Under the escort of Qi Zhen, Hua Ren descended through the hidden underground tunnels, a labyrinth leading to a cave vast enough to shelter the entire village. He was surprised to see how complicated the directions were. No wonder the villagers that survived were many. They must have all hidden in the tunnels.
The darkness enveloped them, yet Hua Ren's keen senses guided him unerringly. Qi Zhen, a seasoned guide, navigated the tunnels for he was intimately acquainted with their twists and turns. As a child, he had his friends used to play hide and seek in the tunnels.
"Permission to speak, General." Qi Zhen coughed slightly.
Hua Ren could not sense the presence of anyone else in the cave so he agreed. "Permission granted."
Qi Zhen let out a sigh of relief. He quickly gathered his courage for this was the time to see if he could convince the General to join them. "General, do you have any idea what the Emperor wants the Celestial weapons for?"
He was met with silence for Hua Ren didn't know. He wouldn't even have known Hei Long's true mission had he not talked to Qi Zhen. It still bothered him why the Emperor would trust Hei Long with such a mission and not him. Did he perhaps offend the Emperor? His heart seized at the thought and he shook his head. No. That couldn't be the case. The Emperor was always pleased with him. He made sure of it.
"I take it that you do not know." Qi Zhen surmised.
Hua Ren just grunted in response.
"You know the power the Celestial weapons contain is massive, General." Qi Zhen said. "They were after all, weapons used to battle demons. What do you think any ruler would do with them?"
"Speak clearly." Hua Ren said. "What are you trying to say?"
"It should be obvious General." Qi Zhen said. "The Emperor plans to conquer other Kingdoms with the weapons. He wishes to rule not just the Celestial Kingdom, but every other Kingdom in the world."
Hua Ren scoffed, not believing a word Qi Zhen said. "That is absurd.The Emperor is not a greedy man. He must have noble plans for the weapons. You rebels are the ones trying to ruin his image and I will not allow it."
Qi Zhen knew it was going to be hard to make Hua Ren see the truth. He was the most powerful General of the Kingdom but also the most devoted to the Emperor.
"Well, then are you aware of the current state of the Kingdom?" Qi Zhen asked.
The current state of the Kingdom? "What are you talking about?" Hua Ren asked, annoyed. He didn't like where the conversation was going.
Qi Zhen deduced that Hua Ren truly didn't know anything. "You're always in the Capital and that place is always flourishing so it's not a surprise that you wouldn't know."
"Explain." Hua Ren said. What could a rebel know about the state of the Kingdom that he didn't?
"What I am trying to say is that you serve the Emperor and this Kingdom wholeheartedly when you are not even aware of the truth." Qi Zhen said. "The bad things being done in the Kingdom. The corruption, bribery, robberies and insecurity. People are suffering under the Emperor's rule."
"Lies." Hua Ren spat. The Celestial Kingdom was flourishing under the Emperor's rule. Everyone was happy. What was the old man talking about?
"I do not speak lies." Qi Zhen insisted. "Towns and villages in this Kingdom are suffering under the rule of the Emperor, General. You wouldn't know it because you're always fighting against us rebels but it is the truth. The people of this Kingdom are suffering. His soldiers do as they like, cheating citizens under the guise of protecting them. They terrorize us, steal our food, rape our women. The governors and high ranking families rule over the poor and do whatever they like. The Emperor is aware of this but he does nothing. He just sits on his throne and sends his soldiers to do his bidding. He is a-"
"Just man!" Hua Ren exploded, catching the old man by the throat. How could he say such things about his Emperor? It made him so angry that he wanted to snap Qi Zhen's neck but he controlled his anger, in turn, controlling his strength. He pushed Qi Zhen against the rough wall of the cave, glaring at him. "He is a good and just Emperor. I will not hear another word against him."
"He's a tyrant, General." Qi Zhen spat. They were almost at the opening of the cave so he could see how angry Hua Ren was but it deter him. He had to make the General see the truth. "He is evil. All he wants are the Celestial weapons so that he can expand his rule beyond this Kingdom. I refused to give it to him so he decided to slay us all. Is that your definition of a good and just Emperor?"
Hua Ren went silent but he couldn't believe it. The Emperor he loves could not be a tyrant. He could never. The Emperor loves his people. He takes care of his people. The rebel must be trying to confuse him.
"Think about it General, why did he not tell you about the weapons? Why did the Berserker want to brand you a traitor and kill you all of a sudden? Why send so many soldiers to our village?"
Hua Ren had been asking himself those questions ever since he learnt Hei Long's true mission but he couldn't come upon an answer no matter how hard he thought.
"We are called the Eternal Grain Valley because we are well known for farming and producing the food half of this Kingdom eats but the soldiers came after every harvest and demanded that everything should be transported away, not caring about us. Whether we eat or not was none of their concern." Qi Zhen said bitterly, as he recalled what they had been through.
"To them, we were just tools used to feed them. They took our women and oppresed our men. We reported this to the Emperor several times but he did nothing. We had to turn to the rebels for protection. It wasn't until he learned about the Celestial weapon in our possession that we became important to him. Despite that, he wanted to kill us all. Is that what you call a good and just Emperor? A man who cares nothing for his subjects. A man who is greedy for power and control?"