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'Please Haoran, I have to do this.'

The young master strode forward, the fabric of his pure white hanfu bellowing in the cool night air, his hair flowing with it. He wore the veil from earlier as well, and had purchased a change of clothes from the city clothing department.

He had told Haoran that he was going to get into the palace, no matter what.

Reluctantly, Haoran had agreed to go back to the Hua Cheng Institute to let Master Cheng know.

So now, he crossed the city of Beijing to get to the far right side of the outer palace gates, determined to go through with his plan.

Under the moonlight, he closely resembled his mother. The warrior that danced with a sword on the hill....the woman that had sacrificed her life for the ones she loved.

He never had the chance to know her in his adult life, and yet, he carried her confidence and determination with him wherever he went.

Though, as he turned a corner, a shadowed figure appeared behind him.

A sharp dagger glinted under the moonlight, brought to the vein of his neck with taunting proximity.

He immediately tensed, his heartbeat quickening.

A woman's voice brushed near his ear, sending a shiver down his spine.

"Who are you...?" She whispered, her voice as steady as the stern grip on her blade.

He gulped, feeling cold sweat bead down his forehead.

"....you first."

The woman was quiet for a moment, before she brought the blade closer.

"I'm a killer. I suggest you comply, or you'll have a bigger problem on your hands."

He shifted under her arm, feeling the sharpness of the blade like an icicle against his neck.

"....do you know Wu Yi-Nuo?" He finally voiced, not wanting to tell her his name.

He felt her grip loosen for a split second, hesitating almost.

"Are you.....Zheng Mingze?"

His eyes widened, sensing his chance. He quickly reached up to grab her arm and squeeze the acupuncture point on her wrist, causing her blade to fall to the floor with a sharp 'clink.', a stark difference to his veil that fluttered down like a flower petal.

When he turned to look at the woman, what he saw surprised him.

She was crying. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her brow furrowed. Upon seeing his face, she nearly came to sobs.

"Hua Yue...." She muttered, reaching up to caress the male's cheek. "You really do look like her....."

He flinched slightly at her touch, stepping back a little.

"Who are you....how do you know my mother?"

The woman froze, pulling her hand back.

"Ah, forgive me. I must have startled you, hm?"

She smiled now, wiping the dampness from her cheeks with her hand as a small chuckle escaped her lips.

"I'll explain everything, but we can't talk here. Come with me."

She reached out, motioning for him to take her hand.

He hesitated, but eventually gave in.

She grasped his hand in her own, giving him a smile before the two disappeared into the night air.

In the blink of an eye, they appeared under the shelter of a stone tea pavilion, somewhere in the mountains where snow flakes glittered under the moonlight.

Mingze glanced around at his surroundings, his mind racing at the sudden change of scenery.

"What is this....how did you do that?" He questioned, his whole body tensed as he pulled his hand from her grasp.

The woman only smiled, bringing her hand back slowly.

"Mingze.....I'll get straight to the point, alright? I am your mother's younger sister....my name is Xiuying."

His expression shifted, surprise lingering in his eyes as she paused, then spoke again.

"That makes you my nephew, and I, your aunt."

His breath quickened, expression wavering as their gazes met.

"...Aunt....." he muttered, brow softening.

"But that's not it." She continued, a sigh escaping her lips. "Me and my sister, your mother....do you know of our origin?"

The Young master cleared his throat and nodded.

"Yes. From what I was told, my mother was a rice farmer...though my father never mentioned you." he explained, earning another sigh from the female.

"Well, your father....wasn't telling you the truth, but that's understandable, considering the circumstances."

His brow furrowed slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Listen closely. I need to explain this before we can go any further with the situation, so i'll start at the beginning, alright?"

He nodded at her words, and she began speaking once more.

"We were cultivators...some of the last remaining of the Fenghuang sect. 24 years ago, your mother was found to have a very special type of Qi....one that could break a seal placed on an artifact. This artifact, known as the Scriptures of Jing, is incredibly dangerous. The seal was broken 5 years after, and that is when your mother and the leader of our sect went missing. A new seal was placed over the tomb housing the artifact, this was done by your father....we still do not know what happened to Hua Yue and the sect leader, but everything began to crumble after that."

She paused, her expression darkening. The male listened quietly, a sense of something similar to fear washing over him.

