Inner city, behind the city gate...
In the wide open, terrified eyes of the dead, the stranger in the straw raincoat flipped his hand.
Blood droplets vibrated off the bloodstained Horse-Cutting Blade, with the rest evaporating into red wisps, merging into mist.
The blade was without a sheath.
The dog was without a leash.
In the desolate autumn rain, the youth pressed down his conical hat again, raindrops and blood dripping from its brim like a bead curtain, falling pitter-patter, but whenever it touched the youth, it was scorched by the blood qi, turning into either a blood mist or white steam rising up.
The youth, with lowered eyes, cautiously glanced around, as well as at the distant city walls and alleyways, then took a deep breath to discern unfamiliar living scents. Through this double exploration, after confirming that there were no more living people on-site, he turned... and disappeared far away, his figure vanishing into the bleak autumn rain.
