Hours before the surviving men returned to the imperial palace, the emperor, the princess general, the two lieutenants generals, and two units of imperial soldiers were mounting their horses as they are heading towards the reported commotion.
"Xiulan." The emperor matches his sister's pace. "Don't you think we're lost? We've been running for a while now yet we're still in the woods."
"I've been thinking about that too." She looks at Lieutenant General Song who's leading the way.
Before they departed, he suggested a shorter route towards the reported town. However, from the looks of it, it seems they're getting deeper into the forest. There's no way there'll be a town in the heart of the woods, right?
The general gives her white horse a gentle kick and her pace accelerated, leaving her brother behind to catch up with the leading lieutenant general.
Seeing this, some soldiers under Liu Chen's command told him to go after them and not let Lieutenant General Song make a move towards the General. Liu Chen, on the other hand, indeed goes after them to interrupt the two.
When he got close enough, he heard the Princess General asking, "Lieutenant General Song, are you sure about this shortcut you're talking about? Are we not lost?"
Lieutenant General Song slightly turns his head to meet her gaze. "We're not lost, General. In fact, we're almost there."
"We're almost there?" Lieutenant General Liu finally catches up with the other two. "All I see are trees and bushes ahead of us."
"No. We're here." Lieutenant General Song raises his right hand and stops his horse. The people behind them, including Emperor Yin Renshu also halted.
"We're here?" Lieutenant General Liu sneered. "Who do you think you're kidding?"
The emperor thinks this is strange so he comes closer to the three. "Why did we stop? Are we really lost?"
Princess Yin Xiulan thinks something really is off around here.
All eyes are on Lieutenant General Song. Some waiting for his explanation. And some waiting for his command.
What the princess, her brother, and her confidant saw next surprised them. They see Lieutenant General Song grins and give the signal to his men. The next thing they know is that the ear-piercing sounds of blades colliding with each other. The soldiers started to fight their fellow soldiers. Lieutenant General Song's unit against Lieutenant General Liu's.
"Lieutenant General Song! What is the meaning of this?!" The emperor unsheathed his sword and pointed it to the lieutenant general.
"Lieutenant General Song has committed treason! You traitor!" Lieutenant General Liu Chen also unsheathed his sword as he goes in front of the general and commander-in-chief to shield them. "Virtuous men of the imperial army, kill all the traitors!"
"Understood!" The soldiers under Lieutenant General Liu's command gave their response as they sway their blades to the pretentious enemies.
"How bold of you to go against us!" The Princess got enraged and opens her fan, ready to strike any time.
Lieutenant General Song withdraws his sword as well. "General, this time I tell you, you can't do anything. You can't rely on your holy weapon for now. That's as good as useless."
"You also dared to offend her. How shameless can you get?" Liu Chen yells to the other.
"Renshu, Liu Chen... it seems..." Her face becomes ashen. She can't believe what he just discovered. "It seems my spiritual energy is blocked. I can't control it."
"How is that possible, General? Is it..." Liu Chen glares at the fellow lieutenant general. "You...! What did you do to the General?!"
"No, that isn't my doing." He casually replied.
"It's the same for me." Emperor Yin Renshu discovered the same thing within him. He can't use his cultivation skills. He's no better than these soldiers!
"It seems this place has a hidden array that prevents us from using our spiritual powers."
Emperor Yin Renshu is right. There is indeed a huge array on the ground that was set up ahead of time. They are currently standing at the center point of the array. No one knows how wide the array is, except for its caster.
This kind of evil spells... This is done by no other than Xue Baihua, the empress dowager. In fact, she's still at the location, hiding somewhere nearby to activate the array. As long an individual is standing within its circumference, that person cannot use the spiritual energy in his body, regardless of whether this person is a grandmaster or not.
"General, your majesty, please leave this place at once." Lieutenant General Liu said without breaking his gaze to his fellow officers. "My men and I will try to stop his forces."
"But..." Princess Yin Xiulan hesitated.
She trusts Liu Chen's skill in combat. They've been through a lot of battles and won countless wars side by side. However, she knows Song Li's capabilities too. And she knows that this man is most likely to use underhanded tricks to get his opponent.
She doesn't think Liu Chen will be able to handle him alone.
"Don't worry, General. I'll give my all to buy you enough time to get away." He added, trying to convince the princess.
