24 Disposed (1)

"The Prince of Jin," I half-whispered to myself, the words slipping out from my lips before I could catch them. They seemed to linger in the still night air, weighing down on themselves and indirectly crushing me.

My to-be-husband was supposed to be my only hope of support in this unknown kingdom, but yet, he didn't want to take me as his wife.

Brushing my fingers over the emblem once more, I tucked it into my robes. If it fell into the wrong hands, the Prince of Jin would be ruined, his future carved instead by empty gossip and scandals.

I couldn't let him hate me. Nor could I let him fall. At least, not yet.

But now was not the time to ponder over the future. After all, if morning came with this corpse in my room, there would be no future.

Then again, how was I supposed to hide the corpse when there were guards standing at attention around the entire inn? Sure, we were at a border town establishment, more of a makeshift rural campsite developed over the years by passing merchants instead of a formal city with walls and fortification, but what would happen even after we brought the body out?

My gaze frantically dashed around the room for any potential tools, only to finally land on the maid once more.

"From the way you handled him so calmly, it seems that you are not unfamiliar with death," I looked at her, sensing her hidden indifference. Apart from the slight tremor in her lips, the meekness that initially stood out was replaced by a strange sense of determination as if her world had suddenly shifted into focus.

If anything, beneath her harmless and gentle appearance, she was much more at peace with death on the inside than I was.

She dodged the question, replying with "Your Highness was asleep, but when Your Humble Servant was sent out to collect water, she did so at a neighboring river," she gestured behind her. "It is not far from here but hides behind the bushes."

Her response was calculated, an easy answer to my dilemma and another reason for me to rely on and trust her. Perhaps she had alternative motives, but at this moment, I had little choice other than to believe that she was trying to help me.

"Do you know when the guards shift posts?" I asked, running through ways to create a diversion and slip through during the time when their vision on me was weakest.

She shook her head no. But almost immediately, she looked up with wide eyes, and it was as if a spark of realization lit up. "When Your Humble Servant came, the Sui soldiers were drinking. The ones posted by the door didn't even look when Your Humble Servant passed by them."

"Is there no one posted by the door?" I was incredulous, finding it strange at best that the Sui soldiers would all conveniently disappear in a night such as this one. Then again, it would explain how the Chen man was able to slip into the room in the first place.

She paused briefly, recollecting her thoughts, before firmly shaking her head. "Your Humble Servant is certain that she did not see anyone by the door."

Once more, I took her word as genuine. We had to seize this opportunity before it passed. Whether it be a trap or a saving grace, if we stayed put, the final verdict would be a losing one.

Taking a deep breath, I neared the bed once more and hesitantly reached for the corpse. His dead eyes peered into the most bottomless pits of my soul. I wasn't ready before, but I couldn't afford to believe the maid's doing wholeheartedly either.

I brushed my hands over his eyes, not wanting to see his blank stare any longer.

Intrinsically, when my fingers touched his flesh, they sprang back a little. His skin was still elastic, almost as if death hadn't caught up to him yet. The disgusting scenes from before replayed in my mind, and it seemed as if he could spring at me in the next moment.

Yet, I willed myself to continue to check that the maid had indeed found every bit of potentially identifying information on him. Finally, I removed the needle from his neck, gingerly plucking it so that it didn't draw blood. Even so, glancing at the glistening silver, invisible spots of crimson bled onto my fingertips, staining them permanently.

"Help me wrap him up," I commanded softly, not wanting to see his face any longer. Although his eyes were now closed, they seemed to be forced shut as if they could blink open again at any moment and catch me by horrifying surprise.

Hastily, we wrapped the reed bedsheet around him, fastening the sheet with simple knots to disguise him. This disguise would have never passed by any guards if they were sober, but if what the maid said was true, then perhaps we could slip by undetected.

I glanced downward at my gown, realizing that I would be immediately identified if there happened to be a single guard. "Do you have spare clothes?" I asked.

"The more nondescript, the better," I added.

She nodded, and I willed her to go forth. Opening the door with a sliver, she poked her head out before slipping out and closing the door softly behind her.

The room temperature suddenly dropped, and with the increasing realization that I was alone with a corpse, one that I killed at that, an air of uncertainty plagued the room. Every breath I took dragged along shadows and ghouls of the Underworld, and with every blink, these shadows came for me.

Fighting to control my pounding heart, I reminded myself over and over yet again: the fate of Liang depended on me.

Time slipped by, and I became painstakingly aware of each passing moment.

Why wasn't she back already?