"Take the bastard's body out once you're done."

"Nah. Let me look at him a while longer."

Xiao froze. Whose body?

He adjusted the bag tied across his torso and flipped upside down, his feet hooked on the edge of the roof sohis head could peek into the room. It was dimly lit. Furnitures were knocked over, drinks were spilled, and a few servants were scurrying around, righting everything. Two servants were exiting the door, someone in between them hung limp. There were a few other bodies scattered on the floor. Five men were sitting around on the floor, their blades around them, all bloodied. Evidently, they knew martial arts and they just murdered a bunch of people. Beside them, there was another corpse. A bit over six feet tall, wide shoulders, long legs. The deceased's face was turned away from Xiao but Xiao already knew who the person was. He could recognize Bradley from one arm. Besides, Bradley's sword, Yunchang, was clung tightly in his hand. 

Xiao felt darkness pass over his eyes and he struggled to breath. Mastering himself, he scrambled up and sat for a while on the roof. A monotonous buzz rang in his ears and he couldn't feel anything. He was free falling from the highest of heavens, he was burning in the hottest fire of hell.

Dead. His brother. His closest friend. His ...

After a while, he regained his hearing and gradually got a feel for his surroundings. The warm spring night breeze touched his lips and eyes, and he opened them. Air. Something Bradley wouldn't breathe ever again.

 The same person who had attracted Xiao's attention was speaking again. "Who was he to chase Alex into this place, kill half our men, and let out all the maidens? I will give it to him, he was brave. But let me tell you, there is a thin line between bravery and stupidity. Coming here all alone without any help?"

"He was way too cocky. Just because he could wield a heavy sword and was from a good sect! Did he think us Anlang Sect people can't fight or something?" Another said.

"You know, he might be a piece of shit, but his sword is quite nice," one said.

"Probably bought with his pretty, righteous, Gudu-Xue gold," another one sneered.

Scorching heat torched his insides as his anger rose. These people killed his brother. His brother who was saving a bunch of maidens. Now, they dared to mock him. To insult him. He jumped down onto the window ledge and broke open the window with his sword. 

"Ah!" someone screamed inside.

Xiao leaped into the middle of the room, careful not to look at Bradley's body. He needed to avenge him, he couldn't break down now. But even as he told that to himself, he felt tears in his eyes.

"Who - "

Xiao didn't let them speak. He cut the two closest to him in half. The other three converged onto him. The one in red spoke. "Who are you? Why are you killing my friends?"

"You killed my brother!" Xiao replied and struck at for his stomach. The one on the right blocked it.

"That bastard over there? He put up a good fight," he sneered. "But ultimately, he laid dead here. I suggest you go cry somewhere else."

This was meant to distract Xiao, but Xiao was so distressed that he couldn't hear half the things he said. He only knew of avenging his brother. So he swung his sword with more force than before.

The four fought in the big room. "You bastard, you bastard," he shouted every move he made. The servants all peeked in through the doorway. After a while, one of the fighters, realizing they will eventually die of Xiao's blade if they kept fighting, jumped back. "Drug!" he yelled and Xiao saw him stick something into his mouth. He understood what he wanted so he rapidly stuffed the cure in his bag into his mouth. A sweet smell drifted across the room, but it had no effect on Xiao. 

Xiao laughed menacingly and advanced once more, with more ferocity than before. The three was shocked, just as the criminal from a few days back who had also tried to drug him, that he had the cure and thus they grew more and more agitated and inched towards the back window.

Xiao was at first ecstatic that he was pushing them back, but soon he felt a pain in the back of his head he had experienced during his illness a few days back. He felt his eyes, nose, and mouth dry out and his head growing heavier. Was it the drug? In panic now, he attempted to move his sword faster. The Mount Huai sequence morphed into Yueyang Sword Sequence, and then a few darts were thrown out. But his hands shook as the severity of his headache increased. 

Then, a window behind him flew open. He swirled around. Was it Bradley saving him? He would love to go and have some sweet curd with Bradley. Say that he was sorry. What he said wasn't true and crossed the line. But he was met with the point of a dart leaving an officer's hand. Still baring a knight's agility and quick reflexes, he threw his torso back. However, being only half conscious now, he fell down on the floor and his head made a dull crack.

Before he blacked out, he snarled in anger. The three murderers had jumped out of the other window.