Zhang Sheng immediately pulled Kairi to his side and pulled out his sword. He eyed them all cautiously, waiting for the enemy to make the first move.
Everyone single one of the men's face were hidden behind a black veil. They all pulled out their sabers and the leader screamed, "Kill them!"
Kairi has fought off against many demons that entered the mountain but she has never gone up against a person before, not to mention a group of at least eight. Zhang Sheng kept her safe as he easily fought against every single assassin with ease but even though he was swiftly bringing them down, anyone could see that there was just too many. With no one to watch Zhang Sheng's back, one of the assassins snuck out and raised his blade, ready to strike the both of them. Kairi immediately pulled out her blade and blocked it but with the body of a twelve year old, she was quickly overpowered. She struggled to keep on her feet as she was pushed back by the force of the incoming blade. The trail of dirt made by her feet was at least four feet.
"Kill her!" Kairi heard the leader scream out. Two assassins pulled away from the group attacking Zhang Sheng and went for her instead. Two sabers came soaring down her at a fast speed. She barely dodged it by jumping back. The two sabers slammed into the ground spraying dirt everywhere. It was apparent that the men in black were after her. She swung her sword horizontally and energy erupted from the tip of her blade. The move wasn't strong enough to render them immobile but it was still enough to push them back. Both men stumbled backwards. They were unprepared for such a move. By the time they regained their footing, Kairi was already onto them. With a swing of her sword, she cut one man down. The assassin watched his partner go down and it enraged him.
"Die!" he shrieked as he brought his saber down on her. Kairi's eyes widen in horror. She didn't have enough to time react. Just then a bright blue light shot toward the both of them. It was Zhang Sheng's sword. It knocked into the incoming saber with a loud clang and twirled back to its owner. Zhang Sheng broke free from the group of assassins and raced to Kairi's side. He easily cut down the assassin standing in front of Kairi and quickly wrapped his arm around her waist. Throwing his sword out, he jumped onto the sword and the both of them flew off into the sky.
"I thought you said that you needed to stabilize your energy," Kairi cried.
"I did," Zhang Sheng said. Kairi was ready to throw a retort but saw that the color had drained from his face. He wasn't kidding.
"Fifth Shishu! Are you crazy? At this rate you'll die!" she cried. He managed a small smile as he looked down at her.
"Do you like me a little bit now?" he joked. He was joking even at a time like this? Kairi looked behind her and found that the assassins didn't follow them. It seemed that they couldn't fly. She silently thanked the heavens and clung onto Zhang Sheng tightly. They weren't flying nearly as fast but at this rate, the assassins could probably chase them easily by foot.
"Fifth Shishu, fly down. Our best bet right now is to hide. If you continue to like this, you really will die," Kairi exclaimed.
"We can't. There's too many of them," Zhang Sheng said. Kairi looked down at her sword and bit her lower lip. If only she was bigger and stronger then she could fly the both of them home but she didn't have the strength for that. She had never felt so helpless.
"Everything will be alright. As your Fifth Shishu, I promise I'll get you home safe," Zhang Sheng assured her. He even lightly ruffled her hair.
Hours passed by and Zhang Sheng really did as he promised. They reached the gate of the Green Willow Village and touched down roughly. The guards saw their tumbling figures and raced out to help them.
"Fifth Shishu and I were attacked! The assassins are probably somewhere nearby right now!" Kairi exclaimed. The guards sound the alarms and many of the people from Liu Sect came flying out with Wei Xing at the front.
"What happened?" Wei Xing asked when he saw Zhang Sheng being carried away. Kairi was on the verge of tears as she watched the man who just saved her disappear into the distance.
"We were on our way back when we were attacked by men in black. They've followed us all the way here and are probably hiding somewhere in the forest," Kairi explained again. Wei Xing patted her shoulder softly and assured her that everything will be alright. She nodded and quickly followed after the group that had led Zhang Sheng away.
"Is he alright?" Kairi asked Healer Wu came out of the room.
"He's fine. Zhang Sheng is a lot stronger than he looks. After a few days of rest, he should be able to get back on his feet," Healer Wu replied. Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief and Grandmaster Liu finally started to question Kairi.
