Ning Wei surveyed the narrow road littered with bodies while absentmindedly wiping away the blood dripping from his left arm. He turned to the leader of the guards who were sent by the empress to accompany them and asked, “Are these all of the ambushers except the escaped ones? Did you check to see the surroundings for anyone hiding?”

The guard nodded respectfully. “Yes, General Ning. I’ve already had my people double-check. All that’s left is to track down the remaining ones.”

Ning Wei gave him a short nod of acknowledgment and turned to the people from Xie who had met them at the border and escorted them this far. “Now, which one of you will explain why we were attacked by your people within a day of entering your country?”

The people from Xie shifted uneasily under his incisive gaze. One of them stepped forward to reply, his intonation softer than what Ning Wei was used to hearing in the empire, “General, these assailants do not represent the will of our monarch, I assure you. They are merely dissidents who oppose the court’s decision to hand your previous general over.”

Ning Wei narrowed his eyes and folded his arms. “Oh? What do they want to do with my father then?”

The man gulped, but honestly answered, “They are dissatisfied at our loss and seek to publicly torture and execute your previous general to hit back at the empire.”

Ning Wei supposed he should’ve expected something like this, though he didn’t think Xie would be so lax in managing their people. The war must’ve disrupted their system.

“Why weren’t we told about this?” he continued to press.

The man hemmed and hawed, but didn’t say anything in response.

“Let me guess,” Ning Wei sighed. “Your court decided that the possibility of danger might put us off and thus sent you to escort us and keep an eye out instead.”

After a moment of hesitation, the man nodded uncomfortably. “Please rest assured that we are working quickly to deal with these people. Now that they’ve made a move, it should only be a matter of days before their route is traced and they’re apprehended. We will quickly dispatch people to track and take care of the ones that escaped as well.”

Ning Wei peered at him, deemed his words sincere enough, and released him from his gaze.

The man sighed with relief and quickly joined the others from Xie to discuss matters.

Deciding that there was nothing much left for him to do now, Ning Wei rolled back his left sleeve to check on his injury. A long and ragged wound sliced up his arm diagonally, its edges a puffy red while blood thickly dripped from it. The only other wound that bled was a small nick on Ning Wei’s throat, though he felt the throb of bruises and sprains from various other parts of his body as well.

Ning Wei asked for a waterskin with clean water and poured it over his wound to clean it. Just as he was about to ask around for medicine and bandages, he found the Master Jin who had remained in the carriage till now walking towards him purposefully, a case with medicine carried in his free hand. The older man’s face was stamped with his usual dissatisfied expression while his cane tapped out a quick rhythm in an attestation to his urgency.

“What are you doing standing around with that injury? Come here,” he called to Ning Wei curtly.

Despite his reservations, the general obeyed.

True to Yan Yixuan’s prediction, Master Jin had been surly and disagreeable throughout their journey till now. Due to the older man’s relation to Yan Yixuan as his teacher and to Ning Guang as his beloved, Ning Wei had tried to get to know him better. But Master Jin had been irascible and uncooperative, so Ning Wei had given up on conversing with him and rode on a horse outside with the guards instead.

Now that Master Jin headed over of his own accord, Ning Wei felt more than a little surprised.

“Tsk, look at this wound. You’re just like your father with your carelessness. And you didn’t even bring medicine for emergencies. What would you have done if I wasn’t here to treat it? You’d have ignored it no doubt,” Master Jin unleashed a torrent of scoldings in a disgruntled tone. But despite his hard mouth, his actions were careful and considerate as he made quick work of treating Ning Wei’s wound and began bandaging it.

Ning Wei quietly accepted the reprimands, then said, “Thank you. It’s much better than what I could’ve done on my own.”

“Of course it is,” Master Jin harrumphed as his hands worked nimbly with elegance born out of ample practice. “I served as a field medic in the army for years after all. And I don’t need your gratitude. I’m only watching over you in Ning Guang’s stead.”

Realizing that this was his way of showing care, Ning Wei smiled. He felt like he was starting to understand this person a little.

After a few moments of silence, Ning Wei observed, “Ah-Xuan must revere you very much.”

Master Jin finished tying a firm knot and let go with a scowl. “Where is that coming from?”

Ning Wei absentmindedly tugged at his bandages and said, “He resembles you in certain ways. For example, how he shows his care or affection for someone secretly through his actions rather than words. He must have seen you doing it often enough that he began subconsciously imitating your behavior.”

Master Jin cleared his throat gruffly and looked away. “What trivial things are you wasting time thinking about? Pay more attention to your wounds instead if you have that much energy.”

