A grand chariot rests before a towering building, flanked on each side by a squadron of men donning white and gold robes. Sheathed blades, each marked with the character “Zhou” at the center of the crossguard, hang motionless from their sash as they patiently await the arrival of the second son of Zhou.
Though late in the night, the entire building remains well lit, basking in the glow of dancing lanterns lining the edges of the multi-layered roofs. From within the grand lobby of the building, a figure slowly approaches the squadron of armed men. Upon spotting him, the entire squadron drops to one in unison with cupped hands.
“Prince Zhou Weixing!” The burly middle-aged man kneeling before the chariot door calls out. “This humble one is relieved to see you in good health! I’ve been tasked with escorting you ba-”
“Please, rise.” Wei cuts the man off before glancing back at the employees inside the Resting Crane Tree lobby. Seeing that they’re all respectfully keeping their gazes low, he breathes a sigh of relief before turning back to the man. Seeing the shock in the man’s eyes, Wei continues. “What’s with the face? Please, rise. You’re making a scene.”
The shock isn’t isolated to just the middle-aged man, but rather the entire squadron of guards. They glance at one another, unsure if their ears are playing tricks on them. Despite their initial hesitation and confusion, they still obey the command and rise one by one.
“Uh… Apologies, Prince Wei…” The man continues slowly, taking the extra time to think carefully as he assesses the unfamiliar boy before him. “As I was saying, in light of recent events, your parents have tasked me with escorting you back to the capital until the Academy reopens its gates.”
“Sorry for wasting your time…” Wei pauses, realizing he never took the time to learn the names of his guards. “Um, what’s your name?”
“Uh… This humble one is Ma Yongfu, Prince Wei.”
“Right. Sorry for wasting your time, Guard Yongfu, but I’m not leaving.” Wei reaches towards the scroll on his sash, tugging it free and handing it over. “Please return to the capital and hand that to my parents. They’ll understand.”
Yongfu stares blankly at the scroll in his hand, his mind still trying to comprehend the situation. First, the sudden inclusion of the word “please” and “sorry” in their young prince’s vocabulary caused everyone present to flinch. Afterwards, the uncharacteristic name request filled them with confusion and shock. Now, they glance at each other once again upon hearing that their second prince doesn’t wish to return to the luxuries of the Zhou Royal Palace.
“Young Prince, excuse me for asking, but…” Yongfu’s hand suddenly blurs towards the handle of his blade. With a sharp hum, he extracts the blade a few centimeters. Upon hearing the click of their leader’s blade lifting from its sheath, the entire squadron of guards follow suit. Yongfu glares at the confused boy before him, paying extra attention to Wei’s face to gauge his reaction. “When you were four, we accompanied you and Empress Zhou to Jing City. A certain event ha-”
“You imbeciles! You dare draw your bl-” Wei holds his tongue, realizing that although he had more than enough reason to snap, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he should. He takes a deep breath, holding it to calm his anger before releasing a heavy sigh. Recalling that day, his anger suddenly turns into embarrassment. “I stole uncle Ming’s keys and snuck into the vault… I… I locked myself in there… By the time you found me, I was-”
“Crying from a stomach ache from… consuming unprocessed herbs…” Yongfu mumbles. His eyes suddenly grow hazy as he releases the handle of his sword. “Young Prince, is it really you?”
The guards’ reaction sends Wei’s mind spiraling through all his recent interactions. As he recalls his attitude and behavior towards others, he realizes that perhaps their overreaction was not that much of an overreaction. In fact, considering recent events, their reaction was actually fully justifiable.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Dammit…” Wei mumbles, pressing his palm against his forehead to ease the splitting headache as he recalls a specific encounter with a certain somebody. After a short moment, he sighs before stepping towards the carriage. “Guard Yongfu, do you perhaps know where Grandmaster Ghost Doctor resides?”
[https://i.ibb.co/R36t1Vr/Swordand-Crownseparator.png]
A chilly night breeze sweeps across the streets of New Hope City, accompanying the sparse pedestrians as they make their ways home after a long day of work. Amidst the howling gale, the faint sound of creaking can be heard from a signboard, swaying back and forth in response to the passing wind.
