Blood Bonds And Golden Ties

Chapter 39: Tomb Discovery

"What? He's still alive?"

"First Prince, please punish me!" A man fell prostrate as he cowered.

First Prince stared at the man on the ground who was trembling. A smile crept up the his face. "Méi shā tā? Hǎo! Gàn dé hǎo!" Didn't kill him? Good! Very well done!

"Huh? What?" The man slowly raised his head to peek at the prince. "Your Majesty..."

" What?"

"Why are you..."

First Prince sighed as he plopped down on his white jade chair. He poured himself a cup of tea and drank quickly. Setting the cup down on a ceramic plate in front of him, he replied, "I didn't want to kill him in the first place. It's rather good news that the man didn't kill him. I tried, but Han Jun is lucky. Send a letter to the Second Prince and tell him that we failed."

"But surely you know how ruthless the Second Prince is. He will not let you off the hook easily."

"I know," First Prince sighed. "But at least it can give me more time."

"Time for...?"

Time to say goodbye to my dear brother. First Prince cleared his throat and replied, "Of course I need time to combat the Second Prince's plan."

"Ohhh," the man nodded in understanding.

"You are excused," First Prince said as he waved the man away.

"Oh! Alright!" The man said as he quickly got up and exited the room.

Alone in the room, First Prince poured himself another cup of tea. He looked into the cup. His image was reflected off the dark brown color of the tea. Taking a big whiff of the sweet fragrance, he smiled sadly. How long do we have together, Han Jun? I hope you understand why I am making the decisions I am about to make. Please don't blame me. Everything is for your own good. He quickly downed the tea.

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[Shi Han Jun]

It was late in the night when Han Jun woke up. The moonlight was shining through the windows and a shaft of light spread on the ground. Han Jun threw a glance at Hu Tiao Xia, whose sleeping form was on the bed. Quietly, he threw his blankets off, and rolled up the mattresss on the ground. He grabbed a small torch under his pillow. He slipped his shoes on and tip-toed to the door. He cracked the door open, it squeeked. He threw a glance back at the sleeping form. It didn't stir. Feeling relieved, he slipped out the cracked door and closed it gently behind him.

The air was warm and damp. Crickets sung in the night air. Han Jun carefully made his way to the library, hoping to find the last traces of the body. Maybe this way, I can figure out if that man is an assasin or not.

Once he had arrived in front of the double doors of the library, he blew his torch which immidiately lit up. He walked closer to the double doors only to find a big chain locked around the handles of the doors. He used both hands to feel for the chains, attemtping to see if the doors were truly locked. They were. Han Jun sighed. Looks like I'll just have to use that skill. He took out a pin and stuck it in the hole of the lock. He started fiddling with it and the chains knocked against each other once in a while. Click!

The lock fell to the ground and Han Jun quickly unwound the chains. He pushed open the door and tip-toed in. He bent down and shown his light on the ground. There was nothing. He stood up and took a step, once again bending down. It was futile, he yielded the same result. He walked a couple steps and again bent down. There was a strange smell on the ground. He used his hand to wipe the floor and brought the tip of finger close to his nose. It was a sweet tingling smell. Powder to cover up smells. Han Jun realized. He quickly stood up and scanned the ground. There, beside a shelf, he saw slight traces of something being dragged. He quickly followed the trace marks, careful not to step on them.