Though Master Jin said that, Ning Wei could sense that the older man was actually pleased. The general smiled to himself. He was starting to see why someone with his father’s personality would like Master Jin.

After spending a few hours cleaning up the narrow road and sending messengers off to inform the appropriate people of recent developments, the convoy set out again.

But this time, Master Jin’s temperament seemed to have improved and the mood in the carriage was much better.

↢∘●∘↣

A few weeks after they departed from the empire, Ning Wei and Master Jin finally reached the country of Xie’s capital.

They had no idea where Ning Guang was hidden until they reached the mouth of the tunnel leading to the hiding place. Xie must’ve guarded this location very tightly till now, knowing that if the empire found it on their own, they could stealthily extract Ning Guang and take him back without having to abide by the condition of sharing resources.

Ning Wei and Master Jin entered the tunnel under the urging of the escorts and were taken past several twists and turns. The only way in was a secret passageway from a neglected garden in a corner of the capital that was rumored to be haunted, and their final destination was the underground cells hidden directly beneath the palace. Considering all this, it was no wonder that no one suspected anything till now.

Ning Wei and Master Jin undertook the long trek to the underside of the palace, guided by the escorts. The walls of the underground tunnel were made of stone and seemed rough enough to scrape off a layer of skin if one brushed against it. Despite the ample daylight outside, they had to carry a lamp to light their way in the tunnel. The dancing and flickering of the yellow lamplight lent an eerie, gloomy, and oppressive ambience to their path.

By the time they neared the end, both Ning Wei and Master Jin had started feeling claustrophobic. They couldn’t help but worry. If even they felt so much discomfort after a just few short hours underground, how much worse must it be for Ning Guang to have to remain here for years?

“Does he have light wherever he’s staying?” Master Jin asked one of their escorts.

The man shook his head. “He seems to hate it even if we only use dim lamps while taking him food every day.”

Both Ning Wei's and Master Jin’s expressions turned grim.

Ning Wei wondered, how long had they kept his father trapped in such darkness? If these had been his living conditions the past few years, no wonder he was hypersensitive to light now. Thinking about it made a vague ache solidify in his chest.

When he himself was captured and brought to the dungeons in the capital for interrogation, would he have been able to learn about his father and help him escape if he’d managed to break out on his own? Ning Wei didn’t think it was likely, but he pondered all the same. He knew that he’d keep pondering it for a long time.

As he brooded along that vein, Ning Wei couldn’t help but grow increasingly worried as he realized that his father would have had to bear Xie’s ‘hospitality’ much longer than him. Grimly, he tried to mentally prepare himself for whatever condition his father might be in.

Ning Wei peered at Master Jin to see how he was handling this. He could make out hints of hope and nervousness in the older man’s closed-off expression, but he supposed that was normal considering everything he came to know about his father’s and Master Jin’s relationship.

Silently immersed in their own thoughts, the group reached the cells at the end of the tunnel.

Rusted yet sturdy metal doors blocked each cell while the floors were rough and littered with shallow pits. The scrape of their shoes against the ground was especially harsh and grating in the stifled silence. It seemed that the only way any of the cells could get any air would be through the small gap between the edge of the door and the floor.

One of the escorts took out a ring of old keys and unlocked a particular door. It swung open with a wretched, shuddering groan. If this sound managed to travel through the tunnel and out to the abandoned garden outside, it would indeed seem like the tragic cries of an unearthly spirit, lending credence to the rumors that it was haunted.

As the lamplight spilled into the darkened cell, it illuminated a small windowless room with broken wood, crumbled masonry, and pottery strewn all over the floor. Near the wall, a rickety stool sat beside a rusted metal cot with nothing but a ratty, stained cloth covering it. A set of dusty new robes lay in disarray on the floor by the bed. One could guess that someone must have brought them over in an attempt to make the captive in this cell more presentable, but had failed and left the clothing behind.

A man lay on the metal cot, flinching back when the light hit him. His body seemed to have shrunken in around his skeleton, barely covered with a layer of threadbare clothing. His long hair was matted and clumped with dirt, his unhealthy yellow nails had grown long with ragged edges, and a strange, pungent odor wafted from him. Scars in pale white, gleaming pink, and garish red were layered over all visible areas on his skin in patches, though his face was mostly left untouched in contrast.

Compared to the father in his memories, Ning Wei found this man completely unrecognizable. As he stood there stupefied, Master Jin rushed past him and into the room without caring for the debris crunching under his shoes.

Unexpectedly, Master Jin had taken not even two steps when the man on the bed leapt up with a hoarse roar and began throwing every piece of debris he could reach at them.

