I had never expected it to get cold enough for there to be frost. It certainly wasn’t this cold an hour ago. The light sheen seemed to mostly center around the riverway. The chill air caused my cup to let out steam like a locomotive. I idly contemplated trying to get my hands on honey somehow so I could have a sweetened coffee. The brisk air helped me focus but I’ve always hated the cold. I centered myself and sat listening to the slow churning of the waters. The air seemed icier when I opened my eyes again and saw an elderly man watching me from across the river. His shining blue eyes were incredibly off putting. He seemed to twitch when I took a sip of my still warm coffee. The two apprentices had already left for the day.

He stepped across the water in a single motion and was now next to me.

Great. More kung fu wizards.

“You must be the one getting in the way of my snow peak sect.” The elderly man swished the sleeves of his robes as he spoke. I looked at the old man sideways. I had no idea what he was saying. Either way he didn't give me the feeling that Long Fa did, Long could probably end me in a heartbeat and this guy certainly couldn't.

I stood and brushed off my pants. The man barely came up to my chest.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it seems like you’re the reason I have to put up with a cold morning.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. It covered the entire thing.

“So I would appreciate it if you stopped.” I smiled in the nicest way I could.

The man stared at me dumbfounded for a moment. He was about to move when a whistle came from behind me.

Long Fa was not far away. The man in front of me went from slightly confused to downright horrified.

“Y-you’re dead.” The smaller man started to shrink back. Long glanced down at himself.

“Funny, I don’t remember dying.” He rubbed his stubbly chin and eyed the man next to me. Looks like I was no longer needed here.

“We have a request. You and the kid go handle it while I have a conversation with our ‘guest’.” Long waved me away.

“Sure, sure, just get rid of this damn ice.” I yawned as I walked back to the smithy.

It’s probably best to let the Kung fu wizards sort themselves out.

When I returned Wang Hu was at a table with charcoal and a scroll, and an irate rat that seemed to have far too many opinions.

“No, no you must place this part of the formation on this section or else it will be unstable.” Shu forced the kid to start over again. The poor guy looked like he wanted to pass out.

It certainly felt warmer here thankfully. I was about to make my way to the back courtyard when someone burst into the doorway.

Xinyi was leaping through the house with his apprentice under one arm. He swooped up Wang Hu in the other and was about to leap back outside.

“What the hell are you doing?” Shu nearly squeaked.

“These kids need experience. This is a perfect opportunity!” Xinyi was bounding away before he was finished speaking. Shu and I both stared at the now empty entryway before sighing in tandem.

“We should go see what the fuss is about.” Shu sounded a bit dejected.

“Eh, probably just Long arguing with some ice guy.” I shrugged it off. Shu’s whiskers twitched.

“The nasty little wrinkly one?” He asked.

“That sounds about right.” I nodded. He was like a human equivalent of a raisin. Shu was bolting after the others before I finished speaking. He already had his sword in hand.

I found myself alone in the building. I thought I could actually get work done today.

I was soon following after the others back towards the river.

I followed the chill further than I had expected to. Once I arrived at a clearing some distance from the town I found Xinyi with what I could only describe as a lawn chair sitting on the edge of the open area. He waved towards me and produced another chair from seemingly nowhere. I took a seat and pulled out the gourd of wine from my ring. I poured us each a cup.

Shu cleared his throat and stared at me for a moment. I only had a small amount left after giving him some as well. Long Fa was holding a large weapon. I focused on it a bit more and bit back my shout. The asshole took my sword. It seemed huge in his hands.

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The apprentices were both sitting on the ground watching the two elders in the middle of the clearing locking eyes with each other. The small one saw our group and seemed offended for some reason.

“So not only are you getting in the way of my sect but you don’t even give me face.” The wrinkly man hissed at Long Fa.

“I wasn’t planning to get in the way of anything. I just don’t fucking like you.” Long Fa yawned.

“Someone like you who is eternally stuck in the earth realm could never understand. You have no idea what I’ve sacrificed to glimpse the realm beyond heaven!” Long’s grip on the scabbard tightened at his words. Shu’s cup shattered in his hands. Only Xinyi seemed unperturbed. He even laughed a bit.

“Hey, who the hell is that guy?” I leaned towards the doctor and asked.

“Just an old idiot.” Shu was the one to respond.

“He stole and tainted my research then claims it was a sacrifice. If Long doesn’t kill him I will.” Shu had yet to put away his letter opener. The rat was always expressive but I had never seen such pure rage in anyone before.

The smaller man waved his hand towards us and I noticed a sort of pulse. I was too distracted to react. Thankfully Xinyi didn’t even need to leave his chair to redirect it. He was suddenly wielding a massive polearm with a wicked curved blade. That was the coolest looking guandao I had ever seen. Xinyi stuck his weapon into the ground and returned to sipping his wine.

