Departure from Hei Lin San Sect
Yu Sui and Mo Yan stood ready to depart.....
but this time, they would not be leaving alone.
Though the road ahead might lead into shadows,
Yu Sui was no longer solitary.
With him were his loyal ones...
his brothers-in-heart Duie and Su Nian;
his faithful disciple Wey Xiong, whose devotion was not only steadfast,
but born of soul-deep allegiance to his High King and master;
his unyielding bodyguard Wuzu,
and his brother Lao Duan...
a brother not bound by blood,
but won through true love and compassion.
Once, Lao Duan had walked the path of wickedness.
But Yu Sui's mercy and kindness had changed him.
Now, Lao Duan stood ready to move as Yu Sui's very shadow.
And Wuzu…
she, too, was prepared to unleash her blood-soaked soul in full.
She knew...now, their fate lay in their own hands,
and behind them stood a power that would support them without fail.
Hei Lin San Sect,
under the rule of its High King Yu Sui...
his word was law.
Most of all, today… Mo Yan was at his side.
And with Mo Yan came his exceptional disciple, Su Nian.....
loyal not only in heart, but in soul.
---
Without hesitation, Yu Sui moved forward,
cutting through the crowd shoulder-to-shoulder with Mo Yan.
Behind them,
their faithful companions followed,
step for step.
With each pace,
a fire burned hotter within their chests.
Their faces were frighteningly calm,
but their eyes burned with unspoken resolve.
---
At last, they reached the great gates of Hei Lin San Sect.
And then
a knock.
Before them stood riders on horseback,
bodies soaked in blood,
breathing in ragged gasps.
It was their parents.
---
Their faces were frozen in terror,
hearts shattered,
bodies marred with deep wounds...
and wounds far deeper carved into their souls.
Among them was Lady Guso Hun.
At last, after so long,
she was seeing her children.....Fui Lon, Shu Bi Suan, and Joye.....
alive before her.
Her hardened, warrior's face crumbled in an instant.
Like a soldier shedding armor to reveal the mother beneath,
she melted at the sight,
and slid from her horse like wax collapsing under heat.
---
Yu Sui and the others rushed forward at once.
In the blink of an eye,
a new, brutal tension swept through Hei Lin San Sect.
Wuzu and Lao Duan supported Lady Guso,
while Joye's heart grew unbearably heavy.
---
Without delay,
everyone surged toward their injured elders,
helping them down from their mounts with utmost care.
Tears blurred their vision.
Su Nian's gaze fell upon the deep wound on his mother's shoulder....
and in that moment,
it felt as if his own life had been cut short.
Duie stared in disbelief,
unable to accept that these blood-soaked, broken figures were his parents.
---
In mere moments,
the white snow beneath their feet
was stained crimson.
For Yu Sui,
the shock was unbearable.
The parents who had showered him with love.....
and now, behind his back, this had been done to them…
He could not bear it.
And he was not alone in this feeling.
---
But there was one heart
that searched for something else among the chaos.
Beside Yu Sui,
Mo Yan's eyes darted restlessly.
All the others' parents were here...wounded, yes,
but alive.
But his own…
They were not.
His gaze combed the crowd,
quietly searching for the very traitors
who had once plotted his death.
Lady Guso, even through her own pain,
saw that searching, innocent look in Mo Yan's eyes...
and the anguish within her deepened.
---
The pain in Mo Yan's heart
was greater than any wound of flesh.
The others' parents,
their children.....
none had ever imagined seeing them in such a state.
---
Yu Sui straightened.
Through the crowd came the three sect masters,
their expressions hardening at the sight before them.
Without a moment's hesitation,
they commanded the injured be taken inside.
The crowd came alive with movement.
Carefully,
Su Nian, Duie, Wuzu, Lao Duan, Yu Sui, and Mo Yan
lifted the wounded from their arms
and bore them straight toward the medical division.