“Emperor, how’s Zuari looking? It hasn’t spotted us yet, right?”
Her voice stayed low like winter mist. Qianji Sister breathed at my ear; we’d almost tipped Zuari off before, so our nerves held tight like a drawn bow, no slack allowed.
“It hasn’t found us. It’s drifting two hundred meters outside the cave, like a vulture on the wind. It’s inching closer; in ten minutes, we’ll have to move.”
I have to admit, my guess rang true; slip out of Zuari’s sight and smother our breath like ash under snow, and it can’t lock on right away.
We’ve held here fifteen minutes, long enough for spent strength to come back like a slow tide.
“Looks like this hide works better than we thought, all thanks to Little Emperor.”
Aunt Saintvoice hugged me with a light laugh, her hand gliding through my hair like a calm breeze over reeds. Ten minutes in, the chill had faded; our bodies had settled like stones in a stream.
“Yeah. Good thing Emperor’s here. Without him, we’d be stuck in brambles.”
Holding the same crouch got stiff; Qianji Sister stretched those long legs sheathed in tight black, and they pressed on my thigh like a soft weight of snow.
Ever since we returned from the Elven Realm, Qianji Sister’s clothes had changed. No more old knight gear; she’d turned to skirts like sunlight on water.
She hadn’t lost any of her bold edge; she’d just gained a gentle glow, like steel wrapped in silk.
Her look today was this—
Her bright gold hair was tied into a neat ponytail, like a ribbon of sunlight. She wore a gray‑blue one‑piece with fine patterns, as delicate as frost on glass. A glossy silk belt hugged her waist, shaping a willow curve. Under the skirt lay black tights, and below that, brown short boots like polished bark.
It hit with a rare charm, stunning like a wild flower in snow. Skirts truly fit Qianji Sister like wind fits the sea.
As for Aunt Saintvoice, she kept it plain: a blue‑white gauze dress like layered mist. Decorations were few, the build complex—many thin layers, each woven with patterns like vines—her own quiet grace rising like moonlight.
“Qianji Sister’s hair looks a bit messy.”
My thoughts were skittering like ants; I needed a task, small and silent as falling dust. I saw a crooked strand and reached out, fingers combing like a gentle stream. The feel was smooth as silk.
“Is it? Then help me comb it, Emperor.”
“Alright.”
No comb at hand, so I untied her ribbon and used my fingers, smoothing and setting like leaves in rain.
“Emperor combing my hair—it’s been a while. Your hands are steady as ever, and it feels lovely, like warm sun.”
She closed her eyes, face melting into ease. Qianji Sister’s weight leaned against me like a cat seeking heat, even with Aunt Saintvoice still hugging me at the side.
“So jealous. Little Emperor, comb mine next too.”
“…I can, if time allows.”
I sent my Sword Intent outward, a hawk’s gaze sweeping hills. Zuari was closing, the pressure sliding nearer like a moving fog. Five, maybe six minutes left.
“Eh—fine then.”
Aunt Saintvoice nipped my ear, playful as a fox, then rested her head on my shoulder like a soft pillow.
I gave her a look, helpless as a leaf in wind, and kept working through Qianji Sister’s hair.
“Emperor’s a boy, yet you’re great at things like this. It makes me, as a woman, feel clumsy sometimes.”
“You two used to dump sister‑care on me all the time.”
“We can’t help it. When it comes to caring, Little Emperor’s better, like a warm fire.” Aunt Saintvoice slipped into the chat, her tone light as rain.
“Normally women are better at it. But leaving aside Lingxiao, Lingsaki, and Littlesky, even you and Aunt Saintvoice need looking after sometimes—like now.”
“That’s true. Stay near Emperor long enough, and you slide into relying on him, like drifting into a steady current.”
“Exactly! Little Emperor has that strange charm, like spring after frost.”
“…”
Praise warmed me like tea in winter, and I felt shy, even as a quiet joy pooled like clear water.
Four minutes passed quick as a bird’s shadow. I tightened Qianji Sister’s ribbon just as Zuari slipped close to the cave, its glow ring washing the stone like a rising moon. If we didn’t move now, we’d be buried under its net.
I told them about Zuari’s approach, and we left early, pulling back before the crisis fell like a hammer.
We stepped out of the cave, and Zuari blinked in like a starved beast finding scent, its teleport cutting space like a knife.
“What an unromantic creature. Couldn’t it wait for Little Emperor to finish my hair?”
Aunt Saintvoice grumbled, then drew the Allsaints Spirit Staff, layering protective wards around us like shells of glass.
“Quit complaining. We need the next hide.”
Qianji Sister scooped me up. Wings of elemental law flared behind her, white as storm feathers. A hard beat, and we shot forward like an arrow. Zuari chased close, its shadow glued to our backs.
This time its pursuit pressed tighter, a relentless river. It didn’t want us finding another hole to hide in; an hour had bled away like sand, and it was done playing.
Zuari kept flashing and teleporting, stuttering through space like lightning. To keep pace, I poured more focus into sensing, pushing Sword Intent finer like threads through silk. It burned the mind like hot iron.
Zuari’s power towered over mine; to read it clean, I had to sharpen my Sword Intent to needle points. Good thing the Dragon Realm tempered me—body, swordwork, and intent—like steel in a furnace. Without that, I’d be drowning now.
“Zuari’s glued to us. We can’t shake it, like burrs on wool.”
Our speed was high, but no flight outruns blink. Zuari refused to give us another chance to vanish, its gaze nailed on us like a winter sun.
“It’s a headache. If we can’t attack it, then…”
Qianji Sister thought for a beat, mind moving like chess. “Holy Voice, do you have anything to block sight and muddy the aura around us?”
“I do. Oh—I see. The rules don’t forbid hindering Zuari. This could work, like fog on a road.”
Aunt Saintvoice gathered a mass of dark law, the air pooling like ink. She hurled it toward Zuari with full force.
“Dark—Night Mist.”
The dark law burst into black fog, rolling like storm clouds and rushing Zuari. It blinked several times, trying to slip free like a fish from a net.
Not great for it. Zuari had to keep eyes on us, so it couldn’t warp far. Stay close, and the fog wrapped tighter, a cocoon of shadow.
“Good! That’ll stall Zuari for ten, maybe twenty seconds. Emperor, find the next hide.”
“No problem.”
