A Different Path

by rampantwolfhound

After some of Chu Qiao's Xiulis have been wrongfully executed, she makes the conscious decision to break from Yan Xun before the icy lake scene and walk a different path. Canon divergence from Eng-subbed episode 55.

16. Chapter 16

AN: Well, that was fun. Sorry I didn't update last week, but I've spent the past week and a half or so dealing with the flu and its aftermath (which has been so much fun considering how poorly my sinuses drain in general). I'm sorry if some of this is rough, but I had a hard time getting back into the groove of writing after being mentally incapable of doing so for a week. (No, last week doesn't count as a break as it wasn't remotely restful. I seriously went 40 straight hours without sleep because my nose was so clogged.) Those who are just here for the XingYue will probably need to read the opening section in order to know what's going on but can then skip to the final segment for some winter wonderland XingYue good times. (Hey, it's the Christmas season, so what can I say?)

---

"Very sloppy, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue admonished as his beloved's arrow once again narrowly missed the center of the target wide-right. "Don't ever tell anyone I'm your teacher."

"I'm sorry, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said with false sincerity. "I guess you'll just have to show me the proper technique again."

He scowled at her outwardly but inwardly delighted in the contact as he pulled her in close and grasped her forearms from behind, twirling her around in the elaborate archery training technique he'd shown her so long ago. Not that the technique had any value whatsoever; nobody actually shot a crossbow like that, after all. He'd invented the method years ago as an excuse to get closer to Xing'er, but the technique had worked, so who was he to argue with success?

Xing'er rewarded his lesson with a bull's-eye, and she smiled up at him innocently.

"I guess you'll have to reteach me that technique whenever I miss."

"As often as you miss, Xing'er, I'll be demonstrating that method for you frequently, then."

"Would that be a problem for you?"

He gave her one of his intense stares, but her impish grin didn't falter.

"I'm sorry, Yuwen Yue, but I'm still a bit sore and weak from that arrow wound. Only two weeks have passed, after all—and someone wouldn't let me start drilling again until the end of the first week."

"I had to make sure you'd regained enough strength to be ready, Xing'er."

"Then why are you complaining about my lack of progress when I've only had a week?"

"Because this should be second nature to you by now."

Xing'er pursed her lips, pulled the trigger, and turned her face up at him when her arrow once again missed to the right.

"Sorry, Yuwen Yue," she said, her eyes shining with mirth and anticipation. "You'd probably better walk me through the aiming and firing process again."

"Not that it will do any good," Yuwen Yue muttered, taking her in his arms again and slowly bringing her and the crossbow around into proper position.

He held onto her well after she'd fired the shot, which embedded itself in the center of the target once again. Xing'er turned her face slightly into his, and the look in her eyes almost made him forget that there were other people around. Before he could do anything rash, however, footsteps sounded from behind them.

They both hastily stood up and greeted Yuan Song and Meng Feng, who had obviously also desired some relative privacy at the practice field on the edge of camp.

"That's an...interesting archery instruction technique you were just demonstrating, Yuwen Yue," the prince said, grinning. "I don't recall Meng Feng doing anything similar while she was teaching me how to use a crossbow."

"That's because this is a secret technique handed down from generation to generation of the Yuwen family," Yuwen Yue said.

"Really?" Yuan Song asked. "It does look quite...effective. Does it really help you, A'Chu?"

"Oh, yes, Yuan Song," Xing'er said, beaming at the prince. "First of all, Yuwen Yue's technique involves lots of stretching, which is good for my muscles. I also have to keep the crossbow balanced at all times during the exercise, which means that I'm comfortable using it in different positions in battle."

"And when he holds you closely after firing—what does that accomplish, A'Chu?"

"That's just his way of being able to see any mistakes I make during the firing process," Xing'er explained without missing a beat. "And since his mouth's already so close to my ear, he can easily tell me my failings directly. It's a very useful technique, Yuan Song. You should try it sometime."

"Mm," he grunted, eyeing Meng Feng speculatively.

Unfortunately for him, the woman he loved had already gone over to another area of the field and drawn her sword. She appeared to be unaware of the interplay going on near the archery targets, focusing instead on regaining her own strength and speed.

"I'm sure that Yuwen Yue would be glad to walk you through this technique if you wanted him to, Yuan Song," Xing'er said, her large eyes twinkling mischievously.

Yuwen Yue scowled down at her, but she was unrepentant. Yuan Song stuttered out a few words of disagreement, saying that he felt that he'd be able to do just fine without learning this new technique after all. His next shot missed badly, however, belying the prince's words of assurance.

Of course, Xing'er's generous offer of my assistance likely didn't steady his hand, either.

The woman he loved was laughing at Yuan Song, and he readied himself to scold her for her teasing once she looked up at him. The good humor and happiness in her eyes, however, took his breath away, and any thoughts of saying anything negative to her evaporated as their gazes connected. He took her in his arms again, waiting a few beats before positioning her for archery training.

She rewarded him with a perfect shot for his efforts, and he blithely acknowledged that this was a far more enjoyable means of passing the time than trying to solve any of the numerous political problems on his plate. Yuwen Yue assumed that Xing'er felt the same way, especially given her position as one of the leaders of the rebellion within the rebellion. They had both been in high demand, especially once Xing'er had recovered enough to meet with people.

Frankly, I liked our previous meeting method better, Yuwen Yue mused, remembering those impromptu discussions he'd had with Xiang, Xiao Ce, and the others while Xing'er had sat on his lap and added her own perspective.

Not that we were irresponsible enough to pull something like that once she made it to the base of the mountain…

No, all of their time together since then had had to be captured in stolen moments like these under the guise of training or discussion. He knew that soon enough, he'd marry his beloved and such pretenses would be relegated to the past.

Or maybe they won't, he acknowledged. After all, I can imagine some future occasions when we both might need to "look at something in the Eyes of God chamber" or "go check our supply of lip balm."

Yuan Song's arrow missed wide left again, making the prince grimace comically. Yuwen Yue knew full well that Yuan Song was capable of doing better, but he figured that the prince was trying to attract Meng Feng over to the archery area so she could "help" him the same way that Yuwen Yue had been "helping" Xing'er. The warrior seemed completely oblivious, however, as if she were fully absorbed in her own world.

Which is, of course, exactly what she'd want people to think, Yuwen Yue thought as the prince's arrow missed again. If anyone approached Yuan Song, she'd be able to intercept him before he got halfway there. Nothing gets by her if the prince is involved.

As if she'd heard him thinking about her, Meng Feng sheathed her sword with an expression of frustration and made her way over to the archery area. She scolded Yuan Song while correcting his stance and giving him pointers—all while making hardly any body contact. The prince seemed crestfallen, and Xing'er was obviously struggling to hide her amusement. Yuan Song missed again, causing Meng Feng to place her hands on her hips and stare at the man she loved.

"Maybe you should use Yuwen Yue's archery training technique instead, Meng Feng," Xing'er said. "Yuan Song seemed quite interested in it a few minutes ago. I offered to have Yuwen Yue demonstrate it, but Yuan Song didn't want him to for some reason."

Yuwen Yue kept his face impassive through years of training, walking Xing'er carefully through the technique again for Meng Feng's less-than-impressed gaze. She looked at them skeptically before turning the same expression on Yuan Song.

"A'Chu seems to find the exercise helpful for her accuracy," Yuan Song said hopefully.

"Her accuracy," Meng Feng said flatly.

"Right, right, right!" Yuan Song agreed. "Her accuracy!"

Meng Feng sighed, stood behind Yuan Song, and carefully reproduced the steps that Yuwen Yue had shown her. Yuan Song rewarded his beloved with a bull's-eye and a roguish grin, and she shook her head in exasperation.

"I guess you'll have to use that training technique from now on, Meng Feng," Yuan Song said.

"So it would seem," she said. "The results speak for themselves."

"I think so," Yuan Song said, grinning as she walked him through the steps again from behind.

"There is something to be said for this teaching method after all," Meng Feng admitted as she held onto Yuan Song longer than necessary.

"Maybe Yuwen Yue has even more such techniques that he'd be willing to share with us," Yuan Song said.

"He's known as the best for a reason, after all," Xing'er said contentedly from Yuwen Yue's arms.

"And what is that?"

"Because he knows how to make the most of every opportunity," Xing'er said as her arrow hit the center of the target once again.

Meng Feng leaned in close to Yuan Song as she whispered instructions, resulting in him shooting the middle of Xing'er's target. He looked sheepishly down into her eyes, and Yuwen Yue could tell that she was no more capable of being genuinely irritated at him at this point than he was with Xing'er.

Actually, I'll probably always be able to be irritated at Xing'er, he admitted. But then she'll give me that look and I'll somehow end up holding onto her tighter and doing what she wants me to do anyway.

"I think we should probably stop for the day before anyone gets hurt," Yuwen Yue said.

"That seems like a good idea," Meng Feng agreed, shaking her head at her blushing fiance. "I think His Highness's concentration is low at the moment."

