Painter of the Night: The Fatal Lotus

Prologue

Horses gallops in the muddy road towards a small village that has been reported to have deaths of many noble families. It was reported by some informat that there's a killer on a loose and the culprit is been targeting corrupt noble families and what's worst, the culprit is hard to find and the members of the Pododaejang, a police force in the Joseon Dynasty was stressed out looking for the killer.

They halted the horses when they saw the bloody scene as the villagers' corpses were lying helplessly on the ground and their body trembles when the police finds the decapitating bodies of both adults and children, "Who could have done this kind of inhumane especially to those poor innocent children." one muttered as the seven members of the Pododaejang were surveying around the area and it disturbs them that none of these people didn't survive the massacre.

A subbordinate suddenly spoke, "General, do you think that this is the work of a single man? It seems to me that he's not alone in this killing." He told the serious looking male. The main person who lead the Pododaejang was a man on his early thirties, tall and has broad stature wearing a serious face while scanning the bloody scene. "It seems so." He replied in a calm tone and he stepped forward, "I believe that this massacre has to do with the corrupt nobles exploiting the poor landowners of this area but why is he involved the commoners and the peasants? Strange." He muttered while examining the corpses of the dead male.

He glanced at his subbordinates, "Gather the bodies in that wide mansion." He looked intently at the familiar structure and he was sure that was the mansion of his  father who abandoned him when he was a child. Then, the members of the Pododaejang had no choice but to follow their general's orders. They put each of the corpses on the five wooden carts and some were gathered dry hays as they decided to burned the corpses. One by one, the corpses were burned under the orders of their General who was staring intently at the empty mansion, "General Jung, are you alright?" His closest subbordinate asked in concern but he was ignored by the General as the adult man entered the mansion and it was an eerie silence but he was surprise that there's no corpses lying around the entire mansion, "This is getting weird." He thought grimly as he grabbed his sword from his sheath.

The General's dark eyes surveyed the entire hallway for any possible corpses to be able to find. He was hoping for his father's corpse at least but his feelings of familial attachment towards the man who abandoned him had disperse from the moment his mother died in illness.

He cannot forgive him.

Then, he heard a creaking sound from the other side of the bedchamber. He narrowed his eyes, "Could it be the killer?" He said alarmingly but as he opened the door, his eyes widen to see a young girl, surprisingly alive, wearing a sleeping attire but she was covered with human blood. The moonlight didn't help at all with her features but her long, ebony hair below her back was illuminated and that amethyst eyes that was filled with emptiness was bothering him.

He looked at her, "Who are you? How come that your alive? Where is everyone?" He asked further questions to the flinching girl but the young girl was hesitant to answer as she looked down at the corpse next to her and General Jung stepped forward and his eyes widen to see a familiar man lying on the ground with multiple stabs in his chest, stomach, and some large wound on the neck.

"F-Father." He muttered but then, he heard a sobbing voice and he looked at the crying girl.

"Father tried to save me. But he ended up getting killed. It's my fault. It's all my fault." She blamed herself while sobbing.

General Jung was shocked, so this young girl is his half-sister?

He approached her, "Child, what is your name?" He asked in a stern tone.

The girl answered, "Song Yun hee...Sir." She said formally.

"Your age?"

"Thirteen. sir. "

He smiled genuinely, "Don't address me as Sir. I'm your brother. Call me Orabeoni. Yun hee." He said while he pulled her to a hug. Then, General Jung's subbordinates apppeared behind him and they were surprise to see a person alive in the massacre. "Who is she, Sir? Did you know each other?" One of them asked and General Jung replied, "She's my half-sister. It's very fortunate that she's alive." He smiled down at the blushing young girl.

"Then, this mansion belongs to the General's family."

"Pretty much. Once we are done here. We have to leave this place immediately." He instructed while comforting his sobbing little sister but what's strange in this situation is that, the only person that was alive in this estate is that young girl but no one dares to point out the obvious because it seems that the General had grown fond of the mysterious young girl so easily.

The two half-siblings watched as the flames engulfed the mansion along all the corpses around the abandoned village. He looked down at his half-sister, he wanted to know what happen before his people arrive on this place but he will do that later in his own house since this girl is going to live with him from now on.

"Are you cold, Yun hee?" He said softly but the girl just shook her head.

"Not at all, Orabeoni. Thank you for taking me in." She said with a pleasant smile.

"It's nothing. After all, we are family." He placed his warm hand on her left shoulder and she flinched at that sudden touch. After that, General Jung and his seven men along with the thirteen year old, Yun hee left the abandoned village and she heard from her half-brother that she'll be staying in the capital from now on and live together with him.

Unknown to the General, the young Yun hee was hiding a blade on her bag.

It is the same blade she killed the patriarch.