Behind the city of Lunan, there was a stream cutting through a meadow that slowly rose to a hill. Here, the citizens of Lunan came to release lanterns with wishes painted upon them every full moon. The night was losing its amber glow and instead, was lit up by hundreds of floating lanterns of all shape and colours, their warm hue bringing hope to the hopeless and the wishing. Youths' wishes were both grand and simplistic, eternal love, riches, and beauty were among the many that were now reaching for the sky.
MingYu trailed behind ZhiYi and PingZe, gazing at the ever furthering lanterns. As they passed many young couples, there was a feeling of longing that overwhelmed MingYu. Thinking back on it, he never had regretted anything in his short-lived life. There was no moment he wished to erase or forget. There was only the grieving of all ending too soon, and yet if they had survived back then, MingYu would have had to marry, and the thought brought more melancholy to him then his untimely death.
MingYu had held great respect to the late advisor of Qin, Lu BaShi. His daughter was said to be most fair and smart – but that didn't mean marrying her would have brought MingYu much comfort. The grand eunuch had insisted upon it, a match made in Heaven, they said. The notion of him having to leave his brothers behind had weighed on him throughout the time they spent fighting the invading armies of Rinan, causing his looks to deteriorate and his mind to wander.
MingYu's eyes trailed over to the two brothers' backs, wondering if the two still remembered their time together as vividly as he did. Earth had many more memories to be made than Heaven, and within those little walls of his humble office, MingYu had often replayed those simple times within his mind. A mournful smile graced his lips, as he thought of the simple hopes and dreams each of them held back then.
After winning the war, they would have gone back home to their little village and rebuilt it. There was land that was to be turned into crops, there was a house at the end of the village, that was supposed to be renovated. There was old Zhen, who awaited LongHai to return home. Years of being ridiculed for being an illiterate and a fool for dreaming of becoming anything more than a poor farm boy, LongHai had led them to numerous victories, they would bring honour home. Old Zhen would have been proud. ZhouYan had a girl waiting for him. PingZe had plans of travelling the world. ZhiYi…
"I will build myself a house, herd cows, raise hens, take care of the crops. We can live there till old age."
The words were still bright and clear in MingYu's mind. The plan sounded perfect, a picturesque scene of waking at the first rays on sunlight, trailing through the quiet streets, standing amidst the golden crops, gazing at the horizon.
Whether be it in life or death, us brothers will always stay together. A fool's promise, MingYu shook his head. Who would have thought fate would tear them apart mercilessly?
"MingYu." ZhiYi's voice brought MingYu back from his thoughts and he looked at ZhiYi straight in the eyes and found himself smiling. ZhiYi was standing on higher ground, and for once, they saw eye to eye, with perfect level. MingYu had always been ever so slightly taller than the others, and in ShiBai's body even more so. This was the first time they seemed perfectly equal in every way like they should have always been.
ZhiYi's eyes twinkled in the faint lights of little firefly-like flames around them. "We are here."
MingYu's smile froze as alertness crashed over him in waves. The pewter staff in his hand had stayed perfectly still. He hadn't felt any presence of an immortal. Looking around, he found nothing out of the ordinary. He was about to question it, as an older man stepped into the field of his vision. His light blue cotton robes were plain and worn out, the blue turning almost grey. A cleanly shaven goatee framed a pleasant smile and the crow's feet around his eyes told of years of merry and laughter. Yet, he looked barely the age of forty. He seemed to blend into the mass and only gaining attention if he so wished.
The air around him was untouched by even a spec of immortal energy, yet when he came closer, the air suddenly shifted, as if fearing to be in his presence. This man, who looked like any modest merchant with his kind looks and his humble stride was the man who ordered Shashenze to be made. The weapon that could kill any immortal, be it god, demon or ghoul. Wielded by him, it earned its name as the god slayer.
ZhiYi and PingZe both bowed at his presence and MingYu found himself following suit. As the supreme sect leader motioned them to stand up straight, MingYu noticed six perfectly round, black beads forming a bracelet around his wrist. He felt a sudden pull towards the beads, and his heart grew colder the longer he gazed upon them. He turned his eyes away and noticed further ahead, atop the hill, in the shadow of the darkness, a tall figure, framing the backdrop with his rigid, guarding stance. They were being watched.
