Prince and His Fool

Thus the message the envoy delivered to Wu Yange, they had to cut off the head of the snake and the rest will tumble like dominoes. It was imperative that they reach Qinshu province as soon as possible otherwise rivers of blood will flow on Hexie. Hepeng's army had strength in numbers but not as skilled as the solders from Qinshu who had been through heart-wrenching training under Wu Wúqíng, were only the strong survived. With this Hexie could stand its ground but the presence of terrifying vicious wolf-like creatures tipped the scales in Wu Wúqíng's favour.

Hexie didn't stand a chance and wouldn't survive the day of reckoning. With this in mind Wu Yange, Rong Zian and Ying Tie set off towards Qinshu province with one goal in mind, eliminate Wu Wúqíng. The party arrived in the dead of night landing just outside the shimmering barrier with obvious cracks stemming from the bottom all the way to top. The ground was barren covered in layers of bodies piled onto each other along the barrier as far as the eye could see. Some were already dry brittle skeletons but with each layer above, more corpses with flesh were layered on top with the stench of death reeking in the air. The oath-taking effect eliminated the isolation of Qinshu from the rest of Hepeng allowing free passage of its citizens. But none of its people had left the borders to seek refuge from the rest of the nation courtesy of Wu Wúqíng. Labelling these tortured souls as traitors, he killed them as soon as they reached the barrier hence the piles of dead bodies at the border.

Such a heinous sight stirred up an excruciating pain within Guang who was watching this through Rong Zian's eyes. Though they were corpses, their tormented souls howled into her ears. The desperate cries from men, women and children who had died at the hands of Wu Wúqíng. The heart-wrenching pain was too intense that she burst out wailing in her space, tears steaming like an endless river with her hands clutching her chest. Rong Zian could feel everything she felt, it felt like his heart was being twisted in multiple directions coupled by tightness in his chest.

Her pain was his pain triggering an emotional breakdown weeping on his knees, grieving for the dead. His reaction was so extreme an unexpected, terrifying the two men who were standing beside him. Wu Yange knelt down and tightly embraced him rubbing his hair to comfort him. The prince was at loss on what to do, seeing his lover break down like this caused a crushing pain weighing heavy on his heart. His body shuddering and eyes bloodshot, Wu Yange knew Wu Wúqíng had to die as penance for causing Rong Zian's pain.

After what seemed like a day Rong Zian finally calmed down, Wu Yange's garment soaked in tears. It's only when Rong Zian separated from his boyfriend that he finally realised how much he had cried. Wu Yange's clothes were sticking to his chest as though someone had thrown a bucket of water at him.

"I am so sorry," said Rong Zian, his phoenix eyes reddened from all the crying.

"You don't have to apologise," he said before gently kissing Rong Zian's lips gradually moving up to his swollen eyes kissing away the tears lingering below his lashes. He hated seeing his love in this much pain wishing he could take all his troubles away and see that radiant smile again. Rong Zian closed his eyes sensing vast calmness at Wu Yange's touch.

Ying Tie on the hand was scouting the surrounding area giving the two lovers some space when he heard monstrous growling sounding from the dead forest within Qinshu's border. He drew his blade as the grisly snarls moved closer and closer. Multiple red glowing eyes could be seen between the trees coupled by the crunching sound of dry leaves being trampled upon. Assuming a defensive position with his blade in front of him, he yelled for his teammates to assist. "Your Highness we hav-!" he yelled before the pack launched a ferocious attack.

Ying Tie swung his blade with controlled vigour striking down the beasts that were too big to be called wolves. Their fur was so thick that it took his blade at least three strikes to cut through and cause some damage. The pack realising that they weren't dealing with an amateur, changed tactics choosing to attack all at once displaying their sharp canines. What they didn't expect was that Ying Tie had anticipated their move and quickly identified their alpha, the boss leading the pack.

Just when they were leaping towards him at the same, Ying Tie dodged narrowly escaping from the jaws of death and grabbed the alpha by the neck. Size-wise, Ying Tie was lacking making up for it in strength. He grabbed the top and bottom of the beast's jaw and ruthlessly pried it apart bit by bit as the beast's canine sank deeper through his palms. The unruly monster put up a fight jerking backwards to tear apart Ying Tie's hands but the brawny man wouldn't let go.

The rest of pack growled at him, surrounding man and beast looking for a weak spot to free their alpha. "Stay the fuck still you stupid pup!" yelled Ying Tie pulling the jaw further apart till he could hear the cracking sound of dislocating bones. In one motion, Ying Tie ripped apart the howling beast breaking its jawline instantly killing it.

Seeing the alpha dead, the beta led the second wave of attacks but just as they were about to tear him apart. They were instantly combusted to ash by an azure flame descending from the sky. Ying Tie was relieved looking up at Wu Yange and Rong Zian drifting above the ground. "I had it under control," said Ying Tie trying to save some face.

"Sure you did," replied Rong Zian in a sarcastic tone as he healed Ying Tie's trembling, "Let's go we don't want to be late for our  fucking date with Wu Wúqíng," while soaring the skies heading for the palace.