Corollary Chapter One

Magic is a terrible thing. It can quickly overwhelm the senses without warning and become uncontrollable. It can devour logic and will, easily corrupted by emotions. Humans are not suited to wield magic. They cannot control the power within it. That is the belief etched in Yanghua’s heart when he lost his elder sister to magic. She had attempted to use magic to control their town and was quickly devoured by her own will to suppress.
 
Yanghua is again confronted by the same type of magic as he stands in front of Ren Meiying, a traveling scholar and guest cultivator. Yanghua had met Meiying and recruited him in a mission to secure the magic treasures of a mountain deity said to contain the secret to developing a golden core. Meiying had successfully helped Yanghua and his comrades through the treacherous mountain path. Meiying had even translated the complicated text in a scroll they found helping Yanghua form his golden core. But now standing before him was a being ready to destroy everything in his path. Yanghua’s job was to make sure no one enters the Forbidden Grounds. His gratitude for Meiying’s help appeared to have carried a heavier price.
 
It was a cool autumn evening. Yanghua had rushed to the Forbidden Grounds ending his marriage meeting with one of the daughters of a high official. He had been thankful for the respite since he had started to feel awkward about marrying someone a decade younger. He felt sorry for the girl and had wanted to decline. He was saved from that awkward situation only to be thrust to something even less ideal: A respected colleague who wanted to violate the first rule he agreed to follow upon being allowed to join the sect as a guest cultivator. Yanghua’s evening could not get any worse than this.
 
The trees gently swayed as the passing breeze ruffled the leaves. The sacred grounds had been silent for some time. Two men stood across each other. Yanghua had worn the customary dark blue and silver robe of his sect for official meetings. With his halberd in his hand and his bow and a few arrows slung to his back, he looked like a charming prince ready for a quick night hunt. He was standing in front of the entrance to the Forbidden Grounds. His features were impassive but a twitch on his eyebrows gave away his annoyance.
 
“Meiying…”
 
“Stand down, Yanghua. I have no fight with you. “ The white robed man casually walked forward. The man named Meiying had hidden his hands in his sleeves. His long hair swayed with the wind. He stopped walking at the sight of Yanghua raising his arms.
 
“Beyond this is considered holy ground. You are not allowed to go beyond this point,” Yanghua raised his halberd and stabbed the hilt into the ground. He harnessed energy into his palms and spread his hands from his solar plexus. He stretched his arms and created a slim field in front of him.
 
“Tsk. You need to learn to be more obedient.”
 
“Respect comes before obedience.”
 
Meiying seemed to sigh as his sword flew out of its sheathe. The sword glare was blinding but Yanghua forced himself to trust his other senses. Meiying could be called an unparalleled magician because of his deep understanding of the five elements. Yanghua knew this and was on high alert as he sensed air condensing around him. His spiritual barrier wavered against the sudden change in the atmosphere. He felt the cold slither of a sword slide and slice the air beside him. Yanghua had narrowly evaded Meiying’s sword. Yanghua kicked the shaft of his halberd up and unsteadily swung it to his left before he grabbed it’s hilt and twisted it ninety degrees to his right. He heard Meiying’s laughter. It was a faint sound. Yanghua shook his head and tightly closed his eyes for a brief moment. He had to focus otherwise he would lose a limb.
 
“Meiying! What business do you have with the Forbidden Grounds!” Yanghua parried and sliced at air. Meiying seemed to dissolve into the darkness only reappearing when it was convenient.
 
Meiying’s chuckle echoed. It sent an unpleasant shiver down Yanghua’s spine. “Ren Meiying?!” The air became crisp. Yanghua felt the sharp icicles cut through his robes and skin. Yanghua attempted to deflect the icicles by rotating his halberd but Meiying’s sword shot right into Yanghua’s shoulder. Yanghua fell on his knees, his weapon discarded. He bit back the pain as he hastily grabbed and pressed the wounded area of his bleeding shoulder. He struggled to get back up and felt wobbly.
 
