Thunder rang out like a shot in the night, followed by a deafening silence. Yixing looked up at his Shifu’s face, and had to fight the urge to cringe away.

Shifu’s voice was soft and quiet, the calm before the storm, “What did you just say?”

“Qian...she has gone to seek out the scholar. The Saviour. Zhou Mi. She left a few hours ago.” Yixing struggled to keep his voice steady, his head bowed and his eyes fixed upon the ground before him.

“And you allowed this?”

A clear denial would have been the easiest, the safest option. But Yixing knew better than to lie to Shifu. “We think the Demon Sect may have sent people to hunt down the Saviour, and-”

“And?” Shifu’s voice was calm, remarkably so. “Go ahead, Xing. Tell me what brilliant conclusions you came to.”

“We decided that sending Qian to bring him back would be the safest option for the Saviour. So I let her go.” Yixing finished in a rush.

“And did you perhaps consider the danger your decision poses to Qian? What if the Demon Sect sent more than a few people? What if they sent a whole team of warriors? What if Changmin is amongst them? What then?” Shifu’s voice was still reasonable, but the blood had drained from Yixing’s face. “You mean...surely...we...”

“Didn’t think things through? Clearly so.” Shifu’s lips curled. “Leave. I am disappointed in you, Xing. You of all people should have known better.”

As Yixing slowly exited the chambers, Shifu turned back to look at the old man who sat on the bed, his legs crossed, the staff lying across his legs. “You see, Master? That boy hasn’t even turned up here yet, and he’s already giving us so much trouble.”

The Master made a sound of amusement in the back of his throat. “You must not allow your bias to cloud your mind, Geng - simply because that boy was not raised here, was not raised as one of us, does not mean he cannot become great. He is the Saviour.”

“He’s just a lowly scholar.” Shifu responded. “I’d bet you anything I have that he’s never received instruction in the martial arts before.”

“Then that’s a bet I would lose. But if I were to bet with you that he has true, deep potential simply waiting to be fulfilled, then you would lose that bet.” The Master replied calmly. “Do not be too harsh with Yixing, Geng. He reminds me very much of you.”

Shifu snorted, “I never realised that I was a thoughtless, reckless idiot.”

“No - but you were once like that idealistic, righteous boy.”

There was no response to that. Shifu folded his arms. “This scholar - this child you claim to be Saviour-”

“I do not claim anything. But he is the one.” The Master answered. “You must train him. Make him strong. And he will bring the world the peace it deserves.”

“If he even makes it back here alive.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The Demon Sect?” Zhou Mi could only gape at Servant Lee, who was still doubled over, huffing and puffing. The servant grabbed Zhou Mi by the arm. “You have to leave, now! One of the guardsmen heard them mention your name - they must be here for you?”

“For me? But why? I’m just-” Zhou Mi’s voice trailed off. News travelled faster. The Demon Sect must have found out that he had been chosen as the Saviour. And now...

“Sir! Please, you have to leave now!” Servant Lee tugged at Zhou Mi’s arm.

“My family - where are they?” Zhou Mi demanded.

“The Mistress was in town with some of the servants. Master Zhou and your sister have already been escorted out. Please, sir, please let’s go now.” Zhou Mi allowed himself to be led out of the room that had been his prison for the past few days, only to stop abruptly as he stared at the courtyard in horror.

The estate was on fire.

Zhou Mi wasn’t sure where the fire was originating from, but he would have had to be blind to miss the smoke billowing in the air, a dark, insidious fog.

“Zhou Mi?” The voice was a low growl. Zhou Mi whirled around, only to see a man with short, black hair cut brutally short, a distinctive scar running from his eye down to his neck, a scimitar in his hands. The blood dripped down the curved tip of the scimitar, and the sharpened, silver blade seemed to wink at Zhou Mi in the light.

“You’re-you’re that Demon Sect guy. That...Kyu...”

The side of the man’s mouth tugged up in a vicious, nasty smile. “Cho Kyuhyun. We meet again.” He flicked his scimitar up. “And, unfortunately for you, it’ll be the last time.” He lunged.

