Zhan Zhao Adventures - Chapter Six (Part III)

Chapter Six: Crane Rushing to the Sky (Part III)

Zhan Rifei, who was fallen in the corner of the barn, was coughing again.
 
Little Brother Huo hurriedly hid the drawing behind his back.
 
Only, before Zhan Rifei, it was as if he could not hide any secret. His eyes looked at him, and within his gaze, it was as if he had already fathomed everything.
 
Little Brother Huo finally slowly brought his hand out from behind his back. Within his hand, he tightly grasped that roll of drawing.
 
The drawing was rolled into a roll, yet Zhan Rifei unexpectedly appeared as if he had long since known the secret inside that drawing.
 
Gazing at Little Brother Huo flatly for a glance, he said in a soft voice: "Is it drawn very much like me?"
 
Little Brother Huo still had not eased back from his shock. He murmured: "So the one they wanted to find was fundamentally not me."
 
His emotions, however, became excited along with it.
 
——"So that sentence shouted and clamored by the soldiers who met on a narrow path today refers to you, not me."
 
——"So the imperial criminal caught and seized by the Xiangyang Prince's Mansion is you! Blockading the post stations, cutting off the roads for leaving the city, and stopping all horse markets, were all because of you!"
 
He gazed intently at him, saying word by word: "Who exactly are you?"
 
This was a question he had asked several times.
 
This was also a question that he had no opportunity to answer several times.
 
This time, would he answer him?
 
Zhan Rifei said flatly: "Who I am is already not important now. It seems that if we want to proceed together to the capital city again, I will definitely drag you down. The pursuing troops will arrive very quickly; why don't you hurriedly depart yet."
 
——Only, although his voice was flat, it could no longer conceal his fatigue and weakness.
 
Little Brother Huo said in a rasping voice: "You want me to leave alone?"
 
Zhan Rifei said: "Without me, they cannot catch up to you."
 
Little Brother Huo said: "Why should I leave? I, I just won't leave; I will precisely wait right here, and we will fight it out with them!"
 
From the corners of Zhan Rifei's mouth, fresh blood had already overflowed; his dry, split lips already possessed not even half a bit of blood color. He smiled weakly and said: "You are speaking foolish words again. When did I say I wanted to wait here to fight for life with them? Furthermore, if you should happen to have a mishap by any chance, inside Tokyo City I am afraid someone is truly going to be heartbroken."
 
He let out a sigh, and followed up by saying: "I merely said, we travel by separate ways, so it would be a bit faster."
 
Little Brother Huo looked at him, just as if he had not heard his words.
 
——Right now he could not even stand up, it seemed, so how could he travel?
 
Zhan Rifei seemed to see his doubt, saying with a slight smile: "You have your peerless lightness skill, and I also have my methods. Only, if you rush to Tokyo City earlier than me, can I request you to help me with a favor?"
 
Little Brother Huo, however, half believed and half doubted his words; hesitating, he said: "You speak."
 
Zhan Rifei said: "Please help me carry an item to the capital city."
 
Little Brother Huo said: "The favor you want me to help you with is precisely this matter?"
 
Zhan Rifei said: "Correct."
 
He let out a soft sigh, and said again: "Only, although this matter is very important, I originally should not involve and implicate you; but things having come to this pass, I have no choice but to ask for your help."
 
His smile had already become very weak: "Fortunately, anyway, the human favor I owe you seems to already be past counting."
 
Not knowing why, within Little Brother Huo's pair of large eyes, sparkling and translucent tear-drops were already rolling back and forth. Inside his throat, it was as if something was blocked up, and he unexpectedly could not speak.
 
Zhan Rifei said: "Can't tell that the person of the famously grand Linglong Villa unexpectedly also acts like a little girl, moving or not moving, then crying noses."
 
Little Brother Huo hesitated, saying: "Big Brother Zhan, I, I, I actually have been deceiving you all along. I truly am not called Little Brother Huo; actually, I am——"
 
Zhan Rifei gazed intently at him, slowly cutting off his words: "Brother Huo, you did not deceive me. At the beginning of our mutual acquaintance, did you not long ago say that Little Brother Huo was not your true name? Actually, whether it is a true name or not, what does it matter; I only know that I have not entrusted to the wrong person, and that is already sufficient."
 
Little Brother Huo's tear-drops finally rolled down patteringly, and he could not restrain himself from sobbing: "You must have long ago guessed it out——"
 
Zhan Rifei smiled and said: "I only know that the one I became acquainted with is a young heroic knight of matchless chivalry from Linglong Villa. Since Brother Huo likes this name of Little Brother Huo, I naturally will still call you Little Brother."
 
Little Brother Huo looked over; before his eyes was already a stretch of blur. Tears had long since surged out, dripping onto his body.
 
