Pei Zen was lying on the feet of Mingyu. His body was paralyzed, so he couldn't move. His vision was blurry, so he couldn't see. He didn't know who Long Chen was talking to. All he could see was a blurry figure before him.
He was only allowed to speak, but he couldn't even do that effectively. Because of his paralysis and weakness, he was not able to scream. He could only weakly talk. Speaking itself was proving to be a challenging job for him.
Long Chen patted the head of Mingyu. "It's fine. Don't be overwhelmed. You can take your time but remember we're in the Royal Palace where he's a guest. It's better to finish him fast."
"Revenge feels better if the punishment is dragged longer, but sometimes it's better just to finish it instantly," he continued.
He brought his King's Sword out of his storage ring and extended it before Mingyu.
Mingyu gazed at Long Chen and nodded her head. She understood what he was trying to say. Pei Zen was a bastard who deserved to get the most brutal of death but having him stay alive for longer was bad for Mingyu as well.
The longer she dragged it, the more she was going to be plagued by her brother's memories. That's why she needed to act fast.
She reached out her hand and took the sword from Long Chen's hand.
"Pei Zen..." Mingyu said grimly as she placed her sword tip on his right shoulder.
"Who are you?"
Pei Zen heard a female voice, but he didn't remember hearing this voice before. You don't remember me, do you? Of Course, you wouldn't. A Bastard who only lives for himself, why would he recognize others," Mingyu let out as she forced down her sword, cutting the right hand of the man.
"Aaaaa!"
Even though the man seemed like he had no strength even to speak, his scream seemed as normal as it could be even his hand was cut. The pain was evident in his voice which made him cry like a pig being slaughtered.
"Is that how my brother screamed when you killed him?" Mingyu asked as she took one step forward. She raised her sword again and hackled down, cutting his other arm instead.
"Aaargh!"
Another deafening scream echoed that would have filled the entire hallway outside. Fortunately, Long Chen took precautions to make sure the sound didn't leave the room they were in.
"No. My brother wasn't a coward like you. I'm sure he didn't even make a pained noise when you killed him. Right?" Mingyu said as she walked closer to the man's legs now.
" Brother? Who are you?!" Amidst his pained screams, the man managed to add a question.
"Wait, you're that bitch who managed to get away! Lu Mingyu! Aren't you? I thought you were dead! You are still alive?!" Pei Zen asked as he remembered.
He could only remember one person he killed where he left witnesses. Mingyu was the sister of Lu Wang, who had seen him on the spot of murder. She had run away.
When she didn't return to the place even after seeing him murder, he thought she had died. He kept his men around the royal palace of Esteria.
Years passed, but Mingyu didn't return, which only made him more assured of her death.
She must be Mingyu, he thought. There was no other way these words made sense otherwise.
"Right. How does it feel to get retribution finally?" Mingyu asked while confirming the man's notion.
"You just have felt really strong when using a group of Peak Heaven Realm Cultivators to kill my unsuspecting brother, right?" she again slashed down, this time cutting the right leg of that man.
"Why don't you show me that strength again?" She asked like a grim reaper.
Long Chen stood in the back with his arms folded. He didn't wish to interfere. It was Mingyu's moment, and she needed to do it herself. He did find this side of Mingyu to be fascinating.
"Show me your side that decides who lives and who dies on a whim! Show me!" She roared as she cut his other leg as well.
"Aaa!"
Tears were falling from Pei Zen's eyes. The pain was overwhelming. Even though his body was paralyzed, the pain still felt the same. He felt like dying because of the pain.
"You bitch! Heal me and fight like a real person! Why do you act like a coward?! You poison and paralyze me, and then you ask me to show my strength?!" Pei Zen thundered. "Free me and watch me smash your face on the ground again and again!"
"Did you think you fought like a real man with my brother?" Mingyu asked in return, not getting angry.
"You lived long enough. This planet doesn't deserve to carry the weight of a person like you. Let me rid it of you," Mingyu let out as she raised her sword one last time.
She raised her head upwards as she closed her eyes. A single tear trickled down her beautiful cheeks. "Brother, this is for you. You can rest in peace now."
Slash!
The sword shone one last time as it moved down.
Clank!
Another sound was heard as the Sword hit the floor after cutting the neck of the men. Pei Zen's head rolled to the side. His eyes were still open even when he died.
Mingyu didn't open her eyes even after she managed to kill the man.
She kept standing still as tears continued trickling down her eyes. Now that she managed to kill the man she always wanted to, she thought she should feel happy. She didn't.
All she felt was pain. Even after killing Pei Zen, she knew that her brother wasn't coming back to her.
She kept crying while standing tall. She didn't drop to her knees and didn't look towards Long Chen. She didn't wish for him to see her tears.
Long Chen finally moved as he stepped towards Mingyu.
He spread his arms and wrapped them around Mingyu as he hugged her from behind.
"Why are you crying? You did it. You finally served justice for your brother. He can finally rest in peace. You should be happy," Long Chen said softly as he placed his head on her shoulder.
"Now you are free of this revenge. But it's still not the time to grow weak. We need to save your parents and stop the war, don't we? How can we do that if my baby keeps crying here? Is that what you want?" He asked.
Mingyu shook her head lightly.