Chapter 62 - The Truth Of The World

The next morning, I could barely believe that I fell asleep before things could get hot, but Khutulun was a good sport about it, it had been her purpose to lull me to sleep, rather than have some steamy action.

To my surprise, General Fei insisted on accompanying us further east, seeing as he was feeling much better, but as his healer, I had to protest.

“You only feel better because my chi is still coursing through you, the moment it runs out, you’ll be in a world of pain.”

“It is a pain I know and that I can take. With all due respect, abandoning you to a battlefield where both sides want you dead is not something I’m comfortable with, your majesty.”

Truth be told, neither was I. I was confident I could fight off the invaders…. But the army at my back? I wasn’t too sure I had it in me to fight my own countrymen, traitors or not.

“I know how you feel, but now there’s also something important that must be done: inform the palace of the information we gained. Ji is big and its army strong, and very close to the Capital. Failing to send a word to the emperor could prove disastrous.”

The man frowned and grumbled under his breath but eventually relented, figuring out that, out of the three of us, only him or me had any chance of telling the emperor directly, before anyone from Ji had time to interfere with the message, and I was still needed at the front lines. More to see if our plan had worked out than to fight, but I still had to be there.

“It will be as his majesty wishes.” He sighed and I smiled.

“Perhaps Hui-Liu should accompany you? You could use his testimony as proof.”

The General, however, shook his head in the negative.

“He is a man without rank. He will not be allowed within the forbidden city.”

Ah. I had forgotten about that. And also, who would believe a common man over the governor of a prosperous province? The legal system was a bit off in this time and age, not like the courts in the XXI century where an eyewitness could be the key to crack a case even against the biggest corporations. Here, if you had no last name or rank to support you, you were practically nothing.

Something I should probably point out to the emperor… or the next one.

Just then I had an epiphany.

Heng Li was in line for the throne. If I could somehow support him or make him better in the eyes of his father, changing the country for the better would be an easier task.

Although seeing my sister as the empress would be strange to say the least, at least I could gain a bit of the freedom I had sacrificed to access the Imperial library as a child.

I took a deep breath and crossed my fingers hoping that what I was doing was the right thing.

“If you have trouble seeing the emperor, talk to my brother Heng Li, he can help you.”

The general’s eyes searched my face for an answer that wasn’t forthcoming because even though I liked the General, I sincerely didn’t know who I could trust… too many people in power had tried to kill me for me to trust anyone easily. Even now I felt like I was making a big gamble, introducing the two pieces on the board that had the strongest evidence.

Heng Li still had the poison he had retrieved from the cook, and Fei Hong had heard the soldier’s confession about the revolt, and the plot to kill any member of the imperial family that crossed Ji.

I would be better if it was me who went back to the capital… but we simply didn’t have the time. I had to stop the war before it reached my family’s province.

Finally, the General nodded and offered me a stiff baoquan, saying something that I hadn’t expected. “I will not betray the trust you have deposited in me, your majesty.”

Had I been too transparent about my suspicions?

I returned the gesture to the General without a word, but I offered him half a smile before I exited the hut where we had been resting.

Outside, the sun was already high in the sky, and the five soldiers left entertained themselves in their daily routine, which was practicing Kung-fu with wooden sticks, while two manned the watchtowers.

I was tempted to help them with their practice, but I was beginning to feel the need to move, and so I walked past the barricade where none other than Khutulun was tending to the mare that had fallen for me.

“She is a strong one,” the woman said as soon as my hands fell on the side of the horse, and it calmed down significantly “and also seems smitten with you.” As if to prove her point, the horse placed her head on top of my shoulder and rubbed her snout against my head, completely ignoring Khutulun who began giggling.

“What can I say? The ladies love me.” That made Khu laugh harder and the horse neigh, her head rubbing harder against mine. I petted the mare and ducked under her neck to stand beside Khutulun, whose smile was as bright as the sun above us. “Perhaps we should ride her to the battlefield instead of my dragons? I don’t want everyone to know what I can do until there’s no other option.”

“A wise move, my lord.” Her hand found mine and she intertwined our fingers “I am sure that between you, me, and Urus we can talk sense to the tribes… I don’t feel as confident about taking on the army on our own. We should try and talk to the tribes before that, if possible.”

“Will they listen to what an outsider has to say?”

“Not all of them, no. But plenty are just looking for a way to survive. Not all of us are like the mahram. Hunger drove us to war.” I could see that she was torn about the whole thing, despite having only been close for a few days, I already felt like I knew her all my life, as if we were connected in some significant way.

It wasn’t like that with her, but it was still a strong connection.

That thought sparked another in my mind: was it possible that this woman here was the ancestor of the woman I had fallen in love with in the XXI century? Better yet, could this be her in a past lifetime?

‘It could be possible, but it is impossible to prove.’

That was, of course, true. I had very little knowledge about how the world worked in that sense. Were we chosen to take different lifetimes, or did we do the choosing? Was there a plan behind this intricate system of death and reincarnation?

‘All I am allowed to say is that there is a plan and that every person on the planet is important.’

‘Allowed to say? Who forbid to speak of it?’

‘I cannot say.’

Another dead end.

‘What is the purpose of my reincarnation in the past?’

‘To change the future, of course.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘The world has already walked this path many times, humanity has always found the way to kill itself before achieving their heavenly mission. That is why people with strong, advanced spirits are sent to the past, to steer humanity in a new direction in hopes that it will make them better as a race. The man you know as Jesus was sent back to show the people that love is the answer. To love another as you love yourself, to love God, the universe, and the whole of creation as if it were your own family. Buddha had a similar mission, but his approach was different.’

I stayed in silence, trying to wrap my mind around that until I picked up a small detail.

‘What did you mean that we’ve already walked this path before?’

‘The universe moves in an infinite loop that cannot be broken unless the main actors do so themselves.’

‘Humans?’

‘Among others. You’re not the center of the universe, you know?’

‘Right, sorry.’

My other self hummed before continuing ‘Imagine the whole process like a computer program: the first version was full of bugs and it crashed prematurely, so the system made a patch in the form of an enlightened individual and restarted the program. The world went on a different path after the patch, but it still crashed prematurely; then comes another patch, and the program restarts… Every enlightened person that has ever appeared in human history is a patch set up before a reboot. Each has a mission, some small, some great. It mostly depends on the strengths and weaknesses of their souls.’

‘How many times has the world ended so far?’

‘I am unsure. That information pertains to the heavenly realm, and we’re cut off from it until we surpass the 33rd Tribulation.’

‘Does that mean that me being here is another of these patches?’

‘It would be safe to assume so.’

I felt as if suddenly the weight of the world fell on my shoulders. I couldn’t move and my lungs and brain shut down for an instant.

‘Don’t worry about it. It matters not what we do, even if we’re unable to fix the world, there will simply be another patch and restart. It’s not a matter of getting to the goal faster but getting there in the best possible way.’

Its words comforted and relaxed me, allowing me to breathe again, even if I still felt awed by the possibility of being a stepping stone for humanity to become better.

‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome… and she’s staring.’

‘Huh?’

The odd comment made me return to my senses and I immediately felt the horse and Khutulun’s worried stare.

“Are you all right, my lord?”

I immediately smiled and brought her hand to my lips “Yes. I was speaking to my other self?”

The woman tilted her head in askance, but before answering, I lifted her on top of the horse “I’ll tell you on the way.”