Snow whispered Across the Skyshadow mountain, filling in silence as if the heavens themselves dared not Spaek. cloud coiled around the jagged peaks like the breath of Ancient dragon, and the lake - stretched out in a mirror of pale moonlight.
At its centre knelt a girl cloaked in white furs,
her black hair tied with red silk .
her finger traced the surface of the ice , where crystal layer floated a single, glowing Lotus its petals translucent blue, it's heart pulsing with a faint sacred light.
Her name was mei lian.
And she was waiting for it to awaken.
Every hundred years, under the second full moon of winter, the ice lotus bloomed only once . It was said that it chose the one most
Worthy of its blessings not in strength or power, but in soul .
Mei lian had no cultivation. No martial arts.
No sect. No family. Only a curse or a gift etched into her skin.
A crimson mark , like a flame, burned softly over her heart. She had been born with it, but it only began to flow the night her village was consumed by flames and her mother blood soaked the snow.
The elder of the mountain called her a bad omen . A child touched by forbidden bloodline. But mei lian came to the ice lotus anyway.
For answers.
For strength.
For something more than silence.
She closed her eyes and exhaled .
Then the wind shifted.
It wasn't just the wind Qi stirred . The air cracked faintly, like frost breaking underfoot.
Mei lian open her eyes and stood, suddenly alert. The hair on the back of her neck stood
Upright.
A ripple broke the smooth ice near the lake edge, impossible but she saw it just once.
And the... A figure stepped through the mist.
Her wore black and crimson robes , torn and soaked with blood. His long, silver streaked
hair clung to his face, and his steps faltered, dragging across the snow as if each movement was carved from pain. In his right hand, he gripped a sword whose blade shimmered with runes - alive, angry, bound by something ancient.
His gaze swept across the lake until it met hers.
Mai lian hesitated.
Everything in her screamed danger . The markon her chest began to throb with strange heat . Her instincts shouted at her to run .
But she didn't.
Instead, she stepped forward.
By the time she reached him , his breath was shallow, his pulse faint. His robes were embroidered with symbols she didn't recognize, but there was something unmistakable about him.
He was no ordinary cultivator. The pressure around him even in this weakened state was suffocating. Like a thunder storm caged in human skin.
And yet something in her heart pulled her closer .
He stirred as she touched his shoulder, eyes barely opening. The were silver. Unnatural.like moonlight trapped in obsidian.
You shouldn't be here he said voice hoarse.
They'll come.
Who? She asked.
He winced . The once who destroyed my sect . The ones who want this sword... and the power hidden beneath this lake.
Mei lian narrowed her eyes. What are you talking about?"
The ice lotus... It's not just a follower , he said . It's a seal .
She stared at him.
Then the sky above trembled.
A low hum passed through the cloud ,
Following by a streak of violet lightning far in the distance .
They were not alone.
The man looked at her again, this time with clarity.if you help me... If you take me beyond the heavenly veil...l'll teach you everything I know . I'II give you the power to protect what matters.
Mei lian hesitated . And what do you want in return?"
He coughed blood staining the snow .
Revenge..
She should have walked away . This wasn't
her fight . She had no ties to fallen sects, ancient sword, or lightning in the cloud.
But she looked down at her own trembling hands, at the faint glow of the crimson mark on her chest.
And she made her choice.
I'll help you, she said. But if I do you owe me answer.
The man closed his eyes.
I am shen liuxian , last disciple of the crimson star hall , he murmured. And your Mark... Is not a curse. It's the key to everything they fear."