I travelled to Lake Tai and found a quiet spot on the shore among a grove of willow trees to build a house. Nobody bothered me, and I did not bother anyone. I continued practicing my music and martial arts in solitude, growing stronger by the day.

It was not long before I could split large trees in half with the vibrations from a single palm strike. I called the move Chasing Shadows, as I could only chase at the shadows of my old life which had made me happy. I missed Mei more with each passing day and would awake at the slightest of sounds in the night thinking that perhaps she had come to find me. Years passed like this, and I soon gave up hope of ever seeing the woman I loved again.

She had moved on, that much was clear to me. Yet as soon as I accepted this and found some measure of peace in the quiet and simple life I had created; my world came crashing down once again.

My martial arts training had caught the attention of a few locals in the area, who had spread tales of trees being cleaved in two, music so powerful that it enchanted and bewildered the senses of people miles away, and even of a demon floating over the lake, shrouded in mist. Those tales had spread across China, to the very ears of my shifu who had cast me down the mountain. I was a threat to them, as I was becoming stronger than they feared they could handle.

On a day in late August, when the air was quiet and still; the lake placid and reflective of my own inner peace, a large band of martial artists surrounded my house.

“Come out, Yijun. We know you’re in there!” My former shifu shouted from the crowd.

I walked out of my house, my purple robe with embroidered clouds flowing in the breeze like water.

“Please leave. I don’t wish to fight any of you and have not been bothering anyone.”

I noticed all my martial brothers and sisters among the crowd. I noticed Mei in the back, staring on in silence. Dearest Mei, who my heart still yearns for to this very day.

“Grab him!” Shifu shouted at the army of martial artists.

They circled around me and cut off any means of escape. Like a wave breaking on a rocky shore, they crashed into me with a cascade attacks and were promptly tossed back into the crowd.

I used my weakest attacks, careful to not injure any of them. They could find no opening in my defense.

Brother Fei roared and lunged at me with his sharp claws, raking the air with strong attacks of his own invention. His attacks could rend flesh from bone, but he was far too slow.

“You betrayed us all!” He yelled at me as each attack caught nothing more than air.

“It was you who betrayed me, brother.”

I grabbed his arm and flung him into the crowd, knocking over an entire row of men.

“It was you who put that manual there, wasn’t it? You were jealous of me and wanted me gone.” I shouted at him, my calm composure breaking.

“Don’t blame me for your own failure.” A wicked smile appeared on Fei’s face. He grabbed Mei and pressed a dagger to her throat. “Surrender now or I’ll be forced to do something I’ll regret.”

I froze in terror. The woman I loved was being held hostage. If I surrendered to them, I would surely be put to death; yet that was far preferable to me than watching her die. I would gladly trade my life for hers, ten thousand times over.

“Alright, Fei. I’ll surrender.” I lowered my guard. My former shifu began walking toward me, with strong iron chains spilling from his hands.

“Yiyi, no!” Mei broke her silence and shouted out, the dagger at her throat nicking her neck as she squirmed in Fei’s grip. Drops of blood spilled down her flesh, white as snow.

“My feelings for you have never changed, Mei. I hope you know that.” Tears streamed down my cheek as I spoke. I looked up at the clear blue sky and smiled. It was not a bad day to die. Leaves fell from the trees like burning tears, and a gentle autumn breeze carried them off to somewhere kinder. There were worse days than this.

Mei looked at me with a face at the zenith of its kindness and passion; a face that, by many seasons, had in it etched the selfless and benevolent love of others; a face that now understood it would shine its last light upon the world. She pushed the entire weight of her body against the dagger pressed to her neck and allowed it to cut deeply into her flesh.

I looked on in horror. The reality of the situation taking a few seconds to dawn on me.

“Mei, no!” I shouted, then shot toward the crowd. I pushed everyone away with a series of powerful blows. I grabbed her frail body and bounced backwards, putting some distance between us and the crowd.

“Yiyi…,”she struggled to force out words, as she choked on her own blood.

“I’m here, Mei.” Tears flooded my cheeks as I held her body close to mine.

“I never…stopped believing in you. I just wanted you to live…I have always loved you…”

“I’ve always loved you too, Mei. I never stopped.” But she was gone. Her lifeless body weighed on my arms; her eyes vacant of her bright, vibrant soul which now soared to the heavens.

I roared and set her down on the ground. My eyes filled with fury and wrath. Fei stumbled toward me, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

“Yujin, I didn’t mean to…I just wanted you to come with us without anyone getting hurt…I never would have hurt her.”

“Everything is your fault!” I roared at him. I shot a Chasing Shadows toward his right arm and sent him flying into a tree.

He gasped in pain as breath was forced out of his body, then doubled over in a series of choked screams as his arm boiled over.

It was the first time I had ever used the move on a human. It sent a wave of pure terror through the crowd. Shifu, who was never deserving of that title, stepped forward and pulled Fei out of the way.

“You demon!” He shouted. “I should have killed you when I had the chance, you heretic!”

I shifted my gaze toward him, my eyes almost inhuman in look, painted over with a color between dried blood and rouge, the embodiment of rage.

“This is as much your fault as his!” I shouted.

I barreled into him, throwing him back into the crowd, then went into a Shadows Over the Valley. I shot between a dozen members of the crowd in the blink of an eye, striking the center of their chest with a powerful palm strike. They all crumpled to the ground in an instant, steam billowing out of their mouths as their lungs were set ablaze in a pool of boiling qi.

They all scattered, shouting a bunch of insults as they ran.

“Demon!”

“Monster!”

“Heretic!”

“Foul beast!”

I picked up Mei’s body and whisked her away from the clearing, putting miles between us and those vile people who called themselves martial artists.

Dearest Mei, who never stopped believing in me. You showed me the beautiful things of this world and gave me a myriad of wonderful memories. You were the best of us, a bright light among the darkness; snuffed out by a jealous, wicked hand. Vengeance will be mine, even if it takes the remainder of my life. That I promise you.

I carried her to a remote mountain where she would never again be disturbed, far removed from the wicked hands of humanity. I dug her a grave and wreathed it in flowers. I spent the night with her, drinking endless bowls of wine, pouring out the beautiful moments we had shared together. The clouds were purple that night, tinged with red.

Those purple rosy clouds.