The Dragon's Flower

Warning : Violence and gore


XH 81 - Tofu, it's time to eat

General Tang Jiang was just twenty five years old and considered to be in his prime. He had planned to marry in his early thirties despite his parents' disapproval, desiring to help the Second Prince to get the throne before settling down and help Tang family to continue its bloodline.

But his lovely wife Ping Shui entered his life like a cannonball and broke apart his plans. She had even gotten his lord to question his loyalty towards him. Thanks to that, he was now stuck in the middle of a sticky mess.

"Since General Tang recognized me, should it now be clear that we are not bandits?"

General Tang cupped his fist. "I apologize for damaging your carriage and harming your men. I will personally escort your party to your destination with a new carriage."

Eunuch Lau Liu was still smiling but the air around him shifted drastically. "General, are you thinking that this matter could be solved with just that? My master is a gentleman to a fault and this servant always helps in fighting for my master's well-deserved justice. It would bring trouble to my master if this incident is spread out and for my master to be known for being too amiable."

General Tang's hand went closer to his sword instinctively against the threatening aura. "This is my mistake for wrongly attacking your carriage. If Eunuch is willing to accept, I will compensate for the death of your horse driver and man with two elite guards of mine to serve your master."

If Eunuch Lau Liu had accepted that offer, that would mean he was welcoming spies into the Third Prince's camp. He was not senile yet to accept such a nice compensation.

"General Tang, as an elder, I must advise that when you are apologizing, it would be better to be more sincere," Eunuch Lau Liu chastised lightly and Geng bristled in anger in defense of his General.

"This General thanks Eunuch Lau for your advice."

"Since you have killed two of our men, it would only be fair if your men died as well. As an elder, I shall plead to my master on your behalf to not take another life of your men."

Right after the words were voiced by Eunuch Lau Liu, General Tang sensed the shift of wind too late. A man was pushed to the ground on his knees by Da Bei's tough grip on the man's shoulder.

"The spy!" Ang gasped in alarm when he recognized who that man was.

"General, help me-" Da Bei cut off the spy's head cleanly around his neck, unresponsiveness of the spy's blood that was sprayed all over him.

General Tang Jiang unsheathed his sword as an angry snarl of a cornered animal escaped from his mouth and rushed towards Eunuch Lau Liu.

"Now...it's finally fair," Eunuch Lau Liu said as if he was just talking about today's weather, unruffled at how angry General Tang was. To him, the general was still unworthy to be his equal opponent.

Da Bei's movement was quick when he disappeared from his spot and appeared before General Tang, stopping the furious swing of his sword that was intended for Eunuch Lau Liu. Ang and Geng joined the fight as well, but only General Tang could match Da Bei's strength as the other two men were easily pushed back with a blow from the young boy.

They were too busy fighting against the young boy to wonder what happened to the other four men that were supposed to replace the Third Prince's soldiers.

"General Tang, aren't you worried about your master's safety? After all... it's rather easy to get that little rat from his hiding hole."

General Tang's anger extinguished immediately, with the feeling of icy water poured onto him upon hearing the Eunuch's words. Their spy was placed inside a cage with guards surrounding it, yet he was easily brought out here. But the most horrifying thought was that the cage's location was not far from the Second Prince's tent!

"Retreat and protect the Second Prince!" General Tang ordered harshly and gave Eunuch Lau Liu a fierce glare before hurrying back to the campsite.

Ang and Geng loathed to let them go but they quickly followed after their general. No matter how angry they were, the Second Prince's safety was their priority!

"Not bad. You have grown stronger," Eunuch Lau Liu praised Da Bei.

Da Bei nodded indifferently but his red ears betrayed his true feelings upon receiving the praise.

The ground trembled slightly as the sound of horse galloping grew louder, heading straight to their location. Da Bei relaxed his guard when he saw it was only Xiao Liu returning but Eunuch Lau Liu had long known it would be him.

Xiao Liu had returned with Tofu and Red Bean without a new carriage. He jumped down from Tofu when he saw the clearing was empty of their enemies. 

"General Tang and his men had left?" Xiao Liu asked, sparing few glances at the headless corpse, spotting Da Bei's handiwork from them.

"The Second Prince would be very unhappy with the General this time," Eunuch Lau Liu contemplated with slight worry, yet his eyes twinkled in anticipation.

Xiao Liu silently lit up a candle for General Tang.

