from terrifying matron to non-threatening ditz. Her friends all reassured her that it was not that big of a deal, and then the conversation shifted to the latest popular songs.
The dumplings turned out to be pretty good, especially seasoned with the taste of victory. Shi Qingxuan ate quickly, not wanting to overstay their precarious welcome, and gave a thankful bow to the table of women before shuffling their way back out the door.
Shi Qingxuan wasn't a very fast walker, and were only a block or two further towards the temple when they heard a voice at their ear quietly saying "Hey, Ol' Feng."
"Hello, Yu Yanli," said Shi Qingxuan. "You sure you want to be seen with a scruffy beggar like me?"
"...sorry about that," she said. "I..."
"No, no, I understand," said Shi Qingxuan. "Thanks for sticking up for me, anyway. Where are you new friends?"
Yu Yanli looked back over her shoulder. "Back at the temple...the school temple, that is. I told them I had some errands to run." Right, she could hardly admit she was hanging out with a beggar from her time living on the street. Yu Yanli held out her hands. "Want me to carry that?"
Shi Qingxuan handed her their calligraphy supplies. "If you're offering." Pride was for people with more working limbs.
Yu Yanli took them on an unusual route back to the temple (Shi Qingxuan's temple), weaving through small alley-ways instead of taking the main street. She kept looking over her shoulder, too. Was she worried her friends would see them? Well, as long as they got there in the end.
"So, uh," said Shi Qingxuan. "It looks like you're settling in at your cultivation school."
"It's alright," said Yu Yanli. "But my new shizun isn't as much fun as you."
Shi Qingxuan noticed that she said fun, not good.
And she seemed to be doing a lot better than 'alright'. Beyond the fine, clean clothes and fancy friends, her skin glowed with health, and there was a spring in her step that Shi Qingxuan hadn't seen there before. But it was easier not to be jealous with her happy face in front of them.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it's going well. And you'll always be my favourite student."
Yu Yanli leered cheerfully. "Not Sha Lizhong?"
"Hahaha," said Shi Qingxuan. They wondered how she would react if she knew the truth. Probably hit on him once she knew how powerful he was. Single, too, technically. It was a disconcerting thought, and they pushed it aside. "So, have you learned anything exciting?"
"It's mostly been meditation and control exercises. But..." She paused and smiled at them, bouncing on her feet. "You didn't notice?"
"Notice what?"
She stopped and put down Shi Qingxuan's calligraphy box on a nearby wall, and then held her hands up in front of her in a series of elegant poses. She was looking at Shi Qingxuan with a small, shy smile, obviously worried about her old shizun's approval. Aww.
They waited a moment for her to cast some sort of spell, and then let out a gasp. She had hands. Two of them, both whole and fashionably pale, and seeming to move entirely independently without any apparent effort.
"Did you grow yourself a new hand?" they said, eyes wide. "I didn't even know that was possible!"
"Haha, no, nothing that exciting," she said. She moved the 'new' hand towards them, and pulled back her sleeve, holding her arm still for them to examine. It was now easy to see that the 'hand' a well made prosthetic, with a carefully dyed and flexible soft leather cover that closely matched her complexion.
"Oh, this is nicely made," they said, peering at the subtle line where the leather held tight to her real skin, which was cross-crossed with light scars from the injury that had caused her to lose the hand in the first place. "And the movement is so fluid, I'm really impressed!"
"Thank you. Though I'm sure it's nothing to what you've seen and done."
She wasn't wrong. But everything was relative. "For a beginner, that's amazing," said Shi Qingxuan. "I look forward to seeing what you can do when you're an expert."
"I don't feel like a beginner," said Yu Yanli. "Not entirely. It all feels natural, like a memory I'd forgotten coming back to me, you know?"
Not really, thought Shi Qingxuan. "Maybe it is!" they said. "You could have been a cultivator in a past life!" Shi Qingxuan couldn't think of any powerful cultivators who'd died forty or so years ago, but it wasn't like they'd been keeping track.
