Death Is Just Another New Beginning

517 BC. Yue State

Ejun Zixi and Yue Maiden loved each other, and they were inseparable. Perhaps Ejun Zixi's thirteen years in Yue forest was the best time in his life if compared to his life inside the palace.

Ejun Zixi wanted to use the spearhead he got from King Zhao of Chu to make a spear for Yue Maiden. He knew that Yue Maiden was a gifted natural warrior. She was excellent with her spear, while Zixi was good with his sword.

Ejun Zixi knew there's a famous blacksmith in Ying City. Therefore he took Yue Maiden to have that excellent blacksmith to make a spear for her.

Yue Maiden could not conceal her excitement. She had never been to Chu State before.

She's seldom left the forest. That day Ejun Zixi helped her and dressed her up.

That day, she looked different, as she's wearing a long gown like the Chu people instead of a shorter gown like the Yue people who lived in the forest.

"My wife, you look lovely!" Ejun Zixi said and clutched his wife's hands. "Nobody would have guessed if you are not a Chu woman. A beautiful woman like you, even in the palace, is still hard to find.

"My lord-husband, as long as I'm beautiful in your eyes, that's enough for me," Yue Maiden said.

"You are so kind to me! I owe you my life!"

Yue Maiden laughed and said, "That time I was still young and reckless. I've never met someone as good looking at you. You wore that beautiful white robe. You looked like an angel. Therefore I didn't think too much and just saved you!"

Ejun Zixi smiled and said, "We're still young at that time. And how lucky I am to be able to spend my life with you!"

"The first time I laid my eyes on you, I knew that I wanted to be with you forever!"

"I'm lucky that you're a Yue girl who lives in the forest. Otherwise, you'd have probably got married by the time we met!"

Yue Maiden shook her head, "My lord, there's something that I keep as a secret for many years. I hope that you won't despise me after you hear my story!"

"You are my wife. There's no secret between us!"

"Do you know why I live in the forest?"

"Hmm? I thought that you lived there because your parents used to live there too! No?"

Yue Maiden shook her head, "My parents were my adoptive parents. My adoptive mother could not bear any child. Therefore, my father's family despised her. But my father loved her so much. Therefore, he built the house deep inside the forest for her. Then one day, when she's sleeping, she heard a baby was crying. It was in the middle of the night. She thought that she was dreaming. And being alone in the jungle, she dared not to check out. The next day, she found there's a wolf was sitting quietly not far from the house. From the house, she shot an arrow to kill the wolf. After she managed to kill it, she checked the wolf and was about to bury it when she found a baby! The baby was me! The wolf was a female wolf, and it's feeding me, the baby!"

Ejun Zixi was surprised to hear it. "Then you surely have great luck in life. That even a wolf was protecting you when you're a baby!"

"Even for barbarian Yue, a baby who is fed by a wolf is not something tolerable! It's embarrassing and a big taboo!"

"I don't care, and I don't mind with that!"

"One day, after my father passed away, his parents, who knew that I was not my mother's child, cast away my mother and me. At that time, I was just nine years old. My mother died a year later. And I lived in the forest alone after since!"

Ejun Zixi had never thought that she had such a bitter life.

"Lord, after my mother and father, you are the only one who is kind to me. When I first saw you, I thought you're so good looking, and I saw kindness in your eyes. Therefore I just spontaneously thought that I wanted to be with you. Just like my mother and my father, who was never separated and always be together till death separated them!"

"Only death can separate us!" Ejun Zixi said. "But, if I die earlier, you should not do anything foolish!"

"I want to be with you forever!"

Ejun Zixi smiled at her and kissed her forehead lightly. "One of my biggest regret in life is that I can't make you happy! I came back here as a fallen prince!"

"Who cares if you're a prince or not!"

"How I wish that I could buy you a lot of embroidered clothes and put you in a beautiful mansion!"

"I only want you!"

Ejun Zixi smiled, "I don't have any valuable thing, but the spearhead I got from the king. I want to make a mighty spear for you!"

"A spear!" Yue Maiden was excited. "I want one!"

Ejun Zixi laughed. "I know that you're eager to have a good spear!"

Yue Maiden laughed.

"Actually, I've sworn that I would never go to Ying City again. But this time, to make a spear for you, then I have to break my oath!" Ejun Zixi said.

Yue Maiden shook her head, "We don't have to go to Ying City if that has to make you break your oath!"

"I've never given anything valuable to you. But this spear will be our memento. I have to make a good one for you!"

Yue Maiden smiled widely and hugged her husband.

Two days later, the two of them departed to go to the Ying City - the capital of Chu State.

It took a few hours by boat, and then a few hours horse ride to reach Ying City.

That was the first time for Yue Maiden to see such a big city with so many people. She felt awkward and scared. She clutched Ejun Zixi's hand tightly.

Being able to see Ying City again brought a sentimental feeling to Ejun Zixi. Somehow he spent half of his life there.

They arrived at Ying City just right before sunset. Therefore they had to find a hotel where they could spend a night.

It was not a luxurious hotel, only a decent one. But for Yue Maiden, that's the most beautiful room that she ever experienced.

"I can't imagine how beautiful is the palace of your father!" Yue Maiden said in a low voice.

Ejun Zixi smiled bitterly and said, "The palace is a beautiful place. But there's nothing good inside it. From ancient times until now, so many killings happened among the royal families!"

Yue Maiden shook her head and said, "I don't understand!"

Ejun Zixi laughed and said, "I'm telling you: it's better for you not to understand it. Therefore you won't get worried or perplexed" He caressed his wife's cheek slowly and said.

"My wife, if I die earlier than you, you should remarry! I can't imagine if you have to live alone in the forest!"

"What are you talking about? If you die, then I will die too!"

