The night grew cold as Zhang Jun Feng traversed through the familiar route to Lumin. In a curious way, it felt like he was coming back home, though he had left for Jinling without anticipating such a soon return. The vast expanses of open fields and the infinite stream of the star-dotted sky welcomed him yet again, and the rush of freedom he craved ran through his body once more. Zhang Jun Feng was accustomed to being alone; in fact, he had once dreamed of abandoning his post and travelling across the country without a companion.
But, this was no dream. His father awaited him with his life and livelihood on the line; the entire Zhang household awaited him to save them. Li Qin awaited him.
Zhang Jun Feng tightened his grip on the reins of his horse and rode like the wind.
"Eh hey, Commander. Back already?" Xiao Ba, a soldier Zhang Jun Feng had trained, greeted him, a Western accent thick in his speech.
The military office in Lumin was a desolate place. Even after Zhang Jun Feng had solidified its wooden foundation with his own hands, he worried that the building may topple during the stormy season. The poorly ventilated space caused a ring of sweat to form around the neck of Xiao Ba's rusted armor.
Zhang Jun Feng got straight to business. "I am looking for record of the salary increase for border patrol."
"Ah," Xiao Ba pondered. "All of the imperial records should still be in your office, Commander. No one has been in there since."
Pushing open the door to his office, a puff of dust welcomed Zhang Jun Feng. Wasting no time, he began to rummage through the shelves.
Before sundown, Zhang Jun Feng dug out the rumpled document among the heaping stacks in his office. He said a brief farewell to Xiao Ba and began the journey back to Jinling, the fleeting encounter with his old home leaving a dull aching in his chest.
The sound of a horn resonated through the air. Li Qin watched as General Zhang was escorted onto the makeshift wooden platform, iron shackles and thick chains scraping the floor raw. Despite Prince Yan Xian's efforts, the execution proceeded along the schedule of the Imperial Minister. The prince sat with Emperor nearby on an elevated terrace. Only Li Qin stood on the ground, staring up at General Zhang.
The Imperial Minister stood beside the Emperor's throne and read from a scroll. "Zhang Ming, general of the Imperial Army, has been sentenced to execution by His Majesty the Emperor for embezzlement from government funds. Proceed with the ceremony."
General Zhang was pushed harshly to his knees. An imperial guard handed a sword to Commander Qiang, whose wicked smile glinted as cruelly as the blade. He positioned its edge against the back of General Zhang's neck and raised the sword above his head.
Suddenly, the pattering of hooves approached like a rumble of thunder. General Zhang raised his head from within his restraints to see his son running toward him, the document in hand. His lips began to form the name "Feng'er" but his breath was cut by the sword meeting his neck.
Zhang Jun Feng froze; Li Qin raised a hand to cover his eyes. But, Zhang Jun Feng could taste the sourness of blood in the air, and Li Qin felt a warm tear drip onto his fingers.
There was no funeral procession for General Zhang; this dishonor was part of his grave punishment. Though forbidden, the Zhang household performed his funeral rites in secret, when darkness had long enveloped the city.
Li Qin could not participate in the burning of joss paper; the sight of fire would have paralyzed him. Instead, he sat on the steps in front of his bedchamber, plucking a mourning song on his pipa.
A figure stumbled into Li Qin's courtyard, sliding everything off of his table with a loud clatter as the man collapsed.
Li Qin approached cautiously, finding a barely conscious Zhang Jun Feng hanging helplessly off of the table. "Are you okay?" Li Qin reached out a hand to touch his burning red cheek.
Zhang Jun Feng thrashed his arm away. "Who are you to ask me that?" He slammed his fist onto the table, the alcohol bottle in his hands shattering on contact. The ceramic shards prickled blood in his palm.
"Zhang Jun Feng, are you crazy?" Li Qin shouted.
"Crazy... crazy..." Zhang Jun Feng laughed while muttering. His head lolled to the side. Under the flickering lantern light, his fierce features softened, and he looked like the innocent boy Li Qin once knew.
Hesitating for a moment, Li Qin looked around the empty courtyard. Picking up his pipa, he played a healing melody, and the wounds on Zhang Jun Feng's hands slowly sealed. The magic cleared some of his incoherence, but he was clearly still intoxicated.
Zhang Jun Feng raised his head and squinted at Li Qin, their faces only centimeters apart. Li Qin held his breath, expecting a curse to tumble out of his mouth.
Instead, Zhang Jun Feng rested his head on Li Qin's shoulder. "No wonder Father treasured you so much," he seemed to speak to himself.
Li Qin tensed, unable to look at him.
Zhang Jun Feng continued, "I still remember how angry I was when Father brought you home."
Li Qin too remembered when the two boys first met. On the path to Li Qin's new home, they encountered Zhang Jun Feng. He was much smaller then but still looked at Li Qin with the same malice. Li Qin instinctively hid behind General Zhang's imposing figure, clutching his hand tightly.
General Zhang chuckled heartily, urging Li Qin to face Zhang Jun Feng. "There is no need to be afraid, child. This is my son, Feng'er. He will take care of you from now on."
Zhang Jun Feng did not say a word and brushed by Li Qin with a forceful push.
