Rising Phoenix

Feng Zhiwei jerked, pulling back on the reins as she listened closely to the almost familiar tune. Her eyes deepened with realization and her head turned upwards.

A white robed man sat on a pine tree perched on the waist of the small mountain, calmly playing his bamboo flute.

She had heard this tune outside that unnamed ancient temple in Mount Ji Yang back in Long Xi when death had waited for her outside a shoddy wooden door.

A Dream of Mountain and River, and when the dream passed, so too did the rivers and mountains.

Now, on this squat, nameless mountain outside Dijing, he called down to her as she rushed home, his robes white like snow.

Zong Chen.

The lonely, bleak tune cut to her heart and pressed down on her chest. She felt as if she were drowning, and though she was in such a hurry that she wished she could grow wings to fly off to Dijing, her legs were as heavy as lead. She could not move.

Her heart pounded and her fingers trembled; her lips quivered uncontrollably as blood oozed out of the dry cracks; she could not speak.

When Zong Chen finished, he moved the flute away from his lips and looked down at Feng Zhiwei.

His eyes met hers with quiet sympathy and helpless sorrow.

He stared down as Feng Zhiwei trembled more and more violently, his face calm and sad as he spoke:

"Zhiwei, I'm sorry… it's too late."

…

Before, as she was landing at Shang Ye.

Seven days ago.

The gates of the Imperial City were sealed and the night was quiet when a sudden arrow pierced through the air. The maroon gates cried out as they opened and a rider shot through, his red plate armor and iron mace gleamed with the golden feather sigil on his waistband as he swept into the darkness in a red gold blur.

Detouring from the Golden Feather Guard Yamen in the deep city, he went west to the Compilation Office for the Records of Tian Sheng.

A man waited quietly inside the office.

The heavy doors were shut tight and a single candle burned quietly behind closed windows. The armored rider hurriedly reported to a serious eyed man in oversized robed.

Moments later, the armored rider left.

The robed man exited soon after, lingering in the courtyard. He stood silently staring southwards, the deep night's dew lingering around his sleeves.

Six days ago.

A sealed, top-secret letter lay quietly on the Vice-Editor's desk.

Clean hands gently opened the seal, revealing a terse message.

The man stared down at the letter. Time passed. Finally, the man sighed, flinging the letter aside.

Hesitation covered his furrowed brows as the man sat, still and silent.

Finally, he began opening the pile of letters on his desk. The more he read, the more tightly his brows became.

Suddenly, his hands stilled.

A small letter lay at the bottom of the stack. The man thought quietly as he brushed a special Golden Feather Guard concoction over the paper, revealing a quiet line of characters.

"The Prince's heart is unruly, this Little Brother worries. Sir has great talent and can decide accordingly."

The man stared down at the letter as the broad darkness of the night swept around him.

Five days ago.

A line of grey robed men with expert body technique flitted quietly over rooftops as they made their way to a small yard in the back of Qiu Mansion.

Inside the small house, a woman had lain awake all night. As the group of men landed quietly outside, she opened her bright eyes.

"Cha." The oil lamp hissed to life.

The woman threw a shawl over her shoulders as she sat up and examined the grey robed men. As she calmly looked into each man's face, understanding dawned.

Slowly, she began: "Has the time come?"

"Madam." A grey robed man knelt. "You've worked hard all these years… The Commander has ordered us to come and take you away."

"After this years, you finally show." The woman sighed, ignoring his words. "I had waited expectantly, and then with fear, and today, the dust finally settles."

"The Golden Feather Guard has a new master." The grey robed man spoke again, staring at the ground. "Those years ago, the madam left the mountain to avoid their hunt and brought the Young Master to hide in Dijing, hiding in plain sight, but our opponent is too powerful. Our spies have discovered that the opponent has actionable intelligence and will immediately move. We must leave immediately."

The woman smiled calmly.

"Why do I need to leave?"

The grey robed man stared at her in astonishment.

"Once I leave, all his dreams will disappear." The woman said, her eyes gleaming brilliantly over her pale face. "I care nothing for the factions in your group, all I wish is to accomplish the task he has entrusted me. I have already seen hope for his life's dream, so why would I give up now?"

"But…"

"After preparing for so many years," The madam continued, "Why should it all go to waste?"

"Madam." The grey robed man replied gravely. "This is a matter of life and death."

"You are right, life and death." The madam smiled strangely as she replied. "But some lives have always been prepared as sacrifices."

The grey robed man went silent. Finally, he pressed haltingly: "The Commander believes that this is too risky… our opponent…"

"The pursuit of eternal power is rife with danger." The madam quietly replied. "Your generation might value stability and the preservation of Imperial Blood, but I treasure the wish he held even to his dying breath. People like him refuse defeat to the last, and they suffer for it.

"The fall of a dynasty, the destruction of his organization, hunted across a thousand Li as his companions dropped one by one and his brothers died before him… and then finally, betrayed… he never spoke of it, but I know his hatred and I know the wish buried in his heart. He wished to see the fall of this dynasty just as this dynasty once saw the fall of his brothers… He could not fulfill this wish, and this widow cannot fulfill it, but I believe that someone will."

"Madam!" The grey robed man cried out hurriedly: "You've already disobeyed…"

"Don't speak to me of disobedience." The madam proudly interrupted him. "I am not one of your people and I have not been passed down a mission from your ancestors. I only need to do my all to fulfill my husband's dying wish."

The robed man fell silent, thinking back to the previous Sect Leader, his iron will and unyielding blood, living his short life in pursuit of a single dream. Even in his death, he still pushed forward through this woman, a woman who had lived her entire life for his obsession.