The lifeless body of Ai Le, remained like how she was at Yuan Ding Lou, is being carefully guided back into her chambers by Zhu Zhu.

Dismissing the other maids and servants to prepare a hot bath for her master, Zhu Zhu attempts to remove the dress that Ai Le was wearing but soon, the hands of Ai Le stopped her, and stood up slowly.

Walking towards the outdoor area of the back garden where her favourite tree is located, she sat down onto the wooden platform and curl herself into a ball on the floor, ignoring the unsightly behaviour of hers.

Her soulless eyes remain dull, staring blankly at the tree that was planted by her, together with Qi Yuan.

Zhu Zhu realized that Ai Le is trying to signal for an alone space. Quietly, she retreats out of the chamber and got busy, to ensure everything is ready for her master if she were to ever need anything.

Using her arm as a support for her head to rest on, her aimless eyes stare into space. No one knows what she wants or what she is thinking.

*

*

*

"Jae-in! Are you ready?"

Qi Yuan called out from the courtyard and Jae-in appeared, carrying the baggages filled with items for this long trip. Unlike the usual woman outfit, this time Jae-in is dressed up as a young attractive master, in a royal blue outfit.

With all her hair being tightly secured by a golden clip into a high pony-tail, dark brows drawn to create a manly facial feature and a natural red lips, the glow that she has brighten up her face with a smile.

"En. I am ready. Let's go!"

When all the items has been stored in the carriage, Qi Yuan, Jae-in and Yu-ji then head inside while Qing Feng remain outside to ride the carriage. Taking one last look at the manor that she spent most of her time, she can't help but to feel sad.

"Don't worry, if you were to ever miss Kai Kingdom, you can always drop by my manor anytime!"

Qi Yuan saw through the feelings of Jae-in and assured her with his promise.

"En, of course! I will make myself home! Oh right, can I stop by Ai Le's manor? I want to bid her goodbye."

With the mention of Ai Le, Qi Yuan's reaction seems a little odd. His back straighten up immediately and did not react the usual way of arguing why should she visit her. An uncomfortable silence filled the carriage and finally he reacted.

"En. Of course. Head to Ai Le's manor." Qi Yuan ordered.

"Is something wrong? What's up with your reaction?"

"Nothing." Qi Yuan evaded Jae-in's question with a simple reply.

Knowing Qi Yuan's temper, if he is unwilling to say, no matter what she does, he will never reveal a single word. Within minutes, they finally arrived at the entrance of the manor, Jae-in alight from the carriage and head over to the guard to request the presence of Ai Le.

This time Qi Yuan choose to remain on the carriage, yet being close to the window, taking peeks to observe the situation. Unlike the usual courtesy, Jae-in is greeted by Ai Le's personal maid name Zhu Zhu which made her raise an eyebrow.

"Ai Le Jun Zhu is not in a good state to receive your presence, therefore I shall relay your message on behalf of you to Ai Le Jun Zhu." Zhu Zhu explained.

"Is Ai Le sister alright? What happened to her?" Jae-in asked worriedly.

Stealing a glance at the carriage Jae-in is riding on, Zhu Zhu look back at Jae-in.

"Ai Le Jun Zhu is fine, just need a few days of recovery. Is there anything you want me to relay to her?"

"Hm. Please take good care of her and tell her that I am leaving Capital of Kai today. Apologize for the sudden departure and do let her know that I will always be there for her if she needs me."

"Alright Lady Jae-in, may I ask where are you heading to? In case my master wants to find you."

"Kai border. If she needs anything, she can contact the Huo Military."

Reaching into her sleeves, she pulled out a ruby red jade pin with a silver tip and hand over to Zhu Zhu.

"Pass her this pin and tell her to hand over to any Huo Military people, and it will definitely reach me."

"Zhu Zhu shall relay the message to Ai Le Jun Zhu."

Zhu Zhu did a simple courtesy greeting to Jae-in as a form of acknowledgement. With a short and sweet conversation, Jae-in returns to the carriage and realize Qi Yuan rushed back to his usual spot, acting like he did not eavesdrop their conversation. Giving orders to Qing Feng, they finally begin their journey.

While they are heading towards the first city, Ding City, unknowingly there is also another group rushing to the same destination as them. The group of two have been riding their horses non-stop for 2 days ever since they knew of their plan.

