"Blame it on me, I've always been good at taking blame." -Lin Si, 16, to her fellow inmates
-------
"Hmph." Li Junlong wasn't impressed. "Why would this man's words be worth anything more than yours?"
The woman nodded, taking out a pill and placing it in his hand. It was solid white with one streak of purple. "The truth pill." she chuckled, flirtatiously. "Made by lord Weiming himself."
The truth pill? He sniffed it. When he was younger, his father had brough several different types of pills before him, had him take a wiff of them all to identify them. He was indeed very knowledgable on this front. How they had gotten this legendary tool from him, the only man who could create such a complex and expensive pill, he didn't need to know.
"Fine." he compromised. The pill had some side-affects, it would often leave the user somewhat muddleheaded for the week after and would last for over 6 hours, where they could tell a lie, but if they did, they would convulse and shake involuntarily, how it really worked, few knew, including Li Junlong. He handed the pill to Luo Fuxuan. "Dare you to take it?"
Luo Fuxuan quickly complied. He had been brought here for such a purpose, and must already have come to some agreement with the demonic cult. He waited for the pill to digest a moment.
"You worked for Xu Anqi?"
"Yes." His face remained calm.
"You hate Lin Weiming?"
"Ye-" He began to shudder visably, before finally giving up. "No."
Li Junlong stopped his thought process for a moment, somewhat taken off-kilter. "Why?"
The man wasn't sure how to respond, before quietly just mumbling, "Because he…is a kind, very kind man, and he always treats those of us who are below him well."
"Interesting." He knew what Lin Weiming had done but held no hatred for him. "How do you know that Lin Weiming drugged my father and dragged him to the tomb? Was this tomb really cursed?"
Luo Fuxuan nodded. "Good sire, have you ever wondered why your brother is so ill? Why none of the emperor's male offspring have made it to adulthood? Why only the lihuo flower, a mystical flower can cure it?? This is a curse, a curse poison set upon your father and the emperor because of that tomb. I will explain.
"That night, Xu Anqi sent me to General Li's - he had not yet lost his title at this time - tent to ask him over to create a plan to take back the emperor."
"Not Lin Weiming?"
"Ah…" the man looked awkward, scratching the side of his head. "It's hard to explain, but, the…the lords and councilors all liked him, and since he advized against it, they felt awkward, wanting to solve it alone, they only told him what information they had at the start, since he is very good at helping keep secrets."
This was interesting. The relationships between the lords….they all liked Lin Weiming? What?
He saw Li Junlong's confusion, he quickly explained. "Ah, you will know when you meet him, he is very…. amiable. He has no enemies, it is…impossible to hate him."
A man, impossible to hate? No potential hatred? Li Junlong narrowed his eyes. A dangerous man indeed.
"That night, I went to fetch escort Li, and to my surprise, found lord Lin, Chancellor Lin, at the time, entering the tent. I hid myself, self-consciously, decided to wait until he left. But only minutes later, after some loud shouts, I saw the two of them exiting, escort Li struggling against Lord Lin, Lord Lin dragged him away. The only reason I could think that escort Li was so weak, was that he was drugged. I followed at a distance, finally we arrived at the grave, escort Li fell down, the drug having taken complete effect, disappearing on the spot. I ended up shrieking at the sight, Lord Lin glanced up, but I dashed out of there as quickly as I could to inform Xu Anqi of the events I had witnessed, before he could catch sight of me.
"That night, I brought what I saw to Xu Anqi, he ran to Lord Lin's tent, worried, Lord Lin wasn't there. It seemed he didn't dare show himself back at camp, having seen me.
"It was only later after some scouts sighted Escort Li helping carry the emperor back to camp, their faces both ashen, that Lord Lin appeared again, joy at the emperor's survival over his face but…he did not greet escort Li, ignoring him and his wounds, not even sharing pills till the emperor requested it. And when he did, escort Li threw them away and walked off."
"You are saying the relationship between the two was broken after that?" He had wondered why the recipe his father had had, was in his father's handwriting. "Who gave me the recipe for my brother's cure?"
"The emperor." He admitted.
"Xu Anqi knew this entire time, did he not confront Lin Weiming?"
"Ah, yes." He tapped his forehead awkwardly. "He did, I was also in attendance that day. The only other one there, we still weren't sure of his intentions, not thinking to assume the worst, you know, with the gentle man that he is…"
This man really had a good mask it seemed.
"But when confronted, Chancellor Lin merely confirmed that he blamed the emperor's condition on escort Li, and he was right to have put him there, since escort Li successfully saved his majesty."
"Were you surprised by his words?"
Luo Fuxuan grew quiet. "...Yes, but, well, he was right, escort Li indeed saved his majesty, and all of us survived that day, the tomb was no longer cursed after that, so as always, his wise decisions were correct, I…have always trusted his decisions. Even, even if you should kill him, as I know you may wish to, remember to hear him out before you do, he may…help you after he is dead with his wisdom."
What? Request wisdom from someone he was about to kill? Was he an idiot? He drew his blade, letting the sharp edge slide alog the man's neck. "You really trust Lin Weiming this much? You really think he's a such a majestic individual?"
