※ Chapter 10 ※

Yifan's POV »☆●

"Charmaine Sheh hasn't eaten with us since the attack, do any of you have any insight?" Sulli asks as we sit together with the servants and priestesses to eat. Around us, cluster all those whom I've seen last time, mesmerized by Sulli's power like mom. Although Sulli correctly described my past, I'm still skeptical about her. It's not that she's suspicious but I don't believe anyone easily.

"Some priestesses say she has kept to her quarters, though she wouldn't tell them why," mom informs before taking a bite of her food.

"Should we worry?" a servant asks, frowning.

"Never fear a false Daoshi," Sulli sips on her water, "She knows her rule is slipping. She doesn't have the power to follow through on her threats. Now we even have some of the guards with us. We're more powerful than her."

Everyone nods or smiles optimistically. I must admit, the amount of people she managed to earn faith of is actually impressive. For a moment, they all seem fearless, not like fucking cowards like I've known them to be.

As we finish eating and prepare to stand up, Charmaine enters, walking to the front of the room. Everyone falls silent.

Instead of her usual bitchy face, today she looks upset, like she's holding back tears. I don't believe this woman for one fucking second. She's definitely gonna start some type of drama now.

She looks around the room as everyone's attention is drawn to her. Her voice is hoarse as she begins to speak, "I've terrible news everyone. I've been struggling to find a way to say this without causing undue panic."

Though she's addressing the whole room, her eyes are trained on Sulli. Her expression hardens, "An insidious, corrupting presence has infiltrated our temple. That's what caused such a disastrous event in Wuluan."

The people still loyal to her look shocked at this, clustering and whispering among themselves.

"The fight has been long and exhausting, but no more. The temple has been bitten by a serpent and I'll suck the venom from the wound. I'll do whatever it takes," Charmaine stares smugly at Sulli, "Whatever..it..takes.."

I sense something unusual. I look around and my eyes stop behind Sulli's back.

"Behind you," I shout a warning and move mom aside.

She turns to see a fucking asp only inches from her leg. Everyone nearby shrieks and scurries away from the asp, but she stays motionless.

Charmaine laughs, "Move and she'll strike. Stay still and she'll take her time until you move. Farewell, Sulli. I hope your death is slow."

Sulli stares blankly at the asp, at first completely expressionless, then concentrating, finally she smiles.

"I welcome you. Come to me," she says softly looking at the asp.

What the fuck is wrong with her?

Charmaine frowns, "Crazy woman, your fantasies have blinded you. A snake is a snake. And it'll bite you."

She ignores Charmaine and fucking bends down towards the asp. She extends her hands toward the asp. The asp begins to wind its way around her.

"Your plan failed. Your Sulli is dying," I whisper to mom. I can see the life drowning out from her face. I hold her closer to comfort her.

The serpent coils around her body, crawling closer to her face. She stays motionless as the asp winds up to her shoulder. Hesitantly, she glances at it slowly..

..and the asp bows its head in deference.

It's very rare for anything to shock me. And I'm fucking speechless about what I've just witnessed happening.

"..What? But how!" Charmaine gasps.

"You're truly lost if you really need me to answer that question," Sulli says calmly.

"It's a miracle!" mom exclaims.

"It's blind luck," Charmaine growls.

"Is it?" she grins as she strokes the back of the asp's head and it leans into her touch.

"Blasphemer!" Charmaine steps toward her, fist balled but backs off as the asp hisses at her.

Sulli smiles gently, "Careful, her bites are deadly."

"You-" Charmaine points a finger at Sulli but realizes she doesn't have anything left to defend herself. It's clear in her eyes that she's scared of Sulli now. She pivots on her heels and storms off. The room is left in a stunned silence.

Sulli looks around the room, gazing at everyone's shocked faces, "Don't just stand here! The day is falling. Prepare for xiudao."

Everyone looks at each other then back to the asp on her shoulder. None dares to step closer. But their hearts are full of curiosity. A small murmur breaks out but they eventually begin to leave.

I lean close to mom to ask, "Are they also scared of her now?"

Mom shakes her head, "They're only stunned. Their faith towards Sulli has gotten stronger now that she proved before everyone that she's truly blessed with special abilities."

