Master Yin sat on the floor, bound so that he could not escape. His attention was entirely on Song Mengyao, despite the danger he too was in. It had been hours and the bandits hadn't even bothered to bandage his head, not even after Master Yin told them who he was. They simply did not care.

His own hand was throbbing, multiple small bones were certainly broken, but that didn't matter. It didn't matter because it had been hours and Song Mengyao was still unconscious, still bleeding.

"What do you want with us? Why keep us here? You can have everything you found, all of it. Just let us go so I can help him."

The man whom Yin Jianguo had assumed was the leader of the bandits chuckled, "It's just a little blood and by the looks of it he could do with some roughing up. What a delicate little thing."

"If you touch him again, you'll face-"

"'The wrath of the Yin Clan.' I know, you've already used that line. Just sit there and shut up, will you?"

Master Yin scowled and continued to look for a way out of their predicament. Only, when he heard a groan to his side, he turned back to Song Mengyao who, it seemed, was finally waking up. With a breath of relief, he made another attempt to move closer to check the prince's wound, only to be stopped by the tight ropes around him.

"Are you alright?"

Song Mengyao needed a moment to reset himself. He blinked a couple of times and noticed the throbbing pain on the side of his head. When his vision began to clear, a face came into focus.

"M- Master Yin?"

He was confused, memories of what happened not too long ago only just coming to mind. They were attacked—caught off guard—and now, they were here.

Master Yin exhaled deeply but offered a soft smile after realising that the young prince was truly okay. He seemed somewhat disorientated, but he was okay and that was what mattered most.

"Finally awake, huh?" The leader of the bandits crouched before Song Mengyao and grabbed his chin, tilting his head to get a better look at him. "So, this is the Magnolia Prince of Shiyanyi? What a pretty little thing."

Jerking his head away, Song Mengyao scowled. He was a prince and certainly not used to being manhandled, especially not by such dirty, scruffy hands.

"Feisty. The boys will like you."

"What do you want from us? A ransom I suppose? I can assure you that will not lean in your favour. You will get your money, but you will meet the end of a blade soon after." Master Yin hoped to reason with the bandits or, at the very least, to buy some time while he thought up an escape plan.

The man turned his attention to Master Yin and chuckled, "Ransom? No, we will be long gone before either of your clans catch wind of your disappearance."

"Why not kill us already then? You clearly won't be bringing us along to accompany you. Unless you're working for someone? Someone that wants us alive... but who?"

"Someone shut him up."

Although Yin Jianguo was more than displeased to have an old rag shoved into his mouth, he had learnt something. Now, he simply had to figure out what was going on and who would have a motive to abduct the two of them.

It couldn't be the Song Sect for Song Mengyao had been hurt. Nor could it be the Luó Sect as they had no reason for such action. In fact, all nearby sects were on good terms with both the Yin and Song Sects. Not to mention, paying bandits to do the dirty work was a dead giveaway that it was not the work of any sect he knew as they would never stoop to such a level. So, it had to be someone else. Someone with motive, someone alone. But who?

"Now, let's have a look at that nasty little wound, shall we?" The leader of the bandits turned his attention upon Song Mengyao once again, brushing his thumb over the gash in the boy's skin.

To say it did not hurt would be a lie, but Song Mengyao only showed any sign of a reaction when the man pushed his thumb into the broken skin. He hissed, gritting his teeth at the harsh sting, and once again jerked his head away.

"I'm only trying to help," the bandit smirked, removing his thumb to grab a bandage from beside him.

He was not trying to help and tied the fabric much too tight around the wound, only causing it to sting more. Song Mengyao, at first, believed that would be the last of it, only to find that initial thought was very wrong. It was just the beginning of the torment.

"We ought to check you over, see you if you have any other injuries. Don't you agree boys?" The man snickered and slowly began to pull at the fabric of Song Mengyao's robe, pulling it to the side just enough to begin revealing pale skin.

The rest of the bandits chuckled, agreeing with their leader as they circled around the young prince, all eager to get their hands on him.

Yin Jianguo hadn't seen this coming—not in a million years—but he should have. It was no secret to him that there were men who desired other men, even when such men desired women too. Nor was it particularly a surprise to him that he would not have been the only man ever enticed by the elegance and beauty that Song Mengyao held. He hadn't, however, even considered the possibility that someone would act on that impulse against the prince's will. He should have been more prepared.

With a gag in his mouth, it was impossible to call out and distract the bandits as he had done before. He had run out of time and needed to act fast in order to save the prince from such a fate. And so, Master Yin closed his eyes and focused. Not on the sound of Song Mengyao struggling to get away. Not on the sound of the bandits cheering and laughing as they slowly stripped him of his clothes. No, he concentrated only on the beats of his heart as he called to the power within him, to his Qi.

It all happened rather suddenly really. A burst of energy unlike any other and Master Yin was free, his life force alone slicing through the ropes which bound him. He pulled the gag from his mouth and lunged at the enemy, fighting through the bandits with ease until they all lay scattered and groaning on the floor.

Song Mengyao sighed, although it was clear he was rather shaken up, and pulled his robes back together. They had only managed to expose his chest, his robe hanging off one shoulder, but that was enough for him to feel a loss of both pride and dignity. Especially knowing what they would have done to him had Master Yin not come to his rescue.

"Song Mengyao! Are you alright?"

In an instant, there he was, Master Yin by his side yet again. His presence alone was somehow comforting. Yet, the prince couldn't muster the will to look him in the eye.

