CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Miyojin was returning to their room when he caught sight of Xia Yu in the small yard. She was practicing with the sword. He had already seen how skilled Xia Yu was. However, he was not able to observe her well amidst the chaos of that particular night. Although she isn't fighting anyone, he can see how precise and graceful her every blow is. He was going to observe her more but Xia Yu suddenly stopped.

"Your Highness, come out here."

Miyojin was stunned. He hid in a far distance. She wasn't even looking in his direction. How was she able to know he was here?

"Prince Miyojin, you're the only one royalty here so please come out."

The prince came out of his hiding place with doubting steps. Xia Yu turned in his direction and motioned him to come closer. He did follow her and drew closer. Soon enough, he was in the small yard with Xia Yu.

"Why did you call me?" Miyojin asked in curiosity.

"I realized something."

"What is it?"

"Your sword skills are terrible..."

What Xia Yu said was true. However, it still made Miyojin feel very embarrassed. He really regretted not putting enough effort into his martial arts studies. He remembered that time on the ship. He would have been sliced to death if Xia Yu didn't appear in time.

"I'm very aware," Miyojin answered without any hint of denial but with a hint of self-consciousness.

"It's good you have self-awareness. Thus, you should join me in my practice."

Miyojin's eyes went wide. He was surprised to hear that Xia Yu wanted him to join her in sword practice. How could he be a good sword practice partner? She said it herself that his skills are terrible.

"I think you should find someone more skilled to practice with you."

Xia Yu raised an eyebrow at the prince.

"It appears that I didn't make myself clear. I mean I'll teach you how to fight with a sword."

"You will!?!"

Miyojin couldn't hide his amazement. He regretted not being able to learn swordsmanship. But now, Xia Yu is offering to teach him what he should have learned a long time ago.

"That's great!" He said, excitement welling up inside of him. "Why did you decide to teach me now?"

"The mastermind of the assassination has yet to be found which means this battle isn't over yet." Xia Yu began to explain.

Miyojin only nodded in agreement and let Xia Yu continue speaking.

"There could be another battle soon. Furthermore, we aren't certain how strong our enemy is. When we face this person, I may not be able to protect you at all times."

Miyojin understood what Xia Yu wanted to accomplish by teaching him how to use the sword. She didn't want him to face another deadly situation that he couldn't even defend himself from.

"I understand. In fact, I'm glad you proposed this." Miyojin said with gratefulness.

"Then, I'm glad we are on the same page."

Xia Yu gave Miyojin a pleased smile before sheathing her sword back to its scabbard.

"Starting today, I'll be training you to fight. We'll do this every day until you learn how to defend yourself effectively from any attacks."

She grabbed another sheathed sword and threw it at Miyojin who nearly tumbled catching it.

"Do you agree?" Xia Yu asked once Miyojin was able to hold his covered sword by its shaft.

"Yes."

"Now, I want you to stand over there."

Miyojin walked to the spot where Xia Yu pointed.

"Now, attack me with your sword."

"What???" Miyojin said in disbelief.

"I said attack me." Xia Yu repeated.

"Wait... what!? Now?"

"Yes, just charge onto me and swing your sword at me."

Uncertainty was etched on Miyojin's face. For one thing, he knew Xia Yu would not let herself get hurt in the process. In this scenario, he is the only one who is likely to get hurt. Miyojin stopped his train of thought. He sighed to ease the rising panic in him. He trusts Xia Yu and knows she will make sure he is unharmed.

"Alright."

"Good. Just attack whenever you feel you're ready." Xia Yu said as she stood firmly in her spot.

By the looks of it, she isn't preparing to defend herself. However, she did have her hand wrapped around the shaft of her covered sword.

Well... here goes nothing.

Miyojin charged at Xia Yu with his sword raised. Xia Yu didn't even move when he attacked. But in just a spur of a moment, she moved to the side, dodging him. But before he could turn to her, he felt something hard hitting his back.

"Oof!"

Xia Yu hit him in the back with her covered sword. If her scabbard was off, he would have been a dead man.

"That was a good charge." Xia Yu commented with an amused tone.

Miyojin looked at her with confused eyes.

"How was that good? I didn't even land a single blow on you."

Xia Yu smiled in encouragement.

"It doesn't matter. I only wish to assess your skills and see what we can work on. I can tell that you know the basic stance and how to hold your sword. You know how to execute a charge but are lacking in follow-up attacks and defenses."

Miyojin looked at Xia Yu in amazement. He could already see that she was a better teacher than his previous swordsmanship teacher who only made him hit a dummy with a wooden sword.

"So... what should we do next, 'teacher'?"

Xia Yu gave a soft chuckle.

"Well, my dear 'pupil', you attack me again. But this time, I'll teach you how to counter the defense and attack I did earlier."

Miyojin grinned as they both went back to their original positions and re-executed the attack. The princess consort gave instructions to her prince on what to do next. Although the prince could barely manage to keep up with the instructions, the princess consort could already see improvement. He diligently tried to learn and execute every technique and advice she gave. They continued practicing swordsmanship until the sun had finally set.