"...That is where Wu Yi-nuo comes into place..."

He immediately tensed at her words, anticipating an answer with every fiber of his being.

"...A girl born with something placed in her blood...something that brings the safety of the world to rest on her shoulders....but, if in the wrong hands, could mean everyone's destruction..... "

Everything he kept inside him began to bubble up. His emotions, memories of his dear sister, his father....Yi-Nuo....the pain he felt in his heart...everything began to overflow.

"What are you...saying?" he muttered.

He tried his hardest to hold his composure, though his hands began to shake...his vision clouding.

The woman sensed his discomfort, and brought a hand to his shoulder, steadying him.

"Mingze...everything will be alright. Ok? But we need to hurry and find her. And I can't do that without your help, now take this."

She held out a sheathed Jian. It had a jade carved pendant in the shape of a lotus flower hanging from the hilt.

"This was your mother's...I know that you will use it as she would have wanted it to be used, that is why I entrust it to you."

He hesitantly took the heavy blade, feeling the cool metal on his palms.

"Now listen." The woman spoke again, gaining his attention.

"There is only one way we can do this. You see, Wu Yi-Nuo, she carries the key to unlock the artifact, I'll explain more later, but you were born with the same type of Qi as your mother flowing through your veins. Mingze, this is your duty as well. We must help Yi-Nuo to break the seal....and then, using our combined power, we can destroy the scriptures and Yunshen, once and for all."

Mingze swallowed the lump forming in the back of his throat, his gaze shifting to the sheathed blade in his hands.

He grasped the hilt then pulled it, revealing the silver blade.

His reflection shone under the moonlight....

He had spent his whole life studying medicine, all so he could help people who believed themselves to be lost causes. People like his sister....to prevent them from loosing their lives too early.

And now, standing here with this blade in his hands, he felt strange....how could he wield something that could take lives so easily, when his whole goal in life was to prevent death?

A sigh left his lips, and he looked to meet the woman's gaze.

"I...can't use this. I'm sorry, but I'm a healer. I'm not fit to take lives, even if they do belong to the enemy...but I'll still try my hardest to help in whatever way I can. I hope you can understand...."

The woman's expression shifted, before a smile formed quickly.

"So you're a softy, hm? I understand." She laughed, smacking his shoulder playfully. "Of course there are other ways, but you also need to understand that if you want to protect the people you love, there might be a time when this is needed, ok? But for now, I'll keep it."

She gave him a reassuring smile and motioned for the Jian.

He gladly handed it off to her.

"Now," she continued, "We'll rest for the night. First thing in the morning, I'll get you into the palace and we'll stop Yunshen. Plan?"

"But..." The male's brow furrowed slightly, anxiety still coursing through his veins.
"Don't you think we should go as soon as possible? If my Ba...or Yi-Nuo gets hurt because of my negligence, I won't be able to forgive myself."

"We can rest for the night. I have inside knowledge of Yunshen's situation, and he doesn't have any plans for Yi-Nuo until tomorrow. She doesn't even know how to control her Qi yet, so it should be fine to wait until morning."

"But, my Ba-"

"Like I said. I have people on the inside, and I've already assigned someone to look after him for the night."

He felt his shoulders loosen a bit, as he had been unknowingly tensing them. Knowing that someone else at the palace was on their side gave him some relief.

"Alright...." He agreed hesitantly.

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The male's breaths were shallow, his head pounding with immense pain as his eyes slowly opened.

He quickly scanned his surroundings, again, noticing that he was in some sort of shed.

Everything was blurry, but the last thing he remembered was kneeling before a man in red and black, being questioned about Wu Yi-Nuo, and then being knocked out again.
And now, he was here.....in this dark stone shed on the ground, with no knowledge about what had been happening outside.

But suddenly, he heard footsteps. And then the lock on the door jingled, and he scooted back to the cold wall.

As the door opened, a young man peeked inside, his eyes wide with some kind of emotion that the man couldn't quite make out.

"Zheng Haobei?" He spoke quietly, slipping through the door and closing it behind him.

The older man's brow furrowed, but he nodded.

"Yes...why am I here? What's going on?"

The male leaned against the wall, a sigh escaping his lips.

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything." He voiced, "But first, you're going to need to come with me."

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Authors note
Hello! Thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyed my story up to this point, and I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Thanks for the support, everyone!