"That's good," I say, "She can gather the people then."

"She definitely can. Don't you worry about it. Now let's go," mom tugs my sleeves, gesturing me to the exit, and walks away to prepare the temple for Xiudao.

As everyone leaves, I approach Sulli. She's trying to conversate with the asp. As I stand before her, she looks up to me.

"You're not afraid of the asp?" she raises an eyebrow.

"I'm not afraid of anything," I announce.

She grins, "Do you still doubt me?"

I frown, how does she know about my doubts?

"I've seen it in your eyes the first time we met. You've doubted me. Do you still feel the same?" she asks.

"If you can see so much, why don't you tell me?" I shrug.

She smiles, "You trust me now. That's why you came here to ask me for a favour."

"We do need your assistance. But mom's gonna fill you in about that," I look around and drop my voice, "But I need you to help me with something else. And you can't tell anyone about it, not even mom. It's not a request. It's a statement. You're gonna fucking regret if you do so."

Sulli smiles, "Your secret is safe with me."

I frown. The way she words it feels odd.

I trail off, hesitating for a moment, "I need to know about a girl."

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My favourite state of mind is when I'm alone. To me, it's not a bad thing. It gives me time to learn about myself, to sort out the messy thoughts that drive me insane.

Whether you feel most alone lying in a bed in a dark room or walking through a forest, being in that state allows for almost completely unhindered reflection upon one's self. For me, I feel the most alone when I sit by the river.

A river is a river, always there, and yet the water flowing through it, is never the same water and is never still. It's always changing and is always on the move. And over time, the river itself changes too. It widens and deepens as it rubs and scours, gnaws and kneads, eats and bores its way through the land. But maybe there's a point in eternity that the same water meets the shore again.

It makes me feel that even though everything changes with time, some things will always find its way back to where it belongs, even if it takes eternity.

As the sun began to set, the sky became a beautiful painting with many variations of pinks, yellows, and blues.

I've been sitting on this spot, next to this glimmering river in this golden hour, which was in all actuality, not that far away from others, but it still gave me this sense of loneliness. I've been spending prolonged periods of time in this state, questioning a multitude of things. But most of all, the one person living in my head rent free, and I still don't know what she looks like.

"What's that?"

Tao's sudden voice rings in the silence, catching me off-guard.

I turn around to glare at him, "How many times did I tell you to not come here when I'm here alone?"

He smiles and sits next to me, "I'm sorry. I couldn't find you anywhere so I wanted to check if you're here."

His eyes fall on the parchment in my hand again, "You're drawing eyes?"

Before I can respond to him, he grabs the parchment from my hands. I fucking hate this habit of him.

"Who's it?" he asks excitedly, analyzing the portrait of a pair the eyes, "Is it the Princess? It looks like her."

"Weird, must be a coincidence," I shrug, "It's imaginative."

"Oh," he looks up, searching something in my eyes before returning the parchment, "This is beautiful, though. I don't understand

why you act like you can't draw."

"Cause I can't. Her eyes are prettier," I say, only to realize what I've said a minute later.

Fuck, why can't I ever lie properly?

"Got you," he smirks, "I could sense you're hiding something from me. Although you always hide your problems. But I know you wanna talk about it."

I look away, glancing at the sky. The last golden ray is gone. The sky is fully black now.

"Tell me what happened. Did you meet her? I bet you met her. You were suddenly off track during the war," he blurts out. I fill him in with everything that happened, me helping her escape, possibility of her being alive, what I told Sulli.

He nods, "And what did Sulli say?"

"She asked me to come tomorrow. She said something about taking me somewhere with her and then I'll probably find some answers," I shrug, "You've seen her without veil right?"

"I have, but I didn't really get a proper view. I forgot what she looked like," he says.

"How the fuck can you just forget what she looked like when I've only seen her eyes and I can't fucking sleep because of them? That's unfair," I groan.

"Calm down brother," he laughs, "I'll try to find a portrait or something of her."

"Good," I hiss, "Now leave me alone."

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I awake with a dull pain underlying the numbness in my right arm. I'm enveloped by the stench of fallen purple leaves. Even before I open my eyes I know I'm not at home. The air is heavy and damp, pressing against my skin like a clammy shroud.

