The Golden Lotus Kingdom became the stage for the most magnificent yet terrifying play after the incident at the main altar. That night, Feng Haoran, Zimo, and Tianze were staring at each other, their bodies facing one another. Tianze folded his hands behind his back while smiling, but his smile was only illuminated by candlelight, making his face somewhat obscured in the darkness. Feng Haoran glared sharply with his glowing red eyes. Zimo looked at both of them while raising one eyebrow and smirking. The darkness of the Golden Lotus palace that night became a silent witness.

  "Zimo, what is your purpose in taking the trouble to visit the Golden Lotus Kingdom?" Feng Haoran started asking Zimo with a calm but highly suspicious tone.

  "Feng Haoran, I, as an envoy from the Eagle Kingdom, wish to bring a message of peace from His Majesty the Emperor. After such a long time of our two nations being in a cold war, would it not be better to end it?" Zimo answered calmly while his hand took a lotus flower from his pocket and then burned it with the candle still lit beside him.

  "Zimo, you are trying to defile the purity of the lotus by burning it." Feng Haoran's eyes glowed increasingly red.

  "How foolish of you. You do not realize you are insulting the Eagle Kingdom itself by using cheap tricks to threaten me. You are degrading the pride of your kingdom and your emperor without you even realizing it," Feng Haoran answered while smiling faintly and staring sharply at Zimo.

  "Feng Haoran, are you not worried about your people whom you love so much?"

  "True. You are truly foolish." Feng Haoran chuckled, followed by Tianze who also joined in the chuckling.

  "What do you mean? Do you not always maintain your image in front of them?" Zimo asked with an uneasy and slightly annoyed feeling.

  "You are asking a livestock breeder, Zimo. Do you always feed your livestock? Yes, of course, I give them good nutrition." Feng Haoran stepped half a pace forward, flicking his robe with his hand. Now his face and his red eyes were very close to Zimo's face.

  "Your term is too sacred, Emperor Feng. Those lowly ones are nothing more than a curse that must be annihilated so that justice remains upheld in the midst of a chaotic world." Tianze walked out from the darkness. Now his face was completely visible as he approached the two of them.

  "No wonder you were the one sent to be the messenger of peace, Lord Zimo. I also just realized Emperor Feng is this generous." Tianze observed them both and smirked, his eyes continuously moving from right to left.

  "The right is the symbol of beauty and luck. Emperor Feng is quite suited for that position. And you, Lord Zimo, are on the left side, the symbol of destruction and stupidity. It is a great pity that someone as smart as you is in that position." Tianze glanced at them both again with a widening smile faintly drawn on his face. The night grew later. The clouds finally allowed the moonlight to pierce through the window gaps to illuminate their reunion.

  "Damn emperor! You sent me here because you were afraid of these two monsters, were you not!" Zimo muttered while his face painted an anxious expression, and he tried to find a way to escape from the two devils in the lotus palace, which was famous for its holiness in foreign countries.

  Zimo took slow steps backward until he bumped into the candle behind him, causing his robe to catch fire. Then suddenly, Feng Haoran approached and gripped Zimo's head so hard that the veins on his head became clearly visible. His thick black hair suddenly fell out. Feng Haoran's eyes glowed increasingly red as he pressed Zimo's head with a devastating grip. Zimo could not breathe, and then his head was exploded into a mist of blood by Feng Haoran. Zimo's blood splattered in all directions and covered Feng Haoran's face. Feng Haoran licked Zimo's blood with his tongue and chuckled.

  "Enlightenment upon the right person, Emperor Feng," Tianze said while turning his body and walking away from there. All the candles were extinguished due to the blood splatters, and the moonlight illuminated Feng Haoran's blood soaked face. Zimo's body, whose head was shattered, was now leaking blood that continuously flowed from his neck, so that the clean and holy floor was stained by a pool of blood.

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  "Servant, quickly clean up this mess. Eagle Kingdom, you will surely like the special gift I am going to give."

  A servant came and was shocked to see a pool of blood on the floor yet no one was there. Feng Haoran approached from behind with a smile on his face.

  "What is this? What are you doing?" Feng Haoran's face was half illuminated by the moonlight, and only his mouth and his golden robe were visible. The servant stepped back slowly, filled with mixed fear and confusion.

