The strike landed on us with the strength of a falling mountain, so bright that it blinded human eyes. Beside me, the spirit from before burned, its physical form decaying. I waited for my turn, but the attack didn't reach me.
I mustered the courage to look up. A small body had appeared, taking the damage meant for me, the fox spirit I'd fed with my own blood earlier, now shielding me with its life from the attack of the human who was supposed to be protecting me.
Its weak, small body fell to the ground, burnt and broken. I suffered some burning scars too, though not as severe. Unlike the Queen's dark spirit, who was now vanishing into thin air, spirits didn't bleed. Instead, they disappeared into black smoke and vanished.
"All I wanted was to bring the Queen back."
She said her final words with what little strength she had left.
Bring her back. As if the Queen had ever truly existed for her. This spirit, this thing born from desperate wishes and sleepless nights of mourning, had never known the woman she was meant to replace. She only knew the grief. The hole left behind. The family's endless, aching need.
So she'd become a killer to ease their sorrow. Each drop of blood she consumed fed her power, bringing her closer to Level Four. Only when a spirit reaches that threshold can they take an almost-human form and leave the realm they were born in, in her case, the portrait of a long-dead woman.
Her plan was simple, dumb, and sincere: become the Queen's replica. Her methods were evil, and she was serving the wrong people entirely.
The lush, blooming garden started to decay. The space around us began to resemble the room we'd come from. The spirit hunter from before came to witness her demise.
I quickly grabbed the baby fox and hid it under my sleeves. Spirit hunters used to hunt dark beasts as well, knowing they could grow into dangerous monsters. Protecting it was wrong, I knew, but I'd never followed ethics anyway. It protected me first, and it was too cute to let it die.
After the spirit fully disappeared, she dropped a crystal, a shiny, emerald-green one. When spirits die, they drop these. They're considered the heart of the spirit, containing its very existence. Only when destroyed does the spirit finally cease to exist.
The young man held the crystal between two fingers. The shattering sound echoed as the glowing green turned into a dull, lifeless emerald. He'd killed it. Then he wrapped it in the belt around his waist that carried many other lifeless crystals. He was a spirit hunter who collected the lives of spirits like trophies, evidence of his cruelty, or perhaps heroic acts. I couldn't decide.
After a while, he turned to find me lying in a bloodied, burnt black and white dress, ashes covering my face. I hid my sleeves behind me, if he saw the fox kit, he'd end up killing it along with me.
He scanned me, tilted his head in confusion, then grabbed my chin with his fingers. Not a gentle grab, violent and cold. Why am I not dead? It was probably what he wondered. How despicable, I thought. for a peasant like himself To disrespect a princess like that was surely an unforgivable act.
From a distance, I heard hurried footsteps. The man quickly let go of me and turned toward the sound.
It was Liu Feng, running toward us. A little late, but at least I wouldn't have to stay with this white-haired creep alone any longer. I turned to greet Liu Feng with a bright, brave smile that said I'm okay. However, he walked past me and pulled the stranger into a tight embrace.
I was left smiling at empty air. Huh?
The stranger reciprocated the hug, then gently pushed Liu Feng away. He looked so relieved seeing the other man had no injuries. He hadn't noticed me sitting there at all, not that I wanted him to. My hair was burnt, my makeup and dress ruined. Still, the ignorance stung a little.
Soon after, Lady Chen arrived. unlike Liu Feng, she greeted me first with a respectful bow, then turned to ensure the white-haired man was fine. She let out a cough to snap Liu Feng out of whatever lovesick state he was in. He finally turned and saw me there.
"Fourth Princess, are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern.
"I'm fine," I stated. I really wasn't, but I didn't feel like playing the victim.
The scoundrel beside him questioned with arrogance, "Fourth Princess?"
"Right, you two don't know each other," Liu Feng tried to introduce us, but was interrupted.
"Oh no, I do. I've had hundreds of requests to take her down." Liu Feng's face froze. The hunter looked straight into my eyes and continued, "Too bad a spirit hunter only deals with spirits."
I understood exactly what he was implying, and I wondered why all that hate for someone you just met. Was my reputation among peasants really that bad?
A shiver ran down my spine, but I managed to keep my composure. Such balance came with being a princess.
"Is that why you tried to strike me with the spirit?" I asked. So it was on purpose, I wasn't being paranoid. I looked at the white-haired thing, my smile growing as anger filled me. You're so getting decapitated after this. Just wait.
