CW: Attempted SA 

Zhenghuan and the group of soldiers returned to Nanmen camp first thing the next morning, and Yongxing was immediately sent to file a complete incident report to the camp commander about what had taken place during the course of their training mission. By the time they finished a discussion with the elder General Du and the other generals about the incident, it was already midday. Once the meeting was adjourned, Zhenghuan quickly rode back to the Du manor, knowing that Zi-ning would be anxious about her brother's situation.

But she wasn't there.

"Where's Miss Han?" he asked the servant girls who were sweeping the floor outside of Zi-ning's guest quarters.

"She left early this morning and hasn't returned," they replied.

"Did she say where she went?"

The girls shook their heads.

"Cousin Zhenghuan, you're back!" Enling called out, walking briskly over to his side. She was carrying a wooden try in her hands, carefully balancing a bowl of chicken and ginseng soup on it. "You must be tired after handling all those troublesome matters at the camp. I made this for you. Shall we go over to your study?"

She was smiling sweetly at him, but Zhenghuan only felt vexed by her presence. Where was Zi-ning? She had been so worried about her brother's training mission, so it made no sense for her to have gone gallivanting around town instead of waiting here for news.

Could she have gone out with Bai Shengwu?

Grinding his teeth, Zhenghuan pushed past Enling and hurried towards Shengwu's quarters instead, completely missing the crestfallen expression on the girl's face—and the viciousness reflected in her eyes.

Bai Shengwu was in his room, brush in hand, working on the report that he was due to bring back to the capital. When Zhenghuan burst in, the junior official looked up in surprise.

"Can I help you, General?"

Zhenghuan looked around, as if expecting to find Zi-ning sitting quietly by a corner, sipping on a cup of tea. But she wasn't here. Shengwu and one of his attendants, who was grinding ink at the side, were the only people in the room.

"Have you seen Zi-ning?" he asked.

Shengwu shook his head. "I haven't seen her all day. Why do you ask?"

Strange. Other than Yongxing and Shengwu, Zi-ning did not have any other close acquaintances in Anyang, so where could she have gone? Maybe Zixi invited her out for tea? he wondered. He frowned, trying to assess the probability of that conjecture.

"I saw Miss Zi-ning this morning," Shengwu's attendant piped up.

"You did?" both Zhenghuan and Shengwu echoed.

The boy nodded. "I went to the market early to pick up some fresh fish and vegetables for today's meals and I saw Miss Zi-ning rushing out of the south city gate," he replied.

The south city gate...

That was the gate that was closest to the Nanmen camp. Could Zi-ning have gone there? It seemed possible, because she might have gotten impatient with waiting for him to return and thus have decided to head towards the camp on her own.

"What hour was it when you saw her?" he asked.

"It was not long after dawn. I clearly remember that the sun had barely risen."

That had to be at least three or four hours ago. Even if Zi-ning had gone on foot, she should have reached the Nanmen camp in two hours at most, and sooner if she had gone by carriage. Yet he had not seen any sign of her at the camp, nor along the main road that connected the camp to Anyang city.

Unless she tried to cross the Harun dunes.

Zhenghuan's face went ashen. If Zi-ning had indeed attempted to take the short-cut across the dunes, then she would be in danger. Even locals chose to avoid the dunes because of its frequently shifting topography, making it an ever-changing maze that could easily trap a person within and spit out their bones.

"Is something wrong?" Shengwu asked. "Did something happen to Zi-ning?"

Zhenghuan didn't have time to explain. Turning on his heels, he sprinted out and towards the stables.

#

Under the scorching midday sun, the Harun dunes sparkled like a sea of gold dust, its undulating waves forming the most majestic sight that Zi-ning had ever seen in her two lives. Sweat beading upon her brow as she dragged her blistered feet across the sand, wondering when she would reach the Nanmen camp. The horse that she had managed to get—an old mare—had given up barely a few steps into the journey, refusing to budge an inch upon the soft sand, so she had no choice but to continue on foot. According to a trader who had been steering his donkey-pulled wagon towards Anyang, she was headed in the correct direction, but without any sort of landmark to guide her way, she quickly lost track of where she was and how long she had been out here.

With each passing moment, her anxiety began to grow. The longer she took to reach the Nanmen camp, the less likely it was for her to be able to save Yongxing, even if she had the huanhun dan.

In the distance, she spotted a group of men approaching, riding upon horses. From their manner of dress, they looked more like people of Duan than the southern tribes. She raised her hand into the air and waved to catch their attention. If she was lucky, they might be willing to escort her to the camp, for a small fee of course. If not, then at the very least they could help her to verify her position and perhaps give her a mouthful of water to quench her thirst.

Relief washed over her when she saw them turn and head in her direction—but that was to be short-lived.

As they came closer, she heard one of the men shout, "Is that her?"