It's not that he looks down on her or anything. She acknowledges the princess as a strong warrior and one of the most skilled among the imperial soldiers. In fact, she's more like their ace when it comes to combat. However, he doesn't think she's in her best state at the moment. He's afraid she'll only get injured.
"Your loyalty is worth praising for, Lieutenant General Liu." Lieutenant General Song said in a sarcastic tone. "Like a dog willing to risk his life for his master."
"I am not a traitor like you." Liu Chen spat. "General, please. This is too dangerous for you and his majesty. Your safety is our top priority."
Princess Yin Xiulan shakes her head. Her eyes are pleading for him to go with them. "Idiot! Liu Chen, come with us."
Her voice slightly trembled but she managed not to make it sound obvious.
Emperor Yin Renshu grabs his sister's arm, pulling her and her white horse. "Xiulan, let's go! He'll catch up to us soon."
"But Liu Chen... we can't leave him here!" Her eyes were still fixed on Liu Chen's broad shoulders.
"Xiulan, we can't die here! It's too much of a risk to fight with them and you know it. You saw how they trained every day. You taught them yourself!" The emperor exclaims as he pulls the rope on her horse. "Come on, let's go!"
Liu Chen's wide and well-defined back is slowly getting smaller in the general's eyes as they're going farther from them.
"Liu Chen!" She yells at the top of her lungs.
Lieutenant General Liu, on the other hand, finally looked on her way. He gave her his usual adorable smile and mouthed two words. Although she can't hear him say those words, she still understood what he meant to say. "Take care."
He knows it. He knows this man has a bigger chance of winning against him. But the question isn't "Who's going to win or lose?" Instead, it's a question of "How long can I hold him back?"
"I won't let you two escape!" Lieutenant General Song was about to chase the two but Lieutenant General Liu blocks his way.
Liu Chen tightens his grasp on the hilt of his sword saying, "And I won't let you chase them just like that!"
"Lieutenant General Liu, if only you didn't insist to come here, your life wouldn't be in danger. By coming here, you're courting death." Lieutenant General Song sways his sword to him. Fortunately, Liu Chen blocked the attack with his sword.
Their blades are shaking caused by almost the same intensity of powerful forces that are applied coming from the two opposite parties.
Lieutenant General Liu Chen gritted his teeth. "I don't mind risking my life just to protect the princess."
"So it's princess when she turns her back and not general?" Lieutenant General Song said with a mocking tone. "Liu Chen, I feel bad to tell you that you might not able to confess how you truly feel for her."
"..."
Liu Chen didn't say anything after that. Or rather, he can't think of how should he respond to that statement. Even if he'll be given a chance to tell her what he really feels about her, he doesn't think he'll be able to do so.
The truth is, Liu Chen is contented with just staying by the general's side. To be able to see her casually, talk to her, execute her requests, cook for her, accompany her whenever she's lonely and down... he doesn't mind only having that kind of relationship with Princess Yin Xiulan.
That's more than enough for him.
He never dared to think that they can happen; That there's a possibility that the princess will look at him the same way as he did to her.
He actually thought about confessing to her a lot of times. However, there's always this one thing that always slaps him with the truth: The general is a princess. His Majesty the emperor's twin sister. She does not deserve a lowly subordinate like him. He's not good enough.
And if ever the princess really finds her true love with some other guy that truly deserves her, and has a family of her own, he'll still care for her in secret. Protect her and her children by then. Watch her from a distance during the happiest days of her married life.
"I promised the princess that I'll buy her and his majesty enough time." Liu Chen drives their swords to the side, separating their blades. He gets off his horse, and so does the fellow lieutenant general. "You have to defeat me first before you can chase them."
"Very well. I hope you can entertain me."
Then their blades clash again.
Both are agile and have swift footwork. However, agility isn't the only factor here. They're both excellent in terms of physical strength. Their swordsmanship is outstanding as well. Truly deserving of their rank in the imperial army.
Liu Chen's voice echoes across several meters of the area. "Do not let any of these traitors go after the emperor and the princess!"
"Yes, lieutenant-general!" The loyal soldiers of the empire responded.
Liu Chen then turns his full attention to the man he's fighting with. "Why are you doing this?! There's really no commotion at the nearby town, is there?"
"You're right." Lieutenant General Song grins. "There's no chaos nor bloodthirsty creatures. We just made that up."
