AN: Hey guys, this is adrenaline1217 here. I'm fairly new to this website, and this is my first story. I'm an overseas fan, as you can probably see cause I'm writing in English (wow that was blatantly obvious). I honestly have no idea what this is going to turn out to be, so please do leave a comment or some tips for where the story should go.
The story picks up from where Xing'er starts to have second thoughts about Yanbei and her loyalty (not to mention love) towards Yan Xun. Many thanks to rampantwolfhound for giving me really awesome advice on writing. Peace out!
Yuwen Yue sat at his mahogany desk, poring over numerous rolls of scrolls piled up in...well, a pile. He absent-mindedly scanned the bamboo scrolls, thoughts far away in another place.
Now that you're here in Yanbei as well, you have the chance to protect your beloved, he thought to himself. Even though Xing'er may never return your feelings… Yuwen Yue dismissed the unpleasant thought. He would make sure she would be safe regardless of her thoughts about himself.
Just then, a loud knock came on the door of his spacious room.
"Come in," Yuwen Yue called out, pretending to be returning to his tedious task of reading. He wondered who it was - no one usually knocked on his door this late at night. His hand instinctively reached for his sword, just to give him a little extra protection.
The door opened and a messenger walked in, bowing his head towards Yuwen Yue.
"Master, someone asked for this to be passed to you," the messenger respectfully said and took out a familiar object from his sleeve, rendering Yuwen Yue almost speechless. He took the object in his hands. It was a multicolored wooden robin, one that he knew all too well.
"Who sent you to give this to me?"Yuwen Yue demanded, putting his calm facade back on.
The messenger cautiously lifted his head, clearly terrified of the young master of Qing Shan Yuan. Who wouldn't be?
"Young master, it-it was the princess of Liang. I-I thought the young master would know this?" The messenger stuttered, shaking nervously.
Yuwen Yue waved his hand in a gesture of dismissal. The messenger then bowed once more and hurriedly scrambled out the door, as if he couldn't wait to get out of there.
Yuwen Yue slid out the secret compartment located in the underbelly of the bird, and took out the letter from it. He then slid the lid back, as if nothing had happened at all.
It was from his pen pal, one which Yuwen Yue had grown extremely close to over the years of their communication. Only the two of them had the wooden birds, communicating by sending messages through these seemingly inconspicuous robins. Over the years, it had become his prized possession discluding his sword and its mate.
Oh, wait, he thought. Can Hong Jian belongs to Xing'er now…
He folded the letter and threw it into the fireplace, dismissing all thoughts about his beloved. His pen pal had asked him to meet her alone. Judging by the address, the meeting place she'd suggested was pretty remote-it was one of the secret paths used long ago to get to Liang without passing by the guards.
Yuwen Yue frowned. It could be a trap… His pen friend hadn't sent him any letters for quite a while-this one could likely be one written by somebody else who wanted to kill him. And honestly, the people that could possibly be behind this were too many to even attempt to count.On the other hand, his instinct told him that his pen friend would never do that sort of thing. Plus, if he did want to harm him, he would've done it long ago. So it should be safe for him to meet up with him. And he did need a distraction from all that was happening.
Po Yue Jian in hand, Yuwen Yue cautiously approached the path that his pen friend had mentioned. After a brief walk, he finally spotted a distinct figure standing by a cluster of trees. The figure was clothed in a spy's wear- black and grey, hair done up in a tight braid.
Getting closer, he began to wonder who his pen friend really was. He realised that during their long period of communication, this was their first time meeting in person. He got more and more nervous about his pen friend's appearance-he could be someone he knew in real life.
Without warning, a knife suddenly flew out of nowhere, heading straight for Yuwen Yue. Being a master spy and an expert in martial arts, he managed to dodge it-but barely. Frowning to himself, knowing that he had most likely been tricked, Yuwen Yue charged his attacker, Po Yue Jian a bright flash of metal in front of him.
Soon, the battle became a flurry of kicks, swipes and slashes. As the battle advanced, Yuwen Yue realised that his opponent wasn't what he expected-the figure attempting to murder him was a female, had a small and petite body, but in it contained seemingly endless bursts of power.
Just like Xing'er… For a brief moment, Yuwen Yue wondered whether his attacker was his lifelong love, but quickly dismissed the thought. This person was not Xing'er-her attacking strategies differed from Qing Shan Yuan's.
Yuwen Yue attempted to banish the sudden nostalgia that came over him, but his longing for his beloved took over him, distracting him for just a fraction of a second. But that short moment was enough. His attacker disarmed him in a flash, holding a blade to his neck. Caught off balance, Yuwen Yue fell to the gravel floor, Po Yue Jian clattering onto the ground beside him, just barely out of his reach.
Looking up at his attacker, Yuwen Yue nearly gawked out of bewilderment. For crouching on the ground beside him, pressing a sword point to his throat, was none other than his lifelong enemy- the notorious princess of Liang-Xiao Yu.
Yuwen Yue knitted his slender eyebrows together, narrowing his eyes at his triumphant attacker.
