Little Purple

"Fabulous! That was a nice performance, Guang'er!" Qing Bo tried to make it sounded as convincing as he could. He gave a rare happy smile while moving his eyes to Qing Guang, giving her signals so that she could improvise the act.

Af first, Qing Guang was lost, but right after Qing Bo gave her a wink, she immediately understood what he meant. "Of… Of course, Brother, it was a move I have been practicing for a long time, ho, ohoho!"

"I see, is that why you also cut your hair? To make it easier to move around in?"

"Yes, Brother, you are right." Some of the commoners believed what they said, but some were suspicious.

At this time, Hu Zi, who was feeling guilty, shouted, "That was such a nice performance, it looked so real!" She clapped her hands loudly. "I can't believe that the young lady of the Qing residence could move like this. It must have taken a lot of practice to imitate the moves of a martial artist like that."

"Was, was it really just a performance?" one of Hu Ye's comrades spoke. "Her movements just now were even faster than mine… It must have been an act, there's no way that a normal, pampered young lady from such an esteemed household could repel an assassin attack."

Hu Ye glanced at his comrade. "Won't it be scarier if that move was just an act? If such a move is an act, how fast will the real movement be?" Hu Ye commented from his heart. "She is a better soldier than the rest of us."

"Everyone, calm down and let this ceremony end peacefully. Even if the real assassin is here, none of you should be afraid. Behold!" Hu Zi pulled Shou to the front. "The legendary white demon!"

"..." Shou, who was trying to detect the assassin's whereabouts with his wind, was shocked speechless because of Hu Zi's action. He whispered, "Just what are you doing?"

"Shut up and cooperate with me, okay."

"But the culprit…"

"He is gone."

"What?" Shou's eyes widened.

"He disappeared," Hu Zi said nervously. "I was using my radar all this time, and I 'saw' that guy disappear into thin air."

In the end, after much pretensions and lies, most of the commoners fell for it. The rest that didn't fall for the trick thought that they shouldn't make a fuss about it because it would only make people uneasy.

Hu Ye looked up just before the fifth row moved out, his eyes coming to meet with Qing Guang's. She opened her mouth and tried to say something, and though he could not hear her clearly, he sure did see what she was trying to say. "Don't let the skill I taught you go to waste. You better come back with a lot of accomplishment, brat."

Hu Ye's eyes widened. He didn't think that the cold and prideful teacher of his would say something like that. He smiled her way before he left.

-----

Hu Ye left to fight in many battles. As a soldier, he experienced many wins and many losses, he also experienced how it felt to have his comrades die one by one. Hu Ye ended up spending his teenage years on the battlefield. He didn't come back for so many years and could only contact his family at home through the messenger. One day, a letter from Hu Zi came, telling him about the news at home, about the new edict that was given to the Qing residence.


"Young Master, are you there?" Falcon called to Hu Ye in front of his tent. Because he didn't hear the answer despite trying to call him for so many times, he decided to walk in. He opened the drape and peeked inside the dimly lit tent. His eyes looked around the tent, searching for the figure of a man that was covered by the shadow of the hanging. "Young Master?"

Hu Ye looked to the back. Falcon jolted when he saw his face, it was derived out of its usual calm and stoic expression. He seemed troubled. Falcon eyes widened, wondering what kind of problem would be able to make his calm and impenetrable young master feel so troubled.

"Brother Falcon." Hu Ye looked at the ground. "Have you ever thought about marriage?"

Falcon was taken aback. Behind that white mask, his cheeks blushed. "Yes, I have. I have been thinking about it since a long time ago." He could not say that at that time, he had wanted to marry Hu Ye's first sister. Hu Ye looked at him, his sharp gaze asking for confirmation. "I am thinking of marrying at the same time as Sui."

"Why at the same time as Doctor Fa?" Hu Ye blinked twice.

"Well, if I were to marry earlier than him he would be left alone, wouldn't he?" Falcon and Fa Sui had been together since a very long time, both of them orphans, making their relationship close even though there were times when they went on a long journey like how he went to the battlefield and Fa Sui went to the medical academy.

"Then what are you planning to do after marriage? Will you still go to the battlefield like this? Won't your wife be lonely at home?"

"I don't think I will go to the battlefield anymore. Since I calculated that the Great General will be retired at that time, I was planning to serve the residence even after my marriage." Falcon smiled before he remembered the reason he was looking for Hu Ye. "Young Master, the Great General wants you to be ready to go home before sun rise."