The sound of people on the street woke Wan Xue. He was accustomed to the sounds of the ordinary people who lived around him, but this was not the same. Even though it had been dim before he ever closed his eyes in sleep, he could still tell a difference in the darkness that pervaded the single room house and knew it was nighttime now. There were footsteps from people passing, sounding as though they were in a hurry, as if something urgent had gained their attention, and Wan Xue sat upright on his mat, silent as he waited to see what would happen.
But no one knocked on his door, no one broke it down or demanded he return to the prison or be carted off as a slave once more. The sounds gradually passed and the street sounded empty now, so he walked silently to the window and cracked the shutters just enough to see out.
The street was deserted, even though he could tell it wasn't so late yet that curfew would already be in effect. Something must have happened to cause everyone to retreat indoors. The group walking by earlier – could they have been soldiers from the army maybe? That was the only thing that made sense to him, the only thing he thought might cause everyone to go into their homes and remain out of sight. He was at least fairly sure that they would not be looking for him, despite his initial fear upon awakening. But if they began knocking on doors, searching for whomever it was they were intent upon finding...
He'd rather not deal with that at all or be questioned on why he was here if recognized by someone who knew he'd been sold as a slave. Closing the shutters and turning back to his darkened home, he surveyed its contents briefly before retrieving a candle and lighting it. There wasn't much here, as he owned little, so it didn't take him long to pack his things into a small sack he'd found once and brought home in case he ever needed it. As it turned out, he did need it. Though he hadn't guessed he'd be fleeing the city in such a manner, or for such a reason. The real reason behind it all, however, he thought as he worked, was still unknown to him: Why was he accused of such a crime in the first place?
With his belongings all stored carefully away, he glanced around the room before taking out his newly acquired wealth and placing a couple coins in the place where he normally left the rent for the woman who had let him stay here. He rarely saw her, as he was at the farm every day until late, but even still, his heart felt a little heavy at the thought that he didn't even get to say goodbye.
Wan Xue gently blew out the candle, ensuring there were no remaining sparks lit before stuffing that into his bag as well, considering it was the only one he had. There wasn't anything left besides the mat he slept on, and while he did run a hand over it somewhat longingly, it wasn't his to take, and he didn't plan on stealing from his landlady. Still considering the lack of goodbyes he could give, he exited the house he'd lived in for years now – really nothing more than a shack – and stared up at it regretfully after closing the door.
As he walked down the street, he thought that perhaps it would be alright to go back to the farm – to wait until morning and at least explain to his employers that he was leaving, even if he couldn't explain why. And yet, there was the possibility that it was someone else from the farm who had accused him. There were several people there who had little respect for him because of his disability. He hesitated, mere feet from his house, thinking that he should probably leave straightaway, no detours, regretful as that might make him.
Even as he was considering this, stopped in his tracks in the darkened street, he suddenly registered the sound of footsteps, coming from around the corner just to his left. He took a step back abruptly, not knowing who was coming or why they were moving so quickly, but he had no time to do anything more before the owner of the feet making the noise rounded the corner at a flat out run. Before anything more than this registered, all he'd had the time to think was that he was surprised the person could even make that turn so quickly, and then said person crashed directly into him.
The impact knocked Wan Xue to the ground, and given the momentum behind the collision, the other person fell as well, directly on top of him. Though he had not seen the person's face, he guessed it was a man by the weight and build, and he listened to the person's gasping breath as he hurriedly pulled himself up off of Wan Xue. Wan Xue had hit his head on the ground when he fell and his ears were ringing, his entire body, and particularly his ribs, aching from the impact. He squinted, trying to dispel the pain as he sat up on the ground once the pressure on top of him had been removed.
"I'm sorry," the other person gasped out through heaving lungs, his voice confirming that Wan Xue's guess was correct and that he was a man. Before he had a chance to stand or even look up at this stranger, two hands grasped his arms and pulled him up from the ground as if it were nothing, releasing him only once he was firmly on his feet.
"I'm sorry," the man repeated, his breath finally slowing, and Wan Xue looked up at last and saw his face.
A sliver of terror pierced through his heart, because the man standing before him was none other than the emperor himself.
His mouth opened as he drew in a sharp breath that he did not immediately release. His brows furrowed as though he were in pain, and he stumbled back a step before coming to his senses and breaking into a run. However, he didn't make it far before he felt a hand grab his arm, breaking his stride and forcing him to a sudden stop. Using this momentum, he was able to shift his direction and turn back toward the man in pursuit of him, and he punched the emperor in the stomach.
Though the man doubled over somewhat, he had still yet to release his grip on Wan Xue, so the latter threw another punch directed at the man's head, but this one was easily caught by the emperor's empty hand.
"Wait!" the man suddenly shouted. "I'm not trying to scare you!"
The hell you aren't! Wan Xue thought, kicking the other man's shins now that both of his arms were incapacitated.
"I just need help," the man said, and his voice sounded so strange and desperate that Wan Xue paused momentarily in his defense of himself. He already knew there'd be nothing he could do if the man wanted to harm him, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try and stop him anyway.
As soon as he stopped fighting, the other man released his arms, as if this was a sign that all was well now, as if Wan Xue could believe such words from the mouth of a man who ruled the country, who punished prisoners however he deemed fit, and sold them as slaves afterwards.
He took a step back, prepared to flee for his life, but the look on the man's face made him hesitate. It was true that this man was identical to the man who had assaulted and imprisoned him, but there were subtle differences that made him doubt his initial assumption that this was the emperor. Could two men possibly look so alike?
But this man's face held none of the anger or superiority the emperor's had. Instead he looked confused, afraid, much as Wan Xue himself was. But there was no mistaking those features. If not the emperor, then who else?
"Please," the man said, and he looked as if he was not above dropping to his knees and begging. "There's no one else around. Everyone's hiding from the soldiers, but I don't know why they're chasing after me." His hand reached out again, this time grasping Wan Xue's clammy palm in his hot one. "I woke up in the palace and escaped, but I don't know my way around. I don't even know my own name. I..."
His voice trailed off, his grip so tight that Wan Xue was sure he could never break his hold. And he was looking at him with a complete lack of recognition. This man had no idea who Wan Xue was. Wait, that wasn't quite right, Wan Xue thought, finally registering the man's final words. He doesn't know who he is?!
Does that mean...he doesn't know he's the emperor, he doesn't remember the crime I've been accused of, or that I was supposed to be a slave, or what he did to me a week ago? But he had said he woke up in the palace. Then he was the emperor!
Abruptly, the Meng Yuan's grip on his hand slackened and he let go, wrapping his arm around his own torso and pressing his hand to his side as if he were injured. Surely not from Wan Xue's attack. He didn't think he'd hit him hard enough to cause this kind of extreme reaction. He'd only just noticed the blood seeping out between the man's fingers, soaking through the fabric of his shirt, when the other man stumbled forward.
Wan Xue's attentionhad been drawn to the wound on his side and he didn't see when Meng Yuan's eyesclosed as he lost consciousness. Instead, his eyes were still looking downwardwhen the body in front of him was suddenly moving toward his, and as Meng Yuanfell forward, Wan Xue caught the emperor in his arms.
YOU ARE READING
Beiji
Romance"In a life filled with unvoiced and therefore unanswered questions, if there was one thing with which Wan Xue was familiar, it was confusion." Wan Xue has never spoken, so far as he can remember. While his muteness innately comes with its share of d...
