Taxian-jun stared out from the balcony of his opulent chamber, the pale winter sun filtering through the frost-kissed trees, casting a cold light upon the trembling figure of his shizun. Once, the elder had radiated power and wisdom, guiding him with a gentle but unwavering hand. But those days were gone, shattered by Taxian-jun's wrath, which had turned his shizun into a mere shadow of his former self. The man he had once idolized became a mere pawn in his cruel game, stripped of his spiritual powers and forcefully made into his concubine, his second consort.

The pond below was a realm of stillness, the koi fish swimming aimlessly, oblivious to the turmoil surrounding their keeper. Hunched over in his pavilion, shizun failed to notice how the chill clung to you, how your body weakened further with each passing day. Weeks of illness had turned you frail; the spiritual powers you once wielded had been stripped away, leaving you essence bare and vulnerable.

Days turned into weeks, the shizun's health deteriorating while Taxian-jun's irritation grew. Each cough and shiver from his once-mighty shizun gnawed at the edges of his conscience, yet all he felt was the bitter satisfaction of his twisted victory.

"How many times have I told you not to leave the pavilion during the snowfall, shizun? You're as stubborn and proud as you've always been. Now you've got what you deserve," his voice was mocking and cruel, but despite his hatred for you, for some unknown reason, Taxian-jun continued to care sometimes and came to check on you.