Yulong, Silver and Chains

SEVEN

    Three months passed and the chill of winter was finally, officially, on them. Out of all the states of the Huo Empire, the state that Meifen lived in, State Zhixing, was known to have the coldest and longest winters. Meifen rubbed her arms as she slipped out of the bed. Sunlight seeped through the window and spilled over her wooden floors. It was early afternoon but since she had a long night, she was waking up later than usual. She had just gotten home from a task that nearly shaved a few years off her life. She had to steal important documents from a man, which she did, but she didn't expect him to chase her down and fight. It had dragged on and she was able to defeat him and escape, but not without bruises and a few cuts on her body.

    She rubbed her face and tightened the robes around herself. Before she could even think about breakfast or what she would do for the rest of her day, there was a soft knock on her door before one of the girls poked her head through the doorway. Meifen didn't remember her name but vaguely remembered seeing her around. "Lady Meifen, Lord Hongqi is requesting for you to come to his office immediately. It's urgent."

    Her jaw almost slammed the floor. Again? When was she ever going to have a break? It was back to back missions over and over again! If she didn't know any better, he was trying to overwork her. She grumbled a response before she hurriedly changed her outfit into a simple modest dress. She didn't bother tying her hair in an elaborate style and simply pulled it back with two pins. Once presentable, she marched to Lord Hongqi's office, ready to give him a piece of her mind.

    Mad as she was, she had half a mind to knock on his door before sauntering inside. The various weapons adorning his walls glittered in the sunlight as she stepped inside. The door clicked behind her softly and she blinked back as she saw Manchu sitting in one of the seats across from Lord Hongqi. Instantly, her already sour mood soured further. She had been adamant when she told Lord Hongqi that she refused to handle any further missions with Manchu. She had explained to him how rude, pretentious, and overbearing he had been.

    "No," she said, backing away and ready to spin on her heels. "I refuse—"

    Lord Hongqi stood from his seat. It screeched against the wooden floor. "Meifen, at least listen to what we have to say."

    She narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. She didn't even look at Manchu. "I told you I don't want to work with him ever again. He disregarded my life during the last mission! Why should I even think about working with him again?"

    "Meifen, please have a seat," Lord Hongqi said, motioning towards the seat across from him.

    "Lord—"

    "Meifen." His tone was abrupt and sharp. Even though he had a thin smile on his face, Meifen knew that there were no smiles in his plans. Her shoulders stiffened and she had no choice but to cross the room and take a seat. Once seated, Lord Hongqi sat down as well. "Lieutenant General Manchu has come for you and you alone for this mission. You are the only one who can do it, he believes so."

    Her dark gaze flitted over to him. He was garbed in his military attire and was sitting stiffly in his seat, his chin raised and his scraggly white hair brushed back into a topknot. He cleared his throat. "As you know from the last mission, it was very important for us to retrieve Xia Zengguang—"

    "Actually," she interrupted, earning a sharp glance from Lord Hongqi, "I didn't know. Why? Because you refused to tell me."

     His shoulders became taut and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Ah. Well, yes," he said. "Anyway, Xia Zengguang's retrieval was very important because we need his superb military sense and strategic mind. It has been three months since he's been living in General Hung's home and we have been doing the best we can to heal him and make him healthy enough to join the battlefield once more. He is, surprisingly, still a brilliant man but he's not the same as he was before and he's still in no condition to join the battlefield. He has night terrors, he screams all through the nights, he has delusions every now and then, he shivers nonstop, he attacks people randomly, and he doesn't have control of himself sometimes. This is where we need you."