Ning Guang shouted furiously, “You’re here! You’re here again! You rotten pieces of buffalo dung won’t get even a scrap of information from me! Get out! I won’t give you anything no matter what you do to me! GET OUT!”

Quickly recovering from his shock, Ning Wei ducked out the door to stay clear of the projectiles. But Master Jin seemed too dazed to move. He reached out a trembling hand and whispered, “Ning Guang… It’s me…”

“Who are you?!” Ning Guan snarled like a wild, wounded animal. His pupils had shrunk into pinpoints due to the lamplight, rendering him unable to see much. “So you bastards sent someone to mimic my Jianhao now?! It won’t work! I won’t believe your lies! Go away!”

Ning Guang threw the debris with more vigor, his aim better now that he knew where the intruders were standing due to Master Jin’s voice.

A shard of pottery flew at Master Jin, scratching his face. Master Jin staggered back with a look of incredulity.

Ning Wei couldn’t bear to see this anymore. He dragged Master Jin out of the cell and closed the door again without locking it. When Master Jin looked at him reproachfully, Ning Wei explained, “Our presence is only agitating him. He is insensible after so many years of abuse. We need to find a way to calm him down or we won’t be able to take him home.” His voice was tight with emotions, yet his face was fixed in a grim and resolute mask.

Turning to the people who escorted them, Ning Wei asked with barely contained anger. “Why is he like this? What all did you bastards do to drive him to this state?”

The escorts jerked back from the sharp fury in his gaze as if afraid he’d follow his father’s lead in throwing things.

A woman cleared her throat and hesitantly supplied, “W-We don’t know much either. We only came to know that he was still alive a few days ago, just before we were informed that we would serve as guides during your visit.

“As far as we can tell, they interrogated him using various methods for a few months, but didn’t get anything from him. However, soon after he was captured, your empress began changing things up in your military so that even if they got anything out of him, it would be mostly useless. You were also instated as the next general very quickly, so the higher-ups decided he no longer had much use.

“But they were unwilling to throw him away after capturing him with so much effort, so they spread word that he was executed and snuck him in here. They still attempted to extract some useful information every now and then, but never succeeded. I heard one of the interrogators commenting that he only grew tougher with every attempt at questioning him. Seeing how the only time he could rest in between interrogations would be spend in that dark cell without any company or a way to occupy his mind, it’s not surprising that he became…unbalanced.”

Ning Wei’s expression grew ugly while Master Jin’s face hardened. But they couldn’t take their rage out on these uninvolved people, so they could only swallow it down for now.

“How are we going to get him back if he won’t cooperate?” Ning Wei finally asked.

Master Jin frowned, then suggested reluctantly, “I suppose we could sedate him and carry him back home. But the dosage will have to be adjusted properly or there’s a chance he will never wake up.”

Ning Wei grimaced. “I don’t like it, but we don’t have a better choice. Master Jin, can I leave the sedative to you?”

Master Jin nodded.

One of the escorts offered, “We can take care of administering the sedative to him and help you carry him to the carriage.” He glanced at the closed cell door. “Considering everything, it’s the least we can do.”

Ning Wei agreed, some of his anger easing as well, and they all quickly got to work. With each thus doing their part, Ning Guang was effectively transported to the carriage within the day, and the convoy swiftly set out again.

After so many years in foreign soil, the empire’s former general was finally on his way back home.

↢∘●∘↣

Around a week after Ning Wei and Master Jin successfully accompanied Ning Guang back to the empire, Yan Yixuan also wrapped up his work in Sui and was about to return.

The delegation of imperial officials he’d come with had already left the day before. The first prince of Sui, Tai Long, had however insisted on keeping Yan Yixuan behind, wishing to continue his attempts at convincing the duke to both join their religion and the king of Sui’s harem. So Yan Yixuan’s fellow countrymen had happily abandoned him, glad that they weren’t the ones who had to deal with it, and left for the empire. Cang Xiyu was the only one who remained, and that too only because of the unspoken threats in Yan Yixuan’s eyes when he mentioned wanting to leave as well.

These past weeks in the palace, upon Yan Yixuan’s request, Cang Xiyu faithfully followed him around as if he was the chaperone doubling as bodyguard to an unmarried maiden from a conservative family. At first, Cang Xiyu had ridiculed Yan Yixuan in his heart for being so paranoid. But to his chagrin, he soon realized that the duke’s worries were entirely too valid.

Each time after the end of a discussion, the king of Sui or one of his people would try to detain Yan Yixuan and attempt to somehow create an opportunity for the young man and the king to be alone. Cang Xiyu had to sacrifice politeness more than once and make up some ridiculous excuse to get Yan Yixuan out of the situation. Cang Xiyu knew that while he, as a last minute add-on, could afford to be hated by the royals, Yan Yixuan, as their main negotiator, could not.

