"General She? HE WANTS TO MARRY A MERE ATTENDANT?! How disdainful..."
"It's truly a shame, he's tainting his family's blood."
"Their child would not be considered noble, would it be?"
"(That's what they all said. They called me but an attendant...Feng Xie Fan, you were right. None of these people can be trusted. Its always just been those who never knew anything. Just like...him.)"
"..."
"General Feng, your royal highness. Glad to see both of you well. General Jin, at your service."Jin Zhao Jun kneeled before both of them."General Jin, we appreciate the formalities, but please do rise. You're an almighty general yourself; why bother greeting us?"He begged to differ as he rose from his position."Not at all, your royal highness! Without your help, I never would've gotten this far."
Xiao Chen only smiled at him, but alas, it was not real."General Xianyiu, thank you for your hospitality. You must get going now; the north post awaits your command."Feng told him in a respectful tone."My pleasure, General Feng. Your royal highness, I will be leaving now. Please, be cautious."Xianyiu got back on his Guo Xia as he left.
"General Feng, your royal highness. I have almost forgotten, but a few hours after General Zhang's death, I had sent a few soldiers to assist with the clean-up. One of General Zhang's soldiers had found this in his clothing, and he told them to have it sent to the emperor for further investigation. They then handed it to me. It has a close resemblance to the Qin city insignia."
"The Qin city insignia, huh...General Feng, can you still recall what Zai shan had told us?"Feng didn't even spend another second thinking."It had come to mind just now, most likely because it has something to do with it."
"General Jin, could you give us a specific description of Qin city?"
"Well...Qin city was once known for its excellent lures among different types of monsters. However,
reverities suddenly started to flock towards Qin city, completely ignoring the rest of the neighboring cities...they were rumored to have created a material that was the cause of their downfall. This insignia seems to be the rumored material, as said."
Xiao Chen held it in his hands, and he felt as if his hand was to be devoured by a vicious monster at any time. It's completely real, in any case. This still doesn't explain anything though, but do you remember finding General Feng in the same spot where this was found?"
"No. The soldiers had claimed he was nowhere near the west post; we found him several kilometers
from the palace walls, barely a few from Qin city. Do you remember what happened, General Feng?..."
"Not anything that I know of. But, I remember chasing after those two."General Jin's face had turned pale, he was baffled."Do you happen to know where they are now, General?!"
He was confused; how long has this General been unconscious for? Several months? But...his parents had died when he was 16. Any memory before he had turned 16 was still as vivid as yesterday, and it didn't feel right. Were these people not his parents? But then...how did he know Frozen Forlorn?
"General Feng?"Jin called out to him."Oh!Um...no.I can't seem to recall anything. (Mother, father...what the hell have you kept from me all these 16 years? Months after they disappeared?What...?)"
"Whatever may be the case, it'd be best you take Zai shan's advice. Qin city might be able to provide you with some more information. His majesty has told us in advance about the current investigation, so you need not worry. General Xian only gave you a headstart in case you lose your way through."
"A headstart?Why so?"
"We feared you may have forgotten a few things, so we came to assist you. Coincidentally, Zhang's fiance had some intel available...did it come to use, General Feng?"
He shook his head in disappointment."The assumed location where I had been found was wrong, but if you look into it then I suppose they were close enough. Hopefully, we sort this out soon, this issue has lingered for..."
"Years now, General. Just last year we had discovered their whereabouts, remember? This insignia must have a close relation to them somehow. It was left by the west post on purpose, but was it really? I'm not so certain. However, both of you should be able to acquire a thing or two after your arrival at the city. The next few investigations start off in different directions, please be wary of your leads."
They had arrived at the city late at noon. The scorching heat of the sun's rays had stuck to their skin like a parasite. Their robes felt cruelly torn by the wind, and yet they pushed on. The smog that surrounded the wasteland which was once a prosperous city seemed endless; it remained dark as the land had long succumbed to its fate.
"This is it. We ought to find what we're looking for here. Should we split up?"Xiao Chen refused: "We're better off together than alone."
They search through the desolate city. It's rather wide, and what once used to be the city's palace has become but a condemned estate."Fengfeng, should we try and find something similar to the insignia first?
"That'd be advisable, but let's try and find some other clues besides that insignia."A shadow hastens behind them. Neither of them notices it, but the silence felt far too eerie to tolerate."Something's off about this place, and I feel like we need to get out of here real soon..."
The insignia begins to shake immensely. It eventually drops to the ground, and it automatically breaks off a piece of itself. It's pointing towards the northwest part of the city, where there lies the city's once famous teahouse."A teahouse? Never thought we'd have to search such a place."
"Teahouses are usually a sign of refinement and nobility. Perhaps the previous royals of the palace used to come here often, who knows. I suppose even royals are allowed to stop by teahouses."
Feng begins to search the teahouse drawers, with no sign of anything left. However, it looked a lot neater than the rest of the buildings. Has someone previously cleaned up the place? As Xiao Chen turns back to leave, he feels a sharp blade slice through his neck slightly. It began to bleed.
"WU XIAO CHEN!"
"Calm yourself, General Feng. I didn't expect to find you here with his royal highness; what a lovely encounter!"Zen Huo Nie exclaimed. She was one of Wu Yao Dai's(the empress)most entrusted imperial guards, Zen Huo Nie. Although often mistaken for a weakling, she has abolished quite the number of prideful soldiers on the battlefield.
"I have been expecting you both, but I was originally clearing off a few places that may be of use to you. Well, I shall leave it to both of you now, since you've arrived. Please excuse me, I shall return to the imperial palace at once."
Zen Huo Nie leaves without another word. She didn't even say anything regarding the investigation,
besides the fact she was only there to help. Perhaps there is something in this city that could be of use, but what is it, really?
"Fengfeng, maybe we should get moving elsewhere. That thing already cracked off, but it's getting us nowhere. Seriously, it's too wei—"
"Xiao Chen. Come see this."Xiao Chen walks in, hoping they could finally get a lead."It's a frozen clock. That's unusual, do you think it's frozen?"
"It's not that strange, maybe it's just for decoration? But now that you mention it, I do think it's frozen. If the insignia lead us here, is this the only lead that it was supposed to give us?"
"Perhaps not. As General Jin has said, we should be wary of the leads we discover. That isn't it."They both continue to search the drawers as they forget about the clock completely. The ice is melting; there are even droplets of water dripping from it. However, this was not the case just now...
"Did you find anything else, Fengfeng?"
"I couldn't find anything else. Maybe it really is just that frozen old...clock."
"It's...melted?It looks like it has been there for a while, did Huo Nie not spot it?"
"I think so. But...if she really did spot it, she would've told us."
"The weird part is that it only melted now...does that mean we're running out of time?"
"Close enough, but..."
The billowing flow of the gust outside had cut off every sound. It feels really unsettling now...wait,
what's that shadow over there?
"Xiao Chen...look behind you."
The shadow was standing near the doorway, still trying to conceal itself...what the hell is it?
[To be continued in the next chapter, please be patient for the next one. Thank you for reading.]