"That's just as well since I need to talk to him anyway," Yuwen Yue said.

They gathered their belongings and made their way from the practice yard, trading greetings with the few soldiers they passed in the process. Yuwen Yue actually did need to talk to Yuan Song about some details relating to the transition of power, but he also wanted Xing'er to have a chance to talk to Meng Feng. The woman he loved had been quiet lately, and he felt that she might need to talk to another woman—especially one who could relate to her as well as he knew the ex-assassin could.

---

Chu Qiao tucked her small crossbow back into her robes, loathe to return to her tent or to seek out any more problems to solve for Yanbei, Wei, or the Xiulis. Meng Feng seemed to feel the same way and didn't object to standing off to the side as Chu Qiao talked for a few moments with He Xiao and Xia Chong, both of whom had also obviously decided to take advantage of the more remote location of the practice fields.

Upon further scrutiny, Chu Qiao noticed that Xia Chong was carrying Dragon Bird, which made sense given the scope of her injuries. He Xiao seemed afraid that Chu Qiao would be upset at his having given the blade away, but Chu Qiao assured him that she didn't mind and that the blade suited Xia Chong.

"In fact," she said, smiling impishly, "you should probably make sure that Xia Chong knows how to use the blade properly since she's not used to handling it."

Xia Chong's eyebrows raised sharply, and He Xiao stammered out that she was surely proficient with such weaponry.

"Oh, no doubt," Chu Qiao agreed. "However, one thing I've learned is that you can never be too careful. In fact, Yuwen Yue insisted on using his special archery teaching method on me just to make sure that I'm capable of hitting the center of the target every time."

"Is his archery teaching method really different from yours, Chu Da Ren?"

"It definitely is," Meng Feng said wryly. "It's a very...physical technique. I was skeptical of it myself, but after employing it on His Highness and seeing such definite improvement, I recommend this style of teaching as well."

"Ah..."

"What you need to do is stand closely behind Xia Chong to make sure that she knows exactly what she's supposed to be doing," Chu Qiao said innocently to her embarrassed commander. "Then you should grasp her forearms so that you can walk her through the steps of wielding Dragon Bird. You should also keep your head close to hers so that you can whisper instructions and critiques directly into her ear."

"Um...that sounds..."

"Promising," Xia Chong said, nodding. "And you say that Young Master Yue developed this technique?"

"Yes," Chu Qiao confirmed. "He's been using it on me for years."

"Well, then, that sounds like something we could use to our benefit, He Xiao," Xia Chong said matter-of-factly. "Besides, nobody could object to you teaching me a technique developed by Young Master Yue himself."

"That does sound like a good use of our time," He Xiao finally managed to say.

"I'm sure you'll uphold the honor of the Xiulis well, He Xiao," Chu Qiao said, smiling serenely in the face of her commander's unease.

He Xiao stammered his goodbyes and walked away with Xia Chong, who seemed unperturbed by the exchange. In fact, the woman looked like she was looking forward to the upcoming lesson. While part of Chu Qiao was amused at how quickly the relationship between the two warriors had progressed, the rest of her knew that she had no room to question anyone else's romantic methods given her own history.

"Thank you for helping me with He Xiao," Chu Qiao told Meng Feng as they left the practice area behind.

"I merely felt that both of them would benefit from such training."

"Of course," Chu Qiao said. "After all, you and I feel better already, don't we?"

"Definitely," Meng Feng said. "His Highness didn't seem to object, either."

"Neither did Yuwen Yue, for all of his protesting otherwise."

"I think we were all exactly where we wanted to be."

"What an odd sensation."

"Odd, but something I could definitely get used to."

"Me, too."

Chu Qiao didn't generally like small talk, but for some reason, she found Meng Feng's presence somewhat soothing. She knew she shouldn't for a variety of reasons, but she couldn't help but relax around the other woman. Unlike herself, however, Meng Feng seemed to be acquiring tension rather than releasing it.

Maybe she's worried about the future, she reflected. Or maybe…

"This is where I killed him," Meng Feng said quietly into the silence.

Chu Qiao immediately knew who she meant.

"He was a good man," Chu Qiao said.

"I got that impression. Did you…?"

"Miss Yu made sure that he was buried by his beloved," Chu Qiao affirmed.

"Good," Meng Feng whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Me, too," Chu Qiao said. "But that's war. We all do what we have to do, and we all have to live with our choices."

Meng Feng nodded solemnly.

"Maybe I could've saved him," Chu Qiao continued. "Or maybe he would've betrayed us to Yan Xun, we'd be dead, and Yanbei would be a smoking ruin. As I said, we all have to live with our choices."

As if by mutual agreement, they resumed their walk around the perimeter of the camp. They attracted a bit of attention, but nobody did more than greet them politely as if sensing that they wanted their privacy.

"Sometimes our choices aren't ours alone to make," Meng Feng said. "Sometimes fate and the heavens can shape our lives against our will."

"True," Chu Qiao admitted. "After all, how did I get here? I fell off a cliff into the river, got picked up by slavers, was sold to Yuwen Huai, and ended up at Qing Shan Yuan because the robe I'd put on before the hunt had Yuwen Yue's name on it. And yet, I chose this path. I made a conscious decision to stop trying to save Yan Xun from himself and to start trying to save Yanbei and the common people from Yan Xun—and a lot of people got killed anyway."

"A lot of people were going to get killed anyway," Meng Feng said. "At least the way we did things, most of the dead were soldiers rather than civilians."

"Are we better off now than we would've been had I done nothing?"

"How do you think Young Master Yue would answer?"

Chu Qiao gave Meng Feng the smallest of smiles in reply.

"No matter what else would've been different, I can't regret that part of it," Chu Qiao acknowledged. "Had I stayed with Yan Xun..."

She trailed off, shuddering as visions of a future that would thankfully never come to pass assaulted her. However things would've progressed, she doubted that she would've found herself in a position where she would've been able to act on her feelings for the man she loved so dearly.

"I rarely indulge in this level of introspection," Chu Qiao finally said. "I've never seen a use for it, honestly."

"You can't use it to change the future or the past," Meng Feng said.

"Right. All you can do is cause yourself pain by making speculations that you can never prove anyway. And yet..."

"Sometimes you have to reflect on the past so that you can learn lessons for the future."

"Mm," Chu Qiao grunted.

"And sometimes you can only sort out your motives once you've gained some distance from what happened."

Chu Qiao sighed.

"I know that many people wondered why I stayed with Yan Xun as long as I did," she finally said. "They couldn't imagine a reason beyond love, so that's what they chose to believe. They couldn't conceive of a woman staying by a man's side due to ideas like honor, commitment, and loyalty, so they made up the reason that was most comfortable for them."

"You were never in love with him."

"No," Chu Qiao said. "I had no idea what being in love meant at the time, but now..."

Meng Feng nodded in understanding.

"Now I know that love never had anything to do with anything—at least not on my part. I don't regret helping Yan Xun escape from Chang'an. Nobody should be forced to kneel and await death—especially at the hands of an evil person or regime. And yet..."

Chu Qiao trailed off, having a hard time gathering her thoughts. Meng Feng elected to stay silent this time, clearly offering Chu Qiao the opportunity to figure this problem out for herself.

"Any time part of me would condemn something Yan Xun did, another part would remind me of the terrible pain that he'd suffered on Jiuyou Platform, in the jail, in the Oriole Courtyard...I could always find some sort of excuse for his actions because I'd mentally see him throwing back his head and screaming at the heavens or cutting off his little finger for me. He had, after all, suffered an incomprehensible pain that neither I nor anyone else could understand, so I had no right to even try to understand."

Meng Feng smiled softly, her open face encouraging Chu Qiao to reach the right conclusion.

"His pain became almost mythical or legendary to me," she continued, "almost as if it had come down directly from the heavens themselves. No matter what he did, no matter who he killed, I attributed everything to this terrible pain that was always...crying out for expression. Nobody could understand this pain, so nobody had a right to judge. But then we fought this war, and I look around me..."

Chu Qiao trailed off again, her troubled thoughts showing on her face.

"You've come to realize that Yan Xun's pain, while terrible, was not as alien or incomprehensible as you thought."

"Right," Chu Qiao said, nodding. "My own mother died horribly and I was framed for her murder. I never knew my father. My adoptive parents were slaughtered and their children sold into slavery. My adoptive brother was poisoned to death and ultimately killed right in front of me by the man I would come to love. My oldest adoptive sister was brutalized and murdered by an evil man. The only family I have left are two adoptive sisters whom I keep at arms length for their own safety. And yet I've never wanted to kill the innocent."

"Many of the people around us have lost much but have still retained their integrity," Meng Feng said.

"He Xiao's wife was murdered by one of his own people. His father died a month or so ago during the defense of Hongchuan. He's lost almost his entire legion. He doesn't kill the innocent. Yuwen Yue's childhood was full of tragedy, too, and yet he's the best man I know. Yuan Song, for all that he was born into privilege, has lost his mother, his sister, a brother, and other friends and peers to this conflict. He, more or less, lost his father, too, and was cast off by him to 'rule' here as an afterthought. In the end, he could've sided with his brother, turned on his troops, and taken Yanbei by force—but he didn't."

