Black Snow

Ling Yun felt that no swindler could ever compare to the greatest of them all.

Nature itself.

Hypocrisy came naturally to the world far more than it ever could to any man.

The dagger hidden behind the smiling enchantress was terrifying.

Like snow raining down from the sky so beautiful to those who had the freedom to enjoy but synonymous with a tortuous death to others who were mere unfortunate.

In the end in a hypocritical world tilting the scales in one's favour meant that one should have the strength to uproot the balance itself.

Or in simpler terms if you're not strong enough just shut up.

Which was why Ling Yun followed the strange old man without any demur whatsoever .

The old man stopped when they got to a clearing apart from a lone stump in the middle of a grassy field there wasn't anything else to sit on.

Ling Yun's brow furrowed .

How cunning.

If he choose to stand then it will be similar to an elder lecturing his younger generation for his faults .

If he choose to sit then the situation will be similar to a master addressing his disciple which was even worse.

Even more interesting was the fact that he had deliberately steered towards this clearing which meant that he was indicating to him that he was familiar with this part of the forest and any attempt at escape on his part would be foolhardy .

As the saying goes An older ginger is far more spicy than a younger one.

He waited silently preferring to stand . Still he did this in as lacklustre a way as possible , his relaxed movements emanating boredom and a sense of self-confidence.

He didn't know if his attempt at intimidation worked for the old man didn't show any expression other than one of joy as he bit into the green fruit once again.

"Here!" , the old man threw another green fruit at him which he reached into the air to get . His movements as flawless and elegant as a bird with wings.

The old man 's eyes narrowed in response.

Ling Yun couldn't help but give a tiny smile in response.

It appears he had passed the first evaluation.

The fruit had been deliberately been tossed at an angle and height that made it difficult to reach for ordinary men .

His intention was simple , to gauge how severe was his condition.

The less it was the longer he shall wait.

And the longer he shall get to live.

Ling Yun bit into the fruit and couldn't help but swallow the juices that slowly trickled away from the gentle carapace of the fruit even still some amount dribbled down his chin .

"How was it ? " , the old man asked with a smug look on his face though the tone in which he was question made it appear rhetorical rather than inquisitive.

"Not bad " , Ling Yun replied , with hardly any charge in his tone.

"Sigh ! You youngsters really ... " , the old man shook his head .

"Whatever it's not like we are here for a Delicacy Tasting session , are we not ? " , he asked gently , his wide smile shined even more brightly than before.

"What are we here for then ? Honestly I wouldn't mind a Delicacy Tasting session , you know .It's just that the delicacies offered here" , he exaggeratedly stared at the remaining fruit in his hand , his brows furrowed in mock concentration , "..are just not up to the standard I'm friend."

The old man was rendered speechless for a moment.

"Youngster It's better you not speak of matters that you have no inkling of ! If one does not carefully handle a flame all he will do his get his hands burned. That fruit , over there is the Hundred Year Ginkgo Fruit , something of a rarity in these parts and I assure you tasteful beyond measure."

Ling Yun shrugged his arms helplessly . 'It just appears that your sense of taste is different from mine."

"So it is " , the old man nodded in agreement.

"Still even if the sense of taste differs I'm sure that men can agree on may other matters."

Ling Tian inquired smilingly in response ,"Such As ?"

The old man smiled after successfully having steered the conversation the way he wanted

"Such as the importance of debts ."

"Enlighten me , please !" , Ling Yun bowed in mock deference.

The old man took no affront from Ling Yun's apparent impudence instead he took a masterly pose and began preaching.

"All beings in this world are connected by the consequences of their actions .This relationship between cause and effect is not linear however, instead is like a web like with many branches radiating from a single source point . A famous saying would be quit apt in this context : "

" A butterfly fluttering its wings could cause a storm millions of leagues away !"

"Even so not always do each action lead to such profound results at least for most of the common and fickle denizens of this world however there are certain actions that would still result in far -reaching consequences.The great act of Murder for example comes under this category."

"I doubt that " , Ling Yun answered with a smile .

"Ho ! Would you perhaps care to explain your view . "

"Certainly . "

"Why not ?"

"It is not the Act of Murder itself that warrants such great attention but rather the perpetrator and the victim of the said act who are responsible for the act. Who cares if a noble kills a deer in the forest for sport ? Nor do people care when a Lord beats his slave to death . But when the person being killed is the Lord's son and that too at the hands of a commoner . Now that would get some attention."

"In a hypocritical world the ethics or further consequences of an act is irrelevant rather it is the persons involved who determine the fate that befalls them . The heavens shall not weep for the passing of a beggar , however noble , but the entire kingdom shall mourn the passing of the King , however corrupt or useless. Such is the way of the world ."

"Like snow . All it does hide is its brutal nature beneath the outer veneer of grandeur."

"Clap ! Clap ! "

"Well said , indeed ! In this world some lives would always be worth than others. Moaning about that would not do anyone any good. Instead recognising reality for what it is allows a possibility of ..." , the old man leaned forward , his voice but a mere whisper.

"Going further beyond !"

Ling Yun simply smiled in response , declining to reply .

