Air whipped my skin, the tiny flakes of ice burning into me as the bear fell towards the snow with me along for the ride. I couldn’t just throw myself off or I would lose all the blood essence I’d poured into the beast’s belly—which was most of it.
I might even fall back to the sixth star if I did that, not quite sure what the ramifications of a failed healing would cost me as I’d not needed to cancel the technique mid-way until now. So, I hurried to think of a solution, seconds from being turned into a squashed snack for the bear.
In the end there was no genius answer. I just clung to the bear, shifting my body away from its underbelly so that all that remained was my hand clutching its healing flesh. Sensation in my fingers vanished as the hulking beast slammed into the snow, sending a giant powdery cloud into the sky.
My vision went white and all I knew was that I may never recover my left hand. I hoped it was still inside the bear, because then my sacrifice would have been slightly worth it.
As the snow settled I felt myself being pulled upwards as the bear jumped to its feet. I didn’t feel anything except a gentle strain on my shoulder, having lost all feeling in my arm and hand. However, looking at the wound I saw a dozen swirls spinning faster than I could track, blasting away the venom as the flesh knitted together at a visible rate.
I was tossed and turned as the bear shook itself free of snow, my bones rattling as I was struck against the ground over and over. Each time I felt the gaping wounds on my back peel further open and drench the snow in my blood. I was barely conscious, but forced my eyes to remain open.
Everything hinged on the result of me healing the bear. I hoped that once cured of the foul corruption it might realise that it should be hibernating and return to the forest, but with a free meal in its paws it might decide to drag me along for the ride—probably after snapping my neck.
All I could see through the slits of my eyes was the raging blizzard and the matted fur of the bear. My head was blasted with a wave of hot air as the spirit beast roared at me. When I saw the descending claws, I resigned myself to my fate.
Suddenly, I felt a burning explosion in my left hand. The same hand which had been crushed under the bear and hung uselessly, stuck to the creature only by sheer tenacity.
A monstrous wave of blood essence roared down my arm, signalling the completion of my technique. I tried to laugh, only to spray blood at the descending paw. Not only did I fail to escape, but I healed the bear and gave it a meal… I chuckled inwardly at the irony.
But as the essence surged into my chest, the venomous green hue a little denser than before, I felt as though my body was going to burst. It swelled and swelled as more essence poured into me until finally it could take no more.
An aura of pure power exploded from me and the bear stumbled backwards, abandoning its strike. The claws still raked across my gut, carving another brutal wound into my flesh.
However, that was the least of my worries. I knew exactly what that explosion heralded—I was breaking through to eight-star Body Tempering—in the middle of a battle, no less. Zhao Dan had heard tales of such breakthroughs, but only by geniuses and prodigies.
I supposed that with a technique like mine that caused unrestrained growth of essence, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Though this was not the first time I cursed my rapid growth.
It was one thing to worry about shaky foundations and another to be completely immobilised as my body destroyed itself from within while facing a hungry spirit beast. Though if I somehow survived, my slim chance of escape might actually become more tangible.
Matching the bear’s cultivation would mean I might be able to put up enough of a fight to scare it back into the forest, now that it was no longer consumed with venomous madness. I wasn’t really able to focus on my surroundings though, only keeping myself awake as my organs, then muscles, then bones were torn asunder.
The process was actually more bearable now than it had been the last few times. Whether that was because I’d grown used to the agonising sensation of my own body ripping itself apart or because I only had about half of the required quantity of blood flowing through me I didn’t know.
I tried to keep a closer eye on the process this time. I needed to know more about my body. I knew something was different about it and knowing exactly what would perhaps help me to control my techniques—and unruly blood essence.
I noticed that it was my essence that led the reforging of my body, the process unfolding similarly to how my technique worked to heal wounds. Additionally, my bones and muscles had adopted a similar green hue to my blood essence, which I hoped wasn’t going to be a problem in the future.
