As death slowly embraced him, Su Qing’s mind drifted to a memory he had spent years trying to bury.
***
Twelve years ago
Su Qing was sitting at home, enjoying his tea, when he heard a knock at the door.
It was a bit of an annoying interruption, as he liked to savor his tea time without any distractions.
Nevertheless, he got up to see who was visiting.
As he made his way to the door, he wondered who it could be, and what they might want.
He wasn’t really in the mood for visitors, but he opened the door anyway, curious about who was on the other side.
As he walked, the sound of heavy rain filled the air, and it was coming down dangerously hard.
“Seriously, who had upset the ancestors this time?”
He approached the door and opened it.
On the other side, there was someone holding a baby who was crying, and from what he could see, it looked like a woman.
The woman remained silent, simply handing the wailing baby over to Su Qing.
Su Qing was confused on who the woman’s identity was and lifted the robe that was covering her head and to his surprise it was his former fiancé, the same woman who he had thought had run away with another man because she didn’t see any value in him.
Why has she come to him all of a sudden?
The woman grasped his cheek before saying:
“Su Qing, I’m deeply sorry for leaving without a word.
My regret is overwhelming, and I don’t expect you to forgive me.
All I can ask is that you please take care of our child, I’m counting on you to give him the love and care they need.”
Su Qing’s eyes widened in shock.
“C-Child, what do you mean by that ?
And what’s with your breathing.
It’s almost like you’re having a tough time inhaling air, and it’s getting worse by the second.
What happened to you, anyway?
The woman smiled and looked down.
Su Qing did the same thing and then she saw that she was holding onto what looked like a wound on her stomach.
The wound looked like a sword slash.
This angered Su Qing as who could have done this to his former fiancé in the first place.
But was there any worth in getting angry?
She walked out on him, choosing to be alone, all so she could marry some other guy and get her hands on more money than he had.
He was lost in thought, but his reverie was suddenly interrupted when the woman stepped into his personal space, her face inches from his, and gently pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss.
Su Qing was taken aback, her eyes wide with surprise as she just stood there, frozen in shock.
“Shui, what are you…?”
Shui’s voice was shaking as she begged Su Qing.
“Please, I’m begging you, take care of my….no our baby boy.
Make sure he has a better life than we did.
Don’t let him end up like us.”
Tears streamed down her face as she thought about the future of their child.
She wanted Su Qing to give him the opportunities they never had, to protect him from the struggles they faced.
“Give him a chance at a good life,” she whispered, her eyes pleading with Su Qing to promise her that.
Su Qing had no words.
Shui felt happy with what she saw.
It seemed like Su Qing didn’t need to say anything, because Shui knew her fiancé would go along with what she wanted.
She just had this feeling that everything was going to be okay.
And with that, she just fell to the ground and passed away, just like that, in an instant.
Su Qing slowly turned his head at the dead corpse of his former fiancé and still had no words.
Even in death, the memory still lived in his mind.
Out of all of the stuff he could have recalled, why did it have to be that specific one.
‘I made my promise….he grew up into a fine boy.’
The moment had passed and reality set back in.
The comforting feeling of nostalgia was lost, leaving only a chill that lingered.
“M-Master…”
Sun Yunso dragged himself across the blood-soaked floor.
His vision was consumed by darkness.
Blood continued to stream from the wounds across his eyes.
He couldn’t see but he refused to stop searching.
His trembling hands reached forward again…
And again until his fingers touched someone.
“…!”
Yunso quickly scrambled closer, his hand frantically grasping for the familiar shape beside him, and he managed to grab hold of Su Qing’s shoulder.
“Master?”
No response.
He shook him.
“Master…
wake up.”
Silence.
Su Qing’s body felt icy to the touch as his hands gently moved over him, the chill of her skin sending a shiver through him.
Yunso froze, his lips trembled.
“N-No…”
It hit him like a ton of bricks, a shock that cut deeper than any knife.
His master, the man who had taught him to wield a sword, the man who had taught him to forge one, the man who had raised him like a son was….gone.
Yunso’s face was a mess of tears and blood, his cheeks smeared with a mixture of the two.
As he tried to speak, his voice broke under the overwhelming sadness that had taken hold of him.
“Why?
Why would anyone do this?
What did my master ever do to you?
He never hurt anyone.
So why?
WHY?!”
A loud scream filled the empty, damaged house, and his hands, shaking violently, slowly curled into tight fists.
Every tear, every drop of blood, and every ounce of pain became hatred.
His voice fell to a whisper.
“You can’t escape me, no matter how hard you try to hide.
I’ll track down every single one of you, and when I finally catch up, you’ll face the consequences.
I’ll cut you all down.”
That night, the boy who had always dreamed of making swords ended up creating something entirely different.
A vow of revenge.