Chapter 73: A Cunning Fox

Chapter 73: A Cunning Fox.

The masked man drew his blade and walked toward Xue Wei, who stumbled backward.

Looking at the man in fear, Xue Wei’s expression shifted into the realization. It was the day when his son was supposed to save him, yet he still clung to the hope that Xue Lan would come.

Seeing the movement of the man and the scent of his perfume made him certain that it was a royal guard. He quickly turned to run away from the place. His heart, which had been pounding with hope, now froze in his chest.

The man followed him with quick precision, appearing right in front of him.

Xue Wei stumbled back and looked at the masked figure. "Who—are you?!" Xue Wei’s voice trembled, his body burning from anxiety.

The masked figure answered nothing, but he continued walking toward Xue Wei. His boots crunched against the snow and stopped near the old man. The blade in his hand caught the dawn’s faint light, casting a reflection across the snow.

Above, the snow began to fall slowly. The snowflakes landing on the man’s shoulder. Finally, he raised his blade without any other words.

Xue Wei’s hand flew toward the man in desperation. "No, don’t do that! I... I did nothing. Then why?" The man’s hand trembled in the air slightly; his breathing turned heavier.

Xue Wei continued. "I have nothing to give..."

The man’s blade descended and pierced Xue Wei’s chest, stabbing his heart deeply. Xue Wei’s eyes widened at the pain in his chest, his eyes staring at the stranger, and then slowly his body fell on the ground. In his final moment, he thought of Xue Lan; at least Xue Lan would have tried. If he had been here, then he’d have saved Xue Wei... right?

The possibility, the hope... too soothing to ignore.

The words of the faceless echoed. "When an Ascended dies without any hope, their souls get corrupted. Some are used for refinement, and others become the deadly spirits." Slowly, the man gripped his mask and pulled it away.

Beneath that mask was a familiar face.

Xue Lan... his expression silent, he stood over his father’s body. The snow falling in the field covered Xue Wei’s body in white snowflakes. Then, Xue Lan turned and, without looking back. He walked away and wore the mask again.

A bat hung in the tree and giggled a choking laugh before flying away.

***

The Overseer laughed. "How perfect. What a beautiful way to help your father. You washed your hands, but the water turned red now."

He finally stood from his chair and looked at the public who waited for the execution. "My loyal followers, you cannot watch the execution now. It had been stopped by someone, and I personally take the responsibility for this. You won’t be angry at me, will you?"

The crowd screamed, throwing their hands in an absolute acceptance. Leaving the crowd cheering, the Overseer walked away.

***

Yin rushed outside the second gateway, following the scent of the strange perfume. The cold hit his face as he stumbled forward in the snow.

A few meters away, he saw the wet, crimson snow. As he went closer, he finally saw the body lying in front of him. His eyes couldn’t watch the face as he knelt down near the body of Xue Wei.

Reaching out his trembling hands, he traced his father’s face with his fingers.

The cold wind howled against his clothes as he pulled himself together and stared at his father’s face, whose heart had already stopped beating; his breathing hiccuped by the sight, and he clenched Xue Wei’s clothes. Yin buried his head on his chest, hugging his father for the last time. "Why... who did this?!" His voice shaking as he slowly moved away from him. The cold blizzard hit him once again, and he stood up.

From behind him, a fluttering voice came, but when he looked back behind. The Overseer stood there, his eyes watching him with a mild twinkle, and he whispered to Yin. "Xue Yin, what happened, my loyal follower?" Yin’s eyes flared in rage, and he drew his blade out. "You did that... didn’t you?"

"Me?" He pointed a graceful finger toward himself. "What? No way, I can’t do such things; I have a reputation."

Yin’s blade didn’t waver; he kept pointing it toward the Overseer. "Don’t lie!"

"I’m not, well, you’d be surprised by the truth." Behind the illusion, a wicked grin settled on his face, the expression reminiscent of a cunning fox.

The blade in Yin’s hand clattered. "I’m going to kill him; whoever did this won’t live."

The grin on the Overseer’s face widened further. "You sure you would?" He paused and then added. "It is no one other than... your own brother."

Yin’s blade faltered from his hand, and with a soft crunch, it fell on the ice beneath. His heart collapsed under the weight of truth; the words were poison to his ears.

Yin’s wide eyes searched the Overseer’s face for a single twitch, even a small flicker of deceit, anything that would expose the claim as a cruel jest. But there was only that sorrowful expression, which pitied his situation.