A doctor with a poison-based physique and techniques seemed like a rather poor combination. However, just as too much medicine was poisonous, the reverse could also be true—many treatments involved poisons or other types of damage to drive out infection.
My eyes snapped open as my skin was renewed, the only part of my body that hadn’t adopted a green tinge. For that I was grateful, since I didn’t want to be wandering around looking sick when I was supposed to be a healer…
I was greeted by the sight of a confused spirit bear pawing at a patch of fur-less skin on its underbelly. Its eyes were no longer cloudy and bloodshot and its movements seemed sluggish.
Standing up and brushing the snow from my blood-stained robe, I realised that most of the wounds on my body had healed after breaking through. Not all of them—the three vicious gashes on my back still throbbed faintly—but enough that I no longer felt as though I would pass out from a single movement.
The bear reassessed me, no longer a weak seven-star snack but an eight-star Body Tempering cultivator who could pose something of a threat to it. And now that it was no longer intoxicated with madness, I hoped it would make the smart decision and return to the forest.
Now that I had a clear head I decided to try something. Spirit beasts were supposed to be intelligent—even approaching human levels as they drew close to the Qi Gathering Realm.
So, while the bear was still dazed and debating whether or not to continue attacking me I shouted over the raging blizzard. “I don’t want to fight you! Return to the forest,” I cried, pointing at the forest and taking a step backwards in the hope that my gestures might drive the message home.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
At first the bear wasn’t having any of it, plodding towards me while still seeming rather confused at the whole situation. I wasn’t sure to what extent the venomous infection had warped its mind but I imagine I’d be pretty baffled too if I woke up from a murderous rage in the middle of a blizzard with a guy yelling at me.
“Listen,” I cried, throwing my hands up in surrender and taking a step back. “I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. FIGHT,” I punctuated every word with another wave of my hands towards the forest.
Truth be told, beating the bear black and blue might’ve helped relieve my frustration at being clawed and beaten, but ultimately I couldn’t blame the creature for acting in its nature. I could, however, blame the bastard who’d wounded it.
The heavens hadn’t favoured me much in this new world, but by a stroke of luck—and a little bit of quick thinking—the bear actually snorted before turning and retreating into the forest. I watched it plod through the powdery snow, sighing and falling onto my ass when it finally disappeared from view.
And these crazy cultivators actually get a kick out of fighting non-stop? Absolute insanity. Funnily enough, I was barely wounded despite the hell I’d been through.
My breakthrough had healed most of the damage to my body, only leaving three nasty scars running down my back. A reminder of my struggles wasn’t a bad thing and every badass had a collection of awe-inspiring scars.
Though I wasn’t sure how awe-inspiring my battle had been, given that I didn’t actually defeat the spirit beast and instead healed its wounds before begging it to leave. Regardless, I was just glad that I’d made it out alive and perhaps saved Nine Paddy Village from a tragic fate.
I stared into the forest, wondering what had been able to wound such a powerful beast. Surely, I couldn’t just leave the village with such deadly threats lurking nearby?
Shaking my head, I turned away and started to walk back towards the village. I’d just about survived one encounter with a spirit beast and while I thought of myself as a little heroic, I wasn’t suicidal.
****
The bear roared, spittle flying across the snow as I hastily retreated into the trees, leaving it to plod back towards wherever it made its home for the winter. I wasn’t quite sure why I’d decided to chase after it, but something told me I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t at least try to find out what was going on. Leaving the village in danger wouldn't sit right with me.
Perhaps breaking through in my cultivation had given me the confidence. The spirit bear was still undoubtedly stronger than me, but I wouldn’t be a powerless ragdoll if we fought once more.
Even so, I retreated to a safer distance so that the bear wouldn’t be able to sense me tracking it. Usually it would be near impossible to follow after a spirit beast, but after our battle and given it was the middle of winter, the bear wasn’t that aware of its surroundings.
Though it was aware enough to utterly savage a few wolves who tried to pick it off on the way. I grimaced as I stepped over their brutalised corpses. I wasn’t sure what I hoped to find at the end of this journey, but my curiosity wouldn’t be sated until I at least found something.
