VII

Ribbon

We passed the days forgetting, merrily strolling through the city as we used various disguises to keep the guards guessing in the dark. Whenever we passed their curious glances, there was a jolt-like thrill in knowing we'd duped them once again. It became like a game to us, and we revelled in our successes like little children.

But it couldn't go on forever. Guards had begun ransacking homes. Daughters were taken for inspection, solely because of their black hair. The guards began organizing themselves, enclosing us with blockades that disrupted the flow of the city.

It was only a matter of time until they found us. Besides, the situation weighed heavily on Mei. I'd told her she wasn't at fault; it was the duke who was going crazy, but she wasn't convinced.

She hadn't said a word since she awoke the next morning. We ate our breakfast in silence inside another abandoned building. I toyed with my chopsticks, desperately thinking about how to remedy our situation, when she opened one of the jars we'd stolen. She took a sniff and jerked her head away in disgust. We both laughed.

"Shin?"

"Yes?" My head perked up at once.

"Can you close your eyes for a moment?"

"Why?"

"Just do it."

So I did. She came closer and I felt her breath tickling my nose. Her hands moved through my hair, tying them together with something. When she was finally done, I was allowed to open my eyes again.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked. Her hair flowed down her shoulders; the missing ribbon now bound around mine.

"I want you to have it."

"The ribbon?" She nodded. "You could've just handed it over."

"It's more fun this way," she laughed into her hand. "You look great."

I grabbed the nearby drinking vase, trying to catch a glimpse of myself. My hair looked like a bunch of carrot leaves that had been bound into a bundle.

"It carries a lot of dear memories of mine, so I want you to have it," she said, answering what I was wondering. "My elder sister gave it to me before she left the village as a bride herself. It's tradition, so let's pretend for one day that you're a girl younger than me, alright? Good!"

"But-"

"Don't argue," her shoulders sagged. Mei would have a different air about her when she wasn't all smiles and laughter. Her usual cheer was like a part of her. Without it, she'd seem older. Weary; carrying a matureness that didn't belong. Laugh, Mei. It suited her so much more. She struggled with her herself, her mouth forming empty words before she found the strength to say what I didn't want to hear.

"Shin, I'm going back to the manor."

"What?" Her words ran me over.

"I don't want it to end, but I know better," she walked towards the door, dragging her feet, "I've never thought about escaping. Thank you for giving me these days. It was more than I could've asked for."

She was trying too hard to sound strong. Her body quivered under her robe as she feigned to keep a straight spine, filled with fake courage. I don't want to, her body screamed, but I must, it whispered plainly. Within her eyes full of fear, traces of her determination won over her last doubts. She closed them and the shivering stopped. A deep breath later, she was as serene as the everlasting heavens.

"Farewell, Shin."

"What are you-"

I stumbled over my legs as I reached after her, falling face-first to the ground. Instinct gave me notice of the foreign substance spreading throughout my body. I crawled on the ground, failing to regain my footing until all of my strength left me. Poison? I searched for the source. The water? The food? I found the jar still without a lid, with contents I didn't recognize. A possible cause if it was odourless. Was she acting back then? But why didn't it affect her?

"Please, don't forget about me, Shin," her lonely back left through the door together with her parting words. "And..." Her voice broke again, trembling slightly, "I'm sorry I lied to you."

Don't say that. I wanted to shout after her, but even my tongue was failing me. Like we won't see each other again. Without you, I...

I raged against the prison of my own body. If I had some Qi to circulate, dealing with this would have been as easy as breathing. For the first time in a long while, I regretted the situation of my core as much as I did now. There was no telling how long the effects would last. I urged my core to turn, but it didn't budge. It was silent.

As I reached new heights of desperation, a flash of inspiration struck me. That day, I'd used the martial technique with Qi. I closed my eyes, concentrating inwards. Since I couldn't move my limbs, I imagined instead - my body flowing, performing the technique in the world of my mind.

Water cycled and fire blazed. I became earth as I beckoned the wind. Combining the four elements, a star was born. My core trembled, fighting against the seal that held it. It spared the slightest drop of Qi, which I guided through my body. It wasn't something I'd done before, modifying the technique like that, but after a few tries, I got the Qi to cleanse my body of the poison. After a full cycle, I coughed out some black phlegm before starting the process anew.

After three cycles of expelling, I felt strength returning to my body. After five, I was back on my feet. It took me a total of seven until I could walk without collapsing. I removed Mei's ribbon from my hair and bound it around my arm before running outside. It was almost noon; turning my focus inwards had made me lose track of time.

"Shit!"

I headed west in the direction of the manor, asking anyone for anything that could guide me. Merchants, gossipers, and even guards. It was the latter that responded with a troubled expression.

"The girl?" Sorry, I can't tell you that."

I convinced him otherwise.

***

Duke Luo Zheng had truly thrown all care out into the winds. I couldn't believe he was showing himself to the public like this. A group of ten guards trailed behind the man descended from royal blood, attracting stares from the entire city. No one dared to openly watch, or make as much as a single peep while they cleared the streets for him. Despite that, the steps of many slowed, weighed by curiosity. Many more suddenly remembered they had to take a different direction. It was sheer coincidence that their new path went alongside the duke.

I stalked after them, lurking from within one crowd to another. The embroidery of a golden dragon coiled around the duke's robe. His amber hair grew down his neck like a lion's mane. I recognized the jade necklace he wore; it was different from Mei's. His jade was moulded like clay, forming a structure of runes and characters that I couldn't decipher from my spot. It'd pose a hindrance.

