Droplets of sweat fell to the ground, making the slightest of sounds. Dawa held her sword with her right hand while her left hand was placed securely behind her. Her left leg bent forward while her right leg straight in a lunge position.

She held her form for a few minutes, utterly still and unmoving despite her straining muscles crying out for release. Then she changed positions, turning 180 degrees to her right and swapping her sword hand without a single clank from the sword. Her legs had also swapped, with her right leg bent while her left leg straight. She held that position for a few minutes before changing back to the previous position.

She wasn’t running or jumping around, just practising the first two sword forms. The sweat accumulated from the effort of perfectly executing each form showed her dedication to her training. After doing around a hundred of each, she will sit in the small spring and meditate, cultivating for around four hours before going back to her palace.

Dawa thanked the heavens that she managed to find this secluded area of the Phoenix Palace. It was a little garden of sorts with ample space to practise sword forms with a small spring to meditate in. She noticed it was away from the palaces and covered in trees. She suspected it was a sort of getaway place for someone who was having a hard time in the palace. She hoped the person had left the palace since it wasn’t mentioned in the usual gossip or rumours that the concubines spread around. However, one cannot be too careful so whenever she used this place to train, she put up a spiritual array with a 50m radius. If anyone was in the vicinity, she would know to scram before anyone saw her. So far, no one has even come close to the array but every night, she would put it up.

Tonight happens to be a very bright evening with a full moon high in the sky. Dawa noted that if she weren’t training, she would be drinking wine on her balcony while admiring it.

After finishing her set of sword forms, Dawa placed her sword near the small spring and stripped her clothing until she was only in her most inner robe. She then slipped into the spring. The water only came up to her waist while standing which was suitable for meditation.

She sat down in the pool and began to channel her spiritual energy.

That’s when she felt it — the array has been broken.

Dawa sat up with a start.

The array has been broken but I didn’t detect anything... Either this person has a spiritual aura stronger than mine or I have been lacking in my skills since I got here….

Dawa grabbed her outer robes and her sword, getting out of the spring while doing so. Still soaking wet, she stood at the ready, deciding her options.

I can try to make a run for it, but I have most likely been seen so it will be a matter of time before the whole palace hears about me sneaking off to do who-knows-what in the middle of the night. So, the next best option is to stay and see who my intruder is. Whoever you are, I am ready for you!

The bushes to her left rustled lightly. She faced the direction of the noise, sword at the ready.

The shrubs parted to reveal…Minister Hao in all his stoic glory holding a bottle of wine and a few drinking cups.

“M-mini—”

“Hush now, I also dispelled your silencing talismans.” Minister Hao hushed.

Dawa shut her mouth.

“You’d better put them back up. I won’t go anywhere, don’t worry.” Minister Hao spoke quietly.

Dawa relaxed a little before drawing the arrays again with her index finger while using spiritual energy.

Once done, Dawa turned to the Minister who was admiring the full moon.

“What are you doing here?” Dawa spoke with a little hostility in her voice.

Minister Hao looked at the young sopping-wet woman in front of him, then chuckled, his stony features softening a little.

“It’s rare that we have a moon this big out tonight. At this time of the year, the clouds are always covering her, like they don’t want her to been seen.”

He then removed the cloth cover from the wine bottle and poured himself a cup.

“Osmanthus wine. A bit too sweet for my liking but I could only find it at this time at night.” He took a sip, “However, as I continue to gaze at the moon tonight, it gets sweeter. I wonder why?” He gave Dawa a knowing look.

Dawa frowned, “How long have you known I was here?”

Minister Hao gave her a knowing look, then gestured to the spring. Dawa got in the spring, her body warming up nicely in the water.

He offered her a cup of Osmanthus wine. She accepted.

“I used to come here every night while I was still a young soldier in the army.” Minister Hao began, “Stubborn fool that I was, thinking that hard work can make my body more compatible to cultivation.”

He glanced at his cup, seeing the reflection of the moon, “You would have thought that I’d leave once I realised I could never cultivate to any combat standard but here in this place, I found something else.”

He looked at Dawa, sipping her wine in the spring, “I found that I had a talent for inventing — cultivation tools in fact.”

Dawa furrowed her brows.

I’ve never heard of ‘cultivation tools’ before…is it something new?

“Yes, it is fairly new.” Minister Hao replied as if reading her mind, “Only being mass-produced for the non-cultivating foot soldiers around twenty years ago.”

“I ended up getting a promotion thanks to my inventions. I made it possible for the regular foot soldier to be on the same battlefield as cultivators.” Minister Hao looked wistfully at the sky, “That was around the time of the last Emperor of the Taihelong dynasty. Because shortly after that, the insurrection occurred and that’s where my new weapons got their initiation into combat.”

Dawa stared at the Minister, not knowing what to say but then he continued speaking, “I haven’t come back here since. Was it because I was disgusted that my inventions were known for being the one to end a dynasty? Or was it because of everything I’ve worked hard for, the only thing I am remembered for is for being a non-cultivator in a position that was supposed to be for a cultivator?”

“I-I don’t think you are a horrible person, Minister.” Dawa managed to squeak out at last.

