Chivalrous

Chapter Twenty-Two -

Bradley nodded again and picked up his bowl. Xiao, however, was too caught up with talking over the past.

"The next day, I woke up with a splitting headache and a cold. It was a bad day, really."

Bradley smiled a little. "It seems that you're really prone to colds."

Xiao sat up straight, indignant. "You fell sick way more than me! I almost believed that you pretended to be sick to shirk off classes and chores."

Bradley blushed. Xiao grinned triumphantly and started wolfing down the soup. It wasn't the best food he'd tasted, but he was hungry and in a good mood that he didn't care so much. As he ate, Bradley told him that there was no new cases last night and no new intelligence. 

"We know to not trust the mayor now," Xiao said. "Monk Olga had to announce that the priest was a criminal. Seriously. The government didn't say a thing! And now releasing the culprits!"

As they were finishing dinner, Bradley started his scolding again. "You need to listen to me from now on. You should have just stayed in last afternoon. Look at how frail you look."

"I felt fine after the rain," Xiao said. 

"Yeah, that was before the illness set in."

"Still, I don't think the cold would have been this serious."

Bradley rolled his eyes at his stubbornness. "Alright alright. I'm sleeping. Wake me up when it's midnight."

Xiao kept reading as Bradley slept. He really did like the field of medicine. All the herbs and their effects on certain parts of the body just intrigued him. He was only one chapter into the book as he had to reread many parts of the book to understand it all. He was already hooked on sedatives and hypnotics. A herb called Menghan was a key ingredient for both, though he would have to read about it later, in chapter six.

When the clock tower struck twelve, Frank came into their room. Xiao nudged Bradley with his foot. "Sleepyhead, wake up."

Bradley sat up at once. It was the good discipline and skill of knights that allowed him to do so. Even in their sleep, they were alert of their surroundings. He changed into his night suit and opened the window. Xiao watched his every move, itching to get out. His legs had fell numb so many times today due to excessive sitting that he had to stand up and walk around the room to stimulate his blood flow. What wouldn't he give to take a stroll outside!

"Don't you dare come out," Bradley said. "It's cold outside and you'll get worse. And take a nap, alright? You've been up reading for so long."

"I will when I'm tired."

"Your eyes are bloodshot, Xiao. For God's sake, just rest." With that, Bradley got out through the window and out into the night.

Xiao shook his head at himself. He was tired but he didn't want anything to happen while he was out of it. Bradley was an incredible fighter with extraordinary strength, so he should be fine against some lowly criminals. However, Xiao couldn't stop himself from worrying. If Bradley had been in trouble with both Xiao and Frank out there, someone could save him. He did trust Frank, but he needed to be out there with Bradley to feel truly comforted.

But in the end, he was really tired. He could feel his bones ache worse than in the morning. According to the book, it was because the bones released some things he couldn't recall to combat the illness. He must be really tired, Xiao decided, if he was forgetting things he'd read. He had always taken pride in having a nearly photographic memory.

He got up shakily for a cup of water and then got back to bed. He should have slept when Bradley was sleeping then pull an allnighter after Bradley left. Illness really clouded his brain, it seemed.

He then slid into the blankets and hugged Bradley's blankets close to him. It smelt so nice and familiar and he fell into a light doze. 

He hadn't finished the story of the last time Bradley took care of him. They were sixteen back then. The three days he was ill in the seclusion wing, just like he was now, he had been in a state of anxiety and boredom. Grandmaster Liang gave him a book on weapons, which was his obsession back then. In the book, there were sequences of all eighteen pole weapons - knife, spear, clubs ...

He passed time reading and looking at the photos of all the weapons and felt overwhelmingly anxious to get back to training. In that sense, his mentor's plan had backfired. But Bradley made sure Xiao was satisfied each day. Even though all the disciples came to visit him, Bradley always stayed until it was just them two. Then Xiao would talk on and on about some sequence he'd learned through reading. Bradley humoured him. He'd also covered for Xiao when their mentor investigated into why Xiao was sick.

The third night, he and Bradley talked for so long that it was two in the morning when they realized that they should both be sleeping. Xiao was recovered so Bradley didn't really mind him over exerting himself. 

"Shit, I should go," Bradley said. "I still have to wake up early tomorrow."

"Don't you wish you're sick like me?" Xiao teased.

"Honestly, I don't. But it would be nice to have other disciples taking care of me."

"I will take care of you when you're sick," Xiao promised.

"I won't be so sick like you are now. I'm stronger."

"You only appear strong because you eat like a pig. And who are you trying to fool? You were coughing just last month."

"Yeah but I never had to come to the seclusion wing," Bradley said. "Anyway, I'm leaving. Don't forget that you are leaving tomorrow too and you have to clean the yards."

Xiao leaned his head back and groaned. "Why me?"

"Because you shouldn't train when you're unwell."

"I'm perfectly fine."

"Whatever. I'm leaving."

"No, stay!" Xiao pulled on Bradley's sleeve. "We've shared a bed before. You can stay with me. I'm not sick anymore."

Bradley hesitated. "Don't blame me for waking you up in the morning then."

Xiao jerked awake. Someone had wrenched the blankets away from him. "Bradley!"

"You're hogging the blankets," Bradley said calmly. "I'm tired."

"Did you get anyone?"

"Yeah, two criminals. Frank knew them too. They were previously affiliated with a tyrant. We killed them like rightful vigilantes. They didn't know anything, anyway." Bradley lied down.

"For these things, we need to find the roots of the situation," Xiao said slowly and sleepily.

Bradley hummed in agreement. 

"What time is it now?"

"Four."

"Are you really tired?"

"Mhm."

"Want to hear something I've recently discovered?"

"No."

"With you here, no one mutter about me on the streets anymore."