The Cross-dress warrior of Sun

The Corpse

"What?!"

I surely didn't hear properly. What in the world could someone do to get personally executed by the emperor? Bolin guessed my thought and gently pushed me inside the barn.

"It's a long story. Let's go inside."

He sat on one of the two chairs in the room and invited me to do the same.

"My father was one of the generals of the emperor. He was a great warrior and led his army to victory. He never lost a battle. People admired him, and his enemies feared him."

I listened to him praise his father. His eyes seemed to sparkle when he mentioned him. He loved him.

"But the emperor grew more and more suspicious and paranoid. At that time, there were already signs of the future Hun invasion. He became certain that my father allied himself with them with the goal to overthrow him and take his precious throne. He invited my father to a private meeting and slipped poison in the tea that was given to him."

His voice was harsh, and his eyes lifeless. Every word was filled with an indescribable amount of pain.

"My father's corpse was still warm when he ordered his most loyal soldiers to drag my family to the palace and behead us."

A chill went down my back.

"I was only six years old. The only reason I am alive is that the emperor's son, Yongliong, was fond of me. But he didn't spare me the spectacle of their deaths. I saw and heard everything."

He paused for a second to catch his breath. He was trembling.

"Two months later, the Huns invaded us. The army, who suffered the loss of their most powerful man, couldn't do much. They were as lost as a baby rabbit in the middle of a pack of wolves. The emperor heard then that his most loyal dog had created a refuge for young boys. He sent me and Yongliong at the same time. He gave the order to his soldiers to abandon me if someone chased us to slow them down and to prevent the death of his precious son."

He was speaking slowly, like he was seeing the scene happening in front of his eyes. A part of me knew the bitter taste of sadness he had. I had also lost my family, and I saw my twin die in front of me. But another part was wondering how strong he was to have survived all of these.

"Later on, I found someone who healed me slowly. That made me smile again, but that person too was taken away from me by the imperial family."

"You are so brave."

He turned at me surprised.

"You are always smiling and joyful, and you are never sad. You are so brave even with everything that has happened to you."

"I am not brave; I just endure it with a happy mask."

We stared at each other in silence.

"It is incredible how curious I am about you."

"You are not the only one who thinks so," I mumbled.

The face of Shiong appeared in my mind.

"Let's go," he laughed, "I know a shortcut."

I smiled shyly, and we went back chatting happily.

"What the heck is that?" asked Bolin.

On the road, a big black mass was lying on the ground. Flies were surrounding it. As we approached, a horrifying smell swirled in the air. Bolin kicked gently the mass.

"AAAAHH!"

The mass was a body. It was Tao's body. His head rolled on the side, his lifeless dark eyes looking straight at me. I fell on the floor with an urge to vomit.