Gone

“FIND THEM AND DON’T LET ANY OF THEM ESCAPE!!” the Minister of Justice’s voice cried out when he found that Li FangMing had long escaped. Not only that, the rest of the Li Family had also disappeared from their sight.

They had been travelling through the forest in order to get to their destination when they were suddenly attacked by a group of bandits. Normally, these bandits would steer clear from attacking those protected by the Imperial Guards but because the Minister of Justice did not want to appear suspicious, he had the guards change their uniforms into something else.

This, in turn, made the bandits thought that they were a normal group of merchants who were probably dealing with human trafficking. Thinking that they could make money off them if they seized them from the merchants, the bandits launched an attack.

During this chaotic moment, Li FangMing saw his chance. He let go of the rope that had been binding him and in one quick movement, he pushed the Minister of Justice away, taking him by surprise. He saw one of the bandits rushing towards him the moment he steps out of the carriage.

The bandit swung his saber at him, but Li FangMing easily evaded the attack with a simple sidestep. He then grabbed the bandit’s arm that was holding the saber and twisted them roughly. A loud ‘crack’ sounded, followed by the bandit’s scream. The saber fell on the ground and Li FangMing picked it up. By now, the Minister of Justice had already recovered but Li FangMing just grabbed the bandit from before and pushed him over to the Minister of Justice to buy him time.

The bandit struggled and even fought with the Minister of Justice. After all, the Minister of Justice’s clothes were luxurious and even an idiot knows that this was the most important person in the whole group. Unfortunately for the bandit, the Minister of Justice is not a vegetable at all. He was once a general, and his body still remembers what to do when he’s in battle.

By the time the Minister of Justice had subdued the bandit, Li FangMing had long disappeared. Looking around, he saw his target over at the prisoner’s cart and the prisoner inside was even freed. “HURRY AND KILL THE BANDITS!! THE PRISONERS ARE ESCAPING!” the Minister of Justice roared out as he tried to make his way over to Li FangMing but the bandits were not giving him an easy time.

On Li FangMing’s side, he was busy releasing his family members. But the number isn’t small, and he had to be careful when dealing with the children. At this time, Yi who had always been in the dark came out to help him.

Once everyone is free, all that is left is running away. Li FangMing had told his family member to follow Yi, but Li SunXun at first was indignant about it. He was already dissatisfied with Li FangMing, and he didn’t want to entangle more with Li FangMing.

“Father! Yi is one of the Emperor’s shadow guards!” although the identity of a shadow guards need to be kept secret, with how his father is acting, Li FangMing had no choice but to disclose it. Only then did the Li patriarch reluctantly move. They entered the forest and starts running with Yi leading them.

They didn’t even get far when they heard the Minister of Justice’s voice behind them. “FIND THEM AND DON’T LET THEM ESCAPE!!”

Li FangMing turned his head to look behind him. Sure enough, there are now few guards chasing them. Gritting his teeth, he turned towards Yi. “What’s your name?” he asked.

The shadow guard were taken aback at the sudden question and looked back at Li FangMing. “This slave is called Yi,” he finally answered once he had recovered his wit.

“Good. Yi, listen to me. The guards behind us will catch up to us soon. There are children amongst us so it is inevitable… that’s why, I will take a separate path and lure them away,” Li FangMing told him.

“Wangye! You cannot do that! This slave is tasked to never leave your side. Where you go is where this slave will go!”

“If you go with me then who will lead my family to safety!?”

“Wangye…”

“If anything happen to them, then I will kill myself,” Li FangMing decided to use threat and the shadow guard finally kept his mouth shut. “Just go. When you see His Majesty, tell him… to keep my family safe.”

As soon as he finished talking he stopped running and turned to wait for the guards to catch up. His grip on the saber in his hand tightened and he was preparing to dash to the side when he felt a tug on his sleeve. Turning his head he saw a young boy around the age of ten looking up at him fearfully.

“AnRui! What are you doing?!” Li FangMing asked in a panicked voice.

“Big brother Ming! Let’s run together…” the young boy said with tears on his face.

“No! AnRui, listen. I will go and find you later, alright? Go and run now! Quickly!” Li FangMing said as he urged the boy to run but Li AnRui only shook his head.

“Ah’Rui!!” another voice sounded and when Li FangMing turned towards the source, he saw a man running towards them.

“Uncle! Hurry and take AnRui away! I will go and distract them,” Li FangMing said as he pushed Li AnRui towards his the man. Then, without wasting any more time, Li FangMing rushed back to meet with their pursuer. At the moment, there are few of them so Li FangMing could still handle them alone. He bought as much time as he could before finally breaking through to another direction when the number is finally beyond his limit.

He ran through the forest with the Imperial Guards hot on his trails. Because they had lost sight of the rest, the whole forces are focused solely on catching Li FangMing.

Li FangMing tried to lose them by making sharp turn here and there, using the trees and bushes as covers but with their numbers, it was futile.

