[Yao Capital · Night Street]
The night was deep, yet the streetlamps still burned.
Xiao You and Liu Yan moved one after the other, hidden beneath the shadow of the eaves, their eyes fixed on a figure not far ahead.
"This is the third night," Xiao You murmured, voice low and sharp. "By day he weeps in the market. By night he wanders these streets alone… like he's waiting for someone."
Liu Yan stayed calm, though her fingers tightened around the short blade in her sleeve. Her voice was cool as frost. "But the past two nights, his routes have been chaotic. No pattern at all."
Before her words fully fell, "Ling Shuo" suddenly turned and slipped into a narrow alley. They moved to follow, and both of them jolted.
In the web of lanes ahead, three "Ling Shuos" appeared at once, backs turned, heading in different directions.
Liu Yan halted instantly. "Illusions."
Xiao You's eyes narrowed. One hand went to his sword, the other forming a quick hand-seal to break wards. A pale flicker of light passed, and two of the "Ling Shuos" dissolved like smoke, leaving only the true shadow.
"…Good thing you warned me in time," Xiao You said under his breath. A thin sheen of sweat had already formed at his temple.
Liu Yan's lips curved with cold satisfaction. "If you'd come alone, you'd have been played in circles."
Xiao You snorted, refusing to bite back this time, and they continued after him.
[Outskirts of Yao Capital · Abandoned Well]
The well's mouth was broken, wild grass choking its rim.
Wind howled. Moonlight fell like ice.
Xiao You chased the shifting silhouette and didn't see the ground give way until it was too late.
Boom.
He dropped straight into the well.
The walls had been tampered with, studded with barbs and loose stone. His shoulder slammed hard. Blood seeped through his sleeve at once.
"Tch…!" He swallowed the pain, hand locked tight on his sword-hilt, scanning the darkness.
Then a rope fell from above.
From the rim came Liu Yan's voice, cold but urgent. "Grab it!"
Xiao You looked up and saw her braced one-handed on the edge, the other gripping the rope so hard her arm trembled.
"You…" He froze for half a breath.
Liu Yan frowned and snapped, "What are you staring at? If you want to die, let go!"
His chest tightened. He reached up and seized the rope.
His weight dragged it taut, cutting into Liu Yan's palm until blood seeped, yet she didn't release. Inch by inch, they hauled him up, stumbling together over the lip and collapsing onto the ground.
—
Xiao You's shoulder kept bleeding, soaking an entire sleeve red.
Liu Yan tore a strip from the hem of her own clothing and bound his wound with quick, practiced movements.
"Endure it," she said roughly. Her voice was hard, but her hands were steady in a way that didn't match her tone.
Xiao You let out a low grunt. His gaze fell on her focused profile, and something in his chest… shifted.
"…This time," he said through clenched teeth, "I'll count it as you saving me."
Liu Yan paused and shot him a sidelong look. "What, no sarcasm?"
Xiao You pressed his lips together. After a moment, he muttered, "We're even."
Their eyes met briefly in the dim moonlight. For the first time, the air between them wasn't all thorns.
Liu Yan's mouth twitched, almost a smile. "At least you've got a conscience."
Xiao You didn't answer. Rare silence settled over him, and the pain in his shoulder seemed strangely muffled by another unfamiliar beat in his chest.
The wind swept through, dispersing the scent of blood and weeds. Shoulder to shoulder by the well, they rested for a moment, their minds loosening in a way neither of them would admit.
Night deepened. Moonlight spread over the grass-path.
Xiao You and Liu Yan walked side by side, their footsteps unusually loud in the quiet.
Bloodstains and dust still marked them both. Neither spoke. Only insects, wind, and their matching breaths filled the space.
Liu Yan looked down. Her fingertips still stung, raw from the rope burn. She meant to hide it, but the corner of her eye caught Xiao You's slight limp, and her chest tightened.
"…Your waist. Is it alright?" she asked lightly.
Xiao You glanced at her. His face remained cold, but the usual edge wasn't there.
"Less than your hand," he answered.
Liu Yan blinked, then pressed her lips together, and for once, didn't throw a retort back.
A single sentence, simple as it was, carried their shared near-death into the hush of the road like an unspoken pact.
—
The night wind tangled their hair.