"I never knew the checkpoint to the Great Yong Empire was this strict... and slow," Miyojin whispered to Xia Yu.

"Well... Nansheng is a neutral territory. It's not a loyal ally of our empire. The enemies of our nation can freely reside here and pose a threat to the empire. Thus, precautions like this are taken." Xia Yu whispered back to Miyojin.

Both of the two royalties were walking side by side by the edge of the caravan. They are in line at the checkpoint awaiting inspection. To get into the Great Yong Empire undetected, they disguised themselves as slaves of a merchant. Through the help of Huiqing and her family's business, they were able to make the disguise more convincing. Since Huiqing is acting as the head merchant of the caravan, she was walking up ahead almost nearing the guards who were doing the inspection.

"Do you think this disguise will work?" Miyojin asked not in doubt but nervousness.

Xia Yu turned to the prince. She could see that he was really worried. So, she reassured him.

"Look at me..." she said to him. "If you didn't know of the plan, would you know it was me?"

Miyojin sees Xia Yu's point very well. Apart from their clothes, they were also wearing human skin-like masks. These masks were able to blend into their faces and alter their facial features so naturally. Even their parents would not recognize them.

"I see what you mean but I just can't help it. I feel like we will be discovered."

"We won't. Only me and Huiqing of all the people in the Great Yong Empire knew how to detect these human skin masks."

"Really?"

"Yes. Many knew of its existence but only a few have seen it. Only the people of the far western lands knew how to create this and only some of them were able to travel to the near western lands. Huiqing and I were very fortunate to meet them while we were at the borders of the near western lands."

Since the prince still had worry etched on his face, Xia Yu held Miyojin's hand and brought it to her cheek. Miyojin was surprised by the sudden touch. The next thing he knew he was already touching her cheek.

"Feel my face. Its texture is like a real human's skin." Xia Yu said as she pressed Miyojin's hand on her face.

Despite the surprise and sudden thumping of his heart, Miyojin felt Xia Yu's cheek. It was definitely human skin but its texture wasn't like Xia Yu's real cheek. In the past few weeks, the two were always sleeping side by side. For numerous times, Miyojin has accidentally touched Xia Yu's skin while sleeping. And most of the time, it was her face. Thus, he was very familiar with the texture of her face, especially her cheek.

"So, do you feel it? No one will notice. Just act natural. You will only be suspected if you act suspicious." Xia Yu said as she dropped Miyojin's hand. She smiled at him as she looked forward.

Just like what Xia Yu said, they have safely passed the checkpoint. No one suspected who they were. Miyojin was able to sigh relief when they were let into the empire. Xia Yu only laughed at him for being nervous for no reason.

It will still take a full day before they reach the capital. Thus, when nightfall came, Miyojin found himself lying on a bed masked off. He is waiting for Xia Yu who is still washing up her face after removing her mask.

As he was lying down, a few thoughts came to his mind. The two of them have been sleeping together side by side for the past few weeks. However, now that they are back in the Great Yong Empire, Miyojin can't help but feel that this is one of the last times they will be sleeping beside each other.

After they return to the capital and figure out who was the one behind the assassination, they will once again return to their normal lives. They will be back to being husband-and-wife-only-in-name. He will be back with Lijuan and Xia Yu will once again keep her distance.

Then, he realized something. For the entire time since the assassination incident, he had barely thought of Lijuan. He realized that maybe the reason behind it was that he was in a state of shock because of his brother's death and the new environment he had been living in. His mind began to raise questions as he abruptly rose from the bed.

How is she? How is their child? How was she when she heard of what happened to him? Was she devastated? Has she been crying since? Will that affect the child in her womb?

"What's wrong?"

Xia Yu's voice brought Miyojin back from his worried thoughts. She was already in the room dressed for bed. Her hair was still wet, as well as her face which was also etched in worry mirroring his. He wanted to say it was nothing but decided against it.

"I thought of Lijuan and our child." He spoke.

Xia Yu's expression became still and then understanding flowed in her eyes.

"Don't worry. We will get news on them once we reach my home. You just have to wait a bit." Xia Yu explained as she walked closer to Miyojin. She sat on the bed and looked at him with assurance.

"I'm sure she is fine. The person behind the assassination will not touch her as long as we hide the fact that we are still alive. We only need to not get ourselves exposed for now." Xia Yu said as she placed her hand on top of Miyojin's.

"I understand. I just can't help but worry about her. She must be devastated right now, along with my parents, thinking I'm dead. She's pregnant. It'll be bad for the baby if she is very sad."

"Yes, you're right. We'll try to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. So, don't worry. Try to rest now and by tomorrow, we will start our plan to get those who harmed us."

Xia Yu said with a smile and encouraged Miyojin to rest. He realized that worrying too much won't solve anything. Tomorrow, when they arrive at the Xia mansion, their battle will begin again. They will not stop until they uncover the real culprit in the assassination and bring justice to the death of Prince Zhujin.