Part 2, Chapter 35

A bit possessive are we?

Ch 35

Jianyu waited until both girls had fallen asleep. They had insisted on giving him the bed since he had been ill and they had curled up together like puppies on the floor under the thick blanket. Gently he moved them to the bed where they snuggled close without waking. He gave in to temptation and kissed Xun on the forehead before slipping out of the courtyard.

With his memories intact it was child’s play to avoid the guards and make his way silently to his uncle’s bedroom. Jianyu cautiously opened the door and narrowly ducked the knife thrown at his head. His uncle’s usual greeting.

“Hello, Uncle,” he said calmly.

“You’ve returned,” Xia Lu replied. “What happened? I was me, I was you, I am me again.”

Jianyu smiled, his father’s youngest brother was never one to mince words. “You know as well as I do,” he replied. His memories as Jianyu ended in an abrupt slash of pain before splicing directly into his memories as Leng Zai.

The God of War nodded solemnly, pouring liquor for both of them. Jianyu sat in his usual chair and drank automatically. Xia Lu refilled their glasses. “Jiangou has the throne.”

Jianyu didn’t want to believe his brother was involved, but he couldn’t argue the point either. “Whether he was involved in what happened to me or not he is at your gates with an army. That is the first thing we need to deal with.”

Xia Lu finished another cup of liquor. “It’s not a siege. Jiangou hasn’t blocked any movements of our people. He waits for reinforcements. They won’t come.”

Jianyu thought as he swirled his cup. “You already sent word to the troops training near Kunlan Valley?”

Xia Lu nodded again. “The desert tribes are plotting. It’s better to keep those troops on guard. There are too many refugees flooding into the town. It’s very sudden. We should look into it tomorrow.”

Jianyu smiled, and Xia Lu shifted in his chair in an uncharacteristic show of restlessness.

 “Something else is troubling you, Uncle. What is it?”

Xia Lu wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Little Bird…” he started.

Jianyu’s smiled turned to ice. “Xun is mine,” he thought about her behavior around high gods, “And don’t tell her who I am.”

Xia Lu didn’t respond.

“God of War. Xun is mine,” the last word was said in a tone that made the room tremble.

“Yes, my Emperor,” the God of War acknowledged.