Soul Lock

The First Life II (JX)

"General, wake up!" one of his soldiers yelled and Ju Xin woke up with a start.

"What's going on here?!" he yelled, seeing Wen Lan was held on the ground like a prisoner. The other soldiers also gathered around to see what was happening.

"He is a devil!" the same one yelled, "we need to kill him before he kills us!" The other two nodded wholeheartedly and Wen Lan started to cry with fear.

"Let him go!" Ju Xin pushed the ones holding his arms and helped Wen Lan to sit. "Care to explain the situation?" His tone was calm yet icy.

"His eyes, general! Look at his eyes!"

Sighing heavily, Ju Xin turned his head to look at the trembling man, "open your eyes Wen Lan," he said softly, but Wen Lan shook his head severely. The general held his shoulders and repeated his sentence more firmly.

As there was no other way, Wen Lan opened his eyes reluctantly and looked straight at the general whose eyes looked back in awe.

Wen Lan's eyes were ocean blue!

"Devil!"

"Ghost!"

The soldiers were shouting with terror while Ju Xin kept staring at Wen Lan in a trance. His heart was beating loudly in his chest and the word 'beautiful' was repeating in his mind.

When Ju Xin regained his control over his mind, he raised his hand and shushed the annoying soldiers.

"He has blue eyes, so what?" he said nonchalantly which contrasted with his loud heartbeats.

"What?!" the soldiers were fuming, "General are you kidding?! We must kill him!"

"Nobody will touch him," Ju Xin said threateningly before helping the trembling Wen Lan on his feet. "Get rid of your ridiculous superstitions," he said and directed Wen Lan back to the riverside in order to help him to calm down.

"W-Won't...you...kill...me?" Wen Lan stuttered but managed to finish his sentence.

"Of course not," Ju Xin smiled reassuringly and sat on the ground, "so because of your eyes, you were living alone?" he asked with hesitation.

Wen Lan nodded and sat in front of him after a second of hesitation. "My mom used to hide me in the house, but when she died, I had to go out. When the villagers saw my eyes, they chased me away with stones. I became a wanderer and lived in the forest. Then I found that hat and used it when I went to the villages."

Hearing his story, Ju Xin boiled with anger. How come people could be that heartless?! The man in front of him was anything but dangerous, yet he had to suffer for something he wasn't responsible for.

"It must have been hard," Ju Xin managed to whisper in the end and handed him the severely tattered hat, "don't get close to them, just stick with me," he said concernedly and went back to his soldiers to be sure that they wouldn't try to do something funny.

As he had expected, the following seven days were very hard. As his soldiers knew about Wen Lan's eyes, they didn't miss any chance to bully him. Ju Xin did his best to protect him, but his attitude irritated his soldiers and added fuel to the situation.

The last thread broke when his soldiers learned about the death of their king and the fall of their kingdom. All of them blamed Wen Lan for it and Ju Xin had difficulty holding them back. Being afraid they would hurt him, he told Wen Lan to go away a bit while he was trying to talk some sense to his soldiers, especially to Yong He whom Ju Xin believed to be the promoter of the hatred against Wen Lan.

All afternoon, Ju Xin talked with his soldiers and convinced them that Wen Lan had no part in the unfortunate happenings. Some believed him while some didn't. Later, Xiao Jun came near him and wanted to talk to him in private.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking at the nervous soldier.

"General, no matter how much you talk, the others won't believe you. Yong He keeps telling some stuff to the others and they believe him. Not only about the blue eyes but also..."

"Also what?"

"About you," Xiao Jun whispered, "he provokes the others against you, saying you are not a good general and as we lost the war, we shouldn't listen to you and go back to the capital."

"I see," Ju Xin said with a sigh. It was normal for soldiers to have different ideas, but provoking others behind his back wasn't an honourable act.

"What do you plan to do with him?" Xiao Jun asked a while later.

Ju Xin rubbed his chin, thinking. In the end, he said, "I will handle him personally." Then, he directed Xiao Jun back to the others who were sitting in front of a bonfire, cooking.

"Yong He," he called him, "I have to talk to you."

Yong He looked at him in confusion, but followed him anyway. When they were away from the others, Ju Xin asked "is it true that you provoke the others against me?"

"No!" Yong He cried out, "why would I do that?"

"I don't know, but if you want to leave, I won't force you to stay, just don't provoke others."

"I..."

"Oi, General let's eat!" one of the soldiers interrupted their talking.

"Think about what I have said," Ju Xin said authoritatively and went back.

Xiao Jun handed him a bowl and spoon. But only one. Looking at the apologetic look on Xiao Jun's face, it was clear that the others didn't want to share their food with Wen Lan. As Ju Xin couldn't force them, there was only one option left.

"Here," he handed the bowl and the spoon to Wen Lan when he went back.

"We can share this," Wen Lan offered.

"No, it is yours," Ju Xin pushed the bowl back to him and turned his back to watch the camp.

He heard Wen Lan started to eat the porridge; however, before long, Ju Xin heard a loud thud. Turning around hastily, he saw Wen Lan lying on the hard ground lifelessly with a blue leaf in his hand.

Poison...

With disbelieved eyes, he tried to wake Wen Lan, but he was already dead. He let out a pained cry and shed tears for the innocent soul who died instead of him.

When he calmed down, he grabbed his sword and went back to the camp.

"WHO DID THAT?!" Ju Xin yelled and the soldiers froze, seeing the madness in the general's puffed eyes.

"What happened?" Yong He asked while standing in front of him.

"YOU DID THAT RIGH-"

Ju Xin couldn't finish his words as a blade pierced through his back, near his heart. He fell onto his knees, blood trickling down from his wound. The soldiers rushed to him while yelling incoherently. Using the last bit of the strength he had, Ju Xin turned his head to look at the culprit.

"You are so naive, aren't you?" Xiao Jun towered him with a sly smile, "how did you manage to become a general with that stupid head of yours?"

All soldiers froze on their spot, looking at them in turns.

"W-Why?" Ju Xin asked before spitting blood.

"I was fed up with your stupidity, let's say," Xiao Jun let out a chuckle, "by the way, I have to thank you for getting rid of the blue-eyed bastard. Although I planned to play with him a bit after I killed you with the poison, I am still happy with the result."

"You..." Ju Xin couldn't continue as he dropped to the ground, dead.