Be The Icy Beauty: A Xianxia/Cultivation Tale

Three days later, Bing Meilu sat below a tree while deep in meditation. A slight buzzing noise issued from her Dantain as Qi churned within it. Bing Meilu's cultivation had been steadily advancing, creeping ever closer to a breakthrough.

A tremor filled her body as the Qi within her suddenly began to shrink, thickening. The newly condensed Qi erupted from her Dantian and poured through her meridian channels. This was the basic cycle of the Crystal Providence Divine Tome. She would draw Spiritual Energy into her Dantian, refine it into Qi and then distribute it between her meridians.

"It seems my cultivation speed is much faster now," Bing Meilu said impassively. "As should be expected given the circumstances."

With a slight exhale, the young girl stood up, her long ebony hair blowing in the swirling winds of the northern lands. Having finally begun her cultivation anew, Bing Meilu's emotions felt at ease. The path of cultivation was hard and miserable, but it was a path Bing Meilu knew well. She would always take the dangerous turmoil of life as a cultivator over the uncertain flash of life afforded to mortals.

"Teacher," Bing Meilu heard a voice quietly call.

The young woman turned her head slightly, casting her gaze across a familiar sight. It was that boy, Zhang Yi.

"Zhang Yi," Bing Meilu replied lightly, with a polite nod of her head.

"Can we continue training?" the boy asked, staring at her.

"Are you still incapable of defeating those boys?" Bing Meilu questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I believe you should be more than capable of dealing with them, given what I had taught you."

Zhang Yi stayed silent, and Bing Meilu shook her head. She could not blame the boy for wanting to learn more martial arts from her- if Bing Meilu was not Bing Meilu she would also admire Bing Meilu, but it was better to not involve mortals in the goings-on of cultivators. In that sense, it would simply be wiser to sever the karma between them.

"I believe our business is done then," Bing Meuli said, turning away from the boy. "You should be fully capable of defending yourself now."

Bing Meilu closed her eyes, slowly walking out of the field. Her thin hide shoes scrunched against the thick blades of grass as she walked, making a slight rasping noise.

Bing Meilu continued walking, entering the outskirts of the town. It was the day of her match, and she wanted to end this as quickly as possible. So, Bing Meilu began to pick up her speed until she was racing through the streets. The broth-cloth gown she wore rippled in the air as she sped. Bing Meilu navigated past shops and homes, entering the wealthier part of the town.

There was an almost visible divide between the rich part of the city, where the massive, well-built homes of the wealthy merchants and other upper class lay, and the outskirts where the crude farmhouses and huts of the peasants sat.

Bing Meilu looked around, wandering the rods until she found the grandest house of all, the Jiang Residence. It was a large three-story house built of a shiny redwood and some kind of rough granite.

Outside the home, there was a large fence and gate, where stood two guards in uniform. They were armoured in thick gray hide pads that covered their vitals and joints and armed with long curved Ji Polearms.

"Greetings guardsman. I believe Lord Jiang is expecting me," Bing Meilu said, walking up to the guards.

"Expecting you? Who are you?" the first guard asked.

"My name is Bing Meilu."

"...Oh! That girl that wants to fight the young master?! You really came? Most people assumed you were planning on running away."

"Those people would be wrong."

"Alright, Lee, you stay here. I'll escort the girl in."

The second guard, Lee nodded, stepping to the side as the first guard led Bing Meilu past the fence and gate and to the door of Jiang Residence. He pulled out a large bronze key, pushing it into the lock of the door. With a turn of the key, a loud click sounded from the lock. The guard pushed open the door, which soundlessly slid open. It wasn't easy to get such a massive gate to open so easily.

"Whoever is oiling that hinge deserves a raise," Bing Meilu commented.

The guard gave her a weird look, shaking his head. He stepped past the large door and Bing Meilu followed, stepping into a large entrance chamber. A fire crackled brightly in the corner, working hard to stave off the northern chill.

Lord Jiang sat in a leather seat by the fire, reading a book. Two maids kneeled next to him, one massaging his shoulders while the other washed his feet. The man turned his head, noticing Bing Meilu and the guard.

"Oh? You're here," Lord Jiang said mildly, setting his book down. "That's somewhat unexpected."

Bing Meilu simply raised an eyebrow, not speaking. After a moment of silence, Lord Jiang stood up.

"My son is in the field behind our home. Please follow me."

Bing Meilu silently nodded, walking behind Lord Jiang as he walked through the house. After turning through several hallways, they reached another door. Lord Jiang pushed it open and the two stepped out into a backyard.

It was a sandy plain filled with training dummies that stuck out of the ground. A teen boy lay atop a long bench, sleeping under the shade of a tree. His long brown hair messily hung over the bench as he slept.

