Liwei was drunk

Yang Liwei was drunk. By far not as drunk as he hoped the others believed, but too drunk to throw one of his treasured hairpins and guarantee it hitting bullseye. He had never been this drunk outside of the walls of Blood Moon Guilds temple. One of his many ways to secure his own safety. A quiet chuckle escaped him. Apparently he already felt safe enough with this bunch of mismatched cultivators lying in the room below the roof he lounged on, to let his guard slip that far. He’d probably scold himself for it once he was sober again and had his head straight on again. Leaning back he gazed up at the moon. Or would he?

Tomorrow he would say goodbye to Brother Shiren, the annoyingly curious and unbelievable powerful youngster, who insisted on getting on his nerves and at the same time impressed him with his talent. He should spend more time out in the real world and for all planes sake learn to properly dress his hair. At least his hair, what a waste. Smiling Liwei closed his eyes envisioning how Shiren would wander through the streets open mouthed, his eyes wide with wonder and followed by every pickpocket of the town, relieving him of every pouch he possessed. He would also take his leave from brother Li. Honest, upright, uptight and innocent brother Li, who could now seek his seclusion from a world he could finally see again. He wondered, if Brother Li would now change his style of sword fighting or simply close his eyes to not be distracted. It would be a clever move and greatly confuse his opponents. Not that he needed to confuse them. When it came to handling a sword brother Li’s skills were very impressive to say the least. At least in one meaning of the sentence. He chuckled again quietly and took another sip from the wine bottle that he had brought along. Tomorrow he’d bow and send Brother Liangshi on his way across the lands on his new quest. Liwei opened his eyes again and gazed over the dark landscape before him. Brother Liangshi, who had saved them all from death at least once, with his vast knowledge of plants and concoctions, who harboured immense strength and loyalty inside him and had never hesitated to share his powers to heal and help. He betrayed them, but didn’t sacrifice them. Who had given something up but gained some sort of peace and had an excellent taste in snacks and humour. He deserved to live on, for himself and his brother. If the reason behind the betrayal had been a different one, Liwei was certain, he would feel different. But he understood why Liangshi had seen no other way to seek the revenge he wanted for his brother the way he did. He still thought there were other ways, but those took time and a different kind of mind set. Like the way he would seek revenge, once he found out the truth behind his families murder. He was not ready to dwell on that yet and his thoughts drifted back to more recent events. It was their own fault for not paying attention to the warning they received from the blind man, that one of their group was not walking the right path. The voice of his Clan Elder echoed through his mind. “Where there is power, there is betrayal.” He knew he should have investigated the lines in the message of the blind man closer, but his mind had been occupied with other things. He also knew it was a weak excuse for failing to do so. Maybe he did not want to heed the warning, maybe he had hoped it meant something different. Probably a mixture of both. It turned out well in the end. The artefact was sealed away again for the time being and they were all still alive. Now it was time to move on, time to say goodbye at least for now. He drained the rest of his wine and wiped a few escaping drops on his chins away with his sleeve and had to admit to himself, that he did not look forward to the sun rising. He did not want to say goodbye.