"General Wang,quick!," Jianyu crooked his finger before placed it on his lips. He squatted while hiding behind bushes. His eyes were fixed.
Upon hearing that,General Wang crouched down on the spot. He carefully waddled forward,just like a goose. Jianyu waved his hand,asking General Wang to move faster.
"Why?" whispered General Wang once he's near Jianyu.
"Look," Jianyu pointed his finger at a couple of bunnies hoping around,chewing some grasses. He supported his chin with his palm while looking with admiration. General Wang smiled and slowly positioned himself in sitting position.
"So,are we having bunnies for dinner?" whispered General Wang after observing those bunnies for a while.
"What?" Jianyu turned his head and made a disbelief expression."Of course not!We are eating vegetables tonight"said Jianyu loudly,causing the bunnies to disperse in shock.
General Wang brought up his hand and gently stroked Jianyu's head."I was just joking" he said.
They both got up and continued walking. Jianyu promised to bring General Wang to nearby town that day. It's been almost a month since he arrived at Jianyu's residence but not once he been to the nearby town. He's fully healed from his previous wounded and wishes to return immediately. But every time he talked about going to Palace,Jianyu will show sour face.
General Wang intended on selling the jade bracelet in his possession once they got into the town. The money that he will get will be given to Jianyu as compensation for saving his life. Even though he knows that amount of money can never be sufficient to repay Jianyu's act of kindness.
"When are you planning on leaving?" Jianyu suddenly broke the silence.
"As soon as possible," replied General Wang.
"Can you not leave and just stay here?" Jianyu lowered his head and stared at the ground while walking.
"I will comeback once i clear up my name,i promise" General Wang glanced over.
"What if you lie?What if you...." Jianyu could not bring himself to finish up his own words.
General Wang changed his walking direction. He stopped right in front of Jianyu,who had been staring at the ground. He gently placed his hands on Jianyu's shoulder.
"Nothing bad will happen to me alright.I will keep my words,trust me," said General Wang as he slowly slid his right hand onto Jianyu's chin and lifted it up. Jianyu smiled faintly. His thought was not just a mere baseless thought. He had been seeing posters of General Wang's face all over the town for the past few weeks. Only couple of days ago people from the palace came over and took all those posters down.
"Say...." said General Wang while staring intensively at Jianyu."How old are you?" he asked.
Jianyu raised his brows and blinked his eyes a few times."I am 17" he said.
General Wang scoffed and gently pinched Jianyu's nose."We are 9 years apart" he said as he turned his body and walked in front of Jianyu.
"You can be my big brother then," said Jianyu in cheerful voice.He always wanting a big brother,someone he can lean on and share his thoughts with.
General Wang nodded his head once and lifted up his hand."You better start walking or we might not get there" he said while waving his long arm.
"Yes big brother" said Jianyu with excitement,he skipped as he tried to match up with General Wang footsteps.
They followed the trail toward nearest town,took them almost an hour and a half.There were not many people around at that time,unlike in the morning time. General Wang scanned around,searching for merchant. Jianyu followed close behind,placing his hands on his back while leisurely walking around.He stopped when he saw an astonishing jade pendant among others jewelries displayed on a wooden table. He extended his arm and carefully traced the details using his finger tip.
"Would you like to buy it?",asked the seller as he took out the pendant. Jianyu shook his head and smiled. He's fully aware that he can never afford such an expensive thing. He reluctantly turned his body around while his eyes were still locked on the pendant.
"You like it?"
Jianyu was startled by the sudden deep voice. Before he could utter a word,General Wang already gave out his bracelet in exchanged for the pendant. He took Jianyu's hand and placed the pendant on his palm. General Wang gently bent Jianyu's fingers,securing the pendant in his grasp. Jianyu was speechless.
"Keep it with you all the time.Promise?" General Wang slightly widen his eyes. Jianyu could only nodded his head.In his life,it was the first time he ever received such a gift. Jianyu stared at General Wang's smiling face as he tighten the grip on his hand.
"I will treasure this forever" said Jianyu.
