White Root Village was quiet. Too quiet.
Despite the murder, despite the imperial letter, life went on as though nothing had happened. The people tilled their fields. Children played by the river. The butcher shouted prices.
But Shen felt it.
That watchful presence.A predator, patient.The Knife in the Curtain was still among them.
As the noon sun climbed overhead, the village square bustled with preparations for the Rice Offering Festival.
The Crown Prince had agreed to attend—an effort to calm the people.
But Shen was on edge.
"A festival is the perfect stage," he muttered to General Kang. "Plenty of eyes. Plenty of noise. Easy for someone to strike… and vanish."
Kang nodded grimly. "I've placed twenty guards. In and out of uniform."
Shen glanced toward the performers setting up the stage.
One of them caught his eye—a young woman in red, dancing alone, gracefully… unnaturally.
Too perfect.
When the drums began, Shen and Li Ren sat at the center of the square.
The villagers cheered.
The performers danced.
The woman in red took center stage.
And then — she spun, twirled, dropped into a kneel—
—and flung a concealed dagger directly at Shen.
CLANG!
A blur moved.
General Kang intercepted the blade with his saber.
"ASSASSIN!" someone shouted.
But the woman in red was already gone—leaping from the stage and vanishing into the smoke bombs her accomplices released.
A chase erupted.
Shen moved like lightning, vaulting over crates, dodging panicked villagers.
He cornered the assassin in an alleyway near the temple bell.
She turned, smirked…
And ripped off her mask.
Not a woman.
It was Commander Ji.
Li Ren's personal bodyguard.
The man who swore to protect him.
"You?" Shen's voice was cold.
Ji chuckled, blood leaking from a gash in his leg.
"You think the Crown Prince doesn't have enemies?" he whispered. "Even your dear brother plays his pieces, Shen. Don't act surprised. You were never meant to return."
Li Ren arrived seconds later.
He saw the blood. The betrayal.
Ji's smirk vanished.
"I served you since you were seven," he spat. "And yet, you protect him?"
Li Ren drew his blade.
"You served a Crown Prince. But you forgot the throne isn't yours to control."
A single stroke.
Ji collapsed, severed by the hand he once swore to protect.
Later that night, Shen stood alone at the cliff overlooking the valley.
Li Ren joined him, silent.
"He said even you wanted me gone."
Li Ren didn't answer at first.
Then softly, "I don't know what I want anymore. But I do know this…"
"If Father sees you as a threat, then I'll stand beside you. Even if the empire calls me traitor."
Shen looked at his twin.
For the first time in both their lives…They weren't prince and shadow.
They were brothers.