32 Prince Xiao

Although the young man did not say the last part of the proverb, Chu Yu knew what would happen without even activating a single cell in her brain: "Now a wasted talent".

She was sure of it now. The young man in blue must have known Princess Shan Yin in the past, or maybe he was in an unfavorable situation of some sort.

Looking at the young man's retreating back, Chu Yu thought to herself with a little ill intention, 'What has he gone through? Well, what else could he lose when it comes to Princess Shan Yin?'

After his failed attempts of calling the young man back, Pei Shu walked to Chu Yu in embarrassment and said, "Brother Zi Chu, although Brother Xiao isn't sociable, he's a reasonable person. Did you offend him in the past?"

Chu Yu shrugged and smiled like she could not care less. "Who knew? I might have or not. I've forgotten."

Seeing that he could not get anything out of Chu Yu, Pei Shu proceeded to apologize to the rest. The poetry recital had lost half of its fun without anyone playing music. Meanwhile, some of them came to talk to Huan Yuan and left after a while.

Although the young man in blue seemed to be in a world of his own, his influence on the poetry society surprised Chu Yu. Just like these people before her who admired Huan Yuan's talent, something seemed to be bothering them, so they were unwilling to talk much and departed after introducing themselves.

The crowded mountaintop became empty instantly after the people left one after another. There were only a few of them left. Wang Yizhi stood up slowly and walked casually to Huan Yuan. As he studied him and smiled lightly, he then turned to Chu Yu and said after a chuckle, "Interesting."

Chu Yu asked while raising her brow, "What do you mean by that?"

Wang Yizhi laughed out loud. "If you're asking me, who do I ask?" He turned around suddenly and strode down the mountain in large steps.

Pei Shu was the last to leave. He stared at Chu Yu and said after a long pause, "Brother Zi Chu, I'm making a move."

Chu Yu smiled lightly. "Sure." Seeing that Pei Shu was leaving, she recalled something and asked, "You mentioned a prince the last time. Why didn't I see him? Which one was he?"

Pei Shu opened his eyes wide in shock and sighed after a moment. "I believe you've really forgotten. Brother Xiao, who left because of you, is Prince Xiao Bie." He left with another loud sigh.

Standing aside, Yue Jiefei was relieved and took out the cloth pieces rolled in his ears. 'It's finally over.' 

***

The breeze blew gently.

Rong Zhi stood up and spoke after placing the last game piece that concluded the game, "It's almost time."

***

As people left the event in a rush, nobody put the low tables and cushions away. Chu Yu had gotten Yue Jiefei to bring the low table with food that was next to her to the pavilion.

She sat in the pavilion, inhaling the rather strong mountain breeze that was blowing at her as she enjoyed the view of the blossoming city and its mesmerizing beauty.

She indulged in the scenery for a little while before she felt her sleeve being tugged on softly. Without having to turn her head, she knew it was Liu Sang. Only he would do that to get her attention.

A growl came from behind her. Chu Yu turned in surprise upon hearing that sound to determine whether it came from Liu Sang's tummy. She just recalled she had been eating all the food while the rest had not eaten at all.

Subconsciously, she thought Liu Sang and the rest would eat if they were hungry. However, she forgot about the identity and relationship of this body that she inherited had with them. Without her permission, none of them would do as they wished.

She pushed the plate of food to Liu Sang and said while beaming, "Take it if you're hungry." Though gentle, there was a coldness in her voice that even she did not realize.

However, Liu Sang sensed that. Instead of grabbing the food, he gazed at Chu Yu. "Are you sad, Princess? We should go back if you're unhappy here." He recalled what happened all of a sudden. "Did those people upset you?"

Chu Yu smiled and patted his head. "Who are those people even to make me upset?" She smiled lightly and looked far away into the endless blue sky.

So what if she was Princess Shan Yin now? What did the people's judgment have anything to do with her?

Huan Yuan stood where he was and watched Chu Yu when she spoke. He was surprised to see the calmness in this elegant lady's eyes. It was grace that he had never seen before.

Just when Chu Yu was going to say something, someone yanked her hard and pushed her aside. Subsequently, she heard Liu Sang's exclamation as his tone changed almost completely. "Be careful!"

A loud and sharp crash came from the collision of weapons.

Chu Yu staggered a few steps back and stood next to Huan Yuan who was standing in a corner. She clung onto the railing of the pavilion and was surprised to see a few people outside the pavilion. They were large and tall with agile movement. They were wearing hats and straw capes on their bodies. None of them knew when they lurked on the mountain.

Most importantly, they had longswords in their hands. Their identity was revealed instantly. They were assassins!

There were a total of five of them dressed in matching attires. Three of them surrounded Yue Jiefei while the other two passed him. They were going after Chu Yu who was in the pavilion.

As the bright sword tip approached, the air turned from chilly to deadly.

Chu Yu could not react in time. All of a sudden, Liu Sang arrived before her in a flash and pulled out a short sword from his sleeve immediately. He defended her from the people who were coming at her. Liu Sang was the one who had pulled her away from the middle of the pavilion, pushing her to a rather secluded corner.

Noticing that Liu Sang was young, the duo were brandishing their swords simply without giving him much attention. As two swords collided, Liu Sang shook his wrist and swung his sword at the person accurately, so the person had to step backward. The person's partner blocked Liu Sang's sword and prevented a bloodbath.

The two assassins were surprised to see that. They looked at each other and swung their swords again. They did not dare to underestimate Liu Sang this time.

Although Liu Sang had excellent swordsmanship, he lacked experience after all. After a few rounds of fighting, he revealed his weakness while one of the assassins passed him and headed towards where Huan Yuan and Chu Yu were.

***

"Almost time for what?" Mo Xiang asked casually after noticing Rong Zhi seemed to be in a jovial mood.

Rong Zhi revealed a smile at the edge of his lips while his eyes were unfathomable like the ocean. "Something to do with…assassins."