A/N Sorry guys, I was busy for three weeks and its finally spring break (￢0￢)
"Shifu."
The bamboo forest's green was muffled by the carpet of white snow. With fingers dipped in frost, they stood vigil over the pair of figures, one ten paces behind the other. The young man's call reverberated across the stalks, swallowed rapidly by the chill air. The man ahead paused, turning his head slightly. His posture was ramrod straight, sword by his side and dark robes dusted with soft flakes. His thin lips curled up, the boundless disappointment and ridicule rising in that pair of wolf's eyes shattering the illusion of peace.
"You still dare to come here? Are you offering your head to me?"
With gentle movements, the young man directly knelt in the snow, kowtowing to the teacher who'd raised him for more than a decade. "Qingyuan asks for his master's forgiveness. I...have been unfilial."
"Tsk, you still know to ask?" Mo Wu turned to face his disciple, the sword in his hand ringing out as it was unsheathed. "I might as well directly kill you!" Liu Qingyuan lifted his head.
"Master, this time...," He slowly got up, ignoring the blade pointed at his chest. "I won't be going back with you."
"You think I still want to take you with me? Come. Do you dare to fight me?" Staring down the edge of his master's sword, Liu Qingyuan felt a sting in his heart. After all, for most of his life, this was the very scene he'd feared the most; that a day would come that his master saw him as trash by the side of the road. Now, he'd seen part of the world and he understood the complexities behind human emotions. Nothing was simply black and white, and love and hatred were interwoven indefinitely.
"As you wish." He lowered his head, slowly, but resolutely drawing his own sword. Since he'd decided on this path, he'd have to have the conviction for it. "Today, this disciple will fight you. Our paths...will be separate from today onwards." Mo Wu's eyebrow twitched, displaying a trace of surprise. After more than a decade, how could he not recognize the hint of worship in the boy's eyes? It seemed that things had truly changed, if he wasn't willing to give up everything for him anymore.
"Very good!" Mo Wu's face twisted and he lunged forward without warning. Liu Qingyuan hurriedly raised his sword, melodious chimes ringing out in the forest as their blades clashed. The two exchanged moves, communicating through the sweep of the blade. Stubbornness, anger, disappointment. Resolutment, determination, and unwillingness. Mo Wu kicked Liu Qingyuan solidly and he stumbled back into a tree, spinning aside at the last moment. Chips of bark flew into the air. With the clang of metal accompanying their dance, he trapped his master's sword between the two solid forks.
"Why do you have to target him?"
Mo Wu sneered, pushing Liu Qingyuan's sword away. The branch, along with several bamboo fell to the ground, sending up a plume of icy flakes. "You still want to ask?" Liu Qingyuan gasped slightly, stinging pain crawling up his arm as his blood painted the snow red. He blocked Mo Wu's next blow, but inevitably was still pushed to the ground. He turned his head slightly, narrowly avoiding getting stabbed in the face as Mo Wu thrust his sword downwards. The hair at his temple stirred, disturbed by the slight vibrations carried through the air from the blade.
"Why him?" He persisted, teeth gritted as he held Mo Wu's arm in an effort to stall him for just a moment. "Why their royal family? You have long wandered the world, what grudge do you have with them?"
The sword was pulled loose from the ground at the same movement Liu Qingyuan pushed up. He was slightly heavier than his master, so even if his master was superior in training, he was still unbalanced for a moment. That gap was enough for Liu Qingyuan to get out of his passive position. The two men breathed hard, facing each other with disordered silhouettes.
"You...," Liu Qingyuan gasped, "Do you understand what it's like to love someone?" Mo Wu's face twisted at the sudden question, the hand gripping his sword shaking slightly. For the first time, Liu Qingyuan saw on his master's face, an expression as if he was stabbed. As if the perpetrator was taking that knife and viciously stirring his organs. Did he know love? In a mere moment, a melon seed face swam in his vision, dark eyes like the ink stone used for calligraphy, but also bright like black jade polished smooth. Those eyes were similar to the boy in front of him, and he remembered foolishly taking him in those 17 winters ago just because of that. A long buried longing seemed to rise in his chest, until pain came from the side of his face.
Mo Wu looked up, his arm reflexively blocking the sword. But a trickle of blood still snaked down his cheek, the familiar weight of his mask falling away as the ribbon was severed and a hideous scar was revealed. Liu Qingyuan was looking at him with surprise and hesitation. As if he hadn't expected to really cut his master.
"You-" Mo Wu swung his sword, forcing Liu Qingyuan three steps back. His strike carried a ferocity double that of before. Liu Qingyuan hurriedly blocked his blows, retreating backwards step by step. "Since you-!" Clang! "Understand-" CLANG! "Why don't you give me a chance too?! At least explain why!" Liu Qingyuan swept away his master's sword, retreating an additional two steps to catch his breath. Unexpectedly, Mo Wu stopped, only to start laughing wildly. The gaze that landed on his disciple was as if he was looking at a fool.
"Give you a chance? You think you know love?! A-yuan, this master is saving you!" Liu Qingyuan realized, in that moment, that if his master had someone he liked, yet she wasn't by his side, didn't that mean something unexpected had happened? But throughout history, haw many red strings had been broken, and how many had been fulfilled? Everything was dictated by heaven's will, yet which person wouldn't stop to question why they were made to suffer?
"Those phoenix rulers are nothing more than devils on this earth. It's better if all of them die!"
"Why do you," Liu Qingyuan panted, "Hate them so much? Clarify it for me!" He smiled bitterly. He was also human and he just wanted the king to be safe. If his master had said because he was the king, because he ruled Qiangda which was the enemy of Gongzhuan, others might have believed it. But Liu Qingyuan knew his master didn't care for that feud. He travelled the world for so long, this conflict was merely being used by him.