"Ah, you must have noticed Su Lang. Don't be alarmed, young one, he is nearby wherever I go." The voice was pleasantly deep, with a slight tremor, like a soothing pluck of a string on a zither. MingYu turned his eyes back to the man and found himself being studied with a friendly gaze. There was no name to accompany this man. In spite of that, there was a familiarity that clawed at MingYu unpleasantly. MingYu battled within himself, he was sure he had never seen this man before, yet at the same time, there was a thought, a very small doubt that they had met.
The man smiled at him. "I have heard of you, Qing MingYu. How does it feel, being among the living and the suffering once more?"
ZhiYi and PingZe shifted ever so slightly but clear enough to signal MingYu that none of them had expected the supreme sect leader to know of MingYu descending from Heaven. Even Xie Qiang hadn't known of it, and the wolf had tailed them for weeks now.
"I've missed it." MingYu answered with honesty. He knew at this point that he wasn't dealing with any regular man. If MingYu even thought of lying, the man would catch it. He seemed to know far more than anyone had expected, but how he knew was beyond any of them. Even more so, what did a man of this calibre want from a low-rank deity like MingYu?
"It happens quite often." The man offered pleasantly as he turned his eyes to study the many lanterns that were taking their time to reach what people hoped to be Heaven. "One believes they are finally freed of misery and all the sufferings of mortality, yet once you get a taste of it again, you want to stay. An endless cycle of being a human, sadly. There is always hope, a belief that if one wishes hard enough, gods will show mercy. Don't you agree?"
"I don't know." MingYu answered slowly after a moment of thought. The supreme sect leader chuckled.
"Destiny and fate, both are predetermined the moment you are born into the world. Decided by the stars and the ones that have the power over it. Hope and dreams are but a concept to dilute humanity's perception of suffering. They never had and never would have a say over it. The ones who see the unfairness of it all becomes one of us, outcasts, the ones who wish to decide over their own fate and fight for their own freedom. Abandoned by Heaven, cursed by Hell. Do you, Qing MingYu, think your fate, your death was of your own choice? If you chose differently, would the outcome have been different?"
The words worked like cold hands that wrapped themselves tightly around MingYu's heart. His face stayed emotionless as his mind raced. In the end, no matter how MingYu would have chosen, the end result would have been the same – the brothers would end up separated for eternity. What PingZe and ZhiYi did back then, MingYu would have done the same. The anger and hurt that were released, the amount of pain and grief of being betrayed by the very same people they had fought for and protected. All of it let to this, separation, longing, and terrible emptiness.
"I don't think it matters." It didn't matter, as what had happened, did, there was no point in debating over it anymore. The supreme sect leader gave MingYu an approving nod.
"Indeed, one would think so. Yet, here we are. Even a heavenly deity can be punished for their choices, isn't that right?"
"Sect leader-" ZhiYi said but he quieted down as the man raised his hand.
"Wang ZhiYi, I granted you the leave out of consideration of what you have been through and what you have done to our cause. Thinking of our backgrounds, you should know why I feel disappointed with what is going on."
ZhiYi looked perfectly calm as he bowed his head in acknowledgment and agreement.
"I'm not opposing it, ZhiYi, no need to be so rigid and defensive about it." The supreme sect leader smiled at him, clasping ZhiYi's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "I'm worried about you, ZhiYi. Both as an older brother and a sect leader. You are meddling with gods; you need to be careful. This one might be different, but we aren't favoured by most of them."
Turning to MingYu, the sect leader said, "I wish you the best of luck in your punishment. If living by the ways of gods grows tiring, you are always welcomed in our ranks."
Su Lang had now moved closer, as silently and stealthily as a shadow. MingYu hadn't noticed him approaching until he stood right beside the supreme sect leader. Deep-set eyes looked at them with an unreadable expression. His slight stubble exaggerated the already defined jawline. Dark grey robes hid him perfectly in the darkness. It was undeniably clear Xie Qiang was his son.
The three gave a polite bow at his presence, but as they straightened their backs, the supreme sect leader and Su Lang had already disappeared. MingYu looked around cautiously but ZhiYi caught him and with his hand on the small of MingYu's back, guided him down the already quiet hill. In the sky, distant flickers of flame were still visible, almost looking like stars. It was a romantic setting, but MingYu felt terribly conflicted over the meeting.
PingZe seemed to have the same impression as they reached the gates to Lunan, PingZe said, "Why do I feel like we were just interrogated by him?"
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**older brother was used in the context of they studied under the same master