Echoes of the past
Wang Shi stood frozen, his heart pounding louder than it had during the fight.
This is not the first time we've met.
The words clung to his mind, unraveling a thread of something forgotten—something just beyond reach. He tried to grasp it, but all he found was emptiness.
The night wind carried away the last traces of her presence, yet he still felt her there, lingering like a ghost in his thoughts. Who was she? How did she know him?
More importantly—why did she save him?
A groan from one of the fallen assassins snapped him back to the present. He forced himself to move, scanning the bodies. Most lay still, their fates sealed by the woman's blade, but one clutched his side, struggling to breathe.
Wang Shi knelt beside him. "Who sent you?"
The assassin coughed, blood trickling from his lips. His eyes, dim with pain, flickered with something else—fear.
"She… is watching…" he rasped.
Wang Shi's brow furrowed. "Who?"
The man's breath hitched. Then, with the last of his strength, he forced out a final whisper.
"The one… who wants you dead."
His body went limp.
Wang Shi clenched his jaw. He had expected as much—there was always someone lurking in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike. The palace was a battlefield of silent wars, and as the son of the late Empress, he was a walking target.
But this felt different.
The assassins had been skilled—too skilled for mere hired blades. And that woman… Bai Lu.
He didn't know her name yet, but somehow, she had known his.
A sharp gust of wind rustled the trees, and for the first time in a long while, Wang Shi felt truly uncertain.
He needed answers.
With one last glance at the darkened forest, he turned and resumed his journey toward Yunhe Monastery.
Whatever was waiting for him there, he had a feeling it was only the beginning.
Chapter 2A: Silent Watcher
Bai Lu stood atop a withered pine, her white robes billowing in the night breeze. Below, Wang Shi disappeared into the darkness, his steps quick, yet burdened with unspoken thoughts.
She watched until he was gone.
Only then did she release the breath she had been holding.
The assassins had moved faster than expected. If she had been even a moment late…
Her fingers tightened around her sword hilt.
He is still too weak.
The thought unsettled her more than it should have. Wang Shi was a royal son, but unlike his late mother, he had no real standing. No power. No influence. He was a man walking a dangerous road without the strength to defend himself.
And yet…
Bai Lu closed her eyes. Memories stirred—half-formed images blurred by time. The echoes of a promise long buried.
She had known him before.
Not in this life. Not in this way. But the connection was undeniable.
Even if he had forgotten.
A faint ripple of energy flickered at the edge of her senses. Someone was watching.
She turned her gaze toward the deeper part of the forest, where the trees stood thick and unyielding. The presence was distant, elusive, but unmistakably there.
She wasn't the only one keeping an eye on Wang Shi.
With a final glance toward the path he had taken, Bai Lu vanished into the night.
The next time they met, she would no longer be a mere shadow in the dark.
This time, he would have to face her.