"Shijie! Shijie! Over here!" Zhao Hui waves frantically, running over like a penguin to catch Liu Jia, who was in the middle of crossing a petite bridge that rested in the path leading to the main palace. His plan was to change first, but after seeing Liu Jia, he just couldn't let this chance pass to talk to her.
"Zhao Hui! Why aren't you wearing your shirt?! Are you that shameless?!" Liu Jia giggles cutely, the basket in her hand, which was overflowing with flowers, swaying gently.
"Ah… sorry Shijie, I didn't have enough time to change! " Zhao Hui laughs, scratching his hair.
"You're so cute!" Liu Jia ruffles Zhao Hui's hair as if he were a child and then reaches into her basket to pull out a huge peony, placing it lovingly on Zhao Hui's ear, gummy smiling adorably, "I picked these just now from the trees, they smell so sweet and rosy, take a sniff!"
"It's so beautiful and smells so nice! Thank you!" Zhao Hui hugs Liu Jia tightly, his smile so wide it reaches nearly the edge of his face.
"Now head off, go find a shirt to wear!" Liu Jia changes her expression to stern but her face still holds hints of a smile.
"I'll be there in a minute Shijie!" Zhao Hui skips happily away, cherry blossoms gliding delicately from the trees onto his head, which he didn't mind and rather embraced.
WOW! I can't believe that this is even happening to me! I get to see characters from my favorite comic book IN REAL LIFE! And she called me 'cute'! Argh! Who do I choose? Min Guiying or Liu Jia? Stupid bisexuality, I can never choose whether I want the man or woman... Zhao Hui loses himself in his thoughts, soon recalling this morning's events.
It was a big surprise to Zhao Hui, Min Guiying, out of all people, MIN GUIYING let him sleep in his room! Min Guiying in the comic NEVER let anyone sleep in his room, let alone on his bed! In fact, it took 6 years for Liu Jia to get permission to simply ENTER Min Guiying's room! Zhao Hui looks over at his shoulder that Min Guiying couldn't stop staring at and notices that it was bandaged neatly and there was no blood seeping out from the gauze. So that was what he was looking at… Zhao Hui's eyes widen even further. Not only did Min Guiying let Zhao Hui sleep on his bed, but he took the time to apply ointment and bandage his wound! If this wasn't him warming up to Zhao Hui, Zhao Hui didn't know what else to call it! Speaking of the devil, Zhao Hui comes face-to-face with Min Guiying, who stops abruptly and looks at Zhao Hui confusedly, as if wondering why he was in such a good mood.
"Zhao Hui?" He looks confusedly and disgustingly at Zhao Hui, shocked at the audacity of him going outside without a proper Hanfu on.
"Brighten up Young Master Min! I really like your hair, it's beautiful, you must take good care of it!" A lightbulb suddenly goes off in Zhao Hui's head. He grabs the flower off of his head and places it gently behind Min Guiying's ear, "Now you're even more of a beauty…" He trails off, his hand still placed on Min Guiying's ear, remembering how beautiful Min Guiying looked in the morning and how much he wanted to-
"Annoying." Min Guiying grits his teeth, shoving a shirt into Zhao Hui's chest roughly and dipping abruptly, his posture straight as he glides over the bridge, however, little did he know, Zhao Hui had just missed the biggest thing. Min Guiying's face was turning a crimson red from what Zhao Hui just did.
STOP BEATING SO FAST! Min Guying yells at his heart savagely, shaking his head to get rid of that smile… that bright, foolishly charming smile…
"Young Master Min? Grandmaster Min is asking for your presence at the throne." A young servant of 16 cups his hands and talks respectfully to Min Guiying, his face contorted in a fearful expression. Since Min Guiying was known for getting angry easily and the boy was far too young to see how funny it truly was.
"I will see to it, thank you for telling me, Min Bai." Min Guiying nods his head towards the boy, who then stands up quickly and runs away to rejoin the discipline group.
.
.
.
Back at the bridge, Zhao Hui continues to smile, remembering how silly Min Guiying looked running away. He grabs the shirt that was heaved into his chest and unfolds it, attempting to flatten the lines with his hands. Zhao Hui quickly pulls the Hanfu over his head and begins tying the string to keep it in place. As soon as he finishes tying it up and straightening out any last creases, Zhao Hui hears a soft honeyed voice call out his name.
"Zhao Hui? Excuse me, are you Zhao Hui?" A servant, looking around Zhao Hui's age, taps Zhao Hui's shoulder softly, making him turn around in surprise.