Just above the signboard, marked by a black root, an elderly man enjoys a cup of Longjing tea. The grassy and faintly floral aroma of the tea wisps with the breeze, circulating through the chamber before escaping through the open window. Occasionally, the elderly man would glance out at the street below, smiling as he watches a figure rush by.
“Two hundred and ninety-eight.” As the figure disappears once again from his line of sight, the elderly chuckles to himself before taking another sip from his teacup. “Blessed with talent; tempered by effort. Gyohoho! In due time, my child, a great man you will become.”
“Talking to ghosts?” A voice jests from the entryway to the room. “I guess it’s not just Mo who’s going senile.”
“That is my title, is it not?” The elderly man releases a hearty laugh. Without turning to face the owner of the voice, he lifts his foot and taps the chair across from him, sending it sliding out a meter to welcome company. “Come join me, Jingang. The tea is still hot.”
“No thanks.” Grandmaster Liu flatly rejects the offer as he makes his way towards the chair. Upon sitting down, he lifts a gourd from his sash, waving it around before the elderly man. “No offense, Yi, but your choice of drink is inferior to Mo’s. Bahahaha!”
“You should lay off.” Grandmaster Yi breaks his gaze from the street, turning towards the sloshing sound. “Alcohol will be the death of you.”
“Is that advice from the exalted Ghost Doctor? Or the Demon of Black Root Grotto?”
“Gyohoho! Old friend, let’s not resort to cheap jabs.” Despite the unpleasant reminder, Grandmaster Yi brushes the joke aside without taking any offense. Seeing the grim look in his friend’s gaze, he continues. “So, tell me old friend, was I exaggerating?”
“To carve through half the valley… No, not ‘carve’...” Grandmaster Liu furrows his brows as images of the sundered valley flashes across his mind. He swiftly takes a swig of baijiu to ease the unending headache. With an annoyed grumble, he continues. “And they call me the walking calamity. Bah!”
Although Grandmaster Yi had often seen his old friend crinkle his brows in anger, he seldom sees him do so from stress. Upon stabilizing Anning’s condition, Grandmaster Yi had detoured towards the Viridian Valley before returning to New Hope City. Having witnessed the aftermath of the dragon's wrath, awoken from his peaceful slumber, Grandmaster Yi can relate to the fear looming on his friend’s shoulders.
“Two hundred and ninety-nine…”
Grandmaster Yi smiles as he senses his son approaching the clinic. He turns towards the window and watches as Dan’s figure darts by. Confused by his friend’s unfazed attitude towards the matter regarding the walking calamity, Grandmaster Liu sticks his head out the window, catching a glimpse of Dan just before he disappears around the corner.
“Looks like your boy’s recovering faster than expected… At least physically.” Grandmaster Liu retracts his gaze from the street, leaning back in his chair with a slight hint of concern in his eyes.
“He’s got a lot on his mind, but he’ll overcome.”
“You’re hands off then? Ain’t that a little too much for a boy to navigate alone?” Grandmaster Liu takes another swig, eyes full of anticipation as he awaits an answer.
“Just borrowing one from your book. Zhi turned out okay, did he not?”
“Bah! What’s that supposed to mean?” Grandmaster Liu grumbles at the comment, taking it as a jab at his methods. “It’s a tough world out there, if I held his hand every step of the way, would he be half the ma- Oh…” He suddenly understands the meaning behind Grandmaster Yi’s words. With a hearty laugh, he continues. “Bahahaha! You can borrow from my book all you want, old fart. After all, I’m quite benevolent.”
"Even without me, he'll overcome as all great men do." Sensing his son approaching the clinic, this time with a companion, Grandmaster Yi ignores his old friend's self-flattery. He chuckles before continuing. "Even without me, he's not alone."
“Hmm?” Grandmaster Liu senses the same, turning his gaze towards the approaching duo- one trailing significantly behind the other. “What’s the Zhou boy doing here? I thought Mo sent everyone home.”