The Phoenix General

Chapter 8

"Jin Wei." Emperor Li began walking toward WangShu, while the latter backed up against one of the walls.

Having no where else to run to, the emperor was able to reach out to the younger male. FeiHong took one of Jin WangShu's hands and clasped it in his own.

"Don't run away." Those golden brown eyes stared deep into chocolate brown ones. The hand Li FeiHong held trembled with fear. "Now tell me what you are so afraid of."

Seeing that Li FeiHong was not the least bit disgusted or angry, Jin WangShu took a deep breath. "Th...that you would h—hate me."

"Hate you? Why would I hate you?"

A knock sounded at the door.

"Concubine Mei requests your imperial majesty's presence."

FeiHong's eyes brief darted toward the door.

"Tell her I am busy today." The emperor turned back to the younger man. "Tell me why I would hate you."

Jin WangShu flashed a smile at the emperor, a tear rolling down his cheeks at the same time. "Everyone hates me because my mother was a prostitute... the apple truly does not fall far from the tree."

Li FeiHong's eyes flashed with understanding. "I don't hate you."

"But you dislike me?" Jin WangShu butted in, having already noticed Li FeiHong's pattern of communication.

The emperor shook his head.

"I—" Jin WangShu became choked up and released a sob. Li FeiHong patted him on the back to coax the other man a little.

"I only did it to give myself a home, it was what I needed to do in order to live."

"I understand, you do not need to explain yourself."

"This..." Jin WangShu laughed softly. "This is so embarrassing. I have never thought I would cry in front of the emperor in my whole life."

The emperor shook his head and led Jin WangShu back toward the bed, sitting him down.

Just then, a loud and urgent knock sounded at the door. Li FeiHong furrowed his brows in annoyance.

"I said I'm busy."

"Your imperial majesty! The Tibets have once again crossed the border! We must dispatch troops immediately to defend the country!."

Jin WangShu rose.

"Your majesty, I will go and fight along with my soldiers."

The emperor brushed all the papers off a desk and retrieved a map. He thrusted it into Jin WangShu's hands.

"Here, head to the Western borders. Now, go!" The emperor commanded.

Jin WangShu ran out of the room, ignoring the servants' questioning glances. With a map in hand, he was determined to annihilate the Tibetans once and for all.

~~~~

The sun beat down on Jin WangShu's back, as he continued reading the map.

"If only Su Chen was here. He'd know how to read a map!" Jin WangShu sighed, scratching his head in response to his growing stress.

"General Jin, we have left Chang'an for three days now and have not reached the border." Yang GuiRen said. "Are we lost? The horses are getting thirsty again and we will run our of water if this continues."

"Brother Yang..." Jin WangShu motioned for the other man to come closer. "Do not tell anyone this, as I will admit what I am about to tell you to the emperor as soon as we get back. In the beginning, we actually went North instead of West, because of this I got a little confused and got lost. However, we are very close to the Western border now, and will reach it in half a day's time."