“You were always a beast Shi Jiu,” Shi Xue said softly.
As Shi Xue stood there, looking down at Shi Jiu. He shook his head, as if he were an older brother. It was an old habit he instantly remembered once he saw Shi Jiu. The boy has turned into a monster, He mused bitterly, but his thoughts quickly returned to the cacophony in front of him.
“What’s going on?” He asked, confused.
Shi Jiu is supposed to be dead…
In that moment, the memory from sixteen years ago flashed into Shi Xue’s mind. The fire that took the Great Western Library. He was stationed as a gardener within the Empress’ residence.
At the time, he didn’t think anything salacious of the fire, but when Shi Yusheng claimed that Zhu Mo Shi was working against the Empire’s interest.
It left him confused, especially when he heard that Shi Liu and Shi Jiu were also plotting against the emperor.
Shi Xue always found those traitorous claims unfounded, especially with the relation the Emperor and the Zhu of the Black Cauldron had. It just didn’t make sense to him, but none of that mattered now.
He was Shi Xue. He followed orders and obeyed diligently.
The Great Western Library was set ablaze once more. Back then, he didn’t think any of it, but now things are different, especially with the lingering killing intent that had been festering around the palace the past few days.
And now, Shi Jiu lied in front of him dead.
“They’re aiming for revenge…but to what end.”
The acrid smell of smoke began to flood into his nostrils, Shi Xue hesitated for a second, then his instincts screamed him into action.
He turned around, leaving the two bodies in the prince’s room and sped down the hallway. Once he reached the staircase leading to the courtyard, he began scouring the courtyard with his eyes, hunting for a specific body.
Shi Xue leaped into the air floating across the courtyard, and landed on the pavilion. He looked to his left and right, then finally looked south and found the body he was looking for, prompt up against the wall with a hole in his chest.
He kicked off the pavilion using his Qinggong and landed right in front of the body. He squared the body up, then eyed it for a few second.
The lifeless face of the imperial guard looked at him. He ripped the ends of his robe and stuff the hole in his chest, clogging the blood from sleeping out. He then gave a small prayer and scooped up the body and slung it over his shoulder, “I’m sorry Bin Jun…but this is for the greater good”
Shi Xue darted across the courtyard, then up the stairs leading into the hallway. The flames within, fluttered as he sped passed them making his way back to the prince’s chambers.
He dropped the body next to a wall and began stripping the corpse of its clothes. Shi Xue undressed himself without hesitation and dressed himself in the Imperial Guard’s garbs, then dressed Bin Jun’s corpse into his gardener robes. “I’ve gotten fat,” he said soft, feeling his waist rub against the undershirt. “But it’ll have to do.”
Not satisfied with how the prince’s room was still wholesome. He began destroying the hardwood walls and floors, trying his best to make the room look as though a battle had taken place.
Once he was satisfied, he scooped up Bin Jun and dropped him a few inches from Shi Jiu’s corpse and made it seem as though they both killed each other. “This isn’t perfect, but it’ll have to do, it should buy me some time.”
Shi Xue then turned to face the prince’s corpse. He looked at it for a few seconds, send a small prayer and steeled his resolve.
As he sped down the hall, he made a short left, entering the prince’s study room. The room was decently sized with a book case, loafer, bed and the prince’s writing table. It was room of simple design, with no intricate carvings unlike the first and second prince’s own.
Apparently, Scholar Qin believes such things would distract the prince’s mind. He was right, Shi Xue mused. He approached the book shelf, and pulled one of the books out.
A subtle snap echoed, and a hidden door swung out to his left. He scampered to it and looked inside. Prince Tian Jin was sitting down a stool, but he was fast asleep. “I’m sorry young prince, but I have to get you out here, Protocol dictates it.”
Shi Xue undressed the prince, swapping his clothes with his body double. The body double was a young boy who recently came into the palace. At this time, his named slipped Shi Xue, but he knew the boy was placed here for this very purpose.
Once the prince was in the boy’s garbs, he scooped him up and made his way out of the Dragon Palace, using the secret tunnels as vigilant possible as anyone could.
The weight of the night’s events were heavy on his shoulders as he sought safety for the third Prince. His plan was simple, exfiltrate the prince to safety, and make note of the ashes that engulfed the once tranquil palace.
Zhu Mo Shi
As Zhu Mo Shi stepped into the inferno, the acrid smell of burning parchment assaulted his nostrils. Smoke billowed around him, obscuring his vision and stinging his eyes.
As oppressive as the heat was, it still didn’t compared to the searing brands he held on his skin from sixteen years ago. As he felt sweat dampening his brow and plastering his clothes to his body, he paid it no mind.
Six librarians scrambled through the bottom, trying to escape the rapidly spreading flames, terror etched across their faces. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING! RUN…CAN’T SEE THE LIBRARY IS ON FIRE!” One of them scoffed, holding his sleeve to his mouth.
