Alexandros was shocked and startled at his master's answer. He wanted to question further but was interrupted by his master who grabbed him once again and leapt with extreme speed.
The duo quickly arrived at the base of the ruined Iron Rhino Tribe's camp where they discovered the true identity of the smouldering 'torches' which stood scattered in the dozens, illuminating the evening sky. These torches were, in fact, murdered Hielanders who were speared through their mouths and out of their buttocks and impaled into the ground. Their flesh served as the 'candle wax' upon which the bloody fires burnt and raged.
Alexandros nearly lost control over his bowels at this ghastly sight. He could not stop himself from vomiting once again as the sight of the melted flesh, burning bones, and god-awful scent seared itself into his memory. At this moment he fully believed that if Hell existed, this is how it would look.
The Mountain King had an abnormally serious look plastered on her face. Unlike her ignorant disciple, she knew of the identities of these 'human torches;' they were her foes: tribesmen of the Iron Rhino Tribe. Her eyes scanned around and she found more and more of these 'human torches.' Some had finished burning and their blackened bones and ask lay scattered on the ground. Others continued to burn with unending ferocity, lighting this hellish scene.
Her keen senses then suddenly picked up something as she whipped her head to gaze toward the distant bonfire. "Gather yourself," she instructed her disciple; her usually even voice barely held back the rage within her heart. "The demon behind this massacre still lives."
Her words betrayed the anger in her heart; she was furious. And rightfully so, for whoever had inflicted such inhumane deaths upon these was a true evil and did not deserve to roam this earth.
The Iron Rhino Tribe might have been her enemy but they were still Hielanders and as such deserved a warrior's death. Not whatever this was.
"Stay behind me," said Mountain King, as she stepped past the burnt remains of the Iron Rhino Tribe's gates and headed towards the bonfire. She hesitated for a moment and thought whether it was better to wait for Biao and the other troops to arrive before entering the devil's lair. However, she quickly squashed these thoughts when she realized that the devil might escape during this period of wait.
Being Rank 8, she reasoned that she would be mighty enough to deal with this devil without her tribe's backup and reinforcement. However, such confidence was fragile as she recalled that the Iron Rhino tribe wasn't a pushover either. And whoever had conducted this massacre had still managed to slay them all.
Step by step she cautiously walked through the burnt lands and towards the source of heat and light that was illuminating this mountain. Her senses were primarily focused on that sole entity that she had detected earlier and secondarily, guarded against possible ambushes that the enemy might spring upon her. She also kept an eye on her disciple trudging behind her, expecting the enemy to strike him.
Alas, no such ambush arrived. It appeared that the mountain was entirely empty save for the Mountain King, her disciple, and that unknown entity that she assumed to be the demon behind this unholy massacre.
When the Mountain King was almost upon the bonfire, she slowed her cautious steps before stopping entirely. Alexandros, who had been following his master with a tight grip on his spear, also paused his steps and allowed a confused expression to colour his face.
"…Rage!~ Rage!~ Rage against the dying light!~ Burn!~ Burn!~ Burn amidst the falling night!~ Kill! Kill! Kill whoever…" A cheerful voice sang clearly as it danced around the blazing bonfire. The singer was dressed in flowing robes and bandages and danced with enlivened passion. "…and those who try to imprison me shall burn for all their life!~"
The figure twirled and the bonfire cast light on the face of the demon that orchestrated this massacre. Alexandros' eyes grew dazed and an involuntary gasp escaped his throat. His grip over his spear weakened causing the heavy iron armament to fall to the ground with a noisy clang.
At that sudden sound, the dancing figure paused his song and looked over toward the duo. Spotting a familiar figure, Wuzhi delightedly waved his hands and exclaimed. "Ah! Your Majesty! You're still alive! How nice of you to join this servant in his celebration!!" Genuine happiness and glee could be heard in the scholar's voice.
Alexandros' legs buckled and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud. His tanned face grew as pale as a fresh sheet of paper and his pupils shrunk with fear. Pointing at the bonfire, which appeared to be fueled by a small mountain of dead bodies, the boy emperor shakily asked, "Y-Y-You… did th-this?"
Wuzhi smiled his usual smile at this question. "This?" he asked, pointing to the blazing bonfire. He then proudly nodded his head and said, "Are you surprised at your servant's competence, Your Majesty? Rest assured, Wuzhi is highly skilled." He patted his bandaged chest.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Alexandros looked utterly lost. He had never imagined that the person whom he had arrived to rescue from the nefarious hands of the Iron Rhino Tribe would instead be the main component behind their ghastly demise. His mind simply refused to accept this truth as images of the gentle teacher conflicted with this scene of a smiling madman who was illuminated by crimson blood fire. The conflict was so intense that the boy emperor nearly passed out from shock.
Meanwhile, Mountain King did not lose her composure and wits so easily. "Who are you?" she cautiously asked.
Seeing that he was in the company of a stranger, Wuzhi performed a polite bow and humbly answered. "This humble scholar is named Wuzhi and hails from the Isilda Continent. Wuzhi is the Imperial Tutor and Advisor to his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Alexandros Centinni the Twelfth."