Of course, Cang Xiyu was unable to always make it in time and had to let Yan Yixuan take care of himself on more than one occasion.

For example, Yan Yixuan had once been roped into some little archery competition in the palace grounds by the third prince and his friends. They had stated that if Yan Yixuan lost to them, he’d have to visit a particular pavilion and not leave it for an entire night. Cang Xiyu had no doubt that the king or one of his people would be waiting there to make use of such an opportunity.

To the third prince’s surprise—and as per Cang Xiyu’s expectations—Yan Yixuan won the competition easily.

Bitter at losing, one of the royals had dared to make an indecent comment about Yan Yixuan appearing used to handling many shafts, not all of them belonging to arrows.

In answer, Yan Yixuan had simply turned and directed his next arrow at him. The arrowhead had barely missed the artery in the noble’s throat by a finger’s width. With a calm and cold gaze, Yan Yixuan had then asked him to repeat what he said. The royal had just about pissed his pants. Cang Xiyu had to admit that it had been quite satisfying to hear about.

Unfortunately, all these little incidents where Yan Yixuan kept thwarting various attempts at coercion gained him the attention of the First Prince Tai Long, who was notorious for having twisted hobbies and using unpleasantly forceful means when it came to obtaining lovers.

And so, it came to Cang Xiyu as no surprise when he heard that Tai Long had snuck into Yan Yixuan’s bed one night while the young man was still asleep.

When Yan Yixuan woke up and saw the prince’s smug and predatory grin, Yan Yixuan’s first reaction was naturally to whip out the dagger hidden under his pillow and unhesitatingly slash at the intruder. Tai Long had been startled and had to quickly roll backward to avoid the blade, only to end up falling over the edge of the bed.

Rather than panicking after understanding his situation, Yan Yixuan had instead thrown his quilt over the fallen prince to disorient him, then rained kicks and blows on him in quick succession. He thus managed to vent his irritation at being woken up at this ungodly hour by an unnecessary close-up of that unpleasantly haughty face. By the time the prince freed himself from the quilt, the guards from the empire stationed outside had rushed in to see what the commotion was about.

Faced with the scene of the bruised and beaten prince struggling to rise from the floor and the duke standing calmly over him as if enjoying his struggles, the guards’ expressions were hard to describe.

Face reddening in disgrace, the prince had yelled, “Duke Yan, how can you treat me, a prince of this nation and one of your hosts, with such disrespect?!”

The duke had replied in a disdainful tone, “You say I disrespected a prince? Surely you jest. All I did was flick away and stomp an annoying little bedbug that found its way into my bed. Surely the first prince of a nation would have enough sense to not jeopardize his country’s alliance with the empire by pulling such a tasteless prank on an emissary.”

Under such a scathing remark, Tai Long could only fume with a dark face. But the shine in his eyes grew brighter and more maniacal.

Cang Xiyu had later asked Yan Yixuan in private, “Aren’t you afraid that he’ll make things difficult for us with the treaty after you offended him like that?”

Yan Yixuan had indifferently answered while playing with a fluffy little black cat, “Not really. If he impedes the discussions, I won’t hesitate to use my authority to convey his meddling to the king, along with my worries about whether the royal family does not want the alliance and whether I should report all this to the empress. The king might be an annoying lecher but he isn’t stupid. And since the position of heir hasn’t been decided yet, the first prince can’t afford a black mark like this against him. In short, he’ll behave if he knows what’s good for him.”

“But what if he comes after you personally?” Cang Xiyu questioned with a frown.

The duke shrugged. “That prince is sick enough in the head that his desire to obtain me and make me bend to him would only have strengthened after this. The harder I am to subdue, the more he’ll try to force me. But my purpose here isn’t to play silly games with him, so I’m not going to be polite or hold back if tries anything with me.”

Cang Xiyu suppressed a shudder. How could this young man be so composed after attracting the attention of someone like that?! As weak as his body was, how could he not be afraid?! But Cang Xiyu was forced to acknowledge that Yan Yixuan was indeed not someone who was easy to bully.

As the duke predicted, First Prince Tai Long continued to pursue him in his disconcerting way that bordered on harassment. But Yan Yixuan only looked irritated as he dealt with him, not sparing him any mercy or dignity each time.

For example, when he found Tai Long scaling the wall to sneak into his room in the middle of the night again, Yan Yixuan patiently waited until the prince almost reached the window. Then he climbed up to stand on the windowsill and promptly aimed his boot at the prince’s face to kick him down. The young man then slammed the windows shut to effectively block out the prince’s outraged screams.

