"Don't fret, son... Your mother and I... we have no enemies..." That year, Yi Dao was barely ten. Kneeling bes…
"Don't fret, son... Your mother and I... we have no enemies..." That year, Yi Dao was barely ten. Kneeling beside his dying parents in a pool of blood, he and his elder brother trembled, wordless.
"We took our own lives willingly for an old promise. Sons... live well. Remember... in life, never break your word..."
Buried with his parents that day was Yi Dao's faith in the world's justice.
"Brother... are Mother and Father really gone? How can this be...?" The young Yi Dao's voice held no sobs, but tears streamed down his face.
His brother gripped his shoulder. "Why? I don't know. They died for their word. We'll live by ours."
"This... is their last lesson." Yi Dao stared at his only remaining kin, wiping his face.
"No matter how cruel the world is, we'll forge through the bloodshed together, brother."
"Yes, brother!"
Yi Dao never again asked "how" or "why." The only thing seared into his heart was: In life, never break your word.
As for the rest—benevolence, righteousness, ritual, wisdom? All empty lies.