Chapter 16

Prince Yi Feng turned his head to look at her with surprise and disgust. His guards did their best to keep their faces calm. Zhao Gui, who stood at his side closest to Lia Jiao, seemed to understand that she was very innocent and had no idea that her words seemed so provocative.

"How about I keep you alive, and you can serve me!" She said tauntingly. Everyone turned towards her then. There were a lot of women who were bold and spoke about what they wanted in this world, but her words, weren't they just agreeing with the man?

Zhao Gui cleared his throat, looking at Lia Jiao with humor and sympathy in his eyes. He wanted to speak up for her and clarify what she meant, she was a young woman after all and had a reputation to keep, before he could say anything the Prince spoke.

"So bold of you," he said in disgust. "If you want him to serve you, make sure to bring him home with you."

The three guards all choked on his words. Lia Jiao could only sense that something was wrong with his words but had no idea what it was.

"How could I keep an ugly man like that as a servant?" She mumbled.

The Prince ignored her, disgusted by her lewdness. It was the way of a woman. He'd seen more vulgarity come out of that harem then he ever saw in a whore house.

"You seem to be a willing girl, come to me. We won't let you get hurt," the man said with a thrill in his voice.

"Bull crap!" She growled loudly, "Keep talking, and I really will bring you back! I'll make you scrub dog shit and clean dishes and clothes until your hands bleed! A servant of a servant! Your life will be worse than death!"

The realization dawned on all of them at the same time, a roar of laughter poured out. Zhao Gui gave her a smirk, somehow feeling satisfied with her answer.

Prince Yi Feng furrowed his brows but didn't say anything about it. "Leave one alive," he said simply.

"Yes!" The guards called out.

Lia Jiao was still uncertain about attacking with an intent to kill. Her hands were sweat against the hilt of the swords, and the fighting around her made her heart race. The shouting reminded her of that night. Of the way, her family died one by one while she hid. She turned towards their graves only meters from where they now stood fighting. They would spill their blood on their graves. Her heart was filled with pain. Her eyes were unable to focus on the masked men in front of her.

Prince Yi Feng was disappointed. She was cowering back. He actually thought she was skilled and wanted to see what she could do, but now he realized that it was just her speed that had impressed him. She was like a scared kitten trembling in fear in front of him.

"Their graves," she said. "The blood…" her voice trailed off. Only moments had passed, but during that time, several of the men had already died at the hands of the guards. She watched as a body fell over the grave of one of her sisters, a thick red began to cover the ground. She grit her teeth, her eyes filled with anger. "NO!" She shouted loudly. She ran towards the dying man and used her inner strength to kick him far from the graves. His body landed forcefully against a tree then fell to the ground.

"You stay away from here!" She ordered. She drew a line in front of the graves. There were roughly twenty of them. The servants were never buried. "Don't you dare cross this line!" She raged.

The group only then seemed to realize that they were standing at a grave site. There was no sympathy, in fact, her aggression only seemed to spur the men on, making them excited and wanting to tame her. One jumped away from Qin Weimin, the guard who had been on the Princess other side and landed right in front of her.

"I'll cross the line and let your blood cover these graves," he said with dark eyes. He was sinister and dirty. His eyes held all kinds of wicked things, and they made Liang Lia Jiao feel hatred inside of her.

He took a step closer, taunting her. He didn't even have time to set his foot down. His leg was sliced entirely off. It fell to the ground a few feet away with a quiet 'plop.' He fell moments after, his eyes wide with shock.

She turned towards the other men. In her heart, they were bad people. They had come here to kill, and they didn't care about who they hurt in the process. Liang Lia Jiao had no idea who they were or why they wanted to kill the Prince, but at that moment, she decided that it didn't matter.

Her eyes were dark, a feeling she had only experienced once in her life rose in her throat. At that time, her favorite wolf was killed by a feuding pack. She was so angry that she led her pack to their den and wiped out ever adult there was. She brought the pups back with her feeling that having them as part of her pack was like a final blow to the enemies.

She pushed past her drawn line and began to move her body in the same way she had millions of times. Xiang gege had taught her movements, she had practiced them every day, hours, and hours at a time. When he would visit, he would teach her more. Her greatest hope was that he would be proud of her when he returned, it motivated her to keep going. It had made her stronger and skilled. Even more then she realized,

Fighting against humans was different; they were smarter, and their reactions were more controlled, but in the end, it was all the same. Her back and legs were bleeding from the freshly opened wounds, her hands were sweaty, and her eyes were red. Around her, a battle was going on, but inside of her, a fire was raging. Years of bent up pain and frustration. The loss of her entire family, the desolation and loneliness of living alone, her longing for Xiang gege, her promise of servitude, it all seemed to tumble out of her at that moment. The blood that spilled on her sister's grave was a switch to the depths of her heart.

Prince Yi Feng watched the scene in front of him. She was walking towards him with an intense look in her eyes. For a moment, he was even a little scared. He couldn't remember when he saw eyes like that before. She strode past him, her sword dragging behind her, leaving a trail in the earth as she walked. The guards continued to fight around him, quickly killing the attackers, none of them was their match. They were never in any real danger, they all knew it.

Lia Jiao stopped in front of a man that was attacking Qin Weimin, she silently lifted her swords and sliced the center of his back. A river of red flowed out. The body dropped, leaving Qin Weimin surprised and unsure of what had happened. Behind him, another attacker was approaching. He noticed Liang Lia Jiao then and wasn't sure what to think about her. Her small delicate face was splattered with blood making her look like a demon.

He didn't notice the oncoming attacker, but Liang Lia Jiao had already set her heart on him. She kicked off the ground using her light movements, she dragged the sword across his neck as she flipped behind him. He lifted his hands to his neck, his sword dropping in front of him before he fell to his knees, his eyes still filled with confusion and wonder.

That was it, it was all she could handle. Her body was tired, and she had used up all her strength. The anger and pain had simmered down, the fuel of it leaving her feeling empty. She turned her eyes back towards the Prince. He was staring at her with a strange smile.

Zhao Gui had watched Liang Lia Jiao starting from the time she cut off the leg. He kept an eye on her while she fought off the assassins. All but a few were dead. He saw her turn towards Prince Yi Feng; there were pain and confusion in her eyes; they were a pool of unfathomable desperation and uncertainty. His heart surged. He took a step forward. Before he could go any further, Prince Yi Feng stepped. He walked slowly towards her, then picked her up and cradled her in his arms.

He had been with this Prince since he was a young boy. He was as loyal to him as could be, but he felt angry at that moment, his hand clenched to his side. How could any of his personal guards not know how much he hated women? He liked to lead them on, making them think he was interested in them before tossing them away like trash. He'd watched so many women crumble under his ruthlessness that he had lost count. He seemed to get a thrill out of the way they cried and pleaded with him. Zhao Gui usually wouldn't care at all what this Prince did. He was used to it. But those eyes…they were something he didn't think he would ever forget.