The Story of Dusk 283 RETURNED

"There." Senja pointed at the noodles stall that the owner had shooed her away this afternoon. "You have money?" She tugged his sleeves and asked worriedly because when he gave her this money, he said that was the only money that he had.

However, from the change of his clothes and the new cloak that he was wearing, seemingly he had still a lot of it.

"I have." Gong Xu replied. He had his own way to earn money that he needed, after all this wasn't the first time he was in this city, he knew someone or two that could help him.

"Let's eat then." Senja was half dragging him. She had not released him ever since Gong Xu returned to find her.

Gong Xu didn't feel like he wanted to eat something, but because he had something that he needed to discuss with Senja, thus he complied.

He knew this girl really wanted to go with him, this time he would agree, but he still wasn't sure if Senja would agree to do this favor for him.

Senja was only a little girl, an eleven years old little girl, but the way she thought sometime surprised him, if she wasn't in her quirky mood, she was quite mature for girl in her age.

When they walked inside the stall, by coincidence the owner of the stall was standing on the side of the door, apparently she was seeing off an important customer.

However, when she saw Senja, her face fell and the sweet smile on her chubby cheeks disappeared.

She stomped toward Senja the moment the customer left. "I have told you to not come back again to this stall! Don't you have a good dress?!" She reprimanded Senja harshly.

Senja took a step aside and hid behind Gong Xu's back. She only peeked through his sleeves.

In the other hand, Gong Xu was confused with this situation. But, seeing the lady angry face and Senja weird act, more or less he could understand what was going on.

"What is this? She chased you out before?" Gong Xu whispered at Senja, who was hiding behind his back.

Gong Xu could feel Senja nodded vigorously. He didn't know what to say, normally if this thing happened to normal people, they would avoid this place, but why Senja wanted to eat here instead?

"Hey, your clothes make this young master's robe become dirty!" The lady owner was glaring at Senja, but her expression softened when she looked at Gong Xu. "I am sorry about this… but this girl…"

"This girl is my sister." Gong Xu cut the owner's word.

The change of the owner's expression was so amusing. From the stern face to soften and then her face fell upon hearing Gong Xu's word.

"Your sister?" She repeated Gong Xu's word, and clearly looked up and down on him and Senja. But, how he became his brother if the clothes that they were wearing totally different?

"My sister." Gong Xu emphasized his word and took Senja inside the stall to find seat for them. "Two bowls of noodles please." He said when he walked past the owner.

Gong Xu didn't know what Senja's intention, but he didn't want to waste his time, talking nonsense about unimportant thing.

Senja gave a meaning look when she walked past the owner and hurriedly followed Gong Xu, she was so happy now Gong Xu was here.

"So, why did you come back? Did you change your mind? Can I go with you now?" Senja became talkative again.

"Yes, you can come with me, with condition." Gong  Xu said.

"I will." Without thinking about the condition that Gong Xu would say, Senja readily agreed.

"Listen to my word first before you agreed." He frowned, this girl was so careless.

"I will agree with your condition, whatever it is." Senja smiled brightly, thinking about how she would never be alone again after all these years, she would have someone that looked after her.

"Right, eat first." Gong Xu pushed a bowl of noodles that the waiter had given to him.

"Thank you." Senja received it happily as she was too hungry.

It didn't take long time for Senja to finish the noodles and gulped down her tea, now with full stomach and light heart, she was ready to hear whatever condition that Gong Xu would give to her.

In the other hand, Gong Xu barely touched his noodles and when he saw Senja had done with her meal, he pushed his bowl aside and took a sip of the tea.

"What is the condition?" Senja yawned, she felt sleepy now. Today was a long day and very tiring with a lot of things happened at once.

"You need to go back to the Black Sword Clan's mansion." Gong Xu said straight to the point.

The smile on Senja's face faded. "I said I don't want to go back." She frowned why this man couldn't understand her word? How many times she said she didn't want to go back to that place?

"If you want to help me and come with me, you have to go back home." Gong Xu said clearly.

"I don't want to go home." Senja rejected firmly. "That place is not my home."

Gong Xu's sighed, by looking at how her eyes harden even more, he knew this wouldn't be an easy task. But, he really needed more information about his father movement, since now he didn't involve in any of his plan, he has to keep in touch with any news of his.

"Like you already know, my father and the Emperor conspire something dreadful to topple the influence of the Black Sword Clan, a power that will always under their control, not like the one that your grandfather has been leading all this time." Gong Xu came clean with her now.

