Hindsight activated!

My entire view turned blue as Wei’s figure became white outlines with the thousands of possibilities playing out before me like animated frames, but I wasn’t able to process any of it.

Wei’s eyes were pinpointed lasers, glaring into me with a burning focus. He sliced straight through Yue’s illusion, tearing through it like it was a flimsy barrier, and lunged forward to tie my wrists together. His hands pressed my two forearms together as he quickly slammed me into the ground.

God damnit, he was never trying to hide for Yang or Amelia!

“Zhig—!”

My mouth was quickly stuffed with fabric; I coughed and pushed my tongue against it to try and spit it out, but I began choking instead. My eyes watered, and I blinked rapidly to make out the sight before me.

Yue’s eyes widened with a mixture of shock and outrage. Whipping out her spear, she wielded it above her head and cried out, “Peijin!”

Wei’s outlined movements shifted into thousands, if not millions of other options once more. But there was no way any of us could beat a martial god.

Observer ‘Socrates’: … This didn’t happen to Feiyu. How do you mess up your own story?? You know Wei best, Jia Li

Yue couldn’t even move before Wei swept his leg under her feet, and her back slammed into the ground, causing her to hack as spit shot out of her mouth.

I grit my teeth together as Zhige shot forward, engaging into a tense battle with Wei. With ear-piercing slashes, Zhige’s silver blade sliced against Wei’s sword.

Wei was relentless and twisted his grip with perfected technique, his brows furrowing as he pressed up against the sword before he jumped back, shouting behind him.

“Meihua!* Take care of the other two!”

Meihua, Wei’s wife, flew into the sky in one elegant leap and pulled out a fluttering and flapping pink ribbon out of a sheath.

With a simple flick of her wrist, the ribbon snapped with a loud bang and whipped throughout the forest; trees were suddenly slashed and came crashing down, quickly trapping us all in a smaller forested area.

Amelia’s dragon roared to life and snapped at Meihua, but she easily dodged it—her movements were so graceful she seemed to fly through the air. Her long black hair whipped behind her, and her red lips formed a small and feminine smile on her face.

She whirled her hand once more, and the ribbon wrapped itself around the dragon’s snout, tying its mouth shut. Her weapon was a mix of the sharpness of a sword and the flexibility of soft fabric. When wielded properly, it was terrifyingly wicked despite its delicate appearance.

Meihua easily lifted Amelia up in her arms as she kicked, thrashed, and flailed around animalistically, trying to grab Meihua with her small hands. The little boy beside her yelled at Meihua, but she only gave him an entertained look.

Yang shouted toward me, “Peijin! Didn’t you talk to them?!”

Observer ‘Socrates’: Jia Li can’t communicate. All her readers know that already

Peijin: Yang, do you think I thought they’d attack us after??

Yang groaned as he was pushed back, and a piece of the ribbon sliced into his forearm. Wincing, he backed off as his feet skid against the ground. Meihua gently inspected Amelia’s wrist cuff for a moment before she popped it off with her slender fingers. The dragon vanished, and the thundering ground immediately stilled.

Yang’s staff swirled in the air and created a vortex of wind that whipped and twisted the forest all around us—a purely defensive move—but it was a losing battle now. He would never win one-on-one against a divinity, especially since Meihua no longer needed to worry about Amelia and the little boy.

Zhige erupted with yellow sparks and clattered on the ground, falling still as the eye twitched desperately at Wei. I whistled for it to come back toward me, and it weakly dragged itself over, its blading leaving sharp cuts in the uprooted grass and weeds.

My wrists were still firmly bound, and both of them had finally closed in on Yang. The small boy tugged at Meihua’s long, glimmering gown, shouting for her to hold back.

Damnit, if only I could cut Wei's ribbon using Zhige. If I did, it would probably destroy it permanently, even after we got out of this arc.

I quickly got lost in my own thoughts again, evaluating all the different possibilities. Finally, my tongue pushed out the clump of fabric in my mouth.

