They returned to Lord Ping's house in the late afternoon, Yinsu had been quite shocked and needed some time to process the things she had witnessed, the rest of them rested or in ShuîYuê's case bathed thoroughly to get rid of all the mud and dried blood, her hands still had bruises which were turning dark bluish purple.

In the evening a small celebration was hosted by Lord Ping and the people of Shaulon Town to thank Crown Prince for his help, currently Yìfēi and Xiàn Fèng were dancing with some people while ShuîYuê watched them with a smile on her lips, a drink of some roots which the man serving them said were nutritional to health.

ShuîYuê was aware of her picky habits at eating, so she didn't mind medicines or bitter teas with nutritional benefits; swirling the drink in a glass, she missed Jīnyú, knowing how much he loved celebrations and gatherings with dance and music.

The Crown Prince was speaking with Lord Ping while the Earth Master stood to his left agreeing with him whenever she believed the conversation needed her attention.

A young couple were sitting together across from Water Master's seat on a low stool made of wood; they were smiling at each other and whispering what Water Master figured to be lover-dovey sappy words to each other; she scoffed when the guy secretly kissed his wife's hand who blushed like a cherry.

ShuîYuê rolled her eyes before looking down at the half-empty glass in her hand and brought it to her lips, taking a long sip, before getting a refill and sitting down.

"Water Master?" She looked up to see the Crown Prince approaching her, she immediately stood up. "Please sit," he added sitting on a wooden stool beside her, "Are you fine?" He asked glancing at her bruised knuckles.

"Great," ShuîYuê answered.

"Cheers?" The Crown Prince held his wine cup towards her.

"Cheers," she answered clanking her cup with him gently.

"This wine is good," he smiled; ShuîYuê glanced at his wine cup, "You should seriously try this red wine sometimes, Water Master."

ShuîYuê took a sip of her bitter root drink with nutritional benefits, "I hate red wine," she responded staring at the ring on her middle finger.

"You haven't tried it, how are you so certain?" Crown Prince asked curiously, some drums drumming in the background.

Water Master was staring at her drink, "You don't need to provoke a snake for it to bite you; that is its nature; you don't need to drink wine to know it is intoxicating," she answered, gulping her bitter drink.

GuānYû watched ShuîYuê carefully for a moment, "Are you trying to get drunk Water Master?" He questioned cautiously.

ShuîYuê smiled bitterly, "Everyone needs to get drunk once in a while, Your Highness, be it wine, food, or love; all of them give terrible hangovers later on; some are faster than others, and some take years to show their intensity."

"I didn't know you had such thoughts about these things," the Crown Prince commented taking a sip of his wine, a young girl accidentally bumped into GuānYû's shoulder, the red wine spilling on Water Master's left hand, the girl ran away before GuānYû could ask her if she was fine, he noticed Water Master's gaze on her hand stained with red wine dripping down her fingers, "I am sorry, Water Master," he apologised.

ShuîYuê stared at the red colour on her fingers; it stained her silver ring too, "Don't apologise, Your Highness," she replied, wiping her hands with her handkerchief, the wine making her bruises sting a lot.

"Water Master, don't rub it; it'll hurt," the Crown Prince warned as ShuîYuê rubbed her handkerchief harder, her eyes staring at her hand coldly, "Water Master!" GuānYû snatched her handkerchief from her hand, his eyes widening at the fresh redness of her bruises, "You shouldn't have rubbed so hard; look, your bruises are fresh, and this wine is stinging it, hurting you more," he added with a worried tone.

ShuîYuê stared at her hand with an icy glare, 'Redwine always stings and rubs my wounds fresh; that's why I hate it,' she thought, laughing at herself; Crown Prince furrowed his eyebrows at her sudden fit of laughter; she composed herself before taking a deep breath.

"You should have seen Xiàn Fèng trying to impersonate that chubby woman; it was so fun," she lied, and GuānYû glanced at Fire Master, who was doing something silly; he couldn't help but smile along.

GuānYû glanced back at Water Master's, whose smile slowly disappeared, and Crown Prince wasn't certain if it was the warm light of the fire or something in Water Master's eyes; they were glassy for a second before the tears disappeared as if she sucked them back.

