"You will need me to guide you", Zhang Mei insisted looking into crown prince Wang Wei's eyes.
"I will always need you", said crown prince softly. He blurted the words out almost without thinking as he gazed into the luminous pools of her eyes.
"There is a short cut I know to the next village", said Zhang Mei. "Shall we go?"
"Yes of course", said crown prince Wang Wei recovering from the momentary dazzlement with with Zhang Mei 's extra-ordinary beauty.
He quickly arose from the chair and followed Zhang Mei out into the cool evening. Wang Li was following close behind.
"This way your highness", said Zhang Mei leading the way. "Try to keep up".
Zhang Mei and Wang Li broke into a jog.
Crown prince Wang Wei watched them jog ahead for only a little distance. Then broke into a jog, pacing his breathing to allow for maximum endurance. Enjoying the burst of energy, he quickly caught up Zhang Mei and Wang Li. He could have easily overtaken Zhang Mei and Wang Li.
But he needed Zhang Mei ahead to show him the way.
He wished she could run just a little bit faster. When neither she nor Wang Li were looking he would have transferred into a stallion and given them a ride. Only It could have presented another challenge of how to convey them to them to get on the horse.
He could clearly see that he had no choice but to patient with the girls and jog at their pace.
Even in the moon light there were suddenly visible tell tale signs of unnaturally shortened trees, hinting that they were approaching the neighbouring village.
"We are close to the village", Zhang Mei hissed conspiratorially to prince Wang Wei.
"Ok", Zhang Mei whispered from here on we walk softly into the village. Absolutely no noise. We want to take the mad man by surprise".
The village was deserted with half of the houses demolished. A figure in a hooded cloak was moving about with a sword in one hand, the razor sharp blade glittering in the moonlight.
"Stay here", crown prince Wang Wei advised Zhang Mei and Wang Li.at the edge of the forest. He stepped forward alone and approached the figure.
"Come to me", he whispered gently holding out a hand.
"No!', the figure hissed fiercely holding the sword tightly in one hand standing with theory back to crown prince Wang Wei.
"That is my sword", crown prince Wang Wei declared.
"It is now mine!", a familiar female voice cried out defiantly. The figure quickly turning to face crown prince Wang Wei and dropping the hood to reveal Li Yan's beautiful face underneath.
"Li Yan!", crown prince Wang Wei exclaimed in surprise.
"Are you now ready to accept this sword and the hand holding it?", asked Li Yan.
"You did all this, terrorizrd an entire village? Have you completely lost your mind Li Yan?
"Only because of you, my dear crown prince, Wang Wei", said Li Yan.
"I didn't ask you to do all this", said crown prince Wang Wei.
"Why did you reject me?", Li Yan asked.
"Seriously, you murdered my father", crown prince Wang Wei charged angrily.
"May be I was upset because he killed my father", said Li Yan.
"Your father betrayed the crown", prince Wang Wei charged.
"Let us put all that behind us", said LI Yan I am to give you another chance Wang Wei. You only have to accept my hand ...".
"That will never happen!"', crown prince Wang Wei boldly declared..
"You want your sword?", asked Li Yan in a disarmingly gentle tone."I will give it back to you".
"It is my sword. You had no right to take it", crown prince Wang Wei charged.
"That is where you are wrong. It is the imperial sword and I am the empress of jade heaven. You have no right to hold my sword!", charged crown prince Wang Wei. charged angrily.
"I have every right, I am the empress of of jade heaven", Li Yan boldly declared "Look how easily it rests I my hand", referring to the sword in her sword.
"I am willing to forgive all, forget everything. We can move on with our lives together Wang Wei", Li Yan. implored "Just accept me".
"I already rejected you once. I will not change my mind', declared crown prince Wang Wei defiantly.
"Then you shall pay. The two girls you came with, I can smell their fear from here", I not willing to hurt you. However the same can not be said about them, they are fair game", said Li Yan, looking away from crown prince Wang Wei's face to the edge of the forest where Zhang Mei and Wang Li are hiding.
Li Yan raised the sword and rushed like a flash of light towards the edge of the forest where the girls were hiding.
Crown prince Wang Wei matching Li Yan's blinding speed moved quickly to position himself between the girls and Li Yan.
As Li Yan brought down the sword to strike. Crown prince Wang Wei felt righteous anger well up inside of him like a volcano.
