Chapter 4 - The Shadows Lurk

"Hey, have you heard? Her holiness was given a title by the emperor! She's a member of the royal family now too! A princess!"

"Then it means she has the royal family's backing now? That's a relief!"

"You're totally right! The Lan family has declined after the war a hundred years ago, but it seems that the heavens has not forgotten their great deeds! Even gifting them the child of heaven and now even the backing of the royal family!"

"Then does that mean that rumor that the royal family and the holy church were not in good terms was actually a just a rumor?"

"It seems so. If not, they wouldn't let her holiness anywhere near the royal family."

Amidst the gossiping people, a man whined.

"This is unacceptable!" The man hit the table so loudly that everyone turned to look at them. "We, holy knights, have not even seen her holiness and yet she has become a member of the royal family?! The royal family has seen her before us?! Unacceptaaaaaaable!"

"Old man, you're drunk," a ten-year-old boy deadpanned as he stared at his pathetic master. The old man was the commander of the holy knights and the boy was his apprentice. The old man has been complaining for days, but it's not like he can do anything.

"I want to see her holiness too! Yukhei, your master is just pitiful!"

[Yes, I know. It's quite obvious.] The boy thought as he rolled his eyes.

The people around them chuckled. What an unlucky person to not have his eyes blessed with the fortune of seeing the child of heaven.

"Then stop taking so much jobs from the holy church. That's why you always miss her holiness when she passes by the market," Yukhei said as he shook his head.

"Did you see her holiness yesterday, Yukhei?! How did she look like?! Did the clouds open and the lights shine down on her?!"

"Of course," Yukhei said with a smirk. "Poor old man. How unfortunate of you."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

In truth, the boy has also yet to see the child of heaven and he also did he have any interest in seeing her. He just wanted to tease his pathetic master and make him cry.

"It's her holiness! Her holiness is passing by!" The people started running towards the road to see the child of heaven passing by.

"Her holiness?!" The old man wobbled as he stood up.

"Old man! Don't stand up so suddenly! You're going to fall!" The exasperated boy yelled after him.

Instead of her usual carriage, Lan Wei Qi was walking alongside Luo Luo, Si Cheng and two new guards that they have not seen before. They seem to be two of the ones assigned by the royal family to protect her.

"Your holiness!"

The sea of people suddenly parted and an old man being followed by a boy came through.

"Old man, you're embarrassing! I told you you're drunk and need to go home!"

"Greetings to her holiness!" The old man knelt on one knee. "This old man apologizes for showing her holiness such an unsightly view. I only wanted to see her holiness once."

The boy looked up only to be frozen. The girl was staring at them with big innocent eyes. Moreover, those innocent eyes held the entire night sky within them. He was rooted to his position.

"These lowly ones greet the commander of the holy knights," the guards knelt.

"Huh? Grandpa, why is your face so red? Are you sick?" Lan Wei Qi asked in worry.

[G- Grandpa...] The old man thought sadly. [I thought I would at least be uncle, but I am a grandpa in her holiness' eyes...]

"Pfft! HAHAHAHAHA!" the boy burst put laughing.

"Huh? Why are you laughing? Your grandfather is sick," she said as her brows furrowed for a bit.

"Who is my grandfather?" Yukhei asked as he raised his brow. "I don't have any relatives. They're all dead. This old man is my master- Ow!"

"Don't talk to her highness so informally, you fool," the old commander said after he knocked the top of his head. "Your holiness, we have embarrassed ourselves too much. We have to leave."

"Wait!" She called them. "What are your names?"

"My name is Bai Feng and this is my apprentice that I take care of, Wang Yukhei," the old man replied.

"Huh? So you do have family," Lan Wei Qi blinked her eyes innocently. "You have someone who takes care of you, right? Isn't that family?"

The boy stood frozen on his feet. He watched as the girl no older than five, leave after imparting such beautiful words.

"Old man?"

"What?"

"I like her."

"Right? Everyone likes her holiness."

"That's not- sigh. Why do I even bother? One minute you're sober but now you're drunk again. Let's go back!"

---

"This is your Xui Ying residence, your holiness," Luo Luo said as they led her inside. "We have cleaned everything and furnished it to your taste."

"Luo Luo, it's huge!" Lan Wei Qi exclaimed as she abandoned her shoes, along with her inhibitions, and ran wild.

"Your holiness..." Luo Luo said with an exasperated sigh. She no longer ran after her and let the new servants do it. It would seem that this is the young miss' favorite past time.

"Luo'er," Si Cheng called her.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she saw the frown upon his face.

"Just today, we saw a few men behind us. I and the other guards were suspicious so we went here which is closer and safer with many servants and guards. If we had went back to the Lan manor, we would have been attacked on the way." He explained the situation to her on the side.

"Luo Luo, Cheng-ge, is there something wrong?" Lan Wei Qi stopped from running around the room. She noticed how serious they were and became worried.

"Your holiness," they paused. "There are dangerous people again."

"They want Wei Qi's power again?" She asked as one of the servants put on her shoes and another wiped off her sweat.

"... Yes."

"Your holiness, I will lead you to your pavilion. We have to stay there until daybreak," Luo Luo explained to her. "Quickly prepare a meal for us with enough tea and water. Once we lock the doors to her holiness' chamber, no one is to come out!"

Once the meal was cooked, a small bowl was passed to every guard so they could watch while they eat and they made sure to eat quickly. Fire was lit everywhere and the guards held both a torch and sword. Even before the sun has set, the Lan manor was lit up brightly.

The servants all gathered inside Lan Wei Qi's chamber. They sat around in a circle as they passed around the food. Lan Wei Qi sat among them, but she had a table.

"Is- is it alright to sit with her holiness and eat?" one of the servants asked.

"Oh, yes. Please eat comfortably," Luo Luo said with a smile.

"Senior sister, what are we hiding from?" Another one asked as she looked around. "The place is awfully quiet. There seems to be no threat."

"The threat is unlike what you are thinking," Luo Luo said as she wiped her young miss' cheeks. "Once in a while, shadows lurk around her holiness, waiting to strike. For the previous children of heaven, they aimed to kill them. Now, however, their goal is to capture her holiness for her powers. That is why every night, the Lan manor is lit with magic lanterns. We had to rush for the sun is setting so we went here her holiness' manor."

"Shadows?"

"Yes, shadows. That is why every servant and guard is told to watch their surroundings carefully and report when they see a suspicious person or a shadow without any-thing casting it."

"One time, a shadow caught Wei Qi's leg and I started turning black!" Lan Wei Qi stood up and started narrating one of her experiences compelete with actions and everything. "But my Wangji gege and Cheng-ge arrived and saved me! They were like woosh! And shiiiiiiing! My gege is the best!"

The servants smiled and laughed at her cuteness, but one could not deny the worried looks on their faces. If the shadows were fully able to consume her, what would happen to her holiness?

"There! I saw it!"

The shouts of the soldiers filled the night and the people inside the chamber fell silent as they ate their meal. The ground would tremble the walls would rattle, but they continued eating quietly.

It was until an explosion happened.

"Yukhei! Watch the explosion! You might blow the walls away!"

"Yes, yes, whatever."

"Protect her holiness!"