"Are you the one who massacred this tribe?"
"Oh, 'massacre' is a strong word," Wuzhi flippantly explained. "I merely incited a few existing resentments, fanned a few flames, and poured oil over flickering embers. They did this to themselves."
Mountain King ignored his words. She once again asked, "Answer my question, demon. Are you the one who massacred this tribe?"
A frown appeared on Wuzhi's smiling countenance. "Demon? Me?" He pointed at himself. He then asked, "What have I done to deserve such a nefarious title?"
Mountain King almost let out a laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of his question. The simmering anger within her heart threatened to boil over and spill out at any second. "What have you done? Are you blind? Haven't you looked around, demon?"
Wuzhi finally lost the smile on his face. His features became still making him look like an emotionless doll of the most exquisite quality. "Haven't you learnt your manners, miss? It does not do good to be rude to a stranger."
Mountain King could finally bear it no more and let out a resounding laughter. "Hahaha! An evil hellion from the Netherworld is speaking to me about manners! Ahahaha!"
She then wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Listen well, demon. The Iron Rhino Tribe might've been my enemy but ultimately, they were still Hielander. And I, Mountain King, am the lord of all Hielanders."
"By massacring these people and creating this hellish scene, you have broken the unwritten rules of the Hielands and have offended me. Now, before I kill you and rid this world of such a cancerous tumor, answer me this; why did you do this?"
Wuzhi did not answer immediately. Instead, he lowered his head as a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "Why, you ask?" He eventually spoke an answer. "It is because they imprisoned me. I… don't like being caged."
"And you killed them all, just for this reason? You massacred the men, woman, and children of the tribe; the guilty and the innocent; the young and the old; and speared them, and lighted their flesh with hellish flames… all for this reason?"
Wuzhi nodded his head. He then turned to look at the darkened sky with a smile and spoke. "For the crime of imprisoning Heaven's Envoy, the Iron Rhino Tribe was punished. Such is the will of the heavens!"
He then crossed his heart and said, "May they find peace in the afterlife."
"A madman. You are thoroughly mad!" Mountain King screamed. To her astonishment, she keenly felt that each word spoken by Wuzhi came from the bottom of his heart.
He truly believed that he was administering the will of the heavens upon this earth.
At her shrill scream, Wuzhi let out an embarrassed chuckle and said, "My teacher tells me the same thing. Though, I never understood it."
Mountain King spoke no more and instantly leapt towards the bandaged scholar with her fist raised. Whoever or whatever his purpose was, she had to rid this world of this demon; such was the thought within her mind.
Time seemed to crawl to a still as Mountain King instantly arrived before Wuzhi. The latter had only just finished speaking and even his spittle had yet to leave his mouth and fall to the ground. The Mountain King summoned all her strength and brought her fist towards Wuzhi's head. And just as she was about to deliver the finishing blow…
…a bolt of lightning fell from the heavens and accurately struck her. Mountain King's body spasmed with unspeakable torment as the heavenly lightning snaked through her body, thoroughly injuring her. Her skin was burnt to a crisp and her unconscious body fell before Wuzhi.
Seeing this, Wuzhi shook his head as though he had expected this to happen. He then knelt next to her to check her vitals while thoughtlessly complaining, "Why can't they simply listen and obey? Look. Was this necessary? All this pain could've been avoided had you simply listened."
Mountain King's body continued to intermittently spasm as the remaining bolts of heavenly lightning dissipated. Fortunately, she was still alive; though unconscious. Wuzhi let out a sigh of relief at this discovery and praised the heavens for its magnanimity. As rude as she was to him, he couldn't have her die just yet; the Mountain King had an important part to play in his scheme.
Gathering his strength, Wuzhi tried to carry the Mountain King only to quickly give up upon finding her too heavy. He then shook his head once again and walked over to Alexandros.
The boy emperor saw this familiar yet wholly unfamiliar figure walk toward him. Immense fear sprouted within his heart as he wholeheartedly wished that he could escape from this demon.
"D-don't c-come to m-me!" Alexandros shrilly screamed as he crawled away. He tried to stand up and run but found himself unable to gather strength in his legs.
"Aww~ Your Majesty's words have wounded this humble servant's heart," Wuzhi showed an expression of heartbreak on his face. He then stepped atop Alexandros' chest and pinned the boy to the ground. The boy emperor struggled but it proved meaningless.
Crouching, Wuzhi stared straight into the boy emperor's fear-ridden, citrine-coloured eyes. His argent eyes blazed with mystical light as they peered into the youth. With a calm and gentle voice, he chanted. "Life is a series of images imprinted upon the mind as memories. To delete a memory is to wipe away the image and alter the self. The self that…"
Alexandros' eyes grew dazed and still, as Wuzhi continued to employ the [Unnamed Path: Memories Akin to Pictures] Path Technique. This technique exclusively belonged to Wuzhi and was one of his self-created techniques that belonged to his Path.