Somebody shook Jie, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Why couldn't those damn nurses just let her sleep! She felt so weightless and comfy...

"Just five more minutes," she mumbled.

Wait... what? Since when could she speak!?

Her eyes sprang open, revealing the dragon above her.

At the sight of him, everything that had happened came rushing back to her. It was all real? It wasn't a dream?

Jie remembered the torture of having her body remade, and she shuddered. It was definitely real.

"Turn your gaze ahead of us, little Jie," Ming said.

There was something wet and shiny on his lips... was he bleeding?

"Worry not about me, child," Ming said, "look there."

Jie turned her head to follow where Ming was looking and her mouth hung open.

It was stunning.

Earth was breathtaking when she'd seen it from space with its blue oceans and the continents stretched out below her, but the toxic clouds of smog leached it of color and life.

Whereas, this world radiated energy and vitality. Literally radiated it in palpable waves. It looked so... alive. It had oceans of the most vibrant blues she'd ever seen and the continents contained every color imaginable and then some. Although there was one area that disturbed Jie. A vast expanse of the world that looked sickly and wrong... like a black festering wound in the world itself.

Jie found herself hoping they wouldn't be going anywhere near there. Yet, even with that dark wound, the world was breathtakingly gorgeous.

"Beautiful isn't she?" Ming said, "Welcome to my home. Welcome to Xiannu."

They flew closer... and closer... and closer until the planet took up Jie's entire field of vision and yet it was still so far away... how much bigger than Earth was this place?

The planet swelled up before her, dwarfing anything she'd ever seen before, and still, they raced toward it. Finally, they entered the atmosphere and plunged through fluffy, white clouds to the land far, far below.

A vibrant jungle rushed up to meet them and Ming slithered through its canopy and down to what looked like an ancient Taoist temple from her world. The temple seemed like it would've been grand and full of life at one time, but now it was overgrown and in a clear state of disrepair. As though the world had long forgotten it.

They slowed and drifted down into the courtyard like a leaf falling from a tree.

Ming placed Jie gently on the ground. He turned away and coughed up blood.

"Ming? What's wrong? What happened to you?" Jie asked.

Ming spat a glob of blood onto the dusty courtyard tiles and wiped his mouth with the back of his clawed hand.

"Don't worry about me, kiddo," he said, "remaking your body was tougher than I expected and I suffered some internal injuries as a result... we almost didn't make it, but someone or... something decided to help us out. I'm not sure what it'll mean for the future, but we should be grateful for now at least."

Jie looked up at him. "I'm sorry you got hurt because of me," she said.

"Hey now, don't look at me like that. There's nothing to be sorry about, kiddo," he said as he settled onto the dusty tiles beside her. His long, serpentine form coiled up beneath him like a snake.

"I'm just glad we made it," Ming said, "and now you have a body more powerful than I could've hoped. We got lucky and came out way ahead on this one. Why don't you get used to moving around again? I need a bit of a breather before I can teach you. You have a lot to learn and even more to do if we're going to get you into the god rank."

Ming closed his eyes and touched his thumbs to his index fingers in a meditative pose like she'd seen monks do on Earth. He breathed deeply and evenly. His breaths sounded like bellows, and each of his exhales released a gust of wind that whipped at her hair.

"So I have a new body?" Jie muttered.

Jie looked down, but she couldn't see herself well. She tried to sit up, and her breath caught in her throat when her body actually responded.

Ming had healed her paralysis before, but she'd still been too weak to move properly... now though...

She pushed off the ground with her arms and sat up. Her lips stretched into a wide smile and tears rolled down her cheeks.

After so long... so long of being trapped in her own body and a prisoner in a hospital connected to machines... she was free!

Jie took a deep breath and took in as much air as she possibly could. Her lungs expanded more than they had in years... perhaps ever... and the air smelled fresh and filled her with energy like she had never known.

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It was intoxicating.

Like taking a drink of water after being thirsty for so long, where every sip tasted like the nectar of the gods, and you could never get enough of it. Her body tingled, and she started to feel a bit lightheaded from breathing in so much, but it was just so great!

The air here, even with the dusty courtyard tiles, was cleaner than anywhere she'd ever been.

Jie lifted up her hand, flexed her fingers, and just watched her fingers move. Oh, it felt so wonderful to move freely, and the pain was gone! The pain, the paralysis, and the numbness... all gone!

She frowned. Since when were her fingernails black?

Oh, well. It didn't matter.

She couldn't stop the tears of pure joy from flowing down her cheeks. She giggled as she wriggled her toes.

She was still wearing her hospital gown, but she didn't care. Even her toenails were black, and had her skin always been this pale?

Was this from the transformation? She'd have to ask Ming later... but there was something she wanted to do more than anything right now...

She slowly shifted her weight onto her legs and pushed off the ground with her legs and her arms together. She stood up for a brief moment and then fell down on her butt with a loud thump.

She rubbed her tailbone and giggled. How could she care about the pain right now? She had stood!

She hadn't dared to hope she would ever be able to move again, and yet she could!

She stood up again, more carefully this time.

She fell forward but caught herself with her arms.

"Damn," she said, "it's been so long since I've walked... I guess my body forgot how."

She kept trying, over and over again, and used the walls of the temple to help her keep her balance as she walked around the courtyard.

