ourselves that we fight for righteousness.” Jessica and the colleagues all cheered. She never knew that there
were still brave and righteous people in China, which made her feel proud. Just then, Jessica noticed Chen
sneaked out of the room. She saw he sneakily told a messenger of the Emperor something, then he gave the
messenger a bag of coins. Jessica was desperate. She couldn’t believe what she saw.
Another night when everyone was asleep, Jessica chatted with Liu. The moonlight was dazzling with
stars shining on the icy country, the only comfort to the people’s heart. Jessica stared in Liu’s eyes. He was
looking far far away, thinking of his mum, she thought. His eyes reflected the starlight, showing his burning
desire of saving his country. Jessica pinched herself. It was ridiculous to fell in love with an ancient man. Jessica
said at last, “Have you ever thought of loving…” Liu turned. “What?” “I mean, have you ever thought that
someone will betray you?” Jessica splattered. “What do you mean?” “I discovered that your best friend Chen
had betrayed you.” Liu did not believe in her, “You are talking nonsense”. “I swear that I saw him with the
Emperor’s messenger the other night.” “Why should I believe in you? You are actually a spy, aren’t you? You
want us to have an internal strife and so the Emperor can easily defeat us, right?” “No, I don’t mean that, I
just…” “I can’t fully trust you now, you make me feel confused. Who should I trust now?” He stood up and left
Jessica alone, feeling like her heart was bleeding. She knew she could not make Liu believe in her, all she can
do was just to protect him on the day of war. Liu being safe was the only thing she wished for.
The night before the war, the slaves all gathered around a campfire. Sharing stories about how they
were tortured over decades and how their families were also mistreated, showing their hatred to the Emperor
and the unfairness they suffered. They spoke of how spirited they were and how eager they were to contribute
themselves to fight for liberty. Jessica sat aside and smiled. She fully supported their idea and admired their
courage. Although she knew they might not win, it was a least a chance to promote justice and awaken people’s
heart that liberty was something that they should fight for. Her only goal was to protect Liu till the end.
The day had come. The slaves were working like any other day, carrying boulders to build the Great
Wall. Suddenly, they slaves all took out weapons hidden under the boulders and started fighting and
slaughtering guards around them. Liu shouted “Revolution has begun! Rise for liberty and fairness.” Chen
suddenly ran towards the messenger in front of a cave far away. Jessica held him back and shouted “Where are
you going?” “I will explain it to you later.” “I will not let you betray our mates, you traitor!” Chen struggled
from Jessica’s strength, but thinking of Liu, Jessica should never let go of Chen to hurt Liu and his colleagues.
The messenger shouted, “Hurry up, Chen!” There was no time left, the soldiers had arrived. Liu stared in
disbelief, he couldn’t believe that his best friend had betrayed him at such an important moment. But he
continued to fight because there were still lots of people waiting for him to set them free. Chen saw the soldiers
started attacking and with panic, he pushed Jessica away with all his might. Jessica slipped and landed on the
ground. Then she saw a spear on the ground and threw it towards Chen who was approaching the cave.
Unfortunately, it did not hit him. He continued to run and run towards the cave when suddenly she saw another
army of soldiers walking out of the cave, aiming arrows at the fighting crowd.
“
No,” screamed Jessica, holding a shield in front of Liu and the guard who Liu was trying to kill when
the arrows rained down. When she turned around, she saw Liu was stabbed by a sword in the heart. Jessica froze
and knelt down. Chen yelled in a distance and ran towards Liu. “My brother, please don’t die. What have you
promised us?” “Shoo, you traitor, how dare you say that he is your friend, it is all your fault,” Jessica tried hard
to suppress her grief. “The soldiers in the cave are bribed by me and they are actually on our side, shooting our
enemy! If it wasn’t you blocking, Liu may have been saved!” Jessica broke down and got out her surgery knife,
alcohol and bandage. “I swore no matter what I will save you. I am sorry. Really I am.” bawled Jessica. “It’s
okay, now…now I know you are not… a spy…Please take care of my colleagues and save them…Don’t risk
your life for any other revolution. It does not worth it … it as it is the ancient… ancient people’s responsibility,
not people… from the future like you can interfere…” Liu let out his last breath. The sorrow and pain killed
Jessica deep inside. Liu died because of her. She would live under depression and blame herself for the rest of
her life.
The movement was a failure. Back in the secret room under the hut, Jessica had not talked for days, but
just help saving the survivors who had not been captured by the soldiers. One night, she saw the magic potion
she drank before. She started thinking why she would have come here to the ancient times. Maybe to let her
know that she should not hate Chinese. There were good people in China too and she should be proud of those
people who had tried to fight for their own rights. She thought of Liu too. His soul was here and she would
never leave the place with his presence. This was her destiny. She threw the bottle of potion into a valley. While
she made her way back, she discovered an isolated village called the Peach Colony and decided to live in
tranquility for the rest of her life there.
* * *