"Ah! Yes, that's me." Zhao Hui bows down to give respect to the servant, who bows down hurriedly.
"Grandmaster Min is calling for you, it seemed like an emergency, he told you to immediately report to the main palace." The servant's voice was soft and delicate, it seemed almost like a whisper compared to Zhao Hui's.
"Thank you for informing me, uh- your name?" Zhao Hui looks at the servant curiously.
"Min Xiu." The girl bows cutely, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Your smile is so cute!" Zhao Hui coos, placing his hands on the sides of his face, giggling.
"Thank you!" Min Xiu beams charmingly, her hand placed in front of her lips in a flustered way.
"I have to go now, I hope I see you around Min Xiu!" Zhao Hui waves at the girl, walking away as he bops his head to an invisible beat.
Inside the palace, Min Guiying and Liu Jia were standing side to side with barely any space in between, the Grandmaster Min beaming happily down at them from the throne. Min Guiying and Liu Jia meet awkward eye contact and immediately turn their head to the other side, not bearing to look at each other. Liu Jia sighs sadly, closing her eyes as her head bows down. Why did she have to be forced to marry? She didn't want to get married to some random prince, she didn't want to become a wife or give birth to children. She wanted to help the cultivation world, learn the different cultivation from the clans and protect the lives of innocent people. Why was a girl's only job to get married off to some other prince of a clan and be the mother of their children? Her fists clenched tightly on her basket as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. She reminds herself that she was doing this all for her clan, it was best she didn't do anything to ruin the alliance between the Min and Liu clan.
On the other hand, in Min Guiying's head, he was struggling to figure out the feeling Zhao Hui gave to him.
He couldn't recall a time where he felt like this before. His heart challenged him in a race, beating faster than he could count, how he felt breathless at every flirting motive and felt out of control of his own body. The way Zhao Hui could just smile and Min Guiying could become a mess from it. He felt flustered before, but now he could only feel anger. How dare that little bitch make him feel like that, he was always in control of everything, and this little asscrack was going to make him lose it. Not being in control of the future or his own body scared Min Guiying deeply. He could easily be taken advantage of and especially feeling this about another man, what would society say? They would condemn him, step over him, and put his entire family in danger! For what? Love? It wasn't worth risking the lives of others, even though his parents clearly accepted all forms of love.
Both people are thrown out of their thoughts by a loud creak that escapes from a door left of the palace. The creak echoes melodically and leaves a ringing silence. Zhao Hui notices this awkward air and he inhales deeply, making a face saying, 'Damn, I didn't know I was called here to witness the reaping'. He stretches his neck and sends a small wave towards Liu Jia and Min Guiying. Zhao Hui strides over and stands to the left of Min Guiying. Grandmistress Min visibly inhaled a deep breath at this action, smirking in the way of Min Guiying, who was steaming and glaring at Zhao Hui.
"Grandmaster Min, I heard from a servant that you had news to tell me." Zhao Hui bows down respectfully and stands straight, a hand resting on his sword. He meets Min Guiying's glare and winks flirtatiously, knowing completely that it would only make Min Guiying further mad. This makes Liu Jia chuckle as she lightly hits Min Guiying as a message that Grandmaster and Grandmistress was watching them
"Ah, yes I did. I required your presence here in order to discuss the engaged couple's wedding that will take place two months from now. I thought that it was necessary that you, Min Guiying's bodyguard, were here to help with the planning of the wedding."
"I understand Grandmaster Min, however, I'm afraid that I don't know Min Guiying well enough to help you plan his wedding."
"Don't worry about not knowing him well enough child, helping him plan his wedding could help you two get very close to each other if you know what I-" The Grandmistress Min was in the middle of her sentence before the main door of the palace slammed open and a bloody discipline limped inside, leaving trails of blood where he stepped.
"ELYSIAN VALLEY IS UNDER ATTACK!" The discipline shouts, breathing heavily, and from behind him, the chaos of the fighting outside is visible. Cultivators whose identities are hidden by a rabbit mask that covers half of their face are fighting the Min disciplines, their Hanfu's the color taupe and ebony.
"Zhao Hui, take Liu Jia, Min Guiying, and Min Boquin down to the dock where a boat is anchored. Enter the boat and escape while we fight the intruders!" Grandmaster Min abruptly stood from the throne, unsheathing his sword, a serious look on his face.
"Father, isn't that the Nuh clan? What do they want from us?" Min Guiying whips his head to his father, a questioning look plastered on his face.
