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As he made his way through the Window of Heaven headquarters, Wen Kexing left a trail of corpses.
Every man he had encountered in his way laid on the floor, dead without even knowing what had come to them. Without thinking twice, he had slain their necks; he would have been less merciful had it not been for the more urgent matter he had to attend to at the moment.
A-Xu.
He had been taken from him and now was somewhere in the dungeons, but the place was full of corridors, chambers, doors, traps, and Wen Kexing was taking too long searching everywhere.
Someone who had been clever enough to spot him attempted to attack him, coming for him with their sword in swift, silent motions.
The corner of Wen Kexing's lips went up in an arrogant smile.
He took the soldier by the neck and in one surefire movement, snapped it. He dropped the now lifeless body on the ground, and continued on his quest.
He heard the sound of a whip, followed by a pained moan and the voice of a man yelling about ingratitude. His heart stuttered, but he followed it as it came again, and again, and again.
He soon arrived in front of a gate that was guarded by ten soldiers. They proved to be stronger than the ones he had encountered before, but he ended them quickly too.
Entering the dungeon, his breath hitched, and the façade he had worn until then faded for the briefest moment at what he found there.
A-Xu, half unconscious, only held up by the two hooks impaling his shoulders and keeping his body chained to the wall behind him. His skin was full of bleeding lashes that looked deep enough to show bone. He had been dressed in some rags, but they were mostly torn up, exposing his body to the cold of the underground prison.
In front of him, General Duan stood, a whip in his hand. He was about to strike again, but Wen Kexing moved faster, and kicked him against a wall.
The mighty man ended up unconscious, and Wen Kexing would definitely mock him for it once he made him pay for what A-Xu had just experienced.
Running towards his soulmate, his threatening demeanor changed into one of utter fear and worry. He put a finger to A-Xu's wrist and breathed in relief when he found pulse and felt the flow of energy. It was weak, but there.
He cupped his cheek, and with a tearful gaze, said, "I am so sorry."
He had not expected a response but was pleasantly surprised.
"What for?" His A-Xu whispered weakly, attempting to smile softly at him.
For failing to protect you, he wanted to say, but the words got stuck in his throat.
He stood up to examine the hooks. It would be a difficult task to remove them, and it would be impossible to do it without causing A-Xu unbearable pain.
"A-Xu, this will hu-"
His speech was interrupted. He watched in horror as a crossbow arrow stabbed Zhou Zishu. The man's eyes widened, and he threw up a big amount of blood.
Then, in less than a second, he went still.
He fell forward, and was stopped halfway by the hooks and chains, until he was suspended in the air.
"A-Xu?" Wen Kexing shakily placed his hand on his cheek and lifted his face.
Without looking back, he threw his fan until he heard a gasp signaling that General Duan had been pinned against the wall.
He turned around and walked towards Duan Pengju, his face calm, and stole his sword. Then he got back to A-Xu, and in one swift move, broke the chains.
The delicate body of his shixiong fell forward, and Wen Kexing hurried to catch him. Gently placing him against the wall, he did a thorough job of removing the intruding objects. Or well, the most recent ones.
Once he was done, he slowly walked back to General Duan, who had not been able to take out the fan stabbing his hand to the wall.
In front of him, he smiled.
"You dare harm who's mine." His voice was impassive, eerily calm. "Brave."
"Zhou Zishu was nothing but a pathetic traitor."
Wen Kexing raised his eyebrows. "And you still dare badmouth him?" He walked even closer, then grabbed the man's chin forcefully. "Not anymore."
He opened the man's mouth, and then with his own sword, cut off his tongue. He squirmed, trying to get away from him, but his attempts were useless.
An ocean of blood immediately poured from his mouth, and Wen Kexing laughed. Taking his fan harshly, he let the man drop to the floor. He put his foot on his chest, then pressed down on it, not having any care that he was worsening his pain.
"You're the general who always tried, but never got to surpass Zhou Zishu, aren't you?" He said, mocking him, looking down on him as the man agonized. "Han Ying told me about you, about how no matter how much you tried to gain the Prince's favor and suck up to him, Zhou Zishu was always a step ahead."
The man could not defend his honor, so he just spat at him, blood landing on Wen Kexing's robes and face.
He calmly cleaned the blood that landed on his cheek. Then knelt down, smiled.
"You are pathetic." As he said that, he grabbed the man by his neck, squeezed tightly, making him choke. He positioned his free hand like a hook, then placed it in front of his eye, without releasing his hold.
It took a while, but his fingernails dug on his eyeball, and the man made a pitiful sound that resembled a cry. He slid his fingers deeper, tearing muscle and membrane, and then pulled his eye out. The man's body twitched, and he looked like he wanted to scream, but was unable to.
"I would kill you, but that would be a mercy." He said, then threw him against the concrete floor. The man, desperate, tried to crawl across the dungeon towards the exit. The Ghost Valley Master laughed maniacally, following him slowly, threateningly. "You think you'll escape? From me? Cute."
The moment he said that, he grabbed the man's sword again, and with his two hands holding the scabbard, stabbed his thigh. He twisted the blade, and Duan Pengju's body shook violently. He still dragged himself across the floor, pathetic and pitiful.
Wen Kexing's face hardened.
"I'm tired of you." He pulled out the sword, unmindful of the pain he must have caused, and with steady hands and sure movements, cut off his legs.
The process lasted about three minutes, but he thought it had been too quick. So he left the man alone to agonise until death came to claim him.
His shoulders sagged, then. As he turned around, his bloodied hands shook, and his knees almost gave out as he approached his A-Xu.
