Blue Phoenix

Everything was black. Nothing moved. No sounds could be heard. Everything was still. As for how many days had passed, Sha Yun had no idea, but it felt like an eternity since she had last seen the sun.

“Even if I die then it won’t matter too much,” Sha Yun pondered. “I miss my sisters, and I will obviously miss Yue and everyone else, but they will be fine without me.” Thinking this Sha Yun’s heart ached but she steeled her determination.

“Yue wants to be with Ju Long, but he is too afraid to hurting my feelings.” A tear fell from her face. “It is all good.”

“Hui Yue said that he had to bring someone back from the dead. I’m sure that he will come for me too. It is just temporary. I need to hold onto who I am so that he can find me when it is time.”

Sha Yun’s thoughts were in shambles. Some of her thoughts were hesitant and unwilling to let go of life while others were accepting what had happened to her.

As time went by she finally managed to fully convince herself that dying was fine.

Sighing, Sha Yun started to wonder if she was destined to spend eternity alone within this black void when suddenly a crack of light appeared in the darkness.

The light shone into the void, forcing the darkness back. While looking at this, Sha Yun felt genuine fear and horror from the depths of her heart. She could not look at the light as it blinded her, and instead she looked at the retreating darkness.

The rift continued to grow larger and larger, letting in more and more light. Soon the entire void had been suppressed by the light. So much so that the light landed on Sha Yun, and a warm, gentle feeling surrounded her as her body was shrouded in light.

Without knowing what was happening, Sha Yun found herself being dragged towards the crack and soon her entire body was no longer in the void.

“Am I being reborn?” Sha Yun asked herself as she once more started to feel things. Her body was lying on something hard; she could hear her breathing, and soon the darkness and light vanished, leaving a dim light which shone against her closed eyelids.

Although Sha Yun wished to open her eyes, every time she did so, the light burned her eyes making it impossible for her to keep them open. It was even more impossible to see what was happening around her. Moving her body was equally impossible.

Wherever she was, it was very calm. There were no other sounds than the sound of her breathing, and while breathing, she noticed that the fresh air around her was chilled. Knowing that the air was chilled, she instantly knew why she could not move as easily as she wished to.

Sha Yun was a snake-woman. She came from a long line of snakes and as a cold-blooded creature, it was hard for her to move when she was in cold weather. Being in the cold, Sha Yun could do nothing to move her body, and slowly, very slowly, she once more tried to open her eyes.

Squinting her eyes, she could make out a few things from where she was, and the more she looked, the more she could see.

Sha Yun was currently laying on a stone bed with straw to try and make it softer; unfortunately, it did not have the right effect. The straw constantly pricked her; it was sharp and uncomfortable, but Sha Yun knew she needed to collect a decent amount of energy before she could move.

She was in a small chamber. A chamber that was at most ten meters wide and ten meters long. Apart from the stone bed, there was also a small desk and a chair. There was a massive door made from heavywood. A window was on the other side of the door in the back of the room. Looking at the window, she noticed the bars were made from black iron and were placed in front so no one could come through it.

Laying on the stone bed, Sha Yun breathed for some time. “So I’m not dead?” She mumbled to herself, starting to wonder what had happened. It did not take her long to guess that she had been kidnapped.

“But why target me?” She asked herself curiously, and suddenly the answer was clear as day. “Yue. They want to get to Yue.”

Reaching this conclusion, Sha Yun’s eyes hardened as she contemplated what to do. Should she end her life so that she could not be used against him, or should she wait and see what happens?

“When he realizes that I am gone then he will come find me,” She mused to herself. “For now let’s see what happens,” She decided with a nod. Slowly she started to rotate her internal energy forcefully heating up her blood and allowing her to move once more.

The moment she had enough energy she slid from the bed to the cold floor and rushed to the window to see what was outside.

Looking out, she was shocked to see that she was in a massive castle. A castle which seemed to have been created entirely from marble, looking exactly like ice.

On the ground, snow was visible everywhere, and Sha Yun was unsure what she should do. She was not given a long time to consider this thought because suddenly the door opened and seven people appeared. These people seemed to have a layer of frost all over them; their eyes were white, clearly seeing nothing, and their bodies creaked while they walked.

Looking at these people Sha Yun felt the cold imprint itself into her body. It seemed to penetrate straight through her bones and made her shiver involuntarily.

“Come with us.” The seven experts said in unison. Their voices were almost mechanical, and their movements seemed stiff. Seeing them, Sha Yun was terrified. She had lived in this world for a very long time, therefore how could she not know that the white men were frozen experts. They were all from the Frozen Army.