“I will definitely need more of this.” He smiled towards me.

“I only got this bottle by luck.” I responded sadly. The ancient man finally seemed to actually look at the people who were nearly holding a picnic. That wasn't an exaggeration. The doctor's apprentice had even pulled out a basket of the pork buns that the little shop in the village sold. Hu was watching intently with food in each hand.

Long didn't say anything. He ran his finger across the leather ties that locked the sword in place and they split. He pulled out the comically large sword. It was a normal hand and a half for me but Long was notably smaller. He stepped into position and measured his breathing. The small man shook his sleeves and a ornamental straight sword appeared in one hand. I could feel his anger from here.

I couldn't really explain why I wasn't afraid of this guy. It was almost the same feeling that Min Ryong gave me. Sure I knew they were strong, but for some reason I also knew they couldn't really do anything to me. When comparing him and Long it was like watching a child face off against an elephant.

I noticed someone nearby. It was Mrs. Wang. I waved to her and she seemed to flinch away at first. Then she finally joined us. Xinyi provided another chair from nowhere. This one was much nicer than what he gave me. She was silent as she sat down and I gave her the last of the fancy wine I brought. She watched the two old men face off with a detached expression.

"Whoop his ass teacher!" Hu shouted out.

"Language." Mrs. Wang scolder her son.

Suddenly there was movement. The smaller man rushed forward. He was fast but it wasn't so fast I couldn't follow. He struck out at Long and the smith barely moved the blade in his hands to redirect the other man. He was able to recover and the blue light in his eyes grew brighter as the temperature fell as he tried to spin and strike. Long stepped forward and there was no longer a chill in the air. He raised the sword and the entire world fell still. When the sword fell the world started to turn again. The shockwave of energy was enough that I was surprised no one in our little group was blown away.

The wrinkly man was on his back in a crater. He coughed and did his best to get back to his feet but couldn't. Mrs. Wang nearly dropped her cup of wine. She caught herself and instead downed the entire cup with a single gulp.

________________________________________________________

"Why... Why are you so damn strong..." The man was still struggling. His anger still palpable.

"I have sacrificed everything for power." There were tears forming in his eyes.

Long Fa looked to the sky and basked in the sunlight. The rest of them were too far away to hear his plea.

"You have sought power only so that you could wither away one day slower. I don't care about power, or sacrifice." He glanced towards the group that was still enjoying their picnic.

"I care about my smithy. I care about my wild apprentice, and my buffoonish assistant." He sheathed the large weapon. He looked down at the man who was made of ice as he melted. The tears in his eyes flowed freely even though his expression didn't change.

"Besides, I'm no longer in the earth realm. You really did get stronger, it just wasn't enough." Long stepped out of the crater he had made.

It wasn't much but the other mans expression softened at that.

Long went to join the joyful crowd that had watched them fight. It couldn't even be called a fight. He felt more like the man simply put him in his place. Like he was scolded by his older sibling. Why did he seek power. Why did he create those wicked experiments. A weight fell on his heart as he contemplated his answer. Fear. It was always fear that drove him. Fear of dying, of weakness. After his daughter had died everything felt dark in the world. He feared caring enough to lose someone again. He held the handle of his now shattered sword. He would have died if the weapon Long used had been sharpened.

"Why the hell did you take my sword?" The giant foreigner seemed irritated as he caught the weapon from his seated position.

"It was the only good one in the house." Long Fa simply shrugged back at him.

A shadow fell over him and he saw a woman with grey streaks in her hair. Her empty expression didn't show anything.

"I'm..." He tried to speak and choked as he saw the emptiness in her eyes. Why did he do what he did? She looked exactly like her mother should have. This woman wasn't nearly old enough to be so weary. It was his fault. He created the sect that hurt her. He thought that if he never became close to them that he could march forward but now he knew just how terrible his sins were. They were his grandchildren and he had been too scared to even call them by name. He simply numbered them and then threw them into the experiments so they could be stronger than their predecessors. She now stood before him as a mortal woman.

It took extreme effort, but when he finally stood he took off the ring he hadn't checked in over twenty years. He placed it on the ground and turned away.

"Hai Yun." He couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"I hope you will be happy." If he had turned around he might have seen the tears in her eyes. He had all but taken her name away when her mother died. He couldn't accept it even if she did forgive him. After seeing her face he could no longer forgive himself.

"Wait." Her voice almost didn't come out. The young boy with golden hair appeared behind her.

"Come on mom let's go eat." The old man began to shake. A chill air blew through the clearing and he disappeared with it.