The Words of a Father
Ashes burned like fireflies blinking in and out of existence, flying past the expanse of leaves and into the starry night sky. The funeral pyre was lit before the whole of the village, aside from a small contingent that patrolled their borders. Even still, the ones not present would still hear via the voice transmission pearls the words of Li Wen, the Shadow Sect leader and father to Li Wuhan.
"We have suffered a great loss at the hands of a large lion fierce beast," Li Wen's voice shone with strength as he looked down upon the members of the sect. "But not as great a loss as it could have been." He looked at the two cultivators who had been dressed in their finest clothes. His eyes glistened with unshed tears as he stared upon his own son. The two had been tied to their respective wood beds, standing for a time to be presented to their people. Each wore makeup to hide the wounds gained in life and within the throes of death. A thin line could be seen where Li Wuhan's head had been sewn back on, but nothing more. Both beds stood before a fire with ropes supporting them, waiting to lay them into their final resting place.
Within the world of cultivators, it was considered an honor to be burned at funeral. To have a body left whole was to condemn it to be eaten by fierce beasts. The only way for the body and soul to find peace was to speed along the journey to the sea of flame in which all souls travelled by leaving nothing for them to tether to the world with.
"Today was a day that could have been avoided." Li Wen's voice almost cracked as he sounded the truth into the crowd. "This sect can only work if all members follow the guidance set out for them. The reason my son is now waiting for his final rites, is because he was willful and arrogant. He thought to test the boundaries of the guidelines I myself have set for you." His eyes gained steel as he looked at the remnants of group two. "To all those who wonder if I scout ahead, or if I truly know the capabilities of the hundreds of cultivators that have joined our ranks, this is the proof I give you!" His hand swept behind him towards his son.
"I look not only at my own son, but at Hou Xinyi, who survives by his wife Hou Xiulan and daughter Hou Ning." He looked at the grieving widow and small child to the front of the crowd. Though she may be grieving, Hou Xiulan's eyes were full of rage as well as sorrow for her husband. She glared not at Li Wen, but at his son behind him. Her expression was expected. It was Li Wuhan that had encouraged his group to go beyond the boundaries that the sect leader had set before them.
"The boundaries I have set do not exist because the perimeter was all I've had scouted, but because it's the limit to the strength of the sect I have gauged. While it's true that we need to grow stronger before our time here is done, we will not be able to do so if we dive headlong into uncalculated danger." Shadows played on Li Wen's face as the fire raged behind him. "We need to stick with the areas that I've laid out. Only when we gain enough strength will I suggest that we move forward, and I will say, that is my decision!" He placed a hand to his chest as his voice roared in the silence.
He looked from the sect before him to the two cultivators awaiting their bed of flame. If one were to look closely, they might see the reflective path of a tear trail down his cheek as he looked at his son. A hand grasped at his back and he looked down to see Li Wei's tearful face. Though the tears ran freely, she made not a sound. He knew how hard it must have been for her. In the almost eleven years of her life, she had rarely been separated from her brother. He placed a hand on her head. "My son," He said softly more for his and his daughter's benefit than for the sect's. "May you find your way from the raging fires of creation back into the world in which you cherished." He kissed his son's brow and stepped back.
"Why couldn't you have just come back." Li Wei's voice was low, yet full of emotion. "You had to go further, and now you've left me alone." her body convulsed with the effort of not breaking down. Before she could lose her composure, a hand came around her waist and brought her in for an embrace. Hong Zhao's eyes never left Li Wuhan as he held his sister. "I will do what I can to ensure that your sister does not meet the same fate." He said silently to his friend. He knew only too well that Li Wuhan's spirit may actually still be there. He still remembered when he himself floated above his own body. Had it not been for Lan, who knew how long it would have taken for him to leave the realm of life to what lay beyond.
Hou Xiulan and her daughter stepped up to her son and bid him a final goodbye. Li Wen stood and watched the woman kiss her thumb and place it on Hou Xinyi's brow and her little girl clung to her father's sleeve. Slowly at first Hou Xiulan beckoned Hou Ning to step away from the body, and then picked her up and brought her away. The little girl screamed for her father, but Hou Xiulan nodded to the Sect Leader, who nodded to the sect members who held the ropes within the trees. Small slicing sounds could be heard in the darkness as the ropes were cut, sending the beds of wood down to their respective fires.
Hong Zhao watched as the last remnants of his friend were engulfed in flame. 'This will not happen again.' He vowed within his mind. His resolve strengthened evermore as the fire consumed Li Wuhan. The sect stood as witness to the two cultivator's passing until their was nothing left but ash within the pyre. No one spoke, and not a foot shifted weight until the flames were quenched by the dew of the next morning.