The sun shined brightly onto Ying Lan as she laid on the grassy green field. Her eyes were closed, with a ghost of a smile on her face. She was in complete bliss, and none of her sect brothers wanted to disturb her in fear of facing her wrath.

    "It's so rare to see Ying-shijie so tranquil." Li Dong said, glancing over at her sleeping form from a few meters away from where he sat resting.

    Next to him, Zhu Ming nodded. "She usually looks so angry and fierce since she's so serious about everything. Who knew that one of the 'Strongest of Jing' could look like this?"

    "You're right," Wu Ke let out a small laugh. "Little Lan looks pretty cute in this state. So docile and sweet, totally different from her usual self."

    "Wu-shixiong, are you saying that I look cute when I'm vulnerable and defenseless."

    Everyone froze as Wu Ke slowly turned around in horror to see Ying Lan walking up to where they were resting. He gave her a nervous smile as she walked up next to him, before bolting up to run away. Ying Lan immediately reached out after him and grabbed the back of Wu Ke's collar, stopping him from his escape.

    "Ahh shimei, I was wrong!" he cried, cowering in fear. "Don't hurt me shimei, I was wrong!"

    Ying Lan frowned at his response. "Did I say that I was going to hurt you. I believe that I only asked you a simple question, shixiong."

    Zhu Ming nervously smiled at her. "Shijie, when did you get here?"

    "Just now. It's getting late. We should probably get going if we want to get to the capital before sundown."

    Ying Lan then looked back at where she once laid with sad longing eyes. Li Dong got up from where he sat and gently rested a hand on her shoulder.

    "After we finish our business in the capital, we can always come back here." he comforted. "It's not like we're leaving this place forever and never see it again."

    She slowly nodded her head and quickly shrugged off his hand, still gazing longingly at the field. "I just have a bad feeling that I really won't be able to see this place again... or maybe just a very long time."

    Silence filled the atmosphere, until Zhu Ming got up. "Let's go already," he stretched, "Ying-shijie already said so, we've got to make it to the capital before sundown. It's about time we get moving."

    Li Dong nodded, placing the hand he had on Ying Lan's shoulder behind his back. He glanced at her, before going with Zhu Ming to pack up their bags and organize their things.

    "Shi-shimei, can you let me go now?" Wu Ke stammered out nervously.

    Ying Lan was then snapped out of her trance, and immediately released his collar. She mumbled out a monotone apology, before she went back to staring at the field. Wu Ke frowned at her response as Ying Lan was not one to apologize for such small things, nor was she the type to focus on something like a normal grassy field for so long. He opened his mouth to say something to get her attention, but before a single word left his lips he heard an airy eerie whisper.

    "Take it in while you can," it said. "I've got a bad feeling that something bad might happen here."

    Wu Ke stared in shock as he watched Ying Lan nod in response to the voice. "Alright then, I am. I won't forget this beautiful scene, ever. I'll engrave this beautiful field into my mind."

*****

    Wu Ke stared at the back of Ying Lan's head as he rode on his horse Bai Xue. The voice's words echoed through his head over and over again as he pondered over its meaning of 'something bad might happen to your eyes". Was something bad going to happen to Ying Lan? Or could it be that it meant that something bad was to happen to the field? Wu Ke pursed his lips in frustration, trying to figure out what the words mean, before he realized something. Ying Lan has spoken to the voice and seemed to be familiar with it, as she wasn't startled by its sudden appearance. So then maybe she knew what it meant...

    "Wu-shixiong, are you alright?" Zhu Ming asked as he rode up next to him on Hua Lei. "You've been staring at the back of Ying-shijie's head ever since we left the fields. Did something happen between the two of you?"

    Wu Ke jumped a bit as he was suddenly torn away from his thoughts. He quickly shook his head before answering, "It's nothing, don't worry about it."

    Zhu Ming frowned at his words before his eyes widened. "Could it be... No, wait, it can't be, right shixiong?"

    "What are you talking about? What can't be?"

