~~~
Wise. Patient. Insightful.
Whenever he asks, that is how the Elders reply. Funny and full of wit, his mother once says. Yes, it is always something like that. Whenever people speak of the person his father had been before entering the Renegade Realm, it is always with glowing praise.
Yun Han has never once met that person.
His father entered the Renegade Realm before he was born. The Yun Peng Yun Han knows is ruthless and intolerant, cold yet always on the brink of lashing out. He is a man without a shred of patience or tolerance for failure.
Especially when that failure is his son.
Yun Han cannot recall a single time when his father has smiled at him. Never has a word of praise or encouragement left his lips. Instead, there was always a task to be done, a standard to be met, an obstacle to be overcome. Day after day. Challenge after challenge.
The Young Master of the Yun Sect must be like this.
The Young Master of the Yun Sect shouldn’t be like that.
The Young Master of the Yun Sect should be capable of this.
If you are my son, you should not lose to the Xiao Sect.
“If I am your son, isn’t it natural for me to lose to the Xiao Sect?”
Yun Han has lost count of how many times he has come close to saying those words. He never does. There are a few times in which he comes close to doing so, but Yun Han always manages to bite his tongue in time, too scared of the consequences of such disrespect.
The competition between the Yun Sect and the Xiao Sect affects the lives of all who live in Eastern Port City. None can escape from it. That is why even a young child knows the Xiao Sect is number one.
The Yun Sect is number two.
That has been the way of things since before Yun Han was born. Xiao Zheng is the undisputed strongest of Eastern Port City. Xiao Nan is the greatest prodigy the city has ever seen, easily claiming victory in every Eastern Port City Tournament he has taken part in. How could a mere whelp such as himself ever hope to change that?
What could a young boy’s meager efforts accomplish when pitted against dazzling talent and unquestionable might?
Nothing.
Nothing at all.
Unfortunately, his father has never seen things that way. Xiao Zheng’s very existence is a personal affront, and Xiao Nan’s talent only makes him push Yun Han harder. Surely, if the Xiao Sect’s prodigy can do something, the prodigy of the Yun Sect can match it. That is how his father sees things.
Yun Han has never once been able to answer those expectations.
His father set standards, and Yun Han failed to meet them each and every time. He couldn’t break into the Inner Realm quickly enough. He couldn’t master Severing Palm. He couldn’t make it fly like it was supposed to. Focus your mind, his father would shout at him. Sever your emotions, he’d scream.
Yun Han kept failing.
He couldn’t even defeat Xiao Fang.
He tried. Heavens know he tried. Xiao Fang wasn’t like Xiao Zheng or Xiao Nan. Xiao Fang was a boy the same age as him. There was no reason why he couldn’t surpass him. At least in this one thing, it should have been possible for Yun Han to meet his father’s expectations.
Yes, that is how things should have been.
Reality did not deem his hopes worth acknowledging. No matter how hard he tried, Yun Han could never equal Xiao Fang. Instead, his weakness has become yet another way in which the Yun Sect is deemed inferior.
What had he done to deserve such a weak son? His father wondered that loudly and often. Each of Yun Han’s failures further incensed him, and he was brutal in trying to beat the weakness out of him. Training, his father called it. Perhaps it wasn’t completely a lie for it made him stronger, yet did everyone have to suffer so at their father’s hands to grow stronger?
No. Surely not. His father could not possibly be in the right.
Yet, if his father was wrong, why then did no one lift a finger to save Yun Han from his wrath?
Not the Elders who were supposed to protect him.
Not his mother who was supposed to love him.
Everyone just looked away, too scared to do anything about his father. No matter how much time passed, the pattern repeated itself.
That is why… the Eastern Port City Tournament should have changed everything!
For the first time in his life, Yun Han had managed to catch up to Xiao Fang’s cultivation! Elder Hui had assured him nothing would go wrong. Doctor Wu had agreed. The Elders of the Yun Sect had encouraged his actions. All were older and wiser than him. Surely, they had to be right! The plan would work. Yun Han would prevail. Finally, he’d give his father what he has long sought!
A victory over the Xiao Sect.
That is what should have happened. It should have worked. Even though Xiao Fang’s cultivation had surpassed his expectations, he should have won! That is what would have happened had it not been for him.
Liu Jin.
Remembering the name is enough to make Yun Han growl. Had it been Xiao Fang alone who defeated him, he’d be able to bear it. Had it been Xiao Zheng who had him in the palm of his hand from the start, he’d understand it. Had it been Xiao Nan who undid it all, he would have nothing to complain about. However, it had been none of them! Xiao Fang may have defeated him in the fighting ring. Xiao Zheng may have tilted the balance. Xiao Nan delivered the final blow.
However, it all began with Liu Jin!
Liu Jin, the son of a doctor who can not even use Qi!
