Crouching Tiger Manor.
The next day, Mo Yun rose early as usual, before dawn had broken.
After a quick wash, he pushed open his courtyard gate and headed toward the foot of North Mountain through the drizzling rain.
The first rain of winter brought a bone-piercing chill. Its fine strands were as dense as needles, stinging his face.
Mo Yun walked swiftly, his steps light, utterly unaffected by the foul weather.
The blood qi in his body blazed like a furnace. With the slightest surge, the rain landing on him evaporated into wisps of white vapor that rose from between the folds of his robes. From afar, his entire body seemed to be smoking.
Mo Yun came to a halt on the familiar patch of gravel at the foot of North Mountain.
The rain had grown heavier, its drops pattering against the stones and throwing up tiny splashes.
The dead leaves on the ground had softened in the rain, mingling with the soil into clumps of brown mush.
Mo Yun drew a deep breath. Icy air flooded his lungs, only to be warmed by his blood qi as it circulated through his body.
He took out a Qi-Blood Pill, a Dragon-Tiger Pill, and a Marrow-Washing Pill in turn, uncorked their bottles, and tipped his head back to swallow them.
The three pills dissolved upon reaching his stomach, and three streams of medicinal power erupted within him. The warm current from the Qi-Blood Pill soaked through his limbs and bones, the scorching current from the Dragon-Tiger Pill hammered his skeleton, and the cool, clear current from the Marrow-Washing Pill scoured the inner walls of his meridians.
The three medicinal powers intertwined and surged, drawing faint crackles from the muscles, tendons, and bones throughout his body.
Mo Yun settled into his stance