Cold Sands || Beyond the Frore Dunes [COMPLETED]

Chapter 26: Resolute

Xie Yun was immediately put to death before the palace gates and his head has been hung up for all to see.

The entire Xie household of more than one hundred and fifty had been sent to prison and were later sentenced to exile to the southern borders, never to leave. All personnel who had supported the relocation were sentenced to death and those related to them had been exiled or degraded. After such an ordeal, all who advocated the relocation have been cleared as though a thunderstorm has blown through the court, completely cleansing it.

Here in the gloomy inner hall of Tai Qing Palace, I am sitting at a table in silence.

The cries of the Xie family are still resonating in my ears. The sharp blades came down and blood flew out with the bloodcurdling metallic flashes—the high and mighty elite had become lifeless bodies in the blink of an eye. For a split second, I think I see the blood spreading across the ground, washing past the palace gates and steps, even submerging the palace.

'Tis the life of every king.

I close my eyes.

Every deadly struggle for the throne, every battle to the death for power ends with the shedding of the blood of the defeated. Those who have lost their lives would eventually become dust, buried beneath the heavenly glory of this palace.

Every time I advance, every time I prevail, my hands will be stained with more blood, my sword will end more lives and my feet will trample over more bodies. I can no longer point fingers at the empress dowager. My hands are no longer pure and are even more defiled than hers.

The victor has always been the king and the loser the sinner. There are always those who fall and those who rise in the power game. At this moment now, I am at the height of the royal palace, looking down upon all those beneath me, while the dead will remain eternally buried in the underworld.

I come to realize that...I seem to have changed. A part of my heart has slowly become tough and cold, and not even bloodshed can make me feel sympathy anymore.

Is this what being an emperor means?

I turn slightly, my gaze falling on the sword holder by the desk. The Sword of Ding Guang—it is said that Emperor Rui Shun wielded Ding Guang in his hands and resolutely usurped the throne, murdering the royal family of the previous dynasty, establishing the court that governs the vast land of Great Rui. Since then, Ding Guang has been hung in Tai Qing Palace to symbolize the protection from the spirit of Emperor Shun of his sons and descendants and of the continuation of the Rui Dynasty.

I spring up from my seat and take the sword from its holder. I bluntly break off the black silk cover and pull the blade out of its sheath, a glaring light dancing off of it. 

The emperors of Rui were learned scholars and the ancient sword had been abandoned in its shrine in the confines of the palace, locked away for more than a century. Yet today it has been brought back, sharper than ever.

I pick up the wine vessel on the table and splash the cool liquid on the metal. A rich aroma quickly wafts through the building as the wine drips down the sword tip. I drag the weapon behind me as I slowly walk towards the doors, the tip sparking little bright dots against the ground.

The doors swing open at once. The Golden Guardians bow down beside me. All the officials of the court are at the bottom of the steps.

I take my spot at the top and lift my arm, pointing the blade to the sky. The sun shines down on the blade and reflects off as a shimmering ray. I smile proudly as I watch them from above, steadily announcing:

"I shall personally slay anyone else who supports the relocation, anyone else who does not fight, with the sword of Emperor Shun!"

The entire palace falls silent like death. I take a quick glimpse at Uncle kneeling properly and looking down. I can't tell what he's thinking. However, for just a moment, I see his expression freeze before he closes his eyes tightly in pain. Heng Ziyu's head is slightly raised and his keen eyes linger on me.