As the first librarian tried to push him out the way. Zhu Mo Shi drew his sword with lightning, maiming him instantly. Before he could scream for his loss, Zhu Mo Shi spun, decapitating with an upward slash, then danced towards the remaining five librarians.
The remaining librarians stood there frozen in shock. Their eyes said laced in fear and terror. It was as if, they comprehend the situation they were in.
Zhu Mo Shi heard their quickened breaths exasperating as t their hearts pounded like drums, mingling with the crackling flames as it devoured the ancient tomes.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
He narrowed his eyes, fuelled by anger and determination. He could taste the fear in the air, as palpable as the smoke that filled his lungs.
Zhu Mo Shi sword hissed through the air like a vengeful serpent, slicing through the nearest librarian’s torso. A harrowing scream of agony followed as he crumpled to the floor. He stabbed then stabbed him through the throat and felt the floorboards rumbled as the remaining librarians ran for their life!
He thrusted his sword left, not giving another librarian a chance to escape. His sword burrowed through the skewering the man’s chest leaving it in the size of elongated jade bead.
As another librarian turned seeing his compatriot’s death. Zhu Mo Shi ripped this sword free from the corpse and flicked it to his right.
The blade spun violently, spraying blood around the library and steaming hissing from every drop sprayed. The blade twirled around a book shelf, piercing the back of another librarian’s throat.
As Zhu Mo Shi swirled the Qi within his Core Dantian. A tingling sensation began to roil within his meridians. Zhu Mo Shi knew the limits to forcing too much Qi into his eighteen meridians, but he needed these librarians to die. Not because they were a hindrance, but because he needed to bait.
The heightened scent of blood and viscera mingling with the smoke, left his throat scratchy, but that’s was expected.
Zhu Mo Shi snatched up his sword in instant, the librarian howled a guttural roar. A trail of Qi appeared within his eyesight. It trailed following the heartbeats of the librarians, as if it were a river.
He took one step, leading to this trail of Qi, Then, he sifted through the bottom floor like a bee, cleaving the heads of the remaining librarians in a single sweep. The librarians collapsed to the floor, a wet thud of decapitated head rolling to the closest bookshelf.
The once hallowed halls of knowledge were now a hellish landscape of destruction, firelight casting eerie shadows across the bodies strewn about the room.
Zhu Mo Shi gritted his teeth, his resolve hardened by the gruesome scene before him. The emperor would pay for his treachery, and this was just the beginning.
A surge of Qi erupted to his left, forcing Zhu Mo Shi to leap back. He narrowly dodged the attack, pivoting to his right, then feinted right only attack the assailant on his left.
The assailant, deflected to side glance with his sheath, then spun through a book shelf, sending fire splinters and charred wood towards Zhu Mo Shi.
The blazing wood caught him off guard, forcing him to kick to his left, watching as Qi wisp into the direction. A snarling growl followed, then the man crashed into three book shelves. The attacker sprang back up with impressive agility, then snarled in a familiar.
A voice that filled Zhu Mo Shi with rage!
“Zhu Mo Shi...you’re supposed to be dead!” Shi Yusheng snarled. A wry smile tugged at the corner of Zhu Mo Shi’s lips “It’s funny that you say so…Shi Yusheng because after this exchange, your death is all but certain!”
Zhu Mo Shi’s eyes locked onto Shi Yusheng, his former student, now turned enemy. He gripped his sword, feeling the cushioned grip sending a soothing sensation up his arm. He then licked his lips, moisturising his dried lips.
The air crackled with tension as the two men circled each other, the flames around them casting flickering shadows that danced like spectres on the walls. The heat was almost unbearable, but Zhu Mo Shi refused to let it distract him from the battle that was about to unfold.
Shi Yusheng charged at Zhu Mo Shi, his sword slashing through the air like a leaf, glinting brightly from the flames. Zhu Mo Shi deftly sidestepped, countering with a upward slash. Sparks flew as their steel met, then the blades began to ring as the clash continued, filling the library the melancholic sound of death.
Zhu Mo Shi found himself forced to dodge and parry a relentless barrage of attacks from Shi Yusheng. Sweat dripped into his eyes, blurring his vision, but he stubbornly blinked it away, unwilling to give his opponent any advantage.
The taste of ash and sweat coated his tongue, a bitter reminder to Zhu Mo Shi’s betrayal, not just from the emperor, but Shi Yusheng.
He’d raised him, brought him up and taught martial arts, but for him to betray all to be the Zhu of the Black Cauldron. It made him sick, so sick he felt the urge to vomit blood, but he kept that feeling suppressed.
“You’re a traitor, Zhu Mo Shi!” Shi Yusheng spat, pressing his advantage, launching a series of vicious blows that forced Zhu Mo Shi left. “You refuse to follow the emperor’s will!”
