The deer walked through the forest carefully, mindful of the traps human hunters had set for it.
However, little did it know that a storm was heading its way in the shape of the Imperial Princess Yunjin.
She appeared in a flash, her body leaping out of the bushes like a predator. The blade of her sword cut through the seer's body in a flash, causing blood to splatter all around her.
"Ah, this is so fun. Nothing gets your blood pumping better than a sudden adrenaline rush in one's system. Don't you agree, Sui?"
The princess looked at Sui with the maniacal grin she was known for.
The princess's white clothes were already tinted red with blood, and her blond hair was also becoming orange for the same reason.
This was the third deer the princess had hunted and the eighth victim of the night.
"Princess, maybe we should stop hunting now. It's late, and the sun is about to set. The emperor must be worried for your safety by now as well."
'I am tired. I want to go to sleep. I woke up too early, and now my body is aching.'
Sui did not want to whine openly, so she tried to convince the princess to head back by using the emperor as an excuse.
Sui's words had a chance to make the princess angry, but she decided to take this risk because the princess looked to be in a jolly mood.
"Aww, don't be such a pooper, Sui. A little bit of thrill will make all your tiredness melt away. Hmm, maybe you should try hunting our next prey? Maybe that will make you feel rejuvenated-"
The princess stopped talking the same second Sui heard the trees rustling.
Someone was running through the forest fast and heading their way.
"Princess, we should hide for now. Please, follow me."
Sui quickly pulled the princess up the tree and out of the way of whatever was running their way.
The rustling of the bushes was light, telling Sui that something smaller than she expected was heading their way.
The bushes finally parted, and a child ran in their direction.
The sun had not gone down yet, but it had gotten dark enough in the forest not to be able to see everything properly.
The kid ran until he noticed the dead deer gutted by the princess.
"AHHHH-"
The kid collapsed in front of the corpse, and another rustling sound followed him from behind.
This time, Sui was surprised to see a monstrous-looking figure following the kid. It looked like a demon but a relatively small one.
The princess grabbed her sword and was ready to jump down, but Sui reacted faster.
She pushed a hand in front of the princess to throw her off guard and break her rhythm while jumping down toward the demon at the same time.
Sui's dagger was longer than average, and gravity helped her dig deeper into her target's body.
The demon had been impaled with Sui's dagger in seconds.
It tried to get free, but Sui warped her legs around it, and with her hands on the ground, she twisted that demonic body before throwing it down.
The dagger made quick work of the demon this time, causing it to break into smoke and disappear.
"It's safe now! You can stop feeling scared, kid."
Sui spoke softly while kneeling before the kid to make herself seem smaller.
However, she forgot that she still wore a mask covering her face and hair.
The kid backed away from Sui in fear and collided with another solid body. He looked up only to see cold blue eyes looking down at him.
"Sui, take can your mask off now. I think the child mistook you as a demon as well because of that mask."
The princess ordered while holding the kid up with one arm stretched out.
Sui sighed before feeling around for her mask. It was covered in blood, and Sui was sure that she looked horrifying.
'Ah, all this blood must also make me look like a demon. I cannot say that the princess's state is any better, but she had a beautiful face, so it balances things out.'
Sui pulled down the mask and looked at the duo before her.
She could not help but notice that the princess had a brief flush on her face, but it could also have been a fragment of Sui's imagination because of the setting sun's orange glow.
"Hey kid, what are you doing in the forest this late? Don't you know that it is dangerous here?"
Sui asked once the kid realized a little bit.
He seemed to have realized he was safe now, and Sui could feel him taking deep breaths.
"I-I was going home w-when that thing attacked me. P-People have been disappearing from the village recently, and e-elders warned us not to go to the forest. But I wanted to find medicine for my mother and…I did not expect…I am sorry."
The kid broke into tears, causing Sui to feel bad for him.
She was about to console the kid when the princess decided to interfere and pull him up to face him.
"People have been disappearing from the village? How long has this been going on for? And what is the frequency of these disappearances?"
The princess asked in a serious voice, and it caused the kid to shake.
"I-It started a year ago. A-At first, we thought it was just wild animals killing one or t-two people per month. But then other towns b-began to get the same complaint. R-Recently there has been a disappearance every day."
The kid looked terrified of the princess and uttered everything he knew.
"Every day, you say? So, Minister Xiao lied to me. Was he covering up for someone else? Or, is he involved in this situation?"
The princess let the kid go and placed him gently on the ground. However, the kid was not able to stand up properly and ended up collapsing.
The poor child looked barely seven years old and he had already gone through something traumatic. Sui wanted to help him out, but she did not know what to do for him.
Moreover, she did not know what the princess would allow her to do.