Arc 2.13 Zu Tian

"Ah'Feng."

"Hmmm...."

Feng Niao groaned slowly waking up and feeling someone caressing his hair gently.

"Who?"

Rubbing his eyes, Feng Niao sat up. Focusing his eyes on the person sitting beside him on his dark room, Feng Niao almost cried out in surprise when he was met with Zu Tian's face.

"T-Tian?" Feng Niao called out unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Why are you so surprised? Did you have a bad dream? I'm sorry if I left you all alone and only arrived now. I won't do it again. Hmm?"

Listening to what Zu Tian was saying, Feng Niao was a little puzzled. When he noticed that the once dark and cold room where he was imprisoned was replaced with the room he once knew.

Was he dreaming?

Why is he back in the emperor's palace?

Or was everything that he had experienced just a nightmare?

"Ah'Feng, are you alright?"

Zu Tian reached out to place his hand on Feng Niao's face to see if he was alright but before he could do so, Feng Niao dive right into his embrace.

"Tian!"

"Ah'Feng, what's wrong? Wait. Why are you crying?"

Zu Tian panicked when he saw Feng Niao crying his heart out. He was bawling out almost like a child as he hugged him tightly afraid that he might just disappear if he were to let go of him.

"Tian! Tian. Tian!!!" Feng Niao called again and again with heartache.

"Ah'Feng, did you have a nightmare? Don't worry, everything is fine now. I'm here. Your safe."

"Tian...."

"Yes?" Zu Tian lovingly smiled while caressing the hair of his childlike lover.

"I had a nightmare." Feng Niao said sleepy after bawling out like a child.

All of the stress and fear that had piled up in his mind came crashing down on him at once giving a huge toll on his body and making him feel tired.

Zu Tian just smiled while listening to his lover retelling him his dream.

He just listened and did not say anything while caressing his lover's hair lovingly.

"In my dream, you hated me because I made a mistake. I shouldn't have lied. I should have told you the truth. But I was afraid that even if I told you the truth you still won't believe me. I'm afraid, Tian. I'm afraid you will hate me."

Babbling on and on, Feng Niao noticed that Zu Tian was not saying anything and looked at him.

Zu Tian was looking at him gently but somehow it's creeping him out because the way he looks at him was not just right or he was just imagining things.

"Tian? Are you listening to me?"

"Of course, Ah'Feng." Zu Tian smiled widely.

"Then what was I saying if you were listening to me?"

"You were telling me about your dream, love." Saying this, Zu Tian's smile got even wider.

"Why are you smiling?"

Feng Niao frowned not liking Zu Tian laughing at him.

"I said, why are you smiling?"

"It's just funny."

"What's funny?" Asking this, Feng Niao had a really bad feeling.

Zu Tian stop smiling and stood up, his eyes that looked at Feng Niao were so cold that it sent shivers down his spine.

"It's funny because.... it wasn't a dream, baby."

"Ack! T-Tian!"

Feng Niao screamed in fear as he tried to get Zu Tian's hand off his neck. He was squeezing his neck so tightly that he was already seeing black.

"Feng Niao, die!!!!"

Wake UP!!

"Ahhhh!!!!"

Pant!

Pant!

Pant!

Feng Niao clutch his neck in fear panting very hard when he woke up from his nightmare.

He look at his surroundings back and forth and was finally able to sigh in relief when he finally confirmed that he was back in that dark and cold room of his.

"It was all a dream."

Whish!

"Whose there?!"

Hearing a movement coming from the shadows, Feng Niao quickly stood up and surveyed his surroundings.

He clutch a nearby broken piece of wood in his hand and looked at the source of the sound.

Whoosh!

"General."

A man in black stepped out of the shadows and kneeled on one knee in front of him.

Identifying who the man was, Feng Niao finally put his guard down sitting back down on the bed.

"It's you. I thought....."

Feng Niao didn't continue his words knowing how impossible his thought was. Shaking his head he focuses his attention on the man in front of him.

"What brought you here? I'm already about to die. What is the use of you appearing in front of an about-to-be-dead man? What is it that my brother wanted this time?" Feng Niao mocked.

"Crown Prince just wanted to tell General to keep his mouth shut if General does not want to implicate more people in this matter."

"Shut my mouth? Aren't I just doing fine?" Feng Niao scoffed.

"If the General does not want our nation and citizens to get slaughtered by the Emperor of Qi then the General should take the fall. Also, your father the emperor is sorry about your state but he can't do anything about it. He can only pray that you would safely cross the afterlife and that if there is a chance, he would pay this debt in the next life. The emperor is proud of you."

"Bullshit! Proud of me? Paying off the debt in the next life? If you want to lie to me then better make up a better lie next time! That dying old man would never say those words to me. Or are you saying those words to me so that I will keep my mouth shut till the day I die?"

Feng Niao was so angry that he shouted at the man in black. Everything he said was garbage!

"What if, I don't keep my mouth shut?"

"General?!"

The man in black was so surprised that he stood up and almost raised his voice loudly waking the whole neighborhood.

"Does General not care about the imperial family anymore? What about those innocent citizens that will get involved if war broke out between the two countries?"

"They are not my burden."

Feng Niao shrugged off not the least bit afraid of dragging anyone in the troubled waters.

If he is going down then all of them must go with him.

LoL.

No. He was saying all of this shit because he believes that even though Zu Tian hates him and would definitely kill those people who had tried to harm him, Zu Tian will never harm innocent people.

He knew because he had been together with him for a long time.

The man that was said to be savage and cruel was a sweet kind man to him.

He is confident that whatever happens between their countries, Zu Tian will never lay his hands on innocent citizens.

Seeing Feng Niao's indifferent face, the man in black's face became ugly.

"General has changed. How can General be so selfish?"

"Heh. I'm selfish?"

Feng Niao laughed while letting out a breath of frustration and anger.

If the man in black keeps on talking, Feng Niao will be sure to beat him to death making him unable to return to that two-faced crown prince's side of his.

"I'm already about to be a dead man. I don't fear anything. Having someone to die together with would just be great. How about having that son of a bitch two-face crown prince of yours join me instead?"

"Y-You...!"

The man in black was speechless unable to speak hearing Feng Niao curse at the Crown Prince. He was heaving in anger pointing at Feng Niao in the face.

"Or how about having that dying old man join us instead? The more the merrier, right?"

"Your shameless!!"

The man in black listening to Feng Niao cursing the imperial family looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

If he continues to listen to Feng Niao's nonsense he might really go crazy!

"Just you see. I'll definitely tell the crown prince about what you just said." The man in black angrily said before disappearing.

"Yeah. Yeah. Tell him. I don't care. Also, tell him that I am waiting for him in hell!"

Bogsh!

Hearing the sound of someone falling, Feng Niao laughed out loud.

"I never thought that cursing someone would really be fun."