Fukun Xueyuan

  Under a tranquil sky, the grand corridors and structures of Fukun Xueyuan were bathed in the brilliance of daylight. All other students remained retreated in their quarters, except for Jun Wan and Zhuang Hue. The two of them came sprinting through an open corridor into the main courtyard, where the final lashes were still being rained down upon Gu Zong. Just as they arrived, the hundredth and final strike landed on his back. He collapsed right there.

  His eyes were bloodshot yet eerily calm much like water that appears still on the surface while boiling violently underneath. When the ordeal ended, Jun Wan rushed to him, leaning down to help him up. But Gu Zong raised a hand, stopping her in her tracks. Jun Wan could not bear the sight.

  "Zao! What has happened? Let me help you!" she pleaded.

  Gu Zong, however, did not listen. He forced himself up and began walking out of Fukun Xueyuan. The Grandmaster made no attempt to stop him and simply retreated back toward the library. Jun Wan continued to scream after him:

  "Zao? Stop, Zao! Come back! Listen to me, Zao this is about our father’s dream!"

  But Gu Zong did not stop. When he finally vanished from her sight, Jun Wan shattered. She collapsed on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.

  "Zao? You must come back! Father had so many hopes for you... and so do I! I have so much hope for you, Zao! Please, come back!"

  Her final cry echoed throughout the entirety of Fukun Xueyuan. Her veins bulged from the intensity of her screaming, but it had no effect on Gu Zong’s departing figure.

  Gu Zong’s steps continued forward, staggering and leaving a trail of blood behind him. The path he walked was familiar he had traversed it many times before. But this time, his eyes were weeping tears of blood. His stone-cold expression was a jarring contrast to his mangled, blood-soaked back. He fell once, hitting the ground hard, but he used his sword as a crutch to heave himself back up and kept moving.

  After some time, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned to see Han Wuang Shi, in a condition just as dire as his own, following him. Gu Zong felt no pity; he simply began to draw his sword, though he was so weak that the act of unsheathing it took an agonizingly long time. Eventually, he collapsed again.

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  Wuang Shi approached him, his voice steady and filled with a somber stillness. "Your Senior Sister is waiting for you."

  Gu Zong gave no answer. He tried to rise, struggling with every fiber of his being. Standing in silence, Wuang Shi watched him. For a fleeting second, his hand twitched as if to offer help, but he restrained himself. Finally, Gu Zong stood. As he began to walk again, he looked directly into Wuang Shi’s eyes and spat:

  "Do you want to see me die too? Just like you watched my father and mother die? Huh?"

  Wuang Shi lowered his eyes. Gu Zong continued, his voice echoing with hollow exhaustion:

  "Leave me alone. I have nothing left for anyone anymore not love, and not even hate."

  Wuang Shi remained standing in a statue-like posture. He looked at Gu Zong, and suddenly, tears began to stream from his eyes. He spoke a single word:

  "No."

  Gu Zong stopped abruptly upon hearing that word. For a few moments, he remained still. Then, he took another step. Wuang Shi called out from behind him:

  "You are not well, Yun! Let us go home!"

  The moment Wuang Shi uttered that name, Gu Zong’s sword swung around with a flash. The blade hissed past Wuang Shi’s eyes, but Wuang Shi didn't even blink; only his hair stirred in the wind of the blade's passage.

  "Shut up," Gu Zong hissed. "You have no right to call me 'Yun'."

  In that moment of exertion, Gu Zong’s balance failed, and he began to fall backward. Instantly, Wuang Shi moved with blurring speed. He grabbed Gu Zong’s wrist and leaped into the air. He caught Gu Zong mid-flight, gripping him firmly by the waist. Gu Zong, however, shoved him away with what little strength he had left.

  They plummeted downward and crashed into a roaring river. This was no ordinary stream; it was the Yushan River, which flowed from the sea inland a reverse current of immense power. The blood from their wounds began to dissolve into the water. The current felt like a surge of electricity, as if the water were being pulled by a colossal, unseen force.

  Gu Zong was on the verge of drowning when Wuang Shi seized his wrist again, using his other hand to grab onto a low-hanging branch. The current fought them with all its might, trying to drag them into the depths. Wuang Shi screamed over the roar of the water:

  "Yun! Take my hand!"

  Gu Zong tried to break free, preferring the water to his touch. But then, Wuang Shi’s voice thundered through the noise:

  "Yun! Have you forgotten the promise you made to your mother?"

  Hearing this, Gu Zong suddenly went limp. His eyes widened, fixed on Wuang Shi’s face in a state of trembling shock. In that moment of distraction, Wuang Shi’s grip began to fail. Gu Zong’s wrist started to slip from his fingers.

  Wuang Shi let out a desperate cry, "Yun!!!"

  But then, his breath hitched. He realized that Gu Zong had reached back. Their hands were now locked together in a grip of iron. Using every ounce of his remaining strength, Wuang Shi hauled him up.

  A short while later, they reached the shore a rocky bank covered in thick green moss that looked as if it had sat undisturbed for thousands of years.