"I'm fine." He bowed his head slightly, trying to avoid Master Yin's worried gaze as he removed what remained of the loose ropes from around Song Mengyao.

He knew those words were a lie, the prince was not fine, but he didn't wish to press him on it. So, he simply allowed the prince a moment to readjust his robes before having a look around for any clues as to who hired the bandits to abduct them.

Song Mengyao quickly busied himself by looking around as well, keeping clear of the wounded men lying on the ground. They both knew that they couldn't stay long. Even if the bandits had several broken bones and aching bodies.

There was nothing. No papers, no orders, nothing at all that could even indicate as to who planned out the attack. At least Master Yin was certain that someone had put them up to it. That would have to be enough to go on for now, at least.

Master Yin quickly glanced outside of the building they were in. It was hard to tell exactly where they were but, as he had been awake during the ride there, he knew it was not too far from where they were ambushed. An hour or two at the most.

He picked up their swords and turned to Song Mengyao, passing him his blade before checking for the best route of exit. "Time to go. These weren't the last of them, they sent a patrol out in the nearby area not long after we arrived here. They could be back any second."

The prince nodded and followed Master Yin out of the building.

"Where now?"

Yin Jianguo looked around at their dark surroundings before crouching down to examine the horse tracks on the ground. "They brought us in from this way, through the forest. If we go back that way, we should reach the main road again."

Song Mengyao grabbed a couple of horses, handing the reins of one over to Master Yin. "We better move quickly if we wish to avoid the rest of them."

"I don't think I can ride," Master Yin admitted, looking down at his battered hand.

It had been bad before he fought the bandits, but it had only gotten worse since. It seemed that Song Mengyao had not noticed, not that he could blame him. He had been unconscious most of the time and when he had finally awakened, he was tormented from the get-go.

Song Mengyao stepped forward, carefully wrapping his hand around Master Yin's wrist to examine the wound. He sighed, disappointed in himself for not noticing such a serious injury sooner. "It's broken. We need to bandage it with something."

He thought for a moment before unwrapping the useless bandage that had been tied around his head. It was not the cleanest in the first place and now had a stain of his own blood decorating the thick fabric, but it would have to do.

The prince's fingers were light as they delicately wrapped the bandage around the broken bones of Yin Jianguo's hand to hold them in place. Master Yin had to bite down on his tongue with the hope that it would quell the pain, although it did no such thing. The swelling was already quite bad so the bandage couldn't be too tight, they would need to adjust it in the coming hours.

"You are right, you can't ride. Not like this. We'll have to walk. It might be better if we head back to Huainyi, it's closer than Qingyi and we have friends there."

Master Yin nodded and made a sound of agreement as Song Mengyao finished bandaging his hand. He couldn't help but smile until he remembered that the prince had his own wounds. Without thinking, his good hand reached out to touch the prince's head. It hadn't been a surprise when the latter only stepped away out of reach.

"I'll send the horses off that way. It should throw them off our scent for a while, buy us some time."

They looked around some more for anything else that might have been of use. Although, their efforts came to no avail. So, with little to help them on their journey, they headed off.

***

As they had anticipated, it took them a couple of hours before they found themselves back at the ambush site. Their carriage was still there in disarray. Fresh blood could still be seen scattered about all over the road.

Master Yin took a moment of silence out of respect for those who had died trying to protect him before going into the damaged carriage, leaving Song Mengyao to look around outside.

The prince walked around, further dirtying his white robes with both dirt and blood. He went to the body of each man lost one by one and said a quiet prayer for them each as he gently closed their lifeless eyes. They may not have been his allies, but nor were they his enemies. They were just men doing their jobs, trying to protect the head of their sect and his companion. A prisoner, perhaps. But a companion, nonetheless.

"Here, it's not a lot but we need to eat something. We'll be walking for a while." When Master Yin emerged from the carriage, he had successfully scrounged a couple of cold buns.

Song Mengyao took the food, only to pull out a napkin he had managed to keep on his person even after all they had been through, and wrapped it up for later. Perhaps he was simply not hungry yet, but Master Yin suspected there was more to his lack of appetite.

"Song Mengyao."

The boy hummed, tucking his wrapped bun snugly into his robes to prevent it from falling out.

Yin Jianguo thought for a moment before deciding that it was likely not the best time to ask about what was bothering the prince. "Let's go, we should aim to reach Huainyi by midday. If we're lucky, the rest of my men will not have left yet.

It was already late into the night, almost pitch-black outside, and yet Master Yin was keen to keep moving. Despite having a seriously wounded hand and having had no time to properly rest since they were pulled from their carriage. Song Mengyao was also eager to move on, but he was still feeling the effects of his injured head. They just had to keep their efforts focused on getting somewhere safe.

It was just after midday when they arrived back in Huainyi. The streets were flooded with people, busy as always. Despite the crowds, they stuck out like a sore thumb. Two battered and bruised men in such expensive attire would draw the attention of almost anyone.

"Looks like they've already left. They probably took a quicker route since they were only on horseback; no carriage to drag along the wider road," Master Yin concluded after having a look in the stable for any sign of his men. "Follow me, I know someone who can help us."

"Wait. Are you sure we can trust them? Someone must have told the bandits where we would be. I doubt your own men would betray you, but an outsider from another clan might have," Song Mengyao warned.

Master Yin chuckled. "Not this outsider."

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