10 ten

MiQian had found out how he had ended up in this novel. Great. Ran Xin also didn't seem to find his curiosity strange. Very good. But that didn't explain those annoying bandages nor his past. Which could be considered bad.

Ran Xin didn't know much about that ritual, it was very old. Knowing how cultivational novels worked, that ritual was probably forbidden by now. The bandages weren't normal either, just like the ability to pacify beings and his talents for creating his own methods of using his spiritual energy.

It could be connected to the character of Ran MiQian, but also to the soul that was currently residing in his body.

He had to admit, it really was like amnesia. He had to uncover everything about himself, but would never be able to remember anything from this life. Okay, the system could show him memories, but…

Oh yeah, the system! Some time ago, it had given him an achievement…

„Congratulations! Heart-event unlocked: Gift of the tiger."

Heart-event? Oh my god, if I'm the romantic interest of the protagonist and his rival, I swear to god… Please, no. Just no.

At the hour of Nadir Ran Xin brought MiQian back to the hotel. There were less people on the streets now and MiQian was tired, which caused him to walk very slow and a bit unsteady.

Ran Xin matched his speed to make sure he would be alright.

When they arrived at the door of the hotel, they found someone waiting for them.

„Who are you?" Asked Liang Shao with a frown. He looked like he wanted to attack any moment.

Ran Xin kept his indifferent facade. He acted like he didn't know the cultivator, just giving MiQian a side look.

„His name is Ran Xin, and he is not someone you can offend without consequences." Spoke MiQian. His change in attitude was somewhat… scary. One moment he could be sweet like candy, in the next he would threaten you without feeling bad for it.

„Hm, he somehow reminds me of someone…"

Suddenly, it was like the time slowed down. The system gave him a choice and showed him half the consequences.

„You might have seen him before. He is part of the YangYin brotherhood."

Liang Shao was quite startled. Nobody knew what the hell the YangYin brotherhood was doing, the only public fact was that their emblem was the Yin and Yang symbol and that the members were stupidly strong.

MiQian knew this. He also knew that it was quite stupid to use this lie, but there was no way to confirm or deny what he had said, since the YangYin brotherhood was… secret. He also feared that if someone heard this lie and believed it, they would target Ran Xin for some reason, but roughly knowing Liang Shaos character they should be fine.

Ran Xin still played indifferent, and there was the possibility that he didn't even know what the brotherhood was.

So they stared at each other for a while.

MiQian grew restless, ignored everything and shoved Liang Shao out of the way to get to his room. Ran Xin followed him like a pet. Liang Shao stood outside, befuddled on what had happened just now.

„Are you sure you want to share a room with me?" Asked MiQian as he put his fan down on one of the beds.

„Do you have any bad habits?"

„Not that I know of, but the other bed belongs to Huang Hua."

„Then we just share."

MiQian was too tired to care. He kicked his boots off and went to bed. His eyelids felt so heavy that he didn't open them when he felt Ran Xin lie down next to him. Good thing he was so small, else the bed would have been way to cramped to sleep in it.

He woke up. No, he didn't, he was still sleeping. But he was conscious. In a dream. It reminded him of one of his favorite novels, but he really didn't know how he ended up in such a situation.

So what was the situation? Normally, two people would be in such a dream, one knowing it's a dream, the other one not, or they both don't know or do know. It depends.

But who was the second party? Ran Xin?

In this dream, MiQian was more awake, so his thoughts started racing again. He hadn't undressed, so it would get very warm in the bed, he wouldn't sleep well… But Ran Xin did just wear his undergarments, so at least he would be okay.

MiQian looked at himself. In dreams, he could never see the body of his perspective, so he was curious. He wore his undergarments and the sunstone pendant, but his hair was different and he was barefoot. He touched his hair and only noticed through that that it reached the ground and curled around his small feet.

If his hair had really been this long before, he totally understood the terrible haircut he ended up having now.

But why did he feel like he had gotten even smaller??

Also, where was he? It seemed to be some kind of temple…

He wandered around for a bit and soon discovered that in this dream, nobody could see him, and he could also float a bit and walk through walls. He was a ghost! How practical!

MiQian stepped out of the temple after looking around and found that in the sky, there was a bright red orb. The moon? Sun? Something else? He couldn't tell.

High pine trees surrounded the temple with darkness, but there seemed to be a path leading somewhere.

That somewhere was the top of a small, empty hill. No, it wasn't completely empty. In the high grass hid a half buried plate with a list of names. Fallen heroes.

He brushed the dirt away and red the names. There were many of the Ran name on this list. There was also the name Ran BenZi. Immediately after he red the name the system began talking to him.

„Ran BenZi, birth name Ran Ri, one of the most well known cultivators for being blind and achieving the immortality of the soul, always being reborn with his memories and spiritual abilities, but also scars and „mistakes". Considered fallen because of his love affair with Ruo ZhanLi, a disciple of the Shiru sect who was seen as having much skill and potential, which was why he traveled with Ran BenZi."

So fallen wasn't like „fallen war heroes" but more „ruined public opinion". Interesting. Since they were still considered heroes, they did at some point something that helped others, and people still had hope for them.

MiQian felt like he should also be on that list, but he was probably too unknown for that.

He stood up again and looked around. The scenery had changed a bit. The sky was dark blue and instead of a dense forest a city surrounded the hill he stood on. He could still see the temple.

