※ Chapter 17 ※

Meihua's POV »☆●

As the day falls, we reach the mercenaries sprawling camp at the end of Jinan. All around us, armed people bustle about, sparring, drinking and laughing. There are hundreds here. I didn't expect so many. I didn't even know mercenaries were such a huge deal in China.

Chaen and Kai brings out my weapons and hands me over, bidding goodbyes and bowing to Se, they depart for the camp. We're on our own from here on.

We walk in silence as Se leads. I find it difficult to keep up with his fast strides, he looks back every few minutes to make sure I'm catching up.

"So, you're a King now, huh?" I ask, breaking the awkward silence.

"For now, only the regent. After King Ming's will is read, my succession will be official. You know, I've no blood-right to the throne unlike you," he mutters in a pinching tone.

I stop on my track, biting my lips and nodding, "Blood-rights are overrated. So is royalty."

He jerks his head back, "Of course, you think so."

I laugh weakly, "You're eager to abide by nonsense rules and sacrifice yourself for people?"

He shakes his head, "I'm only eager to fulfill the responsibilities bestowed upon me."

"In that case, I'm willing to help in any way that I can," I say, doing a quick run to catch up with him, "When's the debut?"

He scoffs, "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I gasp, "Shouldn't you be preparing instead of journeying all the way to come find me?"

He stops, turning to look at me, meeting my eyes, then quickly looks away and continues walking. Why was he so desperate to find me if he's gonna ignore me?

It's already dark as we finally reach the streets of Beijing. The blue sky is dotted with countless small star, the bright moon is completely out, even the quietest footsteps can be heard. That's when we realize a group of wolves have started to follow us. Se looks back and continues to walk so I assume he knows them. I can feel their gazes as they stare at me from top from head to toe.

Creepy.

The wolves stop following as we reach a giant mansion. Se leads me inside and I see Uncle Mark talking to a few old men and two guys around Se's age, overlooking a table covered in maps and plans.

"Traveller, Dad. She claims to know you," Se bows to Uncle and informs him with a poker face. I frown, looking at him confused of why he said that? He knows who I am. He doesn't meet my gaze, one of the guys of his age raises eyebrows at him questioningly, as if to confirm something. Se nods at him.

Uncle's eyes goes wide as he sees me, but he quickly covers it up, "Traveller? You just let anyone walk into the heart of Mingluan? That's how responsible as a King-regent you are?"

Did he forget who am I too? Is this some joke I don't understand? My frown deepens as I look in between Se and Uncle as they intensely gaze at each other, nodding, shaking their heads, shrugging, frowning, as if talking in a sign language.

Telepathy!

No, it's called something else. Se told me about it when we were kids. Mindlink?

Oh yes, mindlink.

One of the old men steps up, bowing to Uncle, "Do you want to imprison the trespasser?"

Uncle shakes his head, "I can handle it. You all may leave."

He dismisses everyone and Se leads me inside to seat at the front room. It's well furnished with tons of wooden supplies. Wooden vase, wooden watch, wooden statues of some Royal ancestors of Mingluan. There's a huge firepit at the center of the room, large portraits of dangerous looking wolves are hanging on the wall overlooking it. Are they their ancestors?

"Meihua?" Uncle couldn't hide the surprise in his voice, a gasp escapes from in between his lips ever so slightly as he steps in the room, "You're..alive?"

I nod, bowing to him, "As alive as it gets. I'm glad you didn't forget me. You didn't seem to recognize me back there."

"I couldn't reveal you in front of them!" he almost loses temper but the surprise in his face is still as prominent, "Where were you all these months? What are you doing here?"

I take a deep breath and begin to fill him in, about everything that happened since I escaped my home. He nods, tapping his chin, listening to everything thoughtfully.

"And you've been living in the bunker since then, instead of coming here?" he raises his head to look at me.

Oh no..

I glance down and nod apologetically. But I'm really not sorry. I still stick to my belief that I shouldn't trust anyone easily no matter how close they are. I lost everything because of an intimate family member. I don't even blame King Wang for this when my own blood is snake. How am I supposed to believe Uncle wouldn't turn his back against me?

