Huang Fu continued to aggressively sign his frustration. His hands moving at a speed no elderly should be capable of as his wrinkled forehead pulls taunt in an angry frown.

"As a Prince Consort you must behave accordingly! Do you think the Empress would stand for behaviours such as this? Do you spirits care not for manners?"

Bai Li picked up the delicate tea cup in front of him, covering the sight with his wide sleeves as he savoured the Camellia tea. Imperial doctors fluttered around him in a dance of white robes, their many bodies covering the choked sobs of a young Lord currently hunched over across the marble table. A tea spoon embedded in his hand.

"This is the third noble who would leave the palace with wounds he did not have before. How am I supposed to explain this? Before you decide to act on your incurable rage, would it hurt you to be considerate of others who would have to clean up after you?"

As if called upon, the young Lord Bai Li did not try to and could not remember the name of let out a pained cry as doctors worked silently around him. Just like the old man before him, they all had their tongue removed upon entering the palace. A sign of their silence and loyalty to the throne.

Bai Li set his tea cup down, folded his sleeves back neatly and as the man's hands shook with the effort to convey his anger Bai Li sighed, realising that the elder had no intentions of stopping.

So, he simply closed his eyes.

Huang Fu's face grew as red as the blood pooling around the young master's hunched figure. He curled his hands into fists in disbelief, those very same fists jerking in a moment of indecisiveness before the royal doctor remembered himself. Taking a deep breath, a vein in his head throbbed. He tried signing again.

"You imbecile."

Bai Li kept his eyes closed.

The young Lord's cries grew louder and more like that of a babe's with each passing second. Bai Li lifted the tea cup to his lips once more, he drank the rest of its soothing content in one delicate gulp before placing it back down on its saucers.

"Qing Yu." At the sound of his name, Bai Li's personal guard stepped forward. Qing Yu was draped in layers of black and gold. Robes worn only by royal guards with a matching sword strapped to his waist. A golden dragon was stitched into the design, curling up his chest and disappearing around his neck.

Unlike the other guards however, there was a golden piece of silk tied around his eyes to hide the milky irises of the blind underneath. Qing Yu picked up the emerald teapot with precision, pouring tea gently into Bai Li's tea cup as the man's wails turned into ear piercing screams the moment the spoon in his hand was roughly pulled out.

Bai Li opened his eyes, the disapproving scowl on his face enough to send any child running to their parents for reassurance. Ignoring Huang Fu's widening eyes at the opportunity to continue his scoldings, Bai Li set his teacup down harder than necessary, the edges cracking.

"A liar as well as a coward." He stated. Qing Yu whipped out a silk handkerchief from his robes, dabbing at the droplets of tea that had splashed onto Bai Li's hands.

Huang Fu swatted at his hands.

"Stop that, he is spoiled enough as is."

Qing Yu frowned at the general direction of the old man and Huang Fu sighed. His message unreceived.

"A coward he may be, but a liar, my Lord?" Qing Yu replied, slowly reaching forward and once he was sure he would not get swatted again, continued to clean the remaining droplets.

"He claims to be a martial artist."

"He is, my Lord."

This shocked Bai Li greatly. He stared at the man in mild horror. "I may have lost my memories, but not my senses. How dare you try to deceive me?"

"His talents may be naught but he is the youngest family of house Ge. Li Ge has been practising sword arts ever since he was five, my Lord."

"And how old is he now?"

"Twenty-five."

"I pity the civilians who look upon him for protection."

"You spirit bastard!" The young master spat out which in his state, made him seem quite pathetic. The tears continued to stream down his cheeks, his neck pulsing in anger as his other unharmed hand gripped the table for support. There was snot running down his nose.

Li Ge opened his mouth to continue his parade of insults only for a choked whimper to escape when the doctors cleaned his wound and started to stitch. Bai Li took another sip of his tea and waited.

"Do you not know who I am?" Li Ge continued, finding his breath as he glared fiercely. "I am the descendant of the Ge family, the most promising son even amongst all my siblings. Once my father hears about this-"

"Shall I cut off his tongue?" Bai Li asked out loud to no one in particular. Huang Fu's face whipped towards him as Qing Yu's hand went to the sword around his waist.

"If it is what you wish."

"What?" Li Ge spluttered, he looked between Bai Li and Qing Yu, his face twisting in such ugly rage Bai Li thought it was going to explode. "You dare threaten me?"