"Big Brother Zhan, you speak; no matter what matter it is, Little Brother will definitely accomplish it for you!"
 
Zhan Rifei reached his hand into his bosom, took out a piece of yellow silk fabric, and delivered it into Little Brother Huo's hand.
 
"Then I will trouble Brother Huo to send this item to the Nanqing Palace of Tokyo Bianliang, and it must absolutely be delivered into the hands of the Eight Prince personally."
 
Upon the yellow silk fabric, dense and closely spaced, it was filled with countless names of people; it had already been soaked through by fresh blood, stained with a blackening red.
 
His fresh blood.
 
Little Brother Huo felt that this light yellow silk fabric, for a time, seemed unspeakably heavy.
 
——For the sake of this piece of yellow silk fabric, how much blood had he already shed? How many twists and turns had he suffered?
 
He murmured: "The thing they pursued and killed along the way to snatch back is precisely this piece of yellow silk fabric?"
 
Zhan Rifei gently nodded his head; he only felt that his strength was, bit by bit, disappearing: "Correct."
 
Speaking to this sentence, beneath the severe pain of his chest, a layer of sweat had already penetrated out.
 
"Brother Huo, this item concerns whether the common people of the Great Song can be spared from the suffering of knives and soldiers; you can only deliver it face-to-face to the Eight Prince, and even the Little Prince Zhao cannot be told."
 
Little Brother Huo, hearing him speak these words out, was on the contrary somewhat shocked: "Even he cannot be told? He is after all the biological flesh and blood of the Eight Prince. Do you unexpectedly not even trust him?"
 
Zhan Rifei difficultly shook his head: "It is not that I do not trust him. That Little Prince Zhao's disposition, you are not unaware of it. I do not want to let him know because I am unwilling for him to easily step into danger."
 
Speaking up to here, he had already choked and coughed out, for a time appearing as if he could not even catch his breath.
 
Little Brother Huo said anxiously: "It is I who am not good; I originally should not ask you about these minor side topics."
 
Zhan Rifei forced a slight smile and said: "If you did not ask, I am afraid you would have long ago suffocated to a bad state. How can a big living person of that Linglong Villa be suffocated to death by such a tiny matter."
 
Seeing that at this life-and-death critical juncture he still had the mood to crack a joke, Little Brother Huo also could not help but break tears into a smile. Only, within this smile was endless injury, pain, and bitterness.
 
Only, he suddenly remembered another matter again.
 
"If you do not want Little Zhao to know, upon seeing the Eight Prince, if he does not believe my words, what should be done then?"
 
Zhan Rifei took out a command medallion from his bosom, placed it into his hand, and said: "You take this command medallion, together with this piece of yellow silk fabric, hand everything over to the Eight Prince, and he will understand, and will also believe your words."
 
The command medallion was an inch square, a true blue base surface, a bright yellow tassel, bounded and inlaid with a gold border; carved upon it were four bright yellow characters: "Yu Qian Xing Zou" [Imperial Attendant].
 
Little Brother Huo froze blank!
 
Bright yellow had always been for the Emperor's exclusive imperial use. This medallion was clearly an imperially bestowed item, a medallion of the forbidden palace.
 
——Could it be that Zhan Rifei is still a person of the royal family?!
 
Zhan Rifei saw his thoughts, and said with a solemn countenance: "Brother Huo, whether I am someone or not is not important; what is important is that this matter concerns whether our Great Song common people can be spared from a disaster, and whether living beings can be spared from being plunged into misery and ruin. Faced with this life-and-death critical juncture, I still hope Brother Huo can lend me a helping hand."
 
Little Brother Huo looked into his eyes; within them, unexpectedly, for the first time it was filled with anxiety.
 
He gritted his teeth.
 
Although he still did not know who this black-clad youth before him exactly was, he had already made a decision.
 
"Good, no matter who you are, I believe you. I will definitely send these two items into the hands of the Eight Prince!"
 
Zhan Rifei let out a long breath of air. Only at this time did he feel weak to the point of not having a single bit of strength left.
 
"With Brother Huo's lightness skill, they cannot trap you. Only, as for the road hereafter, I am going to drag you down. I truly am——"
 
This time, it was Little Brother Huo who cut him off.
 
"Big Brother Zhan, you yourself harbor heavy injuries upon your body, yet several times and repeatedly saved my life; has Little Brother ever spoken a single word of thanks? With Big Brother's speech of this time, why treat me as an outsider again? Since this item concerns the common people of the Great Song, Little Brother naturally ought to go all out with full strength!"
 
Zhan Rifei's eyes suddenly brightened up.
 
He said slowly: "I truly have not looked at the wrong person.”