The King's Dancer

Chapter 5

Of course Xie Lian wouldn't let the matter go just because Banyue didn't want to talk. No, he wasn't a former general for nothing, and thought this was the perfect opportunity to practice his spy work.

Banyue hadn't visited the king again until the scratch on her neck was completely healed, and the king never showed himself in the dancer's quarters, so she had been successful at keeping the incident a secret from the king. Still, it was obvious she missed him. It was why, when she realised that the last red traces on her neck were gone, she didn't waste another day to run back to the throne room.

Xie Lian had told her he wouldn't accompany her, which was true, but he was following her. He made sure she wouldn't notice him and was very successful at it, too. Of course he made sure to stay hidden in general, so that nobody on the lookout would notice him either, but still nothing happened until Banyue entered the throne room.

Xie Lian didn't dare to enter without prior notice, and with such a delay after Banyue, so he waited in the hallway in front of the throne room, under the suspicious eyes of the guards. Xie Lian smiled and waved awkwardly at them, and eventually decided to hide behind a curtain. After all, he couldn't be sure where Banyue would go after her visit here was over, and he didn't want to risk her seeing him. Still, given the glances the guards were shooting him every once in a while, he was sure the king would learn about his strange behavior as soon as Banyue left, and he could only hope he'd still be alive by tomorrow.

After what felt like a half eternity, Banyue came out of the throne room, in very high spirits and incredibly happy, so the king must not have noticed anything off about her. Xie Lian couldn't help but smile at the antics of this child. It really didn't take much to make her happy. All the more reason to find out which jerk had hurt her so badly, he thought with a darkening mien.

As soon as Banyue turned around the corner, Xie Lian started following her again. He also immediately noticed that now, one of the guards was following him in much the same way he was trailing Banyue, but he pretended to not notice.

The way back was equally as uneventful as the way to the throne room had been, and Xie Lian was almost about to sigh in relief, when he noticed movement from the left turn down the corridor, the opposite direction Banyue had taken. Xie Lian stopped, stepped back further in the corridor they'd come from, and angled himself against the wall, just behind the corner, but in a way that wouldn't draw any attention from anyone passing by from the left.

A short moment later, four kids ran past him. Going by height and stature alone, they must've been about five years older than Banyue. Early teens, Xie Lian guessed. One of them pounced on Banyue, who went down without so much as a hint of resistance, and raised his fist, obviously about to punch her.

Xie Lian grit his teeth, knowing he'd make the situation worse for her if he interjected directly.

So he walked a few quick steps back, and started calling "Where are you? Banyue! You're late!", before he leisurely walked around the corner, looking towards the left side of that corridor first, as if he didn't have a clue that Banye had turned down the right side.

"Banyue!", he called down the corridor, before he turned around. He saw the little girl trying to get up to her feet hurriedly, her bullies already about a li down the corridor, running as if their lives depended on it. If Xie Lian had any say in it, it kind of did. However he didn't know who those kids were, who their parents were, if they were perhaps related to the king, and that was why Banyue didn't want to tell anyone about these incidents. So he couldn't touch them for now.

"Banyue!", Xie Lian called again, worriedly this time, and immediately rushed up to her. "Are you okay?"

Banyue nodded, but he could tell just by looking at her that she was shaking. So he patted her head.