[*]
His eyes, like black lacquer, flickered with firelight, deep and grim.
The young man's eyes were usually exceptionally clear, but now they seemed shrouded in a black mist.
After a long moment, he said in a low voice, "So it's a dead end."
A heavy silence fell, broken only by the CRACKLE of embers.
"Little General," Amy clapped her hands lightly and smiled at him. "Weren't you going to be loyal to the nation and swear to serve it until death? Why are you afraid now?"
"If I were born in a time of chaos, with no one but myself, my death would mean nothing. But now, with the nation in peril, I fear that even if I'm willing to die for it, I won't be enough to prop up a collapsing dynasty."
"The Chi Mansion has a long history of loyal martyrs," Dongfei said glumly. "In your generation, Little General, you're the only heir left. If something were to happen to you, the Chi family line... would be extinguished! I can't even imagine how heartbroken the Old Madam would be..."