    "Wu-shixiong, could it be that you like Ying-shijie?"

    Wu Ke immediately reached over and harshly punched him in the arm. "What nonsense are you spouting on about?" he glared. "Do you want me to beat you, you naughty brat?"

    "Well you didn't deny it, did you?" a devilish smirk appeared on Zhu Ming's face.

    "Hey, what are you two doing back there?" Li Dong called out as he rode on Di Feng next to Ying Lan who rode Hei Dian. "How come you guys have slowed your pace so much? Is there something wrong?"

    Both he and Ying Lan had stopped their horses and turned around to look at them. A frown adorned Li Dong's face as he looked on at Wu Ke and Zhu Ming, while Ying Lan seemed to be on the lookout for something. Her eyes darted around quickly, searching through the trees of the forest they were in. They searched every nook and cranny, trying to find something.Wu Ke frowned at Ying Lan's actions. What was going on? What was she looking for?

    "Oh yeah, we're fine!" Zhu Ming answered back. "Oh, Ying-shijie I've got something I need to tell-"

    Zhu Ming began to ride faster towards the two of them, when an arrow flew towards him from the trees. Ying Lan noticed and reacted immediately, leaping from Hei Dian's back and flew towards the arrow. She snatched the shaft of the arrow out of the air before the head hit Zhu Ming's arm, and rolled onto the ground.

    Ying Lan threw the arrow to the side as Wu Ke yelled out to everyone, "Quickly, leave! Now, GO!"

    Everyone immediately began to move, sending their horses into a gallop. Ying Lan sprinted over to Hei Dian and leaped onto his back. They all galloped away from the area as more arrows began to fly towards them. But as they fled, Ying Lan noticed the flying arrows weren't as direct as the first arrow. They seemed to be deliberately missing them for some odd reason.

    After a little while the arrows stopped flying, but that didn't stop them from telling their horses to keep moving. They needed to make sure that they weren't being followed after all. As the last person of the group, Ying Lan kept on looking behind them to make sure no such thing was happening. Soon, she spotted what seemed to be a person riding on a gorgeous white horse. They wore blue floral clothes that drifted behind them, along with their hair that was let down to billow off in the breeze. From the way they had dressed, the rider seemed to look like a wild girl. But then judging by their face and riding position, they looked as if they were of a young man.

    "We're being followed." Ying Lan called out to them.Everyone turned their heads to look at the person following them.

    "Who is that?" Zhu Ming asked, confuse. "An abnormal weirdo?"

    "Wu-shixiong, what should we do?" Li Dong asked. "We can't keep running forever, our horses will tire themselves out."

    Wu Ke thought for a bit before saying, "It seems like there's only one of them. We'll be able to take him-"Before he could finish, Ying Lan quickly drew her sword and cut down an arrow that was flying towards him. Everyone turned their heads to see that the weirdo was holding a bow with a smirk on his face.

    Zhu Ming's face immediately contorted with anger. "That bastard!" he cursed, stopping Hua Lei and turning him around. "I will kill him for that!"

    "Zhu-shidi, don't be too rash!" Li Dong called out, turning Di Zhong around and riding up next to Zhu Ming.

    "But he-"

    "I'll lead him away from you guys." Ying Lan sheathed her sword and directed Hei Dian away from where they were originally heading in. "I'll meet you guys at the Capital's gates."

    Before any of them could respond, Hei Dian galloped away from them in the other direction. They all watched Ying Lan get further and further away, and to their surprise the weirdo followed after her. In fact, they had hurried their horse's pace to try to catch up to her.

    "Wu-shixiong, what should we do?" Li Dong asked as Wu Ke rode up next to him.

    He didn't answer as he stared at the direction where Ying Lan had disappeared off to. Although he knew that she'd be able to handle herself again that weirdo, he still felt uneasy. After all he too noticed that after the first arrow, the rest were deliberately missing them.

    Wu Ke's suspicions were soon confirmed, when a group of Jing soldiers appeared from where they had all come from on horseback. They galloped in the direction where Ying Lan and the weirdo left, and Wu Ke ley out a gasp in realization.