At another time, one of the empire’s spies in Sui’s palaces warned Yan Yixuan that the prince would attempt kidnapping him when he passed through a certain corridor to get to an important meeting. When the time came, Yan Yixuan chose to not only avoid that corridor completely, he also dressed similar to a certain old official on purpose and tricked that official into hiding his face and passing through that corridor. That old official was from the faction opposing the empress and was included in their delegation for fairness’s sake, but he kept undermining Yan Yixuan in everything and ended up earning the young man’s ire.

Without suspense, the old man wasn’t even given a chance to scream before the prince’s people rushed to block his mouth, stuff him into a sack, then carry him to the prince’s palace before dumping him before Tai Long.

When the wrinkled old man with a bulging belly, wispy beard, and a balding head cowered on the floor while pitifully begging, “Please, be gentle with me!” the look on Tai Long’s face was priceless.

Unresigned, the prince next asked Yan Yixuan to share a meal with him, making sure the young man would have no way to refuse without seeming rude.

Yan Yixuan easily guessed that there could be something wrong with the food, so he distracted the prince with some surprisingly pleasant talk while getting close to him unnoticed. Then using a sleight of hand to make one of his possibly tampered pastries appear on the prince’s plate, the young man sat back and watched the prince eat it with curiosity.

A few minutes later, whatever drug was in the pastry took effect, and the palace’s servants had to stoically carry out the prince as he writhed and moaned uninhibitedly in their hold, loudly demanding for someone to fuck him. Yan Yixuan dispassionately noted that the drug seemed to be a strong aphrodisiac mixed with something else, then relaxedly munched on the snacks he’d brought with him.

In this way, the young man continued prevailing. However, the longer it went on, the deeper the prince’s obsession seemed to grow.

Seeing Yan Yixuan being targeted repeatedly like this exhausted even the bystander Cang Xiyu, so it need not be mentioned how annoyed Yan Yixuan himself felt.

In this palace rife with such tiring schemes, Yan Yixuan’s only solace these days had been occasionally teasing Cang Xiyu, writing letters to Ning Wei, and playing with the first prince’s pet, a small black cat with soft, fluffy fur and a sweet temperament.

The first prince seemed to adore and dote on the cat a lot. The people in the palace also seemed to treat it as some divine messenger. As a result, the cat was very friendly towards humans. As much as he disliked the bothersome prince, Yan Yixuan couldn’t bear to feel the same towards his adorable cat. Because, for no discernible reason, Yan Yixuan felt that the little black cat was similar to his Ah-Wei. As a result, he played with it and pampered it regularly, making the cat also grow attached to him.

But now that this round of negotiations was finally completed, Yan Yixuan was more than ready to return home and see Ning Wei himself.

As Yan Yixuan and Cang Xiyu were finally about to depart, the first prince came with his retinue to see them off and needle Yan Yixuan one last time.

They all currently stood outside the capital’s gates, with a landscape of brittle rock faces and dry shrubbery extending on either side.

Tai Long stood proudly with his people behind him, facing Yan Yixuan, while the young man only had Cang Xiyu beside him. Tai Long's people were liveried in eye-catching celadon robes bordered with a deep red and maintained flat expressions, though their tense bodies betrayed their readiness. At the side stood the emissary from Sui who would be going along with them to the empire and continue hashing out the rest of the treaty.

Behind them on the road, two carriages were prepared and ready to go. One was for Sui’s emissary and the other was for Yan Yixuan and Cang Xiyu. Both carriages were surrounded by the guards from the empire who had stayed behind to protect Yan Yixuan. The guards, robed in dark blue clothes with pale yellow edges, eyed the prince's people vigilantly.

Smiling brilliantly, the handsome first prince of Sui, Tai Long, said, “Are you sure you don’t wish to stay behind and adopt the ritual cloth of God to become one of His people, Duke Yan? Or, even if you refuse our beliefs, will you not at least consider bedding my father? He really is quite taken with you. And truth be told, as I’ve confessed to you before, I have also come to like you a lot. My beloved cat Xiao-Ji has also given you his approval, which I value very much. The sharpness of your mind is very appealing to me and you seem like you will be a worthy addition to the royal family.”

Hearing the same old lines he’d heard a hundred times by now, Yan Yixuan smiled back at him sharply and replied, “I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse on all accounts. I will have your representative sent with the finished version of the treaty for His Majesty’s perusal and approval. Rest assured that we will take both our countries’ needs into account while finalizing it.”

Tai Long continued to smile bewitchingly and leaned forward. “I have no doubt you will. And maybe I should take advantage of the fact that there are more of my people than yours present here and once again attempt to sample your lips.”

