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As though a bomb stuck in my chest wants to explode, I clutch to my chest with my arms and shake my head continuously hearing a repeating set of words in my ears. After having enough of it, I quickly step forward and stretch my hand.

Perplexed by my abrupt set off, Zhao Yun runs after me in the woods until he hears the sharp unleash sound from my sword. As I take a deep breath, I firmly shut my eyes and begin the swordplay following the words I remember from the swordplay book.

Deep breaths. Shallow thinking while trapping your breath in your dantian.
Do not get distracted by the temptations of the world.
Retreat, breath out and embrace the cool breeze through to your lungs.

With those words lingering through my mind, the hoarse voice from earlier starts to fade in my ears. Grasping on to the edges of the sword, I take a swift turn following the direction of the wind. My legs swifty move back with the swish of a broken twig falling over me.

The sharp edge of my sword immediately breaks the approaching twig into two, smashing against the floor. The speed of its smash throws the pieces all over the floor around me, causing the wilting leaves to fall faster.

The grass over my feet slowly becomes covered in wilted leaves alongside with the broken twig pieces. When the sound of the creasing grass runs through my ears, my hands unconsciously move up, hesitating to move further before I open my eyes. The reflection of another sword blinds me forcing my eyes open.

While the sword gradually falls back in place, the blinding light over my eyes makes my eyes blurry for a moment. After blinking several times, I could finally see who disrupted my swordplay.

"S-Shifu?"

I couldn't tell which particular expression he had in his eyes at that moment. Staring at me for a while, my head falls down after I drop my sword on the floor. He slowly bends to pick it up and takes a keen glance at the sword.

Just when I thought he was going to scold me for earlier, he takes a step towards me.

"Are you okay?"

My feet retreat in shock as I stare into his eyes looking for an answer in them. Shifu asked me if I'm okay? Did I hear him right? He asked me i-if I'm okay?

Boiling with impatience, he pulls my left hand with his hand and rolls my hanfu's sleeve upward enough to check the cut wound properly. With a heavy sigh, he checks my other hand and looks up for another moment. My lips refused to respond no matter what how much I try to.

"Come with me." Although he said that, I still didn't have time to process what he said. He quickly grabs my arm and practically forces me to walk along with him. "S-Shifu," I manage to mutter but he doesn't stop until we get closer to the shed where Jing Yi and Zhen Lan were.

As it was getting darker, there wasn't any other place we could seek shelter than this building. The stories I heard about Yihua Palace got me curious but at the same time creeped out. Before I could settle my thoughts, I find an empty room in front of us when he bangs the door open. Zhen Lan and Jing Yi were already seated setting up fire for the night.

I suddenly feel some comfort when the illuminating heat from the burning firewood hits my chilly skin. I rub my arm with my free hand despite being pulled along by Zhao Yun.

He only stops when we get inside, around a place warm enough to warm us up. Jing Yi stands up surprised to see me back in such a situation. "Mr. Lu?" they both call out. After unleashing his grip on my hand, he pulls out a bottle from his hanfu and throws it over to me. I fidget in surprise for about a minute before being able to grasp onto it properly.

"We'll set of to Ming tomorrow. Jing Yi will escort you back."

Zhen Lan stands up as surprised as we three. He wants me to go back to the sects?

"I can't go with her. I have a duty to complete in four days."

"Her safety is important as well. General Su can go with me instead."

"No!"

Seeing the two argue in front of me and Zhen Lan, my fingers grasp on to my hanfu as I watch them tense up. They didn't seem like strangers with the tone in their arguments. Moreover, I didn't want to go back. I want to stay beside him. Why was he pushing me away?

"General Jing!"

"I only serve the strong. As a princess, shouldn't she be able to protect herself?!"

When Zhen Lan notices the tension in the air, he turns to me shaking his head to stop me from getting involved.

"Jing Yi, calm down." Fury boils in her eyes as she pulls her sword out. Clashing with his sword, the two stare into each other's eyes refusing to budge. An arrow runs through the air in a flash and sticks on the wall right beside them. Zhao Yun quickly steps back rushing out to find out who it was.

He returns with a disappointed look making all of us more worried. With slow steps, he approaches the arrow and rips a piece of paper rolled over the edge of the sword.

"Mo Yan. Bai Ying. Su Ruo. Xiao Fan."

All those characters were in red ink, deep as the flow of blood.

"What does it say?" He passes it over to Jing Yi who reads it alongside Zhen Lan with a puzzled face. Whoever sent the letter knew what he expected from him. He knew very well who the author was with his daring handwriting. That handwriting he'd never forget in his life.

"I don't think we should send her away for now. It's looks like we're being followed."

Although he didn't want to admit, he had to in this circumstance.

"Duke Wei has a message for you. I was planning to tell you later but there's no time."

Hearing the name of my adoptive father, I step up towards Zhen Lan with a worried look. While Zhao Yun clenches his fists, Zhen Lan sighs. "He's alright. There's still Great Wei aiming for the throne so we'll have to return soon."