He knelt in front of him, then put his fist to his palm, bowing his head. "I’m the unworthy second disciple of the Four Seasons Manor, Wen Kexing." He said, as steady as he was able to. "Greetings, leader."
His voice wavered, and his eyes filled with tears immediately. A whimper fell out from his lips, and he took A-Xu's hands in his. "I'm sorry, A-Xu, I'm so sorry."
He sobbed, tears and saliva dripping onto the hard floor beneath his knees.
Zhou Zishu was dead, and Wen Kexing was not. He was there, still alive, and Zhou Zishu was not.
Despair covered him like a blanket, and though he was no stranger to it, it almost suffocated him.
He took on the man's appearance. Even though he tried, he could not count how many lashes were littered upon his skin, his beautiful golden complexion was now a pale white with reds, purples and blues staining it. His butterfly bones, the ones that had attracted Wen Kexing to him the most, broken by the hooks that perforated his body.
And his face... Wen Kexing cried out as he put a hand to his cheek; he was dead now, yet still looked in pain. The frown never left his expression, as if he had been frozen in the moment life left his body. Even in death, his soulmate could not be freed from the aches that tortured him.
He took his own outer robes off, and dressed Zhou Zishu in it, covering the ugly wounds, shielding him from the cold. He was gentle, as if the man could still feel any hint of pain.
He carefully took his body in his arms, and the too-frail man's head lolled to the side and rested against his shoulder. It painfully reminded him of the many times Zhou Zishu had done just that; each time Wen Kexing had fully relished in the tender action, his heart thumping violently like a throng of wild horses.
With his beloved in his arms, he left the dungeons. He walked and walked until he was in one of the yards, he slaughtered everyone he saw, not caring whom they might have been. Anyone under the Window of Heaven would meet his wrath that night.
He looked up, and spotted the room Han Ying had told him about. With a destination in mind, he left the ground and flew until he reached Prince Jin's window.
As he sneaked in, he spotted no guards inside, only a sleeping man on the bed. Han Ying had informed him, the prince disliked anyone inside his bedchamber.
He gently put the body of Zhou Zishu on another bed, then stared at his face. Unable to hold himself back, he kissed his forehead. His lips lingered on his chilly skin for a while, then he stood up, and walked towards the monarch still in his sleep.
He grabbed a flask of wine on the table nearby, and begun pouring it on his face bit by bit. The man sputtered as he woke up, startled and confused.
"What? Who the hell are you?!" He yelled, but did not move.
"Me? Let me introduce myself." He poured more wine onto his face, his smirk turned mocking. "I'm Wen Kexing."
The man's eyes widened comically. "The chief of the Ghost Valley?!"
"Oh, I'm honored. The Prince has heard of this lowly one." His voice dripped sarcasm, and the Prince's face had adopted a panicked expression now. "You see, your men had taken my most treasured possession from me, so you will be the one paying the price." He put his fingers around the man's neck, tentatively.
"What is it? The pieces of the glazed armor? I will hand them to you!" Said the cowardly man, completely panicking. His fear was palpable, and Wen Kexing thoroughly enjoyed it.
"Oh, no. No frivolous things like that." His gaze turned stone cold before he grabbed the man by the hair on the back of his head, and pulled him up, yanking him toward the spot where Zhou Zishu laid lifeless. "You took away my soulmate, the one who had calmed the monster inside me and kept it caged away. Now that he's gone, and nothing at all matters for me now, what do you think will be your fate?"
"Zi-zishu?" The Prince croaked out. The sincerity of his surprise angered Wen Kexing without measure. Hence, he pulled the man out of his bed, dragged him across his shiny floor, until he was in front of Zhou Zishu's body.
"You're not worthy of uttering his name." He then threw him against the wall. The prince let out a pained gasp, it satisfied Wen Kexing enormously.
The Ghost Valley Chief approached him again, and grabbed his chin. Violently, he made him stare at Zhou Zishu again. Then he said, "his face will be the last thing you, and the Window of Heaven, will see."
He finally let him drop on the floor, where the man weeped pathetically, grieving for the death of his cousin.
Too exhausted now, Wen Kexing let his defenses fall, and let a luminous sphere float out the window. Soon, it would all be over.
He took A-Xu back in his arms, and pulled him against his chest. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks, and he kissed the top of his head.
"Please, wait for me. Only a bit, I'll be there to meet you soon, and I'll apologize for arriving so late, for failing to keep you safe."
As he said those words against Zhou Zishu's hair, the smell of smoke started to invade the room.
"What did you do?" The Prince, with panic written all over his face, asked once he sensed the smell.
"I sent a signal to Bi Xingming and other disciples of our Four Seasons Manor." He explained, just to let the man know his doom was near. "The Window of Heaven will burn."
The other man writhed, but ultimately was unable to move more than half an inch. Annoyed by the sight, Wen Kexing focused on the precious thing in his arms.
Without him, life was not worth enduring. Without him, he was nothing but a merciless ghost, an evil creature with no good within him. So, what would be the point of continuing living if the little piece that held his whole existence together would be gone?
Instead, as he had once promised, now that Zhou Zishu had died, their bodies would burn in a purifying blaze, their ashes would be united, and they would never be separated again.
The flames neared the room. He heard the roar of people burning, and wood falling apart.
Maybe, in their next lifetime, they could be normal men whose sins would not strip them of their chance to be happy. Maybe they would be two birds flying in the vast sky, free and wild. Maybe they would be in love again, maybe they could be soulmates again. Maybe he would reach Zhou Zishu's light this time.
He closed his eyes, and waited.