    "Oh no, we've got to stop her!" he said, sending Bai Xue into a gallop.

    "Wait Wu-shixiong, what do you mean?" Zhu Ming called out after him.

    Wu Ke turned his head. "We've got to stop Ying Lan from hurting that guy! He's the Crown Prince of Jing!"

Ying Lan gently patted Hei Dian's neck in encouragement as he continued to gallop away from the weirdo as fast as he could. It had already been quite a little while since she had split off from the rest of the group and surprisingly, that weirdo was still chasing after her. It was a miracle that his horse could still chase after her since they were going so fast.

    "You're doing well, A'Dian." she whispered. "But you must be tired by now. You can slow down, we should be far enough."

    Hei Dian responded, slowing down his pace a little bit. The weirdo smiled when they saw this happen, and had their horse gallop a little faster, up next to Hei Dian. Before Ying Lan could react, they leapt off of their horse and sat down on Hei Dian's back, embracing Ying Lan from behind.

    The scent of flowers filled her nose as Ying Lan's eyes widened in both disgust and fear. She immediately leaned forward before slamming the back of her head into the weirdo's nose with all the force she had. There was a loud crack as her head met their nose. The weirdo let out a cry in pain, and took one of their hands off of Ying Lan'a waist to cover their now bleeding nose. As soon as Hei Dian heard them cry out, he immediately stopped his gallop causing the weirdo to lurch forward. Ying Lan took that moment to elbow him in the neck hard, before ripping his other hand off of her waist and throwing him off Hei Dian's back.

    "Argh, my back!" the weirdo cried out in pain as he landed on his back, his voice confirming that he was a male. "Oh god, my neck too... How could you be so harsh? Ow... my arm too..."

    Ying Lan didn't answer, drawing her sword from its sheath and she dismounted from Hei Dian. The weirdo noticed immediately and quickly sat up, wincing from the pain that was sent throughout his body.

    "Wh-what are you doing?" he asked, still covering his bleeding nose. "W-wait, don't come any closer!"

    Ying Lan pointed her sword at his chest. "Why did you try to attack us." she demanded, her eyes full of killing intent.

    "I-I was told that there were some strong cultivators coming," he stammered out in absolute terror. "I-i just wanted to see how strong you guys really were."

    She narrowed her eyes in suspicion but before Ying Lan could do anything else, she sensed an arrow flying towards her. She immediately turned around and cut it cleanly in half, before looking up to see who had shot at her. It was a man dressed as a high ranked general of Jing.

    "Stop right there!" he yelled. "How dare you harm the Crown Prince!?"Ying Lan looked at him a bit confused, before glancing at the weirdo who was nervously smiling at her through his pain. She lowered her sword and then turned away from him, sheathing her sword before she over to Hei Dian. She gently patted his neck comfortingly, whispering complements to him before hopping onto his back.

    "Hey, where are you going!" the general demanded. "You just harmed our country's Crown Prince. Are you going to leave without an apology or anything?"

    "Oh, I'm sorry." Ying Lan answered in her monotone voice. "He was trying to attack me and my sect brothers."

    "Ying Lan!" Wu Ke yelled as Bai Xue galloped over, with Di Zhong and Hua Lei behind them. "Please tell me you didn't hurt the Crown Prince of Jing!"

    She gave a sideways glance at the Crown Prince. "I only gave him a bloody nose though I may have broken it too, a bruised neck and probably a sprained back after I threw him off of Hei Dian."

    Wu Ke's eyes widened in horror. "You did what!" Bai Xue, Di Zhong and Hua Lei trotted over and stood next to Hei Dian as he leaned over and whispered. "Do you even know what you did!?"

    Ying Lan stared at Wu Ke for a moment before closing her eyes and letting out a silent sigh. She finally got the message, before she dismounted Hei Dian and bowed down in front of the general.

    "Forgive me for my rudeness, general. Please punish me." she said.