Acting on pure instinct, Zhou Mi ducked, his fist flying up. He hit Kyuhyun in the chest - it was like hitting a rock wall; he staggered back with a yell of pain, clutching his knuckles. Servant Lee caught hold of him, his voice worried. “Are you all right, sir?”

To his amazement, Kyuhyun had staggered back as well, and was staring down at his body in disbelief. “You little-”

“Can’t even beat a little scholar, Kyuhyun?” The voice, female and melodic, was familiar to Zhou Mi’s ears. He felt the relief rise like a wave in him, his legs turning to jelly. “Qian.”

“Don’t call me that. My name is Song Qian.” The Shushan disciple stepped out of the shadows, moving to stand beside Zhou Mi. She held in one hand a dagger, in the other a short sword, both of which gleamed dangerously in the light. She tossed the dagger at Zhou Mi, who barely managed to catch it. “Stab anything that moves.”

Zhou Mi gaped. “But I don’t-”

Qian leapt at Kyuhyun, the sword straight as an arrow. Kyuhyun parried the blow with his scimitar; he drew the scimitar back, then slashed downwards, his face a vicious snarl. Qian side-stepped neatly, kicking at the flat of the scimitar with her leg. Kyuhyun was thrown to the side with a grunt. He regained his footing, then jerked to the side, barely avoiding the stab; Qian’s sword buried itself in the wood mere inches from Kyuhyun’s arm.

Kyuhyun’s face twisted into a cruel sneer; with all his force he kicked, and before Qian could pull the sword out she was sent crashing back into a pillar. Kyuhyun lashed out, his scimitar swinging.

“No!” Zhou Mi exploded; the dagger was a sudden flash of lightning in his hands; he ducked under Kyuhyun’s scimitar and stabbed upwards.

Silence.

Zhou Mi leapt away at the same time as Kyuhyun staggered back, the scimitar falling limply to his side. Four pairs of eyes travelled slowly to Kyuhyun’s torso, falling upon the growing blotch of dark red at his shoulder, and, in the middle of the expanding darkness, the gleaming dagger with its wooden hilt. Kyuhyun’s face went slack. “How did you...”

Qian shot forward and kicked him backwards; he toppled like a domino, writhing in pain as he hit the ground.

Zhou Mi was still staring, speechless, horrified. His hands, suddenly stained with blood, shook.

Qian spun around and grabbed his hand. “Come on! We have to go, before any of his friends come!” She dragged him along a few steps, then cast him an anxious glance. “Come on, I can’t have you blanking out on me now!” She snapped her fingers in front of his face, but that only barely succeeded in rousing him from his stupor. “That...that man...is he...I never meant to...” He shook uncontrollably, the horror in his eyes palpable.

There was a short flash of pity in Qian’s eyes, but it vanished so quickly it seemed to have been imagined. Harshly, she responded. “We don’t have time for this.” She held onto his hand. “Hold on tight. I’m going to use my qinggong to get us out of here.”

And then they flew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“My Lord!”

Luhan looked up, a frown creasing his brows as he set aside the scripts he had been reading. “What are you doing, rushing about in such an undignified manner?”

His personal servant - a man known to the community at large as only Servant Zhang, knelt. “My Lord - there have been reports...they say the Zhou estate was set on fire.”

Luhan’s fingers stilled. “What did you say?”

“The Demon Sect, they attacked the Zhou estate. People say they were looking for your friend, that they’d heard about him being chosen as the Saviour...”

“And? What happened?”

Servant Zhang could only shake his head helplessly. “I don’t know, my Lord. It seems Master Zhou and and his wife and daughter managed to escape the carnage, but I was unable to find out anything about his son.”

Luhan cursed, the sound sudden and startling. He rose without acknowledging the servant, and rushed out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zhou Mi leaned against the walls of the city tiredly; he slid to the ground, in fact, into an undignified heap. “Why have you brought me here?”

Qian stopped fiddling with the harness of her horse and knelt down in front of him. “You have to get your act together, I can’t carry us both out of here.”

