Chapter 22 : Prince's Problem

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Prince Zhang Wei shuts his left eye as he balanced the distance between the arrow and the target to have a perfect shot in the available yet limited range. He was more focused than before due to the letter he receives just after General Julius left last night when removing the mask. Inside the letter was about the Princess and he have to get closer to her at any cost.

But below that sentence was a threat from King Foster, 'The place you had been protecting will be destroyed if you break this engagement.' The message had seized in his memory after all the hours that passed.

The Praish temple was one of their familial upholders and the place where Wei's circle gathered in every victory. And at that place had a lot of gold buried along with the incinerated bodies of Zhang Wei's uncles, aunties, cousins, and more royal bloodline that connects with the Wei. And at that place, Zhang Wei promised his ancestors that he will change the cruel system into a better one.

His fingers start shaking, and without noticing there was a faint mark of bruises and his wrist was barely holding up the arrow. However, the bruises, would not be forever unlike the two huge scars that remain hidden on his right waist will forever bear the memory of killing his first enemy—Sultan Jaar's second son, Jasim. In addition, the needle marks on his chest were proof of how many times he had been injected with calming pills that the personal physician of the late majesty keeps on prescribing. If Zhang Wei's people did see the scars, they will be impressed and at the same time, they could never forget that the prince had killed more than a hundred lives too.

The people that he killed had a family but they are doomed to be punished for a crime that cannot be forgiven. On the battlefield, the only crime of the defenders in the rival lands was betraying one another. Thus, a scenario like that would make the other people confuse and stuck while there was an ongoing war, and as the prince, he was able to get out because of those who died protecting him. Out of thousand soldiers being deployed, only hundreds came back and managed to survive. While the other soldiers had pursued to save the rest that can still be saved, the enemies will not allow anybody to escape it so they take advantage by finishing those who they spotted moving from the area.

Zhang Wei could still hear the screams of the soldiers he left behind that year. There were eight soldiers surrounding him for protection as they had made their way back to Kaifeng after several months, keeping their funds stable during the trip but keeping their minds alert at every path they take. The seven soldiers that protected him were long gone, they died in the next battle. And Zhang Wei made their graves a starting point of new beginnings in a wide mountain space located out Kaifeng. And the one who lives on was General Julius.

Zhang Wei for many years grew up, everything he did was just keep himself alive with a prayer. Still, the visualization of slowly killing his enemies one by one, he certainly would slaughter them all, and his plan just started. Sultan Jaar was the first one to die on his list. The next one would possibly be Sultan Jaar's messenger, Nasir—the one who sends out false letters to bait out enemies and uses a woman to satisfy him.

In a rage, Zhang Wei let his grip go and the sharp arrow flies towards the archery target. There were two people watching him, the first one to look at him was the son of the seamster—Fang Lei—and the second one that was walking beside was the adoptive son of the librarian—Xun Zexi. They gradually started clapping.

"Amazing shot, Prince!" Xun Zexi said.

Fang Lei nodded, "Indeed, that is talent."

Zhang Wei grabbed another arrow in the bag that he was carrying. He positioned the next arrow again in his bruised fingers without turning to look at his spectators. He needed to properly place the arrow and calm his hand from shaking due to being used for hours, and he still needed to shoot more accurately.

He held the bow properly at the right angle with his arm, and before letting the arrow fly, he made sure that he put a smaller amount of energy consumed on his portion, and he traced the string gently with his fingers, trying to practice in dragging the string back to try with less pressure on his fingers.

And then another hit inside the gold ring made his watchers whistle in amazement.

Zhang Wei sighed as he placed his materials on the nearest tree bark to support in making it stand alone. Then he gazed at the guests, "You both could be punished by looking at me like that." He cautioned.

Fang Lei bowed first but he peeked at Xun Zexi who was still standing, Fang Lei reached one hand out and pulled Xun Zexi's extra part of his outfit, and then Xun Zexi bowed to only realize it was almost too late for the prince to forgive their discourtesy.

"You may rise up now. I will let this go for now, but next time I will send you both at the punishing room to receive ten lashes."

"Understood, Crown Prince."

Fang Lei and Xun Zexi bowed quickly again before they leave the area.

Zhang Wei in quietness sat beneath a venerable yellow birch—it was a special gift from his late grandmother, it came from bashing grasslands plateau. His uniform got crumpled around him. He does not even care if another bystander takes the path, he ignored the soil that stained his outfit, his slightly messed up hair, and the fact that there are bruises on his fingers, he might be considered one of his own soldiers. But he did pretend to be General Julius yesterday evening, and probably when he gets a chance to talk with Julius today, he will be doubted very much by Julius about his ability in acting like him which was not even close to his adequate behavior.