- 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."

They trekked through the dense trees, with her absolutely clueless about the direction that they were heading towards. And yet, Li Xun seemed to know exactly where he was going. His steps were cautious, but purposeful.

When he noticed her puzzlement, he explained quickly. "I made markings on the trees. You see right here?" He pointed to the cross carved on the bark of a tree nearby. "When I first came up, I noticed how thick the fog shrouding this hill is. It would mislead us, just like any other innocent trespassers, and leaving here would be out of the question. But if we were to follow the markings that I've left behind, we might be able to get out of here after all."

"Brilliant." She marvelled at his intelligence. Their situation wasn't as bleak as she thought. "You're a genius, Your Highness."

He grinned mischievously. "If we do get out of here, do I get a reward?"

"R-reward?"

"Yes, it's something only you can give me."

Heat rose to her cheeks. Honestly! What was he thinking when they were in such a dire situation?

"Your Highness," she warned, but avoided his teasing eyes. "Behave."

Li Xun's smile only grew wider, finding her absolutely amusing. "I was referring to your time," he said and flicked her forehead. "That's all. What were you thinking about?"

Embarrassment flooded her cheeks. As days passed, he was getting bolder with his teasing. Letting out an annoyed huff, she walked ahead of him, busying herself with following the markings. He gave a light chuckle and caught up with her easily, waving the fire torch in his hand.

"Let me lead," he said.

And she nodded.

All humour faded from their faces as they focused on finding their way out. Not speaking another word as they trudged through the wilderness. There was an occasional sound of twigs snapping around them, startling them each time, but it was simply too dark for their eyes to pinpoint who or what had caused it.

Unease crawled up her neck and she stopped in her tracks, forcing Li Xun to jerk to a halt right behind her.

"Did you hear that?" she asked him, perking up her ears once more to listen intently. "I swore I heard something growl..."

His eyes narrowed. He waved the fire torch around them once more to survey the surroundings. Taking a step forward, something crunched beneath his feet and he glanced down curiously.

"Wait," he paused, kneeling to take a closer look. "Are these...bones?"

Mirroring his action, she lowered her eyes to the ground below her feet. True to his words, human remains were scattered all over the place. She could only assume that these belonged to the lost travellers who had wandered here by accident, but only to end up dead.

"Who has been eating them?"

However, Li Xun didn't have the answer to that either. As they were trying to figure out where they were at, a couple of groans and snarls were heard nearby, causing the pair to swivel their bodies to meet a bunch of people stumbling towards them. Only they weren't completely alive. The pupils in their eyes were completely white and their limbs were hanging off at awkward angles. Twisted and rotten.

It seemed like the dead had risen from their graves once again.

A pale-faced Li Xun grabbed Long'Er by the arm. "This isn't good, we got to go!"

They turned and streaked through the trees. A couple of times she would trip on the fallen branches and rocks, but Li Xun would catch her each time. The horde of reanimated corpses was right behind them on their tails, and they were hoping to outrun them while going downhill. When another horde appeared in front of them, blocking their escape, they skidded to a stop.

Now, they were surrounded and outnumbered.

Glancing wide-eyed at Li Xun, she gulped nervously and gripped her dagger tightly.

"What do we do?" she asked.

Muttering curses under his breath, Li Xun answered with a grim look. "Seems like we don't have much of a choice. We'll have to run through them and fight our way out." He pulled her closer to his side. "Stay close to me."

The walking corpses were growing insane for their flesh. They snarled with rotting mouths and lunged straight at them. Unsheathing their weapons, Li Xun and Long'Er readied themselves for a fight.

Before the corpses could get near them, something bright and scorching hot appeared from the sky. It swooped down like a giant hawk, flew above their heads and past the corpses, obliterating them by lighting their bodies on fire.

Li Xun gaped at the powerful, mystical creature in amazement. It was clearly something that he had never seen before in his life.

"What in the world is that...?"

"That's–"

Long'Er's eyes brightened immediately when she recognised the familiar, flying creature. Her call for help was answered and they didn't have to fear anymore.

The phoenix belonged to her godmother.

And she had come to save them.