"She needs to eat more. At this rate, she will not regain her strength."

Yan Xun stared at the doctor impassively, but inside was feeling a tidal wave of emotions. He had sat at A'Chu's bedside as frequently as he could when she was unconscious, watching over her as a steadfast guardian. However, when she awoke and they connected gazes, her eyes filled with fury. Yan Xun had never seen so much hatred in A'Chu's eyes. He didn't think she could possess that much anger towards anything, least of all towards him.

Immediately, he had retreated and since then, received updates about her wellbeing from a distance. He resorted to checking in on her without being seen. He felt empty. There was no one left he could count on anymore. Zhong Yu was gone, his strongest generals were defeated, A'Chu treated him like a stranger...

Yan Xun dipped his head back as he felt the beginnings of a headache. He was doing this for his family, for his and A'Chu's future; for justice. Why couldn't she understand that war isn't black and white? Every day, he made difficult decisions, decisions that the average person would have succumbed to and given up on. He was different though. Yan Xun was driven and haunted by his past. For over three years, he suffered in silence while the rich lords carried on their lives as if they hadn't just slaughtered an entire nation and its people. As if they didn't behead his family and spit on everything they had sacrificed for the emperor. He would remember. He would always remember the anguish he felt that day at the Jiuyou Platform. He would remember the heartbreak as he watched the life he knew fall apart around him. He would remember the cruel laughter and sneers from his supposed friends and allies. He would remember the dying warmth of his mother's body as he held her corpse and watched her the last rise and fall of her chest.

His mother's last words to him... to never give up. Yuwen Yue had betrayed him, turned a cold shoulder to their friendship and trust. He was alone. Then... and now, Yan Xun lost everything he treasured.

Clenching his hands around the chair's armrest until his knuckles grew white, he reaffirmed the vow that he made that night after the Jiuyou Platform: until his last breath, he would make the Wei state pay. Nothing would stop him.

Chu Qiao felt cold. Since the moment her eyes opened and the rush of memories flooded her mind, a chill shrouded her body. There were frozen tendrils surrounding her every fiber as if she were still trapped in the icy lake with Yuwen Yue.

She stared blankly at the ceiling, tuning out the hushed voices of her doctors. Yanbei was not the home she envisioned. It was the fifth day since she woke up and every day, she made mental notes of the scheduled patterns of her visitors. Two doctors would visit at dawn and noon. They'd loiter the room for half an hour. They were less so caring of her wellbeing, instead, most likely ordered by Yan Xun to check in on her. In front of their watching eyes, she feigned weakness and refusal to eat. To them, she was stricken by grief and weakened. But Chu Qiao had grown resilient because of her hardship. She had lost her family, her mother, her home. And the brief respite she found in the comfort of her former master was ripped away from her as well.

Live on; Yuwen Yue begged of her. She would not fail him.

Her thoughts drifted back to the room when she noticed Ping An enter with a tray of tea. Despite the turn of events, her eyes softened as she watched him scuffle in. Yan Xun was smart. He knew she would never act aggressively towards children and purposely requested Ping An to deliver her meals and drinks.

Chu Qiao noticed the concentrated look on his face as he focused on entering without a noise. It was children like Ping An that reminded her of the purpose she still had in life. She didn't want every child to grow up in a war-torn nation and have their future stripped from them. In her precarious position now, she felt more helpless than she did in a long time. When she left the Wei state with Yan Xun, she thought that she would be fighting for freedom, for the future of those without the capability to fight. But instead, she witnessed cruelty and selfishness from the man she could once trust her life with.

As a military general of Yan Xun's army, she was fighting for a cause she no longer understood. This was not what she had committed to all those years ago when she witnessed the cruelty against slaves.

"Ping An," Chu Qiao called out quietly.

Thankfully Ping An had placed the tray down as he startled upon hearing her voice; "Master! You are awake! Should I get the doctor?"

She shook her head and spoke quietly, "Today is the day." Chu Qiao watched his reaction carefully and saw the surprise, doubt and then finally understanding settle into his expression. His young age betrayed his wisdom and Yan Xun underestimated him.

Ping An nodded solemnly but immediately sprung to action and responded with equal vagueness. "She is on her way as well. The location is the hidden gorge."

Clever Zhong Yu; while defending Hong Chuan together, they had scouted their surroundings in preparation for their ambush of the Wei forces. In doing so, they came across several hidden locations that would come in handy in the future. This is now.

Chu Qiao nodded, "Continue pouring my tea." In case of any observers, Chu Qiao needed to buy as much time before she began her escape. She needed to put up the pretense for as long as she could.

