Chapter 341 - A Safe Reunion of the Artist

Yujia swore that if anyone looked at her with such a gaze, she would be dead by now. Furthermore, it was Yufeng, out of all people.

It wasn't like Yufeng ever hesitated to hide any of her emotions from Yujia. Most of the time, when she was happy, she would laugh. When she was frustrated, she would frown. When she was irritated, she would roll her eyes. And still, never had she seen Yufeng wearing this current expression, one where she carried so much seething rage yet simultaneously sought to suppress it.

Suddenly, Yufeng's words from far, far ago came echoing back to Yujia. 

"There are only two people in this world which I hate." 

Could it be?

Seeing how the prince that just emerged from the tent was about to glance in their direction, Yujia quickly reached over a hand, gripping Yufeng's arm. Yufeng flinched at the touch, her expression immediately dropping. 

The anger vanished within a split second.

It was startling how quickly Yufeng masked over her animosity. In fact, Yujia could even compare it to that of Zixu's near-perfect control of expressions.

Just as Yufeng's expression vanished, the prince turned in their direction, beginning to walk over. Another soldier rushed over, kneeling and clasping his hands to report, "My prince, those two are hostages we saved."

She rose up from her sitting position, then lowered herself back down to her knees, knocking her head on the ground. "This common citizen greets the Prince." As she did so, she felt Yufeng shift behind her, masking more of herself in the shadows of the night and the tree and bowing as well.

The prince asked the soldier, "How are these hostages here before we have saved the rest?"

"Reporting back to the Prince, we found them in the forest, while they were escaping."

"How can two girls escape a guarded bandit's camp?" The prince had a mellow voice. When he spoke, there wasn't much of a rise or fall with his inflection. Yet with these words, it was clear that his suspicions of them had risen. "Raise your head," he commanded.

Yujia could only listen, raising her torso, but not meeting her gaze with his. It would be considered an offense to look him in the eyes.

"Explain how you escaped," he continued with an order.

For the briefest moment, she paused.

She didn't know much about this prince. If Yufeng regarded him with so much antagonism, he had to have done something to hurt Yufeng in the past. Even if she did not know their backstory, she knew what kind of person Yufeng was. Yufeng never held grudges against an innocent person. They had to have wronged her somehow. And to wrong Yufeng… did that not make him a dangerous man?

If she gave the wrong response, what would happen to her? 

Yujia blinked. She drew in a breath.

If Zixu was in this situation, she would deal with this man calmly.

And so, she let his mask of calmness settle over her. With a slight dip of her head and her hands folded in front of her, she responded, "Reporting back to the Prince, my maid and I were kept in a separate room from the rest. The bandits that were guarding us were drunk, so we managed to sneak out without their notice. It was luck and timing that got us out of there."

She could've taken on the emotions of a naive girl. That girl would've been blubbering, tears welling up in her eyes, and terror stricken across her face.

But Yujia knew— and she was sure the prince in front of her did as well — that even if they were lucky, even if the guards were drunk, a girl that was scared out of her wits would not be able to even think of escaping. It took composure, a brain that was capable of thinking straight even during high pressure situations, to do so. And so, composure she had to show him.

She hoped that this analysis was correct.

The prince did not respond at first. She felt his eyes scan her up and down. 

Then, he said, "Look up at me."

Yujia faltered for a moment. She raised her eyes slowly, until they met his gaze. 

He leaned over, head arching over hers as he observed her face carefully. Then, his eyebrows raised, ever-so-slightly, as he stated, "Is that fresh blood?"

To anyone else, it may have sounded like he was noting if she was injured. Except, Yujia knew that he wasn't asking about her well-being. He wanted to know if it was someone else's blood. He wanted to know if she killed anyone.

She made sure that her face didn't allow any ounce of hesitation or wariness to slip through. As easy as it always was to lie, she tilted her head, then answered, "It is not. Earlier on, when the bandits attacked the carriages, I got some of the blood of the servants on me."

Now, a corner of his lip curled up.

"Alright," he mused, "alright. And who did you say you were?"

"This common citizen is nothing more than a simple disciple of Lingxin Pavilion, Prince." She bowed again. "I pray for the safe return of my fellow disciples."

"Safe return shall be guaranteed for them," he said in a brisk reply. 

It seemed like he had enough. Yujia caught the corner of his robe shifting, and he was gone, walking off across the camp.

Once he was finally gone, Yujia raised her head again. Her palms had been sweating. She glanced back at Yufeng. Yufeng's expression was grave.

"You know him," she said to Yufeng. Statement. Not question.

Yufeng looked at Yujia. "I suppose." She glanced back down. "You replied well back there."

…

It wasn't like Yufeng wanted to talk more, so Yujia again, chose not to press for more details.

Within the next hour, she rose up again, this time from sounds of a troop returning back. Blood was in the air again. Yet this time, it was a relief to see the soldiers.

In the middle of them, escorted, were her senior and junior brothers. Yujia didn't hold back from rushing to them. They were safe. All of them. Ye Yunhe, Jiang Muyun, Rong Yuan…

She pulled Yunhe into a hug. It wasn't proper decorum, but she could not care. It seemed like Yunhe didn't either.

…

All seemed to be good again. 

The soldiers promised that they would set off the mountains tomorrow morning, and that most of the looted items the bandits stole could be returned. They were truly, truly all safe.

But as Yujia rested, her head on her arm as a pillow, eyes squeezed shut, she could not find herself falling asleep. It wasn't because of her lack of trust for the army, or because of the discomfort of sleeping on the ground, but rather…

Flashbacks. 

Flashbacks to earlier that day rang in her mind. The crashing sounds, the metallic scent of blood, the look of that dead corpse of the carriage driver, lying like a limp doll, arrows studded within his flesh. Then, there were more recent memories, the ones with the bodies of the bandits tumbling back through the doorway, the crimson cut of Yufeng's knife clear across their necks, the gurgling sound of their blood rising up their throats…

She could not stop those images from rising up in her mind. It was horrendous. She wanted them out, away from her memory, so, so, so, so much. 

And yet they kept replaying, like a stuck tape.

She knew these feelings well. She recognized them. It was the same as the water, that goddamned water, which she thought she had gotten out of her brain by now. Except this time, instead of drowning in a bottomless river, she was drowning in the stench of blood.

Her eyes flew open.

She could not take this anymore. Laying down, trying to fall asleep when she clearly couldn't, only allowed those thoughts to remain longer in her mind. She had to do something— take a walk, wash her hands, find something else to think about— anything.

The night was quiet. No one else was awake, save for a guard soldier facing away from her, in the far opposite distance of the camp.

That was when Yujia noticed Yufeng. 

Yujia immediately pushed herself up, grabbing Yufeng's arm. Yufeng flung around, facing her.

"What are you doing?" Yujia hissed under her breath.

"Going to kill a person," Yufeng replied, not an ounce of emotion across her face.