"Water Master?" He called; she looked at him with a small smile, though that smile didn't reach her almond eyes; he had observed her enough to know when she was genuinely happy and when she was faking it for the sake of politeness. "Are you fine?" She nodded her head assuringly, GuānYû tilted his head to the side, "I thought for a moment that you were..."

"I was?" She asked curiously.

He shook his head, "I thought you were going to dance as well," he lied and ShuîYuê burst out laughing.

"Your eyes will bleed if you ever see me dancing, Your Highness," she snickered, GuānYû loved the melody of her laughter, and the smile on her lips, his eyes stared at her lips which were a little thinner than Earth Master's plump full lips, he had this urge to touch them when Earth Master appeared.

"Lord Ping wants to introduce some people to you," She informed, narrowing her eyes at Water Master, who was watching the sword dance of Fire Master.

"Let's go," GuānYû got up and left reluctantly.

ShuîYuê took a long sip as she watched Yìfēi bumping Xiàn Fèng's shoulder with a stick, who pretended to be hurt. They were having fun, and they couldn't leave just yet even though the Crown Prince had written a letter to his father explaining the misunderstanding.

Jun Wu had ordered them to stay until he received the surveillance report, so they were going to be here for at least one more day, it was a nice place to get a break and ShuîYuê needed one, the bitterness of the drink was helping her forget her bitter feelings as the bitter taste swirled in her mouth.

Water Master's room, Lord Ping's house,

ShuîYuê's eyebrows furrowed as she shook her head; someone was running away from her while she chased after them; suddenly, the blurred silhouette halted and turned around.

'Water Master isn't enough,' the person said.

'I'll be better,' ShuîYuê promised.

'Too late for it ShuîYuê,' the person replied before Water Master woke up startled from her dream, her heart hammered against her ribcage, her inner robes sticking to her skin, she placed her hand on her forehead shaking her head slowly before she buried her face in her hands and took a harsh breath. ShuîYuê got up stumbling here and there a little before she grabbed a cup of water and downed it.

"Just a dream, it's just a dream," she rubbed the back of her left hand with her right one soothingly, "It's fine, forget it," she rocked herself back and forth while patting her hand, "Shhhh..." she shook her head tapping her cheek, "It's all right, you are fine," ShuîYuê assured herself pressing her face into her palm, with a few more comforting words she stood up wrapped a cloak over her shoulders and left her room.

Leaning against a column she stared at the stars, the crispy breeze freshening her tired eyes, she hadn't caught a wink of sleep last night, having trouble sleeping or being in new places, today she was tired from the whole day of hiking and killing people and when she finally got some sleep she woke up panting for air.

ShuîYuê sighed, 'How long are you going to be this way? It's been years, things are entirely different, nothing is going to change no matter what, just forget it all,' she thought before chuckling at herself, 'Forget it all? Like I haven't been trying to do that for four fucking years,' she shook her head at her foolishness.

With a low thud followed by footsteps, ShuîYuê stood straight; her attention focused on the footsteps, which were increasing by the second in her direction. GuānYû appeared with an annoyed look on his face. He noticed Water Master's presence, and immediately, his facial expression changed, "Water Master, what brings you here so late at night?" He asked stopping at some distance.

"I couldn't sleep, Your Highness," ShuîYuê answered airily, he noticed the redness of her orbs.

"Same, I can't sleep either, nothing is as comfortable as one's own house and bed," he commented with a smile, ShuîYuê nodded her head in agreement, he waited for her to say something and when she didn't GuānYû looked around awkwardly, "So... any idea on how to get some sleep?" He asked nervously.

ShuîYuê looked up at him, "I don't know," she responded before averting her gaze.

GuānYû blinked his eyes in surprise before he cleared his throat, "It's quite cold here, don't you think?" ShuîYuê hummed in response; the Crown Prince sighed. Sometimes, Water Master could read him like an open book, and other times, getting two words out of her mouth was harder than anything GuānYû had faced.

"Water Master," he sighed loudly, "Why are you like this?"

