裴茗 | Pei Ming

a cartoon of a teddy bear crying with the word cry below it ALT: a cartoon of a teddy bear crying with the word cry below it

//THE MINGGUANG FEELS-

Wherever you go, I will follow. Whatever victories, conquests, or dreams you chase, I will celebrate them as if they were my own. And if you should ever find yourself with nothing left to claim, then I will carve new paths, build new worlds, just so you will always have something to reach for.

All that and for what. Xuli is now a barren wasteland. There's not even one monument dedicated to the fallen brothers of my generation.

A country fell to ruin because of its corrupt governance. Fighting for its people who are blinded and brainwashed by the higher-ups, truly one of the mistakes I have ever made.

—I am no longer your general, Rong Guang, and you are no longer my deputy nor my sword. You stopped being that the moment you betrayed me.

He straightens up and holds one arm behind his back.

—We both hurted each other, so why keep dragging the past at my doorstep?

His eyes don't portray anything this time, but he can see so much from Rong Guang's. They're not as gentle as they used to be so many years ago. The memory is so far away that he barely remembers how it felt like to receive that kind of warmth. +

He finally lets his arm go and gives a step back to assess the situation once more. He takes a deep breath and reaches into his array to call upon his deputies to clean the mess up and take care of the wounded. Then, he turns to Ron Guang once again.

—Why did you fight?

His cold stare slowly transforms until all the light is washed away and leaves behind just an empty void. Suddently, he is reminded of why he's stayed alone all these years.

—I laid out the rules and they chose their own fate. Do not blame their foolishness on me. +

His authorative voice echoes through the inn stoping anyone else from approaching.

—You will never win, and I don't want another innocent soul throwing their lives away for me. Stop this at once! That includes you too, Rong Guang.

He casts his eyes at him and holds down his stare in warning.

Rong Guang was a general with years of battle experience, and not only that but he was now a ghost. Even if they managed to hold him down it eould mean nothing if they didn't destroy his ashes; he would come back to haunt (and hunt) them all.

—Enough!

Reality hits him like thunder and he is quick to stand up and grab his arm before he could do more damage. He looks around the bloodied room, passing over the bodies of the dead and the ones still alive but injured. They could never win this.

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robes before someone from the crowd launches for the ghost.

And then: chaos.

The more daring mortals stayed to fight while the rest reached for the nearest exit. It was Rong Guang against the world once again, like all those years ago . . . just for him. Always for him.

His voice sounds far off, like an out of body experience. Of all the things he thought Rong Guang would do after coming back, getting between these mortals and him just to win his hand in marriage had not been the first thing on his mind.

He reaches with a hand but only brushes the back of his

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He feels out of breath as images of a past life flash before him: two boys; a friendship; a love; a promise; a betrayal; a death and an ascension, and then-

—. . . You're here . . .

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Pei Ming abandons his lazy posture, straightening at the sound of his voice; his eyes wide as he takes in the figure before him. Nothing could prepare him to see Rong Guang standing there, ready to fight the world just to be with him again.

+

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
ㅤ❝𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥
ㅤㅤ'𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩❞
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

—It's amusing how some mortals have taken liberties into 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 the gods. Maybe we out to be less 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 because some of them need to be reminded of who we are and what we are capable off, less they think us 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘬. Remember that 𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨.

He is lying back on the chair, looking lazily and bored at the 50 or so suitors at his disposal. He only came to drink and relax, but the minute he stepped through the doors he was immediately bombarded with offers of marriages from both men and women, not letting him settle down in peace.

+

Okay, so maybe kids aren't as bad as he thought. Sure they are little menaces and they always keep you on your feet but they're also...quite cute.

. . .

—Shit. Am I getting baby fever?

He waves his hand. That has nothing to do with this.

—I just have the sudden urge to have a baby, that's all. It's...weird, and unexpected.

// You get me ~

—My taxes? Ah well, I don't have to worry about money. But why am I thinking of babies? Pei Lin is still too small.

Okay, so maybe kids aren't as bad as he thought. Sure they are little menaces and they always keep you on your feet but they're also...quite cute.

. . .

—Shit. Am I getting baby fever?

Gods are far too busy to give you the attention you seek.

//I recently watched it for the first time so I have the songs stuck in my head 24/7 hence some of their quotes in my recent posts 👌🏼

//Can you tell I've been influenced by Epic: the musical? 🫠

He leans further into his chair, smiling at the sudden unease and fright in their eyes. Would they really risk dying just to be with him? Would they dare kill? Of course not. He made this difficult knowing no one would dare. No one was that selfless, specially for the fake love they profesed to him.

—Whoever demonstrates they are capable of making up good stratergies and taking hard decisions in the heat of battle, in a life and death situation, and makes it out alive, will have the honor to marry me. Of course, if you are unable to do this then there is nothing stoping you from leaving.

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He snaps his fingers and a lot of weapons appear in the center of the room, everyone gasping at the sight.

—Battle it out.

He waves his hand towards the weapons.

+

—Alright, then let me say this first: As you all know, I am a General, a man of war. As such I do not believe in weaknesses and I can't stand the idea of someone useless by my side. So I only have one condition if you want to be by my side.

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