I hate you

Chapter 3

When he finally woke up he almost went back to unconsciousness from the scolding from Liu's parents but he didn't mind.

They were clearly worried to death going by their grim faces and it made him feel loved for the first time in a long time. He felt irrationally guilty for stealing the original's place in receiving their love.

They fed him think porridge and a green liquid he refused to drink. The concoction was gooey and had a strange pungent smell that made him want to throw up. It was most definitely poison and he stated just that as he stared at the liquid with disgust.

"Oh don't be a baby. Tomorrow we have to leave for the capital and you need the energy" Meilin urged pushing the bowl closer.

Right. There was that. They were supposed to travel to the capital days ago. Considering how ruthless the emperor was, he couldn't even imagine how he would react if they didn't reach the capital exactly on his 20th birthday.

He would be 'willingly' offered to the emperor like a lamb to the slaughter on his birthday. It was the second best joke the universe could play on him. The irony wasn't lost on him.

Gritting his teeth he pinched his nose and drank the medicine in one go. He barely got it down his throat...the extreme bitter after taste making his brows wrinkle.

"Let's head to the capital now" he said resolutely. He would not let the emperor find any excuses to harm these people. Not to mention he didn't want to loose his head as soon as he arrived on this strange new world.

Han Ren and his wife stared at their son as if seeing him for the first time. To tell the truth, even though he looked like the same beautiful boy they had always known and raised from birth...he seemed slightly different. Maybe it was the way he stood straighter, his shoulders squared and the way his jet black eyes deepened into something unfathomable and beautiful like the night skies.

He was like a completely different person. The son they had known had always been on the timid and fragile side. The Liu Wenhe now had the vitality and grace he previously lacked. He was regal an aura of quite calmness around him. He was like snow on mountain peak. Beautiful, pure and distant.

He was so different. If not for his appearance they would have thought he was a different person.

"I'll be fine" Xei Ming assured them. Although he had tried to act like the original he saw the hints of doubt and disbelief in their eyes. Truly, nothing escaped they eyes of parents when it came to their children. He smiled.

"We cannot waste anymore time"

The couple looked at each other before nodding. "We leave in a few minutes"

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Due to the delay they had to take the short cut. It was not the best of short cuts out there in the world. In fact it was one of the worst.

They had to walk non stop through the harsh terrain where there were more rocks than vegetation. Xei Ming found that he didn't hate the emperor but in fact loathed his very guts.

His slippers were thin and barely provided any protection and his feet screamed each time he took a step on the jagged rocks. He was sure blisters were beginning to from and as they walked his already weak body grew increasingly tired and sore.

Han Ren and Meilin seemed to be struggling too and it made him want to tell them to go back. But the problem was that he didn't know they way. Damn it.

Gritting his teeth he continued to walk and pretended he was fine...as if his feet weren't killing and his body wasn't close to dropping. Han Ren and Meilin kept glancing worriedly at him. He was thankful of their concern but he wished they wouldn't look at him so often so that he didn't have to act all the time.

To distract himself he imagines cooking the emperor alive and torturing his feet with several small needles. That would teach him how painful walking on sharp rocks was.

A creepy smile appeared on his face and his parents shivered when they saw the evil look on his face.