XI YUAN’s SOVEREIGN

Masked men

"Mistress? Mistress...." Maidservant Yang Xia called, shaking the academy teacher slowly. She has been asleep for two days and yet to wake up.

A splash, Wei Xun sank to the bottom of the water. A Chinese flower on her back glowed through her torn shirt as her head hit a stone in the water. The water rumbled until that mark disappeared like it was never there.

A voice in her head, always calling to her. "Xun'er.... Xun'er!" Her head banged from the sound when it became so loud like it was real. "Xun'er!" The voice called again.

A grunt. A cough followed. "Yang Xia, what happened?" Wei Xun asked, sipping out of the tea her maidservant just gave to her.

Yang Xia looked around before she responded, "You were almost caught at the Stars pavilion two nights ago but you successfully escaped though it was a narrow one." She explained.

Wei Xun held her head, "What happened next? How did I pass out for two days then?" She asked the question that bothered her mind after the whole explanation.

Yang Xia paused, "Do not tell her I saved her. Allow her to think she just narrowly escaped." She remembered the young prince's warning.

"Yang Xia? Yang Xia!" Yang Xia blinked consecutively when she heard her name being yelled out loud. "You didn't answer my question." Wei Xun eyed her suspiciously.

Yang Xia quickly smiled, regaining her composure. "You passed out because the pavilion water sucked in your strength after you narrowly escaped." She explained gently.

Wei Xun's eyes squinted as she tried to remember the whole scene but her brain was foggy, maybe because she just woke up trying to remember an event from two nights ago.

"Are you sure that's what happened? No one saw me or saved me? I was alone throughout?" Wei Xun asked again to be sure. She didn't want to cause problems or escalate matters that'd jeopardize her mission.

Yang Xia smiled widely, nodding her head to reassure her. "What about the Dean and the students? What excuse was given?" Wei Xun suddenly remembered, she had duties to attend to and here she was, lying down like a dead one for two days.

"Calm down, Xun'er." Yang Xia held her Mistress's shoulders. "I already covered up for you. Do not worry about it." She stood up, walking to the shelf in the room. 

"The next thing for you now is to take your medicine, recover all your lost strength quickly and get back to work." The medicine was stretched to Wei Xun but she rejected it.

Yang Xia frowned, "Reject it again and I'll personally see the Dean about you sneaking into the Stars pavilion of the academy, about you as a cultivation teacher breaking the rules on your first day here." 

"Are you threatening me?" Wei Xun scoffed, taking the cup away from her servant angrily. She poured the contents into her mouth, her throat made movements of it being swallowed. 

"That's my Crown Princess." Yang Xia smiled triumphantly. "Well, someone requests to see you." She announced.

Wei Xun's heart skipped a beat but she relaxed a bit, seeing the visitor. "What do you want?" She maintained a straight expression, knowing he is one of the newly admitted students in the academy.

"I came here just to talk to you about a few things." Wei Xun knew him. Who wouldn't recognize the almighty Crown Prince of the Xi's dynasty who always thinks no one can defeat him because he already attained a certain level of cultivation?

Yang Xia motioned for him to sit and she turned to leave, to stay outside. "You know you shouldn't be seen here." Wei Xun said, sipping out of her cup again. She wondered what favor he wanted to seek from her that made him look so humble.

"I want you to be my teacher." Everywhere became silent for the next two minutes, even the tea cup fell from Wei Xun's hands. 

Crown Prince Xi Lehua wondered what made her so surprised. Isn't she supposed to be happy, glad that someone like him could need her help? Isn't she supposed to grab such a rare opportunity of being the crown prince's teacher?

Wei Xun gave a smiling facade, "What do you mean? I was already your teacher the moment you decided to come to this cultivation academy." She tried to understand what he was saying, not like she didn't understand.

"I heard you are one of the high cultivation masters. I want you to be my personal teacher." Prince Xi Lehua explained, cleaning his forehead with the back of his hands.

