When I open my eyes after witnessing the shameless things I had done the night before, I am only too willing and glad to do some physical exertion to dispel the residual energy that the scene had left behind.

When we reach our destination: the tunnel we were supposed to be working on, the guards remove our blindfolds.

All around me, I find men hard at work with armed guards supervising them. I am pulled out of my reprieve when one of the guards who had accompanied us shoves me forward, "Move." He orders, gesturing me to go to a man who was sitting at the corner with a pile of parchments stacked up in front of him.

After we have submitted our temporary permits to the man, we are guided towards a relatively secluded corner and ordered to dig.

The supervisor in charge holds his hand out and shows us a rock with black crystal-like spikes growing out of it. "This is what you are looking for; if you come across any, give us a shout. Don't try to flick it. It's worthless to you. I am sure you don't want to lose your life for a worthless piece of rock."

After he leaves, not wanting to court trouble, we get to work. As we break rocks and pile them at the side, I try to see if there was a way I could gather more information about this project. To my disappointment, however, every time I try to approach someone, they moved away. The few times that I did manage to get a few words out, however, I am reprimanded with a whip across my back.

Of course, Zhan ge had tried to come to my rescue, but it had not helped. After the third time he had tried to stand up for me, he too was whipped. I had almost lost my cool at the time. The only thing that had stopped me was Weredra's words that had invaded my mind, 'Endure, or you will blow your cover and get Senior gege in more trouble. I couldn't see where they took you; I can't help you.'

It is only after her warning that I come back to my senses. Realizing that to attack them now would help no one, I help Zhan up. I mouth him an apology; he nods, and we get back to work. The rest of the day turns out to be uneventful.

When we return, we are exhausted, sweaty, and covered in soot. Side-eyeing Zhan, I wonder how he still managed to look hot - like hellfire - even now, under all that grime.

I want to take a hot bath. It's the comfort I miss most about not being royalty anymore.

Sigh.

"We need to bathe," Zhan mutters, as if reading my mind and drags me towards the back of Lung Mansion.

"Where are you taking me, Zhan ge?" I enquire, falling in step with him.

"To get us cleaned." He replies, "It's a place Luo showed us in the morning. The common folk come here to bathe." He adds, smiling brightly.

Does he expect us to bathe together!?

How preposterous!?

My mind races to think of ways to get out of the situation, but before I can come up with something, Zhan stops, "We are here." He announces, looking proud.

It's a bath area, the kind I had seen the palace servants use when I had sneaked out of the palace on rare occasions. This one, however, was humbler.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhan asks, dragging me out of my musings.

I shake my head, "You go ahead. I am fine."

"YiJun, you are covered in dirt. There is no way you will be allowed inside like this."

The mention of sleep brings images of me all but molesting Zhan to my mind; it stirs my heart and body.

Fuck!

There was no way I was going to let Zhan see me like this. I turn around, "Zhan ge, you go on ahead, I will bring the change of clothes." I offer, and without waiting for his reply, bolt from the site.

I find our clothes neatly piled outside the wash area and take my time picking up each piece of garment.

When I return, the enchanting sight of Zhan's naked muscular back greets me. Staying out of his line of view, I watch him scrub himself. I aver my gaze when he steps out; keeping my eyes lowered, I approach him. I hand over the wipe cloth and placing his change of clothes on one of the benches before turning away.

"Where are you going again?" Zhan questions, tuning me around to face him.

"Giving you privacy," I reply sincerely, without meeting his eyes.

He tilts my head up, "YiJun, are you perhaps shy?"

Yes. Absolutely. "No. Ha! What gave you that idea?"

"Then why are you trying to run away like a shy lady?" He asks and waits for me to respond.

What can I say? He was absolutely right. Maybe I should have wished for courage in this department too, when asking for my wishes.

When I don't respond, he presses on, "Did you perhaps remember," He starts hesitantly but shakes his head, "I will leave first." He states and picks up his clothes. "I will change first... Give me a minute."

It is after he has taken a few steps away from me when my brain comes back online, "Thank you, Zhan. I am sorry for behaving so strangely. It's just that I am very insecure about my body." That's a fucking lie, but he doesn't have to know that. I am fighting fit, after all.

He quirks his brow, "Oh. That's fine." He smiles, and placing his hands over my shoulders, catches my eyes, "You shouldn't think like that. From what I have observed, you are an amazing man, and anyone would be lucky to have you."

