The Crown Prince's Bodyguard

36 ♛ The Monsters in the Darkness

- Long'Er -

With the fire torch in hand, they darted through the darkness. Whenever she threw a glance behind her, shadows crept closer to them. There was no telling if they were a figment of her imagination or not.

"Your Highness, did Li Xue tell you that I was missing? How did you find me in this wilderness–oh!" She gasped as realisation hit her. "It's you the enemy is after."

Li Xun nodded his head grimly. He began telling her about the letter that he had received, how he was told to come to the Hill of Death alone and how he immediately rushed here without hesitation.

"You really came here by yourself? Without your guards? Or Captain Ling Yao?" When he nodded, she thwacked his chest in a fit of anger. "Are you insane? You can't risk your life just for anyone."

Her reaction took him by surprise. He caught her hand easily when she was about to hit him for the second time and chuckled. "Did you honestly believe I would come alone? Ling Yao and the rest of my men would certainly have thrown a fit. I forced them to wait for me at the bottom of the hill and would send a flare into the sky if I needed help."

"Besides," he added, "how could I wait in the palace knowing that you could possibly be harmed any second?"

"I'm your bodyguard, Your Highness," she argued. "It is my duty to protect you. Not the other way round."

He looked her up and down, shaking his head in disbelief. "A weaponless bodyguard? You ought to be dismissed from your post."

Her mouth fell open. "I-I can protect you even if I have to use myself as a shield–"

However, Li Xun silenced her by placing a finger on her lips before she could finish her sentence. He grumbled something under his breath that she could only catch a few words like 'correcting mistakes' and 'retracting his orders when they return to the palace'.

Releasing her hand, he pulled out from a dagger that was strapped to his belt, knowing that she had lost her weapon earlier. But instead of handing it to her, he offered her his sword.

She was confused. "Why are you giving me that?"

"You're more comfortable with a sword, aren't you? Take it."

Her frown deepened. Her hand darted past his sword to take the dagger from him. "This is good enough for me. You need to protect yourself better, Your Highness."

He didn't like the way she phrased her last sentence. "Listen," he told her. His voice was firm but gentle. "Act with caution, but do not risk your life for me, you understand?"

Under the heavy weight of his stare, Long'Er nodded wordlessly. It wasn't like she was going to listen to him, but she knew that nothing she said was going to convince him anyway.

A howl in the distance reminded them of the situation that they were in. Their backs straightened, their cautious eyes looking around them.

"What is that?" she whispered fearfully. It couldn't possibly be another undead lurking nearby, could it?

She had once heard that the Hill of Death was a place where evil resided. Once a person entered the ground, he would never be able to walk out alive. There were countless stories about lost travellers stumbling upon this place by mistake and they ended up going missing without a logical explanation. As a result, nobody had dared to come close to this area for a long time. Only heaven would know what creatures were roaming about.

Casting a quick glance around, Li Xun paused to listen for any movements. "Come on." Still clutching her hand, he gave her an encouraging squeeze. "Let's find our way out."