The general's wife, Madam Ping Shui, naturally knew that her husband was in hot water with his master and had informed the Third Prince about it.

The Third Prince was currently busy dealing with the unexpected fire and the injured Xiao Hua, so the matter of Si Si was left to Eunuch Lau Liu to handle. Eunuch Lau Liu decided to use this opportunity to hit three birds with one stone.

The first bird was the traitor, Si Si.

The second was to fish out and exterminate the spy inside South Guilin Village.

The third was to have General Tang sink deeper into the hot water, further disrupting his relationship with his master. 

The first two birds were not that important. It was the third bird that Eunuch Lau Liu gave priority to. General Tang would be much more useful as their ally instead of being their enemy.

It was also because Madam Ping Shui grew to care for this husband of hers and Lau Liu was not one to break a happy couple apart.

"Let us return and inform our prince the good news," Eunuch Lau Liu said. He eyed sideways at the tied up Si Si beside his feet. "She has served the last of her purpose."

Eunuch Lau Liu stepped down from the remains of the carriage and headed to one of the horses.

Da Bei approached Si Si with unchecked hostility evident in his bloodthirsty eyes. His hand gripped onto a long, thin blade that was specially crafted to suit his assassination skills.

"Wait, let me do it," Xiao Liu spoke up with unease at Da Bei's demeanor.

"Xiao Liu, do not coddle Da Bei." The cold voice of Eunuch Lau Liu stopped Xiao Liu. "He is now Da Bei of Prince Long Zhu's blackguard, not Da Bei, your nephew."

Even if Xiao Liu's brain understands the reasoning of it, his heart screamed that Da Bei was still too young! He should be an innocent boy, not this bloodthirsty killer!

But because of Da Bei's bloodline and the sworn loyalty of his parents towards the Third Prince, his path was already sealed before his birth.

Si Si did not react even when Da Bei's bloodlust hit her, and her blank expression did not change when Da Bei chopped off her head. She had long remained unresponsive due to the insane torture of her bones breaking that was crushed under the hands of Da Bei.

Her mind was gone but her body was still living, which was exactly what the Third Prince wanted.

Even when her head was chopped off, there was not even a drop of blood in sight, as the Spider Lily had absorbed all her blood, using it as its soil to grow.

Among the twins, Da Bei preferred to chop off his target's head as it was then their death was guaranteed. On the other hand, Da An preferred to stab their targets through their heart or throat, but in this world, high ranked cultivators would not die easily with just those wounds.

Da Bei had not known if any of Da An's previous targets were alive from those wounds, but he had seen their master's teacher healed a man that was not supposed to survive with a severely damaged heart.

Even Lord Jing Ke was miraculously alive thanks to their master's teacher, the Miracle Doctor Bai.

Da Bei's bloodlust disappeared and he picked up the 'Spider Lily' that had crawled out of its dead host.

"Destroy it, Da Bei," Eunuch Lau Liu ordered and Da Bei crushed the 'Spider Lily' using his fist with icy mist radiating from it. He crushed the deadly flower until it had no chance to recover.

'Spider Lily' was a dangerous plant, and the Third Prince only used it on someone that he hates. 'Spider Lily' was only grown using blood, and it can jump from one host to another. Leaving it alive would only bring harm to other humans.

Eunuch Lau Liu was already seated on top of a horse, sitting with both legs facing sideways, a posture that would only be spotted on noble ladies during horse riding in western countries. 

"Xiao Liu."

Xiao Liu sighed and patted his horse's nose. "Tofu, it's time to eat."

The seemingly normal and harmless horse suddenly morphed, its straight row of teeth turned into a sharp row of teeth. Its soft hair and tail turned hard and spiky, sharp enough to pierce through a human body. It ran towards the corpses and started eating them like a savage beast that was starved for days.

Da Bei returned from a nearby stream with most of the blood washed away, just in time for Tofu, the scary horse, to finish its meal.

Tofu morphed back to its harmless appearance and rubbed it's head against Xiao Liu, begging for pats. He gave them willingly; even going as far as to praise how dignified it looked when chewing on its… food.

Da Bei climbed up onto the horse that Eunuch Lau Liu had occupied, taking the front seat that was left vacant for him.

"We shall not waste time for Xiao Liu to return to his senses."

Da Bei nodded in agreement and signaled the horse to start making their way back home, ignoring Xiao Liu that was speaking sweet words to Tofu.