Beside him, Lady Chen looked horrified at our exchange. Before he could open his mouth to drop another bomb, she took him away and excused herself. I could hear her scolding him about barging into a spirit realm and almost "accidentally" killing a princess, like a mother and her teenage son. He was around my age while she was at least two decades older.
Liu Feng came to check my injuries and bandaged my bloody hand, it was the only wound that showed. I probably should've taken care of the one on my head first, but it had stopped bleeding, so I let it be.
"I'm sorry about him," he said. "Rui has always been like this. I promise he didn't mean it."
"Rui?" My head snapped up at the familiar name, one I envied. You've got to be kidding me. So my love rival was a boy all along? And such a despicable one, too. I wasn't sure if this meant I still had a chance or had already lost. It all depended on Liu Feng's preference now. Let's hope he's into women.
"Has always been like what?" I asked. I needed to dig deeper.
"Sharp-tongued. Somewhat disrespectful to high ranks, but I promise he didn't mean most of what he said." He finished wrapping my bandage.
"His actions say otherwise," I replied. You can't fool my eyes with words, that guy was ready to cut me down, and for no reason at all.
"He wouldn't have risked his life entering the spirit realm to save you if he truly wanted you dead," he offered, trying to reassure me.
To that, I smiled. It sounded convincing, sure, but I knew better. He came to kill the spirit, not to save the royals. Maybe he didn't hate humans in general, but he clearly had a problem with the Fourth Princess, or maybe with all highborn. Who knows.
While all of this was unfolding, Jianyu was on his knees, shock and terror written across his face. He'd been standing away when the attack hit, so he escaped with only a few scratches. Still, poor boy, forced to witness his "mother" cut down before his eyes, once again. No wonder he looked broken.
He lifted his face to stare at the portrait. It was now slashed right where the drawing of the Queen had been. Rui had probably destroyed it when he tore the realm apart. Tears formed in Jianyu's eyes.
Li Na and Tianyu were there, trying to make him stand. Such a lovely sibling bond, they came as soon as they heard his life was in danger, yet didn't even blink an eye toward me.
I walked toward them. I was the one wounded here, but I was in far better shape than Jianyu. He might have physical strength, but emotionally, he was very weak.
When I approached, Li Na started throwing her usual insults at me. I expected Tianyu to play the good brother and stop her, but instead he looked at me with eyes full of rage. Too angry for diplomacy, I suppose.
What shocked me most was that Jianyu, instead of being mad, lowered his head, unable to meet my eyes. He felt guilty and ashamed for falling under the spell. I didn't blame him at all, I might have done worse in his place. The only reason I wasn't fooled was because I never had a mother.
"Yan, I..." he struggled to get the words out. "Back there, I really didn't mean to—"
I listened to his halting, sad words, but lost patience for some reason.
"So? You're apologizing?" I asked. My words hit him like a slap. Though he didn't want to admit it, it was clearly what he wanted to say. He struggled for a moment, but finally got the words out.
"Yes. I wasn't thinking straight. Forgive me."
My cute, pathetic brother had finally realized his mistake. How considerate of him.
"No. I don't forgive you." His eyes widened, but then I added, "Why would you seriously expect your barely-spoken words to be enough compensation for almost killing me?"
Tianyu, who apparently thought he had a place in this conversation, interjected, "Yu Yan, your audacity is out of this world!"
I ignored him. Jianyu, still shocked by my response, looked at me with even more guilt and shame, the kind of look I hated most on the face I despised most. How disgusting.
I lifted my hand and slapped him hard. He was already struggling to keep his balance from shock; my slap made him lose it completely. He fell to the ground.
I was proud. After all, I wasn't the type to face violence with peace, nor the type you could convince to forget terrible things with sweet talk. I hated when people apologized to me. I much preferred hurting them back.
Tianyu looked ready to storm at me. I was almost excited to see his diplomatic mask finally crack, but then he stopped, turned away from me, and bowed.
I turned to see why. Of course, Sovereign Yu Weiming, ruler of Chongniang, had arrived. I silently cursed whoever had informed him.
I bowed as well, and waited for his signal to lift our heads.
"I see you have recovered," he spoke directly to me.
"Rest in your room. I will have a physician examine your injuries," he said in a cold, monotone voice.
"I thank you for your concern, Father, If you'll excuse me." I bowed again and took my leave, letting him have his sweet father-son moment with the children he actually cared about.
As for me? He'd probably grieve the destroyed portrait more than my dead body.