But behind the divine veil, the reality was a horror. The Overseer’s true expression behind the veil of illusion, a pristine, maddening grin, stared back at him. "You’re lying..." Yin’s voice was swallowed by the howling wind. "He told me to escape! He wanted to save us!"

The Overseer feigned a soft look of pity, shaking his head. "Oh, my naive boy. He told you to escape so you wouldn’t see him killing your father. He needed a scapegoat. If you ran, who would the guards blame for the missing prisoner? You."

"No, he swore to me..."

"Did he make a promise? Promise of what?" The Overseer took a slow step forward, his boots digging in the snow. "He is a dutiful son? But which dutiful son does this?" The Overseer tutted softly, shaking his head with mock pity.

"Look at the wound, Xue Yin. Look at the angle, the clean precision. A royal guard’s execution technique. Who else had access to the inner sanctum? Who else is this precise as an assassin?"

Yin couldn’t look back. He refused to look at his father’s chest... his brother killed his father... no... No... that couldn’t be... why... why.

"Enough proofs?" The Overseer took another step forward.

Yin picked up the blade and lunged toward him, but the Overseer pulled no weapon out. He raised his finger and blocked the blade. Then, he held the edge of the blade with his two fingers and shattered the sword effortlessly. The air slammed Yin backward in snow.

Xue Yin gasped, coughing as the snow filled his mouth.

The Overseer stood over them both, his shadow stretching across the bloody snow like a vulture’s wings. The cunning smirk did not leave his face. "It was Xue Lan, not me. Don’t try to kill me. Do you know why he killed him?"

Yin coughed and looked up.

The Overseer’s eyes glowed faintly. "He traded your father’s life for his ascension, Yin. And while Xue Wei gasped for his last breath, waiting for a savior, he ran from his own blood."

The words struck deeper in Yin’s mind.

Then the Overseer whispered in a deep voice. "Will you hunt your brother and take your father’s revenge, or will you let him kill you too? He will come for you and kill you too." He leaned closer.

The Overseer’s words drifted through the howling wind; Yin’s mind slowly began to accept the truth.

"Get up, Xue Yin," the Overseer said softly. His voice was laced with a strange, sickening warmth, like the tone of a teacher encouraging a promising student. "A man is already lying in the snow, waiting to freeze; he is already dead. Is that what you are? A corpse waiting for the ice to claim you?" He moved his hand toward Yin and lifted his chin to make Yin look at his eyes.

Another whisper. "He chose himself, so why mustn’t you choose yourself then? Think, Yin, think."

"He can’t..." Yin grasped, his eyes staring deep into the Overseer’s eyes.

"The cure was a lie, and when the cure proved too distant, he chose himself." The Overseer interrupted smoothly. "It is what the ascenders do, Yin. Compassion is a luxury for the weak. When the power demands survival, the foolish hesitate."

A hot, suffocating rage welled up in Yin’s throat, fighting against the suffocating tide of grief. Every logic fit together with horrifying precision. Xue Lan had been quiet lately. He had vanished during the hours leading up to the execution... He was behind it; that was why he told him to escape so the Overseer wouldn’t tell him the truth.

"How?" Yin demanded, his voice cracking as he reached out instinctively toward his father. "How do I give him peace?!"

"Vengeance," the Overseer answered instantly. "A soul bound by betrayal can only be cleansed when the blood of a traitor is spilled on the same earth."

The Overseer straightened. His hand went in his pocket and pulled out a sleek, obsidian dagger. Its blade was dark as midnight, swallowing the morning light rather than reflecting it. He tossed it into the snow near Yin’s hand.

It landed with a soft thud.

"Take it," the Overseer commanded lightly. "Xue Lan might not have gone too far; with this dagger, you can even harm a Dreamer. If you want to save your father’s soul from becoming a monster... kill him."

Yin looked down at the dark dagger.

Without waiting for an answer, the Overseer turned toward his place, leaving behind only the echoing sound of his quiet laughter. Behind Yin was a dark, crimson moth that bit his neck, spreading a dark substance in his nerves without even him realizing.

Yin remained on his knees in the silence. The wind howled through the second gateway, scattering white powder over the red stain in the snow. Slowly, Yin reached out his hand and wrapped his fingers around the hilt. "Kill... Xue Lan."