The duke kept his smile perfectly in place while threatening cheerily, “Your Highness may certainly try if you do not mind my other knee making its acquaintance with your balls as well.”

Tail Long grimaced at the memory, then leaned back with a laugh. “Very well then, I shall restrain myself for now. But I do wish you’d give my proposal some thought.”

Yan Yixuan’s smile turned frosty. “As I’ve already mentioned many times, I have someone I love very much. Even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t accept you.”

The prince observed dryly, “You do bring up your lover every chance you get, so I suppose you must truly like him a lot. But can he give you riches and the high position I can offer?” His gaze turned sultry and his tone grew intimate, “Is he experienced enough in matters of bed to pleasure you like I can?”

“Do you think those are the only things one seeks from their lover? If you truly believe that, then I pity you, Your Highness.” Yan Yixuan gave him a genuinely sympathetic expression as if the prince was a very unfortunate soul.

Tai Long, “……” This was not the reaction he expected!

Struggling to put on a smirk, the prince tried again, “You say that now, but it’s only because you don’t know the sheer extent of the pleasure I can give you, Duke Yan.”

Yan Yixuan responded indifferently, “Oh, I’m sure, but the pleasure of your absence will surely make up for it well enough.”

Tai Long, “……” Why did he always end up getting mercilessly stabbed by that sharp tongue?!

The young man went on in a bored tone, “Are you done unsubtly seducing me yet? I’d like it if I can rush back home and dive into my wonderful lover’s affectionate embrace as soon as possible.”

Tai Long, “……”

Unclenching his jaws, the prince forced out a chuckle. “It seems you’re determined to escape my grasp. I’ll be gracious and let you go this time. But the next time I get a chance, I will not let you get away this easily, Duke.”

“It seems that Your Highness overestimates yourself,” Yan Yixuan commented with hooded eyes and an easy smile. “If I want to get away, then no matter how much power you wield over me or how many men you bring to suppress me, I am confident that I can succeed. Please use your enthusiasm in less impossible things like converting all the people in this world to your religion.”

Tai Long laughed, genuine enjoyment sparkling in his eyes. “Such arrogance! But I like it. Until we meet next, then, Duke Yan.”

Yan Yixuan gave a short nod, his smile undiminished. “Until we meet next.”

Throughout this odd exchange, the first prince’s retinue and the emissary had to struggle to keep their expressions in check.

However, Cang Xiyu had long grown used to it, since most of Yan Yixuan’s and Tai Long’s conversations till now had gone down in a similar vein, with barbed friendliness and thinly veiled threats. Cang Xiyu was already beyond exhausted at having to watch such exchanges with his heart in his throat, expecting things to suddenly take a turn for the worse. He couldn’t wait to finally go back home and be done with this nerve-wracking experience.

After due goodbyes, Yan Yixuan, Cang Xiyu, and Sui’s emissary headed towards the carriages.

Yan Yixuan had just raised a foot to climb into his carriage when Tai Long suddenly called out, “Duke Yan, a moment please.”

The young man turned to look at him askance.

Not willing to get in between those two, the emissary directly headed to his own carriage. On the other hand, Cang Xiyu decided to wait outside just in case the prince did something that would necessitate him carrying the duke and fleeing. Cang Xiyu even began pragmatically sizing Yan Yixuan up and down before nodding to himself, satisfied that he should be able to run fast enough while carrying the young man.

The prince spoke, “Xiao-Ji has escaped, so I would appreciate it if you kept an eye out for him.”

Yan Yixuan frowned. “You mean your black cat?”

“Yes.” Tai Long’s gaze grew tinged with exasperated affection. “He has the habit of following after the people he likes the most, so he might have decided to accompany you stealthily. So if you are able to find him for me, in the name of the River of Eternity presided over by God himself, I will owe you a favor.”

Yan Yixuan’s brows flew up in shock. The first prince’s words sounded especially solemn and sincere. As the prince of a religious country, any vows made using his god’s name were sacrosanct and inviolable, so it was obvious that he must really treasure his cat to an inordinate degree. Since Yan Yixuan himself liked the adorable ball of black fur well enough, he agreed with a nod.

The prince hid his relief, then bowed with a grin. “You have my gratitude. I wish you safe travels. As you know, the route up ahead is prone to landslides, so I bid you to be quick or you might fall prey to the bandits and wolves waiting at the bottom.”

The warning left Yan Yixuan unimpressed. “I know for a fact that the forests below have no wolves.” This might be his first visit here, but he wasn’t that uninformed.

