Han Shuying.

The name kept echoing at the back of Ru Yi’s head as she walked aimlessly behind the triplets. All she could think about was the damn bracelet...and Han Shuying.

The only one who had treated her with something eerily familiar to kindness, that had given her money to spend in the village. Even a bath and new change of clothes...and made sure she’d taken the antidote—

Ru Yi’s heart started to race again. There was a tablet left from it, and she hadn’t been able to take it with her because of Shen Yexue.

It didn’t matter. She’d probably die in the hands of assassins before the effects of the poison would get to her.

She looked up ahead.

Dawn had not yet broken.

The sky lingered in the gray, breathless hour before night, when the world felt suspended between life and death.

They were still on the run.

Qingyue led without looking back, her steps measured despite the urgency. Yexue followed close behind, her grip tight around Ru Yi’s wrist, pulling her forward whenever her steps faltered.

Shen Lieyin brought up the rear, blade unsheathed, her gaze sharp and restless, as if she expected something to emerge from the shadows. But occasionally her gaze would drift to Ru Yi.

It was only a matter of time before Ru Yi’s lungs started to burn. Her legs felt like it no longer belonged to her. She’d never walked this much before, but she didn’t dare complain.

They reached the fork in the road just as the first hint of pale light touched the horizon. The main road stretched ahead—wide, worn, and safe in appearance. It led toward the next town, toward people.

Qingyue stopped walking. "We can’t go that way."

Lieyin clicked her tongue in growing irritation. "Of course not. That’s exactly where they’ll expect us to go." She twirled her blade once, restless energy rolling off her like heat. "Let them come. Saves us the trouble of tracking them."

"We are not staying to fight," Qingyue said calmly. She looked at Ru Yi. "It’s too dangerous."

Lieyin turned sharply. "We just barely escaped the assassins, and you think running will solve the problem? They’ll keep coming, one group after another. Lihua will not rest until we are all dead."

Qingyue’s voice remained calm. "We need to make ourselves harder to find."

Ru Yi’s eyes flicked between them, calculating. The last thing she needed was the triplets fighting.

"Qingyue is right," she said, saying the name for the first time without any title. It felt strange. "The maid road is too open, it can easily be a trap. The Empress might’ve even laid an ambush since she expects you to follow it."

Lieyin scoffed. "We can just kill everyone who comes close."

"That," Qingyue replied, "is exactly what she wants. To tire us out with these useless fights before we even get the chance to restrategize."

She continued. "Every corpse we leave behind will only justify the bounty."

Ru Yi’s breath hitched. "Bounty...?" she whispered.

Qingyue didn’t bother to look at her. "Did you think she would let us walk away quietly? She painted us criminals, and what better way to finish the job that put bounty on our heads? The men that attacked us at the inn were not all trained."

As if summoned by the word itself—

There was a faint sound.

Hoofbeats.

It was distant but unmistakable. All four of them froze.

Lieyin’s lips curved in anticipation. "Finally. They caught me off guard before, but I’m fully ready now."

"They found us already?" Ru Yi’s voice broke.

"No," Qingyue said quietly. "They’re still searching."

-

-

Figures appeared along the ridge ahead, silhouettes against the dim light. They were not soldiers, and not palace guards either.

They were rougher.

Looser.

Deadlier in a different way.

Definitely bounty hunters, at least six of them—No...eight. They were spread wide, cutting off the main road.

"They’re not even hiding," Yexue muttered.

Lieyin stepped forward, blade lighting slightly. "Let’s get this over with."

"You will do no such thing," Qingyue said.

"Move aside."

"No."

The air between them sharpened, making Ru Yi shrink into Yexue’s side. She’d never seen the sister butting heads before.

"You said it yourself," Lieyin snapped. "They will keep coming. Why not kill them now?"

"And waste the strength we don’t have?" Qingyue’s gaze did not waver. "We don’t know how many more are nearby. Do you want to fight all of them? Without food or water, do you think you’ll have the strength to keep up with them?"

Lieyin exhaled sharply. She couldn’t argue that fact, as usual Qingyue was always right. She sheathed her blade with a sharp motion.

"What do we do now?"

"Leave the main road, we need to put off running into them as much as we can." Qingyue pointed toward an overgrown path that was barely visible through the trees. It was a hunter’s trail, forgotten and uneven.

Yexue stared at it. "That’s not even a proper path."

Qingyue nodded. "Exactly. It’ll make it harder to track us."

This time nobody argued or hesitated. They turned away from the road, away from the hunter and everything that was familiar to them in the past.

-

-

Behind them one of the bounty hunters dismounted, crouching briefly to inspect the ground.

A smirk tugged at his lips. "They ran."

Another one scoffed. "Of course they did. They’re practically dead meat, three of them."

But the first one straightened slowly, his eyes narrowing towards the trees. "It doesn’t matter." His hand rested on the hilt of his weapon. "They won’t get far."

-

-

Deep within the forest—Ru Yi stumbled once, then caught herself. Her chest rose and fell unevenly as she looked ahead at the three sisters who moved like they’d done this many times before.

Like the danger was not new

Like this life was simply the next Chapter.

She knew more people would attack from that point onward, knew that this was possibly a fight with no end. But at least—she knew they would never abandon her.