“I wonder if you and Zhige would be good friends,” I said softly at the ribbon, but it remained completely still.

Yue finally regained her footing beside me, but Wei, no longer fighting Zhige, barely pushed her before she fell back on the ground with an utterly defeated sigh.

“Fuck… I don’t remember you being this strong.”

My nostrils flared as I glared at her. “You dumbass!”

Yue's face immediately dropped as she looked incredibly guilty.

Wei gracefully bent down and folded his skirt as he squatted, ensuring the fabric wouldn’t get dirty. His large hand tugged Yue’s ear harshy, and it quickly turned red as she slapped his arm, tapping out.

“I knew it. Who are you actually?” His voice was firm but kept that soft tone to it, almost as if he was scolding someone. My face was squished against the ground, but looking at the sight of one of my most beloved characters before me living so personally…

Could I really call myself a writer? I didn’t know how to explain the emotions that came over me at that moment.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Maybe a part of it was pride.

“Peijin, save me,” Yue whined, her eyes squeezed shut as Wei continued tugging on her ear.

Well, now I could confidently say I felt annoyance.

“Sorry, your highness, but my head is a little jumbled, since you’ve thrown me around everywhere,” I said with a weak laugh, rolling onto my back and trying to shift back onto my knees. “What day is it?”

He cocked his head curiously and stared at me with large blinking eyes while Meihua walked up behind him, dragging Yang behind her and holding onto Amelia’s hand tentatively.

“Do they really hire anybody for espionage now? I can give you some pointers if it's your first time.”

“Ha ha,” I laughed weakly, my cheeks flushed with sheer embarrassment and humiliation. “But really…”

It was a stupid question, but I really, really needed to know the answer. I had no concept of where I was in Wei’s timeline, and unless I did, I wouldn't be able to pull this off.

If this was progressing as I thought it was, then he would already be under persecution by the Daji cult by now for committing a heavenly crime. That’s why Yang would have been chasing him around relentlessly in the Daji uniform.

I quickly thought back to my conversation with Yang, though. Did Yang mention anything about Wei's banishment? I guess I just assumed that was the case.

Yue gave an utterly stupefied look at my question. “Are you kidding?”

Without answering me, Wei lifted me up and threw me over his broad shoulders. I was surprised by how sturdy he was—for the most part, his strong figure was hidden behind those loose white robes.

Meihua picked up Zhige, and its bright, crimson eye lit up in a bizarre manner. It flickered around and stared at her face as if in disbelief, blinking rapidly. It was as if it couldn’t quite grasp the image it saw.

She gave it an intrigued but unknowing look, running her hands down the blade. “You have a very beautiful sword here.”

“Don’t touch it,” I barked angrily, wiggling and trying to get off of Wei.

Her eyes squinted as she gave an entertained smile, placing it back by my side; she was clearly completely unphased. “Wei, isn’t this interesting? I’ve been confused about this little girl and the Daji officer this entire time, but now these two come along speaking of some persecution.”

... Eh? Didn't Wei thank me for offering to help?

Observer 'Socrates': Jia Li learns the art of deception!! Baby's first steps :)

Yang writhed away as Meihua gently tried to remove his mask. He was sweating profusely and his hands quivered obviously.

Clearly, he had not gotten over his fear of women.

Meihua quickly picked up on his nervousness and backed away, giving him an apologetic look.

Observer 'Socrates': THIS IS SO EMBARASSING

What did she mean by speaking of some persecution? Why was Yang chasing them if they weren’t being persecuted by the Daji cult?

… Fuck me.

“Your highness, can I please know what day it is?” I asked again.

Wei quickly threw Yue over his other shoulder and seemed to get ready to leave. “August 16th.”

I sighed and my head went limp as it hit Wei’s back.

I messed up the timeline. I acted too rashly.

They weren’t being persecuted yet.