Senja didn't like what she was hearing now, the only person that she still concerned the most was her grandfather. Even though he always let her down and said that he loved her, but acted otherwise, though he had left her alone and made her life became miserable under Carye and her daughters, but she still care about him.

And Black Sword Clan was everything for her grandfather…

"How did you know?" Senja squinted her eyes, probably this was another trick of Gong Xu to send her home.

"I was working for them not long ago." Gong Xu said.

Silence was cascading down on them and make the noisy sound around them became more palpable as they were busy with their own thought.

"I will answer your question when we were in the dessert." Gong Xu broke the silence between them. "Yes, Luna was my sister. She was sent to prince Xiao Tianyao as a spy, but then the story twisted and they fell in love." Gong Xu chuckled by this, that was ridiculous for him.

But, not for Senja…

"How romantic…" She looked at Gong Xu with eyes glimmered with adoration that made the man frown.

"My sister died in the end." Gong Xu reminded the little girl in front of him, who was daydreaming.

Senja then remembered the word from the leader of the bandit when they fought. "Is it true that you are the one who had killed your sister?" Senja asked carefully.

"Do you really think I kill my own sister?" Gong Xu answered her question with another question.

Senja gave some thought about it and then shook her head vigorously. She didn't think Gong Xu would kill his own sister, from the way he talked about his sister, his voice always laced with sorrow and regret.

"But, prince Xiao Tianyao assumed you are the one who had killed his wife." Senja stated.

Gong Xu sighed and closed his eyes, recalled the even before, the last moment of his sister's last breath and what she had done toward Xiao Tianyao, he didn't believe that until in the end his sister would still protect the man that she loved.

Gong Xu couldn't help her, thus he didn't want to ruin Luna last wishes.

"I am part of the cause of her death." Gong Xu didn't give Senja cleared answer.

"Did you stab her?" Senja kept asking.

"No." Gong Xu shook his head and took another sip of his tea.

"Then you didn't kill her." Senja concluded simply.

Gong Xu chuckled upon hearing her way of thought, such a simple minded girl. "When you became more mature, you will understand. Don't stab a person, doesn't have an equal mean that you don't kill them. You can die in many ways, hence you can kill people in many ways as well."

Senja tilted her head and looked at Gong Xu deeply. "One day I will understand that."

"Good." Gong Xu complimented her and stood up. "It will take more than four days to reach M city, we will start moving now."

"No!" Senja also stood up abruptly. "I am not yet agree with your offer right?"

"I will come to M city to try to suppress Modama's plan to ruin your clan, if you want to stay here and hear the news about how your grandfather would die, I will not force you." Gong Xu's word was simple, but it hit the target.

After all, Senja was a simple minded girl, she had not yet seen enough to understand the predicament that The Black Sword Clan would face, but she had experienced hard life enough to know that this situation wasn't in her grandfather favor and if anything happened to her grandfather, her father would bury her alive along with her grandfather.

Without waiting for Senja's decision, Gong Xu walked out from the stall.

Behind him, the little girl finally snapped out from her train of thought and followed after him.

"Why I should go back to the mansion?" Senja asked sullenly. "We can be in M city and I will just hide."

"Do you really think the shadow guard will not recognize you? Don't you know that your grandfather had come home and has sent all the shadow guard to look for you?" Gong Xu helped Senja to get on the horse while he sat behind her, covered her small body with his warm cloak. He knew this news from his people. "Moreover, I need some information from inside."

"Why don't you come to my grandfather and say what you have said to me?" Senja suggested, in her mind, things would be simpler that way.

Gong Xu knocked Senja's head with his. "It is easier to talk than doing it."

"I really don't want to go home." Senja complained, but this related to her father, after all this time she was being together with Gong Xu, for some reason, she believed him easily, just like how she believed Uncle Ye Xiu before.

"This time it will be different, I will help you so you will not get bully by your stepmother and sisters." Gong Xu made the horse ran even faster. "But, it depends on how much guts that you have."

***  

On the fifth day, Gong Xu and Senja was arrived at the entranced of the M city. Senja was still in not a good mood.

She really dislike, despise to be here again.

The little girl's frown deepened when she watched the familiar streets and buildings, she knew how to get back home from here.

"If you walk straight from here, you will find a dilapidated door, it will connect to the library inside the black sword clan's mansion." Senja said gloomily. "I will meet you there."

They would go separate way from here, but they would meet inside the secret room that Senja had told him.

At first Gong Xu was surprised, there was a secret door inside the black sword clan's mansion, but more surprised when Senja said no one knew about it.

"Don't let them bully you again." Gong Xu rubbed Senja's head before he walked away.

Chapter end