Something Beautiful and Wicked

"What are you doing?" asked one of Yuan Shun's comrades, taking out a knife. "Kill her!"     

The others followed his comrade's lead as Yuan Shun backed away.     

The Empress's blade gleamed like starlight, but she didn't draw it from its scabbard. His comrades attacked her, and she took them all out with the swoop of her martial arts skills and brute strength. She took out two at the same time, dodging their attacks, leading them to run their weapons into each other. She gracefully and skilfully disappeared from view before reappearing again, misleading them on purpose. She kicked and punched, killing them with pure force and using their weapons against them. Yuan Shun watched eye-wide, as the 1v8 bloodshed unfolded.      

When the Empress finished, she stood tall on her own, and her head snapped to him. Yuan Shun gulped.      

She took steps forward when there was a sudden blast that knocked him from his feet. His head felt heavy; his vision swam. He didn't understand what happened. His world was tilting until he made out a person, a flash of red—the masked woman, the Empress. She was glory and death, fire and blood, flesh and smoke. Her lethal frame enveloped his sight, fire blazing behind her. Smoke then filled his lungs, static pierced his ears, and the world turned black.     

Yuan Shun blacked out for a few moments. He opened his eyes, realizing he had been dragged out of the burning building. He sat up, facing the Empress, who looked at him directly. Did she just save him?      

"My brother," he told her, gazing into the fire. "He's still in there! I have to go back."      

The Empress looked at him, her body reluctant to move. "Stay here," her cold voice told him. He watched as she sprinted back into the roaring flames. She went inside, looking for any sign of Yuan Shun's brother.      

Her senses went onto overdrive. She ducked, realizing someone had swooped in for a surprise attack.      

"Were you the one that caused the explosion?" she asked him.      

Yuan Ning swung with a knife at her with his burnt arm. She ducked and turned. "No," he answered. "I thought it was a surprise attack from you."      

"You're the King of Wolves?" She asked. "The Rogue King?"     

"The very one."      

Shi Yen unsheathed her blade. She saw the look in his eyes; she saw the bloodthirsty and promising gleam of death in them. It seemed like he was filled with unexplainable anger and pain and resentment towards her.     

Shi Yen never unsheathed her sword in battle, unless she felt extremely threatened, intimidated. It was a last resort whenever she faced a strong opponent.     

She came to save this man, but she realized he was going to kill her.     

She attacked first by lunging, and he parried.     

Yuan Ning threw a knife, and she deflected with her sword. He kept throwing more, and Shi Yen tried to outmanoeuvre him. Some of them landed into the flesh of her arms and thighs. She pulled them out, shaking off the slight pain.      

Why the hell was he so intent to kill her?     

He didn't give her a second to ask the question, to lose focus. His speed was unmatched.      

He came forward, closing in on her. Her sword wasn't good enough to parry his attack. She dropped it, and he began to wrestle her until they hit the ground, his frame weighing over hers. He placed pressure on her stab wounds, and she tried not to scream.      

She kneed him hard against his torso, rolling over his body. She pulled out a knife, slashing his chest and arms with deep and bloodied gashes. She then held the blade to the base of his throat, and Yuan Ning had fought back, bringing the knife towards her face. Shi Yen widened her eyes, and she gritted her teeth.      

He was almost impossible to beat. Every move she made, he countered precisely, almost calculating it without much of a thought.      

She coughed, the smoke began to fill her lungs. This wasn't good. She was supposed to meet with Master Wong. He was waiting for her. This was supposed to be a small mission that did not require assistance. This had been a trap, and now she was fighting for her life. She had come here because she was told that some Wolf members had gone rogue and she wanted to observe the situation, nothing else.      

Ailin—Shi Ailin. Her sister was at home, alone. Shi Yen had to keep fighting to get back to her.      

Shi Yen rolled over to stand on her feet, and Yuan Ning rose to stand, facing each other again. Yuan Ning threw a punch, and Shi Yen lifted her arms to hover over her face and take the hit. She then arched left and right; she dipped her back, as his fist attempted to meet her face.      

Shi Yen lowered herself, swiping his legs with hers. He leapt, and she missed. She blocked an upcoming kick with her arms guarding her head. She then punched him, and it landed on his jaw. She realized he was becoming slower, as was she.     

He coughed out blood, having trouble breathing.      

Shi Yen's vision swam, and the air was becoming thick with smoke. She staggered, removing her mask. She gasped for air, but unguarded, he kicked her in the chest, and it rattled her body, knocking the wind from her. He then hovered over her body, grabbing her by the collar of her jacket. Shi Yen didn't know what to do. She pulled out another knife, strapped on her thigh, and she ran it into his chest at the same time he bashed her head onto the concrete.      

Yuan Ning collapsed next to her unconscious body, and he attempted to crawl away, but the pain and smoke overwhelmed him. He thought he was going to die.      

And he didn't remember how he escaped the burning building until he woke, bandaged and patched up. Genji was watching over him.      

"What happened?" he asked her hoarsely.      

"You almost died," she replied, her voice angry and sad.      

"Is the Empress dead?" he asked her.      

"I'm not sure," replied Genji. "Her body wasn't there when I found you."      

"And my brother?"     

"He made it out," she told him.      

"What caused the explosion?"     

Genji sighed. "Shi Ma plotted it, but he didn't want to kill any of you. The explosion was targeted at the factory next door."      

"Why did he do it?"     

"A warning," she told him. "I told you not to go against his instructions. He's calculative and strategic. Also…he believes it would be a good idea to fake your death. He has no interest in becoming Emperor, but you'd make the perfect candidate. No one would suspect the identity of a dead man."      

For a long time now, Yuan Ning no longer had the motivation or desire to run the Banking Empire. At that moment, he decided to fake his death and allow his brother to inherit everything. He wanted to disappear. He wanted to be nameless and faceless and hide in the depths of darkness.      

He believed in his brother. Yuan Shun would do a better job than he ever could.      

"I should have listened to you," he said, trying to sit up, groaning in pain.      

"Don't try to get up," she warned, pushing him down. She then placed a wet cloth over his forehead. "The Empress could have killed you."     

His eyes welled, and a tear escaped. "I wanted revenge," he said. "She killed Li and my child. In some ways...she killed me, too."      

Genji frowned and sighed. "Ning," she called him with a strange intimacy they've never explored before. "I will help you…" she said.      

Yuan Ning widened his eyes.      

"I didn't want to, but I can see how important this is to you. But you have to listen to me and all my instructions, and you have to be patient."      

Yuan Ning grabbed her slender hand. "Thank you, Genji," he said.      

Her heart skipped a beat, but she shoved it away. "Just focus on recuperating," she told him. She then caught a subtle smile on his face, as for the first time in a long time, he was content.