“The will of a coward HAS NO RIGHT!” Zhu Mo Shi growled. “The emperor has gone against the First Emperor's writ. That is punishable mistake.
“All writs can be rewritten you old FOOL!”
“THE WRIT OF AXSUM IS ONE THAT CAN NEVER BE REWRITTEN! THEY SLAUGHTERED US LIKE LAMBS…LAMBS SHI YUSHENG. THE EMPEROR’S PLANS TO FORM A RELATION WITH THEM WILL KILL US ALL!”
“That is where you are wrong old man. You don’t believe we to have the strength to fight off Axsum? Their nation is fractured! Trade would not only help us, but it would help keeping tabs on them better! It will also allow us to Empower our people differently!”
“ENOUGH!” Zhu Mo Shi growled, “the only person that can Empower the people, are themselves!”
“NOT WITH THE SYCOPHANT LORDS AND PRINCES STILL RUNNING AMOK!”
As Shi Yusheng and Zhu Mo Shi’s battle continued, the traversed the fiery library with such fiery animosity it felt as though the flames would’ve been quelled from their blades alone. The exchange emanated leaves caught in a fiery whirlwind, movements fluid and lethal. Each strike, each parry, was a testament to their skill and determination.
As the flames continued to consume the library, the floor beneath them weakened, threatening to collapse at any moment.
Zhu Mo Shi channelled more Qi into meridians within his arms and legs, fuelling power his body couldn’t handle. As the fire roiled around him, it also roiled within forcing him to gnash his teeth from the pain, but he didn’t care for the consequences, as long as this bastard dies! He thought bitterly.
As their eyes locked onto each other, chests slowly beginning to heave from exertion. It wasn’t because they were tired, but because the oxygen within the library was exasperating quickly, forcing them to strain their Qi reserves at an alarming rate.
Zhu Mo Shi snarled, drawing all the Qi roiling within his meridians. He sent it to his hands, then channelled it into his sword.
He knew he had to be crafty against Shi Yusheng, especially with the fighting style he used. He didn’t expect him to reach Qi Perception Realm, just as he did, but there were factors of the Qi Perception Realm he hoped Shi Yusheng hadn’t noticed yet.
He brought his sword down with vigorous err the surround bookshelves hopped from the shockwave created from his Qi.
A cascade of burning debris exploded behind Shi Yusheng who tried to counter the sword slash, but it was for naught.
Zhu Mo Shi advanced, his sword singing a final, mournful dirge as it sliced through the air.
The sheer power behind Zhu Mo Shi’s attack shattered Shi Yusheng’s blade, sending shards of metal flying in all directions. The remnants of his sword embedded themselves into his body, causing him to scream in agony as he stumbled back.
Shi Yusheng fell to his knees, eyes filled littered in bitterness disbelief. He tried gasping for air, but felt ash force its way down his throat. He tried to move, but his body was too weak, grappling the swords shards embedded into his body.
As the creaking sound of the boards beneath him echoing as Zhu Mo Shi walked toward him. A shimmering blade beamed silver and orange with a killing aura emanating from Zhu Mo Shi sword. Shi Yusheng screamed out as he felt his left arm go numb. He turned left, watching as his left hand tensed up, and turned into a fist. “You’ve never cared for the people,” Shi Yusheng choked out, blood bubbling at the corners of his mouth.
“I haven’t…but I care for the future of our people.” Zhu Mo Shi said, staring at the dying man, his eyes cold and unyielding. "I have saved us from a treacherous path. The emperor’s reign will come to an end, and the people will find their own way. But you won’t be here to see that.”
Zhu Mo Shi shoved his beaming sword into Shi Yusheng’s heart, then turned and began making his way through the collapsing library, his meridians aching from strain of the smoke and stressing his body.
As the flames danced around him, he strained his senses to locate the hidden entrance, relying on the information he had gleaned from a trusted informant. Time was of the essence, as the entire structure threatened to collapse at any moment.
Coughing from the smoke and heat, Zhu Mo Shi finally spotted a partially burnt tapestry hanging on a wall. He approached it cautiously, his heart pounding in his chest.
There, hidden behind the charred fabric, was a barely visible outline of a door. The old knowledge he had about the secret passageways within the palace guided him to the entrance.
He pushed through concealed door open, with a heave revealing a dark and narrow passage. The cool air that greeted him was a welcome relief from the intense heat of the burning library.
Zhu Mo Shi took a deep breath and plunged into the darkness, leaving the fire-ravaged library behind him. As he made his way through the dimly lit tunnel, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding.
The path ahead was treacherous, and there was no guarantee he would make it out alive, but that was something he knew when he ventured onto this path…defying the emperor. No…defying his friend.