A Wuxia Tale: Union

A War

(JIANG)

I quietly pass a gentle hand on my father's forehead before a white blanket finally covered his whole body.

My father is now dead.

My headaches will start now.

This is all too inconvenient. I was just about to finalize the papers I need to bind Mei to me like how Qing trapped his assasin to himself. I was about to ask Mei to travel away so I can get him alone and coerce him to "marry" me but my father's death will push my plans aside.

"I now believe you hate my choice of lover, Baba. You did this to stop me from binding myself to Mei. Well, you haven't won yet...I will just bury you and then I will continue my quest to shackle Mei to my side. I will never let you, your death or this family tear Mei away from me. My lover is mine..."

Mei is an obssession from the moment I met him a decade ago in HanZong. His simple beauty, serene grace and quiet strength drew me to him like I am the river without any choice but to flow to the sea. The sea is Mei in that analogy, of course.

Mei's beauty just got refine as time passes. He grew more beautiful to my eyes, my need for him increases instead of waning in each year we spend together. But as his beauty improved, Mei's ability to say no to me also developed.

Mei had been saying no to me since the day we met. Sure, who would like a cocky bastard who propositioned a new recruit? Not Mei. Mei looked at my seductive stares and beguiling smile with a serious stare and told me a resounding "No, I don't like you..."

Honest. Mei is honest to a fault sometimes. He is like an arrow that has been released, just going straight to his target. He is not one to mince with words. He is also not coy. When Mei says no...he means no. If you will try to force him to change his mind, he will hurt you.

I learned that lesson that same moment of our first conversation when I tried backing him into a wall and Mei stepped on my foot and put a knife against my neck.

"Try and I will cut you open and spill all your precious blood, Captain Jiang."

That moment, Mei was so brave but now that I get to know him and his past, I view that moment a little differently. I think Mei was also scared that time when he put that knife on my neck. I tried being aggressive and Mei was abused before. If I had known that Mei had a horrible experience on men forcing themselves on him, I would have gutted myself first before coming on him that way.

I was a moron. But Mei let me live and since then I launched a campaign to win his heart. Bugging and begging him, not caring if other soldiers in the base teased us or me about being Mei's obedient lapdog. Since the moment I lost my heart to Mei, I know I will do anything and everything for him.

And I did. I protected Mei and his revenge and blood thirsty assassin of a cousin from the soldiers in HanZong. I even lied and betrayed Qing just to help them.

That's how much I love Mei, I will betray even my brothers and sovereign for him. I will betray anyone for Mei. Even my family...

Speaking of my family, one of them had died last night. My father. He finally surrendered to his sickness that started on his lungs and has spread on his entire body.

"What are your plans for you father's wake?" My oldest uncle asked me as we watch my father being carried to an outhouse where an embalmer will clean and prepare his body for the burial.

"We don't need to have a long wake. Two days will do, I think. Almost all our relatives have come to pay their respect to Baba and they are staying here in the Capital. That makes things easier for us to invite them to Baba's wake..."