Chapter One: The Night of Betrayal
The Roy family ran a small pig farm. Roy's mother was in charge of feeding the pigs, Roy himself was tasked with cutting their doughy yellow horns, and his father made and sold molds for dishes and food containers.
When Roy arrived home one day, his father told him they had to attend a meeting called by the farm's leader. Upon arrival, they saw Mr. Geoffrey standing on a crate, addressing a gathering of all the men.
"My brothers," Geoffrey began, "you've probably all heard of the massacre at the neighboring farm. Yes, it was the bandits again—they looted everything, stole the livestock, and left nothing behind. Based on the direction of their attack on the map... our farm is next. (Cough) But fear not! Tomorrow I will go to the Tong Clan and request the help of their green or even blue Qi-forgers..."
Despite his speech, everyone remained tense and afraid. Roy's father, however, looked even worse—he was truly terrified. When they returned home, he refused to speak a word. The next morning, Roy awoke to find their home in chaos. Furniture was gone or broken, the pigs had vanished, and everything was in disarray.
As he walked through the house, he found his father counting copper coins. Roy was stunned and began shouting, thinking the bandits had already attacked—but soon realized his father had sold everything. What confused him even more was that they were preparing to flee the farm the next day.
"But didn't Mr. Geoffrey say he'd bring Qi-forgers to protect us?" Roy asked.
His father let out a crazed laugh. "Ha! That greedy bastard won't bring anything! He'll never pay for warriors. The negotiations will fail, and no one will come to save us."
"And what if they don't fail?"
His father just laughed and walked out of the house.
Later, Roy's mother helped him pack for their escape.
That night, Geoffrey gathered the men again. Just as Roy's father had predicted, the negotiations had indeed failed.
"That filthy clan leader took joy in our misfortune and demanded five silver coins for each blue-ranked Qi-forger! So I cursed him, ended our dealings, and left the city with my pride intact!" Geoffrey declared. "Now we will prepare to fight those scoundrels ourselves! Who dares challenge us, the Fang Decade Dragons? Hahaha!"
He took a huge gulp of wine.
"Drink, brothers! There's more in the crate—all on me! Hahaha!"
The men cheered, laughed, and drank.
Roy thought to himself, This idiot spent the negotiation money on alcohol?!
He left the gathering.
As Roy walked home, he saw his entire family waiting for him with bags in hand. His mother rushed to him. "Where have you been?"
"At the meeting. Aren't we leaving tomorrow?"
His father scowled. "Don't be stupid. This is our chance. All the men are in the barn."
The family walked for an hour into the cold night.
"Are you sure about the caravan?" Roy's mother asked. "What if it's coming tomorrow? Or what if there is no caravan at all? We'll freeze to death out here..."
The infant in her arms began to cry.
"I'm sure of my information. There's no turning back now. And shut that brat up—we haven't even crossed the border yet!"
Suddenly, the sound of a blade slicing through the air broke the silence. Roy's father screamed and fell to his knees.
"Aaaah! My shoulder!"
A chilling laugh echoed in the dark, sending shivers down Roy's spine.
"Did you think you could deceive me, you filthy traitors?"
From the tall grass stepped a figure, bottle of wine in hand, wearing a straw hat and an open vest that revealed his protruding belly. A gold tooth gleamed in the moonlight.
Who else could it be but Uncle Geoffrey?
"W-what? What's he doing here? Wasn't he drinking at the barn?"
"It's easy to notice your movements, John," Geoffrey sneered. "Besides, how could I party without my old friend?"
He raised his hand, and a green, transparent blade of Qi shot from his palm toward Roy's foot.
Pain exploded in Roy's brain. He screamed.
"Please, Geoffrey! Leave my family alone! Punish me—just me!"
"Shut up, John! You're all traitors. I'll burn you alive as an example for the entire farm. Now move. Quietly."
Geoffrey shoved John by the shirt. Behind him limped Roy, his foot throbbing. Behind Roy came his crying mother, holding the baby.
After half an hour of walking, the outlines of the farm began to reappear on the horizon. Roy was torn—his body ached, and his mind raced with thoughts of their fate.
Reaching down to feel his wound, Roy's fingers brushed against something in his pocket—his old pig horn-cutting knife.
A wicked thought struck him.
Kill or be killed.
Could a simple knife pierce the body of a Qi-forger?
From what he'd heard, green-ranked Qi-forgers were the weakest. Their strength lay in speed, not durability.
Roy made his decision.
Silently, he drew the blade and plunged it into Geoffrey's back—not the neck, which was too high and risky to miss.
Shhhk! The knife tore through skin, flesh, and bone.
Geoffrey let out a terrible scream and collapsed, vomiting blood.
Roy's mother gasped. His father fell to his knees in shock.
"Come on, Dad—we need to run!"
His father glared and slapped him. "You fool! What have you done?"
He turned to tend to Geoffrey, who was muttering, "Traitors... I'll burn you... burn you all..."
As the baby cried and Roy's father shouted in panic, Roy saw blood on his hands... and torches approaching in the distance.
His mind unraveled.
His mother slapped him back to his senses, tears streaming down her face. "Roy! Roy! Can you hear me? Run, Roy! Run! Catch up to the caravan—never come back!"
Staring into her bloodshot eyes, the word run was the only thing Roy truly understood from it all.
Without another thought...
Roy began to run, limping through the darkness.
Seconds later...
He vanished into the night.