"We?" Lieutenant General Liu narrows his eyes. If a glare can kill, he could have killed this traitor by now. "Who are you working in cahoots with?"
"Since you're not going to make it alive anyway, I'll tell you." Their swords clashed again. "It's the grand empress dowager. She wants those two to die."
The grand empress dowager... isn't she the grandmother of Emperor Yin Renshu, and Princess Yin Xiulan. Why does she want them dead?
Lieutenant General Song sways his sword in a sequence. Good thing, Liu Chen is fast enough to catch up to him and block every blow. "She promised to promote me as the general of the imperial army if I managed to kill them."
Disloyalty. Dishonoring the imperial army's oath. These are one of the heaviest sins in the Ministry of War and Defense that a soldier can commit. To think that this man did two of them at the same time.
This made Liu Chen enraged even more. "You're immoral! You're greedy for power!"
"Talk all you want. I am not a goody-two-shoes like you." The fellow lieutenant general just gave him a mocking look.
"You'll pay for this. Your retribution will come knocking on your door." Liu Chen starts to change tactics, from defense to offense.
"Not if I kill the emperor and the general." Lieutenant General Song managed to ward off his blows. "Since you're too eager to die, I'll kill you myself. No need to thank me."
Meanwhile, the emperor and the princess on the run made it far from the place.
"Renshu! Are you listening to me? Renshu! I said stop!" Princess Yin Xiulan's voice becomes hoarse.
She's been yelling ever since they left Liu Chen and his unit. She's almost losing her voice by now.
"Xiulan, can't you understand? Someone is committing treason against us! They've been plotting to kill us there. We can't use our spiritual powers too! Which part of that fact is hard for you to---"
Emperor Yin Renshu stopped talking when he turns his head to the princess. Surprise and disbelief dominated his face when he sees two streams flowing down from her eyes.
Princess Yin Xiulan is crying.
His grip on her horse's rope loosens as tears continue to flow on her cheeks. Her face is so red due to anger. Now that her brother is looking at her with shock written all over his face, she can't hold it any longer. She starts sobbing and couldn't utter any words. She's afraid that if she did, her voice will crack.
The emperor subconsciously wonders. When was the last time he saw his sister cry? When they're still the once carefree sect disciples? No, during those days, she's slowly shaping the person she is now. Back then when they're still begging in the streets? No, their tears have long dried that time. When was it?
"Xiulan..." All he can do is call her.
He doesn't know what to say. He doesn't have an idea how to comfort her. He isn't even so sure as to why she's suddenly crying.
"Renshu..." She's right, her voice cracks the moment she tried to speak again. Still, she continues, despite her sobs. "I don't want... Liu Chen to... to die."
The emperor breathes in deeply as he looks at their back. Seems no one is following them. They've run for quite some distance too so they might have lost the enemies.
Even so, he still pulled the rope of her horse to the deeper part of the woods. Neither of them knows where exactly they are. It's better to be careful.
They lost their sense of direction too. They don't have an idea as to which is the correct direction back to the imperial palace.
His majesty cups her cheeks with both hands, making her look at him. "Xiulan, calm down. Listen to me." He tried to sound as calm as he can. "Lieutenant General Liu... he's not going to die, okay? You've seen how much effort he's exerting during your daily training. He's not weak. Don't worry, stop crying now. First, we need to get back to the palace as soon as possible, or at least find our way out in this forest. Xiulan, I'm begging you. Get yourself together!"
"I know... I'm--- I'm not looking down on him. He's strong. He can keep up with me during sparring but... but Lieutenant General Song can too!" She said in between her sobs. "I have this bad feeling! I'm nervous. I can't think straight! I don't want this! I hate it! I want him here!"
Then she lost it.
She breaks down.
The princess wailed loudly like a lost child in nothingness.
She finally has someone she wants to protect, her favorite person. Now she's running away, leaving that person behind with the dangers of uncertainty.
This feeling of helplessness. She can't even help Liu Chen. She thought, how is she deserving to be called the General in the Imperial Army when she can't protect a person that has become a part of her?
She cries so loud, and it seems she's not calming down anytime soon. Afraid of getting discovered by the enemies, Emperor Yin Renshu pulled her and buries her face on his chest. His majesty too felt so down and cornered.
He could only whisper in the thin air, "Wenyan, what should we do?"