Xie Song-jun

2022 years after The Long Night

Xi Qiáng Forest

“Come on, it’s not that heavy! A’Song, hurry up boy!”

You insignificant, lecherous little flea! Try carrying this thing back and forth twenty times after having spent all day setting up the camp you’re lazing about in!

Trying her hardest not to look like she was struggling, Song-jun straightened her shoulders, knees protesting as she continued toward the camp.

A few of the men laughed-

“What’s the point of having a servant if he’s a weak little sapling?!”

Despite their teasing, Song-jun gritted her teeth. The buckets weren’t that heavy one at a time, but carrying two tied on the ends of a stick, as her traveling companions requested, was definitely pushing it.

A part of her kept wanting to complain; this is ridiculous! Catering to the whims of these foolish men, none of whom know who I am or where I am from-

But, Song-jun had gotten herself into this, and she could handle a bit of suffering if it meant getting closer to what she wanted.

After dumping the buckets in the trough for the horses, a man sitting by the fire at the center of their make-shift camp called for her. This was Tang Lim, and he seemed to be the one all the others listened to the most. Song-jun was being very careful not to get on his bad side…

“A’Song, come here a moment-”

Seeing the way a few of the others were snickering and avoiding her gaze, Song-jun started getting a sinking feeling.

“Unfortunately we can’t drink out of the horse's water, so how about you go fetch two more buckets, and then you’re free to turn in for the night.”

She had to grit her teeth, and before her expression could betray her inner thoughts, she forced out-

“Yes, sir! Right away sir, thank you sir!”

She could hear them laughing as she hurried away.

This was definitely up there with the most humiliated the Princess had ever felt, so naturally she kept imagining her fathers and Uncle’s different ways of helping her through this…

Seems they were really her strength in everything.

Yi-jun would probably tell her to just endure it for now. Songcai would urge her to practice caution, setting up barriers and using talismans at night when she sealed herself away in a small tent under a tree. Reian would likely show how concerned he was through nervous muttering, and then Kai-Le, man of little words, would very astutely point out to Song-jun that because she was in charge of the men’s water supply, she could very easily find something unpleasant to serve them tonight. If she wished. Which she did. But she also didn’t want to be discovered, so it was best to keep playing it safe.

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Playing it safe had sounded so easy before she knew Su Lan was going to be around. It felt like he was always watching her, and Song-jun worried that at any moment he’d realize who she was… maybe he already did know, and was just waiting for the right time to use it against her in the worst possible way.

Panting, flushed, and more sweaty than she’d care to admit, Song-jun returned with the water and sat it down before them all, relieved that finally she could rest, as it was fast approaching dusk.

Tang Lim and the others seemed to inspect what she’d brought, but before Song-jun could thank them again and scurry off, suddenly there was a strong hand around her wrist.

“How silly of us!” One of the men cried, “This isn’t the right water at all!”

Song-jun was more than aware that if she wanted to, if she was really in any danger, she could try and escape. She’d blow her cover though, so she remained still and let two of them urge her on. When they got to the edge of the lake, they pointed and grinned.

“This! This is the right water, this is the water we asked for! So hurry up and get to it-”

And that was the last thing Song-jun heard before she was being pushed in.

Karma will kill them all, karma will kill them all-

She repeated her little, newly coined mantra as she hurriedly swam to the surface and gasped for air. It seemed absolutely abhorrent to her to rely on something as slow-moving as karma, and try as she might, Song-jun still violently wanted to curse every last one of them out and light matches between their toes-

Between the sounds of the men laughing as they walked away and Song-jun coughing up water, she also heard something else… footsteps?

“Wahh!”

Without any warning, suddenly she was being yanked up by the back of her shirt and tossed unceremoniously onto the bank. Still gasping, disoriented and shivering, the Princess didn’t notice for far too long that she was not only missing her hat, but her hair had come undone-

“What the fuck?!”

Song-jun froze. That voice…

It was still a shock when she looked up and saw him there. Su Lan was glaring at her, clearly stunned, and it was obvious why. He recognized her. Song-jun had been caught.

“This-” she gasped, “Isn’t what it looks like…”

“You! What are you-”

“Hey! Are you coming?!”

Song-jun barely heard one of the others calling for Su Lan, before suddenly she was being kicked- KICKED back into the water!

Sputtering and splashing and definitely turning bright red as she imagined all the ways she was going to kill this bastard as soon as she was able, the Princess finally struggled to the surface again, only to see said bastard kneeling right there on the bank, pressing a finger to his lips in a misplaced effort to keep her silent.

Song-jun was obviously gathering energy and breath to scream at him, or just launch an attack right then and there, to hell with her mission, when Su Lan said in a low voice-

“I will keep your secret, Princess. So keep mine.”

You wish, monster!!!!

Hissing rather venomously, Song-jun said-

“The only secret I can think of is the fact that you’re a demon and a traitor!”

Something flashes in Su Lan’s eyes and he immediately stood up and tried to back away. In a fit of anger, Song-jun reached out and grabbed his ankle, listening to the eerie silence as he fell flat on the ground, almost as if he’d landed effortlessly.

“Listen up, you monster!” Song-jun says quickly. “If you stay out of my way I’ll stay out of yours, but if for one second I think you’re planning something, I promise I will figure out a way to kill you before you can even remember the word mercy!”

The genuine look of fear on Su Lan’s face is honestly somewhat strange. Song-jun doesn’t think, even if she tried her hardest, that she could kill him. She’s no threat to this creature at all. So… why does he seem terrified of her?

Su Lan thrashes a bit and gets his leg out of her hold. Song-jun actually has to duck out of the way to avoid being kicked in the head by him, and while underwater she makes one more promise to herself while she’s here.

Never… never! I’m never going to let his life be easy again!