Yun Qiang felt his strength disappear. His body trembled as he cried uncontrollably.
"No..."
He moved his hands in front of his face, covering his eyes from the sorry sight.
"This can't be true....."
His breathing hastened.
"No... No..." he murmured. "This can't be, I have to..." he was about to say help, but Voss's weak voice cut him off.
"Yun Qiang..."
Yun Qiang uncovered his face. Voss was looking at him; his pale face looked more like that of a ghost as a small ripple of purple blood was steadily coming out of his mouth.
"Take this..." Voss hesitated for a second, then he slowly moved his hand toward Yun Qiang.
"Take my space ring... it's yours."
Voss briefly managed a faint fatherly smile before his expression contorted into one of pain. He started coughing blood uncontrollably.
Yun Qiang wanted to say something, but his words died in his throat.
There were tons of things he wanted to say, but none of them seemed appropriate or felt right for the moment.
"Take it..."
Voss pushed his hand towards him, inviting him again to take away the ring.
Yun Qiang took the ring while staring at the ground; he felt ashamed. Taking Voss's ring felt wrong; it was like taking advantage of his mentor's weakness.
"I'm sorry. If I...."
Voss cut him off again.
"It's not your fault." He barely managed to put his hand on Yun Qiang's shoulder.
"He would have found us anyway."
Hearing this, Yun Qiang broke down in tears, desperately hugging Voss like a child did his father.
"Please don't go. We can't survive without you."
Voss smiled, sadness and pride mixed in his clear eyes.
"Shh." He patted Yun Qiang's back. "I have some good stuff inside the ring. Use it well."
Voss's prideful eyes locked with Yun Qiang's tearful gaze.
"You have potential, Yun Qiang. You are strong enough for this..."
Yun Qiang continued crying, his tears mixing with Voss's poisoned blood.
"What am I going to do without you?" His voice was trembling. Voss had been their guiding light during the war. Now that he was leaving them, he didn't know what he had to do.
"Who's going to lead us?"
There was a pause. Voss gave him a weak smile; it was like a father helping a child one last time before they moved out of the house.
"Walk west, the Shard is two weeks by foot. It's a safe place; nobody will hunt you there."
Yun Qiang hugged him in silence, his mind caught up in a dilemma. There were some things he had kept hidden from Voss. He hesitated for a second, then he spoke.
"Voss..." Yun Qiang's voice was dry. "There is a blood-sacrificing array in the fort. I think the lord wants to sacrifice everyone inside the Shard."
The air seemed to become cold as silence fell between the two. Yun Qiang bit his lips. He knew something like this was inappropriate to say. He didn't want Voss to be uneasy during his last moments, but he truly didn't know what to do.
Should he desert the military and leave everyone behind? Should he stay in the Shard and hope for salvation or for a malfunction in the array? Or maybe he had to be a hero and try his best to break the array and save everyone?
Yun Qiang's mind started to drift off, away from the present, deeper in his preoccupation, but Voss's low, rough laugh brought him back to his senses.
Yun Qiang looked at him in the eyes, expecting to see rage or distress, yet he didn't find anything like that. The only thing that he could see in Voss's eyes was pride.
"I knew you were special, Qiang." He lightly shook his head. "A shame..."
He let out a long sigh filled with regret.
"There is so much more that I wanted to teach you....."
"I'm sorry..." Yun Qiang lowered his eyes. "I shouldn't have brought it up."
Voss's response came immediately. His voice seemed steady, like the one he used during patrols or battles.
"You don't have to worry...." His eyes started to drift into the void.
Death was nearing him.
"Ask for a transfer to the Rainy Fortress. It's dangerous, but you can do it."
"But-" Yun Qiang wanted to say something, but Voss shushed him.
"You can do it, Qiang. I believe in you...."
"Now..."
Voss let go of the hug.
"Take care of the others. They need....."
He made a nostalgic smile.
"Someone to look up to..."
Then Voss closed his eyes.
Death came for him silently; there was no cough, no scream of pain, no look of horror. The look on Voss's face was one of peace.
In his last moments, he had managed to give his items and some guidance to his favorite pupil. Now it was all up to Yun Qiang.
Yun Qiang kneeled there for a few minutes. The forest seemed to have gone silent, only letting Yun Qiang's heavy breathing and suffocated cries echo through it.
After an unknown amount of time, Yun Qiang managed to calm down.
"Thank you, sir..." he put Voss's ring on. "I will try my best to lead them."
He stood up; his hands were still sullied with blood and mud. His eyes were still fixated on Voss's lifeless body.
"May-"
The sound of twigs breaking came from behind him.
Yari leisurely walked around the forest, his gaze easily picking up the bloodied trails.
He licked his lips, a sadistic smile forming on his face.
Lucky me...
He started walking more carefully, trying to not make sounds. However, he couldn't hide some ecstatic snickers that occasionally came out of his mouth.
At first, his only task had been to track down Voss. Tian Lao was annoyed that he escaped in the river, but it wasn't anything new. His boss had a short temper, and he had gotten used to it. So he begrudgingly took on the task and started following the river downstream.
However, just as he was walking through the forest, he had seen him. Not Voss, but the one surnamed Yun. He was falling into the river, his eyes closed. Probably a newbie mistake or an instinctive reaction. In that moment, his day had become interesting.
That boy was someone atop the blacklist for the Sacred Empire. His head was worth a fortune.
If he managed to kill him and get the bounty, then he would receive enough points to buy a noble title and retire; moreover, according to his calculations, he would still have enough points to buy enough resources to reach the Golden Core Realm.
He looked at the fresh trail ahead, his mouth drooling at the sight. Both his prey were in one place; one was likely dead, while the other one...
Well, the other one was a Qi Gathering cultivator, easy picking for someone like him.
He rubbed his hands in anticipation. Tian Lao's orders were to call for him when he found Voss, but Yun's presence made everything different. Yari didn't want to share the bounty with Tian Lao; besides, sharing wasn't the right word for it. He knew Tian Lao would get the majority of Voss's bounty even though he didn't put in the work for it.
He put away his bow and took out a hunting knife from his ring. He wanted this kill to be personal, but most importantly, he wanted it to be clean. Bow and arrow were efficient and safe but left too many traces. A bloodied trail here, a point of impact there. Tian Lao would notice the signs of a fight and ask him for answers.
He couldn't afford to raise suspicions.
When he was close to the end of the trail, his gaze sharpened and his body tensed, preparing for the fight.
He reached the edge of the bushes, his eyes barely seeing his prey.
Then he launched his attack.