"Jiang Fang! Aren't you supposed to be training?" Lord Jiang shouted, rousing his son.

The boy mumbled something as he tiredly rolled over. He blearily winked his eyes, gazing at Lord Jiang.

"I was just taking a break, father," the boy yawned, reaching up to rub his eyes. "What do you want?"

Bing Meilu took the chance to study her opponent. Jiang Fang was fairly well built for noble, lithe muscles stretching out his robe. His skin was pale and smooth, characteristic of someone who spent their time indoors or under the shade, rather than working hard out under the sun.

"Do, you remember what I told you about the bet? This is Bing Meilu," Lord Jiang introduced, pointing to her.

"Oh really?" Jiang Fang sighed. "Let's get this over with then. I'll make sure not to hurt her too badly."

Bing Meilu's frowned slightly. It seemed the mortal child thought too highly of himself. Perhaps she would take the time to cut down the size of his ego. She slowly walked over to Jiang Fang and raised a single hand into the air. Jiang Fang raised an eyebrow, confused by her actions. She wasn't in a stance, nor did she have a guard up. Perhaps the fight would be even easier than he expected.

"Just know you can give up at any time," Jiang Fang commented lazily.

He widened his feet, raising his hands into fists. Bing Meilu stepped forward, now only a few feet from him. She closed her palm, leaving only one finger pointed forward.

"One finger," Bing Meilu said.

"What?"

"I'll beat you with one finger."

Jiang Fang stared at her silently for several seconds, before he chuckled slightly.

"Are you sure I should marry this girl, father? It seems she may be mentally retarded."

Lord Jiang simply frowned, staring at Bing Meilu with an inscrutable gaze. What was she doing?

Jiang Fang shook his head stepping towards Bing Meilu. He twisted his hips, lashing out with a light punch. It was clear he was holding back greatly. Bing Meilu shook her head disapprovingly. Even if he thought Bing Meilu was weaker than himself, only fools ever held back in a fight.

Her finger moved upwards, connecting with his punch. Yet, instead of bending or snapping, her finger completely halted the attack in its tracks as if it had slammed into a piece of hardened metal. With Qi reinforcing her flesh and bones, it wouldn't even be incorrect to say her finger was made of solid steel, given how tough and durable it was.

His punch deflected easily, Jiang Fang narrowed his eyes, confused. No human finger could block the force of a punch. Perhaps he had simply held back a little too much? Stepping to the side, the young noble lashed out with a second punch. This time he twisted his waist, shooting his knuckles towards Bing Meilu at full speed. This was an attack Jiang Fang had taken out fully grown adults with, so it stood to reason that Bing Meilu would be defeated by it as well.

Yet, once more Bing Meilu simply lifted a single finger, poking at his punch. The moment his fist impacted her finger, lances of pain shot up his hand, as if he had just punched a tree.

"Just know you can give up at any time," Bing Meilu said coldly, returning Jing Fang's words.

Jiang Fang grit his teeth, stepping back. He suddenly shifted his stance, widening his legs. Now he was serious. Jing Fang raised his fists punching out at her face. The moment Bing Meilu raised a hand to block, Jiang Fang let loose another punch, this one at her stomach.

Bing Meilu raised an eyebrow. That was actually... somewhat impressive, for a normal mortal. He had already adapted to her actions. So long as she was handicapping herself to only a finger, she couldn't block both attacks.

'Still, its useless,' Bing Meilu thought, shaking her head.

His first punch slammed into her finger only for Bing Meilu to suddenly roughly push forward. Jiang Fang's elbow snapped as Bing Meilu pushed his arm further back than it was meant to go.

A garbled scream tore out of his throat, and the teen fell to his back, his other hand clutching at the broken arm.

"Sorry about that. I guess I underestimated my own strength," Bing Meilu shrugged. She really did need to get used to her new level of strength. Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk. It wasn't like the mortal wouldn't heal.

Jiang Fang looked up at her, eyes filled with a mix of fear, pain and confusion. Bing Meilu winced. Perhaps she had been a little too harsh on the boy. After all, he was only a mortal child. Deciding to attempt to comfort the boy, she leaned down and looked him in the eyes.

"You must be wondering how you lost. Did you make some mistakes? Did you not train hard enough? Or are you simply just weak? Be comforted in the knowledge there was nothing you could have done differently that would have allowed you to defeat me. You never stood a chance in the first place so there is no use feeling sad over your loss."

Satisfied with her daily good deed, Bing Meilu turned to look over at Lord Jiang and the guard, both of whom were simply frozen in shock.

"I think our bet is settled, Lord Jiang."