"WEN CHAO HAS ARRIVED!"

"They just had to go and spoil a great family moment." TaiFeng sighed.

They all instantly took their places in line, scattering like nervous cockroaches.

Once again sitting down in his tacky throne, he stared at TaiFeng with pure unbridled spite.

She just rolled her eyes at him, which angered him even more.

Looking towards her left, she saw that Wen Xu had come out of his hiding place and was now out in the open for everyone to see.

'So, Wen Xu, you finnaly come out.'

"Psst, Er-jie, who's that on the left?" Wei Ying whispered.

"A little bitch." She replied, eyes filled with rage.

Xichen glanced over at Wen Xu, he had seen him once or twice at a few discussion conferences in the past, but that was about it.

Examining the man closely, he saw that was always looking in TaiFeng's general direction. This upset him greatly. Looking even closer he saw the bruise marks on his neck that were almost identical to the one TaiFeng had.

Putting two and two together, he figured out that it was that bastard Wen Xu who harmed TaiFeng!

He was absolutely livid! How dare he lay a finger on her! He was doing his best to conceal his emotions but his younger brother saw  through his calm façade.

"Xiongzhang?" Wangji whispered, looking breifly at Wen Xu, then back at him.

"His neck." Xichen said, in a low baritone voice, anger evident in his tone.

Looking closer, Wangji saw the bruises on his neck and understood instantly.

'At least she got him back for it.' Wangji thought.

TaiFeng was thrust out of her  thoughts, by the movement of a disciple going towards Wen Chao and whispering in his ear.

'Ah shit, here we go again.'

"What are we even looking for anyway?!" Two Nie disciples complained searching through the dense bushes.

"No clue, I guess we'll know it when we see it." A third disciple sighed.

TaiFeng slowly and gracefully walked around the grassy area. To everybody else, it just looked like she was sauntering about like some sort of dignified royal. But in reality, she was just limping and trying to cope with her wounds as best as she could.

'I really need to work on my pain tolerance.' She sighed.

Lookijng to her right, she saw that hoe Wang Lingjiao riding on horseback with Wen Chao. Honestly, she looked absolutely ridiculous with her tacky clothing and irritating voice.

This may be ancient China, but TaiFeng knows the work of a Wonder Bra when she sees one.

"Er-jie, who's that?" Jiang Cheng said, judging the vile woman along with Wuxian.

The three of them were huddled together, eyeing the two with judgemental gazes.

Twin Prides? Nah. There's only the Gossip Trio of Yunmeng.

"That's Wang Lingjiao." TaiFeng spat, clenching her fist.

"She's a maidservant who crawled into Wen Chao's bed and slept her way to the top. She thinks she's so high and mighty when in reality her cultivation level is below average. She thinks she's the greatest with that damn branding iron of hers. Truly revolting."

"A dog any a turtle, truly a match made in heaven." Wuxian scoffed, crossing his arms in disgust.

TaiFeng's mind was swirling with hate at the thought of those two. Images of that bitch and Wen Chao  harming her precious Didi flashed through her mind. Along with the pain she was feeling, it made her blood boil. And anger and pain are never a good combo.

"Er-jie, your eyes!" Jiang Cheng said, surprised.

He looked at TaiFeng to see that her eyes were now amber.

'Crap! Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.' She panicked, trying to get her emotions under control.
'Breathe in, breathe out. Your not here. Your back at YueYang on your bean bag.'

"Jiang Cheng, what are you talking about?" Wuxian said, turning to face her.

By the time he turned, she had already got them back to there normal rusty brown hue.

"What about my eyes?" TaiFeng innocently asked.

"But, they were, w-what? Just a moment ago, they, they were...." Jiang Cheng stuttered.

"ChengCheng, are you okay? It must have just been a trick of the light." TaiFeng smiled.

"Who are you calling ChengCheng?" He said, timidly, still a little dazed.

'I could have sworn I saw something.'

"You guys should get back to finding the cave before that damn Wen Chao comes and makes a scene again. Remember, he's even more agitated now that I killed his precious puppy." She said, shooing them away.

'I need to get my emotions in check, otherwise I'm majorly screwed' She sighed, taking a step forward when pain invaded her left leg.

Wincing in pain, she knelt down on the ground.

"TaiFeng!" Xichen said, kneeling down next to her and checking her wounds.

'Good grief, he's fast! Where did he even come from!?'

"Xichen-ge, I'm fine, no need to worry. I just tripped over a rock." She brushed it off.

"TaiFeng, it's rather obvious that  your not fine." He replied.

"Why do you keep brushing it off?"

"There's no need to get everyone worried for no reason. It's just a few minor cuts and bruises. I'll heal, life goes on." She sighed, trying to get up.

"Its okay to admit that your injured, nobody would think any less of you."

"I don't like feeling weak. In the past if I was weak, I would always end up paying the price." She sighed.

Xichen looked at her with sympathy.

"Well this isn't the past, and you have a new life. So here." He said, crouching down.

"... Here what?" She said, confusedly.

"I'll carry you."

"The hell you will! I may be injured, but I still have my pride!"She said, face now beet red.

"If you don't take time to heal, how do expect to defeat the Xuanwu Slaughter?" He whispered.

".... Just this once." She conceded, climbing on his back.

"This is humiliating." She sighed, burying her head in his shoulder.

She could see lots of female disciples giggling from afar.

Even her own disciples were giving her looks. The absolute betrayal!

"I didn't realize I was so embarrassing." Xichen teased.

"Ah, wait, your not embarrassing! I'm the one who's an embarrassment! Your awesome, I mean, uh, well.." She blurted out extremly flustered.
Her face was growing redder and redder by the second.

She could hear Xichen chuckling under his breath.

"...Your just making fun of me, aren't you?"

"Sorry, sorry. I won't do it again, I promise." He laughed.

'Why is my heart beating so fast?! I  can't go falling for him! He deserves someone so much better than me.'

"TaiFeng, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"...It was Wen Xu who injured your neck, wasn't it." He was overstepping boundaries but he wanted to, no. He needed to know.

"So you figured it out then." She sighed.

"I'm not really sure what he wants, but I don't think I'll have to deal with him again after this. And I taught him a lesson anyway. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with a sociopath. I handled the others perfectly fine and I'll handle him just the same."

'And acording to a university study I read, a psychopath will always win against a sociopath if pitted against one other... So it looks like I have the upper hand on this one.'

"But still.... Just, please be careful around him. I don't like the way he looks at you." He whispered.

"I'll be careful, I promise."She reassured him

'... Is he worried about me? I think this might be the first time someone's ever cared for me like this. Besides Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng, of course. Oh, and Yanli. And Sect Leader Jiang... And possibly even Madam Yu. But still! This just feels different...'

'It feels safe.'