"That's better.Now,we should hurry up before it gets dark," urged General Wang. Jianyu listened obediently. They brought some essentials and headed home.
They both chattered on the way home because it was awfully quiet and the environment slowly turned darker due to the thick canopy. Jianyu had a bad eyesight especially in the dark. He barely saw things in front of him. He narrowed his eyes,trying to get a better look at what's in front of him. He almost slipped at the sloppy trail but thanks to General Wang quick reflexes,he was saved.
"Take my hand.I have better eyesight,i will lead the way," said General Wang as he extended his hand. Jianyu hesitated at first but held out his hand a while later. General Wang smiled as he tightly held Jianyu's hand.
"You should not do that," Jianyu said while walking.
"Is it awkward holding hands with me?You might hurt yourself," replied General Wang.
"Not this.I mean earlier at the market" Jianyu stared at General Wang's back.
"You didn't have to save me,but yet you did.It's not about if i should or not.I sincerely want to give something to you.At least the jade will remind you of me," General Wang slightly turned his head,trying to look at Jianyu's expression.
Jianyu flashed his smile. Even though he initially wanted to refuse but he never possessed such an expensive item before. He will just hold onto it while waiting for General Wang.
"LOOK OUT!" Jianyu suddenly screamed as he pushed General Wang aside. An arrow went straight into his body,pierced his chest. Jianyu collapsed right there,with his cloth smeared with his own blood.He breathed heavily,his face showing that he's in a great pain.
General Wang fell on the ground,he was stunned to see Jianyu's condition right in front of his own eyes. Few men on horses came out from their hideout. They were royal guards leaded by Emperor's personal bodyguard.
"Jianyu!Jianyu!" General Wang called out a few times as he tightly held Jianyu's body. Despite his condition,Jianyu still managed to smile a little.
"YOU!Your business is with me,he has nothing to do with our argument!" shouted General Wang.He clenched his teeth and looked at royal guards with anger.
"How would i know that mere creature will interrupt," personal bodyguard mockingly said.
"How dare........." General Wang could not finish his sentence when Jianyu suddenly coughed blood.His eyes slowly closing and his breathing slowly decreased. Jianyu murmured something before last breath finally escaped his lips.
"Look at that little romance," again the personal guard mockingly said.
General Wang trembled with anger.He stood up and dashed forward,stealing one of the archer's sword as he pulled down his leg. He went on berserk,aimlessly stabbed on things he saw. Horses galloped away due to his sudden action,sending few guards away into the forest leaving only 3 including the personal bodyguard. They already climbed down from their horses before General Wang went berserk.All 3 men pointed their swords toward General Wang while walking sideways in circle.
"What are you waiting for?Attack!" ordered the personal bodyguard. All 3 charged and attacked General Wang,who did his best to defend himself.He managed to defeat 2 guards in that fierce fight.
"If i knew it will turn out this way,i would finish you off since earlier," said General Wang as he clenched his teeth. He tightly grasp the sword,ready to avenge on Jianyu's death.
"Let's decide the winner today" replied personal bodyguard as he positioned himself.
They again engaged in a fierce sword fight,none of them willingly admit defeat. Using his skills,General Wang managed to wound his opponent causing the guard losing grip on his sword. When he's about to finish him off,another arrow passed by. It went right through General Wang's chest causing him to lose his balance for a while but still manage to stab his opponent before he collapsed on the ground. The archer was shocked and ran away.
General Wang held onto his sword as support. He stood up and glanced over at his opponent before he slowly dragged his feet toward Jianyu's cold body. He carefully sat down,leaned his back on nearby tree and set the sword aside. He lifted up Jianyu's head and put in on his lap,gently stroking Jianyu's hair.
"I will accompany you tonight" he said before paused for a while,catching his breath. The pain he felt on his chest was unbearable but he still kept on talking.
"I am sorry that i cannot replay your kindness in this life.I pledge to protect you in my next life,just like how you protected mine in this.No matter who you will become,what name you will wear,i will find you and stay with you.I will give my next life to you and only you," said General Wang before his eyesight slowly getting blurred and turned into complete darkness.