Her ears picked up on the scuffle by the soldiers outside her door - two, one on either side of the door. They rotated after dinner, but occasionally one set of guards would leave before the other set fully settled in. Today, she counted on this.

She was not weak. Her strength had recovered but she remained bedridden so they would underestimate her. Underestimating her was dangerous with her existing capabilities but ever since she woke up, she remembered. Memories of her past overwhelmed her when she regained consciousness. She remembered it all; her mother, her life before her handmaiden years, her powers. She could feel her strength within, unleashed after years of suppression. Most importantly, she remembered her training and how to control this strength.

They had tied her hands and feet down but it would do little to stop her from escaping. She made one mistake of acting out brashly when she first saw Yan Xun. The betrayal she felt was a foreign emotion. For over three years, Yan Xun was family and the only thing she had ever wanted was to pursue his dreams. His dreams became her dreams and she would follow him until the end. Yet time after time, he questioned her, humiliated her, and silenced her voice and opinion. After years of being a slave, Chu Qiao was dedicated to never allow anyone to treat her with such blatant disrespect. Which is why she had trusted Yan Xun so much - the Yanbei he described, the freedom and hope for slaves across all nations that he had promised to her... she now knew it was all a lie.

In the last moments of peace before her escape, Chu Qiao repeated her instructions to Ping An. "Remember, you will continue on with your day as discussed. You left after tea and confirm that you saw the guards tie my limbs down again."

Ping An nodded, "I know..." he hesitated and Chu Qiao could see the worry etched on his face. She knew it was wrong of her to involve him and she didn't want to leave Ping An behind. But this was too dangerous and if she was caught, she knew that the Yanbei troops would show no mercy to a peasant like Ping An.

Chu Qiao turned her body as much as she could to properly face the boy. "I will return. You must stay quiet until then, but I promise Ping An."

Ping An looked like he wanted to reach over and embrace Chu Qiao but at that moment, they both picked up the noises outside that signaled she needed to leave. The guards on this rotation left and the others would be coming in few minutes.

"Go now!" She instructed.

Ping An nodded but before departing, reached over to Chu Qiao and grabbed her hand. "Please be safe, Master." With one final look, he quickly turned and exited the room as quietly as he came.

Chu Qiao sprung to action. During her attack on the doctors and Yan Xun, she had grabbed a small knife and slipped it into her robes. Now, she used this tool to cut at her binds. Freeing herself, she stood up nimbly without a sound. She grabbed what rations were available in the room but time was of the essence. Slipping out of the room, her eyes roamed the courtyard.

She didn't want to kill anyone and ideally, would leave undetected. Dancing from shadow to shadow, she made her way to a particular area of the wall that she knew had enough gripping to climb quickly. Unfortunately, the greatest challenge was the distance from her resting place to the exit. It was only a matter of time before the new guards came and noticed her absence.

Despite her familiarity with the military compound, many soldiers still roamed the grounds. She used the darkness of the night to the best of her advantage. Her breath picked up in exertion as she pushed her body to move as quickly as possible without being seen. Soon, she could finally her destination. Nearing the wall, she turned around one more time to gaze her surroundings. While scaling the wall, she would be exposed. But hesitation would not help her and with the agility and nimbleness she prided herself on, Chu Qiao began the climb.

Using the shadows to her advantage, she carefully selected grooves that would obstruct her view from any casual glance. Suddenly, emergency bells sounded across the entire compound and her body tensed in reaction. Her borrowed time was up!

Shouts rang across the compound, "The General is missing! Find her! Someone alert the leader!"

Chu Qiao could feel her arms and limbs quivering with exhaustion as she continued to mount the wall. Finally, she heaved her body over the top ledge and let out a sigh of relief when she planted her two feet on the ground of the other side of the wall. She made it.

"A'Chu."

Chu Qiao froze in her tracks.

Footsteps approached from behind her. "It's just me. Please A'Chu, can we talk?"

On the other side of the wall, Chu Qiao could still hear the scrambling of the soldiers as they looked for her. She turned around and stared at Yan Xun. He stood in full military gear and was armed. Although his posture was unthreatening, she knew how dangerous he was. Clenching her fists, she slowly reaching for the scalpel hidden up her sleeve. "I have nothing to say to you."

"You can't leave," Yan Xun began. "You need to stay here, you need -"

"I don't need to listen to anything you say!" Chu Qiao snapped. Her voice was sharp, her eyes angry, and her stance defensive. "What do you want from me? Did you want me as your military general? As your concubine?"

Yan Xun felt himself slowly losing his temper, "You mean more than that to me, A'Chu. You are my family. Please, if this is about Yuwen Yue - I had no choice. He was a threat and he is gone now."