    The general let out a sarcastic laugh. "Now you apologize?" he then looked at the soldiers behind him who laughed along with him. "Fine, you want a punishment? Then-"

    "Wait!" the Crown Prince yelled.Everyone turned to look at the Crown Prince who was being helped up by a group of maids. He let out a groan in pain as the maids slowly and carefully lead him over to where everyone else was.

    "Who gave you permission to punish him?" the Crown Prince asked, now covering his bleeding nose with a handkerchief and wincing. "I the Crown Prince haven't yet called out to punish him, but look at you. Why are you in such a rush?"

    "Your Highness," the general frowned. "Could it be that you're not going to punish him?"

    The Crown Prince forced out a laugh, "Wh-why would I -ow, be careful you!- would I punish him? It's not like he did anything wrong. He had no fault -hey! Be careful, that hurts! Watch it!- in this, so he is not to be punished."

    Zhu Ming snorted out a laugh, only for Li Dong to punch him in the arm. Li Dong glared at him to shut up, forcing Zhu Ming to mask it as a cough."

    But your Highness, he-"The Crown Prince then waved his free hand. "I already said that he is not to be punished. Could it be that you want to disobey my order, General Ye?""I-i wouldn't dare to."

    "That's more like it. And you, you can arise now." The maids then lead the Crown Prince in front of Ying Lan, and he put his free hand over hers.

    "Thank you very much, your Highness." she answered, quickly and gently pulling her hands from under his and getting up.

    The Crown Prince nodded, wiping the blood off his nose that had stopped bleeding with the bloody handkerchief. "You're welcome." he then smiled at her. "Hey, what's your name? My name's Jing HuYun. Also, where are you from? You might be a man, but you're still very beautiful. I'll bet that the people from your area are just as beautiful as you. And how old are you this year? I'm already 20 this year. Oh that's right, where did you learn to fight like that? Can you teach me?"

    Ying Lan stared at him for a moment, before turning to look at Wu Ke. "Wu-shixiong, do I look like a man."

    Wu Ke stifled a laugh, covering his mouth. "Well, you are wearing my clothes... and your hair isn't styled the most feminine way..."

    Jing HuYun frowned at their little interaction. "What are you guys talking about?" he asked, handing the bloody handkerchief off to a maid.

    Zhu Ming coughed, desperately trying his hardest not to laugh. "Y-your highness, could it be that you think-" he coughed again, "-you think Ying-shijie is a man?"

    Jing HuYun looked at Ying Lan in confusion, who bowed her head in response. "Your Highness, disciple Ying Lan was born a woman."

    It was quiet for a moment as he took in the information before Jing HuYun and General Ye exclaimed in shock, "You're a woman?"

Ying Lan awkwardly sat next to Jing HuYun in the royal carriage, now dressed in purple and blue flowery clothing. After finding out that she was a woman, Jing HuYun commanded for her to be fitted into "more gender appropriate clothing". A maid then lead Ying Lan towards the royal carriage, where surprisingly, there was a really feminine dress there. She was then forced to it wear, despite it being a bit small for her figure. The maid also redid her hair, undoing her messy ponytail that was stuck together with a hair pin and redoing it to a fancy princess-like hairstyle.

    "Hey Li-shixiong," Zhu Ming whispered to Li Dong, as he started at Ying Lan as she walked out of the carriage in her new look. "Is that really Ying-shijie?"

    "It is..." he answered in awe. "Never have I seen Ying-shijie like this... What do you think, Wu-shixiong?"

    Wu Ke stared at Ying Lan, his eyes never leaving her. He couldn't believe that that was her, Ying Lan, his shimei. Never in his life had he seen such beauty.

    "Shixiong? Shixiong?" Li Dong waved a hand in front of Wu Ke. "Wu-shixiong, are you okay?"

    He immediately tore his eyes away from Ying Lan with a blush on his face, and wordlessly patted Bai Xue's neck. Zhu Ming noticed, and gave him a sly smile.