I nod relieved that he was alright. "Right, we also got a hold on the wife and daughter of the assassin from last time. But right before they could talk, a poison reacted causing them to cough blood to death. We didn't get much on the cause of death unfortunately."

Jing Yi slowly walks up to the door and returns with a confused expression. "It's not safe here. We'll have to leave soon."

Right again, we were at a dead end. Who instigated that assassin and murdered his family? How long will I stay in the dark?

Biting my lips, I feel a sharp pain on my arm when I try to lift it up. They sense the pain in my eyes and heave a sigh. Zhao Yun on the other hand had an unsettling look in his eyes, as if he was thinking deeper into the words from the letter.

"I'll watch with Jing Yi for the night." Jing Yi nods at his suggestion and steps out. He stops at the door and turns around for a minute. "I'd like to speak with you after we're out tomorrow."

Tracing his eyes, I find the two of them looking at each other. Zhao Yun nods before he moves out of the building. Left in the quiet room, I lift my sleeves wincing in pain. The sword cut wasn't deep, but it was the first time I wielded a sword on my own.

When he takes a move forward, I stutter trying to open the bottle to smear the ointment on my arm.

"Shifu."

Left with nothing to do, he makes a quick turn and takes the ointment into his own hands. Directing me over with his eyes, I follow him to a seat and sit down playing with my fingers. With a cotton sticking on a pair of sticks, he dips it into the ointment and looks up waiting for me to stretch my hand out.

After hesitating for a few seconds, I follow his instructions and fold my lips with one eye closed.

When he rubs the ointment gently over the cut, my teeth grit from the sudden pain. After each rub, he makes it gentler than the last. I keep one eye closed throughout the period watching him closely.

Let's say I still couldn't believe he'd even sit down and help me with this. Always with that grumpy face!

As of he knew what I was thinking, his eyebrows raise for a second. My hand quickly move back shaking a bit.

"I-I didn't say anything!"

His gaze seem unconvinced so I slowly roll my sleeves forward and clear my throat. "Shifu-"

"-why did you leave one eye open?" My jaw drops with his question. He didn't hear me but I gave myself out instead. I'm so stupid! I wonder what he thinks of me now.

In order to reduce the impatience in his eyes, I clear my throat and clutch to my hanfu still seated. "It's a habit. A'Ying always took care of me anytime I got hurt while playing. In order to tease her, I'd keep one eye open."

"I'm not-"

"I know you're not her. But you're still as important to me as her. You're my shifu and sword holder. You'll always be by my side, right?"

My last words seem to get to him. He remains immobile for a moment and suddenly stands up. "S-Shifu, if I wasn't struck with the poison, would you still be wary and treat me in the same manner?"

Standing still in front of me, my question is answered with silence. I fall back against the wall biting my lips.

"I grew up alone without my parents. Zhen Lan was my close friend but he's been hooked up with duties of a general and never spent much time with me. For A'Ying, no matter how much I try to get closer to her, the difference in status makes her wary of getting close to me. Duke Wei has taken up the throne on my behalf and also always busy. In the palace, I'm recognized as a future empress only by name with no achievements."

I pause to take a deep breath and luckily he didn't walk out on me. I walk up to him with a light smile. "I'm not asking for much and talking to you as a commoner who needs the support of those around her. Will your perspective about me change if I make it as a ruler?"

"Of what importance is my perspective on that?"

My hands fall beside me as I think about how to answer his question. I hadn't thought much about why getting his approval was so important to me. Was it because he's my shifu or sword holder?

"In the realm of a ruler, your subjects are more important. You don't need others or my perspective."

"I do! Because you're-"

I run out of my voice and the will to speak when he turns to me. Looking into his eyes, my lips seal, unwilling to yield.

Her eyes flinch with her shaking legs while she remains unstable watching his every move. The tip of her sword sticks to A'Ying's throat when she attempts to speak. Over an eerie surrounding looking forward to a busy road ahead, Mo Yan lifts his hands in the air in defeat.

"Hold your horses, don't hurt her! I won't move. See?" She didn't seem convinced with just his hands in the air. Looking over his hanfu, she traces his hands moving closer to his chest. "Whatever that is, drop it."

Watching his clumsy moves, A'Ying heaves a sigh and closes her eyes in shock. Was he that stupid even in such a situation? As they stand helplessly in thoughts, three strangers on horses rush over from the desert road the two used earlier.

Looking at their dressing mode, they didn't look like commoners from Ming State. The emblem on their horses struck Mo Yan's eyes. Shutting his eyes, a series of the similar design run through his mind, just like he had seen it before during his early childhood.

A'Ying takes advantage of her distraction and knocks her out, turning to Mo Yan. "W-Who are they?" A'Ying tearing her gaze from the lady lying on the floor sighs. "Princes of Great Wei. They're here earlier than expected."

His eyes waver in silence while the picture of the design keeps brushes through his mind. Was he from Wei? Why does their emblem seem too familiar?

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