Security had definitely been raised in the past several days since the royal guard had appeared. Huang also, thankfully, had been given permission to wander around on his own, as long as he remained within the town's limits and didn't go inside anywhere but his or Lee Shaan's residences.

At first he was confused as to why he couldn't simply walk into a shop or any building in general, but as he moved about the large village each day, he began to feel more and more eyes on him every time he went out.

The villagers had paid him little mind to him whenever he was with Lee Shaan, but those times had grown fewer and farther in between. Now, without the man as an escort for the last four days, they openly glared at him, not bothering to mask their hatred. He couldn't blame them, though. He had been responsible for the deaths of several people from their village. He deserved their angry stares... and much more.

Deciding to return to his rooms early, Huang turned, only to feel something hit him in the back, crumbling upon impact. His instincts yelled at him to turn around and confront whoever had thrown the item, but instead, he took a deep, calming breath, then headed toward the bathing pond that Lee Shaan had brought him to several days prior. He could feel the mud beginning to saturate his robes, making him quickly shrug them off the moment he was within the thicker portion of the forest. That left him in just his thin undergarment pants, but he didn't mind.

The short walk was done in silence, with only one pair of eyes following him along his way. He didn't sense Lee Shaan, though, since he normally made his presence known right away. It also didn't make much sense for a normal villager to follow him, since the area he was in was Lee Shaan's personal space...

Either way, he didn't sense any kind of threat, so he simply continued on his way, assuming that it was just a guard keeping an eye on him as requested by their leader.

Once he stepped out of the underbrush and up to the water, Huang carefully knelt at the edge and began washing the mud out of his borrowed robe. It would take quite a while, but he didn't want to seem rude or incapable of cleaning his own things. They did have servants in the tribe, but they were all normally very busy and he didn't see his current predicament as being much higher than theirs, anyhow.

He remained kneeling there, scrubbing the fabric between his hands for nearly twenty minutes before he heard something a few yards to his right that made him give pause and look over his shoulder. At first, he saw nothing, nor did he hear anything else, but then...

The sound of cautious footsteps met his ears and he gently laid down the wet robe before straightening back to his full height. He still didn't have the energy to speak more than a word here and there, so he just waited there silently until, finally, someone stepped out of the forest.

That's... not possible.

Disbelief colored his face as his love, Han Qi, walked up to him, stopping barely a foot away with an exhausted smile on his face. He could not believe who he was seeing, and clearly Qi was surprised to see him in such good condition, too.

You're really here.

Closing the distance between them, Huang stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the other man. The amount of relief that flooded him to have Qi in his arms made his legs weak. Evidently, the other man was tired enough to not be able to hold him for very long, and Huang was needing to rest, too. So, they both ended up lowering themselves down into the tall grass before Qi settled against his chest.

"I thought that we had lost you forever. I am so glad to see that you are alive and healing well," Qi finally said as he forced himself to lean away enough to look him over better.

Huang was grateful to see that Qi was doing well, too. He was quite dirty and had dark marks beneath his eyes, but he was there, in front of him, and was still alive and well.

"Let's get out of here before Lee Shaan finds us," Qi said after a few moments as he forced himself to rise to his feet, even though it clearly took a lot of effort.

Huang stood as well, but he wasn't so sure that escaping was even possible. Reaching forward, he settled a hand against Qi's forehead, then closed his eyes as he whispered quietly. He was surprised that his telepathic curse still worked since his spiritual energy was sealed, but it was probably because it had been cast previously on the man.

Your highness, I do not think I am in any condition to leave with you. Your safety is far more important, and Lee Shaan will not harm me while he does not have you or...

He paused for a moment, suddenly realizing that the man's little guard was nowhere to be seen.

"Zen didn't come with me. I had him remain in the forest with Xisheng, since I could not cast my invisibility skill on both of us," Qi said as he reached forward and grabbed one of Huang's hands, then began tugging him north.

"I managed to get a horse from one of the villages north of the tribe. We can get away on that, then use the overgrown paths in the mountain northeast of there to return to Zen," Qi said as they moved.

He still didn't think that they would be able to escape, but what other choice did they honestly have? If he stayed, he had no doubt that Lee Shaan would grow tired of his presence and eventually lock him away again until he could figure out the curse that tied him to Qi and Zen. It was only a matter of time.

Looking at the man pulling him along, he felt his heart sink in his chest. Qi needed to get back to Zen before anything could happen to his little guard, but if he got caught by Lee Shaan before he could?

With two pieces of the curse present, he might find it easier to break... but that would mean possibly killing Zen when their bond is severed.

Shaking that terrible thought from his head, Huang pushed himself to keep up with Qi, eventually walking with him at his side. When the man turned his head to offer him an encouraging smile, Huang couldn't help but return it with one of his own as he squeezed the man's hand holding his. He really had missed him greatly.

They were just stepping out of the beautiful forest and into a tall field of wheat when Huang felt something warm around his neck. Confused, he stopped, forcing Qi to halt or have to release his hand.

The man turned, a confused look on his face as he stepped closer.

"Are you well? Do you need to stop and rest?" he asked, already reaching forward to press a hand to Huang's forehead.

Huang reached up, taking Qi's hand before it could reach its target. Shaking his head, he released him and tried to take another step forward. His neck warmed immediately, making him take several steps backward until it cooled.

The curse he'd placed on me...

