*Shi Han Jun POV*

Han Jun blew on the product in his hand and sawdust flew off the stick. He smiled. He ran his hand over the smooth stick. Yes, this will do. Han Jun got up from sitting in front of the apothecary shop and headed inside.

He paused in front of the door where they both stayed. A sudden crash came from inside. He quickly pushed open the doors and rushed in. Xiao Zhao was on the ground, curled up in a ball, eyes closed, and was shaking violently. Han Jun appeared at his side and put a pillow underneath him. He glanced at Xiao Zhao, whose face was grimaced in pain. He hesitated. Am I sure I want to do this? He looked at Xiao Zhao's twisting form. It doesn't matter. Human life is more important. He then started to sing gently.

After a couple minutes of his singing, Xiao Zhao's shaking stopped. Slowly, Xiao Zhao's clenched fists relaxed and his eyes fluttered open. Xiao Zhao quickly sat up. 

"Do you feel a bit better now?" Han Jun asked, concerned.

Xiao Zhao looked into Han Jun's eyes as if he were searching for answers. "You..." Xiao Zhao sputtered.

"I?" Han Jun asked.

"H-how did you...?"

"What do you mean how did I?"

"I feel amazing! How did you heal me?"

"Oh, this? Yeah, since I was young, I found out I could heal people, but only some people. For some, I could heal but for others I couldn't. Anyway, Father banned me from using my healing powers."

"Why did you save me?"

"Human life is precious. It's more important to save people than to care about my own well being. Unfortunately, you are temporarily healed. If you want to be fully healed you need to--

"Yeah, yeah. I already have a place I am planning to go," Xiao Zhao replied as he waved his hand.

There was a short pause then Han Jun said, "Here," and handed Xiao Zhao the stick he had carved out.

Xiao Zhao received it hesitantly. "Th-thank you?"

Han Jun smiled. "Why are you thanking me? It's what friends do!"

There was a short pause. Han Jun then looked at Xiao Zhao curiously. "Have you...never received a gift?"

Xiao Zhao looked away and slowly shook his head.

Han Jun slapped Xiao Zhao hard on the arm. "Well! You finally received your first gift! Trust me," he said as he rested his arm on Xiao Zhao's shoulder. "With me as your friend, you'll receive more gifts later!"

Xiao Zhao smiled and Han Jun felt happy that he could bring some light into Xiao Zhao's world where Xiao Zhao desperately needed it the most. If I can do only a little good in this life, then I will die without regret. Han Jun thought to himself.

"Li Qing should be here soon," Han Jun informed Xiao Zhao.

Xiao Zhao nodded.

Suddenly, the doors flew open. In the doorway, stood Li Qing, arms crossed as he held his scabbard in his right hand. He stood straight and tall as he glared at Xiao Zhao and Han Jun.

"Shuo cao cao, cao cao jiu dao," muttered Xiao Zhao. Speaking of the devil, he has arrived.

"Zou," Li Qing said as he turned away.

"What?! I can't walk that well yet!" Xiao Zhao protested.

Li Qing spun around sharply. "Not. My. Problem."

"You!" Xiao Zhao shot to his feet but wobbled a bit. Xiao Zhao and Li Qing glared at each other as they held their gazes. The room seemed to warm up a little.

Nervously, Han Jun stepped in between them, holding up his palms. "Hold on. I have a solution. We won't be walking."

"What?" Li Qing asked surprised.

"I bought a horse carriage. It's in the back," Han Jun said as he exited the apostasy from the back doorway. As Li Qing walked by Xiao Zhao, he bumped Xiao Zhao a bit and said, "Huph."

Xiao Zhao merely glared.

As they stood outside in a small street, they glanced at each other. In front of them was a horse that had a wooden carriage attached to it. The carriage had a roof over it that slanted downward and had cloth in front of the windows and doorway.

Finally, Han Jun broke the silence. "So... who's going to drive?"

"I never saw a horse in my life, much less drove one. You won't be safe if I drive," Xiao Zhao said rather quickly.

Han Jun looked at Xiao Zhao quizzically. He cleared his throat, "I, uh, never had to drive a horse carriage either. It was always a servant who took me everywhere."

Xiao Zhao and Han Jun both glanced at Li Qing at the same time.

"Y-you can drive right?" Han Jun asked.

"Useless," Li Qing replied as he flew unto the wooden carriage and sat down. As he took the reigns he ordered, "Get on," and stared ahead.

"Aahahahaha! I knew we could always rely on you, Li Qing," Han Jun moved to pat Li Qing on the shoulder, but he moved away.

"No touching," Li Qing told him coldly.

"Oh," Han Jun said as he dropped his hand to his side. He pulled the cloth at the opening of the carriage to the side and entered. Xiao Zhao followed suite.

As they seated themselves, Xiao Zhao's eyes opened in wonder. "Wow! Look at this carriage! It has such fine seating!" Xiao Zhao said as he rubbed his fingers on the plush cushions. Xiao Zhao felt under the seats and pulled out a drawer full of food. "It even has a food compartment!" Xiao Zhao cried happily. He hurriedly unwrapped the cloth and started to eat the mini cakes in them.

