The day of bustle was over, and the next one had already begun. The mist had cloaked the whole capital like a white cloth. The clouds blocked the sun, and through that iridescent cloak appeared a silhouette.
Qin's victory depended on Qao Gun's decision. The ministers arrived, and the court door opened, only to reveal an empty judge's throne.
"Where is Lord Qao? Where did he go at a time like this?"
One of the ministers recalled something that he had seen this morning. He just thought that was just his imagination.
"Everyone, I saw Lord Qao following that Lao"
"Lao?"
"Maybe this might be wrong. Is that Lao involved in the King's death?"
"That Lao?"
"Well, I heard Qao asking the royal guards about the Lao, he asked them if head the red marbles?"
"Red marbles, didn't the concubines also mention that Liiba's also had a red marble necklace?"
"Is this related?"
"As far as I know, Lord Qao, he considered the king his own brother; an orphan like him was looked after by the king's mother, Queen Soha"
"Queen Soha?"
"Um...is he scheming any type of vengeance?"
********
Through that thick fog emerged the Lao. Walking to the gate, the guards opened the gate for him to exit the capital.
In that cloak emerged another silhouette.
"Stop!!", someone shouted.
The silhouette solidified, and through that fog emerged a figure. The guards recognised him and one of them uttered...
"Lord Qao?"
Like a thunderbolt, he appeared behind the Lao, drawing his sword and aimed for a slash to his shoulder.
"Kuh"
The Lao bent, like an animal on four legs, and he stayed on the floor.
Curving the trajectory of the sword, he swung it, aiming for the Lao's head.
Like a wild monkey, the Lao executed a perfect front flip in that abrupt position.
Positining his leg, aiming for Qao's chin. Qao effortlessly dodged that attack and clenched his fist.
Like a boulder, his fist moved and collided with the Lao's gut, sending shock waves through his whole body.
The Lao landed on the ground. Without breaking a sweat, Qao was right in front of him, and his sword was heading to slash Lao's right leg.
The Lao's legs slid, doing a split from that position, and the Lao punched Qao's face and held his neck.
Clenching his other fist, the Lao hit Qao's face. Like a hammer colliding with a nail, the fist had momentarily disfigured his face.
SFX: CRACK
A strange sound echoed from Qao's shoulders, of his joints being destroyed.
The Lao stared at that for a second, in the blink of an eye. Qao's hand was right before Lao's face.
Dislocating his shoulder joint, like lightning, Qao's arm struck his head.
SFX: GRKK
Making a 360-degree turn. It shattered Lao's jawbone.
Like a falling flower vase, Lao's jaw drooped.
Shifting his body weight forward, like a whirlpool, Qao's leg moved.
Gripping Lao's throat with his hand, he threw the devastating hit, turning his whole body with the weight.
Cutting through the air, slicing through the fog particles, like a tiger's jaw, the foot ripped off Qao's jawbone.
Making a front flip, the Lao was back on his feet.
"You can't use your cursed tongue anymore, the same tongue you used to kill my brother", said Qao.
The Lao stood there, giving that dreadful smile at Qao.
"The day you met Fuurin Liiba, threatening to kill her family, but she didn't give in. So you went for the king's unborn son"
"The threat to kill his wife, and the life inside her, made Liiba kill the man she loved with her own lips"
The dreadful smile reflected in Qao's eyes spiralled through the black of his eyes.
SFX: FRSSSHHKKK!!!
The tile shattered, and Qao's qi enveloped his whole body. Like a glowing deity in red, he stood.
The Lao's calf muscles bulged, the veins popped out, and the desperate man made a thunderous run to exit the gate.
Each of his legs, touching the tile, feeling that cold, he ran, with the only goal of making the same touch that soil, beyond the gate.
SFX: DRIP
Before his foot even touched the soil, a drop of red crimson colored the soil.
SFX: THRCCKKKK
A loud noise erupted from his neck, a noise of something breaking through his neck.
Destroying each vessel and bone.
His eyes moved, and before he realised, a fist had drilled through that neck of his.
Like a wilting flower, his whole head dropped from his shoulders.
Bleeding through his nose and ears, the lifeless boy fell on the cold soil.
Staring at that lifeless body, Qao rolled his eyes. He walked back with the thumping Qi, intoxicating the fog particles.
**********
HAN ROYAL CAPITAL
The evening sunlight made the royal palace shine, lighting all the corridors and rooms in gold.
In that golden hour, the breeze embraced the cold floor. Moving the fee through those cold tiles, he came walking.
On the other end of the corridor stood Great General Ku Zan, looking into that evening sun.
The sun's glow made his eyes a gold orb.
The sound of the Gunzheng played by the palace girls echoes through that corridor, the melody of separation.
The music reverberated in their ears, and the scenes of the past made way into their minds.
That summer, the day blues turned red, the day blood dripped from his eyes.
Together they stood shoulder to shoulder, that smile, that joy.
"So you are yourself now...?", asked Ku Zan, looking at the sun.
"I am me, Zen Shi, the man who is beyond the heavens", said Zen Shi.
Ku Zan smiled, hearing that his eyes glowed stronger.
"Zen Shi, he will come, in this whole life of yours, you have to face him to go beyond the heavens", said Ku Zan.
Zen Shi bent before his master, seeking his blessings.
"Zen Shi, a dream of your past is worth a sleep"
Zen Shi's eyes widened, and the resolve was evident in those eyes.
"Thank you, master"