AN: This story's almost over, guys. Tomorrow, I'll wrap up some loose ends, and then the next day will be the epilogue. After this, I'll work on "A Different Path," which is apparently going to go on a different path than what I'd planned on since I'd only meant to make it a one-shot. But since there seems to be such high demand for a more proactive, decisive CQ, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for reading and reviewing; I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

Xiao Yu was hidden just inside the tree line, ready to execute her plan now that all of the guests had left Green Hills Courtyard. She had to admit that she'd been a little bit nervous when all of those Wei troops had shown up—with the emperor! What were the odds?-but fortunately for her, they'd all apparently gone off to drunkenly carouse the night away.

The princess curled her lip in a sneer at the stupidity of men in general. How could they all be so coarse and clueless? Maybe if they were lucky, the emperor would get killed by the Xiulis and instability would come to Wei again.

Too bad I don't have the time or the means to arrange a little...accident…

Xiao Yu stopped her fantasizing and focused on the moment at hand, allowing her senses to sharpen as they always did right before an infiltration. She heard nothing in the woods behind herself, but she hadn't expected to. Her people were in position and ready to defend her with their bows if necessary, but they would only reveal themselves if any pursuit followed her over the wall.

She'd seen no sign of Xiao Ce's people and figured that maybe they'd had orders to leave after the birth had occurred. Not that she had any idea why her dear brother's people had been here in the first place; maybe he really did have feelings for Chu Qiao after all. If that turned out to be the case, then secretly raising Chu Qiao's child as her own would give her that much more satisfaction.

With a final cautious look, she started sprinting towards the wall. She'd memorized the layout of Green Hills years ago before she'd made her attempt on the Eyes of God, so she knew where the best place to vault herself over the wall would be for her purposes. This particular portion of the wall was poorly lit, near the back of the property, and separated from the rest of the Courtyard by a stand of trees. Most importantly, she could easily reach the back side of Yuwen Yue's rooms from this area and would have good cover while she did so.

She jumped over the wall as effortlessly as she'd expected and noted with pleasure on her way down the absence of any light except that produced by the full moon. Her body reacted instinctively, moving almost without the princess's permission as it sensed something fast heading he way. Xiao Yu threw herself backwards, hearing the unmistakable whisper of darts skimming past her.

The princess sprang to her feet and drew her sword, getting it around in front of her just in time to meet the sword descending on her. She recognized the pair of eyes boring into hers from between the small space allowed by the black outfit that the woman was wearing, and her own eyes widened in shock. Then she threw herself into the battle, relishing the chance to kill this troublesome woman that she knew Yuwen Yue valued.

Meng Feng knew that her odds of taking out the princess with a single spray of darts were poor, but she figured that the worst that could happen would be that she would knock her enemy off-balance, which was always a good thing. She knew that in order to succeed in her mission, she'd have to take advantage of every fighting skill she possessed.

Xiao Ce's spy had been a good fighter, but the princess was at another level entirely. As Meng Feng slashed inside the princess's guard in a way that would've gutted most normal fighters, Xiao Yu merely bent both herself and her blade around the thrust. The princess straightened her sword and flicked it at Meng Feng's left shoulder, drawing first blood. Meng Feng barely felt the pain, having dealt with much worse over the course of three Afterlife Camp Nirvanas.

Time seemed to lose all meaning for Meng Feng as she and Xiao Yu exchanged blows, blocking, parrying, and thrusting in a deadly dance that she knew would trip one of them up eventually. She got inside the princess's guard again, this time scoring a crease across Xiao Yu's stomach. Meng Feng didn't have time to celebrate her hit as the princess redoubled her efforts, wielding her sword skillfully while taking small, digging steps that forced Meng Feng to back up.

In spite of her goals, Meng Feng almost wished that someone would hear the clashing of swords and come to her aid. As she narrowly avoided a blow to her neck, however, she grimly acknowledged that the only people who might be able to help her were likely deeply asleep in their bed only a short distance away. Well, there was another person who could've helped her, but she was surely tucked away safely in Yanbei with her husband right now.

Like I wish I were, she thought as she blocked the princess's sword and parried with her own thrust. And yet, if I weren't here…

Meng Feng knew that she was going to tire eventually and that she might not be able to succeed in capturing Xiao Yu alive. Xiao Ce's spy had told her some salient details about the princess's relationship with Yuwen Yue that had convinced Meng Feng that the less he knew about this affair, the better. Not that she believed for an instant that her former master would hesitate to protect his family, but she didn't want him to have to have the burden of the decision to kill his former penpal on his heart.

She redoubled her own efforts, using all of the deadly abilities that she'd honed over the course of her lifetime. However, she was facing a woman whose upbringing had been similar to hers in training level if not in brutality and deprivation, and she found her best efforts stymied at every turn.

All she did was make a single mistake. Just one foot out of place, slipping ever so slightly on a tree root. But that one error was enough to give the princess her opening, and she took it, slicing deeply into Meng Feng's sword arm and kicking her roughly against the trunk of a nearby tree. Meng Feng's sword went flying out of her hand, so she swiftly drew her dagger and launched herself as best as she could at the princess.

Xiao Yu kneed her in the gut and drove her back into the tree again, pinning her there as she drew her own dagger with a smile on her face. Meng Feng wriggled her dagger hand free and stabbed it into the princess's side, feeling a sense of satisfaction that if she was going to die, she'd at least managed to do so while inflicting pain on her foe.

Anger twisted Xiao Yu's face as she ripped the dagger out of her side and whipped her own right at Meng Feng's throat. A faint flapping of wings penetrated Meng Feng's consciousness right before a fuzzy missile flew right into the princess's face. Xiao You reared back in outrage and stumbled back a couple of steps, slashing her dagger at the flying figure.