I noticed the further we went, the hotter and thicker the air grew. Which was strange, given it was the dead of winter. The snow beneath my feet was sludgier, almost liquid.
As I travelled, I noticed insects hovering in the air. One tried to bite me, but I caught it with a slap that squished it against my skin. No magic xianxia malaria for me! I chuckled inwardly.
The bear’s steps were slower and it was far more aware of its surroundings now, head on a swivel as it went deeper and deeper. The environment was more like a jungle than a forest, but I noticed that the trees seemed… twisted?
As for our destination, I no longer believed the bear was leading me to a hibernation cave. No, I knew what this was.
After healing from any devastating wound, an intelligent beast would only have one target in mind—the foe who’d injured it in the first place. Revenge was a dish best served cold and they were in the middle of a raging blizzard.
Unfortunately, following the bear on its quest meant I was caught in an seemingly endless battle with the determined insects. One slap after another rang out as I deftly parried their attacks.
This continued for half an hour and the battle became so intense I struggled to keep half an eye on the bear. “Fuck!” I cried as one of the bastard biters slipped through my defences and pierced the back of my neck.
It was quickly crushed under my palm, but that distraction let two more slip through. I slapped one into the nine hells, but the other managed to make off with a spark of my damn blood essence.
It seemed like the magic mosquitoes weren’t content with regular refreshments like their mortal cousins… However, I had the last laugh.
The now bulging insect managed to fly just a metre before it suddenly stopped and fell from the air. Inspecting its corpse, I saw it was festering with rot just seconds after its death.
That didn’t bode well for my healing technique. I winced, wondering how this new aspect of my blood essence would interact with a patient. Then again, it had been stolen essence, so perhaps that’s why it crippled the insect?
The raging behaviour of my blood essence until now made it seem semi-sentient, so perhaps acting in self-defence wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility. I could only find out more through testing.
Just then, I was interrupted by a bestial roar that shook the forest, scaring a few birds from the trees and blasting the insects away. I’d have to thank my new bear-st friend for that. Okay, you’re better than that, Zhao Dan, I cringed.
Looking ahead, I saw that the bear had entered a clearing in the forest—jungle?—that contained a pool of greenish sludge that bubbled ominously.
Its roar made the surface tremble, sending small waves rolling to the other side, where they splashed against tree roots and dissolved the green-ish wood.
Letting out an involuntary shiver, I ducked behind the nearest tree trunk and watched as the bear stood still at the edge of the bubbling swamp. Not a moment later, the surface of the swamp broke and a scaled head burst through.
A thick neck followed, winding its way out of the corrosive green waters. When it continued to unwind, I realised it wasn’t a neck but the body of a snake. Yellow slit-eyes blinked as they gazed down imperiously on the bear, towering over it by a good two feet.
This damned viper was huge and almost certainly the culprit behind the bear’s previous wound. However, I was a little baffled.
The spirit snake was only at the peak of the seventh star, below the bear and now even me after my recent breakthrough. Yet somehow, when I looked at that beast I felt primal dread crawling down my spine.
Even the ferocious bear which had tossed me about like a rag doll seemed to shrink under the serpentine gaze.
Moments later, I knew exactly why.
The snake hissed and spat a glob of green venom at the bear, which deftly dodged to the side. The ground where it splattered immediately dissolved, leaving a small crater.
Another shiver ran down my spine. Nope! I decided to get the hell out of there, turning to run back to the village.
I felt sorry for the bear. Even without the influence of the snake’s mind-altering, corrosive venom, it seemed to lack brains.
Otherwise, why would it have gone back to challenge a creature that had soundly defeated it and driven it to madness the moment it was healed? I wasn’t so foolish.
I took two steps across the sludgy snow, picking up speed as I committed to my escape. I heard a vicious hiss from behind, then yelped in shock as a glob of green blasted the snow ahead of me.