I never play fair when I want to win

I emerge from the small house at the edge of the city in a simple, light blue and white robe. I’ve never worn something as effortlessly and charmingly elegant in its simplicity. Liu Renqing walks next to me in clothes so dark blue, they almost seem black, even in the sunshine. We don’t exactly look like commoners, but we don’t look like fighters either. Just a nice couple on a romantic walk together. From Liu Renqing’s smile, I can read that this is exactly what he wanted, and I feel so bad for him that I want to indulge him for now.

“Blue fits you,” he says as he pulls on his collar. We fall into step next to each other. The walk up to the dam will take about an hour if we take it slow.

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“I like blue,” I admit and receive a brilliant smile in response. “Now tell me you didn’t just dress me up in blue because I was wearing red yesterday.”

“That may be part of the reason.”

As stoic and cold he is to Feng Yu and most of the rest of the world, he is always completely different to Murong Zhiyu. I realise that maybe he clings to her because she is a memory of the time he was happy in Huoyun Sect. He is different here, with her. His posture is relaxed and the lines on his face less deep as we walk out of the city gate and into the valley beyond. This small gate, which leads only towards Yueji Lake, is usually closed, but they open it without protest for the general’s son. The guards try not to stare too much at him in casual clothes, but they fail miserably. I can’t blame them. With every step he becomes a different person.

We chat as we walk, or rather Liu Renqing talks, tells me stories of the city, of what he experienced working in the guard for the last few months. I don’t have much to tell, since I don’t know what Murong Zhiyu did before I took over her body, but he seems content for me to just listen. At some point, he reaches out and slips his hand into mine, and I don’t draw it back. Anyone watching us would see a couple in love, stealing a few moments together away in their busy day.

“What do you think of Feng Yu?” Liu Renqing suddenly asks as we already approach the dam from below.

It looms over us, an impressive wall of stacked boulders with several little outlets, from which water pours as small waterfalls. The air here is damp and cool, which is a marked difference from the dry desert climate outside the valley. Plants grow abundantly, moss catches the water spray and I can hear the noise of insects and frogs even over the rushing water in the distance.

“He’s a good person,” I reply. “Both of you are.”

“Mhm.”

“I don’t know if I love him, if that’s what you wanted to know. And I don’t know if I love you, either.”

“You never mince your words. That’s one thing I love about you. Though I had hoped for a better answer.”

“I like both of you for different reasons. I wish we could all be friends, but—”

“I know. Let’s search the area. This is more important now.”

You don’t know how important you two are to the city. Even if I can’t get them together, if they return to be friends and I can keep this amiable relationship between us three going until after the attack, I hope it will be sufficient.

“What do you think of Feng Yu?”

Liu Renqing stares at me for a moment, then sighs. “I’ve thought about that during the last few days. He was my best friend and confidant once. I hope he can be again. Now shut up and go.”

The general bleeds through his last words and I salute him before I go ahead, while he shakes his head. He’s right, the potential threat through the explosives is more important. I grab the basket closer and turn around to shout at Liu Renqing, so that it echoes in the valley.

“I’m going to look over here. It grows in the waterfall spray.”

“Alright, I’ll look over here,” he shouts back.

If there’s anyone watching over the dam, they should’ve definitely heard us. I walk towards it, until I can feel the water vapour on my skin and start searching the area. Slowly I edge forward until I am partially hidden between a waterfall and the canyon wall. It’s wet and cold down here. It smells fresh and earthy and I can breathe easily in the moist air. But most of all I can feel the energy of the artefact in water. Since Murong Zhiyu’s body is attuned to it, it soaks it up like a sponge. All ache and fatigues from the previous day fall from me and I can literally feel the power run through my veins.

Empowered, I close my eyes and concentrate on lifeforms within the valley, trying to mimic the way I felt Murong Zhiyu do it herself with the monsters. While I’m not as proficient as her, it works better than the first time. I can feel Liu Renqing’s energy close by, can even feel the fish and frogs, the small animals scurrying around in the trees and vines. And then… There’s something else. Something larger. High up above me. I look up, but I can’t see anything through the spray. Still, it feels different. Closer to Liu Renqing than to an animal. Someone is definitely watching us. That means something is hidden here, and if we openly find it, they will be alarmed.

I bend low and collect some of the mushrooms from the wall, which grow large and fat where the soil is moist. There are some plants I’ve never seen, so they go into the basket. When I emerge from the corner, I see Liu Renqing with a handful of blue-ish leaves. I walk over to him and he raises an eyebrow when he sees the random collection in my basket, yet places the ones he picked on it anyway.

“There’s someone watching us from above,” I whisper to him, barely audible over the noise of the rushing water.

“I found a waterproof crate half buried at the bottom of the wall. There must be more.”

“Fuck,” I say, empathically.

“Don’t look. We need to keep up our cover. Come, we haven’t searched over there yet.”

We proceed to the middle of the dam and pick some aquatic plants, the leaves of which are floating in the bubbling water of the stream. Liu Renqing elbows me and covertly points to his left, where I can see another, half hidden crate. Its colours make it blend perfectly into the environment. They actually changed their tactic. I’m shivering, and it’s not because of the cool air.

“Come on, let’s take a break. I’ve seen some edible berries over there. I’m going to pick them. You sit here.”

I gratefully sit where he directed me, on a large boulder in the stream just far enough from the dam to not be wet, yet when the wind changes I can still feel the spray on my face. I look up the dam. It’s not the tallest I’ve ever seen, but I’ve been at the bottom of Yueji Lake and know the enormous amount of water locked behind it, distributed far into a network of various valleys. If this dam breaks, the city of Xiyang will be razed.

To not look up and try to spot the spy, I concentrate on sorting the plants instead. I have no idea what any of them are, but I tie them into bundles with some long grass blades that grow just in reach. Shortly after, Liu Renqing sits down next to me with a chuckle.

“You really have no idea about what you’ve picked, do you?”

I blush and shake my head. “I was always focused on different things. But if I pick one of everything, one must be good, right?”

Liu Renqing barks a laugh. “As long as you don’t touch anything poisonous.”

“Oh, I forgot that’s a thing…”

He takes my hand into his.

“Of course you would. Dragons are immune to poison. Legend tells of a physician of the dragon family, who would absorb poison from his patient’s bodies to cure them. You would know better if that's actually true.”

The rush of the water is so loud here, there’s no way we can be heard, but I turn my head so that my lips can’t be read either. You never know.

“I left home when I was very young. I didn’t have much time with my mother and sisters to tell me stories. My destiny was not that of a princess. I can’t be associated with them.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Seems like neither of us can do what we want,” I say with a smile.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

I look up as Liu Renqing puts a hand on the back of my head and draws me in for another kiss. He’s slow this time. Careful. It would take a stronger person than me to resist. He holds me like I’m made of glass and he’s so warm. His smile when he draws back is like honey.

“Are you sure you’re not in love with me?” he asks and his grin is so cheeky, I want to punch him, so I do. He catches my hand and laughs. “I get it, I get it. I will wait and make peace with the chicken in the meantime. But I will never let you go. And I don’t think you want to let me go either.”

“You’re not playing fair.”

“I never play fair when I want to win.”