Ch 13: The Peach Flower Hairpin, A Song

We had our dinner by sharing a wild rooster. Li Shi Zhen said that he caught it in the wild, but by the looks of it, it was Sir Xu who hunted the rooster.

All of the tents as well as the bonfire is set up now.

Xiu Ying insists on preparing the sleeping tent as comfortable as possible for me while Li Shi Zhen is inside his and Xu Kai's tent, writing about the native plants in his book. Co-Commander Xu is sitting near the bonfire, looking at something. The other embroidered uniform guard is feeding and tendering the horse.

Tranquility and serenity fills the air, apart from the crickets chirping and the fire chomping up the wood.

I sit in opposition to him on a log of wood. He is gazing intensively at a peach flower hairpin; it's as if it is absorbing all of his attention.

I bring my arms up as fists and rest my head on them. The heat from the bonfire flows up to warm my face. "Does that belong to someone fairly important to you?" I ask him curiously.

He looks out into the distance, "Yes." He pauses for a moment. "Someone who gave me a meaning to life." The tone of his voice haunts me until the end.

I nod while slowly saying "Oh.." I look down to the ground and respond, "A lady, huh? How lucky."

He has lifeless eyes on his smiling face, "Yes. She was the most beautiful lady I've ever seen."

Was?

I felt my eyes tear up. Such unconditional love. His smile is so joyous yet melancholic. His lover must have past away.

What the heck, man. Why you gotta shift to a sullen mood? Why am I such a crybaby?

I wipe the tears from my eyes, sniffling thereafter.

"Why are you crying?" He inquires with eager, putting the peach flower hairpin back into his pockets. His attention sets on me, as I attempt to avoid eye contact with him.

I deny his insinuation, "I am not crying. There is dust in my eye. The wind is rising." Rubbing my eyes, I fake as if there are dust in there.

"There is no wind and you are sniffling."

Exposed.

I thought of a pitiful lie, "Well, that reminds me of a song my mother used to sing to me."

"A song?" His brows raise, indicating his interest. He contemptuously sneers like always, "Sing it."

I laugh miserably due to the known fact that I can barely sing, "S-Sir Xu, I don't think it's fitting for me to.."

At this point, I just wish to momentarily depart and seek permanent alienation from this situation.

"Sing," he commands with patience.

I thought: Chronicles of the Hundred Flowers Grave.

Defeated, I concur to his request. I respond to his relentless eyes by sighing helplessly before I continue:

Choking in sorrow as death would do us apart, alas how can we be parted?

At life's end and eyes clouded by tears, I bestow an ode of hatred.

For now, I rest my head to my sleeves as it wipes the tears away.

May all that I have in life be vested in my lord for eternity.

By the time I sang my final sentence, I glance in the direction of Sir Xu. Dropping to my knees, with great severity, I secure my eyes on his beauty. He has his head resting against his arm, from which he held into a fist. His eyes are closed shut.

Seriously?

Was my singing so boring that he fell asleep?

I shake my head and choke out a snicker, "Oh, well." My eyes rest on his masculine yet delicate features.

It's as if he's a little child and his mother had just sung him a lullaby.

When Xiu Ying finished with prepping my tent, I return to my tent to rest. It took a while for me to sleep because I realize that I didn't shower and that I smell like sweat.

Come to think of it, I am surprised that the bristle toothbrush is already invented during the Ming Dynasty.

Welp. Gotta expect the unexpected.