"Why are you here? Where is my pen friend?"Yuwen Yue cautiously asked, knowing that his life could be taken any time soon-one slash of Xiao Yu's blade, and he would be doomed to the Yellow River for eternity. But he needed to know where his pen friend was-other than Xing'er and the other rich nobles of the country, his pen pal might be the only friend he had, even if they'd never met.
And they probably would never be able to…
Xiao Yu removed the blade from Yuwen Yue's neck, slowly standing up.
"Well, to answer your second question...your pen friend is right here. Do you not recognise me, Yuwen Yue?" Xiao Yu gently asked.
Yuwen Yue was shocked speechless for the second time, then deduced that Xiao Yu had to be either going senile, or simply lying to him in order for him to place some trust in her.
But if Xiao Yu was trying to kill him and wasn't his pen friend, why would she come to this remote place? And why did she hesitate to kill him when she had the chance?
"You're Brother Yu…" Yuwen Yue could barely breathe, his hype in meeting his pen friend now replaced by disgust and shock.
Wait.. if Xiao Yu had known that I was her pen friend and recognised him, why didn't she stop writing letters to me? He pondered in his prodigious mind.
The ruthless princess of Liang smiled at him.
"Sorry for attacking you earlier. I was...going through some difficulties,"Xiao Yu briefly explained. Yuwen Yue guessed that she had been struggling with herself as whether to kill him or talk nicely, a feeling that he had so often experienced himself with Xing'er…
Which meant...An explanation for Xiao Yu's unusual behavior occurred to Yuwen Yue. I'd acted the same way when I was with… No way. Never. She couldn't...and wouldn't, either.
"Yuwen Yue. Look at me." Xiao Yu's eyes bore into his, as if trying to pierce through his whole body.
Yuwen Yue shook his head, inwardly cursing and swearing at his horrible luck.
"I will burn the wooden bird. You should too, princess,"he said coldly, standing up to face Xiao Yu properly.
The princess of Liang narrowed her eyes, evidently gritting her teeth.
"Are you really going to break our friendship for that little maid of yours?"
"She's not my maid anymore." Yuwen Yue's tone was like ice.
"Oh, right," Xiao Yu said bitterly. "She ran away from you, betrayed you and even attempted to kill you. But yet you would still choose her over me."
See? I was right! His subconscious said in his head.
Shut up, Yuwen Yue replied. He slowly reached for his blade, attempting to grab his precious sword and make a run for it.
Out of the blue, Xiao Yu's sword point came slicing through the air, landing right between his fingers, narrowly missing his whole hand. He sighed, knowing that his attempt would've probably failed anyhow. Who knew how many crossbows Xiao Yu had to shoot him down with.
Xiao Yu glared daggers at him, standing over him as a predator would do to its prey.
"If I can't have you, then no one will," The princess of Liang looked at him one last time. "Any last words?"
Yuwen Yue growled menacingly, his voice a deep rumble.
"Yes, actually. I do have some last words."
Xiao Yu arched her eyebrows. She probably thought that he would've gone down silently, or even fighting to the very end, but she didn't expect him to go all mushy at the last few seconds of his life.
"I hope you burn in the pits of hell, Xiao Yu. Forever," Yuwen Yue spat out, poison in his glare.
Something in Xiao Yu just snapped. She was sick of living like this, chasing after a man whom she'd found out was supposed to be her lifelong enemy; ensuring that Xiao Ce was kicked out from his position as heir so her younger brother could take the throne; slowly cracking under stress from everyone around her and most of all, getting rejected by her enemy for a mere lowly maid.
The rage in her built up in her chest, penetrating her lungs until they felt like they were on fire. Xiao Yu couldn't take it anymore- she was done with this.
Summoning her final wisp of sanity, Xiao Yu gathered up all her courage, lifting her blade above Yuwen Yue, ready to strike any moment. You can do this, she told herself. Just think of him as the enemy. Because he actually is.
Screaming one final yell of rage and hate, Xiao Yu thrust the blade down as hard as she could. Out of the blue, she suddenly felt something sharp knock her sword away. Opening her eyes, she expected Yuwen Yue to be dead, only to find her sword lying a few feet away from her, Yuwen Yue still perfectly fine, and that despicable Chu Qiao and her even more despicable brother right beside her.
Xiao Ce grinned at Chu Qiao, seeming to not notice that all of them were in dire danger.
"You could've used my sword, you know. You shouldn't have wasted your beautiful blade on that old hag."
"You dare-"
"Xing'er," Yuwen Yue called out softly. Chu Qiao finally noticed the injured man half-kneeling on the gravel path, and seemed to sum up the situation in a fraction of a millisecond. Scowling fiercely at Xiao Yu, she looked the perfect picture of a brave and fearless female warrior. Minus the scowl.
Chu Qiao drew Xiao Ce's blade, and pointed it at Xiao Yu.
"No one, no one ever gets to kill Yuwen Yue but me."
AN: Alright guys, I hope that cliffhanger wasn't too frustrating. I do hope that the characters were in well..character, and that they weren't that OOC because I try to include humor in whatever I write. Actually, I planned for this to be a oneshot, but after rampantwolfhound gave me some really awesome tips on writing and how to be a writer, basically, I decided to make it a story and see how it goes. See you guys in the next chapter! :D