He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and touching his forehead, as if calculating a lot of things in his head.

"Zanilia," he calls out as his wife approaches immediately, her eyes filled with concern as she looks back and forth between me, Se and Uncle, "Where's Rosy?" Uncle asks.

"She went home. Her mother-in-law is sick," Aunt informs.

"She won't attend Sehun's debut?" Uncle asks.

Aunt nods, "She'll be back by then."

Uncle gestures at me, "Take her to Rosy's room. Sehun," he turns to look at Se, "Can we talk?"

Se nods and gets up to follow Uncle. Aunt approaches me, "Do you wanna freshen up first?"

I shake my head, "Can I stay here for a while? I feel cold, I'd like to sit by the firepit." She nods, "Suit yourself, but I've to go prepare dinner."

I smile with assurance, "That's okay. Can I help though?"

She frowns, "You, a princess, wanna help in cooking?"

I shrug, "Why not?" I don't understand what's so surprising.

She smiles dismissively, "No no, that's okay. You relax."

As she leaves, I take a round in the room, observing everything. Then I take sit next to the firepit, the heat warming my body that was sore from walking. I observe the flames crackling over the sizzling coal, feeling the radiating warmth, holding my hands toward it and watching them glow golden.

When Se and I were travelling here, one thing I realized is a huge number of Wuluan soldiers have escaped here. I didn't think so many even survived the battle. I wonder if that man survived.

The one who saved my life.

My heart skips a beat thinking he might be dead. There hasn't been a single day in these months that I haven't thought about him. All I pray and hope is he's alive wherever he is. I didn't even get to look at his face. All I know about his appearance is his enormous back and wide shoulders that was on me. I wanna know who he is, what he looks like. He was on our armory so he's a Wuluan soldier. If he's alive, he's most likely here. And if he's not here, he'll be here, I don't know why but I have this gut feeling.

An hour passes as I sit by the fire, I almost fall asleep staring at the purple hue and thinking of my next move, when I hear the muffled voice of Aunt. I stand up, turning around to reach the door, when the skirts of my hanfu tangles my feet and I slip backwards, falling towards the firepit!

It all happens so fast, I can't hold on my balance, and end up leaping over the firepit.

I land smoothly on the other side of the pit and my jaw drops in shock. I leaped over the firepit? How the hell did I do that?

And strangely, as I crossed through the veil of fame, I felt no heat or pain. The flames almost seemed to arc, bending away from me, making a path..

What the blazes?

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Sehun's POV »☆●

As soon as I approached near our house, I sensed the presence of multiple humans. When we enter, my doubts become clearer as some of our kingdom associates are talking to dad. I can't reveal her in front of them so I disguise her as a traveller. My

lies are smooth enough to fool others but not Luhan. He knows I went in search of Angel. He gazes at me asking if this is her. I nod. Luhan might be a human but we don't need mindlink to communicate. However I confirm dad through mindlink that it was indeed Meihua who I saw, who saved me. After she fills us in with everything that happened in the past few months, dad asks to meet me outside.

When we walk out, he turns to me furiously, "You brought her here? Do you have any idea what danger you've put her in?"

I sigh, "The entire world is dangerous for her. Don't behave like this in front of her. She's the princess, dad. Moreover, she's the one who saved my life. She deserves a better reception."

"Better reception? This isn't the masquerade ball. That life's over for her. There's no returning," he growls.

Luhan approaches us, clearing his throat, "May I interrupt?"

I know Luhan was eavesdropping in our whole conversation and honestly we don't mind. I trust him even more than me and it's his old habit as he works as a spy. He helps us spy among humans too. We've a hard time communicating with humans because their thoughts and emotions are different than ours. If it wasn't for Luhan, we wouldn't have done many things.

Dad permits and he bows as he takes a step towards us, "Actually, there might be. King Wang has sailed to the west. Wuluan is open for attack."

His eyes widen, "Are you crazy? Even if we stand a chance on winning, why'd we endanger ourselves for her?"

