"..."
'Drip, drip, drip...' Take a turn, follow the only route...you'll find a man, with grey eyes and black-haired, seemingly just seated there with a reverity resting on his lap. He was Yu Mufeng; a once aspiring swordsman dwelling in the only underground cave he could find. His eyes represented regret and guilt, and yet they appeared so...soulless."General Jin, I've been expecting you...hahaha..."
"Quit your jabbering and rise. You don't expect me to spare you, correct? You've been accused of—"He veered at the rather adolescent general, but he just didn't have enough tolerance this time."I've heard it a thousand times, and so I've said."
"If you've come to kill me too, waiting for my mouth to open, then you'd better give up. Frozen Forlorn is not in my hands. Why not ask your oh so mighty General Feng? Maybe he can tell you something, instead of asking a crippled old bastard like me."
"Yu Mufeng, you're literally 20. Barely an adult, and I'm already 28. Don't look down on me; I'm almost a decade older than you'll ever be. Now, will you hurry up? His majesty won't wait for long. It doesn't matter if you have to do all sorts of distractions on the way, you'll still have to face him one way or another."
"Hahaha...HAHAHAHA!Are you trying to tell me I should be terrified of him? Please, he's far too old to even be scaring a 5-year-old! He'll just look like a fool, intimidating one's self."Jin did not bother taking his words seriously, but upon seeing the reverity soundly sleeping on his lap, he suddenly gained second thoughts.
"...And that reverity. Is it your pet now?"Moving, angered, tightened his grip on his sword."Pet?PET?... Never mind, you wouldn't understand."Jin raised his eyebrow in confusion, but he no longer pondered. Instead, he sat beside him comfortably."Aren't you afraid I'll kill you here on the spot?"
"You've got a lot of nerve saying that to your elders. If you want to scare me, you'll have to try harder than that."He waddled closer beside him, in hopes of convincing him to turn himself in."So you're scared of that bearded corpse and yet...not me? Just because I'm younger?"
"Unlike you, I take time in respecting my elders. And, of course, it's not that I don't want to respect you, it's just that you have a real screw shoved up your brain."
Mufeng didn't respond with a laugh, but with a question."Do you even know what happened?..."
Damned, that was all he knew. What could he say?"I was the same age as you when 'tis had come up; just as new to the army. Could you blame me for being clueless?"
"No. I blame your majesty for this, sending off a general into a job with no provided information about it. Despicable, does he want to get you killed?"Jin was slightly pleased by his worry, but he would not let him off the hook that easy."At least I've faced my comeuppance without fear."
"Your comeuppance? Do you speak of justice? Hah...never heard of it. You generals are so prideful; I hope to see it rebuked."He could only ignore the man's words for a short while, but it would soon engrave into his thoughts like a sharp needle ready to pierce through one's fair skin."If you really wanna think of it that way, then so be it. I'd rather not."
The reverity had begun to move around unnecessarily, therefore meaning the conversation was over."So, General Jin. We're done here, right? Better not kill my friend here unless you want another memorial going on."Jin shook his head, but he retained his tranquility.
"I'll return this evening, you'd better be here by then."Mufeng sent him away with a slight contortion on his grin, and yet it returned to its usual state just as normal..."There, there. I've sent him away, you can rest again. sister."
Jin watched them for a few more minutes before marching off involuntarily."(What kind of idiot calls a reverity his sister? Anyone would think he's insane at this point.)"Upon arriving back at the camp, he is immediately interviewed by several of his soldiers.
"General Jin, has he finally decided to—oh...I suppose even conversing with him came to no use. We dare not rally towards him; his sword arts are more than capable of making even an army of us beseech..."
"Forget it. He'll have to open his mouth soon, whether he likes it or not. An ill-mannered child, yet raised by endeavoring parents. It's truly a pity they were shown across the continent as impertinent."
"General Jin, glad to see you safe and sound. How did the conversation go?..."Jin could only sigh inwardly as he explained the situation."I'm honestly certain he's gone mad, but who knows what dealt him that much trauma. He won't speak a word about it."
"Did you ask him, General?..."Jin shook his head, as one of the guards began to explain."General Feng, General Jin...I'll tell you everything I know of. Please, let's go somewhere else private."Both of the generals agree as they follow the guard to an area near the forest...
"..."
(These events took place 8 years ago, please read carefully to understand. The previous General Feng and the crown prince will also be shown here. However, the first few events up until the next "..." will not be made as told in the present.)
"Uncle Feng, Uncle Feng! You're back!"General Feng smiled at the youngling, giving him a big hug."How did training go without uncle?"The child felt nervous to speak at first, but he explained that it had gone well."Great, can you show uncle?"
"My, General Feng! I apologize for having you come here so early in the morning, it's just that my son was so excited to see you. He kept bragging to his father about him learning sword arts, it's's quite adorable."
"Ah, that's good to hear! Looks like you're getting stronger every day yay huh you little rascal?"The child giggled, holding Feng's hand as he patted him."Oh right, General Feng! I've met a young couple who often comes across these parts; both of them know about sword arts quite well."
"Oh?Their names?"The woman immediately answered, but not in the way the general expected:
"Their surnames are also Feng."
"I see. I'm guessing Feng is a more common name nowadays?"He followed his sentence with a chuckle."Mommy, can I go out with General Feng today?Please?"The lady chooses not to refuse, but then has second thoughts. She knows her son is safe with General Feng, but her intuition is telling her that something is wrong.
"Oh...not today dear. But, General Feng, could you train him today as well? I just can't seem to shake off the feeling he'd pester me a lot more if I refused to let you do anything else for today."The general agrees immediately, handing the child the usual wooden sword he always uses.
"Alright, you heard your mom, kid! Let's go, uncle Feng will be here until the later afternoon!"The child seems very happy about this, as he looks up to the General. They leave quickly, heading for a farther area.
Shortly after their closure, a young couple arrives at the same house."Ah, hello miss! Is your son here, or did General Feng take him out as usual?"The woman obliges, telling them to follow the route ahead if they want to find him."Thank you, thank you! We have a little something for your son, if you don't mind!"
The woman leaves with her husband. The man looked quiet, and he did not utter a word as his wife did all the talking."Fanfan.Don't you think that kid is doing fine with just General Feng nowadays? We aren't so sure if we can keep looking out for the kid. All we did is just meet him by the market, and yet you already seem so close."
"Don't exaggerate, Ge Cao. The kid may seem happy with the general, but we only have to give him a few gifts since he might miss us! He sees us as his close relatives, even going as far as calling us auntie and uncle."
"That's what that kid calls everyone, Fanfan.Including General Feng. We're at risk sticking around him as well—he might find out about Frozen Forlorn."
"We aren't using our sword arts for this job, Cao. We'll be fine, as long as you can contain yours just fine."The man no longer answers, knowing his wife can easily counter everything he says."If you say so. However, we have a son back at home. We'd better come back early."
"Of course! We'll be fine, no need to worry..."
If everything could just go back in time, as it was before...would everything really clear up and explain for itself.? After all...it was no one's fault...but hers.
[To be continued in the next chapter, please be patient for the next one. Thank you for reading.]