"I do not make threats." Bai Li simply replied, he gave no signal and his guard's hand did not sway from the hilt of his sword. Though without sight, Qing Yu was one of the most talented swordsmen in the Empire. Before he became Bai Li's guard the man was known as Tainted Snow. For whenever his blade was drawn blood would flow from the sky like snow.

An odd name, Bai Li had thought, for an odd man.

"I do not care who your family is, Lu Ge. You have trespassed into my gardens, invited yourself to have tea and continued to spout nonsense. If you were truly a martial master, you would have avoided my strike. Are you not ashamed?" He glanced down to the bloody mess. "You were struck by a spoon."

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Lu Ge's face flamed even brighter. "My name is Li Ge." He hissed. "And it is a known fact that spirits are faster than humans."

"So you admit that you're weak, yet you continue to be a pest." Bai Li frowned, perplexed. "You're spouting nonsense, is your brain a decoration?"

The doctors had finally finished wrapping up his wound, stopping the bleeding as much as they could. Li Ge almost jumped across the table as he pushed back his chair, knocking some of the people gathered back.

"I had bought you a gift, an honourable visit from the Ge family and yet you-a soulless spirit-dare to insult me?"

"You brought me a useless box of foul medicines and an invitation to be a Ge whore. I may not be your kind, Li Ge, but I know lust when I see it and you-" Bai Li spoke calmly, picking his tea cup back up. "-are lusting for something you will never have."

Li Ge's nostrils flared and for a moment it seemed as if the young master was going to draw his sword (whether it was because of the rejection or the implication of him indulging in sodomy) when his face suddenly relaxed.

The sneer shifted into a mockery of a smile. "You know lust when you see it, huh?" He spoke, straightening up now as he crossed his arms. "What else could I have expected from the Empress's beloved concubine. Tell me, spirit, is it true she calls for you every week's end? I have heard her sounds of pleasure shake the palace walls."

The doctors cleaning up the bloodied table seemed to jolt at his words, Huang Fu's eyes widening in fear as his gaze shifted towards Bai Li in anticipation.

The Empress's whore. Bai Li no longer felt the rage that used to flare at such words. For now, all it was, was reality. He was married to the Empress but not accepted by the Emperor. A concubine, a laughingstock for all.

Bai Li, the soulless spirit without his memories, shackled by the greed and lust of humans who yearn to have what they should not. His lips halted near the tea cup, losing his appetite. The humans who dared keep the soul of a spirit for their own gain.

"Ah..." Li Ge trailed off, mistaking the frozen state of those around him as victorious. "Have I struck a nerve? You must forgive me, the rumours of her majesty's new concubine had been so alluring I had to meet you for myself. You see, my brothers had believed them to be an exaggeration of a human's beauty. For no one would believe that a powerful spirit would stay shackled for so long. But then again, perhaps you're not as strong as they say-"

Bai Li had leaped across the table, a clawed hand outstretched as he grabbed a hold of the young master's face. The two of them tumbled down scattering the royal physicians who ran out of the pavilion with haste. Elder Huang Fu being the only one who stayed behind and the old man let out sounds of distress but even he knew better than to try and directly stop the mad concubine.

Li Ge's yell of surprise was cut short as his head bashed against the wooden floor beneath. His eyes widened in fear, staring up at the concubine straddling his chest. Before, though touched with an eerie air of a predator, Bai Li still seemed human. Now, with half of his face covered in a shadow, golden eyes gleaming with promise, the concubine looked nothing short of the man eating spirit he was warned to be.

The young master opened up his mouth, hands going to his sword but Bai Li paid no attention to that. Before the human could form a word Bai Li thrust his fingers down the man's throat. With fluid movement he pierced a single claw through the man's soft wet tongue, gripped the bottom with his thumb and yanked.

Li Ge's scream was cut short as his tongue flopped on the floor like a lifeless eel. Bai Li's hand was dripping with blood, hanging limply to his side as he watched in fixed fascination when the man continued to scream soundlessly, his sword forgotten as his hands went to grasp at his throat.

Red pulled from his mouth down the side of his face, the man choking where he laid and Bai Li leaned his head back slightly, breathing in the scent of metallic blood. He felt his mouth salivate, his fingers twitched with the urge to feast.