"Of course he didn't," Meng Feng said. "In spite of all of his losses, he's retained that core of integrity and child-like innocence that drew me to him."

"I think you can take some credit for bringing that sense of humor back," Chu Qiao said. "He was in great danger of losing that were it not for you, I think."

"He brings that out in me, too," Meng Feng admitted. "I didn't have much of a childhood."

"I doubt either of us did, given our backgrounds."

Meng Feng smiled mirthlessly. The ex-assassin opened her mouth as if to say something, but she seemed to think better of doing so. Chu Qiao waited as patiently for Meng Feng to gather her thoughts as the other woman had done for her.

"I didn't grow up in the Afterlife Camp—at least not at first," she said.

Chu Qiao's eyes widened in surprise as she realized what Meng Feng was confiding in her.

"For at least some of my childhood, I was just a normal village girl. One afternoon, I went out into the fields to make scarecrows and returned to find my entire village slaughtered."

Chu Qiao couldn't make her mouth work to say anything at all.

"So I know what it's like to lose all of your family so suddenly, so tragically," she whispered. "I know what it's like to be taken against your will to a place and bent to someone else's will. I know what it's like to feel desperate enough to do terrible things in order to survive all while feeling dead inside."

Meng Feng turned the full force of her eyes on Chu Qiao.

"I know what it's like to serve the wrong man but to see no way out that wouldn't likely cause your death and the deaths of others."

"And yet," Chu Qiao whispered, finally finding her tongue, "you chose a different life when Yuwen Yue offered you a way out. You chose to walk a different path, too—to not kill the innocent."

"I've killed plenty of innocent people," Meng Feng said. "Most of the people I've killed haven't exactly been the cream of society, but some of them…"

"But you didn't enjoy killing them, did you? You killed them because you felt you had to, not because you wanted them and their loved ones to suffer for the sake of your personal vengeance."

"No, I didn't enjoy killing them; I hated it. I died a little more with each innocent life I took. There will still be plenty of people waiting in the afterlife for vengeance on me, Chu Qiao—especially since I'm going to try my best to live well."

"Of course you will," Chu Qiao said. "Who would benefit from your refusing to live well? Certainly not Yuan Song, for one. As far as I'm concerned, you've earned your second chance and deserve to be happy."

"You've made the most of your second chance, too, Chu Qiao," Meng Feng said. "You and Young Master Yue..."

"I'm never going to go back to being the woman I was," Chu Qiao vowed. "Neither are you, Meng Feng. We're through doing dirty work for the wrong men. Here's what we're going to do: We're going to marry the two greatest men in all the world. We're going to protect them and our children with our lives, which are going to be long, happy, and prosperous. We're going to change the world whether those around us want us to or not. We are not going to make excuses for those around us—or even for ourselves."

Meng Feng smiled serenely.

"We're also apparently going to give and receive questionable martial arts instruction where our men are concerned," Meng Feng said.

"Of course we are," Chu Qiao agreed. "I, for one, am looking forward to Yuwen Yue coming up with even more 'training exercises' for the two of us to enjoy."

"I'm sure that Yuan Song will eventually start critiquing my sword drills, too. Maybe I'll humor him depending what kind of mood I'm in."

"I would say I'd love to see him try, but..."

"But you understand that some things are best carried out behind closed doors—including some training exercises that Yuwen Yue will devise for you."

"Exactly. Or ones I might devise for h-"

She cut off what she'd been about to say, but she knew that Meng Feng had still heard her, anyway. Yuwen Yue's refusal to accept what she saw as his portion of her abilities was a sore point with her—especially since she knew that he could use them to control his illness.

"Who knows what the future holds?" Chu Qiao said instead.

"Chaos. Trials. Hardship. Politicking. Assassination attempts. A dangerous transfer of power or two."

"And that's just the rest of this month," Chu Qiao said, smiling. "Sounds like we have our work cut out for us."

The practice field came in sight again, and both of their men were easily visible near it. Chu Qiao's eyes instantly focused on Yuwen Yue and stayed there, never tiring of looking at her beloved's fine figure and handsome face. She knew that she'd still be captivated by him when they were both old and gray, and she figured that Meng Feng felt the same way about Yuan Song judging by the look on her own face.

"Yes, we do," Meng Feng said, determination in her bearing.

A sense of resolve rushed through her, and she vowed to do everything in her power to make sure that Meng Feng got the chance to live the kind of life that she knew the ex-assassin deserved regardless of the woman's own beliefs. In spite of Meng Feng's assertions about her guilt, Chu Qiao knew that the future of Yanbei and, more importantly, her old friend were in good, steady hands.

I'll make sure that we both get our happy endings no matter what I have to do, she promised. Of course, I'll try not to cause too much of a national incident in the process since I really do want to marry Yuwen Yue soon.

They walked up to their men, who smiled at them with varying levels of openness. Yuan Song grinned at Meng Feng, but Yuwen Yue merely greeted her with a calm but affectionate gaze. Chu Qiao knew that most people would see her beloved's greeting as too cold, but she felt warmth blossom inside of her as she was able to see the depths of emotion in his eyes that he only ever showed to her.

The clanging sound of swords interrupted them, and they looked behind them to see He Xiao and Xia Chong furiously fighting with their blades in hand. Both of them were grinning fiercely, and they seemed to be standing a little closer to one another than necessary. They ended their sparring with crossed blades, and He Xiao proceeded to critique Xia Chong with some physical demonstrations of his own.

Chu Qiao and Meng Feng exchanged impressed looks.

"He's better at this than I imagined he'd be," she said.

"He's quite a passionate man, though," Meng Feng pointed out. "In fact, were I not already in love with Yuan Song..."

"Hey!" the prince said. "I heard that."

"I know exactly what you mean," Chu Qiao said, smiling impishly.

Yuwen Yue continued to look at her placidly, only saying, "He would never bother with you, Xing'er."

"How do you know, Yuwen Yue?" she asked, pretending to be offended.

"Because he already knows that your heart belongs to me."

The casual intimacy of it took her breath away for a moment and almost left her incapable of saying nothing but her standard "Oh."

"Yes, he does," she managed to say instead, looking him in his eyes, which widened slightly in surprise.

He Xiao and Xia Chong walked up, sheathed blades in hand and smiles on their faces.

"I'm glad to see that you took our tips to heart," Chu Qiao said to them.

"We had fun teaching each other a variety of techniques," He Xiao said.

"I learned a lot," Xia Chong said.

"So I could tell," Chu Qiao said.

"In fact, Chu Da Ren, why don't we all meet back here this time tomorrow so that we can learn some more? Surely nobody could object to such a wise use of time."

"I'm supposed to be meeting with my brother this time tomorrow," Yuan Song said with a sigh before getting a devilish look on his face. "I'll have to tell him something more important came up."

"I know I should tell you not to antagonize him, but I can't pass up the chance to teach you more about the finer points of archery," Meng Feng said to her beloved.

"Maybe I'll even give you some pointers about how to use my sword," Yuan Song said, laughing before his face turned bright red. "I meant your sword, as in...sword-fighting..."

Even Yuwen Yue couldn't keep from shaking his head at the prince's slip. Everyone else laughed, included Chu Qiao, who looked up at the man she loved with a grin of pure contentment on her face.

---

"I'm sure that once Qiao Qiao is approved for sword practice again, Yuwen Yue will proceed to teach her the finer points of swordsmanship just like he did with archery," Xiao Ce said to Yue Qi outside of Qiao Qiao's tent.

"Master will, of course, do everything he can to speed Xing'er's recovery along," the faithful guard said diplomatically.

Xiao Ce did his best to listen in on the conversation happening inside of Qiao Qiao's tent considering that the doctor who was currently examining her was one whom he had hired for the task. Ostensibly, the physician was there to evaluate multiple important people, but Xiao Ce had wanted to get an outside opinion about Qiao Qiao's health, and this doctor had come highly recommended.

While Yuwen Yue was nowhere to be seen, Xiao Ce knew that the spymaster would surely not be too far from where his fiance was being intimately examined by a strange man, doctor or no. In fact, Xiao Ce figured that the old stick-in-the-mud would've probably hovered over the doctor and scowled at him as he examined Qiao Qiao if possible, but they all knew that Qiao Qiao would've never stood for such foolishness.

A happy exclamation from inside the tent told anyone nearby that Qiao Qiao had indeed been cleared for sword practice. Xiao Ce and Yue Qi exchanged knowing glances as they imagined the tough task set before Yuwen Yue of keeping his woman from overexerting herself for the next couple of days.

"I'm sure that Qiao Qiao will display the appropriate level of self-restraint with her sword,"Xiao Ce told Yue Qi.