Xuan Di and Wu Er left Capital of Kai the very next day upon receiving the news of them travelling to Kai border, wanting to create an opportunity to join their group, Xuan Di decided to arrive first to avoid any suspicion from Jae-in.

*

*

*

The group finally arrived at Ding City after travelling on the road for 3 days.

Checking into an average looking inn, Qing Feng went over to the stable to let the staff take over the carriage while Jae-in, Yu-ji and Qi Yuan head to the counter to reserve 2 rooms. Once everything is settled, they separate their ways to their respective rooms to take some rest before meeting up for dinner.

Entering the room, Jae-in sits on the stool while Yu-ji relaxed her shoulder by dropping the baggage on the nearest table. Pouring a cup of water for her Missy, Jae-in accept the gesture without looking at her.

"Let's say ... It has been months since I last sent the letter to Brother, why did we not receive any updates?" Jae-in questioned.

With Jae-su as the topic, Yu-ji almost forgotten about the letter and the help requested from young master.

"Oh right! Exactly! Why didn't young master reply to us or assign someone to meet up with us in Capital of Kai?"

"Did someone stop them from contacting us? Who could it be?"

"Missy Jae you don't need to worry at all! We are already on our way home, with the companion of Qi Yuan Gong Zi, soon we will reunite with old master and young master in one piece!"

Shrug off the questioning thought in her head, Jae-in decided to distract herself and propose to head to the streets of Ding City for a short walk.

Qing Feng, who remain quiet while standing near to the door, trying his best to mask his presence in this room. The overbearing aura from Qi Yuan makes him want to escape from this room to take a breather. The only time when his master is being normal will be in the presence of Jae-in, otherwise, with just the two of them, the suffocating anger threatens his safety.

"M-Master, I shall pay a visit to Lady Jae-in to see i-if she needs anything."

Like a mouse running for its life, Qing Feng ninja his way out of the room immediately and just in time to join Ai Le at the streets of Ding City, leaving Qi Yuan alone in the room. With this private time, Qi Yuan finally face himself.

Ever since that night, Qi Yuan has become someone different from his usual self.

Yes, he admits that what he had done at Yuan Ding Lou was on purpose. He knew that it would hurt her badly and it was an extreme treatment as compared to his past behaviours, however at that moment, all he thought of was not to let her know of this trip to Kai border.

He is fully aware of how important her 18th birthday is to her and definitely know the surprise that she prepared is done with effort and careful thoughts. However, there are the 2 reasons to why he behaved that way.

1. To break her heart once and for all to stop this obsessive love.

2. To not let her know about the trip and stop her from joining them.

This Kai border trip is not going to be an easy one.

If Ai Le were to join them, it is like adding on another responsibility onto his shoulder to protect and ensure her safety. And, he doesn't want to see her being in danger. Even if he told her his concerns, she will definitely shrug it off as if she can handle all kinds of incoming danger.

He can totally imagine her promising him that she will take care of herself, afterall she is an adult now.

But despite everything, he just feel reluctant to let her join them for this trip, because he is not confident enough to protect her. Plus, he had offended Qi Zheng, knowing his pattern of revenge, he is not going to let it go easily.

Pushing her towards Merchant Meng was out of his control, and the moment her body went still and remained in the arms of his like a quiet doll, a silent raging beast within him awakened.

He thought and expected her to fight him back, or even push Merchant Meng away as she is a royalty who will never let a lowly status person touch her.

But he miscalculated, not only she did not push Merchant Meng away, she remained quiet like a woman being embraced in the arms of her lover. No sign of disgust or anger could be felt through her body language.

The anxiety within him pushed himself to carry on his acting and left the room in hurry, as though he is trying to avoid something. Only when he left the room, under no pretence, he then woke himself up to reality and discovered the uncomfortable feeling he was facing on the inside.

That twisted knots in his stomach and the clenching tightness centralized at his chest made him felt so uncomfortable. He could hardly catch his breath and breathe properly. He fought so hard against himself from running back to the room, wanting to pull Ai Le's body away from that disgusting trash and squeeze her into his arms.

All he wanted to do is to disinfect the germs and dirt that had sullied her precious body.

Luckily, a part of him was saint enough to stop his unknown demons from taking over his body and soon, walked out of the restaurant like any other man. However, only that blood-red eyes that shines brightly has betrayed him.

Yet, if Qi Yuan was being honest to himself, he will discover that what he initially wanted and now the way he is behaving is a total contradictory.

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Jae-in - 古風坊