The Untamed Princess

Chapter Thirty-One: The Overt Recognition

The couple crouched at the edge of the treeline, looking across towards the camp.  The piece of open ground that separated the two of them from the closest tent was not much in terms of distance, but it may as well have been miles.  It was completely exposed, and getting back into the camp was going to be much more difficult than sneaking out.

Weisheng had toyed with the idea of simply walking straight up to the guards on duty, banking on his identity to avoid being questioned, but this would be extremely awkward for both of them, especially Ming Yue.

Suddenly, the young woman leaned over to him, putting her mouth close to his ear, which immediately started to burn with his awareness of the close contact.  Luckily, she didn't appear to notice his discomfort.

"I have an idea," she whispered, and pointed up at the tree that was currently providing them with shelter. 

 Weisheng looked up. It was certainly sturdy enough, and the branches would have been long enough to extend well out over the narrow stretch of open plain if they had been reaching out in the right direction.  He frowned, and Ming Yue saw the doubt written across his face.

"Trust me," she whispered, and he nodded in response. 

 She reached out, placed her palm flat against the gnarled trunk, and closed her eyes, furrowing her brow in concentration.

For a short while, nothing happened. Then, very slowly, he saw one of the large branches above them start to move.

Luckily, the wind had picked up considerably in the last hour or so, so the sounds of rustling leaves and creaking wood were already circulating around the night.  Also, the branch was moving so slowly as to attract little attention in the darkness, and it blended in with the rest of the forest against the backdrop of the night sky in a way that the two human figures simply would not have done.

Eventually, the branch came to a stop, now reaching over the corridor of open ground until its tip was just a few metres short of the edge of camp.  Ming Yue started to climb up until she was stood on the widest part of the branch, with her back against the trunk.  She moved forward slightly, to allow Weisheng to slot in behind her and, when she felt his presence, she began to edge forward.

Luckily, they were concealed for most of the way by other smaller branches and leaves.  However, the foliage was much more sparse as they went on and, the last couple of metres of the makeshift bridge were bare.  Ming Yue decided they would have to run for it and glanced back at Weisheng to communicate the thought.  Luckily, the same thing had also occurred to him, and he nodded at her.  He looked to the left and right, noting the position of the guards.

Spotting an opening, he tapped Ming Yue twice on the shoulder and, immediately understanding his meaning, she sprinted forward, with Weisheng hot on her heels.  They both leapt from the end of the branch and, using their qinggong, descended the not inconsiderable height to the ground below, coming to rest lightly on the ground in the shadow of one of the larger perimeter tents.

Ming Yue dusted a stray leaf from her dress and smiled up at Weisheng, before turning towards their unlikely night-time accomplice and closing her eyes to send a message of thanks.  After a brief moment, she opened them again, and the two slipped out into the camp, each heading in the direction of their own tents, no further words between them being necessary.