"I'm sure the master will be up to the task of directing Xing'er's energies in constructive directions," Yue Qi replied.

Xiao Ce gave the guard his most roguish grin as the doctor exited the tent and bowed to him.

"Talking to you has been a pleasure as always, Yue Qi," Xiao Ce said before walking away with the doctor in tow. "Now it's time for you to examine Miss Chong."

The doctor stammered his willingness to do so, stating again what an honor he found serving the crown prince.

"Of course you do," Xiao Ce said dismissively. "Now tell me about Qiao—Chu Qiao. I don't want your normal doctor double-speak. Tell me the truth."

"Of course I would never lie to Your Highness," the doctor babbled. "In truth, the general is doing quite well. While she will have to live with those unfortunate scars, she's almost entirely healed. Wounds like that can cause pain for months afterward, but I'm sure someone as tough as the general won't have too many problems in the future—except for living with the scars, of course."

Xiao Ce felt a prickle of irritation with the doctor's emphasis on Qiao Qiao's scarring, but he focused on the important issue.

"So she'll make a full recovery."

"Eventually, Your Highness," the doctor nervously confirmed. "She might need a bit of time to get back into shape, but I see no reason that she won't be able to regain most of her skills and mobility in due time."

"I'm sure that Chu Qiao will be back in tip-top shape in no time at all," Xiao Ce said.

"As you say, Your Highness—and a good thing, too, given the circumstances." he said, bobbing his head as he walked along.

"Indeed," Xiao Ce agreed. "In these chaotic times, being defenseless is a recipe for disaster."

"Ah, right, right, right," the doctor stammered. "And she'll probably want to resume her duties as soon as possible. Normally I would encourage such an attractive young woman to focus on finding a husband and starting a family, but with those scars—especially the ones on her chest...well, it's a good thing she's wedded to her job if you know what I mean, Your Highness."

The irritation he'd felt earlier blossomed into a wash of anger as he reached out and grabbed the doctor's arm. Fortunately they were in a more isolated area of the camp since Miss Chong had unsurprisingly wanted her tent to be pitched away from the bulk of the army. The few unfortunate souls who happened to see the expression on his face instantly turned around and scurried off the other way in a manner that Xiao Ce would've found comical under other circumstances.

"Chu Qiao is a woman of integrity and honor who gained those scars fighting for the people she cares about," Xiao Ce said. "She deserves your respect and courtesy, not your condemnation. If you ever say anything like that again about Chu Qiao or any of the other women you'll be examining today..."

Xiao Ce allowed himself to trail off, hoping that his tirade would be enough to silence the doctor. Sadly he had underestimated the man's intelligence.

"Y-y-your H-Highness," he blubbered, "I m-meant no disrespect. I was j-just being honest like you told me to be. After all, no man of high standing that I know would b-be willing to marry a woman w-with scars so severe that not even the finest white p-powder could get rid of them, and that's just the s-simple truth. Would you m-make her one of your concubines, Your Highness?"

Xiao Ce seriously considered backhanding the doctor for his impudence, but his mouth beat him to the punch.

"No," he murmured. "I wouldn't make her a concubine."

"Well...then...Your Highness…?"

"I would make her my princess," he muttered fiercely into the doctor's terrified face. "And then someday, I'd make her my empress, and nobody in the world would be able to stop us."

The doctor gaped at Xiao Ce in incomprehension, and the crown prince inwardly berated himself for losing control.

Qiao Qiao and my late sister are the only people who have ever been able to affect me so, he thought as he tried to regain his composure. I need to get away from this place and these people as quickly as possible before something like this happens again.

Fortunately for both the doctor and the crown prince, Xia Chong's tent appeared before them. Xiao Ce merely gave the doctor an intimidating glare, and the man cowered in gratifying fear before walking swiftly into the tent. He figured that surely the man wouldn't be stupid enough to harass Miss Chong, and that if he did so, she'd make him pay for his idiocy.

As he turned his back on the tent, his eyes zeroed in on a still figure standing in the shadows nearby. His blood ran cold even as a corner of his mouth turned up in a wry grimace.

Of course he saw us. He probably overheard everything, too.

Yuwen Yue stared impassively at him, his face a blank mask. Xiao Ce didn't often feel real fear, but he knew that some of the things that he'd said to the doctor could've been construed as romantic claims on Qiao Qiao by some. The spymaster stood quietly, seemingly content to allow Xiao Ce to make the first mistake.

"I take it you heard everything," he said. "You always do, after all."

"Of course," Yuwen Yue said. "With Xing'er, I never leave anything to chance."

"Especially now that she returns your feelings in full."

"Naturally. Everything is finally as it should be."

"More than you know," Xiao Ce mused. "The heavens are all in alignment for now, but who knows how long that will last in such turbulent times?"

Yuwen Yue nodded and then went silent. The man didn't seem to be angry or offended, but Xiao Ce's inability to read him was alarming. For the second time in the past few minutes, he found himself blurting words out like an inexperienced child.

"What I said about Qiao Qiao, I would never-"

"I know," Yuwen Yue interrupted, reaching into a pocket in his robes and pulling out a metal rectangle with ornately-crafted characters on it. "That's why I'm giving you this."

He handed the seal to Xiao Ce, who stared at it in shock.

"This won't give you access to the Eyes of God, Xiao Ce, but it will provide you with care and protection inside any of my holdings."

Xiao Ce stared wordlessly at the spymaster, his eyes wide.

"I know that our kingdoms will likely be at odds with one another again in the future, but this is...personal. If you ever need help, if you're ever in danger, this will tell my people to protect you with their lives."

"Why?" Xiao Ce whispered, unable to say anything else.

Yuwen Yue turned the full force of his piercing gaze on Xiao Ce, reminding the crown prince of why the spymaster had such a fearsome reputation.

"Because there are very few people I can count on to keep the woman I love safe, so when I find one, I do everything I can to keep that avenue of protection open."

Xiao Ce nodded numbly and produced a jade pendant from inside of his own robes.

"This will give you and Qiao Qiao the same level of protection at all of my properties," he said quietly.

Yuwen Yue managed to hide his surprise swiftly, but not before Xiao Ce saw it flare in the man's eyes. The crown prince took the reaction as a small victory.

"Thank you, Xiao Ce," Yuwen Yue said in a more open tone than the crown prince had ever heard him use. "For everything."

Xiao Ce was spared the necessity of replying by a torrent of angry words that erupted from within Miss Chong's tent.

"Where's Dragon Bird?! I'll show you what kind of gifts a man gives a woman like me! If you're so interested in scars, maybe I can give you some of your own! How dare you…!"

The two men stared at each other in disbelief. Yuwen Yue's lips twitched in amusement as Miss Chong continued her tirade.

"She and Qiao Qiao are either going to be really good or really bad influences on each other," Xiao Ce mused.

Yuwen Yue stared placidly at him, not rising to the bait.

"Oh, come now, Yuwen Yue," Xiao Ce said loftily, regaining his mask. "Surely you've noticed how much time Miss Chong has spent around Qiao Qiao's commander. If her tirade is to be believed, he even gave her that knife that Qiao Qiao gave him, which is practically a declaration of love on his part."

"Neither of them has approached Xing'er nor I about anything," Yuwen Yue said.

"Of course they haven't," Xiao Ce said. "They're still dancing around the issue themselves."

"And she likely still thinks that she's not free to make such a choice herself," Yuwen Yue said pointedly.

"Perhaps I should offer her some relationship advice."

"I'm sure she would find your support welcome," Yuwen Yue said.

"As would He Xiao, I'm thinking."

"I'm sure he would love to discuss his relationship with Miss Chong with you."

"I could give him a few romantic pointers—and some career advice, too, for that matter."

"Will you also be giving Miss Chong some...career advice?"

"Of course," Xiao Ce said. "After all, how could I let such an intrepid woman allow such a great opportunity to slip through her fingers out of some misbegotten sense of loyalty?"

"You, of course, wouldn't benefit from such an arrangement in any way."

"Oh, I'm sure Miss Chong would prove herself to be an absolutely charming correspondent in her free time."

The doctor ran from Miss Chong's tent, medical bag jangling in front of him. Miss Chong flew through the entrance, Dragon Bird unsheathed and aimed at the retreating physician.

"I should probably intervene," Xiao Ce said in resignation. "After all, I did invite that idiot here. If you'll excuse me..."

He turned away from the spymaster and set off to rescue his doctor, the foreign weight of Yuwen Yue's seal reminding him of the success of this mission. While he knew that conflict between their peoples was likely to occur somewhere down the road, Xiao Ce was smart enough to know that making an ally as powerful as Yuwen Yue would go a long way towards helping to keep the peace—and to keep him ahead of his half-brother in terms of connections and influence.

And to give me the means to keep up with Qiao Qiao without having to resort to more nefarious means, he admitted. And Yuwen Yue probably figures that Miss Chong would be a trustworthy avenue for him to send a confidential message to me should the need arise. He truly does think of everything, stick-in-the-mud or no…

---

"Thank you for your concern, Master, but you don't have to worry about me," Xia Chong told Xiao Ce. "As you can see, I've made a full recovery."

