Rebirth and Reincarnation 1st Arc

Age 13. The Aftermath

I relaxed my breathing and little by little released the chi holding the stones in the air. One by one, they fell to the ground and the wind around me calmed until my chi was back to its normal state.

Only then did I notice the crowd chanting my full name.

I scratched the back of my head, while inside I was giddy with excitement.

'It feels so nice to be recognized.'

I approached the Second Prince, who was on his knees while the imperial physicians looked after his wounds.

Hearing my steps, he looked up. It was clear that he was spent but happy.

To the absolute surprise of everyone watching, I kowtowed to him.

"This servant thanks the Prince for this match."

"Raise your head, you imbecile." Despite his words, he was smiling "I should be the one thanking you. It is the first time in my life I have been so thoroughly defeated." He bowed his head "Thank you for giving your best to this fight."

"The Prince honors this servant with his words and fighting spirit."

The older boy chuckled. "Go and get congratulated by my father."

I bowed again and left him in the hands of the physicians.

I crossed the arena and knelt in front of the emperor's pavilion.

"Shen Long Mu" the emperor began, and the crowd fell silent, wishing to hear his speech. "You are indeed an honor to this great nation. I thank you for your participation today."

I was beyond words when the emperor himself offered me a small bow.

After thanking the emperor for his words, bowing to him and the public, I left the arena in a daze with people still chanting my name.

The day before I had been swarmed by people before my friends and family could get there. But today, I had a whole tent to myself, where my family waited for me.

"Congratulations ge-ge!" Zhi grabbed my hands while she jumped in joy "It was amazing!" beside her, my two younger brothers too were singing praises that made me laugh.

I hugged Zhi and patted the heads of the young ones before walking to my parents and offering them a pronounced bow "Father, Mother, thank you for giving life to this Shen Mu, and for granting me the opportunity to win honor for the family."

Mother was openly crying, and father swallowed to bring his emotions in order, before they too hugged me. Which soon became a group hug when my siblings joined in the effort of surrounding and smothering me with their feelings.

We remained together inside the tent for a couple more minutes, until a loud clap came from outside.

I blinked. "Yes?"

"The Third Prince and Princess request an audience with the Fourth Prince" answered the voice of the captain of the Heng Li's guard.

I blinked and looked at my sister, mouthing 'That sounds so strange!' She giggled.

"Come in."

The tent flap opened and Heng Li and his sister came in, bowing politely at me. Me and my family bowed back.

My parents took one look at the youngsters and excused themselves, stating that we could catch them at the Ying Yi for dinner.

Once they were gone, Heng Li passed one arm over my shoulders "So you're a Prince, now huh?"

I nodded "Which means I can officially slap you over the head when you get cheeky with me." We laughed together.

"What you did today" he shook his head "can you teach me?"

"I can only show you the way, you will have to walk the path on your own." I smiled cheekily "Yet, Hui-ge is past the first Tribulation, I'm sure you can too, in time."

"Father was already tasked the servants to prepare a wing for you at the palace, so we won't have to hide anymore."

"That should be fun... although I will have to juggle my time between my blood family and the imperial family."

We were interrupted by Zhi coughing. We both blinked and turned to her, who was standing at Meiling's side.

"Oh, right." Heng Li grinned and took a step away from me.

I looked at him as if he were crazy but returned my attention to both girls when my sister coughed again.

"Yes?"

"This princess would like to congratulate Mu-ge, can she?" I stared at her, not really understanding what she meant. But Zhi, who stood behind the princess urged me to accept.

"Eum... sure?"

I found myself being hugged by a small trembling princess. My arms instinctively circled her shoulders, while I looked at my sister and adoptive brother in shock.

"We shall give the two of you some privacy."

'Traitors!' I mouthed while glaring at them.

And they had the nerve to laugh in my face.

The four of us left the tent together a couple of minutes later to be greeted by a wall of sound caused by the many fans I had gained in the few days of the competition.

The celebration broke earlier than usual, when Meiling caught me snoozing while seated. The final fight had taken its toll on me, and the delicious food afterwards made me drowsy.

Still, I had enough presence of mind to accompany my adoptive brothers back to the palace.

When I reached my home, Ling had my bath ready and unceremoniously proceeded to bath me, whether I wanted her or no.

Truth be told, if left to my own devices, I would have probably fell asleep on the tub.

Probably.

I was out as a light as soon as my head touched the pillow.