Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Heilong-yuan(Black Dragon Wall)
Heilong Bay (Black Dragon Bay)
Heilong Ridge (Black Dragon Ridge)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
Qinglong (Azure Dragron)
…
After two more days of travel, their water dwindling and their rations almost gone, the secret guards were hit with yet another setback.
Though both paths ahead were newly built roads, that only made their journey toward Black Dragon City even more confusing.
Long San kicked a rock in frustration. "Why is there a fork in the road?!"
Long Da's lips were dry and cracking, his voice hoarse and rasping.
"Brothers, which way do we go?"
They were on the verge of collapse. If they couldn't find the way, this road might become their final resting place.
Long Si pointed to the path on the right. "This one. Looks like it was built more recently. Maybe—just maybe—it was paved by someone under the Princess's command?"
The group fell into silence. Ever since the Princess had sent a letter home during the former Crown Prince's reign, there had been no word from her.
That letter had urged the Emperor to abdicate and allow the Crown Prince to ascend the throne.
The guards had been sent to search for her, but none of them knew if the Princess was still alive.
If she was, her situation was surely dire.
Judging by the barbarian leader's description, the demons were savage and brutal. How could the Princess possibly survive in such a place?
Three more days passed. They had completely run out of food and water, and Long Er's condition had deteriorated badly.
Long San and Long Si were starting to hallucinate. Only Long Da could still barely remain on his feet.
Long Er lay on the ground, coughing up blood in thick gurgling mouthfuls.
"Boss… you go. Leave us. Maybe you're close. If you find the Princess, just… send someone to collect our corpses. Or hang us from a tree so the beasts don't get us."
Long Da regretted not saving the blood from the beast they killed.
His lips were cracked and bleeding, eyes bloodshot, completely transformed from the youth he had been.
They had long since ripped off their fake beards and eyebrows. Once handsome and fresh-faced, they now looked like worn-down middle-aged men.
The three forced Long Da to leave them behind. At last, he stood.
He staggered, vision blurred. He doubted he could get much farther.
With a grimace, Long San suddenly sliced open his wrist. "Boss! Drink my blood. Hurry!"
As the blood began to fall to the ground, he dropped to one knee, lifting his arm to Long Da's mouth.
Long Si sat with Long Er in his arms, eyes unfocused, seeing blinding spots of light.
Long Da's mouth was soon covered in Long San's blood. Long San, pale from blood loss, collapsed to the ground.
"…What's that?" Long Er's weak voice broke the heavy silence.
A black dot in the distance grew steadily larger—a massive shape approaching.
They all instinctively tried to move, but their bodies had no strength left. All they could do was close their eyes in despair.
A screech of brakes.
A driver stuck his head out the window. "You have a death wish?! Standing in the middle of the road?!"
But upon seeing the half-dead humans, the driver quickly opened the door.
"Humans? Where did you come from?"
Long Da stepped in front of his comrades.
"We're from the Yin Dynasty. We entered with a merchant caravan. We got separated during a beast attack—we didn't mean to trespass on Black Dragon territory."
Yin Dynasty?
The bus driver, a retired palace guard, knew very well that their Queen came from the Yin Dynasty.
"You… you know our Queen?"
Hope sparked in Long Da's chest. The others felt it too.
"We heard the Princess married into the demon realm… is there any chance we can meet her?"
The driver gave them a long look.
"You guys…"
Their hearts leaped to their throats.
The driver sighed. "Forget it. You're just a few humans. I'll leave it to the Queen to decide."
He had heard that human nations sometimes sent assassins disguised as envoys to stir up conflict. If these four were here to assassinate the Queen, the Demon King would ensure they met a fate worse than death.
This bus was headed for Black Dragon Wall, not back to Black Dragon City until tomorrow.
The guards were chilled to the bone when they realized: that had they continued on foot, even Long Da would've died.
The driver handed out his remaining water and a few peaches.
"Demon food probably won't sit well with you, but a bit won't kill you. These are fruits. Safe enough."
The four of them wolfed it down, feeling like they'd come back from the dead.
Long Er especially—his ribs had been broken by a Fangtooth Tapir. He'd thought he was done for, but after eating the peach, the pain eased noticeably.
Riding in the bus, they felt like tourists in the demon realm.
When they learned the vehicle had been ordered by the Queen herself, they were stunned. Why hadn't the Princess done any of this back in the palace?
…
"They say they're from the Yin Dynasty?"
Yin Jixue was stunned. The Yin court would never reach out unless something major had happened.
"Have they been searched?"
A guard replied, "We had them change clothes. They weren't carrying any weapons."
Yin Jixue raised a hand. "Bring them in. I'll see what the humans want."
The guard hesitated. "Shouldn't we wait for the King?"
"No need. They can't hurt me."
To her, a few humans were about as dangerous as chickens.
Long Da and the others were brought to the Demon Palace—which made the human royal palace seem like a small cottage in comparison. On foot, it would've taken them a full day to reach the main hall.
Thankfully, the guards who escorted them used a demon transport vehicle—open-air, no doors, just rows of seats.
"The Queen wants to see you. Behave yourselves."
The secret guards were tense and filled with anticipation.
They'd heard countless tales of the Queen on their way. Some suspected the Princess might be dead, and that the Queen was someone else entirely.
If that were true, they had to prepare for the worst. Someone had to make it out alive to report back.
As they neared the audience chamber, their hearts beat faster.
As trained secret guards, they were supposed to remain calm.
But this was the first time they'd ever stood before a demon queen. Who could stay calm?
"The Queen is ready. Enter."
A clear, melodic voice came from within:
"Come in."
The last time they'd heard the Princess speak, she had still been a child. They couldn't be sure if this voice was hers.
Heads bowed, the four guards entered the hall.
This was Lou Zhao's study, which he had given to Yin Jixue. As the weather warmed, she had moved out of her smaller office.
The Queen hadn't asked them to raise their heads, so they remained bowed.
Then came a clearer voice:
"Long Da?"
He looked up with a jolt. The other three forgot all protocol and lifted their heads.
Together, they cried out: "Princess!"
Yin Jixue offered them seats.
"How did you end up in the demon realm?"
Judging by how much they'd aged, they had suffered a great deal. She even noticed that Long Si now had gray at his temples.
Long Si was the same age as her.
"That's the whole story. His Majesty sent us."
Yin Jixue smiled wryly. "The demon realm's been chaotic lately. I didn't send any letters home—never thought it would worry him this much."
She had assumed her tsundere little brother didn't care about her. Turns out, he was tsundere and devoted.
"Since you're here, rest and recover first. No need to rush back. I'll write him a letter myself."
When she was little, Yin Jixue didn't have her memories from the modern world. Still, she had once dreamed of becoming a hero and even studied martial arts under Long Da for a while.
Under her father's orders, Long Da had only taught her horse stance for physical conditioning—she did that for an entire year.