"Like what?" She asked eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"So... broody," he answered before smiling; ShuîYuê rolled her eyes, "Seriously, if someone stared at you, all they would see is a cold face with no expressions."

"Does everyone smile all the time?" She questioned.

"No," he shook his head.

"Then why must you expect me to be happy all the time?" She questioned with a stern tone.

"No, Water Master, I didn't mean that," GuānYû said in a quiet voice.

"Just like it's hypocritical of citizens to believe royalty must be perfect every second of the day, it hypocritical of royalty to treat others differently just because they do not share the same status," ShuîYuê stated, her eyes fixated on GuānYû who seemed guilty.

"I do not think that way, Water Master and you must know that," he implied, staring into her eyes.

"I do, I know you don't think or treat anyone unfairly," she assured softly. "So when you are with me, you don't have to pretend to be fine; I won't judge you for your wrong posture or your speech."

GuānYû went through an array of emotions at that moment, two simple lines spoken with sincerity and he was touched, his heart was brimming with joy for Water Master had said those words to him and him only, whenever he was around her he didn't feel the need to be perfect, he could let loose and she never minded, around her he was happy and for those small cherished moments GuānYû didn't need to keep his guard.

Those moments with Water Master were bliss to him and he cradled them in his arms with care, he wanted to thank her for her genuine kindness but he couldn't bring himself to simply say thank you to her, ShuîYuê's kindness meant a lot more to him and he wished to portray his gratefulness with more care and intensity.

He stepped closer to her, his eyes looking at her with gratitude, "Water Master, thank you for your words, th- they," he averted his gaze from her face since that had him stuttering, "They lift the burden on my shoulders, and I couldn't be more thankful to you, there's someone who sees me as GuānYû and not the Crown Prince of Heaven, and I am thankful for that."

ShuîYuê gave him a small smile, and his eyes glanced down at her lips, which were smiling, "Kindness is in everyone; to show it, one needs courage," she remarked softly.

"And courage is in everyone; to show it, one needs kindness," he commented, leaning closer.

ShuîYuê's mind thought of the day she had stood up for Ghost King, she wasn't courageous, she was a coward and openly admitted it, saving her neck was more important to her than heroism, but when it came to him she forget all about being a coward, for him ShuîYuê had yelled at the Emperor of Heaven for a damn stranger who probably never gave a fuck about her, for Ghost King Water Master's logic went haywire, and it was scaring ShuîYuê to her core.

She didn't do things on impulse she is smart and calculating not some fool in love, she has had enough of being that already, Huá made her feel stupid and weak, those two things were the last thing ShuîYuê needed in her life, it took years and hard work to build her reputation as the cold aloof Water Master of West territory and for a red-clad man that image was burning to ashes.

She blinked her eyes finding the Crown Prince's face close to hers, "Your Highness?" She asked leaning back uncomfortably.

"There's something on your face," he answered as he leaned closer.

"I'll wash my face," she replied turning her head away.

"It's just a little something, I'll remove it," he spoke wiping the corner of her mouth, "It's sadness," he added with a smile; her lips were so close GuānYû had to keep the determination of an ant not to crash his lips into hers.

ShuîYuê was quiet for a moment before she chuckled, "Who taught you that?" She asked covering her mouth.

"Don't cover your smile; it's beautiful," he said, moving her hand away with a smile of his own, "And I heard a guard in my Palace say that to a maid he wanted to pursue."

"Did he impress her?" She asked playfully.

GuānYû tapped his chin, "It seemed to work, I saw them holding hands two weeks ago," he answered as ShuîYuê shook her head with amusement dancing in her orbs.

"That was horrible, I implore you never try that on the lady you would want to pursue," she requested with twitching lips.

"It's bound to make her smile; I am certain of that," he remarked, staring at her.

ShuîYuê shook her head, "She's bound to be bored with your attempts at impressing her."

"As long as she smiles, I can make a fool of myself for her," GuānYû admitted, glancing at her lips before he averted his gaze with a gulp.

ShuîYuê chuckled when her eyes fell on Earth Master who was watching them with a hurt and angry expression on her face, "Earth Master?" She called. GuānYû turned around, and before he could see Earth Master, she had walked away. ShuîYuê followed after her, "Earth Master!" She called as GuānYû rushed beside her.