His words make me feel like an ass. I nod. "Thank you, Zhan ge. I will keep that in mind." I reply, and with a pat on my back, he changes and leaves.

After taking a bath, I go looking for Lung Chi. Fortunately, I don't have to search for long. I find him leering at Bai Luo, who is cleaning the furniture once again in nothing but his undershirt. At this point, I am beginning to think that the robes are perhaps his uniform, poor fellow.

I tie the mask around my face and go to Lung Chi's side. I bow, "We have returned, Master."

He gives me a nod and waves his hand as if I was nothing more than an irritating fly. But when I don't leave, he sighs, "What is it?"

"Master, there is only one bed in our quarter... " I start slowly but am rudely interrupted, "Just be thankful for what I am providing! I am giving you a roof over your head. That itself is generous of me!"

"I understand that, Master. But our Meimei, "

"The child can sleep with the other maids! I can't spare any more beds!" He barks.

Under no circumstance was I going to let Weredra out of my sight. She may be a mythical creature, but I did not trust this man and his motives, "That won't be necessary, Master. We will make do." I bow once again and leave.

The reason I had even bothered to bring the bed situation up with him was because though I knew that Weredra probably did not require a bed, Zhan was bound to notice it sooner or later. It won't take him long to figure out that there was no way three of us could fit on that bed, in which case, I knew that he would offer to take the floor, letting us sleep on the bed. I did not want that, so I had decided on this course of action. It was a different matter that it had not helped.

When I enter our room, I find Weredra and Zhan in an animated conversation.

Zhan looks at me questioningly, and I shake my head and join them. I get to point immediately, "Weredra, where did you sleep last night?"

Zhan's head snaps up; his brows knit. Guilt floods his usually calm countenance.

Weredra blinks, confused. But it is gone a moment later, replaced by a sweet smile, "I slept on the quilt."

She goes to the cot and pulls out a small mattress from underneath it. "Here." She points at it, "It is small. But more than enough for me."

"When," Zhan is about to ask, but she beats him to it, "Brother Luo brought it for me last night. He told me not to mention it to Master."

Bless the boy. I make a mental note to return the favor.

"I am sorry, Meimei, I should have thought about it, but I don't even remember falling asleep," Zhan mutters. Heat rises to his cheeks. "Anyway, I am glad that you did not spend the night on the floor."

I nod, agreeing with him, "I am sorry as well."

Weredra shrugs, "That's fine. You guys must be tired and hungry; let's go to the kitchen." She suggests, and we proceed to do just that.

Zhan is the first to fall asleep (with a little help from Weredra) like the night before. With Zhan asleep, I leave the quarter through the magical window to fight crime and be a hero.

Over the next weeks, we settle into a routine of sorts. I work with Zhan in the tunnel during the day and help people in need during the night. After the debacle on the first day, I had learned my lesson. I was more patient now, assessing the situation before intervening.

"You need to make your presence felt. Give courage and hope to people. You can only do this if they know and trust you." Weredra had explained.

Then we had gone on to formulate a plan. We had decided that I was to go on these nightly adventures first to the outer villages and make my way towards the inner-city and finally into the palace.

Within three weeks, I had managed to gather a lot of information and made a name for myself as well. The people had begun to address me as the masked vigilante, the masked hero, the masked savior, etc.

Was I happy? Hell yes! But was I satisfied? No, I wasn't. Though I had helped a lot of people, it felt like I was missing the bigger picture. I had concluded that my people were facing three concerning issues. Firstly, they were starving. Secondly, most families had at least one family member working in the tunnels, and though they were discontent, no one wanted to speak out.

Lastly, I had come to know that my uncle had ordered the grains and other agricultural products (that should have filled the stomachs of those starving in my kingdom) sent to the famine struck neighboring kingdoms.

Since when had uncle been so generous!?

All in all, something very fishy was going on, and I still had no idea what it was all about.

On the other hand, after my shameless behavior on the first night, I had taken to sleeping with my head towards Zhan's feet. Though it pained me not to be able to gaze at him to my heart's content, I knew that if I didn't, I would only get greedier. Neither did I trust my body, nor did I trust my heart. I knew that soon stealing kisses won't be enough. My attraction towards the man had only grown, and I did not want to make him uncomfortable. I needed him by my side. I did not want him to end up despising me.

Though our life wasn't ideal or by any means comfortable, I was happier than I had ever been.

{Word count: 1990}