The youngest master of the Wang household jolted awake on his bed at the sound of screams and garnish cries, followed by the clanging sounds of swords and other weapons. His eyes expanded at the flaming sight outside his door while the temperature of his chambers went higher and higher but the lad remained on the mattress, unable to move as he stared down at his bandaged leg.
If he had known something like this would happen, he would have never gotten himself injured to the point where he couldn't stand on his feet.
The screams and cries continued from outside his chambers; it was as if he had been forgotten. "Papa, mama!" He called softly, whimpering at the rising heat around him, sweat trickling down his forehead while he held back his tears. He was going to die without telling his mama, papa, and sister how much he loved them.
As if hearing his silent pleas, the door to his chambers finally busted open, slamming hard on the floor as it was torn down and a figure emerged from the fire. The young lad shone at his savior; his sister.
WANG DAIYU.
"Jie!" He hollered, watching his older sister speed towards him. She put down the wet cloth that covered her face and immediately wrapped it around his nose; trying not to inhale too much of the suffocating fog.
"Jie is here to get you out of here!" She told him and the lad happily nodded his head. She pulled him into her arms; luckily, he was light as a feather and so small that she had no problem carrying him.
The young Wang squashed his face in the crook of his sister's neck as they fled his room, hopping across the catching fire, passing the numerous dead bodies that lay there haphazardly; he recognized almost all of them—the people he once called family and friends.
"Don't look!" His sister's tenacious voice made him flinch; he immediately tore his gaze away from the corpses as he shut his eyes.
The fear-filled lad didn't open his eyes till he felt the heat vanish and a cold breeze brush against his cheeks, followed by the cries of his parents.
"Wang Yibo!"
The lad instantly opened his eyes and he found himself staring at his parents. "Mama, papa!" He cried out, and in the next second, he was in his mother's embrace. "I thought I lost you!" She cried, her eyes glued to the burning house in front of her—the place that held a lot of memories that could never be replaced. Everything was gone now, burned to the ground like dirt.
"We need to start moving before the imperial soldiers catch up on us!" His father chipped in, his face filled with cut marks while hanging low in his hand was a sword soaked with blood.
His mother nodded. "Come on!" She articulated and together, they ran through the shambles of the city, their home, towards the gate that would bring their freedom but the hope was short-lived when a horde of soldiers crashed into them, blocking their exit. His father didn't hesitate to swing his sword at anyone who approached them, clearing his path for the family.
"Go!" He shouted at them, the soldiers compiling around him. "Get out of here; I will hold them off and come find you!"
The woman was almost frozen at where she stood before the voice of her beloved husband pulled her out of her reverie. With a helpless glance, she didn't hesitate as she and her children raced out from the gate but a few distances later, they heard a fallen cry that made them turn back and watch the scene unfold.
"Xiang!" The woman shrieked with horror, watching a sword pierce through the heart of her husband. She screamed louder, her legs already aiming to run back but her daughter caught her arm and pulled them deeper into the forest.
As they went further and further, Yibo didn't tear his gaze from his father, who slowly fell to the ground with eyes staring into nothing while blood pooled around his dead form. The young lad didn't try to look away until the scene was out of sight, and he finally shut his eyes and the image repeated itself.
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The next time the young lad opened his eyes, he felt the hurrying and rustling sound of footsteps and then he was picked up off the ground where he was lying.
"They are coming!" He heard the panicked voice of his sister, who was now carrying him.
The young master watched ahead of him while his mother and sister ran deeper into the green forest that was radiant with the rays of sunlight. He didn't know when the night turned into day. and when he looked back, his little eyes broadened when he saw the imperial soldiers coming after them.
"Run faster!" His sister said to his mother.
His eyes went wider in horror as the soldiers got closer and closer. It was impossible to outrun those on horses. His sister cursed her luck and fastened her pace until a pain shot through her leg and she ended up falling on the forest ground with the little master held in her arms. She let him go, pushing him to their mother as her gaze went down to her leg, where an arrow was buried. She looked back at her mother.
"You need to get Yibo and get out of here!" She urged, swallowing back her cries at the pain in her leg.
The woman shook her head, teary eyes flickering between her two children. "No, I'm not leaving anyone behind; I already lost your father!"
"But-" Before the girl could finish her words, they were already surrounded. She immediately held her little brother to her chest, eyeing the riders with bile, one in particular with a golden hair ornament biding his black hair, a young boy sitting at the front of his horse, staring down at them with his innocent eyes; the emperor and his son.
"How long do you plan to run?" The emperor started with a hint of mockery in his tone.
"I curse you, Emperor Tan! " The fear-filled woman spat, holding both her children close. "You will reap the day you kill the people you swore to protect!"
The emperor scoffed, his eyes landing on the arrow on the girl's leg, before meeting her eyes and speaking in a nonchalant tone. "The arrow is embittered; the girl will die in a few minutes."
The woman wheezed, horror striking her hard.
The emperor pulled out an antidote bottle from his robes. "Here's the antidote; I will let you have it if you come closer."
Daiyu shook her head at her mother. "Don't!" She warned but the helpless woman only wanted to save her daughter as she tore apart from them and walked towards the emperor on his horse, stretching her hand out for the tiny jade bottle.
"Closer," the emperor mandated and she went closer and right in time as a sword went through her chest.
"MOTHER!" the girl screamed, pulling her brother away from the scene while their woman choked on her blood and dropped dead.
"Pathetic!" The emperor spat.
The girl held her tears from falling, her eyes flickering between the emperor and the boy sitting on the horse with contempt and wrath. "I'm going to kill you!" She gritted.
"That's why you won't be alive to carry out such a plan; kill her!" The emperor ordered and before she could blink, an arrow shot through her back and she fell lifelessly on her younger brother, who only cried and wailed.
"What should we do with the lad, Your Majesty?"
"No descendants of the Shi clan should be kept alive. Kill him!"
"Father, wait!" The boy on the horse finally intervened, innocent brown eyes staring at the weeping kid.
"What do you want to do with him, son?" The emperor stared down at his son fondly.
"I want him!"
*~*
First of all, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this book. I appreciate it a lot.
Second, I'm the type of person who writes what I want to read and I hope you will enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Thank you!
Youngest master of the Wang household (WANG YIBO)