Prologue (1)
Forbidden City, China
1445 AD, Ming Dynasty.
The fulvous sunlight dissolved. The Prussian blue sky turned Armageddon black. The Amaranthine abyss was illuminated by silver orb. Within the walls of the Forbidden City, a hooded man was walking hastily past the imperial gardens. Upon receiving the news, he came to warn them.
They found us. He thought. Sooner than expected.
Escalating his pace, he prayed that he would reach them first.
~
Throne room of Palace of Heavenly Purity
…
The sweet scent of perfume erupted from the Sahumadores, an ancient Chinese perfume burner.
General Liu walked into the throne room; he wrapped his hands and knelt before the Emperor.
“It is done.” He spoke in Chinese. “The walls are secured, no one can breach into the palace, and definitely not the other way round.”
The Emperor merely nodded. He flicked his wrist, and said: “Go for now, wait for further instruction, oh, and get General Wan, I want to have a word with him.”
After General Liu left, the emperor eyed into the dark shadow and muttered, “What’s our next move?”
Emerging from the dark corner was a masked figure; he broke into an impish smile.
“Now, we attack.”
~
The man pushed aside the sorrel wooden door.
“Qi Lin! Zhuo Que!” He shouted. “Where are you?!”
An auburn-haired girl appear yawning, rubbing her sore eyes. “What’s wrong?”she sighed.
The man grabbed her shoulders, tension was written all over his complexion. “Where’s Zhuo Que?”
“He’s still in bed.” She effortlessly replied.
“Go get him, we’re leaving.”
“At this time of night?”
“Yes, and if you want to see the next dawn, you better get moving. Leave everything behind; just take the sabres and your cloaks.”
On the run again, for the past 16 years, all she and her brother did was run.
She went into the room and surprisingly saw that her brother was already geared up. He was staring out of the window. She knew her brother too well. He was having the same thought as she did.
“They found...