The Other Side of the Mask

Trying to push my thoughts away, I ask, "...XiaoLong, is there anything weird about the north?"

Understanding the meaning behind my question, he answers while pondering, "There were a group of bandits recently…"

"Hmmm…"

I'll need to check again to make sure.

"We'll check again when we go to our last town on this honeymoon."

Suddenly, XiaoLong starts to pout, "Right, this is a honeymoon! We're supposed to enjoy ourselves… and now you're thinking of work again!"

I laugh, "Well, we are going around the kingdoms to get used to it!"

Shortly after, they arrived at the southern harbor of Yue Kingdom. QiLing's eyes immediately brightened at the sight of the port town.

"SHIPS!" I shout out.

XiaoLong muffles a laugh, "You really love them."

With my glowing eyes, I plead, "Can we ride them?"

XiaoLong pats her head like she is a kitten, "Of course."

They check in at a hotel as the sun sets.

"Let's go, let's go!" I shout like a three-year-old kid.

After booking a small yacht, XiaoLong and I sit on the pier glancing at the sunset over the ocean. We sit side by side, and I rest my head on XiaoLong's shoulder.

"Aaahhh… it feels so nice here."

XiaoLong smiles and glances out at the pretty view, of course, not as pretty as the beloved girl beside him.

I allowed the breeze to rustle her glimmering hair, as I closed my eyes. I listened to the sounds of the yacht in the water. I open my eyes after a while and spot a dark spot in the distance.

"What's that?" I ask XiaoLong.

XiaoLong squints at the unclear, far object.

"I'm not sure…It looks like a ship…"

I open my eyes wide and afraid. What if it's a pirate ship? Are they still around? As I ponder, deep in my thoughts, I didn't notice the sinister gaze on my back, and the knocked out soldiers. In a quick blow, I was knocked out.

I wake up in a dark chamber.

"X-xiaoLong?" I croak.

Bewildered, I rub my eyes and glance around the gloomy black room.

A cold sinister voice comes from behind, "Heehee, so this is the princess that killed my beloved Sadie."

A long, pointy finger and a witch's face gradually makes its way over. I stare, frightened. The pointy finger with a long sharp nail makes its way under my chin and the unsightly face searches across mine. I shiver, frightened of the situation and of the cold aura of the witch-like old woman.

I slowly shift my hand towards my leg, praying for it to go unnoticed. Finally securing my hand on the dagger that hung on my leg, I swiftly executed a cut across the witch's face.

"AAARGH!" she howls in pain.

However, as they have quick reflexes, they charge at me, releasing their murderous aura. However, especially because of the adrenaline in my blood right now, in the horrendously scary situation, where I felt that I lost all hope and all logic, I took down the two buff guards in one shot. I didn't have time to be amazed at the skills and only ran straight ahead in the tunnel.

There's light! I literally scream in my head. I run and run, as fast as my legs could take me. I could barely breath as I ran, and finally, I arrived! The outside!... what? I glance down at the hollering waves crashing at a shore of an...island?