    "Wu-shixiong, don't you think Ying-shijie looks really beautiful?" he teased. "So beautiful that you... hm?"

    "Zhu Ming! I really will beat you!" Wu Ke countered, his ears getting red from embarrassment.

    Ying Lan walked over to where everyone was, and bowed in front of of Jing HuYun. "Greetings, your highness." she said, in her usual monotone voice.

    He smiled. "Arise, arise, no need for you to stand in greeting." he then nodded in satisfaction. "This is much better, you look more beautiful like this than in those men clothes earlier."

    "Thank you your highness, but I'm not used to this type of clothing. It might be better if I wore the clothes I wore before, especially since I'm about to see the Emperor."

    "That's nonsense, you look just fine." Jing HuYun answered, ignoring her and grabbing her hand. "Come on, let's head back to the carriage together."

    Ying Lan immediately drew her hand back. "What do you mean, your highness?"

    "What do you mean "what do you mean"?" He asked, slightly annoyed. "The Crown Prince, I want you to ride in the royal carriage with me."

    "Wait, your highness this isn't lawfully right." Wu Ke interrupted. "Ying-shimei is just a commoner, it wouldn't be right for her to ride with you."

    General Ye nodded in agreement. "Moreover, what if that wild woman hurts you again? As a general, I cannot let that happen to you once more."

    Jing HuYun turned to look at them with a glare, except doing so affected his bruised neck. "Aiyah, my neck..! Turn my body to face them." he commanded the maids that were still holding him up. They quickly and gently did so, and Jing HuYun continued his glare. "I already said she had nothing to do with my injuries. Also, if I the Crown Prince request that she ride with me, who are you to deny it!?"

    Both Wu Ke and General Ye bowed their heads. "Forgive me, your highness." they said in unison.

    "Anyone else have a problem with her sitting with me?" no one answered him. "Alright, let's go!"

    And that's how Ying Lan was forced to sit with Jing HuYun, wearing tight women's clothing and her hair styled in a way that it made her neck sore. She glanced at Jing HuYun, who was laying on his back due to the pain he was still in. Why did the Crown Prince want her to ride with him so badly? The only possible answer was that he wanted to punish her for what she did to him but if that was so, why would he spare her from the punishment earlier? It didn't make sense to her.

    "You said that your name was Ying Lan, right?" Jing HuYun asked, interrupting the silence.

    Ying Lan immediately looked away from him. "Yes, your highness."

    He slowly turned his body over to look at her. "That's only two words so it's your cultivation name, right? What's your birth name?"

    "Forgive me your highness, but I can't tell you."

    "Why?" he asked, the subject now peaking his interest. "Is it embarrassing?"

     "That's not the case," she paused, "according to the rules of the Zhen Zhong Sect, you must never tell anyone your birth name. Otherwise, you will face Heaven's Wrath."

    Jing HuYun let out a small laugh. "You actually believe these things?"

    Ying Lan didn't answer him, lifting up a curtain that covering a window. Outside she saw Hei Dian gently trotting alongside the carriage. He seemed to be in a bad mood after Ying Lan went off to ride with Jing HuYun in the royal carriage, glaring at the ground. Ying Lan reached out and gently patted his neck. Hei Dian noticed and affectionately rubbed against her palm. A ghost of a smile appeared her face, until she heard the eerie voice that had spoken to her earlier in the grassy field.

    "You feel happy, don't you?" it asked with a laugh. "Well isn't that a rare sight to see? Who knew that the ice cold Ying Lan could feel such happiness?"

    Ying Lan frowned at its words. "That is none of your business." she answered harshly in a low and soft voice, her calm face unchanging. "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

    The voice laughed at her response, but didn't say anything else. Ying Lan was about to call out to it when Jing HuYun's voice called out, " Yingying."

    She turned back towards him, pulling her hand away from Hei Dian. "Your highness, were you calling me."

    He smiled. "What do you think? I can't call you by your birth name since you won't tell me, and calling you 'Ying Lan' doesn't make a special significance. 'Yingying' makes it seem like we're pretty close, doesn't it? Are you okay with me calling you Yingying?"

