Princess Blind Assassin

ㅡ. 𝐀 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 ☯︎

The audience cheered for the strong and giantly built man who was getting ready to combat the rather short and lean boy. The boy shook under the giant man's gaze. This man was surely going to crush him.

"Hey Brother, you got this!" a voice called out to the fellow. The boy looked back at the crowd of his friends to see a young man cheering for him. The sight of the young man made him lose the last of the nerves he had left. It was none other than Li Liang, the palace army commander and not to mention, his idol.
"If you get this, next combat with me!" he cheered.

The audience cheered louder as the strongly built man neared the lean boy.

Without a warning, the strong man lunged forward to the boy and locked his arms together. The strong man kicked the boy in his guts with his knee and the boy fell back in pain. He tried getting up but the pain in his guts prevented him from doing so.

The man jumped on him and sat on his back which made the poor boy lose his breath and gasp for air.

Li Liang was about to jump in to conclude the fight and save the fellow from dying out of oxygen when suddenly, a jet of cold water came rushing towards him and bathed him from head to toe.

"Hey!" he shouted at the laughing person behind him. "You got me all wet... These were fresh clothes!" Li Liang squeezed the water out of his robes and hair.

"Well, how long has it been since you last bathed?" said his friend, Xiao Jun, patting his shoulder.
"I don't remember. Last week?" Li Liang said, walking out of the crowd with his best friend.

"Huh! See, I knew what I was doing!" Xiao Jun snickered. "Doesn't mean you will use your power to attack me!" Li Liang snapped.

"You have to bath daily to impress the ladies." Xiao Jun patted his back. "You have the looks and power to impress women."

Li Liang stopped in his tracks. "Xiao Jun, you know my condition! Women are not leaving me alone these days!" he pursed his lips.
Xiao Jun turned to him with an amused expression. "Is that so? I wasn't around for a few months and you managed to enchant all women!" he exclaimed.

"Cut it, Xiao Jun! I am suffering and you find it amusing?" he snorted in disapproval.
"Trust me, they won't leave me alone even for a day... Whenever I happen to be passing by, they start giggling and whispering amongst themselves. One day, I was at the bathhouse and right when I was about to get out, a bunch of them came and blocked my way and suddenly started fighting amongst themselves and pulling each other's hair out... It wasn't funny."

"Wow! You got women pulling their hair out for you!?" Xiao Jun's eyes widened and his lips curled up in a playful smile.

"It's no joke! I am not even the greatest of great men or even the Prince." Li Liang sighed.

Xiao Jun rolled his eyes and snorted. "The Prince... He is called the Prince merely because of his father, our Emperor. He doesn't even have full royal blood. The Emperor didn't even announce whether he would be the Crown Prince or not. To be honest, ever since the Princess went missing, our Emperor has been going crazy. I would say, he was never sane to begin with. Our Empress is not appreciated enough for spending so many years with him; even after her daughter went missing!" he completed with a scoff.

"Hush! This is the thousandth time I'm telling you to keep your voice low. If any of those words enter the ears of the ministers or eunuchs, you know you are getting your head chopped." Li Liang sighed heavily.

"It's been years, Li Liang. The Princess is not coming back. And yet, the Emperor awaits her return as if she is hiding inside a cave avoiding her royal duties. Though I assume she is long dead. He even ordered you to search for her and drag her back. The Emperor didn't even accept her to begin with! Why wait for a child you didn't accept?" Xiao Jun huffed in annoyance.