Blood Bonds And Golden Ties

Chapter 54:New Emperor, New Era

[Luo Xiao Zhao]

After the black whisps started to attack, Xiao Zhao found himself at lost. They didn't attack him like the others. He watched as the black whisps pierced through soldiers and assassins alike. He saw the Second Prince wheeling away, but a black whisp attacked him and pierced his heart. The next thing he knew, the prince was dead. I have to get out of here.

He quickly went the way he came. He noticed the landscape seemed to have been ruined. A suspension bridge was built across the chasms of rock platforms. They were made of vines. These vines that once hung down. He set his foot on it. It swayed uneasily. Xiao Zhao stumbled across the first one as it swayed crazily. When he got to the first platform, he barfed.

After he was done, he continued on his way. He stepped off the suspension bridge and to the other side. He heard a snap. He spun around and watched as the suspension bridge collapsed.

He shivered. I could have died. He pushed his fear down. He fumbled with the cylinder before moving its cap and blowing on it. A flame appeared. Pushing aside his unease, he walked through the valley of eyes and ignored the pungent smell.

He finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. He quickened his pace slightly. He stepped out of the tree trunk when the gaping whole disappeared. Xiao Zhao knocked on the wood. It had a solid sound. Strange.

He continued on his way. But as he was walking, he noticed that the plants around him were dying. What is going on?

He strode to a town nearby and found it in total chaos. People were packing up and rushing around.

Xiao Zhao stopped a man running past him. "What is going on?"

"The desert is expanding again! If we don't leave in time, we may not be able to live for long! Sir I need to go!" He scurried away.

"If that's the case, then I too must go! I will travel up north."

Xiao Zhao, along with many others, made the treacherous journey upward. The further they went up north, the more refugees there were. In Chang Long, many people had built makeshift shacks for the night. There was a food shortage.

Xiao Zhao watched as an older sibling snatched for from a younger sibling. All around him sick people. He heard a cough once in a while.

People lined up for food. Sometimes they waited hours, but sometimes they waited days. Xiao Zhao heard a man ask one of the guards serving food, "Where is the other food they promised us?"

"You're getting greedy," the guard said. "Beat him!" The soldiers started to beat the man up. He curled up. Xiao Zhao pushed one of the guards, "Is this how you treat the weak, poor, and old?"

"So what if it is? Who are you?" They beat Xiao Zhao.

When they were done, they left him on the street. He struggled to his feet. Bruises were all over his body.

He had settled under a small roof with many other refugees.

"Is the Emperor going to send more food?" asked one man.

"I'm afraid nothing is going to happen," another replied.

"Why?"

"Didn't you hear? There is no Emperor at the capital. No one knows where he went. There is no one taking charge of the court. Currently, they are all too busy fighting over power."

No, I can't let this go on. There is dying everyday. We need a better life. I will go today. No matter what it takes.

He struggled through the cold snow. Though a long journey, he never gave up. He fell a couple times along the way, but his resolve for a better world kept him going.