Tai Long straightened and laughed with his usual easy arrogance. “Then bandits it will be. They were spotted prowling right under the cliff edges recently, perhaps waiting for one of your countrymen to pass by their stretch of the forests by mistake and fall into their clutches.”

Yan Yixuan turned away, uninterested. “Thank you for the warning, but we’re guarded sufficiently. Then we shall set off now.”

The young man stepped into the carriage, followed by a very much relieved Cang Xiyu. The guards closed ranks around them and the two carriages finally began their journey to the empire.

As the carriages trundled along over the path, the outer wall of Sui’s capital that had been following along on their left slowly gave way to a steep cliff face of crumbling rock. In the meantime, the stubby hills on their right abruptly lowered into a gentle slope that led down to a forest intercepted with more cliffs and clear water streams. Past the expansive strip of forest rolling like an endless carpet below, the empire’s border sat, a mere few days’ walk away.

Yan Yixuan stared in that direction, wishing more than anything to quickly reach home and hug his Ah-Wei. He gently touched the white jade hair stick he was wearing and smiled at the memories of the time spent having fun with Ning Wei in the competition. After he returned home, they would make plenty more of such memories.

Sitting opposite to him, Cang Xiyu slumped back in his seat and said, “This whole trip was so tiresome.”

The young man sighed and relaxed back as well. “That may be so, but the discussions regarding the treaty went by smoothly enough.”

Cang Xiyu said wryly, “It’s no surprise, since you’re apparently close enough to the king’s ideal lover that he became infatuated and listened to most of your requests.”

Yan Yixuan gave him a lazy smile. “But not infatuated enough to just hand over his country had I asked. Such a pity.”

Cang Xiyu rolled his eyes. “Of course not. But the way he seriously considered almost every suggestion you gave already shows how deeply besotted he is.”

The duke shrugged and reminded, “This is why the empress sent me in the first place, after all.”

The older man sat up straighter with interest. “Ah, yes, I recall that she made you the emissary just because of that, didn’t she? I think it was something about how you fulfill almost every criterion in the list of what the king wants in his ideal lover.” Rubbing his smooth-shaven chin, he said contemplatively, “Speaking of which, I don’t seem to remember ever seeing what criteria were on the list.”

Yan Yixuan laughed and shook his head. “It’s actually pretty horrible.”

Cang Xiyu continued to look at him with curiosity, so Yan Yixuan thought back and began reciting the list from memory, “If I remember right, the conditions for choosing a lover for the king are:

“One, they must be male and young, about 17 to 21 years old, with an above average appearance.

“Two, a lack of any prior experience in bed is preferred but not required.

“Three, they should be educated enough to hold engaging conversations.

“Four, a high intelligence and a strong mind are preferred.

“Five, they must have very little support by way of family, preferably an orphan, thus leading to being susceptible in that area.

“Six, they should be physically weak or sick—but non-contagious and not unsightly, just enough to minimize struggling.

“Seven, they may have non-disfiguring scars or imperfections, which will preferably induce insecurity about appearance and make mental manipulation easier.

“Eight, they should be prideful and unwilling to bend easily.

“Nine, they must have a working voice, but can be auditorily or visually impaired to restrict behavior and increase vulnerability.

“And finally, ten, they must have a high tolerance towards pain and abuse.”

As the young man counted off in a matter-of-fact tone, Cang Xiyu grew increasingly horrified. “That’s…twisted.”

Yan Yixuan smiled and shrugged. “Yes. But as many restrictions as their religion places on them, I suppose it’s understandable how the combination of suppressed desires and power over a large group of people can warp someone. Actually, I’ve heard that the first prince’s requirements for lovers are even more demented, though not nearly as restrictive when it comes to physical appearance.”

Feeling a bit sick, Cang Xiyu gulped and shook his head. “I really don’t want to know.”

Yan Yixuan felt amused. “What were you expecting when you asked about the king’s preferences?”

The official leaned back, looking blank-faced and disillusioned with the world. “I thought it’d mention the particular eyes, hair, face shape, body type, or personality he liked. Not this…creepy set of criterion for choosing his next victim to torment.”

The young man shook his head. “You’ve been at court for so long, yet you think in such a cute and innocent way, Official Cang.”

Cang Xiyu huffed, almost used to his teasing by now. “I’d like to keep my cuteness and innocence, thank you very much.”

Yan Yixuan laughed.

Eventually, the weary Cang Xiyu grew drowsy and contemplated sleeping, and the inside of the carriage was blanketed by a soft hush. The young man took a few sips from his waterskin with the medicinal concoction to fortify himself, then put it away. Due to Ruan Shu’s insistence, he was forced to bring someone to regularly make the concoction for him, so his waterskin was always full.

