Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu fled the training hall out of embarrassment. They wandered the airship for lack of anything better to do. Had this been before what happened in the training hall, they would have had no end of topics to discuss, but they were too embarrassed to say anything now.

Their hands brushed against each other several times, and each time, they would jerk away from each other as if scalded. One would have thought they would be closer after sleeping together, but now they were keenly aware of the other people looking at them.

It wasn’t long before they found themselves on the deck, in the same place they had met last night.

The night that had changed everything.

“Maybe… it would be better if we kept our distance from each other?” Wu Jian suggested.

“What? Why?” Hou Jingshu didn’t quite look hurt, but the expression she wore did not sit well with him.

He looked away and stared at the vast expanse of land. The Ice Phoenix Mountain Range in the distance were covered in snow, glistening in the morning sun. It was the only place in the Shang Kingdom that snowed year round.

“You are the Shang Kingdom’s only princess, and to everyone’s knowledge, I am just a rogue cultivator you met during your time in the White Tiger Ruins. Nobody knows who I am, where I come from, or what my motivation is. For all they know, I could be a dangerous threat who’s getting close to you in order to undermine the royal family’s authority. It would be bad if people became suspicious of me because I hung around you too much.”

There were a lot more reasons Wu Jian could think of to explain why they shouldn’t seem so close, but those were some of the biggest reasons. While he didn’t think anyone would realize who he was, there was also a chance they would find out. He couldn’t risk people discovering his identity.

Hou Jingshu turned away from him. He closed his eyes and waited for her to either say something or walk away. He almost expected her to storm off, but she didn’t. Instead, he felt something soft wrap around his arm.

It was her arms.

She was hugging his arm.

“I understand your reasoning… and I agree with them. It would be bad if people became suspicious of you or tried to use our closeness to undermine my authority as the Shang Kingdom’s princess, but I don’t care.” She hugged his arm tighter and looked at his masked face with a fire in her eyes. “You don’t know… how awful life has been without you. Father is bedridden, my brothers are gathering power to fight over the throne, and I’m trapped in the middle of it all. The only person I can truly rely on is Zhou Lihua, and she has her own problems to deal with. Finding out that you’re alive again is the only bright spot in my life right now, and I don’t want to lose you so soon after reuniting with you.”

“You’re right. I was being insensitive toward your feelings. I feel the same way. Really. I was just worried about how others might perceive our relationship. I don’t want them using me against you,” Wu Jian said.

“I’m grateful that you’re worried about me, but rather than trying to distance yourself from me, I’d like us to overcome any obstacles we face together,” Hou Jingshu told him.

“In that case, I guess we’ll be fighting side by side for a while yet.”

“That we will.”

A moment of silence passed between them. Hou Jingshu leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder. It was a bold move, especially since they were in broad daylight. Everyone could see them. Wu Jian was sure rumors would spread of the mysterious cultivator who had seduced the Shang Kingdom’s princess once they landed. That did worry him, but he would abide by Hou Jingshu’s wishes, because she and he shared the same desires.

“We should find a quiet place to talk some more. There are some things I want to discuss with you,” Hou Jingshu said after a moment.

“I know just the place,” Wu Jian said.

He led her to the area he had found this morning after climbing out of her bedchamber through the window. It was quiet. Even now, no one was present to disturb them. They sat down side-by-side against the rail. Hou Jingshu once again showed off a boldness she lacked when they were younger by lacing her fingers through his as they sat close enough for their shoulders to touch. Her hand was warm, soft, and fit perfectly within his.

“There’s a lot that I want to tell you. Most of it is about the state of the Shang Kingdom and my goals going forward, but there’s something I want to discuss with you before that,” Hou Jingshu began.

“What is it?”

“Zhou Lihua.” Wu Jian’s spine stiffened at the mention of that name. Hou Jingshu gave him a knowing smile. “Are you remembering her goodbye kiss?”

“Maybe…”

She squeezed his hand. “You don’t need to be so evasive. I’m actually all for having her join us. Not only does she love you, but having someone from the Zhou Family on our side will provide many benefits that will help with my goals. She is also a very capable alchemist. We could only grow stronger if she became our personal alchemist.”

