Travelling With The Enemy | BL

Chapter Seventy Seven

Wang Bao woke up to discomfort in his stomach, his head was throbbing but also dizzy. He wanted to rub his stomach to give it some form of comfort but his wrists were cuffed and connected to a chain that was pinned into the wall. Wang Bao struggled to open his eyes since they were so heavy but after a while, he finally opened them enough to see his surroundings. The familiar damp brick walls of the palace dungeon were all he could see, although his head wasn't fully awake yet, it didn't stop the sinking feeling in his heart. He had returned to the palace.

The more Wang Bao's mind cleared, the more the panic set into his body and he soon tried thrashing his limbs about to get them free from the cuffs, however, no matter how hard he tried to get free, there was nothing his body could do that would even loosen the metal. The clanging of the metal echoed off the damp wall until Wang Bao heard a gruff cough from what sounded like an old man and he froze instantly. A few seconds of silence passed before the stranger called out with a raspy voice.

"W-Who is there?"

"Mr Liu?"

Although different, Wang Bao could identify the voice clearly.There was another moment of silence before the broken sounds of an elderly man sobbing echoed off of the walls, making their way back to Wang Bao. My Liu tried to get a few words out but he was too distraught after hearing Wang Bao's voice. Hearing his own servant and friend cry like that made Wang Bao's heart hurt and he began to shed his own tears while trying to speak as well.

"M-Mr Liu, why are you down here? And what about Old Liu, is he here as well?"

Wang Bao had to wait a while for Mr Liu to calm himself then listened closely since there wasn't much volume to Mr Liu's voice.

"I was taken here once Queen Mother found you were missing, as for my Brother, I gave him the note you left and he fled the palace. It wouldn't be good if he were caught here since he should've been with the King."

"Do you know where he went?"

Mr Liu let out another round of raspy coughs which broke Wang Baos heart to listen to, in all his life, Wang Bao had never even seen Mr Liu have a sniffle let alone a bad cough such as this.

"M-My brother couldn't tell me since it would be too dangerous. Ever since you left with the Giant, I have been placed down here and for the first two months I was interrogated, but I really didn't know any information about you so they left me down here to rot."

"Mr Liu, do you have any idea of what Mother is planning. She has ties in almost all the continents I traveled through but I don't know how or why."

Wang Bao felt the ache in his stomach was becoming greater and he groaned while trying to sit up, the cold damp rocks were doing nothing for his condition but he couldn't think about how bad shape Mr Liu's body must be in after spending half a year down here. After taking another break Mr lIu carried on talking, his voice getting harder to hear the more he talked.

"I don't know much but I do know that Queen Mother is planning on doing something to the throne, I heard she wants to tear down the kingdom the old king had built. I don't know why or how but like you said, she has connections, a lot of connections. More times than I could count since being down here, there have been people from all over brought in, only to be slaughtered the very next day. I think they may have been working for her since they pleaded for forgiveness every time."

Wang Bao didn't ask anymore questions as Mr Liu could barely speak and was having trouble breathing, hearing Mr Liu gasp for air caused Wang Bao to go into panic mode and his voice raised a few octaves.

"Mr Liu, are you okay?!"

Before any sort of answer could be given, quick steps could be heard coming down the stone corridor. Both Wang Bao and Mr LIu held their breath as they waited to see who the steps belonged to. Wang Bao was hoping he was wrong but just like Mr LIu's voice, he knew the sound of his Mother's shoes hitting the ground. As the sound grew nearer, Wang Bao's anxiety crept back into his chest and left him feeling suffocated, Wang Bao quickly swiped at his wrist but the metal cuff from the Sea Quen was no longer there. Before Wang Bao could think too much about his missing cuff, Queen Mother's face came into view. He hadn't seen his Mother in half a year but her face was still as beautiful and cold as any other day. Wang Bao looked at the damp stone in front of him after only a small glance at his Mother, his heart thumping in his ears with every step she took closer.