Annie : I'm baaaaack! Sorry for taking so long, almost a month! Whoa! I surely have been lazy! I don't know why but holidays seem to make me wanna be more lazy... Resting gets me more tired too. Strange huh?

Well anyway, this chapter's rather hurried and so not so good. Sorry but don't hesitate to flame me. I don't mind honest flames!

Chapter Thirty-Six : Lucky or Unlucky

I chortled as I kicked my horse's flanks. I just could not believe that he had dropped a head-sized rock on Sima Yi. How amusing. When I felt his pulse, I didn't know whether I should be relieved or disappointed. Secretly, I was more to the disappointed side.

I had promised him I would return, so I would. I didn't have that many friends, after all. I'm not really the type who would go around making friends; more likely to make enemies, I suppose. But of course I would visit them as often as I could secretly. That was part of the reason why he had helped me.

"Let me guess; you're leaving us, aren't you?" He said. I only stared at him, my mind telling me to avoid giving a direct answer. My friend shook his head in disbelief, seeing my hesitation. "Hua, I would have thought that I had earned your trust by knocking this guy out?" He prodded the unconscious Sima Yi with his foot.

"Yes, of course." I agreed monotonously. "But you should also know how my mind works after all these years." Well, I wasn't about to trust him that quickly… Even if he did drop a rock on Sima Yi's head…

"Tsk, I know too well." He crossed his arms. "You must promise me that you will come and visit us."

I thought I had misunderstood. "I beg your pardon?" I asked rather stupidly. I felt stupid.

"You know, just come and visit us once in a while. It's not too much to ask from an old friend, is it?"

I had hard time keeping incredulousness out of both my voice and face. "He… Are you saying that you're just letting me go like that?"

My friend rolled his eyes. "And I thought you were smart. Hua, I'm your friend. I know you've been unhappy ever since you came back. And now this. Throwing a tantrum when you heard that the Little Conqueror was dead… I can tell that you've created deep bond with people in Wu."

Sharp, wasn't he? Although I must have been obvious… "I'll come back, don't worry. Just let me attend his funeral. I'll definitely come back." I was promising more to myself than to my friend. I was scared that once I see them, I might not want to come back.

"We'll see how things go," he said, giving me a tight hug. "I'll take care of things here. Don't worry. Just do what you got to do. Follow your heart for once in your life time."

"Hey, what are you implying?" I chuckled, freeing myself. "I do have a heart, you know!"

My friend chuckled back, slowly turning around to take his leave. "Well sometimes, it's hard to tell." He winked. "But I think you're slowly getting there."

I was calculating rapidly in my head. It was ten days journey normally but I couldn't afford that. Sun Ce's funeral would be held soon… He would be mourned for several days before finally resting in peace. At the maximum I had six days. At the maximum. I travelled as fast as I could, not resting and eating and drinking while still riding. Thank goodness that I was a good horse-rider otherwise I would've fallen off and hurt myself.

Usually when crossing borders, I would have to state my business for going to the enemy kingdom, but of course I couldn't tell the guards that I was going to attend the enemy leader's funeral. I had to take a little gamble – whether or not the news of my flight has reached this far. I showed my identification to the guards and told them I was on a secret mission, and they practically toppled over each other to let me past. Whew, as much as I hated to admit it, that was really lucky.

I managed to reach the Wu capital in five days – I was so exhausted, not to mention the state the horse was in. I felt sorry for the poor animal and just before entering the capital, I stopped at a nearby village, only about half an hour ride away from the palace. There, I went to an inn and swapped the tired horse for another one with small amount of money. In the village I also bought a grey hooded cloak, to hide my face in case someone recognized me.

I was again lucky – the funeral hadn't taken place yet. I entered the capital, and when the guards stopped me I told them that I was here to see our 'beloved' lord for one last time, and they let me past. Beloved… It was true, I suppose. Sun Ce had been so casual with everyone that it was hard to think of anyone who'd dislike him… I mean, I did say things that might not have exactly sounded like I liked him, but of course he was a valuable friend. So young… How old was he…? Twenty seven? Eight? Such a short life…

I could see a huge crowd in front of the palace gates. All people were wearing dark colours. I put my hood on before approaching the crowd. I could see people crying, mourning for their lord. I walked through them, wanting to see what they were crowding around. I could see it now. A wooden rectangular coffin. People approached the coffin one by one, put their hand on it and whispered few words of farewell. Behind the coffin I saw some familiar faces… All looking so sad. I recognized the generals and few other people… I couldn't find neither of the Qiao sisters. I didn't look at them for long – I stopped myself from searching for someone particular. It was better if I say my farewell and be gone as soon as possible.

The people who said their farewell went away, to the place where he was to be buried. One by one they all disappeared. I didn't know why I stayed till last. This was rather risky. All the generals would be watching the last person say their farewell before carrying the coffin towards its burial place. Perhaps this wasn't a good idea. Maybe I should–

"Well, aren't you going to say goodbye?"

I looked up to find Ling Tong, looking at me. For a moment I thought he had recognized me, but then remembered that my face was hidden. I carefully stepped forward and put my shaking hand on the wooden coffin. I'd better make this quick.

"Goodbye, Ce," I whispered so only I could hear. "All those things I said to you, I didn't mean them. Well, maybe I meant the 'brainless idiot' part…" I chuckled lightly. "I hope you're peaceful now. Please watch my battle with fate. Thank you, Ce."

I retrieved my hand from the wooden coffin and turned to leave. I saw the generals move forward to carry the coffin to the burial site. I was about to follow them when a girl came running, looking terrified. Wait, that was Xiao!

"Da! She's on the roof! I – I…!" Xiao cried, clearly not knowing what to do. The generals looked amongst themselves for a second before dashing through the gates. I didn't think twice about it – I followed everyone else into the Wu palace.

Annie : I personally found this chapter rather boring. Nothing much happened except for explanation for things. B-O-R-I-N-G! I'll try harder for the next chapter though because Da Qiao is leading this story to somewhere interesting.

I sincerely hope that I would take less than a month for the next chapter... I really do...