Chapter 4: A Man's Tears
It was autumn. Withered yellow leaves spun in the cool breeze, falling gently to the ground in front of a freshly built alabaster tombstone. The scene was bleak and desolate.
This was the Mu family cemetery, where hundreds of graves had been erected to honor Mu family members of status who had fallen on the battlefield.
Before the tomb bearing the inscription "General of the Vanguard, Mu Tian," a boy dressed in white mourning clothes knelt solemnly. He fed paper offerings into a fire basin, his expression grief-stricken.
"Father, how could you leave us like this? How could you abandon the Mu family and me, Feng'er?" Mu Feng's voice trembled as he spoke, his tear-soaked face betraying the anguish he felt. "To me, you were the greatest man under heaven. I never imagined you would leave me like this."
For a boy who had shed no tears in battle, he was now utterly overwhelmed with sorrow, his tears soaking the white cloth he held.
"You always said a soldier's honor lies in dying on the battlefield, but that battle... we shouldn't have lost. It was all because of that traitor Nan Hao. If not for his treachery, how could our 200,000 Mu family soldiers have been annihilated? How could you have died?"
"Father, I swear, one day I will avenge you and the 200,000 fallen Mu family soldiers. If I do not kill Nan Hao, I am no longer Mu Feng!" He bit out each word with cold determination, his voice laced with unyielding hatred and killing intent.
From his finger, a flash of light came from a black ring—a low-grade spatial ring crafted by artifact masters. Such rings, which contained a small internal space, were rare and expensive, affordable only to the wealthy.
From the ring, Mu Feng withdrew a flask of fine wine. He poured two bowls, lifting one to his lips as he stood and faced the rows of tombs. With a mournful cry, he declared, "To the 200,000 soldiers of the Mu Family Army, rest in peace!"
He tipped half the bowl onto the ground and drank the rest. Raising his voice again, he shouted, "The Mu Family Army fights to win—kill! Kill! Kill!"
The first shout was steeped in sorrow.
The second resonated with unbroken resolve.
The third carried the unyielding spirit of one who would not regret his sacrifice.
Pouring a second bowl of wine, he addressed the tombstone directly. "This bowl is for you, Father. Thank you for teaching me what it means to be a man, to shoulder responsibility. Rest well. One day, I will take the traitor's head to honor you and the 200,000 soldiers of the Mu Family Army."
After drinking and pouring the wine, he smashed the empty bowl against the ground and let out a heart-wrenching cry toward the heavens.
Beyond the cemetery, members of the Mu family who overheard his lament shed tears or sighed in silence.
Exhausted, Mu Feng collapsed to the ground, staring at his pale hands. "Heavens, why are you so cruel? You let me survive, only to shatter my Yuan meridians and make me a cripple. How can I avenge my father and the fallen soldiers? How can I seek justice?"
He punched the stone-paved ground in frustration, his fists bleeding as despair clouded his eyes.
In martial cultivation, the Yuan meridians were essential for absorbing spiritual energy and refining it into Yuan energy. Without them, one could not cultivate and was reduced to a powerless mortal.
Mu Feng had once been hailed as a prodigy, opening nine meridians at twelve, reaching the Zifu Realm at fourteen, and attaining the second level of the Zifu Realm by fifteen. Now, all his meridians were shattered, his years of cultivation reduced to nothing.
"I refuse to accept this! I, Mu Feng, will not bow to fate!" he cried, punching the ground repeatedly, blood flowing from his hands. Despite his fierce exterior, at this moment, he was just a broken boy.
"Feng, stop it... Please stop!" A soft, warm embrace encircled him from behind. A girl in her teens, dressed in white, held him tightly, tears streaming down her face.
It was Yun Qingwan, Mu Feng's childhood fiancée and closest companion.
"Qingwan..." he choked out, his voice breaking. "What should I do? My meridians are broken, my cultivation is gone, my father is dead. What should I do? How can I avenge them?"
In her arms, Mu Feng let his vulnerability show, his tears soaking her gown.
"No, Feng. You still have me. No matter what happens, I'll never leave you. You're the unrestrained wind, and I'm the leaf that follows. Wherever the wind goes, the leaf will be there. Feng, you promised to carve a world for me. Don't give up. Rise up again," Yun Qingwan whispered, her voice steady even as her heart ached for him.
Resting her chin on his head, she gently wiped away his tears, her presence soothing his battered soul.
"Qingwan," a firm voice called out. A young man in a blue robe approached, his sword-like brows furrowing at the sight.
"Brother!" Yun Qingwan exclaimed in surprise. "Why are you here?"
This was Yun Yi, Yun Qingwan's elder brother.
"Father wants you back at the family estate," Yun Yi said sternly, grabbing her hand.
"No! I'm staying here with Feng!" Yun Qingwan protested, pulling away.
"Stay? With a cripple? Come with me. Father insists I bring you back this time," Yun Yi said, glaring disdainfully at Mu Feng. He grasped her wrist again, this time with greater force.
"Let her go," Mu Feng said coldly, rising to his feet. "Even if you're her brother, you can't force her."
Yun Yi sneered. "Mu Feng, what right do you have to speak like that? You think you're still the genius you once were? You're just a cripple now. You're no longer worthy of my sister."
Years of resentment toward Mu Feng now spilled over as Yun Yi mocked him openly.
"You... I'm not a cripple!" Mu Feng, angered beyond reason, threw a punch at Yun Yi.
With ease, Yun Yi caught the punch and countered with a kick to Mu Feng's abdomen. Mu Feng staggered back, pale with pain.
"Look at you now, Mu Feng. You can't even take a single kick from me. And I barely used any Yuan energy," Yun Yi scoffed.
"Understand your place, Mu Feng, and the Mu family's situation. The king's faction has its sights set on you. If Qingwan stays with you, she'll only suffer. Be sensible and let her go."
With that, Yun Yi dragged a struggling and crying Yun Qingwan away.
Mu Feng stood frozen, Yun Yi's words stabbing into his heart like knives. His fists clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his palms, drawing blood.
"The Mu family knows no cowards. A true man rises from the ashes. Qingwan, I swear, I will not fall here. I will rise again... I will!"