Blood of Deception [ON HOLD]

[Phase I: The Beginning] Chapter One

Yuzhe sent her weapon skidding across the training hall. "Did you really expect me to hit you?" he asked, then moving away to retrieve the practice sword.

Meiyue brought her arms down from her face. "Yes," she said, although she had reacted more out of impulse.

Yuzhe may be a somewhat strict trainer, but he was gentle at times when it came to demonstrating and exchanging actual blows with her. Perhaps she only wanted to spite him for disarming her too many times to count.

She watched as he placed the wooden swords back on the stand at a corner. His black hair was stark against the paleness of his clothes, tied up in a half ponytail that reached his back. It never failed to amazed her how his hair never really seemed to get in the way of their training while hers might very well be the reason behind her slow progress.

"Did something happen at home?" he asked. "You seem distracted." He went to sit on the veranda just outside the threshold. His expression was questioning.

"Nothing happened," she said, going to join him. She wouldn't deny if she was absent-minded though.

He was good at catching her, she thought. During their session, her mind was filled with what would it be like to be able to do what she wanted, behave how she would, for an unlimited amount of time. It felt nearly surreal.

They sat side by side in a comfortable silence. The sun was just rising over the line of buildings. Golden light shone upon curved tile roofs, chasing away the last trace of early morning.

Near the training hall, the stable came alive when the horses neighed in the stalls. Across the hall was a residence, a one-story mahogany structure with carvings for the doors and a simple pattern for the windows. A stone dragon swam over the edges of the roof. The three compartments, including the training hall and the surrounding yard, made up Yuzhe's household, which was usually well known for his stable. There weren't many others who could rival his horses.

"Do you have errands to run today?" she asked him.

"A bit later on," he said, sounding not so eager. She figured it must be related to the lord who had once accused him of bearing some affairs with his wife. Just the suggestion of Yuzhe committing such act was preposterous. She couldn't for the life of her understand why he tolerated it. He had a long list of other clients. But then again, like his roles, he was many things that she had yet to fully understand.

Meiyue wrung her hands on her lap. That usually happened when she was bracing for a talk she'd been preparing for. There also might not be a better chance to ask him later as well.

"There is something I want to discuss with you," she said. His gaze fell on her. "How long does it take to get to the south?"

"About a day's travel," he said without having to consider. Then at her face, he added, "Don't tell me you want to go there."

"Why not?" she asked. She didn't understand the change in his tone.

"Why do you want to go there?"

"To see how it's like," she said simply. "Is something wrong?"

He didn't answer and refused to look at her as if she had spoken something to offend him. She nudged him with her elbow.

"It's not somewhere you should be at," was all he allowed.

"Why?" She knew she was annoying him, but she couldn't help it. He was the only one she could think of to go to who was familiar with the southern lands.

Anhui was once prosperous in both the north and south. Nobles and high-ranked officials used to own most of the properties where they were turned into agricultural fields or left as pastures for livestock. Merchants used to run wild throughout the kingdom during the harvest season.