Until We Meet

9|🎗️ Recoil

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An unwavering surprise had lurked over our faces as Qing Yu, the prison commander, explained her observations from the scroll in her hands. Finishing the reading, she dropped her hand and turned to him with a questioning look.

"Sects? How is that possible? Are you sure?" she pressed, her voice laced with disbelief.

He sighed and nodded solemnly after closing his eyes for a moment.

Zhen Lan, rising from her seat, moved to stand beside General Su. He, in turn, glared around the room in silence, his mind working furiously to piece together the puzzle.

"Why would they kill their own fellows?" he finally growled, addressing Qing Yu. "Qing Yu, delve deeper into this matter. Inform me immediately if you uncover any new information. And, most importantly, keep this discovery under wraps."

Qing Yu bowed curtly and turned towards the body hanging limply at the end of the cell. An average-looking man, his face obscured by a curtain of blood-streaked hair, remained suspended by two chains that bound his wrists to the cell walls, one on either side.

Crimson stains marred his once-white robe, tracing a path all the way down to his bare feet. They stood motionless, mirroring the stillness that had descended upon the room as everyone contemplated the horrifying scene before them.

Qing Yu stepped forward cautiously and lifted the man's head, exposing a gruesome sight. A deep, merciless gash marred his neck, the telltale sign of a swift and fatal strike. A gasp escaped Zhen Lan's lips as she recoiled, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

Zhen Lan rushed to my side, turning me around gently. My heart hammered against my ribs, each beat reverberating in my ears and blurring my vision. The world around me seemed to waver and shimmer, threatening to dissolve into a hazy canvas.

"Rong'er! Here," Zhen Lan exclaimed, his voice a lifeline in the storm of confusion swirling within me. He pressed a cup of water and a small box of pills into my trembling hands.

With shaking fingers, I snatched a pill from the box and dropped it into my mouth before gulping down the cool water in one desperate swallow. A'Ying offered a comforting pat on my back before turning back to the grim figure hanging within the cell.

"Based on the pattern of the wound," she began, her voice firm despite the tremor in my own body, "the cut on his neck is clean, precise, and lethal. Most likely inflicted by a weapon with a distinct dragon design, known for its swift and silent kills. Unfortunately, such blades are the exclusive possession of certain sects."

Zhen Lan's gaze snapped towards Qing Yu, his face etched with a mixture of urgency and suspicion. "With the Yihua Palace in ruins," he stated, his voice tight, "who else possesses such exceptional craftsmanship?"

He turned back to Qing Yu, his eyes narrowed. "And what of his identity? Who was this man?"

Qing Yu let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping as he met the collective gaze of the room. "As I mentioned earlier," he began, his voice low and heavy, "he served in the Jingbei Army ten years ago. Gu Huang...one of their most elite soldiers."

A gasp escaped Zhen Lan's lips. "Gu Huang?!" he exclaimed, his voice laced with disbelief. "Wasn't he the one accused of betraying the army to the Rouran State?"

Qing Yu offered a curt nod, his eyes meeting General Su's. The General, his face now etched with a mixture of sorrow and dawning realization, lowered his gaze, the weight of the revelation settling heavily upon him.

"Why would he do this?" Zhen Lan echoed my own question, his voice laced with bewilderment. He and General Su exchanged a long, tense look that did little to alleviate the growing anxiety gnawing at A'Ying and me.