He donned a cloak larger than his body that fluttered with the crest of old royalty. The golden dragon, pardoned by the current Emperor Wang Jen. While I continued my observations, I stole a sword from an expensive-looking stall. Another one found its way into my hand without anyone noticing. It didn't take a great thief to make use of this kind of distraction. In fact, I met a pair of young children who nodded to me in greeting as they plundered as they pleased.

Mei cast her face downwards as the duke was talking to her. His lips moved, but I couldn't catch the slightest of his words. Great. He was compressing the air, directing his voice into the ears he willed. A sign that he was past the Foundation Stage. It wouldn't deter me.

A slap echoed across the street as his hand struck her cheek. My swords glinted in the sun, but I found patience I didn't know I had. I continued on, stalking and hiding ahead of them, waiting for an opportunity.

"Why won't you understand?" His voice bellowed into the city, catching me by surprise. It boiled with enough rage that made him lose control of even the simplest of techniques. "The heights ahead of us, if you just behaved!"

"I'm sorry," Mei said, not once raising her head.

"Don't," he motioned the guards behind him to hurry. "Don't say a word. We'll continue this later."

My swords flashed the moment Luo Zheng turned the corner, an instant out of sight from his guards. One blade followed the path of the other in a swift upward arc, heading straight for his neck. The first blade clanked against a shimmering, translucent barrier, as I'd expected. His necklace shone brightly as my second blade followed, piercing the same spot. There was enough force this time for the sword to deliver a small fracture into the barrier.

It was a borrowed technique and one fitting for my target. Two become one, the twin dragons rise.

Luo Zheng's expression had transformed from indignity into disbelief. His blood drained from his face as soon as he noticed the cracks in his protection.

"Guards!"

"Shin!"

The two shouts overlapped. The world was silent in the stunned streets of Zhanhai, apart from my grinding steel. The barrier held out. My swords shot forwards, piercing towards the weak point, but my biggest chance was gone. Sparks flickered in front of the duke as a sword and shield appeared in his hands out of thin air. Around his hip, a spatial pouch dimmed.

The moment of surprise was still on my side. He raised the edge of his shield in time, blocking my thrust upwards. Luo Zheng overreached in his haste, his shield shooting past his head as he left his body wide open. My next strike thrust through the barrier, drawing a thin red line as it shot past his neck. It startled him even further off balance.

I turned my body, leaving the sword stuck inside the barrier to my advantage. My second sword rained down from above, descending onto the first one. The barrier could no longer endure as it was sliced apart, fading away like the light of his jade. I discarded both swords.

Luo Zheng's blade cut towards me, spurred by his fear. The timing was tight, but the drops of Qi born of my martial technique were already prepared. My body shot forwards and I struck with an open palm, pushing the force past the protection of his robe and into his flesh. Luo Zheng grunted in pain and stumbled backwards before dropping to one knee. The sword he'd let go of whirled past me, barely missing my neck.

"Mei!" I reached for her hand, while I grabbed one of my swords again, lunging for the duke to take him hostage. For a moment, her eyes met mine. Why are you here? How are you here? I didn't care for her objections. If she had something to say, she could do so later.

But my hand never reached hers.

I didn't know what hit me. The world turned into tumbling colours as I heard someone shouting my name from far away. A rain of silver and gold fell about me as I crashed into planks of wood. The pain came delayed, thrashing inside my chest where I was struck. My back burned and my head thumped as I staggered to my feet. I walked, dazed and already forgetting what I was doing here before I fell onto my hands and knees.

A person came before me. He kicked me to the ground once more, sapping me of the last remnants of my strength, before he grabbed me by my hair. Blood dripped into my eyes as the man dragged me across the ground like a bag of trash. His tight grip told me that resistance was futile. He dropped me in front of the duke who was clutching his stomach with a twisted expression of rage and embarrassment. One strike and my pathetic attempt to rescue her was thwarted. Even a blind man had seen that result coming.

"So you're the pest that caused all of this," the duke spat from above," execute him, Huo Lan!"

"No!" Mei screamed. "Don't! I'll listen! I'll do whatever you want, but please spare him, my lord!"

"This isn't up for debate!" Another slap. Bile rose up my throat. I struggled to rise, but a single leg kept me pinned to the ground.

"What are you waiting for?" The duke bellowed.

"Pardon me, my lord, but I've seen him at the Guild some days ago." The man named Huo Lan answered.

"What of it?"

"He claimed the name of Fang," he lowered his voice, keeping the words between them. They continued the rest of their conversation in private.

"...Impossible." There was genuine shock in Luo Zheng's voice when he broke the solemn air. "Why would the Fang Family be here?"

"I don't dare to assume their intentions, but his results speak for his identity," Huo Lan looked down at me. "Flawless swordplay, paired with unmistakable martial arts. I've once met a Fang in battle and I'm afraid this young man would eclipse him in terms of martial arts. I'd advise against executing a potentially important member of the Fang Family in public. Or any of their members, if I may be frank."

"Then what should I do with him?" The duke's voice was torn with indecision. "I can't just let him go after this."

"Leave it to me, my lord. I'll see to his punishment without rousing the martial family's ire."

"Good. I will trust you with this, Huo Lan", he nodded as he pulled Mei away from here. "Let's go, my fiancee. The heavens know what has possessed me to go to such lengths for you. Don't make me regret my decision any more than you already have."

There was nothing I could do. I tried calling out to her, but the force behind his foot increased, squashing my lungs into silence. As she vanished into the distance, Mei turned around, mouthing the same words again.

I'm sorry. Farewell, Shin.