"Yes, Miss Chong, the speed with which you chased the doctor was quite impressive—as was the doctor's speed in leaving the camp."

"He must have remembered another appointment," Xia Chong said.

"I'm sure that was why he left so early, Miss Chong," Xiao Ce said. "I'm certain that your swinging blade and...inventive descriptions of what you were going to do to him had no bearing on his actions whatsoever."

The crown prince seemed to be amused by the entire affair, but Xia Chong knew that her master was good at hiding his true feelings from everyone.

"I'm sorry if you had further plans for him, Master."

"The only plans I had for him involved making sure that he walked past the practice yard when Yuwen Yue began 'training' Qiao Qiao in swordsmanship with his inventive techniques."

Xia Chong gave her master a crabbed smile.

"That would've been memorable—and just as effective as my method of getting him out of the camp quickly."

"Indeed, Miss Chong."

She drew a breath and hesitated before taking the plunge.

"Master, since I've fully recovered, I'm ready to resume my service for you immediately."

"Ah, yes, Miss Chong," Xiao Ce said. "Your service."

Xia Chong couldn't read the crown prince, and her inability to do so made her nervous. She ruthlessly squashed all thoughts of He Xiao and the future they'd probably never get to have together. After all, Xiao Ce was her master, and she owed him her life.

"While your methods of carrying out your last mission may have been a bit...unorthodox, I can't fault the results—or deny the fact that had you not intervened as you did, their gambit would've ended in complete and utter disaster. You have my thanks for a job well done, Miss Chong."

"Thank you, Master," she said, clasping her hands and bowing. "It's an honor to be in your service."

"Of course it is," the prince said, waving a hand. "Many people would give anything to be in your position—so to speak."

He gave her a foxy grin, and she gave him a small smile back. She'd long ago grown used to her master's amusing banter, but she felt herself tensing because she knew that its presence generally signaled that he was providing the conversation with a bit of humor before getting down to serious business.

"I value your service, Miss Chong," he said, looking her straight in the eye, "which is why I'll be sending you on an undercover mission to a foreign land, one far from home."

Her heart sank as He Xiao's face flashed through her mind, but she kept all expression off of her face as she bowed to her master. After all, this man had rescued her from Liang's secret prison, and she hadn't even known He Xiao for an entire month. How could she refuse to serve him?

"I will do as you command, Master," she said in a professional tone.

Her master's lips twitched before he continued.

"Excellent, Miss Chong. Here are the details of the assignment. Your mission will be to guard a person I value above most others. This person lives in a foreign land and will likely be moving to another foreign land shortly in order to get married. This person leads a dangerous life and often makes reckless decisions that result in chaos. Your assignment will be to protect this person with your life as a member of this person's private guard."

Xia Chong's mouth opened and closed a few times before she got it to work.

"But, M-master," she stammered, "h-how will I-"

"Don't worry about infiltration, Miss Chong," Xiao Ce said. "You're more than qualified for this position, and this person is well aware of your accomplishments. In fact, this person shares a connection with you and would likely see appointing you to this position as the payment of a life debt."

She clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking as she nodded her head in understanding.

"You will report to me about the basic goings-on in the home—nothing too scandalous, of course. And you will, of course, be tasked with gathering basic intelligence in this foreign land. These are chaotic times, after all, and one can never have too much information."

"No," she said faintly. "One can never have too much information."

"I suppose you'll likely be joined in this foreign land by some of this person's soldiers," Xiao Ce continued. "One of them in particular seems to have been spending a significant amount of time with you, in fact, and might be looking for a new beginning as well—perhaps also serving this person, if my guess is right. You could use this to your advantage—in more ways than one, Miss Chong."

"Master, I don't know what..." Xia Chong whispered, trailing off. "How did you…?"

"Please, Miss Chong," Xiao Ce said, grinning. "Who do you think you're talking to? Who knows more about women than me—especially women who are in love?"

"In l-? Wait a minute," Xia Chong feebly protested. "Let's not go that far, Master. I'm not..."

"Not what, Miss Chong?" Xiao Ce asked, raising an eyebrow. "Not in love? Are you sure? If I had asked you to go on a mission far away from your commander—or whatever he ends up becoming after all the dust has settled—would you have been able to do so with your whole heart?"

"Of course I would've," she said. "After all, I owe you my life, Master, and-"

Xiao Ce waved her to silence.

"Spare me, Miss Chong. Qiao Qiao thought that she owed Yan Xun her life, and where did that get us?"

"Well, Master, it apparently got me a great mission and a man I...like a lot, so…."

"Mm," Xiao Ce grunted. "I see your point, Miss Chong. The events of the past few weeks rid me of my sister for good, put me in a position to make some powerful allies in Wei and Yanbei, and provided me with hours of amusement. Liang might end up at war with these two countries yet, but for now..."

"For now, we can focus on new beginnings," Xia Chong said, smiling softly in gratitude at her master.

"Indeed, Miss Chong," Xiao Ce said, a mischievous expression appearing on his face. "In fact, I should probably make sure to give you some of the same lip balm I gave Qiao Qiao."

"Master!" she exclaimed, her mouth dropping open.

"Maybe I should give some to the future prince and princess of Yanbei whenever they get married, too," he mused. "And I'll bet Miss Yu could use some, too; after all, she and Wu Daoya will surely get married after all these years."

Xia Chong shook her head at her master, an amused smile shaping her lips.

"Well, what else do you give to people who have everything already, Miss Chong? Excellent lip balm can go a long way towards improving marital relations—or so I've been told, anyway."

"Actually, Master," Xia Chong said, her smile growing, "I'd love a tub of that lip balm. In fact, I think you should make sure that all of your...employees should have a tub on hand for on-the-job...emergencies."

Xiao Ce barked a surprised laugh.

"Do you speak from experience, Miss Chong?"

"Not yet," Xia Chong admitted with dignity before allowing a conspiratorial twinkle to appear in her eyes. "But hopefully soon."

"You shall have your lip balm, Miss Chong," Xiao Ce said, chuckling some more.

"Actually, Master," Xia Chong said impishly, "I can think of someone else who might benefit from some lip balm."

"And who might that be, Miss Chong?"

"His Highness, Prince Xiang," she said. "He strikes me as the type of man who might need to loosen up a bit, so maybe an anonymous gift of lip balm would encourage him to enjoy life more."

Xiao Ce laughed heartily, shaking his head at his subordinate.

"I underestimated you, Miss Chong."

"Many people do—to their detriment."

"Indeed. I'll take your suggestion to heart and will make a couple of generous anonymous gifts when the time comes."

Xia Chong bowed low to her master, thanking him again.

"Thank you for undertaking such a dangerous mission, Miss Chong."

"I will guard Chu Qiao and her people with my life, Master," she said, clasping Dragon Bird in front of her and inclining her head.

"Don't forget to write," Xiao Ce said pointedly.

"Of course not, Master," she said.

She gave her master a final grateful look before whirling away to seek out He Xiao.

Maybe we'll get to go to that place after all, she thought, remembering the words she'd spoken a few weeks ago to the man she loved.

---

The back of Mo'er's throat tickled as the dust from the road beneath and from the hay around him coated it, but he resisted the temptation to cough. After all, his mission was important, and he knew that success hinged on being undetectable.

Of course, I think that the driver of this wagon probably knows I'm here, but he doesn't seem to care, Mo'er thought. Or maybe I should say he knows that Du Ping'an's here since that boy couldn't stay quiet if his life depended on it.

Both boys had decided that they were tired of being told reassuring stories by the adults in charge and that they were going to sneak off to the camp to see Mommy and Daddy.

Well, my mommy and daddy, anyway, Mo'er mused. Ping'an just wants to serve Mommy again, but I want to make sure they're both okay and ask...

Mo'er couldn't deny being nervous about the upcoming conversation with his parents, but he wanted to settle his future before any more time had passed. After all, he knew how quickly life could change, and he wanted to assure himself of a place in his new family before they had a chance to have children of their own.

Xing Xing's parents wouldn't take care of me because they already had a child of their own, after all, and I don't want that to happen to me.

The wagon lurched as it hit a pothole, causing Mo'er to grimace. Ping'an grunted, and Mo'er rolled his eyes. If they ever had to run for their lives, Ping'an would get caught in no time.

Of course, if I ever have to run for my life, Mommy and Daddy will be right there running with me, so I will be safe anyway.

Mo'er's gaze grew troubled as he thought about running for his life, knowing that Mommy and Daddy had recently done just that. The grownups who had been watching them at Miss Chong's hideout had told them what he knew to be shortened stories about the Battle of Xiuli Mountain and the brave things his parents had done before, during, and after it. They had told him that his parents had been hurt a little bit, so he knew that that probably meant they'd been hurt a lot.