"Maybe..." said Yu Yanli. "Though I don't like the idea of being defined by my past choices. It's bad enough in this life, I don't want to be beholden to the decisions of whoever I used to be in a previous one. I want to decide my own destiny."
"Mmm..." said Shi Qingxuan, who had complicated feelings about destiny. "I, uh...did notice you lightened your scars."
Yu Yanli self consciously rubbed her forearm, above the prosthetic. "Yes. It was a present to myself. I thought about getting rid of them completely, but...I guess I wanted the reminder. I can't erase my past, but I'm not totally controlled by it, either." She got a determined glint in her eye. "And I get to decide what happens next."
"That's a lovely philosophy," said Shi Qingxuan. "I sometimes think-"
And then, before trained instinct could turn into thought, they found themself suddenly throwing themself against a nearby wall. They took in a terrified breath as a knife whizzed by, piercing the air where their heart had been a moment before.
What the hell?
Before their fear could overcome their instincts they quickly turned to the direction the knife had come from, and seeing an assailant drawing a sword sent out a sharp blast of concussive air that knocked him back against a wall. At the same time they shouted "Yu Yanli, get to cover!" Shi Qingxuan may not have been a martial god, but two centuries of godhood still added up to a fair amount of experience with combat, and they thankfully knew a few battle spells that could be cast without the use of their fan.
They prepared to defend themself again, but the man lay collapsed on the ground, blood streaming from a crack in the back of his head where he'd hit a wall. Mortal, then, and probably dead. That was a relief. But what sort of mortal assassin would come after Shi Qingxuan?
For that matter, what sort of immortal assassin would? Why would anyone care enough to try to kill them?
Was it an ex-worshipper? An angry government clerk? Just some random thug?
As the initial burst of energy wore off, these thoughts were overcome by a stream of Oh no oh no someone is trying to kill me, and Ahhhh I killed someone I forgot how weird that feels.
Shi Qingxuan took a moment to let themself freak out, then took a deep breath and went to look for Yu Yanli. They found her crouched behind some wooden boxes in the dead end of a nearby alleyway, looking worried. Hopefully she hadn't been horribly traumatised by all this violence. "You need to run!" said Shi Qingxuan, limping towards her and horribly aware that they weren't up for running themself. "There might be more! I'm so sorry to get you mixed up in this. Whatever this is! You go ahead and I'll call for help!" They went to use their communication array and then froze in horror. "SO I GUESS I JUST USED UP ALL MY SPIRITUAL ENERGY ON THAT ATTACK? Could you lend me some and then run, haha?"
"How do I do that?" asked Yu Yanli. "And I'm not leaving you behind, don't be ridiculous. It's probably me they're after, anyway." As she talked, she shifted the boxes around them to form a rough barricade.
"It's not ridiculous," said Shi Qingxuan, feeling indescribably touched. "And...you just..." They held out their hand. "You just give it to me! Touch my hand and send me some power!"
Yu Yanli took Shi Qingxuan's hand and frowned in concentration. Nothing happened. Shi Qingxuan had the slow, horrible realisation that while sending someone spiritual energy was relatively basic, learning it generally took a few weeks of practice with the help of an experienced teacher. If Yu Yanli hadn't learned it already, she probably wasn't going to get the hang of it in a hurry now.
And then an arrow whizzed past and hit the wall behind them with an unpleasant thwack, and there was the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Shi Qingxuan crouched lower behind the boxes and tried not to panic as Yu Yanli continued to fail to send them any spiritual energy.
"THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO STAY CALM," they hissed, calmly, as another arrow hit the wall, closer this time. "Keep trying! Think...flowing thoughts! About your qi circulating from my system to yours!"
"This isn't working," said Yu Yanli, letting go of Shi Qingxuan's hand. Which was true, but they had to do something.
