Liuyang awake to silence
Not the vast stillness of an immortal palace , but the quiet of a small , broken room . The celling above him was low and cracked , wooden beams darkned by age .
He inhaled slowly.
Too shallow.
Too weak.
"This body.....…." He murmured.
As he pushed himself upright dizzness struck him immediately . His limbs trembled , lacking even the most basic strength . Shen liuyang steadied his breathing and lowered his gaze to his hands.
Thin finger . Pale skin. No trave of cultivation.
A mortal body
Fragment unfamiliar memories surfaced short , dull and fragile. A poor village on the edge of the realm . A sickly youth named lichen often bed ridden . Often ignored , orphaned early . Forgotten easily.
A life that hand ended quitely.
" So this is vessel fate chose " , shen liuyang said softly.
He closed his eyes and instinctively attempted to circulate spiritual energy.
Nothing responded
No qi.
No resonance.
No connection to the heaven.
His dantian was empty , silent like a dried well .
In his previous life , this would have been unthinkable.
Yet shen liuyang did not panic.
Not did he despair .
" If the heaven stripped me of everything",he thought calmly
"Then I will simply take it back"
A faint creak sounded outside .
Moments later , the door opened , and young girl stepped inside carrying a small bowl of medicine . Her clothes were simple, her expression cautious but gentle.
" You're awake " ? She asked softly .
"That good.... I was worried.
From memories , liuyang recognized her at once .
Lin yue
The only one who had visited this body during it's illness.
"Yes " he replied.
His voice was steady - too steady for a boy who had nearly died.
Lin yue passed , sensing something different , but she said nothing . She placed the bowl besides him .
"The healer said you must drink this slowly ", she said . "Your body is still weak " .
Shen liuyang glanced at the dark liquid.
He could tell instantly - it would do little .
Still , he lifted the bowl and drank.
Survival came before pride .
After lin yue left , shen liuyang stood and walked towards a cracked bronze mirror in the corner of the room .
The reflection that stared back at him was pale and thin , worn by illness .
Yet those eyes --
They were unmistakable his .
" So even the body bears my face " he murmured.
The features were not identically - not yet . The flesh was weaker . The frame smaller . But beneath it all , the resemblance was undeniable.
His soul was too strong .
And overtime , the body would follow.
" The changes will be slow" he said quitely.
" No one will notice.....at first.
He turned towards the window.
Outside , the village lay silent beneath the fading light . Beyond it distant mountains rose against the sky .
There .... barely perceptible but real .
A thin trace of spiritual energy
Weak
But enough
Shen liuyang straightened his back .
" Shen ruoming " , he whispered ,his voice colder than the night air .
" You took my clan , my cultivation and also my life.
" But you did not take my memory "
This mortal body is fragile .
But it would not remain so for long .