Thephysismiledfaintly。
XieZheurohisreports。
Hedidnotexplainhimself。
---
Thatnight,Suyuanfinallywokeup,sheopenedslowly。Forseveralmoments,shedidntknowwhereshewas。
Theceilingaboveherwasunfamiliar。Therewasnosmoke,nwoodandnoshouting。Sheturnedherheadandfoundnobodywasthere。Suyuanpushedherselfuprightbutherbodyfeltstrangelyheavy。Thensherememberedthepalace,thefireandheardsomeonecallinghername。
Thatman。。。。。ThatGeneral
Shelookedtowardthedoor,sheoknowwhathadhappened。Carefully,shestoodbuttheroomswayed。
Suyuantriedtosteadiedherselfagainstthewallandslowlywalkedoutside。Thenightairwascold。Ashortdistanceaway,XieZhengstoodbesideawoodentablecoveredwithmapsandmilitaryreports。
Heeakingquietlywithtwoofficers。
Theicedher。
Hestopped。
"Suyuan?"
Shelookedathim。
Foramoment,herspoke。
Sheopenedhermouth。
"General,I—"
Asuddencoughinterruptedher。
Shecoveredhermouth。
Whensheloweredherhand,therewasbloodonherpalm。
Hervisionblurred。
XieZhengmovedtowardher。
"Suyuan!"
Herkneesgavewaybeforeshecouldanswer,XieZhengcaughtherbeforeshehittheground。
"Physi!"
Theofficersrushedtowardthem,XieZhengheldhersteady,hisexpressiontighteningashelookedatthebloodonherhand。。。。