Zhe took a good look at himself. He wore a white shirt and a pair of black trousers, with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to just below his elbows. He wasn’t anything charming, but he looked decent. His hair, a dark shade of brown, was slightly long and messy, with strands reaching his eyes that were also of a shade of brown, and looked rather apathetic. Those eyes drifted away from the mirror and towards the door, outside which he could see a silhouette waiting for him.

He opened the door, expecting Li, and it definitely was Li that was on the other side of the door, but not how he expected. Pretty, he thought, awestruck by her appearance. Her long, jet black hair gently rested behind her back, reaching her waist, with a single strand sticking out from the top. Loose bangs covered her forehead, and side bangs framed her small face. Her skin was paler than before, and a dark shade traced the edges of her eyes. They were already beautiful, emerald, but now they were sparkling like jewels. No, perhaps they were the same as always, and it was everything else that made it appear like they were sparkling, as if any less wasn’t imaginable on her.

She wore a gorgeous hanfu, with white robes, a ru jacket on top, which was white with a green accent, with floral patterns near the end of the sleeves, and the ends were a light shade of blue. Her mamianqun had alternating strips of blue and green, starting narrow and white in colour at the very top, then gradually growing wider and their shade getting deeper as they reached the end. Floral patterns, specifically what seemed like branches of a sakura tree, and sakura flowers, were drawn on the very end of each strip, going upwards. She wore a pair of flat shoes, of the same shade of green as the rest of her attire, and in her right hand was a paper hand fan, closed.

She snapped her fingers, bringing him back to his senses. He clicked his tongue. ‘Let’s go,’ he said.

‘Is it that hard for you to give a compliment?’ She sighed. ‘Also, take your sword.’

Zhe looked at her, confused.

‘You’ll be clearing up some pests.’

‘Malises?’

‘Nah. Just a few scumbags.’

His eyes narrowed. ‘Humans?’

‘I’m not asking you to kill them. Your job is to neutralise them. Of course, the best course of action would be to kill them, but simply subduing them should be enough.’

He thought for a while, then nodded. The two of them walked out, where a carriage awaited them, only that it had no wheels, or any animal or vehicle to move it.

‘By the way,’ he said, as the two of them sat down, ‘wouldn’t it be difficult for you to move wearing that?’

‘I won’t be coming with you. Don’t worry, you’ll have the General with you.’

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‘Sorry?’

‘I’ll explain to you everything once we get there. Now then,’

The carriage took off. It was flying in the air. Zhe looked outside, confused. The palace below kept getting smaller and smaller, and he couldn’t even see the city below. Weren’t they supposed to go down?

Slash.

As if they had dived headfirst into the sea, except they couldn’t even see the sea since it had blended so well with the world around them, and only when he saw the ripples above him, and the splash of water as they ascended did he realise there even was a sea. A thin line separated the starry sky with one that was a clear blue, like the skies of his hometown.

The carriage stopped. It now floated on a small pond, with small ripples below. Zhe couldn’t comprehend what he just witnessed. It all happened too fast for him to even remotely be able to comprehend it, but he still tried to reason it out. The pond they were in right now, if he were to take a dive, he would find himself falling back into the starry sky, so it was less of a sky and more of a sea. Though from the outside, it looked like any other pond, it was actually more of a gateway, or at least that was what Zhe could understand.

A year ago, Zhe would have definitely questioned it, but after everything he had witnessed so far; indeed he found it surprising and rather unreal at first, he could still try and reason it, even if his reasoning were to be wrong.

‘What…did I just witness?’ he asked, trying to confirm his thoughts.’

‘Taken aback?’ she said in a rather condescending tone. ‘Well, I guess it is only natural, but is that any way to talk to a princess?’

He raised a brow in annoyance.

‘Your Highness, would you be so kind as to enlighten this humble servant with the knowledge of what he just witnessed?’

The door of the carriage opened, and a wooden bridge formed in front of it.

‘Let’s talk about it as we walk,’ she said, leaving the carriage. Zhe followed after her.

‘Your Highness!’

Right outside the carriage, a man greeted her. He wore white robes, and a jacket above that, and below a pair of trousers were of a dark shade of brown. He wore slippers of wood, and on his back was a long spear. He had the physique of a martial artist. Zhe wondered if he was a soldier.

‘Are you the escort?’ asked Li, her tone strict.

‘Yes, your Highness. But if I may inquire, who is he?’

The man looked at him.

‘I—’

But before Zhe could say anything, Li introduced him.

‘He is Liu Zhe, a companion of mine. He is here to assist the General regarding the kidnappings.’

Sorry, kidnappings?

Zhe’s eyes widened as the words left her mouth. Pests. That is how Li described them. When he heard about them a few moments ago, he didn’t know what to expect, only that it was probably something serious if the General was involved. He clenched his katana.

‘I understand. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Liu.’

‘The pleasure’s all mine.’

‘Please follow me,’ said the man as he started walking, and the two of them followed.