For a split second the entire inn was too still. The air inside the room was tense and hollow as the three sisters stood at alert, ready for what was beyond the wooden door.

Even Ru Yi had quietened down after realizing there was real danger lurking outside the room. She subconsciously moved closer to Shen Yexue.

There was the sound of a soft click—

Suddenly the window burst open. Wood splintered inward as two figures jumped in, black-clad and masked. Their blades were already drawn.

At the same moment, the door slammed open, more of them pouring in.

Ru Yi barely had time to react before a force yanked her backward—Yexue’s arm around her, pulling her up from the bed just as steel flashed through the space where she’d been sitting.

The room exploded in motion.

Shen Lieyin met her first attacker head-on, her strike fast and brutal, steel clashing with a sharp, ringing sound.

Qingyue moved differently, precise and controlled, her steps measured as she redirected an incoming blade with minimal effort before countering cleanly.

Yexue didn’t let go of Ru Yi. "Stay behind me," she said, voice low but still firm.

"I’m not some weak child you need to—"

"Then act like you want to live and stay with me! It’s not like you can fight."

Another attacker lunged at them.

Yexue was quick on her feet, moving at a speed that even Ru Yi couldn’t fully follow.

One moment the blade was aimed for them, the next second the attacker staggered back, breath knocked from his chest as Yexue struck with full force, sending him crashing into the small wooden table.

Wood splintered before the lantern that was previously on the table went out after crashing against the floor.

Darkness swallowed the room. Only movement remained with the faint glow of the moon.

Ru Yi’s heart pounded in her ears, her breath shallow as she pressed herself back against the wall, trying to stay out of the way. But there was nowhere truly safe.

A blade flashed too close—

Then stopped.

Qingyue had intercepted it mid-strike, her expression unchanged as she twisted the attacker’s wrist and sent the weapon clattering to the floor.

"Focus," she said sharply, though it was unclear whether the instruction was for Ru Yi or her sisters.

Lieyin laughed...actually laughed, as she drove another opponent back.

"They’re getting sloppy," she said, breathless but exhilarated. She could finally put all her pent up anger into good use. "Is this really the best she could send?"

This move from the Empress had been expected. They knew she wouldn’t stop at getting them exiled, when getting rid of them completely was her end goal.

Because if the triplets stayed alive, there would always be the possibility of them coming back to fight for what was rightfully theirs.

"There will be more," Qingyue replied calmly.

"Good," Lieyin answered. She wasn’t afraid, not even now.

Another attacker slipped past the chaos, heading straight for Ru Yi. She froze.

Something tight pulled at her chest. It was that thread...that bond. And before she could process it, Lieyin was there. She moved like she had felt the fear before Ru Yi had.

The attacker never reached her.

One by one, the remaining assassins retreated. Their movement was swift, coordinated, vanishing through the broken window and doorway as quickly as they had come.

The room went still again. Only the sound of heavy breathing remained.

Ru Yi realized her hands were shaking and tried to stop it with very little success.

"They’re testing us," Qingyue said, already moving toward the window, scanning outside. "Not committing fully."

Lieyin wiped her blade clean with a careless motion. "They need to try harder next time. It’s going to take more than a couple sloppy men to take us down."

Yexue moved to Ru Yi. "Are you hurt?" she asked, scanning the length of her quickly.

Ru Yi shook her head. "No."

But her pulse hadn’t slowed down. Not from fear, it was something far worse.

The bond. She had felt it when Lieyin moved to save her.

"They’ll come again," Qingyue said. "We need to leave now. Luck was on our side tonight, but it might not be if we remain here."

None of them argued.

After that they moved quickly out of the room, and down the narrow stairs of the inn. Through the dim, near-empty common hall where the innkeeper wisely pretended not to see anything.

Qingyue had made sure to drop more coins on the bed to cover for the damages in the room.

Outside, the night air was sharp and cold. Ru Yi followed them, her steps hurried, her thoughts still tangled—

Until something caught her eye.

It was a body, just beyond the dark pathway opposite the inn. It was one of the attackers, they hadn’t made it far.

Ru Yi found herself slowing down.

"Ru Yi," Yexue said sharply. "Move fast."

But she couldn’t.

Because right there on the attacker’s wrist was a bracelet she knew all too well. One she had paid for by herself.

It was simple. Delicate.

Her breath caught—

No.

It couldn’t be.

The attacker slipped into another building but the image of their wrist was already burned into Ru Yi’s memory.

Her throat tightened as her mind flashed back.

A crowded market.

Soft laughter.

A quiet promise to show her gratitude, something so small that had been meaningless at the time.

She shook her head in disbelief, something cracking inside her heart beyond repair. She said nothing when Yexue grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

In the silent chaos within her, she didn’t notice Lieyin look back at her with concern. Or the tick of her jaw when a stab of pain bolted through Ru Yi.

All she could think about was the bracelet.

It was the same one she’d given Han Shuying. There was no mistaking it with another, not even in the faint light that had been between them.

For the first time Ru Yi started to understand the situation clearly. Of course she’d been a fool to think the Empress would be kind hearted enough to let her go so easily.

She laughed under her breath, earning a look of concern from the triplets.

She was stupid.

She was an idiot.

And an even bigger one for thinking the Empress’s word meant anything. But what hurt her the most was Han Shuying even though it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

After all, she’d almost killed her the first time. What was stopping her from attempting again?