The wagon began to slow, and Mo'er tensed in anticipation. He could hear the sounds of a large camp around him, so he knew he'd come to the right place. Once they stopped, he'd wait a few minutes before climbing out of the wagon and setting off in search of-

"Take me to Chu Da Ren now!" Ping'an's strident voice rang out over the encampment.

Mo'er sighed as his accomplice got caught, babbling grownup voices chattering away in dismay and scolding.

I might be just a little kid, but even I know the benefits of sneaking around someplace versus yelling loudly to get my own way.

He waited for the hubbub to die down, knowing that he'd be able to follow the crowd surrounding Ping'an and find his parents that way. Once he figured the coast to be clear, he popped up and jumped out of the wagon, scurrying to the edge of the camp and the shadows in which he felt at home.

"Mo'er?" a familiar voice said. "What are you doing here?"

Mo'er cringed at first, but then he recognized his daddy's main guard and sagged with relief.

"I'm here to see Mommy and Daddy, of course," he said, squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin.

The guard's eyes twinkled slightly as he promised to take Mo'er directly to the master and Xing'er. Mo'er remembered that "Xing'er" was what Daddy and his people called Mommy, so he wasn't confused.

To his delight, the man led Mo'er along the edge of camp and towards an area that he could immediately tell was the practice field. The sound of the clashing of swords rang out, and he quickly spotted Mommy and Daddy fighting with each other. He could tell they weren't really fighting, and his mommy seemed to be moving slower than normal.

I knew she was hurt worse than they said, he thought in concern. No way would Mommy go slow during sword practice on purpose.

He almost cried out to get their attention, but he held his tongue, knowing that yelling could distract Mommy and Daddy and make them get hurt—or worse, hurt each other. Mo'er lost himself in the drill; the sight of his parents moving so quickly even while going half-speed was amazing. He hoped his parents would teach him to fight like that someday so that he could kill all the bad guys and keep all the good people safe.

Mommy and Daddy suddenly stopped drilling at the same time although Mo'er hadn't seen them give each other any sort of signal. He figured that their minds were together just as they had been the first time he'd met them and that they simply knew what to do without talking. His own parents had been like that a little, so he wasn't surprised that his new mommy and daddy were that way, too.

"Mommy!" he yelled out as he barreled towards the practice area.

His mommy's eyes widened bigger than he'd ever seen them, and her face showed...fear? Uncertainty? Mo'er didn't really know, but he didn't like it. He flew into her arms and felt her flinch as if she didn't want to hug him. He pulled back and looked up into his mommy's eyes, afraid of what he'd see there.

To his relief, love and affection shone in her gaze as she looked down at him.

"I'm sorry, Mo'er," she said, "but I'm still a little sore at the place where your head hits me when I hug you."

"I knew it!" Mo'er said, earning a puzzled glance from his new mommy.

"What are you doing here?" Daddy asked sternly, scowling fiercely down at him.

He cowered a bit before squaring his shoulders again and looking up at Daddy.

"I came to make sure you and Mommy were okay."

"I told them to tell you we were," he said sternly. "Did they not do so?"

"They did," Mo'er whispered, looking down at his feet.

"Didn't you believe them?"

"Of course not, Daddy," Mo'er said, looking up again. "When do grownups ever tell kids the truth?"

Mommy covered her mouth as her shoulders shook, and her eyes twinkled with laughter as she looked at Daddy.

"I've always felt the same way, Mo'er," she whispered loudly enough for Daddy to hear. "Especially about certain grownups I won't name."

Daddy glared at Mommy, but Mo'er looked deeper into his eyes and realized that Daddy was only pretending to be angry. Hints of laughter and other things Mo'er didn't understand twinkled in his eyes as he gazed at Mommy. Mo'er took courage from this realization and mentally prepared himself to ask his question.

"Daddy, can I come home with you now?" he asked, looking up at Daddy bravely but unable to hide the quaver in his voice.

"Are you sure you want to be my son?" Daddy asked him, his face impossible for Mo'er to read. "You could end up dying just because you're a member of my family like others have over the years."

"You and Mommy will protect me," Mo'er replied with absolute confidence.

"We might not be able to protect you all the time, Mo'er," Mommy said, her voice sounding sad and her face showing that she was reliving bad memories.

"You would do a better job than most of keeping me safe," Mo'er said. "When I needed someone to keep me safe, you and Daddy fought against the bad men and didn't get scared. You did what you had to do and even got the bad men to let us go. You and Mommy can do anything together."

Mommy got a funny look on her face that Mo'er didn't understand; to his surprise, Daddy also had a similar look. The expression looked out-of-place on his daddy's face, but Mo'er thought it looked nice.

"He has us there," Mommy said quietly.

"So he does," Daddy said. "Okay, Mo'er, you can come home with me."

"And Mommy, too," Mo'er said, looking up at her before turning away. "Right, Daddy?"

A heavy silence greeted his question, and Mo'er once again wished that he understood grownups.

"Of course, Mo'er," Mommy said, tears forming in her eyes for some reason. "You and I can both go home with Daddy together."

While Mo'er didn't understand the emotional look that passed over Daddy's face, he knew he'd never forget it.

Maybe I'll understand it when I'm older.

"You won't leave again, will you, Mommy?" Mo'er asked, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"No," Mommy said softly, looking up at Daddy with the tears still in her eyes. "I'll never leave Daddy again."

She pulled him close and hugged him tightly this time, obviously not caring about her chest pain. To his surprise, Daddy pulled them both close and held them in his arms in a way that felt right and natural to Mo'er.

Everything was good, and he couldn't help but smile in his parents' embrace as he heard Ping'an finally arrive. After all, he had what he wanted, so hopefully Ping'an would get what he wanted, too.

---

"You begged me to take you off of this mountain, Xing'er, and then you begged me to take you back up again," Yuwen Yue said, shaking his head in mock frustration.

"I didn't beg for you to come with me today, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er fired back. "I told you that I wanted to come up here to practice using my Ice Martial Arts technique, and you told me that you wanted to come and watch."

"That's an interesting interpretation of our conversation, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said, his words echoing slightly off of the narrow walls of the back pass.

"Well, what's your interpretation?" Xing'er asked. "Wait a minute; let me guess. You're going to say something like, 'You know that you just wanted to be alone with me, Xing'er.'"

"Well, don't you?"

"Who says I want to be alone with you, Yuwen Yue? You're getting entirely too full of yourself."

"Well then why did you even bother to tell me you were coming up here? Why didn't you just walk up here on your own?"

"Maybe I didn't want to make you worry."

Yuwen Yue stared drolly at his beloved.

"Since when have you ever bothered to tell me where you were going?"

"Since I got engaged to you and realized I actually care about your feelings."

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Xing'er."

"That's probably the nicest thing I'm going to say to you today, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er muttered just loud enough for him to hear.

"What was that, Xing'er?"

"Oh, nothing, Yuwen Yue. I was just looking forward to all of the nice things I'm going to say to you over the course of our lives together."

"I'm sure you were," Yuwen Yue said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly as he enjoyed their banter.

I'm going to get to experience moments like this with Xing'er for the rest of my life, he mused as they neared the top of the back pass. We're going to banter about nothing, and she's going to do things like pretend she doesn't want to be alone with me even though we both know she does.

Yuwen Yue took a deep breath of cold air in satisfaction, ignoring the burn of it as it whooshed in and out of his body. Being with Xing'er was sufficient protection against the cold as far as he was concerned.

"It's not like I didn't tell anyone where I was going," his beloved said into the silence. "After all, I told He Xiao where I was going, and I heard you telling Yue Qi."

"You're actually becoming a considerate person," Yuwen Yue said. "My little Xing'er is finally growing up."

"Yuwen Yue! You-!"

"Why are you mad, Xing'er? After all, I paid you a compliment."

"Oh, yes, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said, scowling. "Nothing sweeps a girl off of her feet like talking to her like she's a child."

"If I wanted to talk to you like you're a child, I'd just ground you indefinitely and save us all a lot of heartache."

"You're going to be spending an awful lot of time alone, Yuwen Yue."

"At least I'll finally have some peace and quiet."

"Isn't that why you came up here with me? To have some peace and quiet?"

"Obviously not, Xing'er."

The woman he loved pouted at him and deliberately turned her face away from him—but not before he saw the twinkling in her eyes. His heart warmed, but sadly, the rest of him did not. Xing'er now had a slight smirk on her face as if she could tell that the cold was impacting him as harshly as it always did.

Not that she has to worry about that anymore since Phoenix gave her back her abilities in full, he thought with relief. I'm sure she'll use this opportunity to try to give me a portion of her abilities again, but I won't let her do anything that could endanger herself in the future.

They reached the mouth of the pass and looked down the sloping path to the shores of the icy lake in silence. Heavy snowfall and the absence of people had almost erased the battlefield completely from view. A broken battlement or two was still recognizable to anyone who'd been there that day, but otherwise, a visitor would never be able to tell that such a bloody, intense battle had been waged on Xiuli Mountain.

