Taming Tyrants III

Arc 7: Royal Deceit (211)

Three men in dark robes and veiled face appeared at the edge of the forgotten village. One of them immediately noticed a small floral shoe on the opposite direction of the broken village gate. They nodded at each other and headed to that direction, assuming Gu Zixing and Hong Cha escaped from that path. Once they had disappeared, Gu Zixing showed up behind the gate and placed the shoe into his bag. He had expected they will speculate he chose to leave towards that place. In fact, they will reach the southeast border, this will give him enough time to relocate Hong Cha.

Gu Zixing rushed back to where they left the horses. He had mastered these terrains through the map Old White gave him. Soon enough, he found the horses still tied. Gu Zixing untied them hurriedly but he came to hear a familiar aged voice.

"Commander Nian Xiaoyuan of the second unit, where to?"

He froze to hear the warlord. Gu Zixing slowly turned back to see the warlord along with few commanders he had worked with. His gaze became cold and vigilant, refusing to share even a sliver of fear or obedience.

"Boy, I had trusted you. I was also impressed by your wiseness. But, a clever kid like you shouldn't be left alive." Warlord Bai took a step forth. His clear and crisp footsteps covered the sound of a bowstring being bent. "You survived, and it amazed me. Why don't you go back to my regimen and continue serving me? I vow not to bring this matter once more or bestow death."

Gu Zixing lowered his head and thought it over. For the first time, his lips arched to a deceptive grin.

Hong Cha is already on the rooftop. She carefully reached the edge and jumped down safely. She clapped her hands to dust it off. Hong Cha looked around until she saw Gu Zixing riding a horse. She was elated he finally returned. She has been waiting for hours!

"Sir Gu!" She waved her hands as he stopped before her. Hong Cha was confused there is only one horse and what alarmed her is his new wound on his torso. "Sir Gu, what happened?"

"Get on!" Gu Zixing pulled her up with all his strength. He bit his lip due to the pain from his injury. It was by luck he survived but Warlord Bai is tailing them, he must hurry. "Miss Hong, hold on. I'll explain later."

Hong Cha understood they are in danger. She secretly clenched her fists and lowered her head. What concerned her the most is his injury. Hong Cha suppressed her uneasiness and comforted herself that it will be fine.

With the fastest speed, Gu Zixing endured and they came to arrive at a simple cottage. He helped Hong Cha down and as soon as he stepped foot on the ground, Gu Zixing fell unconscious.

"Sir Gu!" Hong Cha caught him. She did her best to stand since he is heavy. Just then, a familiar macaw rested on the horse and the cottage's door opened.

"Prince Yun?" A magnetic manly voice asked. Hong Cha squinted her eyes to see a tall person by the door. What stunned her were his different features. His long silky hair of gold draped down to his waist and his eyes were blue like lotuses. She had never seen a man like this before...

"Help us, Sir Gu, he lost too much blood!" Hong Cha helplessly called for his help. The eccentric man hurried to aid her and brought Gu Zixing in the cottage. Hong Cha was confused he removed Gu Zixing's clothes.

"Miss, press this fabric on his wound." He handed Hong Cha a rolled handkerchief. She complied silently and he left without explaining. The man came back holding a basin of water and damp towel. "I can handle this. I'm a doctor."

Hong Cha understood what he meant. She stayed on the side and watched as he cleaned Gu Zixing's injury.

"You know Sir Gu?" Hong Cha asked quietly.

"Sir Gu? His Highness allowed you to refer to him as that?" He paused for a moment then continued to stitch the wound. Hong Cha can almost hold back her breath because of the large needle being stabbed with a string.

"Why? Is it bad?" She furrowed her brows. Considering how she teased and kept provoking his impatience, she never thought her respective reference for Gu Zixing is like that.

"Well... It's not, if His Highness had allowed you. Are you his lover?" The man inquired again and finished curing Gu Zixing. Hong Cha's face reddened. She didn't answer and he didn't insist regarding the question. Instead, he reached his hand forward and smiled, "I'm Alexander Pierre, Alex for short. I've been an imperial physician in the palace a year ago. Prince Yun regards me as his subordinate. What about you?"

"H-Hong Cha, Empress Qing's distant niece." She hesitated to hold his hand. After a single shook, she immediately retracted her hold. Alexander was taken aback but it didn't surprise him heavily that women in this country are far conservative.

"Hong Cha." Alexander mentioned while arranging the splayed medical items on the table. "In my country, our language is different. Young Miss' name is very lovely, relating to a flower we call camellia."

"Ka-meh-liya?" She repeated. Alexander chuckled before motioning for her to help carry Gu Zixing.

"En, Camellia." Alexander repeated. He stood up and told her, "I was waiting for Prince Yun to return safely. His father has been worried, a lot of us do. Thankfully, he is safe, and even brought a lady. Say, are you two...?"

Hong Cha's heart skipped as she tried hard not to stammer, "No, no. We're not in that sort of relationship."

"Well, that concerns me." He chuckled, finding her reaction quite amusing. "Prince Yun has rejected a lot of marriage proposals that House Gu earns a lot of scorns from noble ladies. Ai, if you were his significant other, I would have rejoiced."

Hong Cha glanced at Gu Zixing and felt complicated. She recalled what they've gone through and hoped she can still be close to him someday.