  "This servant dares to swear in the name of the heavens, I do not know what happened."

  "The heavens? Devils usually cover their depravity in the name of the heavens. Are you one of them?"

  "This servant does not know anything, O Great Emperor Feng. This servant deserves to die. This servant deserves to die!" The servant's legs trembled violently. He looked at both of his palms while crying. Tears dripped down his cheeks and flooded his face with an unwarranted sense of guilt.

  Feng Haoran turned around and looked back with a disappointed expression. Now only his eyes, which were as soft as silk, were visible by the moonlight that slowly began to disappear.

  "I am not dreaming, am I? In this palace, there is someone as cruel as you."

  Then Feng Haoran walked away. He walked slowly while staring at the moon through the gaps of the window which was now covered again by black clouds. He left the servant who had fallen and was crying on the floor flooded with blood and Zimo's corpse. Feng Haoran folded his hands behind his back. He resumed walking slowly, and a smile was clearly carved on his face.

  Dawn arrived. The birds called out to one another and flew in the air. Guang, who was walking with extreme exhaustion, stared at the blue sky and white clouds filled with hypocrisy, along with four birds dancing on the horizon. The leaves of the trees moved following the melody of the wind, bringing the morning freshness painted so beautifully.

  "Where must I go now? How do I treat these wounds? These damn thorny roots keep ensnaring my bones. I must find a way immediately."

  Guang walked with a gasping breath. He walked towards the Lake of Nine Cranes, which was calm and peaceful. The cranes were swimming, lining up neatly and beautifully, like a harmonious family. Guang leaned against a tree to rest for a moment. A leaf fell, and Guang caught it with his hand. He brought the leaf closer to his eye and watched the lined up cranes through the wrinkled hole in the drying brown leaf.

  "This world always makes me want to laugh."

  Guang released the leaf from his two fingers so that it fell to the ground filled with grass and shattered upon colliding with the sharp blades of grass. Guang laughed, and then his expression turned cold. His eyes began to close. His head rested on the hard tree trunk as if it were a soft pillow, and he fell asleep.

  Guang woke up in the late afternoon. The sky had turned reddish, and the sun had begun to set. Dark clouds started to appear, and raindrops fell onto the trees, wetting the Lake of Nine Cranes. He washed his face in the fresh river water and stared briefly at his own reflection in the water. Then he hurried to get up, with one leg and his hand resting on his knee. He stood up and walked slowly alone, leaving behind that beauty. Occasionally, he looked back and observed the cranes again while narrowing his eyes, and he continued his journey.

  "The Heavenly Fire Sect seems to have something valuable to heal my wounds."

  With his remaining strength, it was impossible to use the Vajra sword. He drew a dagger from its sheath and continued his journey towards his destination sect. The black clouds grew darker, and the rain poured heavier, soaking Guang's robe. His robe fluttered from the deception of the increasingly strong wind, and his loose black hair followed the melody of the wind.

  "Half the journey left," Guang said while continuously walking towards the Heavenly Fire Sect. He held his chest and his stomach. The thorny roots felt like a living parasite gnawing at him.

  "I never regret this path."

  The storm thundered, and the rain fell heavily. Guang was thrown and fell among the red lily flowers. His eyes were empty staring at the sky. He smiled, and his smile slowly widened at the sun hiding behind the cruelty of the black clouds.

  Guang began to stand up and continued his journey. He plucked one red lily flower. Forest after forest, river after river were passed by Guang. He grew increasingly tired of walking and laughed while staggering in the middle of the raging storm.

  "Heavens! You must be underestimating me by sending this storm. Listen! Whoever stops me from becoming stronger will definitely be annihilated down to their very roots!"

  Guang shouted at the sky which seemed to mock him by creating obstacles on his journey. However, Guang only spread both his arms and faced towards the sky. His ruined fluttering robe and his wet disheveled hair seemed to mock the imperfection of the disaster sent by the heavens.

  Guang continued his journey with a very long breath. Cold and alone in the middle of the storm, in his hand, he constantly carried the red lily flower, signifying that his resolve was absolute. He was ready and willing to gladly become the angel of death for anyone who blocked his path to continuously become stronger amidst the cruelty and ferocity of this wild forest. He was not a lion, nor was he a knight or an officer. He was solely a wanderer.