Although powerful sects would often have dedicated alchemists, very few individuals had enough power to retain a personal alchemist. Alchemists were the only profession in the world that was considered more important than cultivators. The pills they refined were widely used by everyone, and the more talented alchemists could create pills that were coveted by the most powerful cultivators on the Xiao Continent. More often than not, it was the alchemist, not the cultivator, who had the most power.

“Are you asking me to reveal myself to her?” asked Wu Jian.

“I know I’m asking a lot. I will understand if you say no, but I wanted to suggest is because… I really think she deserves to know you’re still alive.” Hou Jingshu bit her lip as her eyes watered. “Zhou Lihua was in even worse shape than me after news of the Wu Clan’s destruction reached us. She spent an entire month in her room. She didn’t eat, she barely slept, and she eventually collapsed from exhaustion. Even now, your death has affected her. She hasn’t progressed in her alchemy at all.”

Wu Jian didn’t say anything at first. He needed to really think about this situation.

If he didn’t tell Zhou Lihua about his survival, then his secret would be safe. The necklace seemed to still be functioning. However, there was a chance it would break if another person learned he had survived.

On the other hand, Zhou Lihua was currently suffering, and it sounded like she hadn’t progressed in several months. He wanted to help her. If showing himself to her would help her overcome her current problem, then could he do anything less? Yes, there was a chance the necklace would break, but was it not worth it?

“If I do show Zhou Lihua that I am alive, there is a chance my necklace will break,” he said at last.

“I know. That’s why I won’t force you,” said Hou Jingshu.

He nodded. “If my necklace breaks, Wu Meiying’s enemies will discover I’m alive. I’ll have to leave the Shang Kingdom.”

Hou Jingshu bit her lip. “Are her enemies really that strong?”

“I don’t know how strong they are, but Wu Meiying made it seem like they were far more powerful than any nation. They seem to work in the shadows too. My clan was destroyed before we even realized what was happening, and according to her, the people who attacked us were among the weakest members of this organization.”

Wu Jian knew practically nothing about their enemy, which was why he acted so cautiously… for the most part. His impulsive slipup last night aside, he had done his best to hide his identity.

Holding the cracked necklace up to the light, Wu Jian thought long and hard about what he should do. Did he risk this necklace breaking and revealing himself to the enemy? Or did he take the safe route and do nothing? There was a chance everything would be fine even if he revealed himself to Zhou Lihua, but could he really take that risk?

“…I’ll go see Zhou Lihua,” he said at last.

“Are you sure?” asked Hou Jingshu.

He nodded firmly. “I love her too. I don’t want to see her suffer. Also, Wu Meiying said she would be important to my future. That means she is somehow linked to me, so… it should be okay. I hope.”

“Thank you. I know I’m putting you in a difficult position,” Hou Jingshu said softly.

He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. “It’s okay. You’re not asking me to do anything I don’t already want to do.”

He and Hou Jingshu shared a smile, even though he was wearing a mask.

He really wished he could get rid of this damn thing.

There was a lot more that Hou Jingshu wanted to discuss with him. All of them were, in the grand scheme of things, far more dire than Zhou Lihua.

“My brothers’ scheming has reached a new level,” was how she began her tale. “The biggest problem is definitely Hou Gun. He’s the oldest among us, and also the most cunning. His mother, Hou Cai, is a member of the Saintly Sword Sect, and her father is an elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Because he is Hou Cai’s son, Hou Gun has a lot of power over the alliance between the Shang Kingdom and the Heavenly Sword Sect. He has not said anything about it, but he could easily usurp the title of Emperor by threatening Father with his position.”

“Why hasn’t he done that?” asked Wu Jian.

“Because it would ruin his reputation,” Hou Jingshu answered. “He has set himself up as a strong, reliable, and kind young man who lends a helping hand to everyone. Imagine the damage his reputation would take if he used threats to get his way. It would also be impossible to cover up. Everyone has their eyes on him, so he cannot afford to make any rash actions. I’m also pretty sure that he believes the title of Emperor will go to him once Father… is gone.”

