The Flower Among the Flames

Chapter 3

"Another day, another full moon," remarked a masculine voice as Zhao Meng left Seulgi's cell. With a huff, she turned around to find a man leaning against the wall of the house. He was dressed plainly in a grey tunic, his naked arms crossed over his chest. Her fury dimmed at his appearance and the stormy grey eyes regarding her intently; but she still retained all manner of seriousness.

"It is a full moon today, isn't it?" Zhao Meng asked grimly. "What's the status of our men?"

"They are recovering," the man replied. "The skirmish earlier and that freak wind put quite the damper on their moods. No one expected the enemy to appear much less sabotage the bridge. It's going to take months to build a new one."

Zhao Meng shook her head. "You know what I am asking. Tell me already."

"Zhao Meng⎯"

"Tell me."

The man seemed to be lost in thought. It was as if he was trying to structure his next words carefully. The amounting silence eventually led him to realize that she would not move on until the question was responded to. The man sighed heavily. She wasn't going to like this.

"Hundreds are still unaccounted for," he grumbled. "Bao He thinks they deserted but..."

"Then he's a fool." She didn't let him finish unsurprisingly. "You'd think after the first incident that he'd realize the stories are not some old wives' tale to scare children. There should have been a search party but instead we did nothing."

"Calling him a fool is a bit much," the man replied cautiously. His eyes drifted towards their surroundings. "Bao He did manage to capture the castle in the first place without our help."

"And look where that has landed us. It was almost as if the enemy let us take it," she said bitterly, annoyed that her friend defending Bao He.

"You don't know that." The man shook his head. "You should definitely keep this to yourself. Lives were lost."

Zhao Meng growled, "I am well aware. That's what makes it worse."

She hated him with a passion; Bao He was snarky, proud, and most of all, the most arrogant man she ever met. How anyone, especially General Zhu, could stand him was beyond her comprehension. Alternatively, that was the only redeeming trait the man had⎯ his fierce loyalty. It was perhaps the singular thing that she had respect for.

To lay the obvious tension at ease, the man asked, "So what do you think of him?"

Zhao Meng raised an eyebrow. "Who? Bao He?"

"No," He chuckled. "We all know what you think of him. I'm talking about the prisoner⎯ or rather our temporary guest."

"Temporary?" she inquired. Why would he be a temporary guest? She was pretty sure Zhu told her to keep him locked up in that house until further notice. Did he change his orders then?

"You don't know?" the man asked. His tone suggested surprise. "He's Kim Seulgi. The man is notorious for breaking out of prisons and Sheng custody to the point where they nicknamed him 'The Unchained One'. Are you sure you never heard of him?"

Zhao Meng's voice was caught in her throat. She remembered now, but the bigger concern was how could she forget? She had seen the aftermath of Seulgi's great escape from a Sheng fortress south of where they were now. There was no one left alive⎯ man nor beast⎯ for a stretch of three leagues. Just limbs and shredded flesh remained. The buzzards feasted ceaselessly on those ominous few days. Those memories caused fear to suddenly grip her; its hold rabid and strong. Regardless, she still maintained a confident posture and appearance.