Chu Qiao refused to let her tears fall as she relived the moments of the frozen lake. "Once. I was once your family. But you have taken too much. If you think that this is only about Yuwen Yue then you really have changed. Why do you think Zhong Yu left? You are no longer the person you once were." She turned her face away from him and spoke in a quieter tone, "And I can no longer be the person to set you on a better path. I tried Yan Xun, I tried to believe in the best of you, to give you the benefit of the doubt. But time after time you have betrayed me and killed innocents. I no longer can stand by you."

Yan Xun gazed down at his hands before looking up again. "That day when you showed up in the cave... when you swung in like some wild animal... I didn't know what to think of you. You were always different, A'Chu. You've changed my life and after everything we've been through." He hesitated before letting his guard down... "Please, come back with me."

At that moment Chu Qiao saw a glimpse of the man she once knew... a part of her ached for him. Her voice was quiet when she spoke and laced with exhaustion, "That was over three years ago... I no longer have the strength or faith to walk by your side, Yan Xun." She paused and he noticed the flicker of remorse that flashed in her eyes, he could see her battling emotions. A'Chu's eyes were always windows into her soul, she always wore her emotions openly unafraid to show the world how she felt. "I questioned myself every day as I fought alongside you. You cannot take away who I am."

Yan Xun made a step forward as if to reach her. Immediately, this made Chu Qiao take two steps back and her guard immediately came back up. Doubt and defensiveness flickered in her eyes, forcing him to stay rooted in his spot. Yan Xun looked at her desperately, body unmoving in his position but his voice betraying his emotions, desperately trying to bridge the gap between the two of them. When did they become such strangers? "You can't leave because you'll be killed. The entire Wei state is after your head."

Confusion and defiance filled Chu Qiao's, "I am capable of defending myself."

"After the frozen lake, our spies let out rumors that you had led Yuwen Yue to the trap and killed him." As Yan Xun shared this he could see Chu Qiao's shoulders tense. "Not only is the state after you but so are the assassins from the Yuwen family."

Chu Qiao froze, "What do you mean?"

"You lured Yuwen Yue to the frozen lake. You were the one to convince him to walk into a trap. The military general of Yanbei delivered the final blow to end the life of on the greatest threats to our fight." Yan Xun could see the disbelief and hurt in her eyes. He always seemed to be staring into anger these days. It was necessary; his actions to spread these rumors before the truth got out. "I couldn't have the people Yanbei doubt your allegiance. I did this to protect you. It was for the -"

"I hate you!" Chu Qiao cried out, "How could you? You've taken away my people, my faith, and now my dignity." Her entire body shifted in a stance ready to bolt.

Yan Xun's gaze hardened and he clenched his fists; "You give me no choice, A'Chu. I cannot have you leave. You know too much about our military and strategies, if you go, Yan Bai's future will be out in jeopardy."

Chu Qiao scoffed, "You have already given up on the people of Yanbei. What you fight for is not them." She began reaching for the small knife up her sleeve ready to respond Yan Xun's next move. "Well, which one is it? Are you going to fight me for Yanbei or fight me to protect me?"

"I'm not going to fight you. You will stay because you have to." Yan Xun looked over behind his shoulder and made a curt nod, "Show yourselves."

At that moment, Chu Qiao felt her throat constrict. She couldn't believe it...

Two soldiers emerged from the gates and between them dragged a struggling boy. The young boy tried to fight them but his attempts were futile. Ping An looked up to the panicked face of his Master, his own face etched in anger. "You guys can't hold me back! I will be free! Run, Master!"

Chu Qiao was paralyzed. What could she do? She noticed the pathway to the left and could've made a risky run for it earlier. But they had Ping An... how would she take them down without risking his safety? "Yan Xun, how low can you be to threaten a child's safety? Do you not have any morals!" Chu Qiao had her will and freedom torn from her before, but she could never have imagined the day it was at the hands of a man she once trusted with her life.

Yan Xun stared at her for a moment before turning his back towards her. Impassively, he gazed at her over his shoulder with a cold expression. "Choose your path wisely, A'Chu. One child is nothing compared to the future of this country and the justice against the Wei State. It's your move now."

Author's Note: Hello! I'm still here and haven't given up on this story! Summer ended and life moved on leaving me with much less time than I would have liked to work on this... But thank you very much for still reading and sharing this guilty muse with me. I will still be writing and trust me, I am literally dying for the XingYue meetup as well. I just don't want to rush it because they have such a special relationship and everything they've been through so far has put them in positions where they need to face these challenges by themselves. Although trust me, every time Yuwen Yue swept in to save Chu Qiao I squealed like a teenage girl. I appreicate your patience and support - I will be back!