Interlude: Severed

~~~

Wise. Patient. Insightful.

Whenever he asks, that is how the Elders reply. Funny and full of wit, his mother once says. Yes, it is always something like that. Whenever people speak of the person his father had been before entering the Renegade Realm, it is always with glowing praise.

Yun Han has never once met that person.

His father entered the Renegade Realm before he was born. The Yun Peng Yun Han knows is ruthless and intolerant, cold yet always on the brink of lashing out. He is a man without a shred of patience or tolerance for failure.

Especially when that failure is his son.

Yun Han cannot recall a single time when his father has smiled at him. Never has a word of praise or encouragement left his lips. Instead, there was always a task to be done, a standard to be met, an obstacle to be overcome. Day after day. Challenge after challenge. 

The Young Master of the Yun Sect must be like this. 

The Young Master of the Yun Sect shouldn’t be like that. 

The Young Master of the Yun Sect should be capable of this.

If you are my son, you should not lose to the Xiao Sect.

“If I am your son, isn’t it natural for me to lose to the Xiao Sect?”

Yun Han has lost count of how many times he has come close to saying those words. He never does. There are a few times in which he comes close to doing so, but Yun Han always manages to bite his tongue in time, too scared of the consequences of such disrespect.

The competition between the Yun Sect and the Xiao Sect affects the lives of all who live in Eastern Port City. None can escape from it. That is why even a young child knows the Xiao Sect is number one. 

The Yun Sect is number two.

That has been the way of things since before Yun Han was born. Xiao Zheng is the undisputed strongest of Eastern Port City. Xiao Nan is the greatest prodigy the city has ever seen, easily claiming victory in every Eastern Port City Tournament he has taken part in. How could a mere whelp such as himself ever hope to change that?

What could a young boy’s meager efforts accomplish when pitted against dazzling talent and unquestionable might? 

Nothing. 

Nothing at all. 

Unfortunately, his father has never seen things that way. Xiao Zheng’s very existence is a personal affront, and Xiao Nan’s talent only makes him push Yun Han harder. Surely, if the Xiao Sect’s prodigy can do something, the prodigy of the Yun Sect can match it. That is how his father sees things.

Yun Han has never once been able to answer those expectations. 

His father set standards, and Yun Han failed to meet them each and every time. He couldn’t break into the Inner Realm quickly enough. He couldn’t master Severing Palm. He couldn’t make it fly like it was supposed to. Focus your mind, his father would shout at him. Sever your emotions, he’d scream. 

Yun Han kept failing. 

He couldn’t even defeat Xiao Fang. 

He tried. Heavens know he tried. Xiao Fang wasn’t like Xiao Zheng or Xiao Nan. Xiao Fang was a boy the same age as him. There was no reason why he couldn’t surpass him. At least in this one thing, it should have been possible for Yun Han to meet his father’s expectations. 

Yes, that is how things should have been. 

Reality did not deem his hopes worth acknowledging. No matter how hard he tried, Yun Han could never equal Xiao Fang. Instead, his weakness has become yet another way in which the Yun Sect is deemed inferior. 

What had he done to deserve such a weak son? His father wondered that loudly and often. Each of Yun Han’s failures further incensed him, and he was brutal in trying to beat the weakness out of him. Training, his father called it. Perhaps it wasn’t completely a lie for it made him stronger, yet did everyone have to suffer so at their father’s hands to grow stronger? 

No. Surely not. His father could not possibly be in the right.

Yet, if his father was wrong, why then did no one lift a finger to save Yun Han from his wrath?

Not the Elders who were supposed to protect him.

Not his mother who was supposed to love him.

Everyone just looked away, too scared to do anything about his father. No matter how much time passed, the pattern repeated itself. 

That is why… the Eastern Port City Tournament should have changed everything!

