[Raises an eyebrow.]

I don't.

Him at his general's mercy, Pei Ming stands in front of him. Oh, how truly...perfect and magnificent you are...]

Go ahead, my general. I'm only a person who betrayed you and your trust, led soldiers to their doom. Killed...and executed the innocent.

I'm not...worthy, of you.

overtaken him. Right there, in the middle of the inn. Where blood pooled over, Rong Guang kneeled helpless. He was covered in blood. The two swords he held a few moments earlier now lay at the ground, like a pile of scrap metal.

This scene was very much like the one before, so many years ago.

+

A badge with a red tassel, shaped from metal, bearing the combined crests of the Pei and Rong families. And in the center, carved deep, a name.

Ming Guang.]

Heh, you're right. Why? Why do I even bother.

[He lowers his head, then falls to the ground, kneeling. As if the exhaustion has finally +

The weight of it all presses down on him, suffocating. But he doesn't speak. He just reaches into his pocket, fingers brushing against something cold. He takes it out and then throws it in Pei Ming's direction.

+

But what can he do now? He can vent all he wants, he can kill all he wants, yet what would that solve? What would that prove?

Pei Ming is so far out of his reach now. Untouchable. Even if he claims he wants to kill him, can he?

+

Then what is he even fighting for anymore?

Is it anger? Sadness? Betrayal? He doesn't know. Or maybe he does, but admitting it would shatter the only thing keeping him standing. He has spent so long carrying this rage, holding it close, feeding it with every grudge and every bitter thought.

+

[At the mention of the past, Rong Guang fell silent. Still, his eyes never leave Pei Ming. He's right. He's always been right but Rong Guang so stubbornly refuses to admit. That after all this time, his general has always been...right, in so many ways. He was perfect.

+

Very well, Xue Yang. You're not bad yourself.