The Empress was seconds away from having another death on her hands when the cold steel of a sword pressed against Bai Li's neck. He knew without looking back that it was Qing Yu, warning him to stop before he could even put his thoughts to action.

His tongue trailed against the back of his teeth, stomach clenching in hunger no amount of food could suffice. The man was still choking beneath him, gargling blood, in denial of the voice he could not produce. It would be so easy to feast on his heart, consequences be damned.

"My Lord." Qing Yu mumbled, his voice held no pity nor fear. Just plain in its statement. Qing Yu would fight to the death if he lost control, and though Qing Yu's death would not mean much in the many years to come in Bai Li's life, he did not yearn for it.

Sighing, Bai Li slowly rose and stepped away from the man. Huang Fu immediately rushed in to prevent the young master's death. He did not care for the splatters of red on his robes, nor the tongue laying limply beside his feet.

With a dismissive wave Bai Li turned his back on the withering man, loosely clasping his hands behind his back as he walked towards the edge of the pavilion where royal doctors were rushing in.

"Forgive me, my Lord." Qing Yu spoke as he kept a close distance behind Bai Li, sheathing his black sword. A sword specifically used to harm and even kill spirits. Bai Li glanced down at it shortly before looking ahead. "I did not want to draw my blade on you."

"Whether you want to or not does not matter does it? As an Emperor's dog, your every breath is by his will."

If Qing Yu found offence to his words, the blind man did not show it. It was one of the reasons the man had lasted so long as Bai Li's personal guard while the rest had either ran or were killed. It irritated him to admit it, but Bai Li suspected Qing Yu pitied him, empathised with him. He lifted his chin, whether it was pity or empathy, the moment Qing Yu showed such things would be the moment he died.

"I am your sword, my Lord. Your will is the only one I follow."

"Is what you keep saying, yet you intervene whenever I draw blood."

"That is for your safety."

"My safety." Bai Li repeated, his voice softening and Qing Yu fell silent at the eerie sound. Instead, the man simply bowed his head low, a gesture of submission and that was the end of it.

If Bai Li had killed the man today, not only would the Empress drag him to the dungeons, torturing him to her sadistic needs night after night. But he would then be thrown into her chambers for days on end where he'd starve and be used for his body, his absence would be dangerous for Qing Yu. For the Emperor would not simply stand idly by when an opportunity presents itself to get rid of them both from his palace.

Qing Yu was right, but Bai Li would rip out his own tongue before ever admitting such things.

"I'm starved." Bai Li announced once they were across the bridge. Here, the grounds bloomed with bright red flowers as tall as his ankles and as bright as the blood on his claws. The scent was soothing, dampening the other lingering smells of humans and their medicines. "Bring me a fish."

"Yes, my Lord." Qing Yu bowed his head before stalking off to grab whoever he senses first and relay the demand. Bai Li did not halt in his steps back towards the palace grounds. The humans have chosen well, building a palace in front of the mountain for him to relax and isolate from their rowdy selves.

Once Bai Li was awakened, the Emperor had demanded a ward be built around the palace grounds and forest floors to prevent his escape. Even now Bai Li could spot the hundreds if not thousands of talismans hung or plastered on the trees he passed. Some were in the shapes of gemstones hung from the branches. Others, the stronger charms were formed by the bones of the living, pierced into the trucks of trees to draw out its energy and the most common ones were charms written on pieces of paper, a modernised version of the language he'd once known.

Bai Li had just emerged from the thick shadows of the forest, golden eyes gleaming in the bright sunlight when he saw Qing Yu rushing towards him from the palace gates. The two guards stationed beside its opening grey arches stiffening, their hold on their swords tightening at the sight of the spirit. Bai Li paid them no mind, continuing to walk as Qing Yu fell to his side.

"My Lord, the Empress calls. I had made sure to check if any of the guards or doctors have returned but I must have missed some-"

"Calm your mind, Qing Yu. She will not take me over such a small matter." The guards did not bow as he passed, nor did they acknowledge him in any way.

"When has she ever needed a reason to?" Qing Yu responded, and the bite in his voice was not towards his Lord, but the Empress. Bai Li looked skyward, it had only been four moons ever since he last visited her chambers. He did not believe he'd be able to uphold the role of a lover if the Empress decided to call on him now.

Bai Li breathed in the fading scent of the forest and stepped into the palace grounds, his head held high.

"She is the Empress after all, what reason would she need?"