By the time Chun Hai arrived at the Long army camp, he was promptly informed by Prince Houyi's spy that Prince Rui had been moved to Jingli city. And so Chun Hai had no choice but to change his plans and follow him there.

While his chances of escape were better in a city as opposed to an enemy army camp, the problem was that he would be left to figure out how to infiltrate the residence Prince Rui was be staying at on his own.

The spies Prince Houyi had in the army could not help him there because they had no ties to anyone in the unit that was guarding Prince Rui as they part of the Emperor's personal army. They even refused to attempt to help out of fear of exposure.

As for the escorts, Prince Houyi had sent along with him, the men told Chun Hai that they were only meant to bring him to the camp and were not authorized to enter Long country itself. So they wished him good luck and then left with haste.

This was honestly starting to feel like a setup, it was as if Prince Houyi wanted him to die on this mission.

Chun Hai knew Prince Houyi so there was no way he did not have some other plan in play here. He did not understand the reason Prince Houyi seemed fixated on wanting him to assassinate Prince Rui.

It seemed Prince Houyi had taken his botched assassination mission from the past very personal. Perhaps, he even thought that he had become sort of spy for Prince Rui because matter how Chun Hai thought about it, there was no reason he had to be the one...unless Prince Houyi wanted him to prove a point, that or he wanted him dead.

Chun Hai honestly did not understand Prince Houyi anymore, if he could not trust him then why not just let them go? Did all their years of friendship count for nothing in his eyes?

With a heavy heart, Chun Hai arrived at Jingli city. He had to believe that no matter what happens here, Prince Houyi would keep his word and keep Chun Hua safe.

He found the residence Prince Rui was staying at and after scoping it out for the last two days, he decided that tonight would be the night for his mission. He did not have the luxury of time, after all, he was still a wanted man in Long country and Prince Houyi could always change his mind and think he ran away if he took too long.

Also if he were captured in Long country, knowing Prince Houyi, he might just hand Chun Hua over as a way to smooth things over with his father. After all, Prince Houyi had already said that failure was not an option for him, he could not return empty-handed.

Even Chun Hai died here, he had to ensure that Prince Rui died with him.

So that night Chun Hai prepared himself with poison-laced weapons of all kinds and stealthily made his way to Prince Rui's residence. He entered the manor from a blind spot in security and so slipped into the manor unnoticed. Getting in unseen was the easy part, navigating to Prince Rui's room would not be so easy.

Chun Hai hid in the shadows and stalked around, looking for a lonely soldier to attack. He finally found one and stealthily grabbed the man from behind and covered his mouth and nose with a poison soaked cloth as he strangled the man in a chokehold.

Then he carried the man's body to a more secluded spot under a little bridge and quickly switched out the man's uniform for his and then hid the body in the bushes, completely out of sight.

All done very quietly to avoid disturbing the silence of the night. Dressed as a soldier, Chun Hai confidently went about making his "rounds".

But then as he walked around, he stumbled onto the scene of Prince Rui standing in a courtyard, staring up at the moon alone. Chun Hai was elated with his good luck and swiftly hid in the corner and surveyed the scene.

There were soldiers in the area, but they were far enough that they could not stop his attack and neither could they clearly identify him from the distance.

He considered simply throwing a few poison knives but to be able to ensure a clear shot, he would need to come out of his hiding spot and that would raise alarm.?While Prince Rui may not be the best fighter, he did have keen senses and might be able to avoid the knives at a moment's notice.

If that happened, then Chun Hai would lose the opportunity completely. The alarm would be raised and the soldiers would swarm the area and he would have to flee. The security would also be raised in the residence so he might not get another chance at this.

Therefore, he concluded throwing knives was too much of a gamble.

So he considered a close-range attack, he would have the advantage of surprise and in one swift move, Prince Rui would be no more. The soldiers would chase him, but he believed he could easily blend back into their ranks and then slip out unnoticed. Either that or he could outrun them. So he seems a close-range attack was his best chance for success was.