Xiao You suddenly lifted a hand and wiped a smear of blood from her forehead, his touch startlingly gentle.
"Next time," he said hoarsely, "don't force it."
Liu Yan's heart jolted. She didn't pull away. Only replied, flat as ever, "Likewise."
They looked at each other once, then said nothing more.
But from that moment on, both of them understood: the hostility between them had begun, quietly, to melt into something closer to trust.
When they reached the edge of the city lights, their shadows stretched long under the moon, walking tightly side by side.
Neither of them stepped away.
[Yao Capital · West Market · Dark Alley]
The night market had mostly dispersed. Only a few stubborn lanterns remained.
Xiao You and Liu Yan walked through the dim alley, their steps weaving with distant dogs barking.
"Don't you think Ling Shuo is appearing a little too… 'perfectly timed'?" Xiao You spoke low, eyes cold.
Liu Yan lifted a brow, giving a faint hum. "I noticed ages ago. That village should've suffered heavy casualties. Instead, only a few houses were ruined. He arrives 'just in time' and becomes the savior."
Xiao You's lips curved with a thin chill. "Too many coincidences stop being coincidences."
Liu Yan flicked him a glance, her tone still barbed. "Didn't think your brain could turn that fast."
Xiao You gave a short, icy snort. "And you finally admit it?"
Their words still carried sparks, yet at the next corner, they naturally shifted, blocking each other's blind spots without needing to say it aloud.
Liu Yan spotted a suspicious silhouette ahead, her hidden weapon stirring at her waist.
Xiao You spoke first, quiet and firm. "Left is mine. You watch the right."
No more was needed.
One step, and they settled back-to-back. In a blink, the scouts hidden in the alley were subdued one by one.
—
Silence returned.
Liu Yan sheathed her short blade, the corner of her mouth lifting. "Not bad. You didn't drag me down."
Xiao You scoffed. "If I hadn't blocked the one on the left, you'd have been pierced by a hidden arrow."
Liu Yan lifted her eyes. A faint, almost invisible smile flickered through them. "Likewise."
They didn't say it outright, but they both knew:
They were no longer two opposing watchers guarding against each other.
They were a tacit alliance.
Their mouths still fought. Their bodies, without thinking, protected.
That subtle change was sturdier than any vow.
[Yao Capital · Alley Behind the Relay Lodge · Night]
Moonlight was pale. Warm lamplight spilled through the lodge's lattice windows.
Xiao You and Liu Yan hid in shadow, eyes fixed on the side door.
Not long after, it opened without a sound.
Ling Shuo (Ye Yi) slipped out in dark clothing, face stern, moving fast.
The two exchanged a look and followed wordlessly.
His movements were strange. He met no one, avoided familiar roads, and drifted through barren alleys as though pacing an invisible boundary. Sometimes he even paused, deliberately leaving a trail of footprints, as if inviting pursuit.
Liu Yan frowned. "Is he… luring us into something?"
Xiao You's voice was cold. "Even if it's a trap, we step in. Otherwise we'll never learn what he is."
They pushed forward.
They followed him to an abandoned temple when suddenly the sigil-lines at the corners of the walls lit faintly. Black mist surged up.
The ground collapsed into a gaping pit.
Liu Yan gasped and fell.
Xiao You lunged, clamping her wrist in a death grip and pulling, but the force dragged them both down into the trap.
Boom!
Earth and stone sealed shut overhead. Black mist coiled around them, choking the air.
Liu Yan forced down panic, slicing the dark vines binding Xiao You's arm. "Don't move!" she barked, voice sharp, hands shaking.
Xiao You gritted his teeth and shoved her aside just as a section of wall gave way. He took the impact instead, a fresh slash of blood opening at his shoulder.
"Damn it!" Liu Yan's eyes snapped wide. There was no time for anger. She tore fabric and pressed it to his wound.
Xiao You's face had gone pale, but for once, he didn't sneer.
"Don't panic," he said low. "With you here, I won't die."
Liu Yan's heart stuttered. Her hands froze for a beat. Her breath slipped out of rhythm.
They fought together through mist and mechanism, covering each other until they broke through and tumbled back into the night on a street corner.
Both of them were battered and bleeding, yet they still sat back-to-back on the stone steps, gasping for air.
