Xueyan Huo Sect
The air was calm, carrying a gentle, cool breeze.
Fluffy, cotton-like clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky,
and the weather was nothing short of perfect.
In just a few days, the apple trees would blossom.....
their green branches soon to be crowned with fragrant flowers.
---
The Valley of Daoren
Here stood the grand academy of a great inheritance,
a place where countless arts, traditions, and cultures were taught....
and most revered of all,
the sacred art of dance-incantations.
At this very moment,
its current prince, Yin Fengxian,
sat alone in his quiet chamber.
The room was silent,
yet the silence screamed.
Before his eyes lay the memory of three lifeless bodies....
Master Kinji Yo, Master Fijion, and his wife....
all slain by his hands.
Slowly, he raised his palms and stared at them,
as if asking them,
Why…? Why did I have to kill them?
For a man with a pure heart,
there is no act more agonizing than taking a life.
It was like a gardener who knows he must pluck flowers daily,
yet still feels a pang of sorrow every time his fingers touch the stem.
This was the burden in Yin Fengxian's heart.
---
Though born into the new generation of betrayal,
time had purified him.....
as if foul water had been cleansed drop by drop by a stream of pure spring water.
Not only he,
but his mother, father, and sister
were all kind and noble souls,
beloved rulers of their sect.
They had cast aside evil,
and repented for the sins of the past.
They knew well the events that had taken place in the Xueyan Huo Sect two hundred years ago…
and they also knew the bitter truth....
that the curse placed upon them could never be lifted
until Yu Sui and Mo Yan were slain.
It was not their choice.
It was not their will.
It was the command forced upon them
by their wicked king, Yao Fing.
---
Yin Fengxian sat as still as a lake at dawn.
He could not believe he had taken lives.
His eyes overflowed with tears,
his body felt like stone,
and his heart stabbed itself with guilt again and again.
The door creaked open.
Three figures stepped inside and sat with him at the table,
carrying food for him.
His father, Shu Ren Zhou.
His mother, Mei Huai Ying.
His younger sister, Su Ri Zhen.
They carried light smiles....
for their hearts were lighter than before,
and they wished to share that lightness with him.
The room seemed to awaken with their presence,
like a rose blooming in spring.
Mei Huai Ying placed a gentle hand on Yin Fengxian's shoulder,
urging him to eat.
But they all knew, deep inside,
why his spirit was weighed down.
Then, in a playful yet piercing tone....
as though her soul wept but her body smiled....
his lively sister Su Ri Zhen spoke:
---
"Brother…
We know why you're sad.
But the truth is,
they had to die.
Who else would kidnap innocent children
and use them as sacrifices in a vile ritual?
It's a blessing I overheard the Winzhiong family's filthy schemes that day.....
and thanks to that,
you were able to put an end to them.
If you hadn't…
every one of those children would have been offered up in that monstrous ceremony.
Before the Winzhiong family has a chance to pressure us again,
we must take the children to the Xuemo Sect."