120 Zhou Shengs and Ning Fus Thoughts (2/2)
In the end, out of the quartet that had come to the training grounds together, only one was left standing all by himself in the hot, scorching sun – The Unit Commander of The Devil Snare Army – Ning Fu.
Ning Fu didn't know what to make of his own emotions that churned like angry waves of a sea bellowing at the shores at everything he had seen and heard a few minutes ago.
He had always known that the monarch wasn't as benign and affable as he appeared to be usually.
After all, no one who had spent a decade as a hostage and then returned to take the ultimate seat of power all the while blinding everyone with his actions could be a naive boy who didn't know or understand the political intricacies.
He had also seen the deeply hidden cruelty of the monarch when the other person had punished the officers of the Devil Snare Army due to Zhou Sheng.
There had been enough instances when he had been at the end of the sharp tongue of the emperor to know that the other possessed an intellect that was capable of drawing blood with just a few words.
But today he had been able to catch a glimpse of the inner world of the said person and he was left somewhat reeling by what he had seen.
He didn't think anybody – even Zhou Sheng was aware that the monarch had the capability to wash the streets with blood if push came to shove.
The other person was capable of being as cruel as any other Imperial family member but it was only his morals that kept that darkness away.
Perhaps the other person wasn't even aware of this aspect of his nature or perhaps he was aware and consciously hid that part of himself.
Maybe he was ashamed of it or maybe he didn't want to lay down all his cards.
Whatever the reason, that cruelty had bled when he had questioned Zhou Sheng about revenge and Ning Fu felt his blood boiling – in lust or worry, he couldn't decide as he recalled that ruthless look in his eyes.
He spends the rest of the day in nervousness and worries and no matter how hard he tries, his thoughts invariably turn towards the person he has pledged as his liege.
He cannot deny that seeing the crestfallen look on the monarch's face had unsettled him at a visceral level.
He doesn't know what to make of the monarch who is truly kind-hearted to his subjects but also can shed blood at a moment's notice.
The monarch seems a dichotomy of contradictions that seem to co-exist with each other.
He realises that neither is the kindness of the monarch a pretence and nor was the thirst for revenge a mask that was woven to shield oneself from their enemies.
Ning Fu wondered how could a person have such contrasting fundamental differences in their thoughts and what could trigger that person from one end to the other extreme.
He hoped he would never figure it out because he had a faint idea about it and didn't feel comfortable thinking or even acknowledging that fact.
He didn't know why he felt an impulse to draw the monarch closer, to take him in his arms and soothe those furrowed brows when they were on the training grounds.