The tiles were hard beneath her feet, and the soft dust stuck to her soles, blackening them. She could even feel the grit clinging to her skin.

She laughed.

This was wonderful!

"Come here, kiddo," Ming said.

Jie carefully stepped away from the wall and took unsteady steps forward. She'd been practicing walking for hours, and she was quickly getting the hang of it again.

She stepped in front of Ming and smiled brightly as she wiped away her tears with the palm of her hand.

"Thank you!" she said, "Thank you so much! This is amazing. I can't believe it's real it's so good!"

The dragon smiled. "Oh, it's real. So is all the work you'll have to do and the dangers you will face... but I'm glad to see you're happy. You have a wonderful smile, Jie," Ming said.

"Are you feeling better now?" Jie asked.

"A bit," Ming said, "though I'm not recovering as quickly as I expected. That's not why I called you over though. I see you're getting used to your new body... how does it feel?"

"It feels great!" Jie said, "I feel even better than I did before I was paralyzed."

Ming smiled. "You should," Ming said, "you're hundreds of times stronger than you were before after all."

Jie frowned. "What? I feel good, but not that good!"

"Remember what I said before I brought you here? A human from your world would instantly die here. From the dense amount of Essence or the fact the gravity here is many times greater," Ming said, "you're already stronger than anyone on your home planet. Do you remember those metal shards you were so worried about before?"

"You mean the bullets? From the guns?" Jie asked.

"Whatever you call them... they would only scratch you now. If that. I'm not entirely sure just what our mysterious helper gave you when he helped remake your body," Ming said.

Jie opened and closed her fist. She was that much stronger already?

"Don't let it go to your head though," Ming said, "your old world was pitifully weak, so being the strongest from there is no great accomplishment. You're in my world now, and despite the gift you've received, you're still among the weakest of the weak. Many cultivators could kill you with just a casual glance in your general direction."

A sliver of fear crawled down her spine like a centipede. She'd just got her health back... just become able to walk again. She didn't want to die!

"So, Jie," Ming said, "are you ready for me to train you? To hold up your end of our bargain and help me defend this world and countless others?"

Jie bit her lip. She'd been taken away by the magic and wonder of everything Ming had done since meeting him. Was she truly ready to face the dangers and trials he spoke of?

Fear mixed with excitement and her heart pounded in her chest. This... all of this was beyond her wildest hopes and dreams. How could she back down now?

Ming has already given me so much! It's time for me to give back to him. I'll be the best student he could ever hope for!

"I'm ready. Please teach me everything you know, Master Ming," Jie said with a slight bow. She would've bowed deeper, but she didn't want to fall over again.

The dragon rose up and puffed out his chest proudly at her words and then coughed violently.

"Ugh... I really did a number on myself. Alright, first things first, we need to make a Blood Pact," Ming said.

"Great! Let's do it!" Jie said as she felt so taken away with the wonder of everything before pausing and adding, "What's a Blood Pact and... what do I do?"

"It's just something to make our deal a little more formal and binding. We could've done it back in your world, but who knows what side effects there might've been in such a pitifully weak place? Likely, it would've been fine, but I refuse to wipe out a world of weaklings with a careless mistake. We will each swear to our deal, and should we try to break it... it will act to prevent us from doing so... even if that means killing us," Ming said.

"Oh," Jie said.

Ming chuckled. "Don't worry so much, kiddo. You do plan on fulfilling your end of our deal don't you?" he asked.

"I do," Jie said.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem. Are you ready?" Ming asked.

"I guess... tell me what to do," Jie said.

"First, extend your arm," Ming said.

Jie did as she was told and Ming ran one of his claws across her palm. Blood trickled across her pale skin, but she didn't even flinch.

Ming cut his palm then and grasped her tiny hand in his. Their blood dripped onto the dusty tiles. A ribbon of energy poured from Ming and wrapped around their hands.

"Normally, both cultivators would use their energy together, but you don't even have enough for this yet so I'm doing your part for you. Once we get this out of the way, we can focus on other things," Ming said.

Jie nodded. "What happens now?" she asked.

"Now, we swear," Ming said, "you remember our bargain I trust?"

"Of course," Jie said.

Ming smiled. "Good. I Xie Ming, last descendant of The Great Lightning Dragon swear under penalty of death that I shall exact the revenge asked of me by Liu Jie and heal her injuries. Both tasks have been completed, let she whom I share this pact with testify to this," Ming said.

He paused and looked at Jie. "Now it's your turn," he said, "this is where you acknowledge I've fulfilled my end and add your obligation."

"I, Liu Jie of Earth acknowledge and testify that Xie Ming has fulfilled his end of our pact prior to swearing it. As payment, I swear under penalty of death that I shall defeat the followers of Fang Zhuyu or die trying," Jie said.

The world shimmered red for a moment before returning to normal. The blood stopped flowing, and Ming released her hand.

"Very good. You're a natural. You sound nothing like a normal child though," he said.

Jie shrugged and rubbed the red mark of a skull on her palm.

"So, what happens if I try to break it?" Jie asked.

"Then your mark will flare with pain. And, should you push through that, you'll die," Ming said.

Jie nodded.

Ming smiled. "Now then... It's time to teach you what being a cultivator means," he said.