Luo Fuxuan slowly turned his face up, and then his eyes met Li Junlong's. For the first time, Li Junlong saw confidence and certainty in his eyes. "Yes, my life may be as fragile as a flie's, my word as inconsistent as the weather, but I could vouch my life, my accomplishments, and everything I am, everything I will be, everything I could ever stand for - that the Grand Lin Weiming is a kind, honorable and wise man."
What? He took back his blade, turning to the fox-like woman. She merely covered a conniving smile behind the opened fan. "...You dared to bring such a fanatic to convince me to kill Lin Weiming?"
She chuckled, standing up again, her painted lips curled upward, her fan slapped shut. "...This man, Weiming, it is as Luo Fuxuan said, he has no enemies, only those that love him, those that follow him and those that are obsessed with him." She came closer, her body dripped with seduction. "You….do you understand what a man he is now?"
Li Junlong glanced back at Luo Fuxuan. "I have one more question."
"Yes?" He asked.
"Was it really the Lin family who persecuted you for this knowledge?"
For a long moment, he struggled and struggled, Li Junlong watched the demonic cult lady's eyes narrow. Finally Luo Fuxuan spoke. "...no."
"Ha." Li Junlong couldn't help but disdainfully smirk, he'd found out he quite liked smiling, it was rather unfortunate that people kept getting horrified by it. "Then who wanted to kill you for this knowledge?"
Luo Fuxuan fell to his knees, suddenly sobbing tearfully. "Please, please, please don't make me tell you! Please please!"
Li Junlong had no mercy. "Who wanted to kill you, and how did you escape?"
"That…" he sobbed, shaking, but it slowly came out. "Night. The night we confronted, lord Lin had just spoken to us, when that scumbag, Xu Anqi drew his sword, before I could blink, it was leveled at my neck, but then…" His sobs became harder. "Lord Lin placed his hand over Xu Anqi's, and in a soft voice, pleaded with him to spare him, that this knowledge wasn't scandalous, that what he had done wasn't wrong, since the empire was made better for it."
Made better? To keep a greedy emperor on the throne? To curse his brother to eternal pain and torment to die before adulthood? Made better? Li Junlong gritted his teeth.
"I was allowed to leave the tent, I know Xu Anqi's temperament better than any, I fled that night, under cover, Xu Anqi sent many after me, but I ended up fleeing fast enough, and found my way to the demonic cult, who took me under their refuge."
"I see." Li Junlong found himself, rather than enraged, he was serenely calm, like a large pool of water, rippled barely peaking up from beneath. It all made sense now. Lin weiming was a dangerous man. A greedy man, a man masquerading as a buddha, but inside, his conniving had no limits nor barriers.
He turned to the woman. "I can do what you have requested of me, however, I will need a guarantee."
She smirked. "You think we would not have such a thing?" She took out something. A golden scroll. And ancient contract. Something only one sect in the west could construct, but would bind you to the heaven's will, to take an oath, that if you crossed, would immediately fell you on the spot.
'Li Junlong shall kill the three targets, Lin Weiming, Xu Anqi, Zhou Jiefeng, and the demonic cult shall provide the lihuo flower to his hand after.'
"After?" he sneered. "Shant I refuse?"
She smiled. "Then refuse, I'll attempt to convince you no longer."
Suddely he remembered what his brother said. "She stole it."
He hesitated once more. "I need…proof, proof you have the flower, it hasn't been shown in a long time, afterall."
She rose an eyebrow, but complied, taking out a square container, and setting it before him. "Here, see?"
It was a preservation box, inside, a single green leaf lay.
"Keep it, as..a forward gift then."
A lihuo flower leaf. He narrowed his eyes. It seemed…it had indeed been nonsense. They both bled themselves out onto the golden sheet, and it dissipated into the air. A mystical item indeed, on par with the Xu clan's martial arts.
He nodded. "Now leave. I don't want to see you again until the day I bring their heads to you."
She didn't overstay, and the moment she left he suddenly heard a soft cry from his brother's room. Panicked, he rushed inside, only to find his brother struggling to sit up.
"Gege, gege, I heard and felt something…are you okay?" he glanced at him worredly. He was very weak. Weaker than someone should be after sleeping all night and most the day.
Li Junlong immediatly knelt down, 'yes, yes, I'm alright, it's okay."
Li Junli sighed in relief, holding his face, "good, good,stay well, gege, please…don't do anything dangerous, I'm, I'm healed enough now, you don't need the lihuo flower anymore…and if we did, the demonic cult won't have one to give."
Li Junlong just watched his bluish lips, and his trembling arms, his wrists that were so thin, they looked to be snapped like twigs.
"Just eat well, didi, gege will take care of the rest." It was nearing Li Junli's birthday. None of the emperor's son's had lived past 18, fear rose in his chest. Time was running out. Would he truly lose his brother despite everything? No. His eyesight hardened. He woud not lose him, no matter what. He gripped his brother's hand, so hard, he flinched, before noticing and quickly releasing. Yes, his brother was delicate, he must be careful. Take care of him. He was just worried, his brother still had no appetite, and one of the poisons was forcing his blood to run so dark he could see every vein.
If they'd didn't get help soon; he would die.
They were running out of time.
The sound of a fan snapping shut suddenly entered his headspace. Was there another choice anymore?