Yes, in the future, Liu Jin would undoubtedly become an asset to the Xiao Sect. Yun Han is not foolish enough to miss that. However, that doesn’t change what Liu Jin is now. Even if he is married to Xiao Zheng’s daughter, Liu Jin is but a mere Inner Disciple of the Xiao Sect. That and nothing more. He has not undergone the many trials Yun Han has gone through. He has not suffered as he had.
He is just a disgustingly powerless person!
Someone like that almost defeated him during the tournament. Someone like that uncovered their plot. Liu Jin had… beaten him. He humiliated Yun Han in front of everyone. For something like that to happen is completely unacceptable.
His father made sure that Yun Han knew it.
Yun Han coughs weakly as he remembers the beating. How long has it been since then? How much time has passed? Ever since that day, he has been locked inside one of the cells beneath the main house, his body chained to the walls. There are no windows, and no one comes to bring him food or drink. Yun Han must survive this on his own, or he won’t survive at all.
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He is not in any danger of dying. While his body has yet to mend itself, the Qi inside him still burns. He will survive this. Yun Han knows he will.
Even so, it’d have been nice if someone came to help him.
His mother. The elders. Even Wu Yan.
Just a single visit. That is all he wants. Just to see someone. Just to talk to someone. However, once again, even the simplest of things are denied to him. His days of solitude pass uninterrupted. He drifts in and out of consciousness, doing his best to keep his Qi flowing.
This continues until a vicious earthquake sends his chain rattling. At least, that is how it feels like at the time. The trembling loosens his chains enough for Yun Han to break free. His body falls to the floor. It is cold, hard, and dirty.
Yun Han falls asleep instantly.
That is how the soldiers of Murong Bang’s army find him.
~~~
Eastern Port City has fallen.
The Xiao Sect. The Yun Sect. His allies. His foes. His mother.
His father.
In the span of one night, everything Yun Han knows is no more. The floors of the Yun Sect’s compound are dirty with blood. Soldiers in black armor now rule, and Yun Han has been reduced to a servant.
Move the bodies.
That is what the soldiers order him to do. There are corpses all around, and they must be moved before they start to smell. A large hole has been dug up, and now he and others carry the bodies one by one, throwing them into the hole. Some of the bodies are of people Yun Han knows. Some are from the soldiers. Others are far too mangled for him to be able to tell.
By all means, this should outrage Yun Han.
He should be angry at being reduced to a mere servant. He should be sad over losing everything he ever held dear.
Yun Han doesn’t feel any of those things.
There are many soldiers in the Nascent Realm moving about the city, likely searching for valuables. The ones keeping watch on those working are all in the Spirit Realm. Not a single one of them is in top condition. Wherever this army is from, they did not take the city without casualties.
It occurs to Yun Han that he could organize an escape attempt. Yet, even as the thought finishes forming in his head, he realizes it holds no appeal to him.
Right now, there is nothing Yun Han desires.
He just keeps throwings corpses into the pit.
“Young Master!”
The hissed whisper makes Yun Han look to the side. The one who calls him is one of the many working alongside him. His clothes are dirty, and so is the rest of him. It takes Yun Han a while to identify him as Wan Rong of Wan Clan. He took part in the Eastern Port City Tournament. While he is not a member of the Yun Sect, his clan is a subordinate of theirs.
Well, that is how things used to be.
“I am so glad to see at least Young Master is still alive.” Wan Rong speaks in whispers, afraid of drawing too much attention. “This Wan Rong wants Young Master to know the Wan Clan is still loyal.”
Yun Han frowns. Those words. They are… uncomfortable.
“Young Master, I overheard some of the soldiers talking yesterday. They said the strongest among their number are in Poison Fang Canyon. I don’t know what they want, but this is our chance, Young Master! We could escape tonight! As long as we reach another Yun Sect branch, we’ll be welcomed!”
Wan Rong speaks of liberation, yet all Yun Han feels is chains tightening around his neck. The young man keeps talking, happy and hopeful, yet Yun Han can only feel disgust.
His hand is moving before he knows it.
Severing Palm.
Wan Rong’s head goes flying, his mouth still half-open, never to be given a chance to realize what just happened.
As the blood splatters on his face, a deep sense of peace fills Yun Han.
The guards take him down a second later.
~~~
“So, you’re the mad one.”
Yun Han is taken to the Yun Sect’s main house. It is a place he has visited many times before. However, this is no longer his father’s house. It has been appropriated by the invaders, likely because the Xiao Sect’s compound is too damaged to use. His father wouldn’t have appreciated it, but for the first time in his life, Yun Han can’t bring himself to care about what his father may think.
Where his father once sat now sits a tall, bearded man with deep black hair. Murong Bang, they call him. He seems amused, relaxed even, yet Yun Han feels a sense of savagery emanating from him.
