Li Wei's POV - earlier (part 2)
The forest was silent.Not the calm kind of silence—but the kind that smothers, heavy and wrong.
Li Wei halted mid-step. Then it hit him.
The stench.Rot. Thick and putrid, clawing into his throat until bile burned at the back of his mouth.
Death.
A low laugh slithered through the trees.
"Well, well, well… what do we have here?"
Figures slid out of the shadows—bandits. Crude blades in their hands, but the true danger lay in their eyes. Hungry. Wild.
The largest, a stout man with a wolf's grin, stepped forward. He sniffed the air like a predator."Usually, we take women," he sneered. "But this one… he looks expensive."
Laughter rippled around him.
Li Wei's jaw tightened. His leg throbbed where blood had long since soaked through the bandage. His strength was nearly gone.
But weakness? He would never show.
The bandit lunged.
Li Wei moved—faster than his broken body should allow. He twisted, caught the man's wrist, and drove his knee upward. Bone cracked. The bandit screamed.
But in that same instant—Li Wei's foot slipped.
The ground vanished.His body pitched forward, tumbling down a hidden slope. Branches tore at his skin, rocks slammed into bone.
Above him, the bandits' laughter chased him down.
He hit the bottom with a brutal thud. Pain tore through his leg, white-hot, blinding. His vision fractured into darkness.
…
When consciousness crept back, the world was damp and cold. Water rippled nearby. Earth and moss filled his lungs with every breath.
Groaning, Li Wei dragged himself upright. Every muscle screamed, his body heavy as stone. His wound was a mangled mess—raw, bleeding, and swollen.
If Leena could see me now…She'd scold me into the next dynasty.
The thought almost drew a laugh, but it came out as a rasping cough. A bitter smile flickered, gone as quickly as it appeared. Then—something sharp pressed into his back.
His hand closed around it.A small lacquered box.
His breath caught. That box…
Leena's father had given it to her—a treasure from distant lands. Inside, a single pill, whispered to heal wounds beyond hope. And Leena—clever, stubborn Leena—had slipped it into his robe when he wasn't looking.
Even broken and far from him, she was still protecting him.
Warmth surged through his chest, steadying the erratic rhythm of his breath. Without hesitation, he pried it open and swallowed the pill.
It was like swallowing fire. Heat spread down his throat and into his chest, racing through his veins like molten gold. His pulse pounded, wild and feverish, until—slowly—the agony dulled. His leg stopped screaming, the haze in his vision cleared. His strength returned, heartbeat by heartbeat, as though the heavens themselves had granted him a reprieve.
A few hours passed, and the Prince of Tang stood again.
Not unbroken.But unyielding.
He washed the wound with icy river water, tore strips from his robe to bind it, caught a fish with trembling hands, and roasted it over a weak flame. The food tasted like ash, but every bite reminded him that he was alive. That he still had something left to do.
Leena.
Always, his thoughts circled back to her. Her sharp tongue. Her stubborn eyes. The way she always stood between others and danger, as if her small frame could defy the world.
He clenched his fists.Wherever she was—whatever she faced—he had to reach her.
Then—a flicker of movement in his periphery.
His instincts snapped his attention to the tree line. A large man, armed and furious, was crashing through the brush. His prey was just ahead—a slender figure, stumbling as she ran, her pace uneven as if injured or exhausted. A hostage. Pity, cold and brief, flickered in his chest. Another tragedy in this damned forest.
But as his eyes focused, the details seared into him. The way her dark hair streamed behind her, freed from its usual veil. The familiar cut of her tunic, now torn and dirty. The desperate, determined angle of her shoulders as she fought to stay ahead of her pursuer.
The pieces of the world slammed together in a single, horrifying instant.
Ice clamped down on his veins, colder than any winter.
Leena.
He didn't think. He ran. Faster than thought, faster than pain. Branches clawed at his arms, roots threatened to trip him, but he moved like a ghost, breath burning his lungs. The forest blurred into streaks of green and black, every sound sharpened to a knife's edge.
The chase ended at a cave veiled in tangled vines. Li Wei pressed against the bark of an ancient tree, chest heaving, breath sharp and shallow.
Inside—
The bandit's filthy hands around Leena's throat.
Her small fingers clawed weakly at his grip. Her lips parted in a silent plea, eyes wide with terror. A single tear slipped down her cheek, catching the faint light like a crystal shard.
The bandit grinned. It was a cruel, ugly grin—the kind that curdled blood.
Something inside Li Wei snapped.
For years he had kept his fury buried beneath duty and restraint, bound tight like iron chains. But now—seeing her fragile body in another man's hands, her life snuffed out like a candle—those chains shattered.
The Prince became a storm.
Silent. Deadly. Merciless.
He moved before thought could form, a blur of rage and instinct. His fist smashed into the bandit's jaw—bone cracked with a sickening crunch. Before the man could even stagger, Li Wei's elbow drove into his ribs. Another crack. Blood burst from the man's mouth as he howled.
But mercy had no place here.
Li Wei seized him by the collar, slammed his head against the floor. Once. Twice. The man's scream turned into a wet gurgle.
Still not enough.
Every strike was fueled by fury, by the image of Leena's tear, by the thought of losing her. He hammered fists into flesh until the bandit collapsed like a ragdoll, crimson pooling across the stone floor.
Silence.
The only sounds were Li Wei's ragged breaths and the frantic pounding of his own heart.
He staggered forward, chest heaving. Dropping to his knees, his trembling hands found her face.
"Leena… look at me. Open your eyes!"
Her skin was cold, clammy. Panic clawed at his chest. He shook her gently, terrified his strength would break her fragile body.
For a heartbeat, nothing.
Then—her lashes fluttered. Slowly, hazily, she found him. Her gaze was unfocused, but she smiled.
A fragile smile. Small. Weak. Yet more devastating than any blow he had ever taken.
"Leena…" His voice cracked, raw with emotion he couldn't name.
And then—her body went limp.
"No!"
Li Wei caught her instantly, cradling her against him, holding her as though the world itself might tear her away. His heart thundered, his throat ached with unshed cries, his entire being hollowed by fear.
He pressed his forehead to hers, gripping her hand tightly.
"Stay with me. You can't—don't you dare—leave me."
His arms tightened, his pulse pounding like war drums. He rocked her gently, murmuring words that broke against the silence.
He would protect her. Whatever it took.
The Prince who had faced generals and emperors, who had endured exile and betrayal, now trembled before the frailty of a single woman's life.
And he realized—this was no longer duty.No longer obligation.
This was something far more dangerous.
Far beyond the forest, a storm was already moving. Its winds carried whispers of plague, rebellion, and war.
But in that moment, all Li Wei knew was the girl in his arms.
And the vow he would carve into the marrow of his bones:
No one would touch her again.
No one.
˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚ To be continued… ૮(˶╥︿╥)ა