Tang Daiyu settled in to Riluo Residence and soon adjusted to life in Swift Breeze Sect. A couple weeks later, she was walking alone through Peony Square in the garden under the bright moonlight.

She heard the rustling of clothes behind her and spun around. Seeing no one, Tang Daiyu immediately put her guard up.

"Hello? Who's there?"

There was no reply.

She began to make her way back to her residence when masked men in dark blue clothes suddenly appeared and flew down, surrounding her in a circle. Swallowing, Tang Daiyu got into a defensive position.

"Did Prince Yelang send you all to kill me? You know, I'm honoured that there's more than one of you."

No one responded to her. Fear began to creep up her spine. Her hands clenched tightly as she prepared to use her martial arts. But before anyone moved, Swift Breeze Sect disciples, in their creme colored uniforms, circled around the assassins. Liang Yingzhou flew down and landed a couple feet next to her.

"You are trespassing in Swift Breeze Sect. Either leave now, or don't blame me when I allow my senior disciples to teach all of you a lesson."

"Master Liang," one of the assassins stepped forward and said. "Do you dare to harbour this woman? She is an enemy of Heping after all."

"Since when is the Empress an enemy of her own nation?"

"You-!"

Liang Yingzhou smirked. "What about me?"

"Are you sure you want to anger Prince Yelang?"

"Haven't I already?"

"Out of respect for your notable reputation, Prince Yelang has ordered that we leave Swift Breeze Sect alone. He just wants the Empress. If you hand her over to us, then we'll leave without having to start a fight."

"That's out of the question. Ah Daiyu has sanctuary here."

The man's dark eyes narrowed. He pulled out his sword threateningly. Liang Yingzhou simply tilted his head, waiting. When the assassin lunged for Tang Daiyu, he didn't move until the last possible moment. Just as the assassins's sword tip almost reached her frozen body, Liang Yingzhou grabbed her wrist and spun her towards him. As she moved, he wrapped both arms around her waist before spinning himself away from the attacking assassin. His arms pulled back, but his hands remained at her waist. Liang Yingzhou kept turning, and when he faced the direction of Riluo Residence, he leaned into her ear.

"Wait for me. Lock the doors. Whatever you do, Ah Daiyu, only open them for me. Not even a disciple."

Before she could ask further, he hoisted her up and using his qinggong, sent her home. As she went flying up over the trees in the garden, Tang Daiyu turned her head to look back. She watched as Liang Yingzhou and his disciples started to fight with the assassins. Worry filled her as she knew that Swift Breeze had taken on the royalty of Heping just for her.

~~~

Back at her residence, she locked the doors and pulled the curtains over all the windows, just as Liang Yingzhou ordered. Tang Daiyu paced the room, wringing her hands.

I hope they're all okay. They're part of Swift Breeze Sect; how could they not win? But could they lose to Prince Baisong's elite suicide assassins?

She stopped moving for a moment and sighed. Then, she resumed her pacing. A while later, there came a knock at the door.

Tang Daiyu froze and remained silent.

"Ah Daiyu, it's me."

Upon hearing Liang Yingzhou's voice, she breathed a sigh of relief. She ran over to the door and unlocked it. As she opened the door, she saw him standing, alone, on her front porch. He was bleeding from his shoulder.

"Zhou-ge!" she cried.

Without a word, he stepped inside. Tang Daiyu hastily closed the door after him.

"Zhou-ge, you’re hurt.”

She flitted around the room, trying to find medicine. But soon, he grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

“What is it?"

He turned. With his back to her, he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Things are worse than we feared, Ah Daiyu."

"What do you mean?"

He slowly spun around to face her.

"In the time it took for us to get here, Emperor Rong has declared war on Emperor Jianyuan under the pretense that he has you held captive somewhere in Chang. Of course, that's completely false, since we have strong evidence that there's been correspondence between Prince Yelang and Emperor Rong. But the main point is that Chang and Heping are at war... over you."

She stared at him, shocked. "A war? Over me?"

Liang Yingzhou stepped forward. "Ah Daiyu, I think you've had your memories locked by someone.”

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean, locked?"

"I think you might have memories that can clear up the shady events surrounding your family's demise. But someone's locked them so you can't remember."

Tang Daiyu thought back to the memory of her betrayal.

I hadn't remembered that for so long. Then all of a sudden, it popped back into my mind. What if Zhou-ge is right? What else is there that I know but simply don't remember? Wait… could the one who locked my memories have been…

She cleared her throat and asked, "Is there anything you can do?"

He shook his head.

"Swift Breeze Sect cannot do anything like this. Whether it's locking or unlocking memories," he paused.

"I can tell there's more, Zhou-ge."

"I know someone who can help you though."

"Who? If you're right, I want to remember."

He stared at her.

"Are you sure? The recollection of memories is a difficult and painful path, Ah Daiyu. And what if the memories themselves are worse than the ones you have now? Are you prepared to deal with them? Can you?"

"Assassins came after me today, Zhou-ge. If I didn't know more than what I do know, would Prince Yelang and Emperor Rong be so quick to kill me? I at least need to know why there's a target on my back. They've woven a very intricate web of lies around my family," she stared right back at Liang Yingzhou. "I want to chop it to pieces."

He sighed slowly and held up his hands in surrender. "Very well, since this is what you want, it seems I can’t deter you."

Tang Daiyu took a step towards him and asked, "Zhou-ge, who do you know that can help me?"

His eyes flicked down at her. He saw determination and stubbornness blazing in her dark pupils.

That's the Ah Daiyu I know.

"Come with me."

He started for the door.

"Wha-? Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to the only person that I know can successfully unlock your memories."

"Who?"

Instead of answering, Liang Yingzhou opened the doors. Out on the porch, he turned around and said, “Bei Qing, Master of Thunder Cloud Sword Sect.”