"This is so good," Xiao Zhao said with his mouth half full.

"Stop talking while you're eating. It's rude," Han Jun told him.

Xiao Zhao swallowed the mouthful of food and said, "What class do you belong to? This carriage is even fancier than the business carriages I see in the streets!"

"I'm a wealthy merchant. I'm tired," Han Jun said as he closed his eyes.

***************************************************************************************

"Your Highness, our men have returned," a man said as he bowed.

"Is it finished?" The Second Prince sat on his seat with his leg up. He held a cup in his hand and was just blowing on it.

"That..." there was hesitation in the man's voice.

Hearing the hesitation in his voice, Second Prince's eyes snapped to the man. "You failed again?"

"You Highness!" the man immediately fell to his knees and kotowed. "Show me mercy! The night crawlers intervened and–"

"Enough! I gave you a chance to make up for your mistake! You are not fit to work for me! Guards! Take him away!"

A couple of black guards grabbed the man's arms and dragged him away. The man's feet pulled along the ground. "Please! Have mercy on me!" The man pleaded, but his cries fell on deaf ears.

Second Prince turned to another guard and ordered, "Quick, write a letter to First Prince! Tell him if he doesn't get rid of Third Prince, I will tell everyone his secret!"

"Yes Your Highness," the guard bowed and left.

Second Prince glared at the table in front of him as he clutched the cup in his hand. Blood started to flow.

**************************************************************************************
*Quan Mo Ran POV*

They had been traveling a while on a broad dirt road with many horse and cart tracks. On both sides of the road grew bamboo. The wind was gently blowing as some of the bamboo leaves floated down gracefully. Some parts of the path were shaded while in other areas, patches of sunlight shone through.

At present, all was quiet inside the carriage. Mo Ran held the reigns in his hand lightly as he leaned against the doorframe.

Han Jun pulled aside the curtain and poked his head out and said, "Driver, can we take a break?"

Mo Ran rolled his eyes and pulled the cart to a stop.

Han Jun descended the steps and stretched his back as he walked. "I'm so tired! It feels good to move again!"

"Tired?" Mo Ran muttered.

Han Jun looked at him. "Yeah, I'm tired."

Mo Ran shook his head and said nothing.

Han Jun glanced at Xiao Zhao who also descended and told him, "Why did he say that sarcastically?"

Xiao Zhao sighed in exasperation. "He was doing everything. He should be the one who's tired. Not you!"

Han Jun strode up to Mo Ran and crossed his arms. "Do you know how tiring it is to sit in a carriage all day?!"

Mo Ran merely looked at Han Jun and walked away,

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Han Jun called. He turned to Xiao Zhao and said, "Look at this man! I don't even know why he's treating me this way!"

From a distance, Mo Ran heard Xiao Zhao say, "I wish I could do the same as him!"

"What do you mean by that? Tell me clearly!"

"NO. Figure it out."

As Mo Ran walked into the bushes, their voices faded into the distance. He approached a nearby river and filled his water bottle. He strode back to the road where Han Jun and Xiao Zhao were still arguing.

"Tell me!" cried Han Jun.

"No!"

"What do you mean? You must tell me now!"

"What will you do if I don't?"

"You–"

"Stop arguing. Get on the carriage," Mo Ran intervened as he strode toward them.

"Humph!" Han Jun said as he stomped onto the carriage. Xiao Zhao followed.

They had been traveling a while when Han Jun again pulled aside the curtain. "Li Qing," he called.

"What?" Mo Ran asked.

"Don't you think it's strange that there are no people on this road?"

Mo Ran glanced around. He had noticed it's emptiness. "What about it?"

"I don't know much but I do know this road is normally a well traveled road and on most days, we can see at least a couple carriages pass by once in a while. But we have been riding for a sometime and have not seen a single person."

Mo Ran's eyes glanced at the right as his body tensed. A sudden whizz flew by his ear and he instinctively flew up into the air and landed softly on the ground. An arrow struck the door frame of the carriage. The horse panicked and reared it's head, frightened. Mo Ran whirled around and with a smooth motion, he unsheathed his sword. He had his knees bent and sword ready to strike anyone who charged at him. He was dimly aware the horse had fled the scene.

"Surround him!" A voice yelled.

A stream of men in black robes appeared. Their swords were drawn and the lower half of their faces were concealed by a black cloth. They surrounded Mo Ran on all four sides, trapping him in a tight circle. This is going to be fun. He smiled.

"Let's get it over with," Mo Ran said. 