As Cang Xiyu began snoring softly, Yan Yixuan glanced at him with a smile and wondered if he could get someone outside to pass him a quilt. He truly was grateful for Cang Xiyu’s companionship all these weeks. It had made a difficult situation much more bearable.

As Yan Yixuan leaned out of the window and opened his mouth to ask for a quilt from the nearest guard, he suddenly heard a subdued meow whooshing past. He whipped his head back and wondered if he was imagining the small black patch of fur by the roadside that was quickly shrinking into the distance.

“Halt! Now!” Yan Yixuan yelled.

The carriage rolled to a stop even as Cang Xiyu jerked upright at the shout. “What happened?!”

“I need to check something,” the young man said and made his way off the carriage. He swiftly traced the path they had taken until he was almost out of view of the carriage and saw that the black furry patch by the path was indeed a little cat. As Yan Yixuan worriedly neared it, the cat rose up and trotted to him, meowing sweetly.

This was indeed Xiao-Ji, the first prince’s cat.

Yan Yixuan sighed in relief that it seemed uninjured. It was just a little dusty and had a few dried vines tangled up in one of its back paws. Soil and stones were scattered around where it had lain. It was easy enough to guess that the cat must’ve been climbing some unstable rock face and a certain section must have given under it, sending the animal down in a tumble of sand and loose rocks.

The young man picked the cat up and started walking back towards the carriage. He carefully cleaned it while raining gentle admonishments, “You brainless little ball of fur, how did you even know I’d be taking this route? You shouldn’t have tried to follow me. Now see what has become of your glorious black coat. Don’t mov―You furry little menace, I asked you to stop wriggling and rubbing against me. You’re getting all that dust on my robe too.”

Suddenly, the cat began letting out angry, rumbling mrrows and struggled in Yan Yixuan’s hold.

The young man stopped and frowned. “What’s wrong, Xiao-Ji?”

Just as the last word left his mouth, he abruptly felt vibrations under his feet and startled. The vibrations gained strength very quickly, accompanied by distant rumbles.

The emissary from Sui looked out the window in puzzlement, wondering why the carriages had stopped. He spotted something from his angle and stiffened with alarm. He hurriedly got out of the carriage and yelled in Yan Yixuan’s direction, “Duke Yan, look above! There’s a landslide incoming!”

Cang Xiyu had stepped out the carriage as well and whipped his head up at that shout. He paled as he saw the wall of rolling dirt dashing downwards. His heart clenched tightly with dread and worry.

Clutching the cat to him, Yan Yixuan didn’t waste any time and quickly began running. But just one look up told him that the width of this landslide was too wide. There was no way he would be able to get out of range in time.

The cat twisted and screamed indignantly in his arms, but surprisingly didn’t bite or claw at him to get free.

Still running, Yan Yixuan gauged the distance between him and the Cang Xiyu standing just out of the range of the landslide. The official didn’t dare to come any closer while his chest almost heaved with anxiety. From the aghast expression on his face, the young man knew that Cang Xiyu had also figured out that it was impossible for him to escape. His legs had already begun burning with the strain of so much exertion.

Yan Yixuan gritted his teeth and came to a decision.

Disregarding the dusty fur, he pressed a quick peck to the cat’s soft head and whispered, “Be good now.”

The cat stopped twisting and crying, then tipped its head up before slowly blinking at him with trust.

Yan Yixuan gave it one last smile. The abruptly stopping, he lifted up the cat and yelled, “Official Cang, catch it!”

Without waiting for a response, he threw the cat at the bewildered official with all his might. The cat sailed through the air with a screech and landed unerringly on the Cang Xiyu’s face, its limbs latching onto his head as it meowed loudly with affront.

Cang Xiyu hurriedly got it off of his head to hold it securely in his arms, ignoring the claw marks bleeding on his face. He and the emissary frantically looked towards Yan Yixuan and their hearts dropped. The landslide was almost on him!

Standing there with a tight yet calm expression, Yan Yixuan yelled, “Tell that prince he owes me one!”

Then the landslide swept over him like a waterfall of loose earth and rocks.

Yan Yixuan heard Cang Xiyu scream out his name, but everything was quickly blocked out by the dirt sweeping him away. He tightly clamped a hand over his nose and mouth, then shielded his head with the other arm as his body tumbled out of his control. He was soon unable to tell up from down. As breath gradually became scarce in his lungs, he felt black spots dancing behind his tightly shut eyelids while his body continued being knocked around by the sand and stones.

Yan Yixuan’s last thought before losing consciousness was, Damn that annoying prince and his prophetic crow’s beak!