Cost of betrayal

Xiao He knelt there, trembling, his hand clutched against the ghastly wound on his other hand, blood seeping through his fingers before forming a small pool of blood on the ground. Each shudder of his body spoke of a fear that gnawed at his insides, rendering him a mere husk of the man he once was.

Xiang Yu loomed before him, his disdain radiating from him like heat from the sun-baked earth. His dark eyes bore into Xiao He with a predator's intensity, unyielding and cold. The silence between them was thick and stifling. It felt as if the world had drawn its breath and paused, waiting for the inevitable conclusion.

When the silence dragged on, Xiang Yu's patience wore thin. He moved with the grace of a predator stalking its prey in the tall grasslands, each step deliberate and echoing in the stillness. The sharp glint of the dagger in his hand caught the light as he walked behind Xiao He, the blade poised like a coiled serpent ready to strike.