Zhao Ling watched as the storm dispersed. She was drained of Qi causing her body to be severely weakened. Despite the phenomena having ended, there was still remnant lightning qi that, at present, she couldn't handle. When she finally accumulated enough energy to manage it's power, she got up and walked weakly towards his previous position.
She collapsed to her knees crying bitter tears on seeing the pile of ash and the torn cloth beside it. Her heart shattered to pieces as she held the ashes in vain. She decided to gather the ashes and return it to the clan, where his family was as a form of closure to him. She tore the hem of her garment and gathered his ashes tying them up neatly and cradling them.
Her eyes were red and swollen when she emerged from the forest to the clan gates. The guards panicked realising they hadn't seen her exit the clan and she had returned looking so disheveled. They began asking her questions why she was outside the gates and how she got out but she remained silent throughout, small streams still trickling from her eyes.
They could only follow behind her in worry and with troubled looks on their faces. She was, after all the daughter of the first elder, they couldn't stop her or force her to do or say whatever she didn't want to. She went directly to the clan head's pavilion, disconcerned with the worrysome gazes of the rest of the clan. The guards at the pavilion doors tried stopping her but she kept walking, tightly clutching the ashes. She walked through another set of doors and found all ten heads of the Zhao Clan.
" Forgive us elders, we tried telling her there's a meeting in progress!" The guards prostrated themselves in fear of repercussions. "Zhao Ling! What in the name of the gods happened to you!" The first elder rose shocked and a bit angered. "Why does my daughter look like this!" He roared at the two guards that were stationed at the clan gates. "Forgive Us!" They shouted in terror, banging their foreheads three times on the wooden floor.
The first elder noticed how she looked numb and unresponsive and asked her what's wrong. "Zhao Weng.... He's dead.." she replied with a raspy voice, holding out the ashes to the clan head, his father. The first elder understood his daughter's feelings for Zhao Weng thus he knew how sad she probably was at the moment. He hugged his daughter tightly," I am sorry for what happened, Ling 'er.." he sighs, " but this wouldn't have happened if ..."
"What's done is done, he was a fool to ever disrespect me. For the heavens are just, he has received his punishment and atoned for his sins. Take his ashes to my family home and have it placed in his room. " The clan head interjected coldly. "What..?" Zhao Ling looked at him strangely. Before she could continue, hushed murmurs could be heard from the elders, claiming he deserved it. She was dumbfounded by the outlandish response towards Zhao Weng's death.
She turned to Zhao Ming, " You mean, you mean you don't even care that he's dead? There was a time he looked up to you, he loved you!" She yelled. "Your grief blinds you, child. Know your place!" The clan elder said coldly. "Be quiet Ling 'er! Such insolence is unbecoming! Apologize to the clan head and go home, we will discuss this later. " "I will do no such thing, is that a way to talk about your own deceased son?!" She was getting a little too heated.
"Handle your daughter, Zhao Ru!" The fourth elder shouted. "It won't happen again, Zhao Ling apologize right now!" Zhao Ru commanded. She looked at each one of their faces with anger and pain in her eyes."I finally see why he left..." She said ragefully and turned around to leave the premises but found the two guards standing with their spears crossed at the entrance.
Anger mixed with incredulity flashed in her eyes, " Let me pass." She said as she took a step towards the guards, her hair flaring up as if a gust of wind blew by. "Zhao Ling stop this nonsense and apologize to the clan elder RIGHT NOW!" Zhao Ru shouted. "I said, Let...Me... Pass!" She said as she took another step towards them. The temperature of the room went up significantly as a brilliant flame erupted from her body and swayed rigorously in the room.
The spiritual pressure emanating from her was not anything the two guards could handle as was seen by the strain in their faces. But their loyalty to their clan would not permit them lower their spears. "LET... ME...PASS!!" she shouted. The flame aura skyrocketed and blazed through the large room setting it ablaze. Nine flame illusory tails and fox like ears appeared on her figure. The heat was beyond the capability of the guards and it coupled with her immense spiritual pressure was enough to prostate them.
Their faces were drained of blood due to fear. They seemed to be unable to breathe as they were gasping for air. The elders hurriedly began circulating their power to form the water dome resistance formation which significantly nullified the flames but by the time they finished, she was already gone, the guards were out cold, their spears were broken and charred on the floor.
The first elder sighed but a faint flicker of hope emerged in his heart because he knew the clan elder would never forgive her outburst so candidly or directly. The consequences would have been dire. But he still didn't want his daughter to leave the clan, to leave him. But since her departure was inevitable, he did not wish to impede her.
He went outside and called his familiar, a black winged pyrokeet, and tied a scroll to its foot. It was to relieve the guards of his pagoda, of their duties temporarily until instructed otherwise. With a mighty flap of its wings, the bird as large as a boar soared the skies, hidden in the clouds and headed for the first elder's home. Zhao Ling was running frantically towards her father's pagoda.
She could no longer stay in the clan but she still didn't want to be completely defenseless so she was going to steal her father's Oni sword. It was a broad single edged sword with a red, black, and white crystal embedded along it's length. The sword is as sturdy as can be but it is further strengthened by one's own martial spirit.
She meandered through the less crowded parts of the clan to avoid notice from the guards. It made her a bit slower but she still got there only to find it completely unguarded. She assumed it was because they were all looking for her and proceeded to head to the training room carefully just in case there were any more still hidden.
To her utter surprise no guard was present. The servants were easily avoided along the path.she went to the training room and found it on the altar at the far corner of the room. Before leaving she burned some incense for the last time to show her respect. Alas, she regretted not being able to say goodbye to her mother but it was for the best.
She took another desolate route, this time her direction was the gates. She had a few close calls but she avoided all of them. Just as she was close to escape, the gate in sight, a guard suddenly intercepted her, swinging a spear her way. She was forced to stop her charge and confront him. "Don't do this young mistress.." he said hesitantly. "Why do you all insist on stopping me?!" She closed the distance between them and hacked down on him. He blocked it with the shaft of his spear but was still pushed back a bit.
She pressed the advantage and burst with a flurry of slashes. The guard blocked most of them and parried some. He retaliated and whacked her on the forehead with the butt of his spear. She staggered back clutching her head. " Don't resist miss Zhao Ling, come back with me to the pavilion!"
"You think you can beat me? I didn't think I'd have to use this much energy fighting a guard but since you managed to strike me, I'll give you the honour of seeing my true strength!" She channelled her Qi to the Oni Sword, the red and black crystal emitted dim light but the white crystal looked like a solar flare as it beamed with blinding light for an instant before shattering.
She had not anticipated it's breaking but it did buy her an advantage considering he was now partially blind. "I'll examine it later in the forest.." she thought to herself. She went for a crescent slash. He instinctively blocked but his spear broke immediately, unable to bear the new powerful blade. She was going to finish him off but on hearing sounds of footsteps in the distance she slashed his leg tendons making him fall to the ground.
She left the defeated guard slumped by a wall and rushed out of the clan and into the profound Forest. At the entrance of the forest, she was giving the clan one last glance when she saw a black spot in the sky. "They've been watching me the whole time?!" She recognised her father's familiar and went deeper into the forest to escape it's line of sight.