"For her?" I roll my eyes, "We're already in danger, dad. We're all in danger as long as the Blood King is in power. His rivalry isn't with King Wu only. Why do you think he attacked that particular day when all royals were in Wuluan? Remember, King Wu isn't the only King who died, King Ming did too. And I'm next on that throne."

Luhan nods, "Mingluan is the largest realm in all of China. We're his biggest target currently. He's gonna attack us, whether or not we save the princess. In that case, I think it's wise to ally with her. King Wu had a huge impact on common folk. Some people will follow her lead even now, which will make overtaking King Wang easier. Besides.."

"Besides?" Dad raises an eyebrow at him.

He turns to look at me, "You're sure she's the one who saved you, right?"

I roll my eyes, "I told you already, I'm very sure."

"Gratitude isn't a good enough reason, Luhan," Dad groans.

Luhan shakes his head, "Not gratitude. That day was his twentieth birthday. He was supposed to find his mate. He didn't find anyone.."

"..but he found her," his eyes goes wide as he looks back at me, "Is she your mate?"

I'd lie if I say I didn't think that, or feel anything. But I somehow don't know how to answer that question, nor do I want to right now.

"I don't know" I mutter.

"How can you not know that?" Luhan frowns.

"Can we not talk about this now? I need space," I rub the sides of my neck as I feel a mild ache.

Dad nods and gestures me to go. I bolt towards my room and jump straight into my bed, face down, feeling relieved to have escaped that. It feels like the world around me is shifting. So much happened in a short while. I try to process my thoughts but I'm startled by her face in my mind again. I was feeling restless cause I couldn't find her, now her being in the room very next to me is what's making me restless.

What did I get myself into?

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Meihua's POV »☆●

I walk into Se's sister's room, taking in the massive bed with its bronze canopy and silken drapes. The room is even more luxurious and spacious than mine. It brings back memories of home. Oyshi, Siyaah, but most of all, father..

I spin around, falling onto the down-stuffed mattress with a deep sigh. My father hasn't hurt anyone in his whole life. For that to be rewarded with..this. No matter how nice you are, some monsters are still capable of hurting you. Consequently, instead of his embrace, I'm sobbing here, among a bunch of unknown people, all alone..

I wipe my tears, trying to regain composure. I remind myself my purpose. I've to think about my next move, recruiting my army back, as well as the mercenaries and Mingluan army. Se is right, I can't forget my father's sacrifice. He went through so much to keep me alive. I'll not rest until the responsible parties are in irons, whipped and laid bare in dungeon.

Few moments later, I hear a knock at the door and see Aunt at the doorway with a plate of venison in her hands.

"Sorry to interrupt.." she whispers as she enters.

"No, please, come in," I say softly as I get up, fixing my hair.

She sits on the edge of my bed, putting the food on the table next to my bed, "I figured you might be uncomfortable eating with alot of males."

I nod, thanking her for the food. She thought of it because of the royal ritual of not showing the princess's face. As werewolves, they're quite open, the girls don't cover up much, not as much as us at least. I've even seen some girls wandering around when coming. They wear normal hanfu, no veils or covers. I've also dropped my veil since I came here.

"Are you aware of Sehun's debut tomorrow?" she asks.

I nod, "He told me, yes."

"The noble houses of Mingluan will appear tomorrow. Are you okay to.. appear in public view?" she asks hesitantly, "We can send you to Luhan's house if you're not prepared."

I tap my chin, considering. The safe thing is to hide away. But sooner or later, I've to reveal myself. Or I won't be able to work on my plan.

"I'll be there," I smile.

She stands up and squeezes my shoulder, "Okay, then I'll go inform your Uncle."

As she heads out, she pauses at the doorframe, turning to look at me, "Oh, you can wear any of the clothes from Rosy's closet tomorrow."

I nod, "Thanks."

As she leaves the room, I look at myself in the large mirror in front of the bed. Alone at a different realm, trying to take on a whole army and rebel against the most powerful man in China, while making sure I can survive the mysterious world of supernaturalism..

I can do that, right?

To Be Continued »☆●