Zhou Mi looked at her. “That man, Kyuhyun-”

“That wasn’t a killing blow. You just incapacitated him. And even if you had killed him, then all one could say would be good riddance.” Qian’s voice was curt.

“But that was a human life! How could I just have...”

“It was you or him. Would you rather it have been you, lying on the ground with his scimitar in your stomach as the life bled out of you?” Qian demanded. The image was vivid enough that Zhou Mi’s head jerked up, recoiling, his stomach churning.

“I didn’t think so. This is what it means to be a warrior, Zhou Mi. We do what we must. And that man, Cho Kyuhyun, was a ruthless murderer. He deserved it. We did what was necessary.” Qian’s words were hard, but she lay a hand on Zhou Mi’s shoulder. “Now - are you coming with me?”

There was a long pause. Qian cast a nervous glance around, worried that the Demon Sect was going to catch up with them if this took any longer. But Zhou Mi took a deep, bracing breath. “Okay. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Qian nodded. She extended a hand to help Zhou Mi out, when a familiar voice called out. “Mi!”

Qian whirled around, instinctively falling into a defensive stance. But Zhou Mi stopped her. “Wait! I know him. Luhan!”

Luhan hurried up to the duo; Qian’s eyes brightened to see her sword and dagger. “Where did you-”

“I ran into Servant Lee outside your estate. He said you left this behind. I figured you were leaving now, so I told him I’d bring this to you.” Luhan held the sword and dagger out. Qian retrieved her sword, but nodded towards Zhou Mi. “Take the dagger. It’s yours now.”

Zhou Mi looked startled. “Mine?”

“That’s right. You used it well just now, didn’t you?” Qian’s eyes sparkled, and she grinned.

Hesitantly, Zhou Mi reached out and took the knife from Luhan. There was a pause as their eyes met. Slowly, Luhan reached out and grasped Zhou Mi’s arm. “Must you do this? Must you leave now? Your parents-”

“Those men came for me. If you went to my estate you must have seen. All that blood, those servants who died for us, for me. If I stay any longer, I’ll just be endangering the people around me. I have to go.”

Luhan bit back a sigh. “I guessed you’d say as much. Take care of yourself, Mi. I’ll tell your family.” He hugged Zhou Mi, a tight, strong bear hug. “And make sure you come back and see us once in a while, okay?”

Zhou Mi grasped the back of Luhan’s shirt. “Of course.” He found himself blinking back tears - his grip tightened. “I’ll miss you.”

Luhan drew away from his best friend and looked at Qian. “Take care of him.”

Qian gave a nod. “I will.”

“Then go! Go now, before they catch up!” Luhan pushed at Zhou Mi. Qian swung herself onto her horse and stuck a hand out to help Zhou Mi out. Luhan watched in silence; Zhou Mi could see the tears b in his eyes, his eyes suspiciously bright.

“Goodbye, brother.” Luhan said softly as Qian whirled the horse around and began to gallop away.

And he began to cry. 

----------------------------------------------------------

And I'm back! Wow, it's really been a while, hasn't it? In any case, my exams are all finally over, which means it's practically hols for me now so you can expect a whole slew of updates!

Quite an eventful chapter, this - people fight people, people stab people and people say goodbye to people. The most crucial part of this chapter, though, would be the change in Victoria and Zhou Mi's relationship. Although Zhou Mi might seem like quite a clumsy guy, but he does have potential - and it's also to his advantage that he's so underestimated, as Kyuhyun found out. But this also means that Victoria starts to respect him more instead of seeing him as a dead weight dragging others down - and that's what one would consider the "start" to their blossoming relationship. 

In a way this chapter also signifies the start of a new arc, both for Luhan and for Zhou Mi. Zhou Mi starts on his own adventure, while Luhan finds himself alone, in a way "abandoned" by his friend - this means some major changes will be happening in the next chapter. Just a headsup: there's also a brief timeskip of a year in the next chapter!

In any case, please remember to comment and subscribe!