Xing'er was clearly lost in thought, reliving the battle as it had unfolded. He gave her the silence that she needed, his mind bringing his memories of his own fight at the main pass to the fore. Yuwen Yue remembered the fierce melee in which he'd wielded Po Yue Jian so effectively, the shouts and groans of the hurt and dying, and the final moment of desperation in which he'd fired his ice arrow to partially collapse the pass. That last action had bought them some time as it had slowed the flow of troops into the middle of Xiuli Mountain, but he knew that it had also slowed Yuan Song's troops down as they'd come barreling through the main pass.

Yuwen Yue mentally shrugged as Xing'er started walking down the pathway towards the shores of the icy lake, figuring that the battle had ended well enough, and that his actions had likely done them more good than ill. His beloved would look here and there, and Yuwen Yue knew that she was seeing places where her men had fallen, many of them never to rise again. They quickly reached the shores of the icy lake, and Xing'er stopped near the place where the barricade had broken and she'd stood her ground.

He himself remembered the raw terror he'd felt as he'd seen her taken to the ground and stripped of Can Hong Jian. The sound of him screaming her name reverberated in his mind, followed by the softer, much more pleasing tone of his beloved shyly telling him that she loved the way he said her name when he was emotional. Part of him had been tempted to deliberately say her name like that more often, but he'd decided to save that particular pronunciation for special occasions.

Xing'er reached the remnants of the ice fort and acted like she was going to climb aboard, but she changed her mind at the last moment. A troubled look appeared on her face as she whirled around to retrace what he knew she'd assumed at the time to be her final steps. They finally reached the place where they'd confronted Phoenix, and he wordlessly wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. She laid her hands over his and clasped them like she'd done when they'd slept together in her bed, leaning back into him slightly.

While his beloved's presence in his arms warmed him up somewhat, he could still feel the cold eating away at his endurance and leaching his strength. He had almost completely recovered physically, but his body was still susceptible to the cold thanks to his illness and the continual chill of Yanbei.

I can't wait to take my family back with me to Qing Shan Yuan and finally get away from all this cold.

Xing'er looked back at him with a serious expression on her face, but he looked away, ignoring the accusation and pleading he saw in her eyes. She stepped away from him and pulled him into the tree line, stopping at the edge of a nearby clearing that provided them with some protection from the elements.

Yuwen Yue tried to pull his beloved back into his arms again, but she turned around and faced him and placed one hand on his chest. The other, she raised slowly to his cheek, her eyes wordlessly begging him to allow her to give him some of her abilities so that he could control the coldness within. His own eyes went cold and his mask descended in place. Her face fell, but her chin squared.

"Please let me help you, Yuwen Yue," she whispered. "Let me give you your share of my powers."

"My share?" he asked flatly. "How can I have a share of your birthright?"

"Because you're my fiance, which means you'll soon be my husband. Once you're my husband, everything I have will belong to you and everything you have will belong to me, right?"

"That's one way of looking at it," Yuwen Yue said.

"Well, how do you look at it differently, Yuwen Yue?"

The overly-sweet tone of Xing'er's voice sounded warning bells in his brain.

"Your abilities are your own, and I won't take away anything from you that helps you protect yourself," he said, sidestepping the question.

"And what would happen to me if I were to lose you to your illness because you couldn't handle the cold? What do you think that would do to me, Yuwen Yue? To know that I could've given you the means to survive but you wouldn't let me, so you..."

Xing'er swallowed at the end, unable to complete her thought.

"Xing'er-"

"You said that you could control the cold within yourself after I gave you a portion of my abilities before," she said. "You could have that knowledge again and so much more if you'd just let me give you the things I want to give you."

"You've already given me everything I've ever wanted, Xing'er. Well, almost everything," he said, giving her that faux-pensive look that he knew always got a reaction.

She gave him a small, wan smile.

"Rascal."

"Rascal? How can you call me the rascal when you're the one who's obviously trying to seduce me? After all, you're the one who wanted me to come up here with you so that we could be alone together. You're the one who dragged me into this clearing. What are you going to do next, Xing'er? Put on some bedclothes and try to kill me?"

"Yuwen Yue! How could you bring that up at a time like this? Are you ever going to let me live that down?"

"Of course not, Xing'er. Why would I do that?"

"Because you love me and want to be nice to me?"

"I love you, so I want to do what's best for you—like reminding you of your past failures so you can improve."

"I guess I'll have to do a better job of seducing you next time," she said, eyes widening innocently.

His own darkened as he reached out for her, eager to take the afternoon in a more pleasant direction. She easily evaded his grasp, however, and started using her Ice Martial Arts technique to form snowballs and hurl them at him. Her eyes danced with mischief and a little bit of malice as she made the snow dance with her abilities.

Yuwen Yue's face grew serious as he threw himself into the task of dodging Xing'er's snowballs. After all, he was Yuwen Yue, a general of Wei, the leader of the Eyes of God, and a formidable pugilist. His beloved was immensely powerful in her own right, but he was not going to allow himself to lose a snowball fight to her.

She was directing the snowballs with her hands, so he was easily able to dodge the first few. The woman he loved had always been a fast learner, however, so she quickly adapted to using only her mind to make and throw the snowballs. Xing'er was ruthlessly efficient, using her intimate knowledge of his fighting style to always have snowballs waiting to slam into him regardless of where or how fast he moved. She pelted him with her icy weapons with maniacal glee, likely feeling that she was getting vengeance on him for all of the torture that he'd put her through when he'd been training her at Qing Shan Yuan.

Eventually, he gave up, understanding that the only way he was ever going to be able to even the odds against Xing'er was to head for the cover of the tree line. He had vague hopes that maybe the whiteness of his robes would be able to help him to blend in against the snow, but he knew that he was reaching for any semblance of optimism at this point.

Before he could reach the treeline, however, Xing'er caught up with him and grabbed one of his long sleeves. Yuwen Yue was briefly transported back in time to that fateful lantern festival, although the man he was now was drastically different in many ways from the man he'd been then. One way in which the two men were similar, however, was their mutual susceptibility to a pleading expression on Xing'er's face.

Yuwen Yue felt his resolve against her weakening, especially as he became aware of the cold sweat that now drenched his body from Xing'er's snowballs and his attempts at dodging them. He found himself unable to stop the obvious shiver that worked its way through his body—or to stop himself from giving in to the woman he loved.

Xing'er once again placed a hand on his cold, sweaty cheek and looked him in the eyes with her pleading gaze.

"Please let me protect you, Yuwen Yue," she whispered.

He bowed to the inevitable and nodded once curtly. Her hand slid from his cheek to the back of his neck and pulled his head down closer to hers. Xing'er easily closed the distance between them and kissed him tenderly, once again transferring some of her Ice Martial Arts abilities to him in an icy-hot rush.

Yuwen Yue suddenly knew how to control the coldness within, so he did. The relief was instant and immense, and he could tell from Xing'er's expression that his new state of well-being was apparent to her.

"Thank you, Yuwen Yue," she said after pulling back just far enough to be able to look him in the eyes. "You've given me so much, and I've given you so little..."

He pulled her back to him and tucked her head under his, unwilling to allow her to continue in that vein.

"You've given me so much more than I ever imagined I'd have, X'er," he whispered roughly into her hair. "Now I'm going to give you something in return."

"What?" she asked, lifting her head and looking up at him.

He leaned in as if he were going to kiss her, but instead, he formed several snowballs behind her back and raised them in the air.

"This," he said huskily, lowering his face to hers and stealing a kiss before pelting her back with the snowballs.

"Yuwen Yue! You-!" his beloved shrieked with outrage as she formed her own snowballs and hurled them at him.

Fortunately, he'd already used his newly-gained abilities to erect a crude ice fort that absorbed all of Xing'er's snowballs. He formed and threw a few snowballs of his own, smiling in satisfaction behind his fort as Xing'er's squawks of indignation informed him that his weapons had landed on target. She quickly threw together a snow fort of her own with her abilities, but not before he'd pegged her with several more volleys of snowballs.

They lobbed snowballs of increasingly larger size at one another, trying to hit each other and destroy the other's fort. This approach got boring quickly, however, and Yuwen Yue could tell that Xing'er was already tiring of being unable to land a blow. In typical Xing'er fashion, she acted impulsively, catching him off-guard by forming a crude set of ice armor and running out from behind her fort with a volley's worth of snowballs hanging around her, ready for hurling.

He set to work mentally forming his own armor, but she was upon him before he could finish. She hurled her snowballs at him, making sure to hit only exposed areas. He sent some flying back towards her, but she mentally erected an ice shield in front of herself that caught all of the snowballs and saved her armor.

Stalling for time, Yuwen Yue lifted a large swath of snow and sent it flying towards Xing'er all at once. Her shriek was immensely satisfying as he successfully completed his own set of ice armor and assembled a pile of snowballs in moments. He hurled several of them at her before she'd had time to recover, scoring hits on her that cracked her armor a bit.