His guess was that this was the development of this region. The people in temples often started to cultivate, at least in such novels, so it was reasonable that people wanted to live near them. They felt secure.

If there were people, there were monsters, and if there were monsters, there were cultivators that would slay them.

At the edge of his senses, he noticed something. He turned his head and saw at the edge of the city an army. An army of undead, living corpses, monsters. Monsters and ghosts had a white dot in their pupils called moon. The size of the moon showed how strong they were, and if the whole eye was white, they were very dangerous.

MiQian saw how cultivators began to fight the corpses and beasts. He didn't know if he should help. In an rpg, he would probably be a mage at the rear, not a fighter at the front.

„Master, please lead us!"

Master? Him? No, there stood a different version of him. He wore a white and black robe with the Yin and Yang sign on his back.

„I told you that I'm not your master."

„Y-young lord… Please…! I beg of you!" The man kowtowed.

Ran MiQian sighed. „Fine. But just this one time."

He raised his hand and pointed towards the sky. At the tip of his finger, a small light formed. It was extremely bright and blue, growing bigger and bigger until it covered the red orb in the sky. Though it was so bright, it didn't light up the sky in the slightest, though it was burning hot, it didn't set anything on fire.

MiQian stared at the blue sun. This was what he could do with orbs? He knew it!

The other Ran MiQian pointed forward, and the blue sun that had risen lowered itself over the army of undead. They were all wiped out without a trace, but everything else at that spot too. The cultivators that had fought, the buildings that were there - all gone. Left was just a big, sphere shaped hole in the city.

„Young lord…! They'll hold you responsible!"

„Who asked me to help, huh? What is the price for those old geezers surviving? This is nothing! You can be thankful that I didn't burn the whole city with them!"

MiQian thought a bit. First off, he fully understood Ran MiQians way of thinking. But he was a young master of the YangYin brotherhood? How did that happen?

And his second point were the orbs. This body was able to do these orbs on such a large scale before, what had happened that it was so exhausting now? Was it connected to his soul or had something caused him…? He really didn't get it.

Ran Xin carefully folded the clothes before pulling the blanket up again. He had MiQian freed of his outer robe so he could sleep more comfortably.

He touched his sunstone pendant. It was good that he had given it to MiQian. Qiao Li thought that there was something with MiQian that one couldn't pinpoint, so it was better to keep an eye on him, and Ran Xin was really a bit worried.

He turned around and flinched as he saw Huang Hua staring at him with glowing, yellow eyes.

„What?" He whispered.

„You are the tiger, right? You don't mean any harm…?"

„I try not to."

„Okay, that's good… Shizun taught me a lot I didn't know before, he's really amazing…"

„He teaches you?"

„Yes…"

„Did you know that he wears bandages?"

„Bandages…? No, I… Why would he?"

„I don't know."

„O-okay… But be careful… The moon guy is suspicious of you but Shizun clearly wants you to be well, so… Even though he can be pretty…"

„Pretty what?"

„… insulting towards you. No, actually towards anyone that pissed him off… So, I guess, try to get along with him… It's exhausting to get angry…"

Whit that, the girl went back to her bed and didn't say anything anymore.

Ran Xin was confused. What was up with that? She didn't trust him, he could feel that. She was protecting her master, nothing else.

He knew MiQians character, so the insults weren't really that surprising.

He remembered how MiQian had kept Liang Shao away from him. What was the YangYin brotherhood? What was their goal, how could they make a cultivator stop so abruptly in his tracks?

He would ask Qiao Li later.

When he opened his eyes again, MiQian was gone. But Ran Xin didn't panic. He grabbed his pendant and knew at once that MiQian was talking with Fei Mo and Liang Shao.

„Uhm… Mister… uh, Ran Xin, Shizun said to watch you, but… I'll only do so as long as you're in this building…"

He looked at Huang Hua, disinterested. The little bird was weak and naive. Bad combination.

He stood up, washed himself and put his clothes on. He checked if everything was still there and then left the hotel.

Qiao Li had disguised himself as taoist which caused him to look even more grumpy than normal.

Ran Xin bowed to him, still acting in character.

„How'd it go?"

He showed him the pendant.

„Good."

They sat down in a cafe and quietly talked about what had happened.

„The YangYin brotherhood is very mysterious. It's a good excuse, but it can become very dangerous. And he seems to be a very curious person."

„Why?"

„Why would a person with amnesia want to know so much about a soul sacrificing ritual? It was originally used to summon ghouls so they would take revenge for the weak individual. And who would give their soul away to keep the body alive?"

„Maybe the body is special."

„That weak thing? I doubt it."

Ran Xin sighed.

„I know that you're smart. Just (play the) cultivate (-or) a little longer." He nodded, and Qiao Li grinned. „And try to be calm. Acting impulsive won't help you."

„Okay."

His master lowered his voice to a volume that just his disciple could hear. „I made a demon cultivation method. Humans can cultivate the demon path, so I thought the reverse might be possible. Turns out, it is. It helps disguise you and seem more like a human. Since you're originally one, it'll work even better. Your Tao will also be helpful."

Ran Xin was impressed. His master truly was a master!

So Qiao Li taught him the cultivation method as fast and efficiently as he could.

But neither of them noticed that they were being watched.