When I decide to open my eyes, my vision is sleep-blurred and untrustworthy. I try to rub away the sleep fogging my vision with the fingers of my left hand, and while I do so, I realize I'm by the river. I didn't go home last night. I fell asleep stargazing.

After getting in my senses, I look next to me, the parchment of my sketch is still there. I tug it inside my armor and stand up, leaving for the castle.

Today is much calmer than yesterday. The pale blue sky is floating with white clouds, the gentle breeze is blowing the leaves beside the road, and everything is not mixed with human breath. Everything is pure and refreshing. By the time I reach the castle, I feel the grogginess fade away.

Chanyeol smiles as soon as he sees me approach.

"Oyshi has news," he informs me subtly as I enter the gate, making sure the Wangluan guard doesn't hear him.

I head directly towards the pantry instead of the ampitheater, Oyshi is waiting there for me.

I look around to make sure no one's listening,

"Found out something?"

"It's big! King Wang has left, taken most of the army with him, all but an elite group of soldiers."

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•Flashback:

Oyshi follows the other servants into the banquet hall. Soldiers line in the wall, standing at attention. And at the center, Prince Karry and his bodyguard is sitting at a long banquet table.

"About time! Any later and I'd be visiting the kitchen with my carving knife," Prince Karry growls.

"Apologies, m'lord," Oyshi mutters.

Across them, sits the woman from earlier. And at the head of the table, King Wang presides, "As I was saying, after speaking at length with Suzy, I've made my decision."

"Your majesty, is it wise to discuss things of this nature in front of the servants?" Suzy glances at Oyshi and the servants next to her.

"I assure you, they're perfectly subdued. We've beaten the fight outta them," Prince Karry smirks.

"Luckily this is easy to demonstrate," King Wang's eyes fall on Oyshi, "You, come here."

Oyshi hesitantly takes a step forward, "Yes, your majesty?"

"What do you know about Thunder Empire?" he asks.

Oyshi pretends to think for a moment, frowning, "Don't they control the weather? Make thunderstorms and rain and all."

"That says it all," King Wang smiles smugly, "Satisfied, Suzy?"

Suzy frowns in disappointment, "I don't know if I've ever heard anyone more misinformed."

Prince Karry laughs, "She might as well be a furniture in the room."

That fooled them quite good.

"So, back to what I was saying, I'll be sailing west tonight," King Wang states.

"We're going to war?" Prince Karry asks.

"You won't be going. You'll remain here," King Wang glares at him.

"What! Why? There's no glory staying here! I should be cutting down our enemies like my brothers," Prince Karry groans.

"I'm entrusting you to the heart of our throne. Don't make me regret it," King Wang growls, "Suzy, you'll stay here as well."

Suzy frowns, "But my King, my place is at your side, as it's always been!"

"We must hold China. Does no one understand that?" King Wang glares around the room. Everyone falls silent.

He turns to Suzy, "You'll serve me best here. I'm leaving behind a contingency of my most elite troops for you to command, along with all Wuluan soldiers."

He addresses everyone at the table, "My word is final. I ride tonight."

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"That means it's the perfect scope to escape," I say.

"Even better, I know a man down in the dungeons who can get us a poison designed to take out fifty men. We could poison the soldiers camping outside. I'm pretty sure soldiers aren't lucky enough to have personal tasters," she squeals.

"You'll do it? Because it means you'll have to sneak outside the castle," I tell her.

"Since when you're so considerate?" she laughs, "I owe you, sir."

"Do you wanna escape?" I ask abruptly.

Her eyes go wide, "You'll...take me?"

"Every person they lose makes them more powerless. We could take trustworthy servants and guards. You know everyone, right? It'll be easy for you to figure out who to trust," I shrug.

"Will Marshall permit?" she frowns.

"I'll talk to him about it. He has to. I suggested this idea at first place," I look at her, "Now tell me. Do you wanna go?"

"Of course!" she squeals in excitement, "That's very kind of you."

I roll my eyes, "Go inform Chanyeol and get to work. We're leaving tomorrow."

To Be Continued »☆●