The Untamed Princess

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Instinctive Sacrifice

Weisheng was jolted out of his sleep at the sound of his name being called by a voice he knew as well as his own.  Looking up, he quickly registered the sight of a knife sweeping down towards him.  Luckily, the night was warm, so he had slept on top of his bedding and his movement was unhindered.  Lashing out with his foot, he caught the assailant squarely on the chest, and the man was thrown back by the force of the blow.

Weisheng rolled out of the other side of the bed, away from the assassin, and reached for his sword.  Hearing the commotion, the two royal guards outside of the tent rushed in, their own weapons drawn.

Satisfied that Weisheng's life was no longer in danger, and anticipating the attacker's next move, Ming Yue dashed out of the tent and quickly ran around the outside to the back of the structure.  Sure enough, she was met with the sight of the man exiting through a large hole he had originally sliced into the fabric of the tent in order to enter undetected.  She hurtled towards him as he attempted to escape into the night and, hearing her approach, after several paces he turned to face her, knife still in hand.

Ming Yue cursed internally that she had not bothered to tuck her own knife into her boot earlier.  Still, that was hardly her fault.  She had not expected to have to leave the comfort of her own tent, let alone chase down a shadowy assailant.

Oh well, she thought.  No use worrying about it now.  With that, she threw herself towards the man, counting on her unexpected move to momentarily stun him, and the desperate fight between the two of them began.

***

After telling the royal guards not to raise the alarm and instead inform Luo Jian quietly, Weisheng exited his tent using the same route as his attacker.  It did not take him long to spot the two figures.  The assassin had made it only a few metres away from the tent before being accosted by a slender woman in white, and the two were now furiously engaged in combat, trading blows and blocking the other's moves in a dazzling whirl of arms and legs.

Weisheng approached cautiously.  He was furious that Ming Yue had behaved so recklessly, but did not want to distract her with his presence now and cause her to make a mistake.  As he moved forward, he assessed the man in front of him.  He was clearly a skilled martial artist.  He was tall, and his frame was wiry rather than bulky with muscle, suggesting that he usually operated in the shadows, not in open battle.

Also, his instinct after his attempt at assassinating Weisheng had failed was to flee, implying that the man himself did not harbour any intense hatred for the prince.  Otherwise, he would have attacked again, no matter how stacked the odds were against him.  No, this man was a hired professional, and he was most definitely a threat.

Weisheng's assessment of the attacker was proven correct when the knife in his hand suddenly flashed, moving at almost incredible speed.  He saw Ming Yue take a sudden step back and clutch at her right side.  A patch of red appeared, staining the thin white fabric and growing larger by the second, but she did not give way.

The sight made Weisheng abandon all sense of caution, and he leapt forward, placing himself between Ming Yue and the assailant.  Suddenly, he felt himself none too gently pushed to one side.  Looking to his left, he saw Luo Jian.