“What a stubborn one.” Meiying cupped Yanghua’s chin and pulled it up gently. Yanghua had to resist the urge to growl at him. Meiying smiled as he placed a hand on Yanghua’s bleeding shoulder. Yanghua sucked in his breath as pain shot down from his shoulders to his toes. He fell on his good knee.
 
“Now there is an obedient boy.” Meiying gently patted his good shoulder before walking past him and toward the entryway of the Forbidden Grounds. “You needn’t have to go through this pain if you only obeyed. Tsk.”
 
Yanghua growled Meiying’s name. He couldn’t let Meiying get through without a fight. He ripped a part of his sleeve with his mouth and tied it around his shoulder as best he could. Yanghua let out a ragged breath as he fought to regain control. He feared the worst of Meiying’s intentions. He used bits of his energy to recover his strength and stood up. Using his bow for support, he walked briskly into the Forbidden Grounds determined to pull Meiying out or die trying.
 
Yanghua passed the familiar archway and pebbled tunnel toward his ancestors’ graveyard. Torchlights lit the passage on either side. He could hear his footsteps and his breath echo as he walked forward. He paused and remembered how the grounds have been restricted from the public to keep the family’s privacy. Over the years, stories of the dead rising, ghouls, and other horrors have been spread to keep it away from grave diggers looking for treasures buried with the dead. Yanghua would never have imagined that a guest cultivator would have become interested in investigating these strange rumors. He felt a soft rumble from underneath which sent shivers to his spine. The environment suddenly felt sterile and almost hollow. He uttered a protective spell as he walked forward.
 
The passageway felt like it was endless. Yanghua couldn’t help but check his memory of the place. He had only been to the Forbidden Grounds once when he was tasked to defend it from outsiders but he didn’t remember the passageway to be so deeply stretched. He wondered if he had imagined it or if he was merely exhausted from the blood loss. He felt his vision sway and barely managed to support himself up with his knees and bow. Yanghua tried to stand up but the dizzy feeling persisted. He tried to concentrate his chi into his solar plexus to keep himself grounded but it only made it difficult for him to breath. His vision blurred as he felt his knees give way and he felt like he was floating. Water filled the tunnel, pushing his body up.
 
Yanghua could hear the warning bells in his ears. He thrashed and tried to look for support. He had lost his bow and could feel his legs numbing. He willed his feet to move as the water slowly swallowed him. Everything became enveloped in darkness.
 
Yanghua tried to filter some air into his lungs through his mouth as he was thrust down into the water. He tried to reach up but he felt his legs become heavy. Yanghua’s last thought was of how the younger disciples will joke about how he would rather drown himself to death than marry a random stranger. His mind blanked and his body sank deeper into the water.

After what felt like eternity, Yanghua opened his eyes. He had woken up to the sound of a younger disciples’ call. He didn’t know how long he had been asleep under the tree. He checked his bow and arrows. When he turned to his right, he saw his halberd leaning against the tree. Before Yanghua could sigh in relief, a group of disciples walked up to him and calling for him to join them. They were at the foot of the small hill where the tree he was leaning against stood. Behind them was a small lake. The water sparkled against the setting sun.
 
“Big Bro! You’re finally awake! Join us!” a junior disciple waved at him before walking toward the lake. Yanghua decided to join them. He stood up and was about to walk toward them when he realized that a huge wave had swallowed his fellow disciples. Before he could even move to reach for his weapon, he has already been wrapped in darkness. He suddenly felt weightless, as if a gentle current was carrying him somewhere. He wanted to open his eyes but his eyelids were heavy. He wanted to thrash and flail but his limbs were numb. A grim thought crossed his mind, What if I don’t have my limbs anymore? It was better to face death than become a useless human stick. He tried to will his fingers to move but felt no sensation. Instead, he felt a pressure pushing him upwards. A sudden burst of light enveloped him momentarily before his eyes adjusted to his environment. Someone was hovering over him. He felt pressure build up in his chest area before he coughed out water.
 
“Hey! What happened?” A familiar voice asked.
 