The official order would come out later today on August 16th—the day before Wei’s birthday. If Yang has been here for two weeks and is sporting the Daji uniform, and he previously mentioned being with Amelia and Wei’s brother for days, then it was merely a coincidence that he was fighting them already.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I cursed bashing my head against his back. Yang wouldn’t have received orders to persecute Wei yet, but he must have known about them given how his elaborate mask signified his high status. That was probably why he stuck around the fight for so long—he was trying to get closer to them Wei and Meihua.

“Your highness, listen to me,” I pleaded, my voice now sincere and genuine. “The Daji are coming for you today. You, Meihua, and your little brother need to leave.”

I was careful not to name drop his younger brother—he was yet to be introduced officially by one of the characters.

“Don’t worry,” Wei replied, dashing through the forest now with surprising speed. Yue screamed and clung onto him, her hair whipping against her face as she tried to spit it out. “I know a good hospital. I’ll pay for your care there.”

“What?! No, I’m serious! Today, the Daji cult is going to begin a manhunt for you and Meihua! Your brother will be killed!”

Wei immediately froze, his gaze cold as he slunk behind a tree, Meihua joining him. She held onto Amelia and the little boy tightly, but her grip on Yang was loose—he dragged around limply behind her, no longer having the energy to protest. I caught sight of his orange eyes staring at me behind the mask.

Wei's voice immediately took on a dangerous edge. “Don’t say things like that.”

“Y-Yang,” I pleaded, turning to face him. It didn’t matter that Wei knew my relationship with Amelia and Yang anymore—he already found out when he tore through Yue’s illusion. “You’re part of the Daji cult, aren’t you?! You would know about the upcoming order!”

Meihua quickly interjected, walking behind Wei to face me. “What are you speaking of? This man—the conflict was that he kidnapped Ailun. There is no "persecution.”

Yang spat out blood, gasping for breath. “Peijin, it’s true. Amelia found Ailun in the market, and they decided to release a merchant’s caged doves,” he swallowed loudly and caught his breath once more. "I 'arrested' him to try and get closer to Wei and Meihua."

“But you must have known about the Daji order,” I urged, getting more desperate. My timeline couldn't possibly be this off. I needed Wei to believe me enough to leave this wicked forest.

This was the day it all went wrong. Wei couldn't awaken now—not when Yue and I were this weak.

“Of course I did!” Yang shouted, “But these two wouldn’t stop attacking me the entire time! What was I supposed to do?! I was trying to let them know!"

“You’re in a police uniform,” Wei retorted, “And you kidnapped my brother for freeing some birds! I paid the merchant for them after."

Yang ignored him, clearly frustrated. “The Daji cult is releasing the official report for detainment today. I don’t know when, but it’s true. Wei is being accused of violating the heavenly law code.”

Wei’s grip on me relaxed. “For what? I’ve never committed a crime.”

That was the truth. Wei was the epitome of a martial god. He was just, kind, powerful, and more importantly, he was beloved. The last thing Wei would ever do, with a heart saturated with justice and ethics, would be throwing away his status for a life of crime and shame.

“They… they think you swapped the fate of your brother with a would-be divinity," Yang stammered.

Wei’s face turned white as snow as he gently placed me on the ground before swaying unsteadily on his feet—Meihua ran up to him and caught him. “No… you’re lying. I have no reason to believe you.”

Swapping fates was the most heinous crime that could be committed in the divine realm. If Ailun was cursed with a bad fate, his fate, with a lot of meddling, could be switched with someone's incredibly fortunate one. That person would be subsequently damned to face whatever Ailun would have had there been no divine intervention.

The punishment for a crime of this level? Well….

Suddenly, my blue vision pulsed as I looked to my side and saw the outline of an eye hidden among the bark of a tree. My blood ran cold immediately, and my breath hitched in my chest.

It was outline in white with long eyelashes, and it blinked slowly while staring straight at me. It wrinkled the bark around it with each movement.

I quickly lifted Zhige and swung him forward. The blade pierced straight into the eye and it shriveled up and oozed magic before vanishing.

“She’s here,” I declared, dashing forward and picking up the long strand of white hair that remained. I showed it to Wei, holding it just before the distraught man.

“Daji is watching us.”