Xing'er smiled as coldly at him as the ice she was wearing and threw herself whole-heartedly into the task at hand, pelting him with snowballs as mercilessly as he was doing to her. Moving in the ice armor was not easy, but since Xing'er had the same difficulty, they were evenly matched in that regard. They eventually figured out each other's rhythms, however, and were soon engaged in a twirling, graceful dance of dodging, hurling, and ducking.

Finally they succeeded in shattering each other's armor at the same time, shards of it crashing to the ground as they continued to send snowballs flying at each other using nothing but the power of the Ice Martial Arts technique. Xing'er was grinning at him in triumph and challenge, unwilling to give him any quarter.

Yuwen Yue had enjoyed himself immensely, but he was conscious of the passage of time—and his own desire to make the most of these relatively few moments that he was getting to spend alone with his betrothed. Without warning, he suddenly charged at her and pounced, taking her to the ground carefully on top of himself in order to make sure not to injure her. He used their momentum and the slickness of the snow to flip them over, flaring out the long sleeves of his robe to provide her with a soft surface to land on.

He lowered his mouth to hers quickly and began to kiss her senseless before she even knew what had happened. A few tell-tale thuds around them told him of the fate of her final few snowballs, and the enthusiastic movement of her lips over his informed him of the success of his strategy. The pulse of his new Ice Martial Arts abilities paled in comparison to the fire flowing through him due to his current position.

Yuwen Yue lost all ability of rational thought for one of the few times in his life as the warm body and eager lips of his fiance beneath him drove away all concept of time and space outside of the two of them. Her small but strong hands found their way to the back of his neck, pulling him even closer to her. He deepened the kiss, the encouraging noises Xing'er was making in the back of her throat making him oblivious to the ice and snow around him.

Sometime later, he was made aware of them once again as a huge pack of snow suddenly landed on his back and pushed him even closer to Xing'er. He refused to give her the satisfaction of reacting verbally, instead forming his own huge mound of ice and levitating it above them. After giving her one more deep kiss, he suddenly rolled out of the way and dropped his icy load on top of his beloved, who reacted predictably.

"Yuwen Yue! You-!" she shrieked at him and pointed her finger up at him in that way he loved. "Why did you…?"

"Why did I what, Xing'er?" he asked silkily. "Why did I drop that enormous mound of snow on top of you? I don't know, Xing'er; let me think. Maybe it had something to do with the large pack of snow that you just dropped on top of me."

"I? I did no such thing, Yuwen Yue! You just did that to me!"

"Losing your edge, Yuwen Yue?" an older female voice said from the treeline. "Imagine letting an enemy sneak up on you like that. Your murderous ancestors must be so ashamed."

Yuwen Yue stood up, pulled his fiance up with him, and placed as imposing a scowl on his face as he could given the circumstances.

"Why did you interrupt our lesson, Phoenix?"

The Underworld spy laughed harshly.

"Lesson? What kind of lesson were you trying to teach Chu Qiao, Yuwen Yue? Because that looked like a snowball fight that ended with some wedding night practice to me."

Xing'er blushed a becoming shade of red. Yuwen Yue assumed that his own attempts at masking his embarrassment were slightly less attractive.

"This was nothing of the sort," he stiffly asserted. "Those were not snowballs; they were...ice orbs. And this was a serious training session."

"Oh, I don't doubt the seriousness of the session," Phoenix said, smirking. "In fact, it looked so serious that I knew I needed to put a stop to it—and to help you cool off, Yuwen Yue. Thank you for helping Chu Qiao to cool off, by the way; she looked like she was getting a bit overheated."

Yuwen Yue's retort died on his lips as Yue Qi sprinted into the clearing, apologizing for letting Phoenix get past him. Phoenix stared at Yue Qi scornfully, clearly amused at the idea that someone like his guard would be capable of stopping her from doing anything.

"I know you didn't order me to stand guard, but I just wanted to make sure that the two of you didn't have any trouble," he explained.

Phoenix laughed caustically again.

"Oh, there was trouble, alright, but don't worry: I was here to put a stop to it."

"The only problem is that this woman interrupted my serious training session," Yuwen Yue said.

Yue Qi goggled at them and looked behind his master and Xing'er for the first time, his eyes widening as he saw the ruined ice forts, armor fragments, half-buried snowballs, and, of course, the sizable indentation where Yuwen Yue and his beloved had lain for who-knew-how-long. His eyes began to twinkle, and Yuwen Yue mentally prepared himself for the teasing that was to come.

"I see," he said solemnly, his facial expression belying his tone. "So what did you learn from this snowball fi...um, I mean, 'serious training session,' Xing'er?"

"Well, Yue Qi," Xing'er began with a straight face, "I learned that when I'm using the Ice Martial Arts technique, I have to be careful of distractions since they can prevent me from using my abilities effectively. That means I'll have to subject myself to many more distractions in order to train myself to remain focused while I'm using the technique."

"I see, Xing'er. So this is likely going to become a permanent part of your training regimen, then?"

"Oh, yes, Yue Qi," Xing'er said. "I am definitely looking forward to repeating this training session again."

"How long do you think it'll take for you to learn this lesson, Xing'er?" Yue Qi asked, now openly grinning.

"Probably the rest of my life," Xing'er replied. "After all, Yuwen Yue can be quite distracting."

Phoenix shook her head in disgust.

"I have better things to do than listen to this drivel," she said, stalking back to the treeline and disappearing into it as if she'd never been there.

An awkward silence settled over the trio, especially since Yue Qi was still grinning widely.

"I'm glad to see you looking so well in the cold, Master," Yue Qi said.

"Yes, Yue Qi, Xing'er finally wore me d...I mean, she finally convinced me to allow her to give me some of her abilities."

"I'm glad to hear it, Master," Yue Qi said. "Should we go back down the mountain now?"

"Yes, we should go back down now so Yuwen Yue can warm me up—with some tea," Xing'er finished, giving Yuwen Yue her fake-innocent smile.

Yue Qi shook his head, obviously surprised at Xing'er's growing boldness—at least in terms of expressing such sentiments. He led them towards the pass that was closest to where they were, which was the main pass that would take them directly to the edge of the camp. The faithful guard walked ahead of them, obviously wanting to give them at least the semblance of privacy.

Once again deciding to make the most of his time with Xing'er, Yuwen Yue nonchalantly formed a snowball behind his back and sent it flying towards his beloved. She instinctively dodged it, formed her own snowball, and hurled it at him with her technique before she'd even had the chance to turn around. Their snowball fight was back on, and they pelted each other all the way through the pass.

The bustle and clamor of the camp finally reached their ears, and they reluctantly stopped their play. Xing'er looked up at him and her eyes widened in surprise. Yuwen Yue whirled around, looking for the source of her amazement. He soon realized that she was staring at him, but he couldn't figure out why. Slowly, a large, happy grin formed on Xing'er's face, and Yuwen Yue was shocked to realize that his mouth had already stretched to show a rare large grin of his own.

The main part of him ordered him to drop such a ridiculous expression from his face at once, but the more playful, mischievous side of himself silenced those other more staid voices and instead insisted that he smile even wider. He even went so far as to close the distance between them and take Xing'er in his arms, reveling in the last bit of intimate contact they'd have before rejoining the mass of humanity on the other side of the bend.

She stepped back from him and tried to compose herself; he did the same. Yue Qi turned around and looked at them, his eyes widening not so differently than Xing'er's had a few moments ago. His expression was different, however, and he looked more closely at Xing'er, realizing just how disheveled she looked due to their sparring.

If she looks that messy, then I'm sure that I don't look any better, Yuwen Yue mused.

He decided that he didn't care in the slightest.

Xing'er strode ahead of him into camp like a queen gliding past her loyal subjects, dignity and grace in her bearing. Yuwen Yue composed himself similarly and took his place next to his queen, striding through the staring masses with equal composure and gravitas. None could stand before them, and nothing could perturb them.

Oh, how I love this woman, he thought as his eyes connected with hers, which were alight with mischief in spite of her regal bearing.

Her own similar thoughts were visible in her eyes, the emotions present in them lingering in his mind long after he'd entered his tent and changed his robes.

---

AN: There's another one down; we're drawing ever closer to the end. Next week: Showdown with Xiang/aftermath. Two weeks: CQ makes peace with Xiang; other ships get resolved. Three weeks: Wedding night double-shot epilogue. Four weeks: Break. Glorious, wonderful break. (And trying to shape the plot of "Awakening" into something at least vaguely coherent and...plotty.)

Musical Selection: It's Christmastime, so I've been listening to Christmas music (as y'all might have been able to figure out by the last scene). "Winter Wonderland" fits here, as does the Trans Siberian Orchestra classic "Wizards in Winter." "Winter Wonderland" has been covered by just about everyone, so just Google it and take your pick.

Translation/Fanfic update: ddmcmc posted a chapter summary from Volume V at yunsheng dot wordpress dot com. Angel Chua continues to update "Secret Princess" and translate the novel into English and other languages at princessagents dot wordpress dot com.