The acrid smell of blood permeated the air in the Imperial Palace's main hall. Qin Yu Yan sat upright upon the throne which was symbolic to the Emperor. Her beautiful and graceful face had her usual gentle smile on, but the smile did not reach her eyes.
Below the throne in the hall, a group of Qing Yun Clan disciples led by Jiang Chen Qing sat around, their mouths sneering, as they all looked at the curled up figure of a man, lying upon the floor, in the middle of the hall.
The man's splendid clothes were now tattered, his hair a mess, and countless wounds big and small covered his huddled body. Bright red blood dripped from glaring wounds and spilled on the cold marble floors and his usual upright and straight poise had been reduced to become a tightly curled up ball, trembling in agony.
The palace maids and eunuchs huddled in a corner, forced to witness the horror before them, for never in their dreams, had they thought they would witness such atrocities.