"Silly!" Ejun Zixi said. "I'm much older than you! Look at my hair now. I have a lot of white hairs now. While you are still very healthy and beautiful!"

"If you keep on talking nonsense, I will get angry at you!" Yue Maiden frowned.

Ejun Zixi laughed. The husband and wife chit and chat until late at night.

Yue Maiden just didn't understand why these days, her husband often mentioned about death.

The next day, Ejun Zixi took Yue Maiden to go to the silk store to make embroidered clothes for her before they went to the blacksmith to make a spear for her.

It was the first time for Yue Maiden to see a silk store. At first, the silk store owner shunned them when he saw the two Yue people who visited his store.

"Boss, I want to make a beautiful embroidered dress for my wife," Zixi said, and he took some money from his pocket. "I don't know how much it cost to make a good embroidered dress for her. Is it enough?" he handed the money to the store owner.

The store owned accepted the money and happily said, "Enough! This is enough to make two dresses for her!"

"Then make two beautiful dresses for my beautiful wife," Zixi said.

"Yes, sir!" the store owner excitedly showed many kinds of silks to Yue Maiden, who was also excited to get her first embroidered robe.

Finished buying clothes for Yue Maiden, Zixi brought Yue Maiden to go to a blacksmith.

The blacksmith was surprised when he saw the spearhead, "Mister, where do you get this spearhead? This is such a precious weapon that could only be compared with the weapons belong to the kings!"

Ejun Zixi smiled and said, "I got that from someone precious in my life!"

"Such a valuable weapon! You can make a lot of money selling this weapon!" the blacksmith said.

"I want to make it a spear for someone precious in my life!" He clutched Yue Maiden's hands and looked at her beautiful face, unwilling to let her go even only for a moment.

The blacksmith agreed to make the spear in three months. Ejun Zixi promised that he would come back to get the spear three months later.

After the finished with the blacksmith, they strolled around Ying City, and the next day, early in the morning, they left Ying City and returned home.

They just didn't realize that they were followed.

Three months later, as promised, Ejun Zixi took the spear from the blacksmith, and also the clothes from the silk store.

Yue Maiden wore her new dress and was very happy with it. It was her first silk embroidered dress.

"My wife is the loveliest woman in all Chu State!" Zixi said.

Yue Maiden smiled and hugged Zixi. "I'm the luckiest woman in Yue, because I have you!"

Ejun Zixi hugged his wife back. He had no regret in his life. Although among his father's five sons, he's the only one who had never become a king, but his son was now a king. Although he didn't live in the palace, but he had a lovely wife who loved him so much.

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A few days later, Ejun Zixi took Yue Maiden for hunting. Yue Maiden happily brought her new spear with her.

They used to hunt together. There's nothing special with hunting for them. But that day was special: they could not find any deer that usually were plentiful in the forest.

"My lord, there are many people in the forest today!" Yue Maiden said, and she started to worry. "Look at those footsteps!"

"Something strange!" Ejun Zixi said.

Before they discussed any further, some twenty men appeared in front of them. Ejun Zixi and Yue Maiden knew that they're in trouble.

"Are you Lord Ejun Zixi?" One of the men asked.

"Master, what are you talking about?" Ejun Zixi replied. "If you are looking for lords or masters, then you should not find him here in the jungle. This is the Yue people's territory. Only Yue people live here. And we don't have any lords or whatsoever!'

The man laughed and said, "I know this is Yue people's territory. But I also know that Ejun Zixi - the brother of King Ping is still alive and lives among the Yue people in the Yue forests!"

"Then you should go to another forest!" Ejun Zixi said.

"We don't have to. I know that you are Lord Ejun!" the man said. "If you're not Lord Ejun, then she would not carry Lord Ejun's spear!"

Ejun was thunderstruck." How did the person knew his identity and about the spear?" He said in his mind. But in his mouth, he asked, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lord Ejun, your luck is run out now. Your life has been prolonged for more than twenty years. If not because of that barbarian woman, you would have died a long time ago," the man laughed. "It's your bad luck that you have to be born as a Chu prince! And for the sake of your son, I have to make sure that you die in this place!"

Ejun Zixi clutched Yue Maiden's hand and spoke in a very low voice, "My wife, we should run away from them. They are too many. We have to run to save our life!"

"Understood!" Yue Maiden said.

"Count to three; then we should run!"

"One, two, three!" And the two of them turned their back and started to run.

The men didn't expect that Ejun and Yue Maiden could run so fast. Somehow Ejun and Yue Maiden were familiar with the forest.

The men chased Ejun and Yue Maiden, who ran away to save their lives.

The men used their arrows and bows to kill Ejun Zixi and Yue Maiden.

Although they had advantages since they're more familiar with the forest, they were only two people compared to the twenty elite soldiers of Chu.

They tried to hide among the trees while they're heading to the river. Yue people had advantages when they're in the water.

Yet the soldiers who were not able to locate them randomly shot arrows. And unfortunately, an arrow pierced Yue Maiden's shoulder while she and Ejun Zixi were hiding behind the bushes.

"Argh!" Yue Maiden tried not to make any sound while she's wincing.

Ejun stopped and carefully held her hand and said, "My wife, they just want my life. It's better that you run away, while I deal with them by myself! My heart is painful to see you bear this kind of pain!"

"I don't want to live without you," Yue Maiden said. "You've promised me that we will always be together!"

"My wife, if there's anything happens to me, you have to live. You should not hate the Chu people. And have no enmity with my son or my grandchildren! Promise me!"

Yue Maiden nodded.

Ejun Zixi smiled and kissed his wife slowly and said, "My wife, I love you! Forever!"

Yue Maiden smiled. But before she reacted, she had already lost her consciousness.