100 Mei Xues' Story

Later that night, Mei Xue found Cheng Won outside the little hut, staring into the starry sky. A good thing about being so far away from the city was there were no houses to occupy their view. He sat next to the barren farm, his pants dirtying, but he did not seem to mind that.

Mei Xue found it hard to find the words to say. At the age of eight, she was yet to be the eloquent young lady without a fault. Her future was still far away. Right now, she was just a young kid unsure of her destination.

Cheng Won spoke first in the end. "Is Wi Binbing alright?"

"She has just gone to sleep, I think," Mei Xue answered. "I don't think there's anything wrong. She seemed tired."

"That's good," the boy spoke. He sighed and rubbed his face. "That's good."

The young girl looked around, then shyly took a seat next to him. She wasn't one to watch the stars or sky, as she imagined it to be a frivolous and needless gesture, but this only made the silence more embarrassing. Mei Xue wondered what went through his head. He had yet to say anything about what happened, and even now, she did not understand how he returned. "I. Uhm."

Cheng Won cut her off. "Do you think, when the emperor looks at the sky, he sees the same thing as we do?"

"Uh," the young Mei Xue was a little startled, "Yes?"

"Maybe they have some high place that makes them closer to the sky. Maybe they can scoop up the moon even," Cheng Won spoke. "These guys probably have some expensive things, worth several times our lives, to see the bright little dots far away. If they could take the stars for themselves, would they?"

Mei Xue closed her mouth. Her previous thoughts vanished, as she focused on listening to Cheng Won. "Does it matter to us?"

"No, probably not." The boy laughed. It was hollow laughter, unlike a typical child. "I was just wondering, as we all are birthed under the same heavens, how are we so different? Do we not bleed and die the same?"

"Who knows, maybe the emperor and his sons have blue blood," Mei Xue said. "I hear they use magic tricks and the blood of their people to stay youthful," she explained, while wildly waving her arms and legs.

"If anyone were to hear you say that, it'd be off with your head," Cheng Won told her, and snickered as she promptly clasped her tiny hands over her mouth. He glanced at the stars again. A sudden, yet strong breeze, brushed through his hair, his clothes, his body, sending him aflutter, and for a moment he felt weightless. "This is the Empire of Eternal Wind." The boy closed his eyes.

Mei Xue observed him carefully, and her heart skipped a beat. She quickly turned away, holding her cheeks, and felt the warmth emitted from them. She fidgeted, wondering, did he perhaps see her flushed face?

Cheng Won opened his eyes again. He did not see her face, making the girl heave in relief. "Do you think it is possible to destroy the sects and clans?"

"Eh?" 

"I understand that going after the royal family and its officials is an impossibility, and frankly, I care little about them, unlike these adults who blame all their misfortune on the war," Cheng Won said while shrugging his shoulders. "But I cannot forgive the scum of this world that use the turbulence of this land to destroy the lives of innocent children."

Mei Xue stared at the boy, and her heart lurched, as she bit her lips. She saw, underneath the calm, an unstoppable wrath. His hands were clenched, enough to turn white and make his shoulders tremble. His brows wrinkled, then calmed, as if he was thinking about something incredibly complex. His irises reflected no light, like two lonesome stones, floating in an endless river. "But you are also just a child. We both are. What can we do?"

"Some noble children get married at my age, you know? I wouldn't exactly call us young," Cheng Won protested.

"Eww," Mei Xue stuck her tongue out. "I won't ever get married! That's disgusting."

Cheng Won squinted his eyes, smirking. "Not even if it was a handsome prince that proposed to you?"

The girl vehemently shook her head. "Never! That's a thing for the three families and royalty. Don't lump me in with them."

"Hahaha! I wonder if you can say the same when you are older," he spoke as if he weren't a child himself. But Mei Xue did not correct him, as she liked it more when he was acting stupid and carefree. Only after a minute, did he speak again. "Anyways, I have been thinking and made a choice. Tomorrow, I will join the Waning Principle Sect."

Shocked by the unexpected news, Mei Xue jumped up with wide eyes, and shouted, "What!"