“He’s here!!” the sharp voice of the guards made Li FangMing groan. He had been running for a while now and he has started to feel exhausted. At the end of his path, Li FangMing saw the edge of the forest.

‘If I leave the forest, there won’t be anything to obstruct them from shooting me down with an arrow but…’ Li FangMing did a quick glance around and saw that there were already guards on his sides. ‘I can only go forward or else, I will be surrounded!’

Thinking of this, Li FangMing continued to run and as soon as he reached the exit, he was forced to stop in his track. There were no other paths to follow because what greets him was the edge of the cliff. During his escape, Li FangMing did not realize that he was going uphill. He glanced down and saw that it was a long way down and it is not possible to climb down despite his skills. And even if he does try to risk it, he doubted that his pursuer will let him take his time climbing down.

The guards caught up to him and encircled him. “Give it up! No matter what you do, your fate is already sealed!” one of the guards speaks up.

“I can’t die here…” Li FangMing replied as he brandished the saber. “I made a promise to him that I’ll do whatever it takes to survive,” despite his situation, Li FangMing was smiling. There were six guards; the number is enough for him alone to take care of. As long as he could finish them quickly before the rest arrived, he can try another path of escape.

Unfortunately, luck was not in his favor. Just as he finished the last one, more guards arrived and the smile on his face disappeared.

“You really are like a cockroach,” from behind the guards, the Minister of Justice walked over. His clothes were stained with blood and the bloodlust in his eyes could no longer be hidden. “Fine! Forget the lingchi! Just kill him now! He has no escape route left,” the Minister ordered the guard.

One by one, the guards began to attack Li FangMing. Yet, Li FangMing still managed to defend himself and even managed to kill one of the guards. The face of the Minister of Justice turned ugly before he scolded his men. “Are you guys stupid?! Who do you think taught him?!” he asked the guards. “If you want to fight him one on one, then might as well deliver your head in a silver platter! Get him in groups!”

‘As expected of a former general, he noticed…’ Li FangMing can’t help but curse under his breath. It’s true that if they attacked him one by one, he still have a chance to survive. His fighting style is more focused on ambush and even if the ambush failed, their target would still either be alone or in a small group. But in a big group like this, it was harder.

Time passed and Li FangMing was getting more and more exhausted. His movement became slower and sluggish but the fire in his eyes has yet to diminish. In the end, the Minister of Justice could no longer stand it.

“Get me a bow and the arrows!” he roared out and not long after, one of the guards handed him the bow and the arrows he wanted. Before this, the guards were afraid to use them because they might end up shooting their men instead. But if their leader is the one doing it, then even if it missed their target, they won’t be blamed.

The Minister of Justice aimed the arrow at Li FangMing and when the chance presented itself, he released the arrow. The arrow cut through air towards the unsuspecting Li FangMing and it pierced through Li FangMing’s shoulder.

By the time Li FangMing registered what had just happened, another arrow flew towards him, piercing him on his thigh. Li FangMing glared at the Minister of Justice’s figure as the man aimed another arrow towards him. He knew the next one is aimed towards his head with the intention of killing him. He knew it very well, after all it was one of the first lessons that Hao Shuren taught him.

The first arrow is to take him by surprise and in order for it not to miss; it was aimed at his upper body which is the biggest target. Next was to stop him from moving, aimed towards the leg and finally, an arrow to the head to secure the kill.

It was as if his death is now imminent and Li FangMing can’t help but laugh. “So much for being the Minister of Justice… Colluding with someone to overthrow the previous emperor, do you think His Majesty will let you live?” he asked, attempting to even buy some time.

“Spare your words. After you died, the blame will be pinned on you…” the Minister of Justice replied. The Minister still held onto the arrow because he felt that if he were to release it now, Li FangMing might be able to dodge it. “What are you doing?! Hurry and get him!” he told his men who were rooted on their place.

“You want to kill me that much?! Let us see if the heaven is fair!” Li FangMing roared out and threw the saber high up in the air. Everyone’s present looked up, thinking that Li FangMing is up to something. Seeing that his distraction was successful, Li FangMing smirked and threw himself backwards, letting himself fall down the cliff.

The Minister of Justice’s eyes widened and he quickly ordered the guards to find a way down to find Li FangMing. Though the chance of survival is low, seeing Li FangMing’s body would give him more assurance that he truly is dead. An hour passed and the guards returned with a pale face.

“My Lord, when we found Li FangMing’s body, he is already surrounded by three tigers. It is as if the tigers were waiting for Li FangMing to draw his last breath before they feast on him… we… when we try to approach them, they gave us a warning growl as if telling us not to steal their meal. So we don’t dare to recover the body,” one of the guard reported.

“Idiots! There are several of you and there were only three tigers! Are my men this useless that they can’t even kill three tigers?!” the Minister of Justice reprimanded the guards. “Fine! Let us go find the rest of the Li Family! They have children in their midst, so they can’t be too far.”

But when they finally caught up with the Li Family, their whole body went cold. The Crimson Guards stood on the Li Family’s side and that could only mean one thing. The Emperor is here.