"Now to continue in the similar vein . Who do you think has more worth ? A Young Master of the esteemed Fang clan or a humble rogue cultivator ?"

'That is up to you to decide. Our final decisions may not match."

"But they might actually ... If you agree with me on the importance of one's life that is ."

"What do you mean ? " , Ling Yun asked calmly even so his tranquil surface couldn't hide his raging heart within.

He had suspicions regarding the Old Man's identity still he was a bit surprised that instead of being sent from one of the two factions he was sent from the Fang Clan indeed !

Even so that didn't change the outcome in any way , the way he was the chances of him putting up a credible resistance was null.

He initially had been preparing for a fight and had been readying himself for some desperate measures however the old man had completely surprised him by then.

Was he sent by the Fang clan or not ?

Or was he instead someone who had figured out by chance and was here to put the screws on him.

In that case it will be troublesome since he didn't have anything worthwhile on him.

The old man spoke reassuringly it appeared that he was clearly aware of Ling Yun's confusion

"I do not require any of your possessions , In fact I would even give you a gift to make it worth your time. All I need is for you to keep your mouth shut regarding the little matter involving the Fang clan's young master ."

Ling Yun snickered in response.

He had already figured everything out but now was not the time to let it affect him.

Instead he had to go with the flow and play along with him.

"I'm sure a verbal promise is not sufficient."

"I'm afraid not .But like I said earlier I'm giving you some extra gifts and more importantly you get to keep your life earlier. It doesn't get better , now does it ."

The old man spread his arms wide in a bid to drive his point home.

Ling Yun smiled .

It seemed as if his idea was correct.

A violent power struggle was about to ensue among the members of the Fang clan . But how did that even matter to him ? What was important however was the fact that he would need to find a means to shake off the binds by which the old man was going to ensure his total obedience.

Interesting.

For now , he would just play along.

"I suppose a couple of gifts would be very welcome " , Ling Yun answered.

"I'm glad that you see that ", the old man smiled in response

"Let's begin then , shall we ? "

A while later Ling Yun slowly made his way out of the extensive Emerald Forest , apart from his loot he had collected two more souvenirs during his sojourn , a small black spot almost invisible under plain sight on his neck and a Pill bottle with pills supposedly highly effective even for Middle Period Refining Qi cultivators.

He wasn't too interested regarding that.

He had his own suspicions regarding that.

By the time he had reached ZiLin City the absolute darkness of night had given way to the purple shimmer of dawn .

Another day gone into the world of the past and another day had arrived from the world of the future carrying boundless possibility with it.

Honestly , he needed some of that possibility very urgently.

The world seemed far more colder than usual.

He looked up into the wide sky as if sensing something.

The sky had got darker for some reason and appeared closer than usual.

He felt a gentle thump against his person as if something light had collided with him.

He brushed it off , strangely however powdery residue remained in the middle of arms.

He brought it for a closer look.

"Snow in the middle of summer ? " , he wondered.

That was surprising .

What was even more surprising was that it was pitch black.

Meanwhile many others had their eyes turned to their skies as well wondering regarding this unnatural occurrence.

In a premises belonging to the Azure Cloud Sect one of the five sects who governed ZiLin City

A man could be seen sitting in a corner of a room quietly sipping tea even as his eyes through open windows were trained to the sky above.

A sound of hurried footsteps sounded forth as someone rushed into the room with an urgency

"Uncle Master ! The entire city has fallen victim to something freakish ! Snow is falling on the world below in the middle of Summer ! Luckily apart from the weird color of the snow nothing stranger or worse has happened !'

"And nothing shall happen ."

"Huh ?"

The man continued softly unheeding his visitor's confusion.

"It is nothing more than a sign of the turbulent times .Still for an almighty expert at the Nascent Condensation stage to release a spell ...."

He sighed in response.

"A Nascent ...Nascent Condensation expert !!!" , the other person was clearly spooked , the terror all too apparent in his voice.

'Would the sect entrance examinations be stopped , then ?"

"On the contrary , they will be held at a much grander scale than before after all when given a demonstration you give one in return."

"I understand " , the visitor bowed to pay his respects and then left the room swiftly.

The man continued to enjoy his tea not showing any sign of the panic that his subordinate had showed earlier to him it seemed that the world was moving on just as usual .

Meanwhile far away a giantish figure rose slowly till he was standing upright , the sight of fresh blood dripping down from his purple lips and the mangled corpse of a woman lying on the ground being testaments to the activity that he had been engaged in earlier.

A forked tongue shot out suddenly soon disappearing just as rapidly as it had appeared .

He clenched and then relaxed his fist revealing powdery black snow littering his giant scaly palm.

"It is impossible . It should not have begun so soon. "

"No it is just a sign ... black snow heh ? How dramatic "

"I hope the young lady finishes our business soon ..otherwise I would have to miss the bloodbath ."

His forked tongue licked his lips , betraying his excitement.

After all who doesn't love a feast of carnage !

He went back to devouring the remains of his kill the thought of a feast had just made him even more hungry.

Perhaps he would have to go hunting again.