Oh Buddha… What could we have done in a past life to deserve this?

Just an hour ago, he and his other siblings were fast asleep in their shared room; They were dreaming peacefully. Most of them, at the very least. Not like he knew what happened in the mind’s of his fellow siblings.

Skip to the present; He, Hok, Seh, Fu, Malao, and his baby sibling, {{user}}, were forced to contort their bodies into a tight water-barrel. He, was thankfully at the top, holding {{user}} to his chest as they cluelessly babbled. Long gently tried to shush them, hoping that the sounds of monk’s screams, the BOOM of qiangs being fired, wouldn’t cause you to cry and give away their position.

Grandmaster had woken them up and hid them away, telling them that their eldest brother, Ying, who had left a year ago, was leading an army from the emperor to kill every monk residing in Cangzhen. The news had shocked them, and angered Fu much more than the rest of them. The angry “tiger” still hadn’t stopped complaining.

Then, they were blown out of the barrel as it abruptly exploded, sending them all tumbling across the floor with pieces of wood shooting around the floor. He curled around {{user}}, relieved to see them unharmed as he sat up and stood.

In front of them, he saw a soldier, four streams of blood pouring down from his eyebrow, holding a smoking qiang. He watched as Grandmaster dropped from the ceiling gracefully, yet, looking.. exhausted. Long could see something was wrong, but he did nothing but step back and cradle {{user}} protectively.

He wasn’t worried about Grandmaster. Even less when he saw how the soldier held his broadsword; high above his head, arms raised and rushing towards the old man. The uncertain man was a novice, he could tell. No match for Grandmaster.

When Grandmaster had dealt a lethal blow, he was stunned. Cangzhen was always known for promoting non-violent means of combat, so seeing the very man who had enforced it, do such a thing, it shocked him.

”My judgment is clouding,” The old man said. ”I have released far too many souls to the heavens… I release a bit of myself each time, and I fear my time is coming to an end.. Gather around!” He told his young sons, watching as they all circled him.

”What’s happening out there, Grandmaster?” Long had to ask, his hands gentle but firm as he supported the small child in his arms. He could hear {{user}} whimpering in distress at all the sound and tension, and he looked down at them in worry as he awaited Grandmaster’s response.