Boss Shen angrily shouted: "Deal with? Deal with what?! You're about to lose your life." She turned around to look at me who had a pale face. It was like her heart had become tender too.
"Stop being stubborn and come with me."
But before she could finish, Fu Xiang chased us like an accursed ghost unwilling to leave. He revealed a ridiculing smile: "Vice-captain Shen, you are very bold. You almost killed me with that strike." His voice was very energetic which was a clear indication that her attack just now didn't hurt him.
Boss Shen knew that she missed an opportunity to deal him a heavy blow. She looked extremely dejected, but her expression didn't change. Instead, she just angrily glared at me.
I met her angry eyes which were kind of blaming me. I made an open hand gesture and said: "I already told you I'd deal with it, so what are you glaring at me for?"
"Alright, even if you are right, tell me how you are going to deal with it in the state you're in?"
I thought about it but could only think of one thing to say: "Little kids shouldn't concern themselves with adults' affairs."
"You actually believe that you're an adult and more mature than me?" Boss Shen glared at me with an even more serious glare. But that didn't last long because she then helplessly laughed: "Have you lost your mind or are you actually confident? Why does it feel that you're not scared? Have you been scared silly?"
"Didn't I promise to gather intel for you? How can I give up without doing anything? Don't worry, I'll run away when it's time to." I stood up and moulded my energy to erase the pale look on my face.
Now I looked much better.
"Nobody is more scared of dying than I am, so don't worry."
Boss Shen was going to say something, but I extended a finger forth and placed it on her soft lips. I chuckled softly and said: "A woman should behave and wait at home while her man attends to business."
Time virtually stopped once again.
The wind blew gently and carried a different sense of coldness with it.
If you were to look up at the sky, you would see the sky covered in snow.
Snow.
It's snowing.
Winter hasn't come yet, but the first snowfall of this year started today as if it had plans of its own within the dark-unclear world.
The sky caused created a silence inside and outside of the palace.
The snowfall was carried by the wind. Ice crystals landed on people like flowers blooming, substantially increasing the charm of the white snow.
Boss Shen didn't freak out or move away. She allowed me to place my finger on her lips. What surprised me even more was the heat being transferred from her lips to my finger that was just like the impression Boss Shen's appearance gave off, and just like her soft breaths.
"You're hurt……" Boss Shen didn't care about me placing my finger on her lips and spoke like that. Her warm breath was like a kitten's lick which felt so nice in the cold.
"If I hit you now, I'll definitely end up killing you, so I'll forgive you this time… Are you still not going to remove your finger?"
I slowly pulled my finger back and looked at her seemingly transparent eyes. I chuckled and replied: "Boss, trust me… There's always a way to solve things."
Boss Shen didn't say anything. She frowned, and I could sense a strong aura being emitted from between her eyebrows which touched me.
"You are not to die. I don't want any of my men to die. I don't want you to die, you hear?"
Those determined eyes… I felt like I could read the one they call the-imperial-court's-toughest-female-hero. A young girl in her tens holding up all of Liu Shan Men is no easy task.
"I promise, I won't die. At least not today."
"Always talking glibly."
Boss Shen sheathed her blade again, looked at me with a thoughtful gaze and said: "Take care." She then turned around and slowly left.
I looked at Fu Xiang who was standing to one side and behind Boss Shen's back a few times with a complex feeling. It felt somewhat surreal. Boss Shen thought that Fu Xiang was a member of the Black Winds Thirteen Wings and was afraid I'd get beaten to death. Fu Xiang thought I fell in love with Boss Shen and she came to save me. I on the other hand simply didn't want the emperor to discover my identity.
Snowflakes floated slowly in the air and my heart became clear because of that.
The complexity of the matter virtually surpassed my imagination. Who the heck caused everything to turn out this way?
My eyes subconsciously found their way to the royal family seating area and my ears stood up on their own.
I could hear the entire conversation between the emperor and the orange prince. There were things they didn't know about each other, but it was all clear from my point of view. And based off the intel they have as well as the things Fu Xiang and co. have done, their goal could not be any clearer.
I looked at Fu Xiang and spoke to him with lip reading: "Are you trying to overthrow the emperor's rule?"
Fu Xiang understood me. Somewhat surprised, he replied: "You are very wise, Master Ming. You ended up seeing through it in the end."
"But I still don't understand, why're you not killing me?"
"I want to borrow your appearance for the part that comes afterwards."
I see now. Now it all makes sense. Since I'm such a threat to them, Fu Xiang could've killed me after I was hit, but he didn't. I couldn't comprehend why, but now when combined the knowledge the Mystery want to get a piece of the pie in Jiang Nan's martial world, it makes sense. They could replace me there using their masterful disguise skills. They could then use Night Fortress as a medium to commit more assassinations and slowly gain control over Jiang Nan's martial world.
"It's just that you are too skilled, so I had no choice but to paralyse you with my palm strikes, stopping you from ruining our plan."
"Fair enough. Your plan is tough and tiring, huh?"
"Thank you for understanding."
We both laughed and the atmosphere in the ring became ice-cold.
"Last question." My qi essence in my body stopped circulating and the qi which gave me the pale look resurfaced on my face again, reverting my appearance back to how it was before, "The current emperor is no pushover, do you think you can successfully dethrone him?"
"Meng Jiangnan", otherwise known as the assassin Fu Xiang revealed a genuine smile and replied: "Path of Darkness fears no one."
That was the last thing we said to each other.
We didn't see this scene. We just heard others tell us about it after. It sounded pretty brutal.
Fu Xiang took a quick step. Deeply-etched footmarks were left wherever he stepped. He braced, transformed his palm into lightning and viciously struck me, creating a huge sound. I looked like I got struck by lightning and got sent flying out of the ring like a kite that had its string snapped. Even though I crashed into the wall, my fall didn't stop.
A warm red drop of liquid from the skies filled with snowfall landed on Shen Yiren's jade-white-like face after she just got off the ring. The liquid was hot compared to the snowflakes. She reached her hand out to wipe it away gently. It didn't take her long to recognise that it was blood, but she moved frighteningly slowly.
"I'm Ming Feizhen. From today onwards, I shall love my country and devote my loyalty to it. I shall serve the imperial court and am determined to be Vice-captain's good subordinate. Greetings boss!"
"Boss! Want a pear?"
"Boss, I'll help you read over half of these documents, so have an early night."
"Mmm… Right now isn't a good time for me to wake up. Boss, please don't wear low-cuts……"
"Because you're silly. You go all out without consideration for yourself for the sake of justice. That's why I want to stay by your side."
"Why would I go to work during my off-time? Boss, did you know you look really pretty when you're working? Wouldn't it be a waste for me not to look at you?"
The memories slowly mixed in with the snow and poured into Shen Yiren's blurry eyes.
"Feizhen… You liar……"
Shen Yiren turned around. The drip of blood flew away while her eyes were brimming with an impulse to kill.