“Minister, where is Li FangMing?” a cold voice sounded to confirm the Minister’s fear.

“This Minister sees the Emperor, Wan Sui!” the Minister of Justice quickly went down on his knees and paid his respect. The guards behind him followed suit without wasting even a second. He had never thought that the Emperor would find them this quick.

“Zhen ask again… Where is Li FangMing?” seeing that the Minister of Justice did not answer, Qin YiJun once again asked. By now, the guards behind the Minister had already started to shake. When there was still no answer, the Emperor changed his tactic. He pointed at a random guard before he asked the same question again, for the third time.

“Your Majesty!! Please forgive this servant! This servant is only following orders! Li FangMing… he…” the guard hesitated to continue, fearing the Emperor’s wrath. When he accepted this task, he thought that he could make a fortune. They were promised protection as soon as their task is finished and their hiding place was even prepared. Who could’ve thought that the Emperor would be here then?

“Why are you stopping? Continue…” Qin YiJun’s cold eyes were never changing. He wanted nothing more than to kill all of them but he wanted to know Li FangMing’s condition. He prayed that Li FangMing managed to escape and has found safety.

“Li FangMing… he fell down the cliff after the Minister shot him with two arrows. The Minister told us to retrieve his body but when we got there, the tigers were already feasting upon his body…” the guard ends up telling a lie. He did not dare to tell the Emperor that they left the still breathing and dying Li FangMing to the tigers because they were afraid to lose their life to the three beasts. But Qin YiJun noticed that his voice was too unusual even for a scared person so he knew the guard is lying.

“Where was it? Lead Zhen to where it is…” Qin YiJun forced the word out, his hand clenched into a tight fist. He could only took few deep breath to contain his fury. When the guard stood up to lead him, Qin YiJun’s gaze landed on the Minister of Justice, eyes cold and full of killing intent. “You better wish that Li FangMing is there, and still alive… if not, Zhen will make sure you will suffer fate worse than death.”

Hearing the threat, the Minister of Justice was scared witless that he had thought of killing himself to save him from the suffering but the Crimson Guards were quick. They held him and brought him along with them. They did the same with the rest of the Minister’s men.

When they arrived at the foot of the cliff, Li FangMing’s body was no longer there, nor was there a hair of the tigers could be seen. The only thing left was a pool of blood and a piece of cloth that came from Li FangMing’s clothing. Qin YiJun recognized the colour since that was the last colour he saw Li FangMing is wearing just a week ago.

“Crimson Guards… tell Zhen… What is the chance of Li FangMing’s survival?” Qin YiJun asked as he silently gazed at the pool of blood.

“Your Majesty, please forgive this servant. Based on the height of the cliff and the amount of blood… even if the tree branches would somehow break his fall, he would still be heavily injured. The amount of blood on the ground meant that… he had suffered a very serious injury and… he would’ve died of blood loss even if we found him now…” one of the Crimson Guard carefully answered. As much as he wanted to lie, he couldn’t so even if it was a painful truth for their Emperor, he could only inform him truthfully.

“Is that so…” Qin YiJun’s voice was void of emotion before he turned around to face the Minister and his men. “Crimson Guards, you have sworn you allegiance to this Emperor, and you will only answer to Zhen… is that correct?”

“Yes, Your Majesty! This servant only answers to the Son of Heaven!”

“Then… Kill the guards who followed the Minister of Justice and bring back the Minister of Justice to the Imperial Palace so that Zhen can officially sentence him to his punishment. He shall become an example on what will happen if anyone else dare to go against Zhen,” Qin YiJun said as he looked straight at the Minister of Justice right in the eyes. Then he turned around to look at the pool of blood, as if willing Li FangMing’s body to appear, hoping that if he prayed hard enough, Li FangMing would emerge, unharmed.

Unfortunately, it did not happen and amidst the begging and pained scream sounded behind him, the Emperor’s eyes never once left the pool of blood. His expression looks as if he had lost part of his soul with the death of Li FangMing.

When they returned to the Li family, a young boy rushed out to meet them. The solemn expression on the Emperor’s face made him slow down. He scanned the faces of the retinue, hope in his eyes.

“Your Majesty, where is big brother Ming?” he asked, voice shaking.

Qin YiJun looked into a pair of eyes the same color as that of Li FangMing, into a face he knew so well. “You must be Li AnRui…” Qin YiJun murmured in a soft voice. “Ming-er always talked about you and your sister. He’s really fond of you two…” His voice broke with sadness.

“Li FangMing… is gone…” How could such a short sentence be so hard to say? His heart was heavy with grief, his eyes red from tears he dare not shed, his nails biting into his palm until they drew blood. He could feel the mood of the crowd shift to fearfulness, but knew they couldn’t see. “Don’t worry. Zhen will make sure to compensate the Li family for all the trouble that the Minister of Justice has caused. As for Li FangMing’s funeral…” Qin YiJun closed his eyes as he tried to suppress the sorrow in his heart. “Zhen will handle it.”