Yanghua looked at the ground and found that he was on a field of grass, beside a river. It was bright, almost blinding. Yanghua tried to sit up and a soft push from his back helped him regain his balance. He felt the pressure on his chest ease as the water forced its way out of his mouth. He doubled over as he coughed, his ears ringing.

“That was dangerous. Swimming in the river when we’re so close to winter is an idiot’s guide to dying.” The stranger huffed. Yanghua felt the stranger collapse beside him.

When Yanghua’s eyes regained focus, he realized that there were several giant pillars clustered meters away. There were big boxes with wheels zinging to and fro. Foreign sounds echoed around him. “Where is this?!” he turned to his savior, desperate to know if this was still an illusion Meiying had casted.

Yanghua froze as his savior sat up. There he was, looking confused and slightly annoyed, the cause of Yanghua’s painful ordeal. “Ren Meiying!” Yanghua hissed as he reached for his halberd. He found out quickly that he may have lost it while he was in the watery illusion. He forced the feeling of disappointment down his gut and into his fist as he slammed it against Meiying’s face.

The man who saved him, the man who looked like Meiying fell over and clutched at his face. “You idiot! Is this how you show gratitude!”

“Ren Meiying!” Yanghua straddled the injured man and hit him with as much force as he could channel into his fist. Yanghua continued to slam his fist onto the Meiying’s forearms that he covered over his face.

“Stop it! Right now!” The man shouted. “I’ll call the cops!”

Yanghua was frenzied. He continued to hit the man below him even as his blows weakened. “Ren Meiying! You bastard!”

“You’re talking like a madman!” The man shoved Yanghua off him as soon as he noticed an opening. “Don’t you know that I saved you!” The man rubbed his forearms. He saw Yanghua slowly stand up and fall back down. “You idiot. Don’t stand up quickly. You’re still disoriented!” The man grabbed something for inside his trousers and was fiddling madly on it.

“What is that?! Are you summoning spirits with that box! Are you a sorcerer?” Yanghua flailed as the man who looks like Meiying tried to pull an ancient artifact. The artifact made a shrill sound. The startled Yanghua slapped the artifact away, his skin several shades lighter.

“You idiot!” The man lunged and luckily caught the artifact before it fell. He tapped on it and stopped the sound before he placed it against his ear.

It seemed like someone else was talking from inside the artifact. It reminded Yanghua of a communicator spell. He calmed himself down, breathing deeply before deciding to look around. The man who looked like Ren Meiying was still talking into his communicator and Yanghua realized he was wearing foreign clothes: pants that were cut close to the legs, a shorter coat and something that looked like an undergarment. Meiying’s doppelganger also had shorter hair, cropped at the back with a few layers swept to the side of his face almost covering his eyes.

The conversation seemed to have ended. The Meiying double gave a soft sigh. Something covered his head, causing Yanghua to panic for a few seconds before he realized it was the same coat the Double wore.

“Put that on and get up.”

Disgruntled and wary, Yanghua slowly followed the Double’s instructions. He pushed oone arm into a sleeve and to test it, before he shrugged the coat. It fit perfectly. He tried to push himself up but the movement made him feel dizzy. He felt someone grab him by his arm and pull him up to his feet.

“There you go.” The Double placed his arms around Yanghua’s waist to keep him steady. “One foot at a time.”

Yanghua felt dizzy. It was like the area around him was spinning. He could faintly hear the Double ask him if he was okay. He felt strong hands steady him before he felt a blunt pain on his left cheek. His eyes suddenly focused. He saw, in front of him, a man who wasn’t exactly Meiying but could have been him. “Who are you?”

“I’m Cyril Chao, young master,” the Double looked exasperated but he tightened his grip around Yanghua’s waist when he felt the other man buckle. “Welcome to the 21st Century.” The Double named Cyril Chao slowly led him out of the clearing and toward the street.

The sound of the cars, the billboards, the lights, people busy walking and chatting, inundated Yanghua’s senses. The last thing he remembered was a light turning red to green before everything became pitch black and silent.