He couldn’t wait to tell his master all the things he learned in Japan. The katana he had with him was the katana his trainer had been given to him by his master. Since his trainer wasn’t using it, it had been given to Li. He was honored and humbled when he received such a gift. He promised to take good care of it. The trainer had given him another kind of blade; a sword. No one knew how it came about or where it came from. Neither of them knew the uniqueness of it with the exception of one detail. No one had been able to wield such a weapon since it burned exposed skin when touched. Well, until Li touched it. Those who witnessed it were in shock. There had to be a reason why he could when no one else was able to.
Sitting on the back of a cart full of hay, Li had been lost in thought. All he could hope was that his master would be proud of him. As the cart rocked as it moved, he could see more and more people. Sometime after that, he could hear people talking about something. He didn’t know what yet.
“Is that smoke coming from the temple?” one of the village’s women asked.
There were murmurs from people saying it was. Temple? It couldn’t be his master’s temple, could it? It had to be another temple, right? He would find out sooner or later. The cart came to a stop, and the driver hopped out of his seat. Li got off, thanking the man before paying him. As soon as he recognized some of the villagers, he headed towards them as the driver thanked him for the money.
“What are you looking at?” he asked, wanting to hear it from them at least before assuming anything.
“Smoke over there,” one of the elder men said as he pointed in the direction of the temple Li grew up in.
“No! Master,” he murmured, running towards the one place he called home as he tried to avoid people trying to get through. His actions caused the villagers to gossip more. He had to get there as quickly as possible, seeing how he didn’t know if it was a false alarm or the real deal.
Upon arriving, he saw the entire place in smoke and fire and ruin. The stone walls lay in shambles, crumbled rock. The wood and other flammables were lit with fire. The smell of smoke was strong as was the smoke itself. He went through most of the temple but found no one alive. That is until he came to the last room to check. There, he found his master lying on the cold hard ground; weak and helpless due to the nature of some of his wounds.
“Master,” he cried, rushing to his side.
“Li?” the elderly man croaked out moments later.
“It is Li, master,” he responded.
“You… must—” he could say no more all because he had to catch his breath, “must… sto—stop… them…”
“Stop who?” All he could do was ask. “How many are there?”
“There are twelve… one of them must have… taken over the… empress’… body…” As it would seem, that was all the elder could tell Li. As fate would have it, the elderly man died as Li held him the only way he could. He held his master’s body for a bit. One… two… three tears hit the forehead of the lifeless body. Later, he had buried his master’s body then burying anyone else’s that he could find.
When he finally reentered the village, the villagers rush to greet him. Some were asking question after question. “They… are all dead,” he finally said after some time. They fell silent as he continued walking.
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