Minister Hao stared at Dawa with a surprised expression, “It seems I’ve overestimated you a little bit.”

Dawa didn’t like that comment.

Hey! I asked you what you were doing here and you reply with some strange moon riddle then told me your ‘sad tales from the army’. Forgive me for being confused here!!!

Noticing her scowl, Minister Hao’s eyes softened, “It hard to remember that you didn’t grow up with the expectations that cultivators from Li did. Your combat level may be on par or even further than the average cultivator but you didn’t learn things like subtlety.”

Minister Hao’s gaze hardened slightly, “To be honest, although this place is special to me, it is not why I’m here today.”

Noticing the impending seriousness of the conversation, Dawa sat upright in the pool.

“You were noticed today. The moon is bright so from above, your figure is as clear as day.”

Dawa paled.

Someone DID see me!! So…

“Did you come here to warn me about the person?” Dawa asked.

“No.” Minister Hao replied curtly, “I had my people take him in for questioning. An ordinary citizen has no reason to be lurking around the palace at night.”

He put his wine cup down and leaned towards Dawa, “He might be another assassin so it was vital I ensured this place is secure.”

So that’s why he was talking about the moon and clouds. But why was he talking about his time in the military?

Minister Hao replied as soon as she had those thoughts, “I wanted to let you know that besides yourself, only I know about this place. You can still train here, I’d imagine life in the harem doesn’t provide much in the way of movement, yes?”

Dawa stared at him incredulously. She was starting to suspect that the man can read minds.

“Your face gives you away. I suggest you learn how to keep a docile yet strong expression. It will help you while you’re in the harem.”

Minister Hao stood up and began to pack the wine and cups, “Watch your back Dawa of the Taban tribe. I cannot keep an eye on you when you’re in the palace. That assassination in the Restaurant Quarter is still being investigated; we don’t have many leads but we can assume it’s from the group His Majesty wants me to look into.”

Dawa also got out of the water, intending to go back to her palace. The warning ringing loud in her mind.

Yikes…I wish I could look into it too but I’m in the palace. I have to deal with Imperial Concubine Lan and her posse of other lower-ranked concubines.

Minister Hao glanced at Dawa’s face, deep in thought, “If there is one thing I want to leave with you today, it’s that not everyone is as straightforward as you. You are the first genuinely sincere woman I have seen in a long time and I don’t wish to see you become vindictive and insecure.” He turned her back towards her, getting ready to leave, “Unlike the women of the harem, you have skills as a cultivator. I’m not saying you should fight them one-on-one but that can allow you to have something to be proud of.”

He began to walk away from her, “As for the incident today and at the Restaurant Quarter, I promise you that I will get it resolved. I know you will worry about it but let me assure you that you are safe in the palace." He looked around, "It is only in this place that you are a little vulnerable.”

He turned to face Dawa one last time, “Just avoid training out in the full moon from now on.” Then, he disappeared into the bushes.

After Minister Hao had left, Dawa stood for a few moments, thinking about what just happened.

It seems I’m a target but I can’t do anything about it. I have to be careful when dealing with the harem and the Emperor. I have to continue training and keep up my strength.

Dawa clenched her fists.

The Minister cares for my well-being…you’d better hold up on your promise and keep me safe in the palace.

Dawa then left the secluded patch of land where she had been training for weeks, heading back to her palace to sleep.

Meanwhile…

A man shrouded in darkness watches the young woman in soaking wet attire disappear into the bushes. The bright moon illuminating the location clearly.

He writes a quick note on a piece of paper before using his spiritual energy to mould it into a small bird.

The Minister has warned her.

He then disappears into the shadows, as if he wasn’t there in the first place.

The paper bird flies across the town centre to a quiet building in a non-descript part of the city. It flies through a window and lands on a table, unfolding to reveal the written words.

The man at the desk reads the note quietly, before scrunching up the parchment in anger.

“We have underestimated him. The plan will have to be moved faster than expected.” A quiet voice spoke.

“I know! You don’t have to tell me that!” The man at the desk angrily replied.

“It’s a good thing we got what we needed earlier. We are ready to move at your orders.”

“Yes, I will give the order. You may leave. Make sure you aren’t followed.” The man at the desk dismissed the soft-spoken man.

The soft-spoken man bowed before leaving the room.

“Liu Xu.” He called.

A man suddenly appeared in front of the desk. He was in his late twenties or early thirties; an emotionless face with an x-shaped scar right in the centre of his eyes. He wore all black, indicating that he had been out on reconnaissance earlier.

“Continue to monitor Concubine Li and Minister Hao. Those two will be trouble sooner or later.”

“Shi.” Liu Xu replied bowing toward the desk.

“Dismissed.” Liu Xu disappears in a shroud of black.

The man at the desk takes a deep breath and supports his head with his hand.

Shui Feng is not going to be happy to hear about the recent turn of events…I’d better contact the spy in the palace. Hopefully, the Emperor hasn’t made his move yet. As for Zi Siwei…he’s beginning to question the normalcy in the capital. Heh. No worries, there is someone very nearby keeping an eye on him.

It was a long night for many parties on this rare day when the moon is full and there are no clouds in the sky.