ACADEMY GROUND ✓

"Let me check it clearly that here in the academy, young masters and princes should be left in your homes. Here, you are all equal. You are the academy students, which makes you my students." Wei Xun's voice was rigid, different from the two days' tone.

Whispers amongst the students, "Being a woman teacher should be enough but now, she bullies us with those unreasonable rules?" Meanwhile, Xi Lehua understood clearly what she meant with this announcement.

Students are students, no addition and no subtraction - he sighed, glancing at his brother, Xi Yuan.

Suddenly, guards rushed to the ground. "What is the matter?" Wei Xun asked. Guards aren't supposed to be seen anywhere in the academy premises except when they are on patrol.

"Some people broke into the Stars pavilion two nights ago and we were ordered to investigate the matter." The head guard explained, looking into the midst of the students.

Xi Yuan and Wei Xun's heart skipped two beats almost at the same time. "What in the world ---" They both regretted going there that night, see what it caused.

"We found this." A long hairpin that had a butterfly shape of jingles was raised upwards so that everyone could see it.

Wei Xun's eyes widened, that's her hair pin! She almost instinctively touched her hair just to check again if she wasn't right but she can never be wrong about recognizing her hair pin.

"What is the order?" Wei Xun's voice almost cracked when she asked the question.

The guards looked at another guard, "The academy authority insisted we continue the search until we find the culprit. We are sure no one broke in from outside."

Wei Xun regained composure, "Are you saying one of my students broke into the Stars pavilion?" She fired.

The guard quickly bowed, "We didn't mean to talk rashly but please understand."

Wei Xun quickly left to her wing after dismissing the others. "What do I do, Yang Xia? I mustn't be caught as the culprit or my mission will be aborted." She held her head with her hands as she faced downwards.

The bell rang, indicating it was time for academy lessons. "Everyone to their respective seats." The order was given and they all adhered to it.

When Wei Xun entered the hall, a servant carried books behind her and distributed them to all the students. "Learn the cultivation steps in these books and copy them into your books fifteen times."

"What!" The hall was silenced as soon as the uproar started. "You have only today to finish up the work." She turned to leave.

Wei Xun halted, her eyes widened as she lifted her face up. Her hands behind her back, she dodged an incoming arrow that eventually hit one of the students harshly.

She looked away from the injured student and back to where the arrow came from. "It isn't up to three days yet." She muttered, leaping into the air as she landed outside.

Three masked men leaped inside, through the walls and landed in between them on the academy ground. 

"Who are they?" --- "Are they the ones who broke into the star pavilion?" Questions arose and Wei Xun quickly seized the opportunity.

"Seize them!" She threw her hand forward and ordered. Few guards rushed towards the masked guys but they were all eliminated in few seconds.

Shock was written all over the students' faces. Who the hell are these guys? And why are they here, targeting the academy? 

Ji Feng and Han Fei leaped into the air at the same time. They attacked as soon as they landed. Split pins were thrown from Han Fei while Ji Feng attacked, drawing his sword.

They lasted for a few minutes but in no time, they were badly injured. Wei Xun was angered, who sent them here?

Prince Xi Lehua wanted to go forward, to fight but Wei Xun stopped him with her hand as she leaped into the air, her hair falling downwards.

The students watched in awe as her appearance changed. She twisted her hands together, using cultivation, and she attacked them. The impact made them shake backwards but they regained their stance as quickly as it affected them again.

Wei Xun turned 360 degrees, stomped her foot to the ground backwards and attacked again. This time, it hit them that they all fell to the ground, excluding one of them.

That single masked person leaped towards her with pawed hands. He threw his right and left hand in a paw form towards her which she easily dodged.

The masked man ran around her on his toes, dragging dust beneath his feet as he raced towards her with the third paw. Wei Xun didn't see it coming, it hit her chest and she winced, the force pushed her backwards.

He saw another open chance, channeled his cultivation in three folds. He drove towards her with full force again. Wei Xun's eyes widened, afraid of what's incoming because she knew she wouldn't be able to take it in.

His paws got stuck in someone's hands, someone who stopped him.