Restraint

"What's with her?" Chiyin gripped 02's arm before 02 took another step.

Both of them peered at Yinyue, leaving the area near the guards' quarters. She took long, quick strides, which almost made her look like she was gliding away from something unseen. Her eyes darted around, searching for an escape. Yet she made her steps silent to avoid any undue attention. She didn't notice Chiyin and 02 watching from behind the shrubs.

Despite her calm expression, Yinyue's face flushed with a redness that reminded 02 of an overripe persimmon against the backdrop of frost-covered shrubs and bare trees, making her blush more pronounced.

02 stole a glance at the direction Yinyue had come from. His gaze flickered with an uncertainty and he furrowed his brows in thought about where she had been. He shifted uncomfortably, keeping his suspicions to himself.

Chiyin's mouth held the reputation of being fast and loose. 02 wanted no part of being the fuel to add to any verbal fire Chiyin proved capable of creating. One wrong word would get him into trouble with Yinyue if Chiyin pointed a finger at him.

Chiyin nudged him, tilting his chin towards Yinyue's retreating figure. 02 merely shrugged, pretending ignorance. Less said is more when speaking to Chiyin.

"Is she angry or embarrassed?" Chiyin's inquiry nearly caught 02 off guard. Angry, perhaps, but embarrassed? That would be a first.

02 wondered if 01 made her angry. Yet, it didn't seem like 01's character. 01 used to suck up and act obedient in front of Yinyue, then return to vent his pent up frustration on the junior guards or manservants.

Then again, the way Yinyue asked for 02 to test 01 made 02 uneasy. 02 just couldn't get around his head about her order. It came out of the blue. Even her questions about 01's behaviour seemed a little too personal.

It crossed 02's mind that Yinyue may have hit her head harder than he thought.

"Hey, are you even listening?" Chiyin's voice jolted 02 back to reality.

02 shook his head and replied, "Why don't you ask the Grand Prince yourself?"

"Since when did she ever answer me?" Chiyin retorted, narrowing his eyes.

Given a choice, 02 also didn't want to answer Chiyin, but 02 could only throw up his hands in the air. "You're her uncle and I'm her subordinate."

"Thanks for stating the obvious."

"You're welcome. But first, why do you need me to follow you?"

"They say you're good at restraining someone," Chiyin said.

"Eh…you don't mean 01, do you?"

The thought of dealing with 01 again made 02 shudder. He had seen the fury in 01's eyes when both 05 and he had thrown him into the sulphuric pool that morning. And the threat 01 had whispered about 'getting them back' still sent chills down his spine.

Chiyin shook his head, oblivious to 02's growing discomfit. "No, it's that boy, Ahan."

02 stopped halfway down the path through the courtyard. It led to the servants' quarter where that magistrate's boy servant, Ahan, was held.

Chiyin turned around with a puzzled look. "What's wrong?"

"What are you going to do to him?" 02 eyed him from head to toe with suspicion. In all the cases when he received orders to restrain someone, they resulted in tormenting or killing of the person.

Yinyue mentioned nothing to 02  about her plans for the boy. 02 had seen the boy in the arms of 04, who only said the Grand Prince, their master, wanted the skinny waif unharmed.

"Your Grand Prince wants me to get him to talk," Chiyin grinned with a hint of mischief

02 frowned at his response. "How exactly are you going to get him to talk?

Chiyin stopped abruptly, staring sternly at the unflinching 02. "Why do you want to know?"

"I don't hurt a child for no reason," 02 declared firmly.

Chiyin glanced at him, eyes wide open with a mixture of disbelief and frustration, and spat with indignation. "Do you seriously THINK I would do such a THING?"

"I don't know," 02 admitted. He didn't know Chiyin well enough to judge.

However, if Yinyue didn't want the boy harmed, 02 wanted no part in it. "You are the first person who will order me to restrain a kid. Even the Grand Prince never did that."

"Last I heard…you guys caught the kid. Don't tell me you lured him out with sweets…"

"That's 04 who did that. He did—"

"Monster!" Chiyin exclaimed, interrupting his words. His voice caught the attention of two passing maid servants who eyed them.

02 sighed. "He didn't restrain the kid. He knocked him out."

"That's worse."

"Well, the boy was hysterical when they found him," 02 said. "And he only tapped his meridian points to knock him out. Not hit across the neck."

"And I'm doing the same thing."

"Same thing?" 02 tilted his head to the side. He knew how to immobilise people by tapping certain meridian points on their body with enough force, but he never heard of a technique to make someone talk. Unless Chiyin meant inflicting pain to make the boy talk. That still equates to torture.

Chiyin pulled out his acupuncture needle holder and unrolled it, revealing needles of different sizes. "Using these."

02 cringed at the sight of them. Chiyin was worse than he thought — a terrible beast of a human being.

"You're planning to stab one of those right behind the ear?" He pointed at the needles in Chiyin's holder. That technique he knew — it caused excruciating pain. 02 had seen Yinyue plunge a long golden needle into prisoners when she wanted information. After a few minutes, they begged to talk.

"HECK NO! What do you take me for?"

"Then?"

Chiyin pulled out a small rectangular white jade pendant hidden in the needle holder. "Trying a technique of mesmerising someone into talking."

02 noticed how the dragon carving of an ancient script on its flawless white surface. He pointed at it and blurted out, "like hitting them with that?"

02 felt a smack on his left temple. His left ear rang a little from the impact.

"Idiot… it's a matter of swinging the pendant in front of the target. And when they fall asleep, you ask them to tell the truth."

"If that is so easy, we won't need torture techniques," 02 replied, still rubbing his left ear to stop the faint ringing inside. Chiyin's explanation made little sense to him.

02 glanced at the pendant Chiyin swung in front of him. The only explanation he could come up with involved superstition. Was the pendant magical? He heard of gods leaving magical artefacts which perform miraculous actions beyond human explanations. Those stories were legends, mere superstition that were never proven.

"It works well on young people," Chiyin said. "That's all you need to know. I only need him restrained when I proceed."