Wu Jian wrapped an arm around Hou Jingshu’s waist, and she leaned into him, taking comfort in his embrace.

“What about your other brother? You have two, right?” he asked after a while.

“I do. My other brother is Hou Kun. He’s the second oldest among us and shares the same mother as me. He and I… don’t get along. He blames me for our mother’s death. Hou Kun is very hotblooded. He’s a lot more impulsive than Hou Gun. Rather than worrying about him usurping the throne, I’m more worried that he’ll get himself into trouble. It sounds like he is currently allied with the Burning Hands Sect, but I think they are just using him. There’s a rumor that the Burning Hands Sect has some relation to the Burning Flame Pavilion of the Ming Province.”

“In other words, he’s a greater danger to himself than he is to the kingdom,” Wu Jian determined.

Hou Jingshu bit her lip but nodded. “That’s how I see it.”

“And what about you?” asked Wu Jian. “What do you want to do about them?”

“I don’t have the authority to do anything right now,” Hou Jingshu confessed. “But it’s not like I’m doing nothing. My first goal is to cure Father. He’s been poisoned, but we don’t know who poisoned him or how they did it. We found no traces of poison in his food or drinks. We can’t find the culprit right now. All I can do is cure him. Once he’s been cured, I’m sure whoever poisoned him will try something drastic, and I’ll be there to catch them.”

“Do you suspect one of your brothers poisoned him?” asked Wu Jian.

“… I don’t want to, but I can’t deny the possibility,” Hou Jingshu said softly. She sounded pained. “They have changed so much from when we were younger, especially Hou Gun. He used to always be so kind to me. Now all he does is try to convince me to marry Húndàn Wang—oh. You don’t know who that is. He’s the son of the Saintly Sword Sect’s Master. He’s very talented with the sword. I heard he’s at the peak of the Asura Realm and can already generate Sword Ki.”

Sword Ki was different from normal chi. When someone reached a certain level of understanding in the Dao of the Sword, they could transform their chi into Sword Ki, which created a sharp energy that could cut through anything and extend the length of a cultivator’s sword. Wu Jian had heard that some talented cultivators of Sword Ki could even project Sword Intent, which was an intimidation technique that made a person feel like they were being stabbed with thousands of swords.

“Sounds like you have your work cut out for you,” he said at last.

“I do,” Hou Jingshu agreed.

“So what’s our first step? What should we do?”

“I need to continue searching for ingredients to cure Father, but I think I can leave that to Zhou Lihua. We only have one ingredient left.” Hou Jingshu tapped her lips with her index finger. “The first thing we should do upon arriving at Shang Imperial City is register you with the Shang Kingdom Imperial Academy. You’ll have to take a test, but you’ll pass easily. Once you enter, I want you to rise through the ranks. The yearly Shang Kingdom National Tournament is coming up, and this one is more important than the others.”

“Because it will be used to decide who participates in the Thirteen Kingdom’s Tournament, right?” asked Wu Jian.

“You catch on fast. Yes, the top five winners will be selected to participate in the Thirteen Kingdom’s Tournament. It’s very important that our nation does well. We are the weakest among all thirteen nations, and the only reason we have survived is because of our alliance with the Heavenly Sword Sect… but we cannot rely on that alliance to last forever. We need to strengthen ourselves and foster more good will toward us among all three celestial sects.”

“And the first step is entering the Shang Kingdom Imperial Academy.”

“Exactly.”

“I understand. I’ll work hard to get the number one spot while I’m there.”

“I’d wish you luck, but I plan to take the number one spot, so I’m sorry to say you won’t have a chance to reach your goal. But you can be happy being number two.”

“Since when did you gain such bite? Where did that little girl who was always complaining about being left behind go?”

“She’s still here. She just got stronger.”

“I can see that. Well, I suppose we’ll see who takes the top spot when we get there.”

“Indeed.”

They were still a few days away from Shang Imperial City, and a lot of problems awaited them, but for now, Wu Jian planned to enjoy the time he had with Hou Jingshu. Tomorrow's problems could wait until tomorrow.