"Do you know who those people who attacked you were?" Grandmaster Liu asked. Kairi could only shake her head but quickly remembered that after the ordeal with Feng Jiu, she saw one of Feng Jiu's maid tailing them toward the exit.
"This might just be an assumption but we did run into the Lan Manor's second miss, Feng Jiu. When she saw me, she started screaming and crying. She said that I was a ghost and should be dead. Do you think she might have something to do with it?" The more Kairi thought about it, the more she was sure that the attack had indeed been ordered by someone from the Lan Manor.
"Why would the Lan Manor target you? Did you offend them in anyway?" Grandmaster Liu asked suspiciously.
"Of course not! I promised not to cause any trouble when I went into town. I've never met her before until today! However, she did look at me funny and screamed like a banshee as if she saw a ghost," Kairi said.
"What do you mean?"
"I... I think I'm the dead first miss of the Lan Manor," Kairi said also feeing rather doubtful about Xiao You's true identity.
"Why do you think so?" Grandmaster Liu asked.
"I'm not sure myself but she did seem familiar as if it wasn't the first time I've seen her. She also said that I looked exactly like the dead First Miss of Lan Manor," said Kairi.
"Hm. We need to look into this. If the Lan Manor had truly attacked one of our own, we cannot just sit by and let it pass," Madam Liu exclaimed.
"Do not fret, my dear wife. I will personally look into this," Grandmaster Liu assured her. He has never had anyone attack his own people before. Liu Sect may be small and poor but they weren't pushovers. It was the reason why they had survived this long among the many sects in the northern country. Grandmaster Liu stared at the young girl who he had taken in as his own daughter. She was small but she definitely had talent. It was the reason why he had taken her in but over time he came to care dearly for her. To have someone target her and his disciple who he cared for like a son, he wasn't going to sit back anymore.
"Hua Ren, gather my five disciples. We are going to track these men down," he ordered his right hand man.
"Yes, Grandmaster." The thin but cold looking man bowed deeply before silently disappearing into thin air.
Zhang Sheng was sure that his internal injury had worsen after he fought off assassins, yet his body felt light and refresh. He was standing in a field of a flowers. The breeze was cool against his skin and the sun shone brightly in the sky. A figure stood in the distance. Her back was facing him. He didn't know why but deep inside, he knew that she was the one he had been searching for. The girl's hair swayed with the wind and she didn't sense his presence. She stood there silently, staring off into the distance as if she too had been waiting for someone.
"I've been searching everywhere for you," he said. The girl didn't turn around but her shoulders suddenly tensed up.
"You're the one I've been waiting for," he told her and reached out to touch her but everything suddenly went dark.
"You're awake!" a voice cried out suddenly. Zhang Sheng's eyes fluttered open and he saw a petite worried face staring down at him. His hand was raised upward as if he was trying to catch air.
"Shizhi?" he looked around and found himself in one of the rooms in Liu Sect. So it was only a dream, he thought and sat up in bed. Kairi breathed out a sigh of relief and then her brows furrowed.
"You jerk. I thought it had been my fault that you were internally injured but that isn't the truth, is it? You were already injured to begin with and you purposely made me feel guilty!" Kairi accused him.
"I've been found out," he grinned. Kairi's hands balled up into a fist and Zhang Sheng quickly went on the defense in case she decided to thrash out at him but nothing came. Kairi breathed out a heavy sigh and walked over to the table to grab a freshly brew cup of medicine.
"Here. I brewed this myself. Healer Wu said that you should be able to get out of bed but I figured I still make this anyway," she said and held out the cup.
"Are you falling for me, little girl?" he asked cheekily. She frowned almost immediately and he instantly regretted teasing her.
"It's fine if you don't drink it. I'd rather Master drink it anyways. They worked hard trailing the assassins compared to someone who had been sleeping," Kairi sneered.