The Frozen Army only moved on behalf of the Frozen General, something which caused Sha Yun to tremble in fear. It seemed that she was somewhere quite dangerous.

Seeing that Sha Yun was not moving the seven experts reached out grabbing the snake woman and without waiting any longer they moved out the door and down a set of stairs.

They moved through one corridor after another. The further down they went the more the castle seemed as though it had been created from just ice alone, and slowly she saw more and more frozen people walking the halls.

The frozen people were all different. The majority of them were like the seven experts who had picked up Sha Yun, completely mechanical, while others seemed to be more conscious.

Moving past them all, Sha Yun was surprised to see the different levels of conscious these experts had. She soon understood that the higher conscious one had, the higher their rank. As to how these dead experts had been created, Sha Yun had no idea. She did not want to know anymore either.

Reaching the ground floor the seven experts went in front of a massive ice door where they then knocked on it before once more surrounding the snake-woman.

The door opened, and the small party moved forward once more. As soon as the door opened, Sha Yun could not help but look carefully at the people in front of her. However when she saw the so-called Frozen General, her eyes almost popped out of her head, and she retreated a step.

“Zhong Fai?!” She exclaimed, her words making the entire hall quieten down. Even the conscious members of the Frozen Army were shocked to hear someone dare call out their master’s name. Their dead, white eyes seemed as if they were filled with rage, and their movements were swift as they rushed towards her, ready to attack for the disrespect she had shown.

“Stop!” Zhong Fai’s words caused everyone to stop in their tracks. None of them dared to move even an inch as Zhong Fai’s words had sounded out.

Standing up, Zhong Fai left his frozen throne and went down to Sha Yun as he offered her his arm. Knowing who he was, Sha Yun dared not be disgraceful, and while trembling she accept it following him back to the frozen throne.

“Find a chair my beautiful companion,” He ordered, and instantly the seven experts who had brought Sha Yun here instantly scurried away to find a chair for her.

It only took a few moments before a chair was placed before the throne and Sha Yun sat down, not certain what was happening.

“Don’t be scared.” He said laughingly. “These people will not harm you, neither will I.”

“I would have invited you in a more gentle manner, but I was certain that you would not accept the invitation, so I had to use a few other ways to get you here.” He said smilingly as if nothing was wrong with kidnapping people.

“We were such good friends back when we were in the dungeons of the divine,” He said. “And I noticed that you and Hui Yue have a special relationship. I am sure he will come visit me soon if I tell him that you are here.”

“Don’t worry, your stay here will be very pleasant. No one will treat you badly, and I will make sure to keep you company so you won’t be bored either.” He continued like an excited, small child.

“Why are you so fixated on Yue?” She suddenly asked. “In the dungeons, you were only interested in him, and now you’ve gone as far as kidnaping me for the sake of having him coming to visit you.”

Hearing the question did not anger Zhong Fai at all. Instead, it made him laugh. “I like talented youths; I am sure you already know that.”

“Every talented youth I have found so far have become a part of my frozen army but this time it is different. Although he is the most talented young man I have ever seen, I just want to befriend him. There are some some goals in life which I am incapable of achieving myself but with his help, it is highly likely I can achieve something.”

Sha Yun asked no further question. She had met Zhong Fai before, and she knew of his obsession with Hui Yue. Hearing that he had something he hoped for Hui Yue to help him with, Sha Yun no longer fearful. If Hui Yue found that she had been mistreated, then he would without a doubt ensure that he got revenge on the Frozen General and would in turn never help him.

Sitting still, Sha Yun exchanged some pleasantries with the Frozen General. He wanted to hear about their daily life and Hui Yue’s improvement.

The many conscious members of the Frozen General were all shocked to see Zhong Fai, their leader, being so excited and youthful. He was incredibly powerful and could crush mountains with the flick of his hand. He could gather thousands of followers with one word. He could shake the entire world if he wanted to. He was one of the supreme existences in this plane, and he would never lower himself speak with an ordinary person.

But, here he was chatting and joking with Sha Yun. At first, she had been very nervous and worried but as time went on she was smitten by the excitement in Zhong Fai’s voice and his energy. Soon laughter escaped her lips as she told him about all that had happened. Her barriers were now completely broken, and with a smirk Zhong Fai listened intently. He was the perfect listener, exclaiming surprise at the right time, showing worry when needed, and indignation when it fit. Seeing the attention she got, Sha Yun was no longer as alert as she had been before.