Autumn, Nineteenth Year of the Xin Zhuo Emperor

The entire field gasped as everyone turned towards the bearded prophet.

Hong had just thrown off the guards restraining him and gotten back to his feet when he heard the order, freezing at the announcement, while Governor Huang simply stepped back to rejoin his entourage with a hint of a smile.

Morha, meanwhile, had a big grin plastered upon her face as she turned to face her erstwhile representative.

“Hong, you and I have much to talk about!” She roared.

The self-appointed advisor slowly took a step back, then another. Everyone else kept their distance between the dragon goddess and her intended target.

“No!” The false prophet uttered in disbelief, searching wildly for an avenue of escape. He pointed at the mušḫuššu slowly but steadily bearing down upon him. “Can't you see?" He yelled before the two armies. "They planned this! She orchestrated this! She wanted us to surrender! She wanted to betray us all! We must kill her!”

No one responded, and after a short hesitation Hong Jue turned and fled, breaking through a gap between the facing armies.

"Why are you running? The demons are inside of you and must be purged!" Morha laughed as she ran after Hong, electricity crackling through the air. "Surely you cannot be a false prophet to flee from your goddess!"

The shaman fled for his life, breaking away from the armies of both sides, taking off towards the mountains. The purple dragon bounded after, shooting balls of lightning to zap at the fugitive’s rear.

Of course, the blows were not strong enough to kill or even incapacitate Hong, and while she pursued, Morha also didn’t quite chase after as hard as she could and actually risk catching the human. The mušḫuššu didn't need a new martyr springing up like a ghost to haunt her in the future. Instead Morha herded her defeated swindler like a stray calf, directing Hong towards her objective where he’d be dealt with once and for all.

The false prophet ran for his life, leaving the other humans far behind, clearing the field and entering the rockier ground of the foothills as the triumphant dragoness bounded close behind. Perhaps, Hong thought, he could lose his pursuer in the terrain, make himself scarce, and then eventually regroup. He’ll find a new land, reestablish a new cult, and start his kingdom anew. Hong Jue had faith in his own skills. He just needed to find a way out.

“Hahahaha!” The purple dragon crackled wickedly behind Hong as electricity periodically jolted through his body.

Initially the ex-advisor tried to make for the low mountain pass, only to be cut off when his pursuer predicted the goal and pressed to cut him off from that direction. Hong next tried for a small strip of woods. The Queen of Ba moved quickly however, and after a minute the fugitive realized that he would never reach the treeline before being intercepted. Instead he turned towards a rubble-strewn field.

Unexpectedly, the mists rapidly rolled in, rapidly blanketing the area in a thick haze. Soon, the surrounding landscape was obscured.

The former advisor laughed to himself: the Heavens themselves seemed to enjoy his audacity. Very well, he can show the Heavens as well as the Earth the skills of Hong Jue the Magi.

Indeed the boulder field did the trick. Morha gradually slowed moving among the large rocks, leaving greater and greater distance between her and her quarry.

Hong laughed again at successfully throwing off pursuit, though also a little confused, as the boulders became larger and larger, towering over him: he didn’t recall the rocks being so large when he entered. Soon they loomed over the shaman in every direction, packed so tightly that there was only a single direction in which to easily maneuver. Eventually it was almost as if there was only a single passageway through the tangle of stone. Well, Hong had no time to be clever; it was either forward or back against an angry dragon. Before him, two large slabs of granite with a third laid over them on top materialized out of the fog, creating almost a gateway with a small opening in the gap. Hong Jue slipped through without a moment’s thought.

On the other side of the Stone Sentinel Maze Morha waited, a contingent of guards doing the same on every potential exit.

No one came out.

Even after the mists lifted, revealing the rocky landscape of the labyrinth, no one was visible inside.

Even as the Dragoncult Army fell apart over the afternoon, most individuals surrendering, some fleeing or getting arrested by others, Hong never reappeared.

Even days later, after Morha herself searched through the maze, she could find no trace of Hong Jue, not even a scent after he had passed through the gateway.

It was as if the false prophet had disappeared into the mists itself.

Eventually guards were posted to keep watch over the maze, but no one had any faith they’d find Hong.

The purple dragon didn’t particularly care; there were more important things to concern herself with. The Dragon Cult that the shaman had controlled for so long and driven into madness had surrendered, and for the next few weeks she was helping Governors Huang and Julang sort out the mess the cult had created, arresting the criminals, deconditioning former cult members, dealing with victims, rebuilding and reimposing order upon the Ba Valley.

Reconstruction and reconditioning was slow and inglorious, but it was far more important than anything else that needed to be done in the Ba Valley.

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胡瓜 - 包青天 Theme

From  CY_Law!