“If you had tried to kill one of my men, you’d have been put down right away. However, you killed one of your own people.” Murong Bangs taps the side of his forehead. “Why did you do it?”
Why had he done it?
“He said something I didn’t like, so I killed him.”
Yun Han answers honestly because there is no point in lying. Wan Rong’s words were making him uncomfortable, so he killed him. That is all there is to it.
“Since he is no longer speaking, I feel fine.”
Murong Bang laughs. He roars with laughter. It is the sort of unrestrained display of emotion Yun Han has only rarely laid eyes on.
“A simple reason. Good! I like it.” Murong Bang stands up, and Yun Han is struck by how large the man is. “I like you. Tell me, do you want to kill me?”
Yun Han thinks about it for a second.
“No.”
“Oh?” One bushy eyebrow goes up. “Is it because you think you can’t?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then why not? As I understand it, I killed your father. I have killed enough fathers to know that sort of thing tends to make people angry.”
“I did not care much for my father,” Yun Han answers honestly. After a while, he adds. “I am glad he is dead.”
They are the sweetest words that have ever left his lips. Just by saying them, his body feels lighter, unburned.
Free.
Murong Bang laughs once more.
“I see. I see. A good reason. An excellent reason!” He strokes his bearded chin, pensively looking at Yun Han. Then he looks at one of the soldiers standing guard and says, “Have Lei Yu brought here. We may just put him to use.”
The soldier looks surprised, but quickly bows and rushes out of the room. Yun Han looks on in confusion for a while. A minute later, someone comes into the room, a young man with a large, curved blade at his side and a large sack over his back.
His Qi is that of someone in the Heaven Realm.
“You called for this, general?”
The man throws the sack to the floor. It is only when he does it that Yun Han realizes it is a person. The skin is charred, the legs missing, the arms mere stumps. Were it not for the weak Qi coming from the lump of flesh barely recognizable as a body, Yun Han would have never realized it was even alive.
“Ah, what a pity. What a pity.” Murong Bang pokes the body with his boot. “One Lei is dead. The other ended up like this. The Lei Clan will not be happy.”
“Do you truly care, General?” The man in the Heaven Realm asks. It is the sort of question Yun Peng would have never allowed in his presence, yet Murong Bag does not seem bothered by it.
“Of course I don’t. The only reason the Lei Clan will even care is because Lei Yu is dead. The one-armed one could have died at any point, and they wouldn’t have batted an eye. Yet now, they’ll pretend to care for both, and I’ll have to bear their pretensions.” The imposing man sighs and shakes his head. “Isn’t that just the most unreasonable thing? People love making things more complicated than they need to be. It makes them feel better about themselves. Pray to the Heavens you never have to deal with such things, Bright Sword.”
Bright Sword? Yun Han blinks. There is no way that is a real name. A title, perhaps?
“If the old Boss were still around, he’d be able to heal this. A pity he isn’t.” Despite his words, Murong Bang doesn’t look sad in the slightest. He gives another light kick to the living corpse. There is no reaction. “This type of damage is truly something. I wish I had gotten the chance to see the one who did it.”
“He was too dangerous, general,” Bright Sword replies. “I couldn’t afford to hold back.”
“You could have at least left some of the body intact. Oh well, no matter. You!” He points at Yun Han. “Kill this.”
“Huh?”
Yun Han blinks in surprise. There is no mistaking Murong Bang’s meaning, yet the request is so unexpected it shocks him all the same. A single question escapes his lips even though he should know better than to oppose the man before him.
“Why?”
Murong Bang does not look angry at being questioned. He merely shrugs.
“He is too wounded to save. Letting him live like this is just pitiful. I might as well have him killed. You already killed someone because you wanted to. Now, I want you to kill someone because I want you to. Do you have any problems with that?”
He doesn’t.
There is no reason for him to object to this. The realization spreads through his body like lightning. Before his head has finished forming any thoughts, his hand is already moving.
Severing Palm.
Yun Han’s Severing Palm is a close-range technique. He could never make it fly like that of his father. No matter how hard he tried, he could not truly sever anything. That is how things used to be.
This time, Yun Han’s technique slices cleanly through Lei Yu’s body even though it is three yards away from him.
“Good!” Murong Bang claps once and nods in approval. “No hesitation. I like that. What is your name?”
His name.
“Yu-” He stops. The vile words caught in his throat. He stops and swallows before trying again.
“Han,” He says, his voice clear as day as he casts away his last name and all that came with it. “I am Han.”
Han. He repeats the name in his head several times, and each time, he marvels at how much better it sounds without anything attached to it. Without the constant expectations and punishments. Without the endless failures.
He is Han.
He is free.
Nothing will ever bind him again.
~~~