It was far from the last of the boys' confrontations. After the Zhang family's physician claimed Li Qin to be in good health, General Zhang brought him to the military academy. Walking into the cavernous classroom, Li Qin was met with boys tousling on the floor, caught in the crossfire of crumpled papers soaring through the air. Zhang Jun Feng sat silently at his desk, his sheathed sword holding open the page of a book.
Li Qin soon learned that the classroom was organized by rank: the top students sat at the front of the room near their teacher, while those with low marks could doze off hidden behind their classmates. Only Zhang Jun Feng occupied the front row; no one dared sit beside him.
Seeing the general, the other boys immediately quieted down, sitting upright at their desks.
"Good morning, students. I would like you to welcome a new classmate, Li Qin of the Zhang household. Please treat him as a companion in your studies." General Zhang's voice boomed, and Li Qin could imagine the walls quivering in response.
Hushed whispers broke out among the boys, and even without Li Qin's carefully trained ear, he could hear their conversations.
"Another child from the Zhang household? Could he be General Zhang's bastard son?"
"How else do you think he could join the military academy in the middle of the year? It's so unfair; we all had to take the entrance exam."
"Do you think General Zhang favors him? What if he overtakes Zhang Jun Feng?"
Zhang Jun Feng turned to glare at the boys behind him, and they lowered their voices but continued to chatter.
General Zhang guided Li Qin to an empty desk beside Zhang Jun Feng, giving him an encouraging smile. Turning to his son, he instructed, "Take care of Li Qin, Feng'er. He has endured much difficulty."
"Yes, Father," the boy replied stoically, though not even sparing a glance to the new arrival.
In the afternoon, the boys were ushered outside for sparring practice. The wooden pole used in the place of swords was too heavy in Li Qin's hands.
A portly boy approached Li Qin with mischief evident on his face. "Let's be sparring partners, newcomer."
Li Qin could read his evil intentions but did not have a reason to refuse him, instead nodding in resignation. The face-off drew the attention of the other boys, and a crowd had already begun to form in anticipation.
"Since it's your first time, I'll let you make the first move," the boy taunted cockily, leaning against his wooden pole.
Li Qin swung at him powerlessly, his body falling forward with unstopped momentum. The other boys snickered as he fumbled about, their misconceived predictions of Li Qin overtaking Zhang Jun Feng quickly melting away.
The boy smirked. "I gave you a chance. It's my turn now."
With a harsh blow to Li Qin's stomach, he felt the air knock out of his lungs. Li Qin crumpled to the floor like a paper doll, his chest heaving and the taste of bile rising in his throat. Looking up, he saw Zhang Jun Feng, a look of disgust twisting his features.
The boy did not spare a second, landing another blow to Li Qin's back, and Li Qin wondered if his spine was still intact. He continued to beat Li Qin, the other boys cheered him on; they too stomped on Li Qin's already-bruised body.
"That's enough." Zhang Jun Feng's voice halted their laughter. "Do you enjoy picking on a student much weaker than yourself?" he criticized the boy, the crowd dissipating around him.
The boy trudged away with a grumble, though brightening up again as his friends congratulated him.
The dark spots in Li Qin's vision cleared, and he found himself staring at Zhang Jun Feng, who only looked back with an unsympathetic expression. He did not offer a hand to help Li Qin, instead leaving Li Qin on the sandy sparring ground. "The most foolish people are those that do not know how to pick their battles."
Zhang Jun Feng quickly grew disinterested with Li Qin; perhaps he was no longer felt a threat to his position. He was the strongest disciple in the academy, even more so than some of his seniors. The only person that could berate him was General Zhang.
When General Zhang saw Li Qin's wounds, he urgently called the family's physician, who prescribed Li Qin a soothing salve. After the physician left, Li Qin wandered through the manor, hearing voices from General Zhang's study.
Peeking through the window, he saw Zhang Jun Feng kneeling shirtless on the ground, fresh lashes lacerated across his back among puckered scars. General Zhang shouted at the expressionless boy, his knuckles clenched in white.
It was not the end of Zhang Jun Feng's punishment. That night, Li Qin heard clanging outside of his bedchamber. Cautiously tiptoeing to his window, he saw Zhang Jun Feng driving a shovel into the damp earth with blinding speed.
General Zhang had ordered Zhang Jun Feng to dig a pond for Li Qin, a way to remind Li Qin of the home he had lost.
Li Qin could never have imagined that the two would sit together by the pond now, much less with Zhang Jun Feng close enough to hear his heartbeat.
"You are so loved by people, Li Qin," Zhang Jun Feng mumbled. "Father was the only person I had."
Li Qin thought of how to comfort him: he wondered if he could say that General Zhang loved him too, but the words felt empty in his throat, and he said nothing at all.
Zhang Jun Feng broke the fragile silence. "I thought the pond in your courtyard would be a beautiful place to drown."
"Zhang Jun Feng!" Li Qin shouted, startled by his sudden confession.
Zhang Jun Feng laughed, a laugh that felt as heavy as steel. "Who knew its owner would be guarding it so well?"
"Zhang Jun Feng" were the only words Li Qin could manage.
"You are the only one who truly believed Father." Li Qin could feel him shift on his shoulder, that searing gaze on his face. "Can I trust you to believe me too?"
The warm spring air hung thick with anticipation; cicadas seemed to stop their chirping awaiting Li Qin's response. Without thinking too much, he answered, "I swear on my heart."