All night, Rin kept thinking about how to protect his comrades. Even when Ming took his place on watch, Rin wasn't sleeping. He just lay near the tree, awake, lost in thought about recent events and the journey ahead. He knew it wasn't going to be easy for them—or for him. But as their leader, their captain, their head, he felt it was his duty to keep them safe.
He glanced at Ming, who was sitting on a stone, keeping watch while cleaning his sword, and then at Luca, who was fast asleep. Rin sighed and closed his eyes. He tried to sleep, but it was hard to drift off. Eventually, around 3 a.m., he finally fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Ming continued cleaning his sword. As he worked, he couldn't help but think about the recent attack. A few minutes later, after finishing, he stood up and walked toward a nearby tree. Sitting down, he leaned against the trunk and looked up at the sky, lost in thought.
"It's a dangerous journey," he thought. "But it doesn't feel that dangerous anymore. Still… I feel a strange fear. But of what?"
His gaze shifted to Luca and Rin. "They're not my brothers, they're not my friends… yet I feel a strange connection to them. Like… like the fear of losing them. Like I don't want to lose them. But why?"
He didn't know the answer. Leaning his head back against the tree, he sighed softly and whispered, "Why am I feeling this way? It's the same feeling I used to have when I was with my brother, with my family."
When he looked back at Rin and Luca, his face was mostly expressionless—but this time, there was the faintest trace of emotion. Ming relaxed a little, closed his eyes for a short while, then opened them again. He stayed there, leaning against the tree, awake, quietly staring at the night sky and the stars.
---
Next Morning
"Wake up, Ming. Wake up, wake up… Ming, wake up."
Someone shook Ming gently. He opened his eyes, yawned, rubbed them, and then looked up. It was Rin standing in front of him.
"So, you finally woke up," Rin said.
Ming nodded, scratched his arm, and stood up. "Yeah… hmm… damn, did I fall asleep? Huh, sorry. I was supposed to stay awake. I don't even know when I dozed off," he apologized.
Rin calmly shook his head. "It's okay. You were tired from yesterday's incident. But you should have woken me up if you were that exhausted. Still, it's fine—you're not a robot who can stay awake all night. By the way, when did you fall asleep?"
"I don't know the exact time," Ming replied. "But I remember I was awake when the sun started rising. Maybe it was around 5 or 5:30 a.m."
Rin nodded. "Then it's fine. I woke up around 6 a.m., which means you were awake until almost then—just a gap of half an hour or so. Don't worry."
Ming nodded again. Rin walked back to the stone where he had been sitting, opened his bag, and said, "Ming, can you wake him up already? It's 7 a.m. If you wake him now, we can have breakfast and start our journey again." Rin pointed toward Luca as he spoke, his calm but commanding tone in place.
Ming looked at Rin and nodded, then walked toward Luca, who was still in deep sleep against the tree. Ming crouched down in front of him and tapped his shoulder. "Hey, Luca, wake up, wake up. It's already 7 a.m. Wake up already."
Ming tried to wake him, but Luca remained deep asleep. After trying harder, Ming sighed and glanced at Rin, who was watching with a bored look, his chin resting on his hand.
"You know, you can help me wake him up," Ming said tiredly.
But Rin shook his head, refusing, and said, "Well, I'm not going to help. Do it yourself."
Ming glared at Rin irritably, then turned toward Luca again. Rin smirked slightly, clearly enjoying Ming's irritation.
Ming crossed his arms, then suddenly got an idea. He walked behind Luca, got close to his ear, and changed his voice—making it a little harsh, a little scary, and a bit loud. "Luca!"
Startled, Luca jumped, woke up quickly, and looked behind at Ming, who had now walked back in front of him and crossed his arms.
"Finally woke up, huh, sleepyhead?" Ming said.
Luca looked at him and then at Rin, who was clearly enjoying the scene. Ming said, "Now get up. Let's eat breakfast and start our journey again."
Luca nodded. Ming gave him a hand, and Luca got up with Ming's help. Then they took water bottles from their bags and washed their faces, mouths, and hands—but they didn't waste much water, unsure if they could find the river again.
Ming and Luca then walked toward Rin. Luca sat beside him while Ming sat in front. Rin took bread from his bag and handed it to them. They took it and started eating peacefully.
"How's your injury?" Rin asked Luca, in his usual calm voice.
Luca raised his brows while eating, then stopped and replied in a calm, kind, soft voice, "It's fine now. It doesn't hurt that much anymore. Hmmm… thanks for asking, Sir Rin."
Rin nodded in acknowledgment, and they continued breakfast. Suddenly, a scream pierced the air.
"HELLLPPPP!"
The three of them looked in shock, jumped up, and gripped their swords tightly, eyes wide.
Who was that person? What new problem was coming toward them? They didn't know. But they knew they had to face it together—and they would.
End of chapter 22