Love Sword

18

Night came, the wind is blowing terribly coldly. The whole body of Xiang Ning is shivering, it was really hard to bear. Although he is an unfavored prince from a small kingdom, even in his hardest days in the cold palace, he still had a supply of proper beddings and a roof over his head. Such cold weather at night is not something he had experienced before.

Furthermore, due to his sickly body, his sister has always been very careful with him. He is never allowed to go out of his pavilion if it is cold outside.

Because of these reasons, the prince seems to be facing hardship he had never faced.

He Chang lit up a fire in the inner most corner of the little cave. He ripped the sleeves of his robe to quicken his movements and make it more convenient for him to do the tasks.

After setting a stone near the fire, he walked towards the still shivering prince at the mouth of the cave. Even though this person had unintentionally hurt his beloved time and time again, he is still a royal and he is even his master now. He Chang find it a little hard to bear seeing that the boy is so cold.

He took out his cloak which he had packed from the city and draped it over the prince. Xiang Ning was dumbstruck after feeling the thick and heavy cloth layering on his thin body.

Suddenly, he felt two strong arms circling around him and lifting him up horizontally. His head softly bumped into a sturdy chest.

Ba-dump!

To his surprise, He Chang is actually carrying him in a bridal style.

Xiang Ning bit his bottom lip and tightly shut his eyes. So close! They're so close!

In a few short seconds, He Chang has already made his way to the far end of the cave. He sat the prince down gently on the big stone as he himself sat down beside him.

'We might have to stay here for the night. Warm yourself up a little.' Said He Chang.

Xiang Ning slowly open his eyes and let out a breath of relief. He slowly push his two hands out of the cloak and warm up through the crackling fire.

[ Such a weak body, surely it is hard to bring someone like him around outside through dangerous weathers. ] thought He Chang to himself as he watched the boy warm himself up.

Xiang Ning heard rustlings and suddenly, a freshly cooked fish was present in front of him. He turned to look at He Chang who is holding the fish out to him, his eyes wide in shock.

'Eat it. I caught it while I was out looking for woods and cooked it just a while ago.'

Xiang Ning muttered a 'thank you' and took the fish with both hands.

'Chang'ge, what about your dinner?' Asked Xiang Ning.

'I already ate.'

The prince turned towards his fish and began to eat it slowly. The fish does not have any taste, it was caught from the water and then cooked without any seasoning. But Xiang Ning felt like this fish tastes better than all the royal dishes he ever had. Maybe it is because He Chang cooked it himself.

'Chang'ge.'

He Chang grunted while cleaning his sword blade.

Xiang Ning hesitated a little before asking 'Do you hate me?'

He Chang paused his motions, his face still not lifting up to look at the prince. A short while later he continued to wipe his blade with a short answer

'No.'

Xiang Ning put his half-eaten fish down.

'That's not true!' He blurted. 'You obviously dislike me because I caused jie jie so much inconvenience.'

He Chang felt a little lost. Why did the boy bother asking him if he's not going to believe his words in the end?

Well, the boy is not entirely wrong. He never has a favorable impression towards him but to say that he is his enemy. Not exactly.

Xiang Ning pursed his lips, tears forming in his eyes. He stood up, the warm cloak falling off his body as he ran out of the cave.

He Chang lifted his line of sight in a hurry. How reckless! How could the boy run out so rashly in this cold weather. It is dangerous outside and didn't he just shiver from the cold a moment ago?

Gritted his teeth, He Chang grabbed the fallen cloak and stormed out after him.

Due to his superb martial arts skills, it took He Chang only a short while to find the little boy who can barely walk in the cold autumn air.

The little prince is currently sitting in front of a beautiful lake, his shoulders quivering non-stop.

With a displeased expression, He Chang dropped the cloak on the little body. But much to his annoyance, the little hand belonging to the other brushed the cloak off.

'You don't need to pretend! If you're doing this because jie jie asked you to or because of your duty as a guard, then I don't want it!'

The voice of the boy fluttered in the air like a bell. Surprisingly, there is a hint of tantrum in his tone.

He Chang sat down beside the prince, not saying anything.

Xiang Ning moved away from the taller man a little, his head still buried in his arms which are laying on his knees.

'I guess it is my fault to fall in love with someone I shouldn't.' Choked the little guy through his sobs.

The prince lifted his head and stared at the shocked He Chang beside him.

'That's right.' He sniffed. 'I fell in love with Chang'ge. I don't think I can ever like anyone else. I will probably die lonely. But it's okay, I'm used to it.'

He Chang looked at the prince as he moved his head away from facing him. Those long eyelashes of his are covered with a thin layer of tears. His little nose covered with a layer of red, as well as his white cheeks.

He resembled a bullied rabbit. So cute.

In terms of appearance, although Xiang Ning is a male, his beauty still far exceeds his sister who is a female. However, love is a mysterious thing. The older sister captured his heart, not this younger brother.

He Chang did not know how to console the young man. This was his first time feeling sorry for the younger.

Hesitantly, his left hand lifted slowly and landed on the thin shoulder.

To Be Continued...