1 Prologue (1/2)
It was winter.
The snow descended in large fat flakes. Without wind chill, it wasn't that cold, even outside in the snow-coated courtyard. Still, it didn't warrant for people to be running around on the frosty ground in bare feet. The emperor was looking up at the sky, watching the snow tumble with vacant eyes. He didn't have shoes on and Liu Sumeng could no longer bear the sight of him.
The crazed emperor had changed out of his golden robes and put on something resembling what he wore back in the Ascending Dawn sect. His hair was done up with a simple ponytail, free from the ruby and gold hairpin. Crimson dripped from his sword. The ground at his feet dyed red, bodies of servants lay around him, old, young, men, women. None he came by could escape his madness.
And now that they all lay dead, the palace turned quiet.
There was only the emperor and Liu Sumeng.
”Where did everyone go?” The emperor asked, his voice soft, sounding almost lost. His gaze was still fixed on the gray sky above. Liu Sumeng, who approached from behind, could not see his countenance. ”Are they hiding from me?”
The emperor had long changed his name when he ascended the throne, but still Liu Sumeng called him by his old name, ”Xuelan…”
He was ignored. Xuelan's expression turned ugly as he laughed, ”Are they hiding from me? They think they can hide from me? Imbeciles! I'll teach them if they choose to hide from me!”
”Stop this…Yuan Xuelan,” his voice was soft, almost a plead, fingers tightening around Xianlong, his God Slaying Sword. Liu Sumeng already knew how this would play out, but it didn't mean his heart was at ease. It didn't make things any easier. ”Yuan Zhang,” he tried, louder this time.
Finally, the emperor turned around. A mad grin decorated his handsome features. ”Sumeng? Oh. There you are. I was wondering where you ran off to.” He scanned Liu Sumeng from head to toe, eyes falling on the sword in his hand. ”What in the world are you doing with that crazy thing?” he chuckled, eyes going soft as if laughing at an endearing joke.
Xianlong was a God Slaying Sword, so Liu Sumeng thought it was pretty obvious, ”To kill a god.”
Yuan Xuelan laughed, head tossing backward, ”You're so silly! People think my Sumeng is very serious but you're actually a really funny person, aren't you?”
No, Liu Sumeng did not think any of this was funny. In fact, all he could think of was how his heart ached and how he wished things had been different, that it didn't have to be this way. ”…”
”Everyone left but you. You're all I need, Sumeng. You're the only person in the world that matters.” Yuan Xuelan opened his arms, welcoming Liu Sumeng to embrace him. Liu Sumeng didn't move.
That's not true… The words were stuck in his throat. Because if that were true, none of this would have happened. After all, Liu Sumeng had been by his side this entire time, watching his sanity crumble bit by bit, day by day. At first, he didn't even try to prevent his sworn brother from going insane, and when he did, it had already been too late.
It was too late.
Seeing that Liu Sumeng wasn't coming to him, Yuan Xuelan had no choice but to lower his arms. He shook his head and sighed, ”Do you know where everyone else went off to? I don't really care about their pathetic lives but their disrespect to their emperor is something I cannot stand by. Where are they? I called everyone to come see me today but so few showed. Where did they go?”
Gone. Liu Sumeng had done his best to convince as many people as possible to leave the palace before it was too late. The ones that didn't believe him now lie at Yuan Xuelan's feet, draped in the red of their blood. ”I guess they went away.”