WangXian Forever 2

Chapter 51 Equinox

A soft cold breeze drying the tears on his face, woke him. Wei Ying was dazed...and unable to move much. His hands were tied behind his back, but something was in between, something hard and lean.
He felt colder, and looking down, saw that someone had taken off his upper robes.

Then he saw the knife.

"Master, do not worry. I am here." Hui Gai's voice echoed in his mind.

And strangely, he was comforted.

"Where are we?" He looked around.

In the darkness of the night, shapes only were visible. He couldn't tell if the tall shapes standing near the mountain side were trees or humans. Stars twinkled up above him, and then his breath stuttered.

The moon was full and beautiful, shining in the velvet sky.

It was tonight, the Autumn Equinox.

"These are the sacrificial grounds." Hui Gai replied, in a subdued tone. "He has you tied to the stake."

Wei Ying felt with his fingers, the object that stood between his back and arms. It was tall and solid, and he was standing, movement impossible.

The more he stared at the moon, the more it seemed to glow brighter. A surge of power ran through his body.

"Do you feel that, Master?" Hui Gai said, excitedly. "I think I am affected by the moon's presence. I am more powerful tonight." Another surge left Wei Ying breathless.

"Maybe you want to conserve that. For the right moment?" He thought.

"You are right."

A shape came out of the cave to his left, and a torch lit. Wei Ying would have recoiled in horror, but the rope was too tight against his wrists. Something wet dripped down his fingers so he stopped struggling.

Min Qi Xue had emerged, but he looked different. The headdress he wore was made from bones and teeth, chilling Wei Ying, the closer he came.

"It is nearly time."

"Time for what?" Wei Ying couldn't look away from his face.

"You wanted to know where the other knife is? I'll show you." He threw back his head and laughed, but it was not a sound of mirth.

While Wei Ying watched, Min Qi Xue tore his robes from his own body.

Wei Ying stopped breathing.

The knife, twin to his own, was embedded into Min Qi Xue's chest, just above his heart. Black veins stretched out from its epicenter, spreading all over his upper body like black cracks. His ribs protruded so that his skin, papery thin, was stretched across tightly. His bony shoulders were hunched forward as if he couldn't take the weight of his head. Thin skeletal fingers stroked the black handle with love.

"How...how did that happen?" Wei Ying had trouble letting go of the words.

"I did it to myself. Would you believe me if I said the knife told me to do it?"

In the orange light of the torch, his eyes gleamed red for just a second. And even as Wei Ying watched him in disgusted fascination, his fingers became slowly blacker, the nails longer and pointed.

Wei Ying was reminded of Hui Gai.

"This knife is the only thing keeping me alive." He said, eyes gleaming with cunning.

In that moment, Wei Ying knew what he had to do.

Ever so slowly, he rubbed his back against the stake, praying it would work.

"Do you know, I have spent all my life, waiting for this night? All these years, painstakingly gathering information, catching my sacrifices," he grinned manically. "But it was worth it. After the ceremony is complete, I shall discard this weak and useless body. I will need it no longer."

Wei Ying realized that this was not Min Qi Xue speaking any more.

"No! Master? This cannot be true!"

He heard Hui Gai wailing in his mind.

A body rushed out of the cave behind him, screaming.

"That's my father! You can't hurt him!" Chang Chao had heard that last sentence. He was swinging a sword, but the boy was inexperienced, and it showed.

With military precision, Min Qi Xue unsheathed the sword at his waist and pierced his son, right in his heart.

Wei Ying could only watch, his own  scream dying on his lips. Chang Chao was just a boy. Just a boy.

Hui Gai was unusually quiet.

"How could you?" Wei Ying found his voice at last. "He was just a boy! Your son! How could you?" Tears unbidden fell from his eyes.

Min Qi Xue laughed. Laughed.

Wei Ying was burning with anger.

He felt a heat outside of his body, on his left side, before he saw the red fire blasting at the wards surrounding them.

"Young Master!"

It was Shen Ling.