The men all glanced at each other and as if on cue, they all charged toward Mo Ran. Swords clashed. Mo Ran held up his sword as one man brought his sword upon him. Quickly flipping his wrist, Mo Ran guided the man's sword in a different direction but he could not get away because the man's blade pushed against his own blade. Another man tried to take advantage of the situation and lunged from behind. Mo Ran side stepped and the man drove his sword into his companion. The man's eyes flew open and he quickly pulled the sword out. Mo Ran plunged his sword into the man and swung the man's corpse into his companions who were all knocked over. He turned just in time to see another charge at him. Using his inner force, he spread out his arms and flew backwards. His feet merely brushed the ground. The man's sword was pointed at Mo Ran's face as he retreated. Mo Ran, knowing a tree was behind him, suddenly twisted into the air and used one foot to push his weight against the tree. He lunged forward at the man. Mo Ran's sword glanced off of the man's sword. The man recovered quickly and slashed at the right side of Mo Ran who leapt into the air and did a front flip over the man, slashing his throat as he floated above the man's head. Landing on the ground, his sword dripped with blood. His one knee was on the ground as his head was bowed. He glanced up.

Another man was charging at him. This time, Mo Ran barely had time to deflect the stroke. All he managed to do was hold up his sword last minute. He was knocked to the ground. The blades contacted each other with a loud clang. The man's blade bore down on Mo Ran. Realizing he needed more support, Mo Ran brought his left hand up and allowed the flat of his blade to rest on his left arm. The man pushed the flat of his own blade against Mo Ran's blade. With all his might, Mo Ran tried to prevent his blade from coming closer to his neck. He used his left arm to push back against his blade. Slowly, his blade came closer and closer to his neck. The man was simply too strong. The man's face also came closer to Mo Ran whose arm became weaker and weaker. In desperation, he glanced around wildly and saw a rock not far from him. Using his inner force, he made the rock float in the air and directed it to hit the assassin's head. The man dropped the sword and stumbled backwards.

Mo Ran shot to his feet and finished him off. A man charged at him and he slashed the man's throat.

They just keep coming! I can't back down now! Why did I ever agree to this?! Mo Ran slashed enemies here and there.

Arrows came shooting out of nowhere, making whizzing sounds as they passed. The men in black were taken down one by one. A flood of soldiers invaded the scene and in no time, the assassins were either rounded up or killed. After the fight, the leader of the soldiers approached Mo Ran.

Mo Ran bowed. "Greetings, General Li."

"You know me?" The man asked.

"You are one of the best commanders under First Prince. Your bravery is widely known."

The man carefully observed Mo Ran then slowly nodded. "Please rise."

"Thank you General Li."

"I have come to find Third Prince. Did you happen to see him?"

Mo Ran hesitated.

"If you don't tell me where he is and something happened to him, you will be held accountable. Are you sure you can bear the consequences?" General Li asked sternly.

Mo Ran brought his hands to his chest and bowed. "General Li, I just saw Third Prince drive away in a runaway carriage. I could tell he didn't know how to control the horse. It bolted away. Perhaps if you catch up to him, you can save him before any unfortunate thing happens."

General Li slowly nodded. "Where did he go?"

"That way," Mo Ran pointed straight ahead.

"Let's go," General Li ordered his guards as he waved for them to follow.

Oh good. Now's my chance to escape. Mo Ran tried to slip away. Before he could, a hand was laid on his arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" It was General Li. "You're coming with us," he said.

Mo Ran sighed inwardly but nodded. Meeting those two idiots the worst luck I've ever had. Mo Ran reluctantly followed General Li.

*Shi Han Jun POV*

After Li Qing hopped off the carriage, the horse bolted. Han Jun grabbed the reigns and tried to stop the horse.

"AHHHHH! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Xiao Zhao cried from inside.

"NOTHING! JUST A RUNAWAY HORSE!" Han Jun shouted back.

"WHAT?!"

Han Jun pulled the reigns as hard as he could but the horse kept running. He felt a pair of hands grab his hands and he glanced up. It was Xiao Zhao.

"LET GO!" Han Jun bellowed.

"YOU ARE GOING TO GET US KILLED!" Xiao Zhao screamed as he tried to wrestle the reigns away.

"WE'RE ALREADY GOING TO BE DEAD IF YOU TAKE THE REIGNS!" Han Jun yelled back. "LET GO!"

"NO!"

"I SAID LET GO!"

"AND I SAID NO!"

"WE'RE BOTH GOING TO DIE IF WE KEEP FIGHTING!"

"SO BE IT!"

Han Jun was surprised and inadvertently let go of the reigns. Xiao Zhao immediately snatched them up. He slapped the horse with the reigns and it sped up.

"HEY! DO YOU KNOW HOW TO STOP A RUNNAWAY HORSE?"

"NO!"

"WHAT?! WHY DID YOU WANT THE REIGNS THEN?!" Han Jun cried indignantly.

"SO THAT I HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME IF WE BOTH DIE!"

"WHATTTT??!! YOU'RE CRAZY!"

"NEVER SAID I WASN'T!"

"HEY! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO STEAL MY LINE!!"

"TOO BAD!!"

"AHHHHHHH!!" They both screamed as the horse broke into a clearing and charged toward the edge of a cliff. They watched in horror as they drew near the edge...