When I was far enough to not see or hear them, I madly and irritably kicked the tree trunk as something fell down on my head with a loud THUNK! Automatically, I rubbed my head while cursing as I glanced up noticing a man dressed in black sleeping on the tree branch. As I continued to rub my head from the pain, I glance around first before I bent down to grab the object that had fell down. Reaching for the object on the ground, out of the blue someone snatched it away from me first. I turned to the person; the same man who I saw on the tree branch had come down already holding his possession.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” I ask, suspicious of him.

“It’s none of your concern” he spoke informally with me.

“How dare you speak with such a voice? Don’t you know who I am?” I ask, put my hands on my hips.

“I don’t care who you are, but you disturbed my sleep” he started walking away.

“You! What’s your name?” I grasp his shoulder making him stop. He angles his head slightly and swifts his body so fast out of my grip that I couldn’t prepare to strike a second time. When I raised my hand to punch his upper chest he had already disappeared and held me from behind.

“You!” I said, struggled to move since his arm is around my neck and could snap my head off any time as he wished. Plus, with my injuries and martial arts I wouldn’t be able to fight him anyway considering how fast he moves.

“You’re the assassinator, huh? Why didn’t you run when you had the chance to?” I ask.

“You’re quite smart for a Crown Princess, but it’s a pity that you’re not smart enough” he whispers into my ear.

“Aren’t you afraid that I might scream for help?”

“You would have screamed by now then”

“I have seen your face; it won’t be hard looking for you again once you let me go”

He chuckles mischievously, “That’s why I’m going to kill you” he speedily changed his position of his arm so that he can grip my neck with one of his hand. I grasp his arm with both of my hands as my eyes enlarge while he coldly stares into my panic eyes. However, he didn’t apply pressure on my neck but held them there as if testing me. Somehow his eye’s coldness softens as he pulls his hand away from me and turned so that his back is facing me. I stood there puzzled, staring at his masculine back as he walks away.

“You haven’t told me your name!” I shouted. He didn’t answer as his figured got fainter.

Strange. Why show up in front of me but not kill me? What does he want exactly; attempted to kill Crown Prince Yan but unable to hurt me?

I took a step forward and suddenly fell to my knees with an awful headache. I groan in pain as I had my hand gripping the side of my head from the horrible sensation of my headache. At the same time, my mind disperses to several moments of a man dressed in a scarlet-red robe but his face was blurry. The pain gradually decreases when I stopped visioning the man dressed in a scarlet-red robe and my breathing became normal again. As soon as I felt that the aching headache disappeared, I immediately stood up and rush to the royal physician.

The royal physician’s room is filled with the aroma of medicine and piles of books around his desk along with medicine tools. Stepping inside, the royal physician quickly greeted me.

“Crown Princess, what makes you come here personally? Crown Princess should have sent someone for me” he said, got up when I dismissed him to stand up. I closed the screened doors making him stare at me with worry.

“I have a question for you” I said turned to face him when I was done closing the doors.

“I might have an answer” he said, lowering his head.

“If I treated myself with a supplementary antidote to a poison I have little knowledge of, can I get side effects?”

“Crown Princess, I don’t quite understand”

“Here, diagnosed me then” I rolled one of sleeves up and sat down as he did too. Seriously, he checks my pulse and frowns afterwards.

“What is it?” I ask.

“You seemed to have been poisoned by the venom of an insect known as Bai Jiao Chong” he pulls his hand away as I rolled my sleeve my back down.

“Bai Jiao Chong?”

“Bai Jiao Chong venom is dangerous and is used only by Miao, but luckily the poison didn’t enter your body. It only affected your skin, so I can provide Crown Princess some herbs to rub on your skin daily to remove the toxin” he walks over to his desk and started mixing some herbs together. “Also, make sure to apply twice a day” he adds as I nod.

“Do you perhaps know any side effects of this poison?”

“No, but I have heard that people gets headaches, vomiting, and nausea,” he said, packaging the medicine after he was done mixing them, “But don’t worry Crown Princess, I’ll make sure the poison would be removed before you know it”

“Is it possible that the poison can give me visions?” I ask dumbly.

“Visions as in . . . ?” he asks, waiting for me to finish.

“Visions like seeing someone as if you’ve met them already in a previous life”

“I’m afraid I don’t know that answer to that, Crown Princess” he hands me the package.

“Thanks for your information and medicine” I smiled as I left the room.