The plan was set, he would slit Prince Rui's throat.

So Chun Hai calmly and unassumingly approached Prince Rui. He slipped the poison daggers into his palms and stopped behind Prince Rui, cupped his hands, and slightly bowed his head and called, "Prince Rui..."

Prince Rui blinked and began to turn around as Chun Hai waited for his moment, poised to attack once Prince Rui's jugular was in clear shot.

But then Prince Rui turned to find no one behind him. Prince Rui knit his brows in confusion, he was certain he had heard someone call him. He sighed and then massaged his head and decided it was probably just the stress of the whole situation. He was worried for his father, for Nalan and himself.

The soldiers who were in the area also glanced at each other, confused, wondering if any of the others had been paying attention and seen that, each trying to verify that they were not hallucinating. But they all just looked at each other and then looked back to Prince Rui, now on high alert.

Men dressed in black on the surrounding roofs also glanced at each other in confusion and one of them asked, "You saw that, right?"

"The soldier disappeared..."

"I had heard the reports but it is truly hard to believe..." Another responded. He had heard the reports of the fugitives that escaped the Emperor's grasps by disappearing right in the middle of the fight.

"There was someone else, a bald man right then behind the soldier and then the soldier was gone..." Another one shared his observation with a frown.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. A bald man in white robes. It was just a glimpse but I saw him..." The keen-eyed man repeated with a frown.

The man who seemed to be their leader frowned and ordered, "Go report this to General An. They must have something to do with the fugitives the Emepror is hunting. Double the soldiers on duty, the Prince is not to left alone like that again..."

The men nodded and the keen-eyed man turned and swiftly left.

Shortly after two soldiers approached Prince Rui and stood behind him, while another set of soldiers joined the watch in the area.

Prince Rui glanced at them but they simply bowed their heads and did not say anything and he also did not bother to ask. Even if he did, they would not have told him anything. An Hao had dumped in here with the entire unit ordering them to protect him and then left.

The men provided for him but they were definitely not under his command, they did not answer any questions besides basic ones and did not permit him to leave. But Prince Rui did not need to be told that something had just happened to warrant this increased level of security.

He would need to write to his father again.

***

Chun Hai suddenly found himself in a dark forest, he promptly turned around to find Monk Du standing behind him and then let out a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?" Monk Du calmly asked looking at him with raised eyebrows.

Chun Hai sighed in relief and sat down on the ground and asked, "...Isn't it a bit early for your return?"

"My master sent me on a mission to bring someone to him... I sensed you were in danger and so came to you. You would have died there... Why do you want to kill that man?" Monk Du asked, holding his hands behind his back.

Chun Hai sighed again and explained, "Houyi is holding Huayan hostage, if I don't kill him, he'll have her imprisoned or worse..."

"I see..." Monk Du said with a nod, "It seems you two have gotten yourselves in quite a lot of trouble. I have heard the rumors..."

"I'm sorry..." Chun Hai said, "I didn't have much of a choice but to use it in public...But no one except Houyi knows about you - I didn't tell him but he figured it out." Chun Hai swiftly clarified, he then frowned and said, "Don't worry, he won't tell others either, he would hate for someone else to find you first..." He sheepishly finished. He was anxious that Monk Du would ask what he did with those crystals he had given him.

He was feeling ashamed about having to explain how he wasted them on his sister's stupid whim, he was disappointed in himself and he knew Monk Du would also be disappointed and may never trust him with such again.

Monk Du was quiet for a while and to Chun Hai's relief, he simply said, "Even if they found me I would not be able to do much for them either...let's go find your sister." He said with a sigh.

His master would understand a slight delay. After all, this may very well be the last time.

Chun Hai smiled and then promptly got up, there was hope again. Monk Du was here and so everything would be fine. Monk Du put a hand on his shoulder and then asked him to envision where he left Chun Hua and as stealthily as they appeared in the forest, they were gone.