Li Jin Qing: The one behind it all

Chapter 67

Jin qing watched Tian Xiang freeze in his steps, his eyes growing wider than plates as he stared at the knife at her throat. She can feel her own beating heart in her shaking fingers, but she showed no fear in her eyes. 

"So?" she asked fearlessly. "What's it going to be?"

Tian Xiang hesitated, finally stopping and stepping back-- and so did his men. "What are you doing?"

"Threatening to run this knife through my neck if you don't leave."

He laughed nervously. "and what do you hope to achieve by doing that-?"

"Several things. One of which I have said many times before."

"What if I let you?"

"Then you've lost whatever reason you had to keep me alive." Jin qing answered confidently. "I don't have the energy to think of any other reason, but I'm sure keeping Shen feng and his wretched mother in check is one of them. They must really want to murder me themselves, don't they?"

Something told Jin qing that she hit one of the many bullseyes. 

"I'm not letting you go back to the Wei. That would be disastrous for my country."

Jin qing pressed the blade against her neck, finally letting the hungry blade touch skin. A smile spread across her face when she saw the panic in Tian Xiang's expression. "And not giving Sheng feng or his mother the honor of killing me will be even worse for your country. Make a choice. Would you rather fall to your enemies or your so-called allies?"

The silence that came after she finished her sentence was thick enough to cut with the knife she was holding, but she never gave up the glare she had directed at Tian Xiang. 
After what felt like an eternity, Tian Xiang stepped back and waved his hands to dismiss the men. 

"I'll let you go." He said finally. "Are you not afraid of your reputation if we let who you really are slide to the Wei? After all, it was supposedly the child assassin that murdered the Wei's empress of the late emperor."

Jin qing rolled her eyes. "The emperor will understand. How can a child of eight years kill that many people? As stupid as he is, I'd like to think that he still has some sense left in that brain of his."

Tian Xiang pulled himself back up onto his horse, turning around. "If you say so. Put down the knife-- we're not going to attack you."

"Guess I'm more valuable to you than I thought"

The smirk on Tian Xiang's face made Jin Qing uneasy. "You can't even comprehend the importance you have to me." He said, spurring his horse to a slight walk. "Safe travels, Wu Xin. I hope on my own behalf that your plans don't go the way you plan for it to be."

Jin qing didn't lower her knife until the last of the sounds of the horses' hooves on the forest floor disappeared into the night. 

"Wu Xin!" Yu qi ran to her. "Are you alright?! how did they-- how did they even find us--"

Jin qing accepted her hand and stood up. "I'm not even injured. Why are you panicking so much?" she asked, still staring off into the direction in which they left. 

"I know you well enough to know you don't need to be hurt physically to not be alright." Yu qi answered. "I'm surprised they found us so quickly. It's like they knew exactly where we were--" she gasped. "Do you think-- do you think Qiang an--"

Jin qing quickly shook her head. "I don't think so. It's probably because of the fires we lit-- we accidentally set up bread crumbs toward where we are and he just followed them." she chuckled "I'm an idiot for suggesting such a thing even though it sounded like such a good idea earlier... oh well. are the two kids alright?"

"I found a cave ahead and told them to wait there-- knowing how obedient they are, they shouldn't have moved."

It could be from the series of unfortunate events that have been happening recently, but Jin qing immediately began thinking of the possibilities of which the two children had left the cave. By all means, they shouldn't have-- after all, they're just as exhausted as she was, and running in the dark like this while Tian Xiang hunted for them would have been a death wish.