It was a tether.

Wait!

Realizing what was about to happen, Huang reached for Qi, intent on shoving him into one of the thick bushes at the edge of the forest, but before he could even try to complete that task, the curse around his neck crackled to life, forming a collar out of spiritual energy. A leash made of the same crackling dark energy appeared a moment later, extending all the way back into the line of trees.

"R-run!" he rasped out before wincing as he was yanked back several steps by the cursed collar.

Qi hesitated for a moment, but that was all the time he'd had. Lee Shaan appeared from between two thorn bushes quite a distance down the forested path. His eyes were glowing the same color as the cursed leash in his hand and flared with excitement when he noticed who was standing before him.

"Your highness," he said, his voice booming loudly, easily reaching them with little effort.

Huang quickly moved in front of Qi, but Lee Shaan easily pulled him to the ground with one strong yank of the leash in his hand.

"Behave, you know you cannot do anything against me as you are," Lee Shaan said as he finally stopped less than a yard away from them.

Huang ground his teeth but moved to sit so that he could at least watch the situation play out. Lee Shaan spared him one last glance before his bright eyes turned to Qi. The smaller man had taken his sword out, but it was clear that he was already out of energy and would not be able to put up much of a fight.

Lee Shaan didn't even bother glancing at the weapon being brandished at him as his eyes scanned the area, clearly not seeing whatever he was looking for.

"Where is the little guard?" he asked as he returned his attention to Qi.

Huang licked his dry lips as he stared at Qi, suddenly glad that he had left Zen in the forest.

"I left him in the northern forest," Qi said calmly.

Lee Shaan's face fell at that information. He knew what that meant. The anger that flared in his eyes radiated through the leash he was gripping, sending little sparks of energy dancing along the length of it. They shocked Yuen's neck a few times before Lee Shaan realized and managed to calm himself.

"This is not the situation I had anticipated, but I will work with it nonetheless," he said as he reached forward and grabbed Qi's robe near his throat.

It was no surprise when the man refused to fight back. Qi was just barely standing as it were. There was no way he would be a match for Lee Shaan.

"You have always been very wise. Fighting me now would be meaningless," Lee Shaan said as he calmly reached forward and took Qi's sword.

To Huang's surprise, he simply resheathed it in Qi's scabbard, then leaned forward. Huang knew the curse he was whispering into the man's ear, but he could do nothing about it. Soon, a shackle of spiritual energy appeared around Qi's left wrist. A faint line crackling between himself and Lee Shaan's hand that was already holding Huang's spiritual leash.

He has both of us now...

The man spared him a brief glance, clearly to just let him know that he had heard him, then tugged Qi into his arms. He hugged him for the briefest moment before whispering something against his hair. Qi's eyes widened for just a second before they slowly closed completely and his body sagged against Lee Shaan's chest.

Huang made himself get up as the larger man easily lifted Qi into his arms after dispersing the two energy leashes.

"We will go back and tend to him until he is well enough, then we will go to the forest and find the last piece to break this curse," Lee Shaan said as he turned and began heading back the way they'd come.

Huang immediately started trying to figure out a way to free Qi, but exhaustion made it hard to think past the fogginess starting to cloud his mind. He ended up stopping to catch his breath after a while as Lee Shaan disappeared near the other side of the forest where he'd first entered earlier.

He tried to hold himself up against the tree beside him as he panted quietly, but eventually found himself sitting, leaning against it as his eyes struggled to remain open. He had already been very tired when Qi had appeared before him. Then he'd gotten shocked by the energy collar multiple times. He was getting quite close to passing out.

"Yuen Huang."

Lee Shaan's deep voice drew him out of his doze, but it was too hard to open his eyes again.

"Just rest, I'll carry you," the other man said as he easily got his light weight up into his arms.

Don't hurt him.

The request was pretty much just that, a request. He knew that he couldn't stop Lee Shaan from doing whatever he wanted to them, but he couldn't just remain silent when Qi was at risk.

"I've no reason to," the other man responded calmly as Huang felt himself move up and down the slightest bit with Lee Shaan's brisk pace.

He was just about to allow himself to rest when he heard the other man say one more thing.

"I apologize for shocking you. It was not appropriate."

Wow, an apology? For me?

He heard Lee Shaan scoff at his sarcasm, but instead of ignoring him, the man hefted him a little higher in his arms as he responded.

"Yes, for you, you stubborn man. Now stay by his highness's side and take care of him. I am unfortunately very busy with political garbage recently and do not have much time to step away," he said, making Huang realize why the man had been absent recently.

"Take care of yourself, as well. I need you just as healthy as him in order to break the curse once we have the main piece," he said, making Huang shift uncomfortably in Lee Shaan's arms.

The man tightened his hold, forcing him to stop squirming and, finally, open his tired eyes. Lee Shaan's were staring down at him as they walked, an overcast, cloudy sky above them.

Please don't kill Zen to break the curse. I thought he was worthless when I first met him, but he is more than what he is. He's not just a curse.

Lee Shaan's expression gave no sign that he'd heard him, even though Yuen knew that the man's telepathic connections were much stronger than his own. Instead of trying to convince him, since it was likely a lost cause for the time being, Huang simply sighed out a quiet breath and allowed his eyes to close again. He did need to rest, especially since he would be taking care of Qi. They would regain their energy, then figure out how to break their tethers and get back to Zen.