"No, no. I'll take it. Anything for my adorable little shizhi." He took the cup from her and gulped it down in one go. He couldn't help but noticed that a sense of relief of washed over Kairi as if she was glad that he had woken up. He chuckled to himself when she turned around to refill his cup. She was a lot cuter when she wasn't being bossy. What strange little girl, he though and pulled off the covers so he could hang his legs over the edge of the bed. Kairi handed him another cup and asked, "Why didn't you tell me that you were injured? I wouldn't have teased you and made you eat the spicy food."
"It's because I like it when you're acting like yourself. It's really a breath of fresh air," he honestly replied. Kairi silently looked at him and then took a few steps back. What did he say now?
"You... you aren't secretly a masochist, are you?" she asked and frowned again.
"A what?"
"Never mind. Nothing. Um, thank you for not abandoning me even when you were seriously injured," Kairi said after a bit of contemplating. Zhang Sheng raised a perfect brow. He thought that a thank you could come out of her mouth. He really was seeing a different side to her. He had a sudden urge to tease her. She just made the most adorable reactions when he did but he also liked this new side to her. It was nice seeing the twelve year old act just like twelve year old instead of an adult, so he graciously accepted her thanks and asked what had happened while he was asleep.
"Grandmaster Liu and Master led two groups to search for the assassins but the moment they were caught, they all killed themselves so we have no leads on whoever had hired them. Aside from my speculations, we don't have anything to go on," Kairi briefed him.
"I see and what is your speculation, might I asked?" he asked. Kairi seemed to be struggling with herself as she looked anywhere but him. Just when it seemed like she had decided to tell him, there was a loud commotion outside.
"What's going on?" Kairi thought. She was glad to have to not explain Xiao You's identity. It seemed that Zhang Sheng was rather close with Feng Jiu. She didn't want to tell him that Grandmaster Liu and Wei Xing were digging into the Lan Manor for information. The both of them walked out of the room and that royal guards had entered the inner courtyard of the Liu Sect. A man dressed in fine armor stood in front of the group talking to Grandmaster Liu and Wei Xing. The moment the royal group of guards saw Zhang Sheng, they immediately dropped to one knee.
"Second Prince Zhang Sheng, we have come to pick you up. Orders from the King. You must return to the palace," the man in the fine armor spoke.
"Everyone, stand up," he ordered and almost immediately everyone got back up to their feet. Kairi's eyes bulged. She slowly turned her head to look at Zhang Sheng. He didn't really look like a prince at all. There was nothing noble looking about him but she suddenly changed her mind when she realized the aura around him had changed. There was something majestic and mysterious about him. His playful demeanor was gone and he suddenly looked like quite the royalty. He looked down at Kairi and smiled. Even the smile was different. It was gentle and genuine. Where did the womanizing Shishu of hers gone?
"Hold this for a moment," he said as he placed a small box in her hand. Before she could ask why, his hands had gone up to fix the jade hairpin in her hair. For a moment, she thought she felt a soul fluctuation around her but it disappeared right away.
"It's been fun, Shizhi. Brush up on your skills so that you won't ever encounter a dangerous situation ever again. I'm sorry that an old man like me dragged you around for an entire day," he said and affectionately rubbed the top of her head.
"Until then," he said and stepped into the courtyard. He said something that Kairi couldn't hear to Grandmaster Liu and Wei Xing. After a few words of exchange, Zhang Sheng walked passed the guards and out of the courtyard where a large and gorgeous carriage waited. She stood there and watched until the carriage disappeared out of sight.
The man she had sneered at and talked back to was a prince. So that was the reason why things were so hush, hush about his identity here. What have she done? If he was a prince and the palace knew what she had said to him, she was sure that it would be a death sentence. She slapped her mouth a couple of times and promised to not be so straight forward the next time she sees him. She raised her hand to fix her hair and remembered the little box that had been shoved into her hand. Lifting the lid of the box, she saw the jade earrings that she quite liked back in the other town. So he had bought this for her. When was she going to wear these? She never bothered to dress like a girl since she first woke up in this world. Sighing, she closed the lid on the box. Maybe one day but not now. She was too worried about the assassination attempt. It's the second time she had faced death. She realized that in this world, she needed to become strong or else it's one ticket to the underworld for her.