For the first time in his life, Yun Han had managed to catch up to Xiao Fang’s cultivation! Elder Hui had assured him nothing would go wrong. Doctor Wu had agreed. The Elders of the Yun Sect had encouraged his actions. All were older and wiser than him. Surely, they had to be right! The plan would work. Yun Han would prevail. Finally, he’d give his father what he has long sought!

A victory over the Xiao Sect.

That is what should have happened. It should have worked. Even though Xiao Fang’s cultivation had surpassed his expectations, he should have won! That is what would have happened had it not been for him.

Liu Jin.

Remembering the name is enough to make Yun Han growl. Had it been Xiao Fang alone who defeated him, he’d be able to bear it. Had it been Xiao Zheng who had him in the palm of his hand from the start, he’d understand it. Had it been Xiao Nan who undid it all, he would have nothing to complain about. However, it had been none of them! Xiao Fang may have defeated him in the fighting ring. Xiao Zheng may have tilted the balance. Xiao Nan delivered the final blow. 

However, it all began with Liu Jin!

Liu Jin, the son of a doctor who can not even use Qi! 

Yes, in the future, Liu Jin would undoubtedly become an asset to the Xiao Sect. Yun Han is not foolish enough to miss that. However, that doesn’t change what Liu Jin is now. Even if he is married to Xiao Zheng’s daughter, Liu Jin is but a mere Inner Disciple of the Xiao Sect. That and nothing more. He has not undergone the many trials Yun Han has gone through. He has not suffered as he had.

He is just a disgustingly powerless person! 

Someone like that almost defeated him during the tournament. Someone like that uncovered their plot. Liu Jin had… beaten him. He humiliated Yun Han in front of everyone. For something like that to happen is completely unacceptable.

His father made sure that Yun Han knew it. 

Yun Han coughs weakly as he remembers the beating. How long has it been since then? How much time has passed? Ever since that day, he has been locked inside one of the cells beneath the main house, his body chained to the walls. There are no windows, and no one comes to bring him food or drink. Yun Han must survive this on his own, or he won’t survive at all.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

He is not in any danger of dying. While his body has yet to mend itself, the Qi inside him still burns. He will survive this. Yun Han knows he will.

Even so, it’d have been nice if someone came to help him.

His mother. The elders. Even Wu Yan.

Just a single visit. That is all he wants. Just to see someone. Just to talk to someone. However, once again, even the simplest of things are denied to him. His days of solitude pass uninterrupted. He drifts in and out of consciousness, doing his best to keep his Qi flowing.

This continues until a vicious earthquake sends his chain rattling. At least, that is how it feels like at the time. The trembling loosens his chains enough for Yun Han to break free. His body falls to the floor. It is cold, hard, and dirty.

Yun Han falls asleep instantly.

That is how the soldiers of Murong Bang’s army find him.

~~~

Eastern Port City has fallen.

The Xiao Sect. The Yun Sect. His allies. His foes. His mother.

His father.

In the span of one night, everything Yun Han knows is no more. The floors of the Yun Sect’s compound are dirty with blood. Soldiers in black armor now rule, and Yun Han has been reduced to a servant.

Move the bodies.

That is what the soldiers order him to do. There are corpses all around, and they must be moved before they start to smell. A large hole has been dug up, and now he and others carry the bodies one by one, throwing them into the hole. Some of the bodies are of people Yun Han knows. Some are from the soldiers. Others are far too mangled for him to be able to tell.

By all means, this should outrage Yun Han. 

He should be angry at being reduced to a mere servant. He should be sad over losing everything he ever held dear. 

Yun Han doesn’t feel any of those things. 

There are many soldiers in the Nascent Realm moving about the city, likely searching for valuables. The ones keeping watch on those working are all in the Spirit Realm. Not a single one of them is in top condition. Wherever this army is from, they did not take the city without casualties.

It occurs to Yun Han that he could organize an escape attempt. Yet, even as the thought finishes forming in his head, he realizes it holds no appeal to him.