Mo Wu forced Liu Qingyuan to his knees with a heavy stroke, the blade throwing Liu Qingyuan's own weapon from his hand. It landed in the snow a dozen meters away. "Why?" Mo Wu's expression was twisted beyond recognition, a mad light in his eyes. He laughed uproariously. "Because he is Jiang Mengyou's son! What do you think happened to all the princes? Because of the bloodline running in their bodies, they were killed by me!"
Liu Qingyuan's face paled, his grip slackening and his master's blade immediately cutting into his shoulder. Warmth burst out, running in hot rivets down his body and puddling in a crimson pool at his knees. The prince's deaths...were his master's doing? The fact shook his worldview, and Liu Qingyuan's vision spun. Even in Gongzhuan, it was common knowledge that the children of the late king of Qiangda were affiliated with bad luck, dying at various ages before adulthood. That was the reason why, despite the protection of the phoenix mark, there were only two princes left in this generation; and one was even born with only a half-effective mark. Those on the sidelines liked to mock that it was all a fair trade. Using heaven's power naturally resulted in consequences, and all the prices who'd died were an example of that. Liu Qingyuan never thought that it had been his master who was behind it instead.
"She was clearly worthy in appearance and talents," Mo Wu continued, the clarity fading from his gaze, "Yet, he threw her aside and let her be mistreated like that until they forced her to kill herself. Tell me, can you still advocate for a man like that?!" That year, due to her outstanding looks and temperament, she was chosen to become a part of the king's harem. His love was torn away from him, yet he eventually consoled himself with her happiness. In the palace, she wouldn't have to worry about being cold or going hungry, she'd have enough to live casually and carefreely for the rest of her life. Yet, that scum king didn't cherish her, throwing her aside without a thought. Naturally, as a simple village girl, the other noble women couldn't stand her and pushed her to her death.
The young man, heartbroken, rebuilt himself on hatred, training until he had the strength to support himself and exact revenge for her. But before he could even execute his plan, the king had died of illness, leaving his current Queen to rule as reagent. Mo Wu had lost himself, and the princes became the unfortunate souls trampled under his feet.
Liu Qingyuan winced, grabbing his master's blade as it continued downwards. Immediately blood flowed from his palm. "Master...they're both already dead and you harmed so many of his sons. Don't you think it's enough?" Mo Wu looked almost incredulous, the expression on his face testing enough to resemble the devil.
"If I don't punish him for his crimes, who will? A-yuan, you're still too naïve!" Mo Wu pulled his sword away, raising a foot and kicking Liu Qingyuan. He managed to dodge most of the blow, rolling in the snow from the inertia. Liu Qingyuan stumbled upright, his face throbbing and a trickle of blood leaking from his nose. He touched it gently, gazing for a moment at the crimson on his fingertips.
"It's been so many years, it's better to let the past go. She...wouldn't want this." He slowly stood up, drawing the dagger in his boot. His sword was still lying prone in the snow behind Mo Wu.
"A-yuan," He slowly approached him. Mo Wu swung and Liu Qingyuan tilted to the side, raising the dagger to block him. There was a harsh noise as the two weapons scraped together, and an ear-ringing clang as they collided again. Mo Wu attacked fiercely, forcing Liu Qingyuan back step by step. Liu Qingyuan grit his teeth, enduring every blow, until finally, he saw an opening and stabbed downwards without hesitation. Mo Wu hissed in pain, his wrist spasming as his grip loosened. Liu Qingyuan immediately kicked out, the sword flying away to join his own several meters away. "Very good!" Mo Wu grit out. He drew his own dagger and countered Liu Qingyuan's strike.
In their scuffle, Liu Qingyuan stabbed forward, no longer holding any ounce of restraint. His blade cut through fabric, burying deep in Mo Wu's collarbone. He grunted, looking at Liu Qingyuan in a mixture of pain and surprise. In retaliation, Liu Qingyuan felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and he gasped, looking down in a daze. Mo Wu's blade was buried in his stomach, red drenching both his hands and the snow beneath. Liu Qingyuan coughed, a rusty taste rising in his throat. He was clinging on to Mo Wu, his figure hunched as he fought to stay upright.
Mo Wu stepped back, pulling out the blade and watching with a complicated expression as Liu Qingyuan fell, gasping at his feet. Liu Qingyuan felt a touch on his face and his master's face swam into view. He vaguely heard him say, "I wanted to help you, but you only wanted to block my path. For the sake of those 17 years, I won't kill you. But whether you survive today depends on your luck." Liu Qingyuan opened his mouth, but only a strange sound leaked from his throat, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Mo Wu held the wound on his chest, breathing a little raggedly. His voice still had a touch of gentleness, but frost quickly covered it. "I'll get Xiao Li to finish this. You don't need to worry about this anymore, you've already messed up so many times." He let go of Liu Qingyuan, stumbling his feet. Behind him, he felt the air shift and he quickly dodged but he wasn't able to dodge the blade to his thigh. "Ugh! You-!"
Liu Qingyuan fell to the side, his remaining strength exhausted from that one move. "Don't...don't..."
"Liu Qingyuan! Since you said the two of us have different paths to take, from this day onward, we have no relationship. I'm giving you this one last chance, but I won't stop until Jiang Zhilan is dead." Liu Qingyuan gasped, warmth leaking from between his fingertips. His vision gradually became blurry and he could only watch Mo Wu's figure stumble out of the clearing.
Accompanied by the bloodied snow, Liu Qingyuan could only whisper desperately, "Don't do this!"