    "Do as you wish."

    "Yingying."

    "Yes, your highness."

    "Yingying."

    "What do you request, your highness."

    "Yingying."

    "I'm listening you don't need to call my name anymore, your highness."

    "Yingying, my back is still sore," Jin HuYun whined. "Can you massage it for me?"

    "I don't think that's a good idea, your highness."

    "Come on. If you massage it for me, I might be able to walk later. You don't want to get in trouble for hurting the Crown Prince of Jing, do you?"

    Ying Lan didn't answer, looking away.

    "Yingying?"

    ...

    "Yingying?"

    She closed her eyes.

    "Yingying?"

    She took a deep breath.

    "Yingying."

    "Are you sure you want me to massage your back?"

    Jing HuYun sent her a playful smile, and nodded.

****

    A loud cry came out of the royal carriage, startling everyone around them. Another cry sounded causing the carriage stop in its tracks. Everyone looked at each other with worry, as they knew who was crying. It was Jing HuYun.

    General Ye immediately hurried over to the carriage with his sword drawn. "Your highness!" he yelled, pulling back the curtain that covered.

    Both Jing HuYun and Ying Lan stared at him, as Ying Lan pressed down on Jing HuYun's back. He let out another cry, followed by a sigh of satisfaction.

    "Right there, that's the place!" Jing HuYun cried, before turning his attention back to General Ye. "G-general Ye, why are you here?"

    "I... I misjudged the situation, forgive me." General Ye answered, embarrassed.

    He quickly closed pulled down the curtain, and rushed back to his horse. Another cry from Jing HuYun came from the carriage as it began moving again.

    "Your highness, I need you to take a deep breath." Ying Lan said, gently massaging an area of his back.

    "W-why...?" he answered, letting out a small groan in satisfaction.

    "Do it, or you'll regret it." Their eyes met, with Ying Lan's containing serious, threatening look.

    "Oh, alright."

    Jing HuYun took a deep breath, and held it in. Ying Lan positioned her hands over an area of his back, before pressing down hard. A loud crack sounded from the area, causing Jing HuYun to cry out once more but much louder and longer than before. The carriage stopped once again stopped and everyone stared at it in worry.

    But then Jing HuYun pulled back the curtain and yelled, "Why did you guys stop? At this rate, we won't be able be able to make it to the capital."

    General Ye stared at him in surprise before finally saying, "Your highness, you..."

    Jing HuYun just waved his hand. "Hurry up and go. We mustn't be late, or my Royal Father will get mad."

    "U-understood."

    Jing HuYun let out a sigh of relief as the carriage began moving again. He sat back down, before stretching his body. "Just what did you do to my back?" he asked, with a satisfied groan. "Man, I don't think I've ever felt so good."

    "It was nothing. All I did was fix a mistake I did, under your request." Ying Lan answered, looking out the window at Hei Dian once again.

    Jing HuYun smiled, "Yingying, you're so kind to me."

    Ying Lan opened her mouth to answer him, when the eerie voice suddenly yelled, "Pull him away!"

    She reacted immediately, pulling Jing HuYun away fro where he wait just as an arrow embedded itself into the wall.

    "It's not safe here." Ying Lan muttered, dragging him out of the still moving carriage.General Ye noticed the arrow and yelled, " We're under attack! Protect the Crown Prince!"

    "No need." Ying Lan answered as the carriage came to a stop. "We'll meet you at the Palace."

    She roughly threw Jing HuYun onto Hei Dian who grunted in annoyance. Just as she did so, a group of masked assassins appeared with their swords drawn. But before anyone could say anything, Ying Lan leapt onto Hei Dian and they galloped away with the scene. Not wanting to be left behind, Bai Xue, Hua Lei and Di Feng and their riders galloped after them.

    "Wait, where are you taking the Crown Prince!" General Ye yelled as the masked people began to chase after the fleeing horses. "Come back! After them, we must ensure his highness's safety!"