Lixue watches her father’s weathered fingers lift the Cannon over her Soldier, diving straight for her Elephant and landing next to her Advisor.
“Jiàng.”
She bites the corner of her lip as she is forced to evacuate her General.
*Clack… clack… clack…*
Her father presses on relentlessly. Lixue’s heart begins to race as she watches her window to victory shrink further and further.
*Clack.*
“Jiàng jié.”
Lixue sighs as she falls back into her seat. She stares at the sky as she replays the last set of moves in her mind.
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A blurry object hurtles toward Xi and Maoyi, their minds still haunted by the gruesome image of Wei's brutal act. As the object slices through the gap between them, it sends their hair rippling. A resounding crack rings out as the sword and its sheath pierce into the trunk of the elm tree. As Xi's hair floats gently down, her gaze locks onto Dan as he swiftly sweeps Anning off her feet before vanishing in a blur. Shortly after losing sight of him, a thunderous crash followed by a blood-curdling scream reaches her ears.
“On your feet, coward. Chunhua told you to protect me. So why am I the one protecting you?”
Though the words weren't meant for her, Xi feels shaken to her core. She closes her eyes as her hair falls amidst the crashing rain. Raindrops drip from the tips of her bangs, tracing a path down her face towards the point of her chin. She takes a deep breath.
“Coward.”
A different voice echoes in her mind, an endearing, soft, and soothing presence she holds deep in her heart. Xi exhales, her eyes snapping open. In one fluid motion, she swings her arm around her neck and grabs the sword's handle, leaving the sheath embedded in the elm tree. With one hand, she raises the blade to her face as another flash of lightning tears through the torrential sky, illuminating the battlefield and casting her lucid eyes onto the flat side of the blade.
Xi propels herself forward, extending the blade before her as she executes a graceful spin through the air aiming at one of the masked men. The man abruptly halts his advance as the blade surges toward his chest. He swiftly shifts his weight, avoiding the deadly strike as the blade cuts through the empty air near his chest. Just as the man attempts to reach for his own blade to parry the next attack, his eyes widen in shock as a sharp object whistles through the rain, piercing his palm as he reaches for the handle.
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Xi capitalizes on this fleeting opportunity, extending her foot to hook against his neck while stomping at an angle to his injured arm. With his neck as the pivot and the stomp to redirect her momentum, Xi swings around the man with her blade aimed at his exposed back.
In a state of panic, the masked man reaches for his sword with his left hand. As he opens his palm, a sharp object whistles toward it, piercing straight through his wrist before stabbing into his waist. He opens his mouth to cry out, but instead, coughs up a mouthful of blood as the tip of a blade pierces through his back, exiting from his left chest. As blood streams down the tip of his mask, the man looks down at the hole in his chest before collapsing.
Xi regains her footing as the masked man stumbles, unsheathing the sword from his sash as he collapses onto the ground. Without pause, Xi kicks off again, dodging attacks from two masked men as she propels through the air towards Maoyi.
Awoken from her daze by the sound of Xi drawing the blade from the elm tree, Maoyi swiftly reaches into her satchel. She takes a moment to feel around, taking inventory of the tools at her disposal. Finding nothing, her gaze shifts toward the ground at the rare root she had extracted. Bending down, ignoring the faint blue glow, Maoyi retrieves the pair of harvesting scissors beside the Azure Glimmerroot. She slides one hand through each handle before forcefully pulling them apart, causing the steel pin holding the scissors together to snap with a resounding clang.
As the pin flies through the air, Maoyi winds one arm around her chest and neck before snapping it towards Xi. Though she wanted to aim at the man’s neck, she didn’t feel confident with all the adrenaline in her veins. Instead she aims to assist Xi in her assault.
The first half of the scissors rips through the air, piercing the man’s sword hand. Maoyi then winds her other arm back before whipping it outwards. The second half of the scissors flies through the air, finding its target with precision. Maoyi watches intently as Xi spins through the air above her, wielding one blade in each hand. As Xi descends toward Maoyi, she drops one of the blades into Maoyi’s outstretched palm.
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Wei clenches his teeth, pushing himself off the ground and onto his feet. "Don’t get the wrong idea either. This is for Chunhua, not you."
The sight of Dan's back, coupled with the disdainful gaze, fuels his anger. Despite his trembling legs and shaking hands, he steps past Dan. He tightens his grip on Chunhua's blade as the rain washes away the blood, taking a deep breath to control his racing heart. He glances in the direction where Chunhua was sent flying before turning back to lock his eyes onto the two masked men approaching Dan.
“Zhou Weixing. Are you a respectable member of the Zhou royal family? Are you someone who can earn that respect by living up to his name?”
Chunhua’s voice rings in his mind.
Senior Chunhua…
He leans forward with bent knees, preparing for contact.
My name is Zhou Weixing.
He exhales slowly.
A respectable member of the Zhou royal bloodline.
Holding the blade firmly by his side with the tip pointed towards the ground behind him, he waits as the two masked men enter his range.
I can- I will earn that respect and live up to my name.