A Beauty may lie even in the blood.
The world that had been so beautiful before was now crimson red. It was because of the birds' emotions. The birds were showing their emotions through the crimson color.
Cho Byeol and Yang Zhai saw that the two of the fifteen birds were falling down towards them. They dodged a little, and the two birds fell to the place on the ground they were standing on. Yang Zhai and Cho Byeol saw that the two birds were injured and crying in pain. Yang Zhai looked toward the sky and discovered that a big blue Vulture had appeared in the sky. This vulture was known for eating beautiful things, whether they were living or not. Its name was the Blue Vulture. Ironically, it was also called the vulture of beauty. Its size was twenty-nine feet(nine meters).
He saw that instead of coming down, the Blue Vulture went after the other thirteen birds. It was obvious that it was not satisfied with just the two, it wanted more than two. So, it went after the others.
Yang Zhai looked downwards and saw that the two remaining birds were crying in agony. They were bleeding profusely. It was obvious that the two were going to die in two to three hours or so.
Then his gaze fell on Cho Byeol, who was sitting near the two. Yang Zhai went forward to talk to her about something, but when his eyes fell on Cho Byeol's face, he was stunned. He saw that the tears were falling from the corners of her eyes, she was crying. A sad expression could be seen on her face.
"Yang, can you heal the two of them? They are such fragile creatures." Cho Byeol asked without looking at him, who was standing beside her.
"Sorry, my methods are unable to heal the beasts. It's out of my reach right now." Yang Zhai's expression was sad to see Cho Byeol like this.
"Why don't we stop their bleeding? We might be able to save them."
"You know as well as I do that this will only delay their death and increase their suffering."
Cho Byeol was still crying, she also knew this, but she was hoping that Yang Zhai might say otherwise.
"What should we do then?" She looked towards him, hoping that he might have a solution.
Yang Zhai was sad to see this look of expectation on her face.
"Let's leave them be, it's their fate to die here today,"
"Oh," Cho Byeol again turned her head around to look at the two birds.
"Let's leave," Yang Zhai was about to leave when he heard.
"We can't leave them here to suffer in agony," She turned to look at Yang Zhai.
"We can do nothing. We don't have any choice but to leave them. What can we do? You need to understand. Let's leave." Yang Zhai tried to persuade her.
"Do you think, killing them would put them out of misery, Yang?" She turned her head back to look at the birds.
When Yang Zhai heard this, his eyes narrowed. He thought that he may have heard her wrong. So, he queried,
"Can you say this again? I didn't hear it clearly,"
"I said, would killing them instead of letting them suffer for many hours be better for them?"
"Are you sure about doing this?" He asked again to make sure.
"Yeah, when they are going to suffer for so long, and eventually die, wouldn't it be better this way,"
Yang Zhai was silent for a while after hearing Cho Byeol. She was right that killing them would be better for the two birds in the situation they are in. But, it may affect her and make her regret her decision.
"You're right. It is better to put them out of the pain they are going through. It is a solace for them. But I have a condition, and it is that the one to do that would be you, I won't do anything. Yang Zhai made his thoughts clear. It was not that he did not want to kill them, but because he knew Cho Byeol's character. They were soon going to have a journey through the world to become stronger, so if she couldn't even do this, how would she be able to survive? Thus, he put forward this condition. It was better for her this way.
Cho Byeol turned to look at Yang Zhai, not knowing why he wanted her to kill them. She would never kill an innocent living being. But the situation was different now. No matter what Yang Zhai was thinking, she should probably do this.
She turned her head to look at the birds and said,
"Oh, you poor souls, let
Me put you out of your misery, so
That you won't suffer like I did, this
World is a beautiful, cruel place, I
Do this by understanding myself, that
I look myself in you" - - - - - - (written by the author himself)
With that, she took out her knife and killed them, whilst tears were falling down her cheeks.
…..
Present day,
"So, that's what happened. She is just like that. I would be surprised if she had left them behind. I agree with you as well Miss, this was the right choice." Bae Ah said after listening to Yang Zhai about what happened yesterday.
"Yeah, I can see that. So, did she never kill anyone?" Yang Zhai asked his question again.
"No, never. Forget about killing, she never even thought about it. After all, she was raised under the careful care of her parents. They never let her face any adversaries when she was little, so as a result: She got used to it. But she was a mischievous girl. So, they would let her leave the small space to play. If her parents did not, she would make a big deal out of it, she would be fussy all over. But she always remained within the land limits of the clan." Bae Ah said with a smile.
"No, I was not. And when did I do that? You're making things up" Cho Byeol blushed after hearing what Bae Ah said and retorted.
"You were"
"No, I was not"
"You were"
"No, I don't believe you"
"You don't need to believe me, but you were like that. Making a fuss over everything"
"You two, just stop already. I already got my answer. Ok, I understand. But I am convinced that she might have faced enemies when she became an adult, right? Did she not even kill them?"
"No, and anyway she only faced four to five enemies. And those were all over little things, except for one." Bae Ah said
"She really does not have any experience" Yang Zhai shook his head.
"And what about you? You might have killed many or thousands of people, right?"
Bae Ah queried.
"Not even a single." He stated casually.
"Whaaaat! Not even a single. You must be joking, right, right? Right, that must be it" Bae Ah's eyes widened, and her mouth opened wide.
"No, I am not joking,"
"Whaaaaaat! I can understand Cho Byeol's situation. She lived with a powerful clan, and influential and strong parents after all. But you, you, you really did not kill anyone?" Bae Ah was unable to believe Yang Zhai at all.
Even Cho Byeol's right hand was on her mouth and was looking at Yang Zhai surprisingly. She was also truly surprised by this.
"Then, … How did you survive until now?" Bae Ah asked undoubtedly.
"You could say my movement techniques and Kas are too good. My running ability is better and also my luck in running is quite good" Yang Zhai said proudly.
"So, that means, that back in the forest, six years ago, you could have easily run from the boar and could have also left us behind, but you didn't on purpose?" Cho Byeol questioned.
"Yes, that is right. I could have done it easily"
Cho Byeol was truly moved by Yang Zhai. He did not run back then just for them. How could she not be touched?
"I am truly impressed by you, Yang Zhai. But you know as well as I do that you can't always run. You will have to kill someday, even if you don't want to." Bae Ah shook her head. This was truly hard to digest.
"This world is a cruel place. I know that I will have to kill if I truly want to survive in this world. But I hope to prevent it from happening as much as possible. I fear that if I truly kill someone, it may become a norm for me. Even one kill can be enough to change someone, change their whole life, change their whole values, change their whole perception. Tell me, you may kill someone for your own protection or for protecting someone, but what after that? Bae Ah, you can surely kill anyone, who you think is not good, according to your values, but what if their values say that the thing they did was right? Like, in my old hometown, wine was prohibited in some areas, in some areas it was considered a delight, and in some areas, it was considered a sin. Who do you say is right? I, who do not kill anyone, or you who can kill someone for your protection. Can you answer it? No, right." Yang Zhai said something uncommon again.
Cho Byeol as always only understood some of it. Everything else Yang Zhai said went over her head. On the other hand, Bae Ah was lost in thoughts. She thought of her older self that was pure of the sin of killing and compared it with her present, they were really two different personalities. She had really changed.
"Death…, is not the greatest loss in life…," "The greatest loss…, is what dies inside us while we live, "1
Yang Zhai said and stopped a little before continuing.
**********
1:Said by Norman Cousins.
**********
The prelude to a great story has begun. A world-shaking fate has taken its effect. The clocks are set in time.