Three years passed.
The disappearance of the Twelfth Prince, Feiheng, once a favorite in the Imperial Capital, had caused a brief stir of alarm among the Imperial Preceptor's partisans.
But things in the Capital changed faster than ever, and soon, no one remembered Prince Feiheng or his perverse cruelty.
All they remembered was a new imperial bloodline, rising like a new star on the horizon.
As time went on, the bedridden Human Emperor held court less and less frequently, and on the borders, the Wu Clan gradually began to amass their forces once more.
But the Wu Clan appeared to hold their treaty in high regard; the twelve former border regions had, contrary to all expectation, become the most peaceful places in the land.
Within the Azure Dynasty, rumors rose from all corners, and it seemed as if all the fiends and monsters, usually hidden from sight, were about to emerge.
Eternal Sun Prefecture, by contrast, remained stable.
Its mysterious Prefecture Lord commanded the murderously imposing Azure Cloud Army and could suppress any outlaw or troublemaker who dared to raise their head.
There were two major factions within the Eternal Sun Prefecture:
First, the old establishment, which behaved like turtles with their heads tucked in their shells;
Second, the people of Azure Cloud Region, who had clawed their way out from mountains of corpses.
On the Azure Cloud Region border.
Li Dalong stood once more upon the border city wall.
This time, however, he was not there to hold back the Wu Clan, but to watch as his old friend, Lei Dong, came to bid him farewell.
Lei Dong was clad in a suit of blue battle armor.
At the edge of the Endless Forest stood his retinue, a great many Wu Clan personal guards befitting his new status as an Elder.
Now, as he looked upon Li Dalong dressed in his official robes, he was filled with emotion.
"Brother Dalong," he said, "I never imagined that after we fought each other to the death on this very border all those years ago, we would each end up walking our own path."
Li Dalong smiled as well. "I never imagined Brother Lei Dong would become a Wu Clan Elder, and I'm sure you never thought I, Li Dalong, would become a Prefecture Lord."
"Indeed."
Lei Dong sighed. "When I rescued you all those years ago, Brother Dalong, I thought you would one day walk the path of rebellion and become the greatest stumbling block to the Human Race.
I never imagined that you would instead lead your clan to become running dogs for them."
Li Dalong's eyes flew wide. "And aren't you just a running dog for the Wu Clan yourself?!!"
Their words made everyone nearby tense up. But who would have imagined that after a long silence, the two men would suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
A moment later.
A long spear appeared in Li Dalong's hand. It emanated a dense aura, and the sound of rumbling thunder seemed to echo from it.
"Brother Lei Dong," he said, "this Low-Grade Dharma Treasure is named the 'Delusion-Shattering Thunder Spear'.
My clan's children seized it from an enemy named Lai Teng.
No one in our family has a use for it. You are now heading to Yuanzhou Prefecture to lead the Wu Clan's invasion.
I hope that while wielding this spear, you will meet your end at the hands of a righteous warrior of my Human Race."
Lei Dong paid Li Dalong's curse no mind. He nodded slightly and produced a pearl.
A faint, ghostly light flickered upon its surface, radiating a grim, deathly Qi.
"A Rank 5 Spirit Object," he said, "the 'Netherworld Soul Pearl'. It can suppress all the souls under heaven, and it can also nourish them. A great master of my clan obtained it from the Ghost Realm.
The Azure Dynasty's fated days are numbered. Brother Dalong, having received this pearl, you should perish alongside your dynasty and be reborn as a fearsome, vengeful ghost."
Having exchanged treasures, Lei Dong departed, his face still showing a boundless joy.
Only as the distance between them grew did a gloom settle over both their faces.
"The next time we meet," they both murmured, "I will show no mercy."
Afterward.
Li Dalong slowly turned his head. Li Yunbing, clad in black armor, followed close behind.
Gazing at the darkening sky over the Azure Dynasty, Li Dalong let out a long sigh.
"An age of great chaos," he murmured. "Rumors and slander everywhere, prefectures amassing troops, powerful nobles waiting and watching, foreign clans invading the borderlands.
In such a world of disaster and chaos, how can my Li Clan possibly hope to find a place to survive?"
Li Yunbing was also silent. After a long while, he finally said to Li Dalong.
"Grandfather, it's time we went home. Even if the world descends into greater chaos, we still have our own ways to face it."
"Mm."
Immediately, the two of them appeared inside Merit City.
They walked into the Li family's residence.
There, they saw a melancholy young man standing before the old tree.
He caught a single red leaf as it fell from its branches, and his voice was as bleak as the autumn wind itself.
"I have long heard that the Li family's Divine Tree can guide the paths of its people," he murmured. "A pity it cannot show this prince which way to go."
Li Dalong and Li Yunbing furrowed their brows slightly and nodded toward the young man in acknowledgement.
"Prince Feiheng."
Feiheng turned around; he looked more world-weary than he had before.
For these past three years, he had never truly been missing. He had been here all along... with the Li family!
---
3/3
Donate on Ko-fi ➡️ [https://ko-fi.com/darktea] ⬅️
Get Early Access to 50 Chapters: Search for "Dark Tea" on Ko-fi (Explore tab) and join my membership to read ahead!