The blade glistened n the moonlight as Li Yan swung it with lethal force.
Crown prince Wang Wei's anger burst forth like a volcano erupting. He roared with all the pent up emotion inside him.
Li Yan was struck as though by an invisible giant hand knocking her her away like a puppet as she attempted to strike down crown prince Wang Wei with the sword. She was flung backwards with such brutal force that she fell to the ground. The sword still tightly held in her hand.
Recovering from the sudden shock of the blow, Li Yan noted the sword was still in her hand. Getting back on her feet, she laughed defiantly at crown prince Wang Wei. As though she had just heard a private joke
Holding up the sword like a prize, Li Yan shot up into the night sky.
Slowly at first the forest suddenly came alive with locals cautiously emerging from the brush where they had hidden. Frightened faces looking around suspiciously as though afraid that Li Yan could suddenly come back. Zhang Mei and Wang Li, emerged from the forest and rushed to crown prince Wang Wei's side.
Frightened villagers slowly gathered around crown prince Wang Wei.
"You...", crown prince Wang Wei began in a gentle tone. He could see the fear on the villagers' faces and wanted to reassure them. Instead only a mild growl came out of his mouth.
He could feel that the roar was dying down inside him and decided to wait a for few moments for it to go completely. As more villagers frightened emerged from the forest and gathered around him, Zhang Mei and Wang Li.
"You are safe", crown prince Wang Wei finally managed to say to the gathered villagers.
"What if they come back again?", asked a frightened looking woman in the crowd.
"They won't come back", crown prince Wang Wei knew that the fear of the roar alone would keep the red dragon from returning. Especially having heard the roar of the jade dragon for herself, Li Yan would assume that the power of the roar had menifested in him. Crown prince Wang Wei had also understood that the roar had only actived temporarily. He still needed the roar to fully manifest and if the red dragon were to attack again, he was not sure the roar would activate again
He needed time to manifest, to muster the power of the roar. Time that he would have as long as Li Yan did not realise that what she had witnessed was not a menifestation but merely a reaction. A temporary action that crown prince Wang Wei might not be able to repeat if faced with a similar situation again.
At that momentIt was as though an invisible force had knocked Li Yan back as she attempted to strike down crown prince Wang Wei with the sword. Li Yan was flung backwards with such brutal force that she fell to the ground. The sword still tightly held in her hand.
Recovering from the sudden shock of the blow, Li Yan noted the sword was still in her hand. Getting back on her feet, she laughed defiantly at crown prince Wang Wei. Holding up the sword like a prize, Li Yan shot up into the night sky.
The forest suddenly came alive with locals cautiously emerging from the forest where they had hidden. Frightened faces looking around suspiciously as though afraid that Li Yan could suddenly come back. Zhang Mei and Wang Li, emerged from the forest and rushed to crown prince Wang Wei's side.
Frightened villagers slowly gathered around crown prince Wang Wei.
"You...", crown prince Wang Wei began in a gentle tone. He could see the fear on the villagers' faces and wanted to reassure them. Instead only a mild growl came out of his mouth.
He could feel that the roar was dying down inside him and decided to wait a for few moments for it to go completely. As more villagers frightened emerged from the forest and gathered around him, Zhang Mei and Wang Li.
"You are safe", crown prince Wang Wei finally managed to say to the gathered villagers.
"What if they come back again?", asked a frightened looking woman in the crowd.
"They won't come back", crown prince Wang Wei knew that the fear of the roar alone would keep the red dragon from returning. Especially having heard the roar of the jade dragon for herself, Li Yan would assume that the power of the roar had menifested in him. Crown prince Wang Wei had also understood that the roar had only actived temporarily. He still needed the roar to fully manifest and if the red dragon were to attack again, he was not sure the roar would activate again
He needed time to manifest and muster the power of the roar. Time that he would have as long as Li Yan did not realise that what she had witnessed was not a menifestation but merely a reaction. A temporary action that crown prince Wang Wei might not be able to repeat if faced with a similar situation again.
crown prince Wang Wei's anger burst like a volcano erupting and he roared with all the pent up emotion inside him.
"Something just happened", remarked Chen Jun as he and Liu Chang locked eyes. They had both heard the same thing.
"It is the roar of the jade dragon", declared Liu Chang.