"Sshh, you will wake the others," Cheng Won put a finger over his lips.

"You can't join that place! Didn't you say you loathed them? It was you that told me how they murdered your parents," Mei Xue continued yelling, regardless of the consequences.

The boy gave her a scrutinizing stare. "Weren't you fine with Wi Binbing leaving too?"

"I, uh," Mei Xue was taken aback, "Fine, I apologize, I was wrong in the beginning. I didn't know the full story," she grumbled. "But still!"

"I am not telling you this to make you feel bad," Cheng Won spoke. "You have to understand, all this time, I have dreamed of revenge, but I did not have to courage to act on it. But continuing down this path of escape will be no different." He smiled faintly. " You have said the same, we all have our own destiny." He paused. "This one is my fate, little Xue."

Mei Xue couldn't rebut. She wanted to, but her words failed her. She, as someone who grew up without knowing her parents, failed to relate to someone who has felt the loving embrace of a family, only to have it taken away from them.

"However, I will not sit here and lament over my decision," Cheng Won said in a steadfast tone. "Without a doubt, the Waning Principle Sect is the undisputed rulers of the lawless zone and the slums. As long as they exist, there will be no peace for you guys, and this empire will continue to be a place that births orphans." He had an optimistic smile, and his eyes were filled with radiant splendor again. "If I enter the sect, I will destroy them from within. The sect will end with my generation, I swear upon my life and dignity," he said, happy. "So, do not cry please, little Xue."

Mei Xue wiped the snot and tears away, but they still fell, like an unending water stream whose dam had broken. "Then," she spoke and sniffed, "I will take care of the other sects! I promise you that! When we are older, we will get rid of them both together, okay?"

Cheng Won nodded. "That sounds good. I will take care of them from the inside, while you do the same from the outside."

...

Returning to the present, Mei Xue took a sip of the mellow plum wine, only to realize it was empty. "A few months after, I was adopted by the Wang family, while Cheng Won had become a disciple of the Waning Principle Sect," she told Lan Jiu with a somewhat red face. "The implications of that, I am sure you understand more than me."

Lan Jiu was quiet. He was long left stunned speechless to utter any words. "But it comes with a happy ending. You both got what you set out the achieve. Congratulations."

Mei Xue shook her head, chuckling. "Not at all. Unlike his promise, after the Lan generation came seven more," she said. "It has been two decades, and what he has set out to do took far too long and was far too late."

"Maybe it was harder than he initially anticipated," Lan Jiu spoke. That he accomplished his mission in the first place was akin to a miracle and a legend worth telling already. Lan Jiu himself couldn't imagine how to take down such a behemoth. The story of Cheng Won—or Lan Wu, for that matter—would undoubtedly go down in history as a success.

"No, I've met him, 10 years before that. By then, I have completed my side of the bargain and was ready to destroy the smaller sects, and he had become the youngest elder of the sect," Mei Xue spoke. "We were ready. But he changed his mind."

"Why?"

"For a woman, of course," Mei Xue spoke, laughing dryly. "Lust, Greed, and Anger cloud a man's mind. He had fallen in love with a member of the sect. Isn't that hilarious?" Her tone was cold. "He made all kinds of excuses, defending the sect, and we had a big fight. That was the last time I've spoken to him. I do not know why, a decade later, he'd choose to cling to his promise." She shrugged her shoulders. "But I am a woman of my word. I told him when he destroys the Waning Principle Sect, I will root out the other clans and cults."

Lan Jiu watched her speak, in awe. He felt admiration and respect for her, from the bottom of his heart. "But why would you tell me that?" Were they enemies or friends? It was hard to say.

"Well, I thought you'd be the only one to get it. As someone from the sect who has a connection to Lan Wu," Mei Xue smiled. "Also, I come to this place to relax. It is very relaxing, speaking of one's past. You should try it." She stood up and stretched. "Anyways, let's end this fun little meeting here. I have been thinking and made a choice. Tomorrow, I will kill the witch. This one is my fate, Lan Jiu."