Lin Xueyo/Shen Yichen
Finding the bandits' hide out took three hours. By the time they arrived, Lin Xueyo's entire body ached and she wanted to soak her feet into a herbal bath.
The Emperor however, was pristine as fresh snow. Not a sweat broke on his brow. His robes were stellar, and his face showed no signs of fatigue.
How does he manage it?! I feel like I'm dying!
Both of them hid behind a thick bush, watching the bandit settlement. A massive bonfire in the middle of the clearing provided adequate light, and sent thick plumes of smoke into the night air. Around the bonfire, a dozen bandits danced in a circle, chanting folk songs and raising bamboo cups of wine into the air. The sound of their rowdy celebration and laughter grated on Lin Xueyo's nerves.
Bandits were the scum of the empire. Their sticky and disgusting fingers had infiltrated even the imperial city. They raided villages, stole valuables, burned farmlands, and even went as far as raping and kidnapping young women!
Despicable!
A loud feminine cry filled the air. Lin Xueyo turned, spotting a young woman in torn robes tied to a post. Her face, although matted with dirt and grime, was beautiful, she looked twenty or so. Tears streamed down her big black eyes as she looked around her with a frightened expression.
One of the bandits walked over to the woman, laughing like a mad man. He took a swig of his drink and spat it on her face. The others laughed. One of them reached out and grabbed the woman's chest roughly. Anger flooded Lin Xueyo and without thinking, she got to her feet.
"Let that woman go this instant!" she screamed.
"Shen Yichen!" the Emperor was flabbergasted, shocked that his sensible personal soldier was acting so foolishly. Who announced their presence in such a tactless manner. "Have you lost your senses?! Get down!" He grabbed her hand to pull her down but it was too late.
The bandits turned and spotted Lin Xueyo.
"Oh no," she gasped, realizing how much of a mistake she'd made.
For two seconds, there was silence.
Lin Xueyo and the bandits engaged in a charged visual standoff. No one moved. Even the bonfire stood still.
Then Lin Xueyo reached for her sword. Her grip on it slipped, causing the heavy metal to clatter on the ground.
That sound broke the spell.
The bandits gave a roar, drawing their weapons in synchronized unison. "Attack!!!" they bellowed.
The Emperor shot up. He drew his sword in one smooth arc and lunged forward.
His sword drove through the forehead of the first bandit, twisted it and slashed. It happened in a flash. One second, the bandit was alive and roaring. The next, half his head was missing.
Lin Xueyo screamed.
She'd heard of death, distant tales that she never bothered herself with. She had heard of the conquests of the emperor. Yet nothing prepared her for seeing him in action.
"Grab your sword!" the Emperor barked. Without hesitation, he spun around and slashed the neck of another bandit, separating head from shoulder. Blood, red and pungent, sprayed out of the stump. The bandit stood frozen, blood gushing out of where his head used to be, before his body fell to the ground in a weak plop.
Vomit rose in Lin Xueyo's throat and a cold hand clasped around her throat, preventing her from breathing.
Was it truly that easy to kill a person?
She watched, her hands trembling, as the rest of the bandits attacked despite losing two of their people in ten seconds.
The Emperor moved through them swifter than wind. His sword met its target, cutting away body parts. Lin Xueyo's mouth hung open. She didn't know whether to be impressed or scared. His robes never got stained by blood, not even by accident. His long hair swished behind him, giving him a graceful yet deadly aura.
Never had she seen such a breathtaking sight.
Never did she think the sight of the Emperor cutting through people would make unknown emotions rise in her chest.
She raised a trembling hand to her chest, feeling her heat thumping erratically through the scratchy layers of her clothing. Her face burned hot and her knees trembled, shivers racing up her spine.
In her distraction, she failed to notice a bandit crouching on the ground, crawling steadily towards her with a dagger in his mouth.
"Shen Yichen!" a thunderous roar shook the forest soil.
It was then Lin Xueyo noticed the bandit.
"Die!" the bandit screamed, throwing his entire body at her, the dagger raised above his head.
Lin Xueyo's eyes went wide. She was like a deer in the middle of the road, wide eyed and unable to scramble to safety.
Everything became slow, like someone had grabbed the hands of time and held it still. She saw the dagger that would surely embed in her skull and take her life. She saw every detail in the bandit's face, from the rage in his bloodshot eyes to the missing front tooth.
This is how I die…
She closed her eyes, accepting her fate. If nothing else, she was able to see the emperor face to face. He finally looked at her like he was seeing her, and not how he always looked through her. Even though he never loved her, his attention alone was enough.
She would die a happy woman in a man's body.
"Argh!" Lin Xueyo cried out as a strong arm hooked around her waist and yanked her to the side.
She came face to face with the Emperor. His eyes were wide and rimmed with panic. His grip on her tightened to the point she couldn't breathe, to the point she was so close to him, their bodies pressed firmly together.
His eyes remained locked on hers. The world remained slowed. In that moment, nothing existed, and nothing else mattered to Lin Xueyo but the fact that the Emperor, the man she had been in love with all her life, had his hand around her waist and his body flush against hers.
So many thoughts ran through her mind in a split second. She wanted to touch the emperor's face. She wanted to be even closer to him, not caring that she was in a man's body. She wanted to close the space between them and meet their lips together—
Then came a loud squelching sound. A cry of anguish. Followed by the heavy thud of a body dropping to the ground.
The illusion shattered. Time snapped back to normal. The Emperor pulled back, drew his sword out of the bandit's chest and flicked it clean of blood. He glared at Lin Xueyo with so much anger she wanted to burst into tears and apologize for the rest of her life.
But there was something else in the Emperor's eyes. Something that softened the edge of his anger.
Relief.
Why was he relieved that a mere soldier was saved from death?