Shù Zìrán's heart was on fire; her eyes were burning, and hot tears were streaming down her face; she saw a large pot of water and purposely poured it over her head to hide her never-ending tears.

When ShuîYuê and the Crown Prince arrived, Earth Master was on the floor, drenched with water and a broken pot with its pieces strewn around her. "Earth Master, how did you fall?" ShuîYuê asked, taking off her cloak and wrapping it over Earth Master's shoulder, who was shivering.

"Are you fine? How did you fall?" Crown Prince asked helping her to stand up.

"I- I accidentally slipped and fell on top of that pot," Earth Master answered rubbing her hands over her arms to warm herself.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Water Master asked looking around for any blood.

Shù Zìrán's emerald orbs narrowed at Water Master's question, "What is it to you?" She hissed.

ShuîYuê looked up, slightly shocked by the sharpness in Earth Master's tone, "She's worried for you, Earth Master," the Crown Prince defended swiftly; she stared at him with a burning sensation in her chest.

"Let's go inside; it's quite cold here," Water Master said, shivering at the cold breeze; Crown Prince pulled Earth Master up by her arm, "I'll go call a maid to prepare some ginger tea," ShuîYuê added before she rushed away.

"Come on," GuānYû urged as Earth Master pretended to limp, she leaned against his side for support, "Just a little further ahead, Earth Master," he added supporting her with his arms, Shù Zìrán reached her room with Crown Prince by her side, he helped her to sit down and brought a warm cloak to cover her with, "You should change, winds here are chilly."

Earth Master peeled off Water Master's cloak and dropped it to the floor as she hugged her cloak tighter. The Crown Prince picked up ShuîYuê's cloak and folded it before placing it on the table. Water Master returned two minutes later with a maid who held a tea tray. ShuîYuê poured warm ginger tea into a cup and handed it to Earth Master, who sipped it slowly while the maid prepared a warm bath.

"Is it warm enough?" ShuîYuê asked, touching the kettle to check whether it was warm or not, Earth Master didn't reply.

The Crown Prince walked forward and wrapped his cloak over ShuîYuê's shoulder, who looked at him confused while he tied the strings of his cloak, "It's cold out there, and you aren't wearing any warm cloak; you'll catch a cold," he explained looking up at her red cheeks and nose.

"It's not that cold," ShuîYuê waved her hand before sneezing.

"Exactly," Crown Prince gave her a stern look, which she ignored; Earth Master huffed in annoyance; she was the one drenched to the bone, and Crown Prince was worrying over Water Master, who had just sneezed.

"Your bath is ready," that maid informed bowing her head.

"You should hurry and bath Earth Master, or else you'll catch a long cold," ShuîYuê cautioned as the Crown Prince nodded his head, "I'll leave," she added before walking away, GuānYû followed after her as the maid closed the door, Shù Zìrán was glaring holes into the door with her furious glare.

Crown Prince followed her to the door of her room, ShuîYuê turned around, "You are sleepy now?" He asked, and ShuîYuê nodded her head, "Sleep well, Water Master; I'll see you tomorrow," he added with a smile; ShuîYuê undid the strings off his cloak, "Please keep it."

"I don't go to sleep with a cloak," Water Master explained as she folded the cloak and held it towards GuānYû who took it from her hands.

"No one does," he chuckled, smiling at her before walking away and staring at the cloak in his arms; he heard Water Master shutting her door and brought his cloak to his chest, hugging it before he took a long sniff.

"Is this what Water Master smells like? Floral lavender with woody sandalwood and refreshing oranges," he mumbled wrapping it over his body, 'This must be how it would feel to hug Water Master, soft and comforting,' he thought with a fond smile on his lips.

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Author's note duty on Bunbun:

Hello, how is everyone doing? Do you guys like the story so far? Is there anything I could improve on? Spoilers for the next chapter!! Earth Master finds something weird on Water Master!!

Word count: 3250, thank you for reading. Have a great day. Take care. Don't forget to sleep well, I'll see you later. Bye-bye!!

From Bunbun the Bad Bunny