And then she slapped her hands together and set the boxes on fire.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" shouted Shi Qingxuan, calmly.
"They're nearly here and neither of us can fight!" replied Yu Yanli, like Shi Qingxuan was being the irrational one. "At least this will hold them off for a little while."
"WHILE TRAPPING US IN A DEAD END. WHICH IS ON FIRE." There were more thuds. "AND BEING PIERCED BY ARROWS."
"On problem at a time," said Yu Yanli. "Give me your hand again." She closed her eyes and started to breath in a calm, gentle rhythm, as if she wasn't facing imminent death by fire and/or sword.
Shi Qingxuan was having a little more trouble not hyperventilating. They were too young to die! They would always be too young to die!
Suddenly a deep voice shouted, "This won't do you any good, Madame Yu! The fire will go out eventually, and then you'll be dead! You and your little boy-toy!"
"S-so..." said Shi Qingxuan, trying to keep their voice from wavering. "You said...you said they're here to kill you?" Not that it made a huge amount of difference, dead was dead, but it was nice to know this wasn't actually Shi Qingxuan's fault.
"It's revenge," said Yu Yanli, eyes still closed. "For murdering my old business partner. I guess some of her subordinates were loyal to the old bitch after all."
Shi Qingxuan let out a little squeak. "Y-you...you murdered..."
"Trust me, she deserved it," said Yu Yanli. "If you think my scars were bad, you should have seen what she did to some of the other poor sods who crossed her. I would have taken her out years ago, but I only met the right contacts through some friends at school."
"What the hell kind of friends are you making that know assassins?!"
Yu Yanli opened her eyes to glare up at Shi Qingxuan. "You just killed someone yourself!"
"In self def-AHHHHHH." There was another thwack and Shi Qingxuan looked down at their arm in horror. "I JUST GOT HIT BY AN ARROW! THERE IS AN ARROW! IN MY BODY!"
"Fuck!" Yu Yanli stared at their arm in horror. "Should I...leave it? Pull it out?" Her hand hovered over Shi Qingxuan, and got splashed with blood. Shi Qingxuan's blood! From the arrow! In their arm!
"Leave it! Leave it!" said Shi Qingxuan, voice high and desperate. "Keep trying to send me energy before they shoot the rest of me!"
"Right!" Yu Yanli nodded and took hold of Shi Qingxuan's hand again. 'Luckily' they'd been shot in their bad arm. "Ugh, I'm really sorry, Ol' Feng," she said. "You do me a favour and this is what you get as a reward." She took a deep breath and nearly managed to stop her hand from shaking. "Can you feel anything? I'm visualising the qi as well as I can."
"M-maybe...a little?" said Shi Qingxuan, not sure if the warmth they felt was wishful thinking. "Or maybe I'm just blacking out from the pain and fear haha!"
Yu Yanli blinked quickly, like she was trying not to cry. Don't make the girl trying to save your life cry, thought Shi Qingxuan to themself. They coughed. "But hey! It was my destiny to die over a century ago so...screw destiny, right? You and me, we...we..." They coughed again, involuntarily this time, lungs struggling against the growing smoke. They watched in horror as the motion caused a spurt of blood to gush from the HOLE IN THEIR ARM. Which hurt QUITE A LOT. Yu Yanli's hand squeezed around theirs, and didn't let go. At least they weren't alone.
And then they felt it. Not pain, or fear. But energy. A tiny, wavering trickle of energy flowing from Yu Yanli's hand into theirs. It wasn't much, certainly not enough to fight, or cast a distance shortening array. But it was enough to send a message.
They opened their communication array. But they'd barely gotten a few words out when they felt their hand knocked from Yu Yanli's. They fell to the ground, gasping and struggling to breathe, fluid bubbling up into their throat and their chest blooming with pain. They heard Yu Yanli cry out, and their own gasping, dying breaths.
And then everything went black.