"Princess Yang Ying of Dawu, pay respect to the Sovereign of An."
Yang Ying lifted her eyes. The delicate young lord of the past, adorned with a plum blossom forehead marking stained with blood, had transformed into a graceful woman.
Li Tongguang, standing beside her, was dumbfounded. He barely heard the ensuing dialogue between Yang Ying and the King of An, right up until the moment he followed Yang Ying out through the main hall doors.
Yang Ying used a glance to force away the eunuch trailing behind them before she found a moment to speak with Marquis Changqing, Li Tongguang.
Li Tongguang's gaze still held suspicion. "You are truly a woman?"
Yang Ying returned his look with her eyes. "I have no time to discuss such matters with you. I only wish to know: where is Sister Ruyi now?"
At the very mention of Ruyi's name, Li Tongguang's gaze flickered, a trace of evasion in his eyes as if he found it impossible to face Yang Ying's direct questioning.
"She... she has already..."
"I care nothing for all of that. I want you to give her a proper burial, and her vengeance—I shall certainly exact it for her in days to come." Yang Ying's eyes grew slightly red, yet unlike before, she no longer struggled to hold back her tears.
She understood that from this day forward, no one would protect her, nor did she have the qualification to shed tears lightly. She would save this single tear to shed freely when her great revenge was finally accomplished.
Li Tongguang was likewise struck, time and again, by the dramatic changes in Yang Ying over these few short days. He also understood that Yang Ying was indeed Ren Ruyi's most brilliant disciple; at the very least, she was already far stronger than he had been at her age.
Ren Ruyi's remains had been gathered by his orders and laid to rest in a picturesque spot blessed with mountains and clear waters. Once the location was chosen, he had sent word to Yang Ying, while he himself hid away in his room to drink.
Sitting by the window, lifting his gaze to the moon hanging overhead, two unfilial tears nevertheless slipped down.
At that moment, some commotion sounded from outside the door.
"Who goes there? How dare you trespass upon the Marquis's estate!"
Li Tongguang looked toward the source of the noise. The figure wearing a black cloak had most of their face concealed, yet from their posture, he recognized them at once.
"Withdraw, all of you."
With a wave of the newcomer's hand, the men in black who had been crossing swords with the courtyard guards lowered their weapons and retreated outward. In an instant, only the two of them remained in the room.
The cloak's hood was removed, revealing none other than the Noble Consort, who ought at this hour to have been confined within the palace.
"Have you lost your mind? Sneaking out of the palace at a time like this—if someone were to see you, then—"
Noble Consort Chu's eyes appeared similarly red-rimmed. "Yes, I have lost my mind! I lost my mind when I actually believed your words and agreed to plot for this land of An with you!"
"Silence!" Seeing that Noble Consort Chu was already speaking recklessly, Li Tongguang hurried to stop her.
Noble Consort Chu's eyes grew moist, seemingly stung by Li Tongguang's sudden harsh tone. "You talk endlessly of helping me, but you still favor that neither-male-nor-female Prince Li, don't you?"
For a moment, Li Tongguang did not know how to respond.
"I am telling you, it is impossible! The position of Empress can only be mine, and you can only be mine!" The intense resentment saturating Noble Consort Chu's words gave Li Tongguang a severe headache.
Suddenly, a realization struck him, and his expression changed drastically. "What did you do to Yang Ying?" Li Tongguang reached out and grabbed Noble Consort Chu by the shoulders. "Speak!"
Noble Consort Chu laughed out of extreme anger. "What more could I do? Naturally, I sent the finest assassins of my Shabu Tribe to dispatch her to the netherworld! What, does it pain your heart?"
Li Tongguang's mouth twitched. Swallowing hard, he abruptly abandoned Noble Consort Chu and bolted toward the door.
***
Meanwhile, before Ruyi's headstone, Yang Ying sat upon the ground, leaning directly against the cold stone marker. Everyone else had been driven back to a distance; she only wished to speak her private, intimate thoughts with Ruyi.
"Sister Ruyi, I have put on women's clothes. Come to think of it, you never yet saw me dressed as a woman. Do I look well?"
Yang Ying lowered her head to stroke the fabric. "Look, this is Yun brocade! In the past, I had only ever seen my sister-in-law wear it. It truly is so lovely, and so comfortable."
Even as she spoke, two tears fell onto her hem. "Sister Ruyi, I didn't want to cry; the tears simply came on their own. I am happy—I am exceptionally happy. It seems I truly can walk forward relying upon myself."
Yang Ying wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve. "It is a fortunate thing Marquis Changqing didn't see this, or he would certainly mock me. But, Sister Ruyi... I am still so afraid. I miss you so much. I miss Brother Yuanzhou, and I miss Yuan Lu, Big Brother Qian Zhao, Big Brother Sun Lang, and Chief Du—I wonder if his injuries are somewhat better..."
While Yang Ying was still murmuring amidst her tears, unusual sounds traveled from afar, gradually growing distinct.
"Who goes there... Ah..."
The clash of arms pulled Yang Ying out of her sorrow. She immediately scrambled to her feet, wanting to see what was happening, only to see two soldiers running back from the distance, shouting at the top of their lungs:
"Assassins! There are assassins! Ah..."
An arrow flew in from afar, piercing straight through a soldier's chest. Yang Ying watched with her own eyes as he collapsed right before her.
She retreated swiftly, searching for cover, and curled herself into a tight ball. She silently recited what Sister Ruyi had taught her: curl into a ball, then draw the short blade from her sleeve—the moment anyone approached, she would drive it straight into their neck.
"Yang Ying, be calm. I am the Prince Li of Dawu, I am afraid of nothing! Sister Ruyi will protect me..." She kept chanting inwardly, straining her ears to discern how far the battle outside had progressed.
The sounds of combat gradually subsided, leaving only the occasional groan of a guard struck by a blade, until even those cries ceased entirely.
The surroundings grew deathly still, save for footsteps drawing closer and closer—they seemed to have reached right behind her.
A blade was raised high, poised to descend. Yang Ying lunged forward, dodging the blow. Another slash came; Yang Ying tried desperately to block it with her short blade, but the sheer force knocked the weapon from her grip, sending her tumbling to the ground.
The blade was raised once more. Panic flashed in Yang Ying's eyes as she threw her hands up to protect her head, finally unable to hold back a scream.
"Ah!"
"Ah..."
A single agonizing cry rang out, and the blade-wielding figure in black pitched straight forward, crashing down right in front of her with a knife embedded in his back.
Following the trajectory whence the flying knife had come, she saw a flash of red. A veil covered the lower half of her face, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed. In those eyes burned unwavering resolve, fierce ruthlessness, and the supreme, peerless dominance of one who would slay all who stood in her path.
In Yang Ying's eyes, it was impossible to tell whether this was the joy of escaping death or the ecstasy of a long-awaited reunion.
Ren Ruyi twirled her sword into a protective flourish and fought her way straight toward Yang Ying. Several distant assassins rushed forward to block her path, but all fell beneath her blade.
Yang Ying could tell that Ruyi was somewhat different from before. In the past, she poured her inner energy into her swordsmanship, making every single move far more lethal, whereas now, she needed both hands just to support the weight and parry with her sword, relying entirely on exquisite technique to fend off and wound her opponents.
"Ru—watch out behind you!" Yang Ying spotted an assassin lingering in the shadows, waiting to strike, and cried out a warning. Ruyi spun around with blinding speed, thrusting her sword straight through the would-be assassin.
Realizing they could not deal with this red-clad woman right away, and jolted by Yang Ying's warning, the remaining assassins brandished their swords once more and charged at Yang Ying.
"Kill her!"