Without warning, a spray of darts appeared across the princess's neck, narrowly missing the bird as it squawked in fear. Xiao Yu clawed at her throat, but whatever was on the darts quickly knocked her unconscious. She landed on the ground with a sodden thump, looking as limp as Meng Feng herself felt as she slid down the rough bark of the tree all the way to its base.

The fluttering wings sounded again, this time near her own head.

"Get up, badass! Get up, badass!" it said softly.

"You," she said weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you, badass!"

"So I see," Meng Feng said, smiling weakly. "Thank you."

Her former master's Cangwu parrot dipped his head in acknowledgment.

Meng Feng quickly found her wits and sprang up, her eyes searching for any sign of her mysterious helper. The parrot also flew around the treetops but seemed unable to find anyone. Whoever had thrown those darts had obviously already left and would probably not be easy to find.

Not that I'm in any condition to hunt down anyone right now…

Meng Feng shook her head, doing her best to clear it. Picking up her sword, she wiped it on her black robes before replacing it in its scabbard; she did the same thing with her dagger. She took out two small coils of rope, using one to bind the princess's hands and the other to bind her feet.

Taking out one of the darts, she sniffed it and nodded her head in confirmation. A common knockout drug, just like she'd suspected. Several more darts that she pulled out had identical scents coming from them. The final dart, however, made her eyebrows raise in astonishment. She recognized the scent of the poison that she herself had used in her Afterlife Camp days. Tucking the darts away in a pocket in her robes designed for that purpose, she decided to try to figure out their mystery when she was more clear-headed.

As she'd done so many times in the past, Meng Feng sent the pain to the back of her mind and did what she had to do. She picked the princess up and slung her over her shoulders. Her wounded arm protested, but she ignored it. She'd have plenty of time to convalesce once she'd completed her mission. Ever so slowly, she began to make her way along the wall, Yuwen Yue's parrot flapping along silently but alertly beside her.

The morning after Meng Feng had shared the walk around the walls with Chu Qiao, the pregnant woman had invited her along for that morning's stroll as well. To Meng Feng's astonishment, Chu Qiao had proceeded to matter-of-factly show her all of Green Hills Courtyard's weakest points along the wall in terms of going and coming. She'd shown Meng Feng the best ambush and defense points, the darkest, most secret areas, and the best place to throw something over the wall from either side undetected.

When Meng Feng had asked Chu Qiao why she was sharing this information, her former master's wife had simply said, "Because you were there for him when I could not be—and because if you're going to be sneaking into my home, you may as well do it properly."

Meng Feng treasured both seals that the most important men in her life had given her. Her husband's seal gave her authority almost equal to his, and Yuwen Yue's seal gave her the standing of a Yue guard. However, Meng Feng treasured equally as much the total trust displayed by a woman who found trusting so difficult—and who had multiple reasons to mistrust her.

She sighed in relief as she reached the dark space along the wall. Meng Feng knew that the other side of the wall was equally dark and that they were also fairly close to the tree line here. She hoped that Xiao Ce's people had kept their end of the bargain and had gotten rid of the archers that the princess had brought with her.

Centering herself and relying on years of training, she heaved the princess over the wall. She sagged against the wall in exhaustion, her arm burning hotly. The parrot cooed in sympathy before flying up and over the wall. He quickly flew back over and nodded his head.

"All clear, badass."

"Thank you."

The parrot chirped softly before flying up into the trees and out of sight. Meng Feng briefly shook her head at the absurdity of the situation before mentally preparing herself to jump over the wall. The parrot's assurances aside, she knew that there might still be bowmen hiding in the trees on the other side of the wall.

She vaulted up and over and hit the ground in a crouch near the body of the princess. Drawing her sword just in case, she slowly stood up and faced the treeline. No arrows or bolts came her way, so she assumed that Xiao Ce's people had been successful and were waiting for her to deliver the princess into their tender, loving care. After making sure that Xiao Yu had survived her trip over the wall, she picked the princess up and placed her over her back once again.

While she'd earlier vowed to not let the princess actually make it into Green Hills Courtyard, she'd altered her plans after her discussion with Xiao Ce's spy. In exchange for them taking out the archers, she'd agreed to fight and capture the princess and to hand her over to them, which was something that she'd decided she'd best be able to do if she could gain the element of surprise over Xiao Yu. She was all in favor of this plan as it ultimately took Xiao Yu's fate out of both her and Yuwen Yue's hands. Meng Feng knew she'd tell Yuwen Yue the truth one day, but that day would hopefully be months or even years from now.

A soft rasping sound came from near her old hiding spot, which had been designated as the meeting place. She wearily dropped the princess at the feet of her allies and stood up straight again.

"I kept my end of the bargain," she said softly.

"Indeed you did," the lead spy said, her voice tinged with a bit of awe. "I offer you many thanks on behalf of my master."

"I owed your master a debt which has now been repaid," Meng Feng replied.

"Does my master know about this debt?"

"Maybe so; maybe not. Tell him that I'm the one who shot our mutual friend with a dart in my wilder days and that I'm grateful for his intervention on her behalf. Had he not sent Young Master Yue into the Afterlife Camp after the poison's antidote, I never would've become who I am today. Now we're even."

"You're injured," she said, tilting her head in Meng Feng's direction. "I can patch those wounds up, if you'd let me. You'd make better time on the road without having to worry about them."

Meng Feng agreed, and the wounds were soon given basic field dress. She thanked Xiao Ce's people and clasped her sword in front of her in respect; they did the same. Her mind had already turned towards home and her husband, so she gratefully allowed her body to follow suit.