In the moonlight, Liu Yan turned her head and saw Xiao You's hand trembling around his sword. Something sour tightened in her chest.
Xiao You looked over and saw the cut at her temple, and his fingers curled slightly.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke, yet both felt their hearts tremble at the same realization:
They no longer saw each other as merely "the other side's shadow."
In the dark, neither said it aloud, only admitted it privately:
Without the other, they might already be dead.
[Crown Prince's Eastern Pavilion]
Morning light seeped through the windows.
Si Mo Yan sat at his desk, reviewing documents.
Liu Yan knelt and reported steadily. "Your Highness, these past days Ling Shuo has been slipping out of the relay lodge near midnight. His movements are suspicious. He circles multiple alleys, vanishes repeatedly, yet never once makes contact with anyone."
Si Mo Yan lifted his eyes, gaze deep. "This man… is not simple."
After a pause, he ordered, "Keep watching. But do not alert him. I want to see who he intends to bait."
"Yes." Liu Yan accepted the command.
Yet the details of the black-mist formation, of Xiao You shielding her, of how close they'd come to death, she swallowed down and locked away.
—That was not something the Crown Prince should know.
[Yao South Hidden Manor · Third Prince's Chamber]
At the same time, Xiao You knelt on one knee, voice clipped and cold.
"Your Highness, in recent nights Ling Shuo has been slipping out at midnight, circling deserted alleys, deliberately leaving traces. I suspect he's luring someone into a trap."
Si Mo Heng's expression darkened; a cold laugh escaped him. "Playing tricks. Keep him tightly watched. Sooner or later he'll show a crack."
"Yes." Xiao You bowed, unwavering.
And he, too, omitted every detail involving Liu Yan.
He didn't mention how she bound his wounds.
Didn't mention how they fought side by side to escape.
—That was not something the Third Prince should know.
They still served different masters, one under the Eastern Palace, one in the shadow-guard camp.
Yet after sharing life and death in traps and mist, they both made the same choice without needing to discuss it:
Report Ling Shuo.
Do not report each other.
Morning wind passed through the halls. Far apart, in two different places, the same secret thought rose in both hearts:
In this vortex, the only person you can trust with your back… might be them.
[Life in the Shadows]
Day after day.
Ling Shuo's movements remained strange. By day, he wore the face of a righteous man. By night, he wandered alone through barren alleys.
The Crown Prince and the Third Prince both ordered constant surveillance.
And so Xiao You and Liu Yan watched the same back, in the same night, again and again.
At first, they saw each other as trouble.
But time tempered trouble into rhythm, and rhythm into understanding.
[A Growing Rhythm]
Ling Shuo suddenly stopped, feigning a backward glance.
Liu Yan's eyes shifted. She murmured, "Three breaths. He'll turn back."
Xiao You didn't even hesitate. He circled to seal the next alley mouth.
They moved like comrades who'd fought together for years, saying little, matching everything.
Once, Liu Yan noticed his steps falter and flicked him a pill without a word.
Another time, Xiao You saw an arrow skim past her and snapped his sword-flat to deflect it.
No thanks. No speeches. Just a look that said: I saw. I covered you.
[Something Quiet Taking Root]
Some nights they lay prone on rooftops, silent as stone, watching.
Below them: lanterns and voices.
Above them: cold moon and scattered stars.
On one especially bitter night, Liu Yan's hand trembled beneath her sleeve.
A cloak dropped soundlessly over her shoulders.
She turned and found Xiao You's face hard as ever, eyes fixed on the distance, refusing to meet hers.
"…Don't freeze," he muttered. "If an agent gets sick, it's hard to explain."
Liu Yan's lips moved, then she settled on a single, quiet answer.
"…Thanks."
Neither of them smiled, yet warmth stirred in both chests.
[A Spreading Atmosphere]
Day by day, that unspoken feeling spread like fog in the shadows.
In daylight, they were still the Crown Prince's and the Third Prince's eyes.
But in the dark, each breath, each footstep, each low warning became the steadiest comfort.
From guarding against each other,
to alliance,
to this strange, quiet heartbeat that neither dared name.
They never said it aloud, but they both understood:
This surveillance didn't only bind Ling Shuo.
It was also, quietly, binding their hearts.