[*]
His eyes, dark as lacquer, flickered with firelight, deep and grim.
The young man's eyes were usually exceptionally clear, but now they seemed shrouded in a black fog.
After a long moment, he said in a low voice, "So it was a dead end."
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the crackling of embers.
"Little General," Amy clapped her hands lightly and grinned at him. "Weren't you determined to serve the country with your life? Why are you so afraid now?"
"If I had been born in a time of chaos, with no one but myself to worry about, my death would mean little. But with the nation in turmoil, even if I'm willing to die for it, I fear my sacrifice alone cannot save a collapsing state."
Dongfei said glumly, "The Chi family has a long line of loyal martyrs. The Little General is the last heir of his generation. If anything happens to him, the Chi family's line... will be extinguished! And who knows how devastated the Old Madam will be..."
