"What's that?"
In his demand, Lord No-Name pointed aggressively at the book, his focus vehemently fixed. It was glaring, like a volcano ready to explode.
To contrast this, the reflection of this intruder's pale, white eyes revealed Tao Hua, both terrified and struggling amid all that was his dwindling hope.
He looks no better than a pitiful puddle of rain, trampled over time and time again—and with each splash, this puddle would lose more and more of itself.
Slowly Tao Hua reached his faltering hand toward the book. But the closer he got to it, the more his fingers trembled. It was worse than the flutter of a hummingbird.
He lowered his hand cautiously, just as Lord No-Name kept his eyes locked on Tao Hua, but as soon as his hand hovered over the cover, it completely froze.
Like there was a force stopping his hand from going any further.
But that was only an excuse. Tao Hua didn't want to place his hand on the book. This book he had cradled so closely for the last ten years and nurtured as his only friend…it was now tainted black.
He stared down at that hand, and then the book, his eyes flickering between multiple emotions all at once. From the book, to his hand, and then back up at Lord No-Name.
He breathed a few times, watching as the face he'd once called handsome twisted with a scowl. Tao Hua met that scowl with a face that fell not only in disappointment but in complete despair.
He retracted his hand. There was no point anymore—the book was now tainted.
"Ten seconds," Lord No-Name seethed. "I'm giving you ten seconds to answer."
But even the hiss of his impatience struggled to pass through Tao Hua. It was as if his mind was screaming at him, desperately begging to be turned off—or merely run blank.
There was no fairytale he could escape to this time. Life wasn't merely depicted the same way they were in books, and no person could fall in love with a stranger ran into without knowing the whole story.
Tao Hua was the fool, and he had no one but himself to blame.
Suddenly, Lord No-Name whispered aggressively, enough to jolt Tao Hua into crawling back onto his knees and hands.
"One!" he yelled, holding up an index finger. When Tao Hua glanced up at him, he saw that Lord No-Name no longer faced Tao Hua, but was instead scanning his entire room.
Then, another finger rose. "Two."
Tao Hua's eyes sporadically travelled from one thing to the other. Even through his desperation, he couldn't quite find the right words to say, and when Lord No-Name's voice sounded, he found himself in even more panic than before.
"Three!"
"U-Uhm!" Tao Hua croaked, but his words seemed to choke immediately, causing him to cough a few times. No matter what, he just couldn't seem to focus entirely, despite the fear building with each number.
"Four!" said Lord No-Name, fluffing out his robe and placing his hand on what looked to be the hilt of his sword. "Five!"
"U-Um…sir, I don't know." Tao Hua paused, staring down at his hands that trembled against the wood flooring. "What is that?"
"Don't. Don't even try playing that game with me again. What is it?"
Tao Hua was entirely lost, but his fear heightened each time he tried to look at the book. Suddenly, in the span of a few minutes, that book became the most repulsive thing to ever assault his eyes.
His body tensed at the raising of another finger. "Six."
"I…I really don't know what you mean!" Tao Hua cried as he hastily crawled forward. Flinching, he glanced down to find that a few of the shards had pierced his skin, bloodying his palm pathetically.
To the sudden rise of Lord No-Name's voice, Tao Hua jerked forward, trailing puddles of blood, dirtying the floor.
"I-I'm being honest," said Tao Hua, his bottom lip quivering despite his attempt to hold it still. For once, he really wasn't lying. "I-I, sir, I really don't know what you mean!"
"Bullshit!" Lord No-Name approached Tao Hua and knelt, one arm dangling over his knee. Grabbing the book with his other, he aggressively held it up to Tao Hua. "You know EXACTLY what this is! Don't play stupid!"
Tao Hua had to steady his eyes until they could finally focus on his book, and from that, he lifted his head to look at Lord No-Name. He did this a few times until he was certain he couldn't understand what it was this man wanted or why he was so captivated by his journal.
None of it made any sense to him!
Hyperventilating, Tao Hua stammered many unintelligible words. As if all the pain in his hands had disappeared, he pushed himself back and away from Lord No-Name, slamming right into the wall. Red smudged against the blue, making for a grotesque art project.
He tried to control his shaking, breathing, and even the will to cry. But the fear? It somehow faded with a single thought—one that seemingly calmed him in ways no person ever wanted to find peace in.
That thought?
What did I do to deserve this?
He'd think as his arms went flat, staring blankly ahead at Lord No-Name, whose expression curdled the longer Tao Hua took to respond. But Tao Hua just thought about the day, and that small blip of greatness. He thought about Gui Chang, then his father, and now the stranger sat ahead of him.
Perhaps his existence really was a burden.
"Seven!"
Head turning to his robe, Tao Hua traced the blood that garnished it ugly. At least with fear, he couldn't think; now that he'd given it up, all he could do was feel as though a rock replaced his heart.
"…I-I..." Tao Hua's lashes drooping. A sudden, awful thought came to mind, and it was that which used to terrify him most. "…"
The answer was simple. It would be better if Lord No-Name just ended him then and there, the more he thought about it. He wouldn't have to face the mess of tomorrow, nor would he be alone.
"I'm being honest this time…" Tao Hua said in a low, almost breathless voice, enough to sound like someone too weak to speak.
Lord No-Name's fingers whitened against that book, practically trembling. He sized Tao Hua up and down, from his expression, all the way to the blood that stained the floor.
After a moment, Lord No-Name clenched his jaw and pushed himself off that disgusting ground, back to his feet.
Time ticked by just as Tao Hua ruminated his thoughts, unwilling to fight against them for the first time. Lord No-Name, however, simply stood amid the heavy breaths and rapid heartbeats of that quiet room, glaring at the journal in his hand.
He squeezed it a bit, a complicating expression crawling across his face, switching only when he shoved that book into his robe's sleeve. In an aggressive motion, he swung two fingers into the air, toward the bed, and then to the window.
"I'm giving you thirty minutes—nothing more," he ordered, walking to the window and placing a hand on the sill. "Get up."
Tao Hua glanced back up, confused, but Lord No-Name just stared out that window without a trace of anger nor cynicism.
This time, it was calculated.
"You know the rules—not a sound, and if you waste my time...I don't think I need to explain that. Understood?"
That once charming smile on his face twisted, looking unrecognizable from their earlier encounter. And when he turned his head to face Tao Hua, Tao Hua found that nothing in him fluttered with excitement like it once had.
Lord Asshat placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, each of his fingers carefully curling around—all for one.
His index finger. It just twirled the bookmark in circles.
And his words?
Worse.
It made Tao Hua's eyes widen fearfully.
"You're a smart little one. What do you think I should do with you, Tao Hua?"
Chapter end.