"I don't have enough time to explain, but they want something that the Min Clan has held possession of, it was about time the Nuh Clan found out we held it. Your job is to find it, that's why we are sending you away. You can't risk losing any time!" Grandmaster Min runs out of the palace, his sword at the ready.
"Follow the path of the river and follow your heart. This will come in handy when you find the cave, it will unlock what they came for." The Grandmistress Min quickly slips something inside Zhao Hui's pocket. She follows in her husband's step, wielding her sword from its holder, "I trust you with the lives of my sons and Liu Jia, they're in your hands from now on. Keep them and yourself safe, child."
"Mother! Father!" Min Guiying follows his parents running with his eyes, looking longingly at them. He was scared of losing them.
"I promise we'll be okay Min Jie, but you have to leave." The Grandmistress Min kisses Min Guiying on the forehead lightly and with a sad look in her eyes, she sprints outside.
"NO! I can fight too!" Min Guiying yells, his voice cracking.
"Young Master Min, we have to go now!" Zhao Hui grabs Min Guiying and Liu Jia's hands and forces the confused young adults to escape the main palace.
Outside, disciplines wearing Sacramento green, fern green, and eggnog colored Hanfu were fighting bravely, and blood covered the ground of the Elysian Valley palace, screams from those who were being stabbed echoing throughout. The clashing of swords caused Zhao Hui's adrenaline to speed up as he flinched every time he heard the deafening scream of a discipline dying. The group jumped over dead bodies and dodged mini battles as they ran on their way to the boat dock, which was on the other side of the palace.
They had finally reached the practice ground for the disciplines, and just on the other side, they could make out a small docking port. However, there was a huge obstacle blocking their pathway. A group of Nuh disciplines was running towards them, swords ready in their hands. Zhao Hui panics, unsheathing his sword hurriedly. He gets ready to attack and then sees Min Guiying with his sword at the ready as well.
"Young Master Min! Put your sword down, it's my responsibility to protect you, I can't let you get hurt! You and Shijie should run while I hold them back!" He yells, his eyes still on the upcoming Nuh soldiers.
"No. You're already hurt and you can't fight that many people at once." Min Guiying's face shows he isn't kidding, but this worries Zhao Hui.
"What about Shijie? Who's going to protect her?"
"Excuse me, but I'm capable of saving myself. I don't need you guys to make me seem like a damsel in distress!" Liu Jia snaps as she throws her basket high in the air, the flowers she had picked flying out, and the basket transforms into a double-edged sword. She expertly catches the sword and twirls it gracefully in her hand, getting into formation, "I'm ready to fight to protect you, Zhao Hui."
"Be careful not to get blinded by your long hair." Zhao Hui jokes, smiling, but then freezes, remembering he had long hair too, "Fuck."
"Exactly what I thought. Dummy forgets he has the same struggle." Liu Jia smirks.
"Yeah, I just realized that, thank you very much Shijie." Zhao Hui blushes out of embarrassment, a frown present on his face.
The disciplines of the Nuh Clan moved swiftly as a group, 5 or 6 of them seeming like a blur as they approached Zhao Hui. When they arrived to the group of three, they didn't hesitate as they attacked them, swords clashing loudly. Liu Jia was using the double-sided sword to her advantage as she used it to hold back two soldiers, engaging them in a small, vicious battle while Min Guiying was fighting what appeared to be the commander of this group of disciplines. Even though he was engaged in a fight, the commander was still shouting orders to the others, who followed the directions immediately.
Zhao Hui, however, was dealing with the worst out of all of them. Three soldiers surrounded him and attacked together, Zhao Hui struggled as he pushed them off. The group of Nuh soldiers worked well together, attacking one after another, looking for weak points of Zhao Hui, which were easily discovered. Zhao Hui wished he had practiced more, he should've listened to Penelope and have extra prepared for this moment. The swords slammed into each other at such a force that sparks were emitted from them. Liu Jia had already killed the two soldiers she was fighting after a while, her beautiful robes covered with enemy blood, and she head off to help Min Guiying tackle the skilled leader, who didn't appear to be giving up easily. Zhao Hui managed to end the life of one soldier, but that had only caused the other two to be more motivated to kill him.
"Ammil." Zhao Hui mutters as he takes out a paper and attaches it to one of the soldiers, who freezes after it was attached. The second Nuh soldier takes this time Zhao Hui was distracted to wrestle Zhao Hui to the ground angrily and points his sword at Zhao Hui's stomach ready to strike until-
"Don't touch what isn't yours."