"It must be. Why else would there be a young woman wandering about the dunes on her own?"

"Even if it isn't, we can still take her," another said, a lewd smile stretching across his broad face. "Look at her, all pretty and dainty. It's been a long time since I've gotten my hands on such a tasty morsel."

"Enough drooling. Everyone can take turns to have your way with her once we get her back to camp. Let's just hurry up and get it over with. The heat is ridiculous today."

Zi-ning's heart sank. These were no ordinary merchants or travelers that would be able to render her a helping hand. They were bandits. She immediately turned and ran, but with every step the sand would sink beneath her feet, threatening to make her lose balance. Fear coursed through her veins as she heard the men shouting after her, the whinnying of their horses getting louder as they closed the gap.

Within minutes, they had caught up with her. There were five of them, running circles around her on their horses.

"Where do you think you're going?" a skinny one sneered, pointing his curved sword at her.

"What do you want? Let me go and I'll pay you whatever you ask for," Zi-ning said. If they were bandits, then perhaps they might be willing to let her go for the right price.

"Unfortunately, we've already been paid."

Someone had hired them to hunt her down? But who?

"I can pay you twice of whatever they've given you."

The leader of the bandits, a middle-aged man with stubble around his chin and a messy mop of hair, threw his head back and laughed. "I would love to take you up on that, but we have a reputation to upkeep. Can't go reneging on jobs we've accepted, else no one will hire us in future, eh? Don't worry your pretty little head. Although our instructions were to—" he made a slitting action across his throat, "I can consider letting you live if you are obedient enough and give my brothers here the pleasure they desire." He signaled to his men, and two of them hopped off their horses, closing in on her with licentious grins on their faces.

Zi-ning backed away, her throat closing up in fear.

"Stay away from me," she warned, although she knew that they were merely empty words. She was completely defenseless, and there was no one else in the vicinity that could come to her aid. Her fists clenched tightly by her sides, nails digging into her palms.

After all she had been through, after fighting so hard to change her destiny, was this how it was all going to end?

"Ah!" She stumbled backwards and fell, fingers coming into contact with the hot sand. In desperation, she grabbed fistfuls of sand and flung them at the faces of the two approaching bandits. The men cried out, shaking their heads and wiping their faces furiously to get the sand out of their eyes.

"You little bitch!"

Zi-ning scrambled to her feet, but she had barely gotten two steps away when a rough hand grabbed her by the left shoulder and threw her back down to the ground. She screamed as the men pinned her to the sand, tears beginning to stream down her face as their grimy hands ripped away the outer layers of her robes. She kicked and struggled, but she was not strong enough to free herself.

Despair set in as the hot desert winds blew across the skin of her bare shoulders.

"Zi-ning!"

Was she hallucinating? Through her tears, she thought she saw someone riding towards her, heard someone calling her name. The bandits had pulled away the sash around her waist, and one lecherous face lowered himself towards her.

Then, out of nowhere, an arrow sliced through the air—and impaled itself through the bandit's forehead. The man's eyes widened in shock, unsure of what had struck him, then he rolled onto the sand. Dead.

The other bandit immediately straightened himself up with panic in his beady eyes. Before he could escape, another arrow came flying, striking him in the chest.

"Zhenghuan," Zi-ning whispered.

He was here.

Slinging his bow across his back, Zhenghuan lowered himself upon his saddle, stretching a hand out towards her. He grabbed her by one arm, swinging her up into the air and onto his horse, cradling her in front of him.

Fury burned in his eyes when he saw her disheveled appearance and her undone robes. Pulling his sword out of its scabbard, he cut down the remaining bandits, leaving them absolutely no chance to retaliate nor escape. Then, he steered his steed across the dunes, until they had left the bloodbath behind them.

Once they had gone sufficiently far away, Zhenghuan brought them to a stop. Zi-ning sat perfectly still before him, staring blankly ahead as if she were a statue. Even though she knew that the danger had passed, her mind still remained trapped in that horrific nightmare. She had thought she had suffered through the worst in her past life, but she had been wrong. 

Zhenghuan placed a hand upon her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" she shrieked, immediately pulling away. "Don't touch me." She clutched at her robes in front of her chest, intense fear still pulsating through her veins.

"Zi-ning, it's only me. It's alright. You're safe now," Zhenghuan's gentle voice echoed in her ear.

Her entire body was trembling uncontrollably, tears still streaking down her cheeks.

A pair of warm arms circled around her, pulling her into an embrace. She screamed again, struggling to get away, but Zhenghuan only held her tighter.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I took so long," he said.

Eventually, her emotions began to settle, calmed by his soft, rhythmic patting of her back. With her cheek pressed against his chest and his chin resting above her head, Zi-ning closed her eyes, retreating into the safety of his arms.

She would be okay, because he was here.