Tale of QiLong

Chapter 1: The Grand Escape (III)

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Location, TianAn Palace. Setting, Chamber of the Twin Suns

Racing with a light sprint alongside his father in their attempted escape, XiYang's padded boots aided in soundproofing his pattering footsteps. Fortunately for XiYang, he was still young. Even without the padding, it was rather unlikely that his footsteps would make any sound. Before them both as they neared the end of the vast corridor, a bend appeared, signifying that they were going to be led into a different hallway than the one they were currently in. XiYang was more than ready to take his leap towards freedom, however that hope was quickly dashed as his father grabbed him by the arm. Using an ample amount of force to ensure that he didn't hurt his son, JingHong pulled him away from the nearing corner that they were supposed to turn at. "The rebel general." the emperor whispered to his son simplistically.

Even as a child, it didn't take XiYang much thinking at all to understand exactly what his father meant. Curiously, XiYang's eyes swiveled in that general direction. There, barely around the corner that they were about to turn at, a set of sinister shadows stretched themselves across the hallway. Their bodies were long and thin as they ran across the ornate carpet, and the heads of these people barely reflected on the walls. Even without seeing their faces, JingHong could recognize the outline of their garbs, more specifically- Their helmets. "So you're telling me, you have pillaged the entire palace of TianAn, but you couldn't find one old man and one measly young boy?" Both father and son heard the general, Zhang Lijiao say to his men with great incredulity. His voice trickled with displeasure as his eyes furrowed into sharp daggers. "We looked everywhere 20JiangJun, there was nobody. They might have escaped..."

"Impossible! We had this place surrounded last night, and even now? We have several of our men stationed within this range. There is no chance of them escaping!" Zhang LiJiao boasted proudly with certainty. "I don't know what else to tell you... But we couldn't find them." the unfortunate soldier replied timidly. "Then search till you can!" Zhang LiJiao boomed his command before storming away in the opposite direction of the hall. The emperor watched carefully, the moment Zhang LiJiao was out of sight, the emperor turned to his son. "Go." the emperor urged as he gently pushed his son before him. Out of precaution as his growing paranoia stirred up an ominous feeling, JingHong's reflex prompted him to look behind them. The moment he turned, he met the soulless eyes of a rebel soldier. Clutched in his merciless grasp, the soldier held a sharpened scimitar to the emperor's neck.

"Well well well... What do we have here?" the soldier mused. "Diē-" "Go." JingHong ordered calmly. From his hand, the emperor casted forward a pungent cloud. With a single blow on the substance that rested in the palm of his hand, a unique variant of stinging powder seeped into the soldier's eyes. The agony this soldier felt was similar to that of stinging vinegar with the temperature of bubbling magma. His eyelids closed instinctively, blinded and in pain, the soldier released a blood curdling cry. Due to the volume's intensity, his screams alerted all the nearby troops. Although it was risky, the emperor grasped the opportunity with zero hesitations. During the momentary pause as the soldier dropped to his knees in pain, the emperor immediately seized his first opportunity to evade the enemy soldiers. Without saying a word, he whisked XiYang in his arms and fled the scene.

"Diē where are we-" "The Mystic Chambers." the emperor answered abruptly. In his father's arms, XiYang peeked over JingHong's shoulder. With a set of attentive eyes, he helped his father surveille the danger that stalked them. To his delight, XiYang saw nobody chasing after them, even if it was only temporary? XiYang was just happy that they managed to elude their pursuers. Five minutes later, JingHong stopped in front of a barricaded vault door. Confused as to why they stopped here of all places, XiYang eyed the unfamiliar location in awe, this was the first time in the young prince's entire life that he's ever seen something so mystical and peculiar. The outside of the vault was sealed by an arcane power, the aura it emitted was mystifying. On the surface, it had the celestial glow of the heavens, but one thing baffled XiYang greatly: Beneath that ethereal layer of divine radiance was a layer of blackened energy. The energy beneath was as mysterious and ominous as it was glorious, its level of power rivaled that of the first layer itself.