Accidental Touch

Ashina moved around the room with slow, unsteady steps, his hand seeking support from anything within reach. Each movement was an ordeal. His brow furrowed in concentration, teeth gritted against the pain. He leaned on the tall cabinet, fingers clutching its edge for stability.

Every step sent waves of cramping pain through his joints. But he had to keep moving his legs or the muscles would weaken. Ashina winced, taking a sharp intake of breath through his lips. Sweat broke out, along with a grimace on his face.

Determination etched on every line on his face. He shook his head as though refusing to give in to the pain. His character stood stubborn against the odds. But he had never suffered such serious injuries before. Let alone break a bone.

If his body wasted away into weakness, he would be at their mercy again. The fresh memory of being thrown into that sulphuric hot spring made him shudder. He felt like garbage being dumped into a waste pit with the stench of rotten eggs clinging to him like a curse. He needed strength to fight back and resist against being thrown in that stinking, bubbling, milky pool.

The hot spring refreshed him. That he couldn't deny. The sulphur stung the wounds in the body like torture. Similar to being skinned alive and burnt. He found flailing his arms in protest, only to spread the reek all over his hair and face. If the manservant didn't help him wipe down and redress his wounds, his room may smell like a waste pit.

After the clean, the pungent eggy odour from the sulphur sticking to his skin softened to a lingering unpleasant smell, like a bad breath which never went away.

It made him lose his appetite for the afternoon meal served a moment ago. He made the manservant take the meal away.

Ashina wrinkled his nose in disgust at the thought of the nightmarish bubbling, milky pool embracing him once more.

An applause interrupted his thoughts.

"Thought you might be still stuck in bed," said the familiar voice of that Dayan Grand Prince, Yinyue.

Stuck in bed — Ashina scoffed in his mind. He preferred to be stuck in bed than thrown into that accursed pool. 02 and 05 dragged him out, albeit roughly like a prisoner. If not for the shoes, he might have scrapes on his shoes from their handling.

"Not speaking much, are you?"

Ashina refused to answer or looked at her. He never spoke when unnecessary. What the hell was she doing in his quarters? And what kind of question was that? His hands reached for the stool and he staggered towards it, like a toddler learning to walk, and sat on it.

He needed to steady his thoughts, to reply now instead of his legs. She was the master of their relationship now. A reality he had to accept in his brother's body. He lifted his head. His eyes stared at her for a while.

Dressed like a young man again. Still pale and tiny compared to his tall frame.

"Keep a watch. Don't let others come near, not even my uncle," Yinyue ordered someone guarding the door outside.

He knew her little secret and wondered if his late brother knew. Did he give something away?

She approached him, each step getting closer with his heart pounding faster. Soon, her shadow loomed over him in the bright afternoon light of the room. Her cold, slim fingers gripped his chin upwards and his hand swiped it away, out of instinct.

He glared at her. Their eyes met for what seemed like an eternity. She stood from a higher ground, and he sat at the lower. He could smell the faint scent of sandalwood from her clothing and an even stronger powdery sweet aroma drawing him in.

The unusual aroma emanated from her body — the scent of a hell flower, a living flower which grew in the wetter border regions of the Xirong empire. The stronger the scent, the more dead things the flowers grew on. No one wore it as a perfume because they used around corpses.

Did the Central Plains people use it as a perfume? If they did, they never traded the oils with it.

Yinyue seemed to notice him thinking. She bent slightly to lean into his ear, whispering, "you are not 01, are you?"

Her words made his body freeze. The ground seemed to shift under his feet. His heart near jumped out with his eyes widening in disbelief and pupils dilating. Everything span around him in a blur. He could hear his heart thumping like a loud war drum.

Has she discovered something? For a moment, he was paralysed, but his mind pulled him back from his colliding thoughts. Stay in control, his mind told him. Any denial will bring more suspicion. She is only testing him, like 02.

"Who do you think I am, then?" Ashina asked softly, masking any stray emotion in his tone while her soft cheeks brushed past his lips when he turned to reply.

Startled, Yinyue recoiled with a fleeting flicker of disbelief crossing her face. Ashina couldn't help but notice the flush of her cheeks before she quickly turned her head away, concealing her reaction.

Her bashful demeanour amused him. Still too tender, Ashina thought. Her sudden reaction reminded him of an innocent woman without the airs of a Grand Prince.

Ashina didn't care about that bit of physical contact. His discerning eye could distinguish between genuine reaction and mere pretense. That was accidental and Yinyue's shock genuine.

Women threw themselves at him frequently, a privilege of his status and power. Yet Ashina remained indifferent to their advances, having witnessed the turmoil caused by his own father's wives and concubines.

The more beautiful they are, the more dangerous they are. Many came with ulterior motives, either as spies or for the expectations of an easy life. Those types of women brought endless trouble and unnecessary drama.

Other than listen to their whiny pathetic requests at something petty, like how his father did to all those useless women. They played one against the other. Ashina hated them all. It was only when they overstepped their status to undermine Ashina himself, Ashina ended their lives discreetly.

If he died at their hands back then, it would be his failing and stupidity.

The ones he despised the most were those expecting an easy life from marriage? If a woman cannot see her worth other than her physical appearance, why should he care? Another woman can replace a useless, stupid one with a pretty face, as far as he was concerned. Beauty is not in short supply. Like fresh fruits replacing dried shrivelled fruits.

Xirong women held far more privileges than Central Plains women — they could own their businesses, determined who they can marry and even join the Xirong military. Some were matriarchs in their households. He respected those rare types of women.

A wry grin grew on his face. Yinyue intended to intimidate him. Not to seduce him. Like a small rabbit trying to threaten a wolf. Nothing like watching someone else's plan backfire in front of themselves.

Yinyue reminded him of those strong women. She dared to be a Grand Prince. Just a little too inexperienced, but his instincts told him not to underestimate her. She rose against Central Plains expectations, a much harsher society on her gender than a Xirong one. A pity.

"Eh…cough," Yinyue struggled for words to reply.

Ashina knew the cough was an act. He twiddled with his fingers, pretending to be oblivious, patiently waiting for her next move. She had little time to spare compared to him in the sickly body of his late brother.

"I will visit you later," she said, straightening her back, hurrying out of his room.

"Little rabbit," Ashina muttered under his breath, beyond her earshot, and got up slowly again to begin his training again. His mood felt much lighter despite the pain, and a faint smile appeared on his face.