Chapter 130: Behind the Cloak

The inn was loud in the way all inns were meant to be, full of clattering bowls and overlapping voices. The low hum of travelers settled into the evening.

Lantern light flickered across the polished wood and half-shadowed faces, turning everything warm and deceptive, as though nothing dangerous could exist in a place like this.

But danger had a way of sitting quietly in the corners.

At a table tucked just far enough from the main crowd to notice, a cloaked figure sat alone. Her presence was unremarkable to anyone who glanced her way. Her hood was drawn low, shadows obscuring her face. Even her posture was relaxed in a way that suggested disinterest.

She was anything but that.

Han Shuying watched.

Her gaze, hidden beneath the fall of her hood, rested on the group across the room. The three former princesses and the girl beside them who had her entire attention. Ru Yi.

Even with the disguise the triplets used, it wasn’t hard for Han Shuying to tell it was them. After all, they’d grown up together. A short hair and male clothes could do nothing to conceal their identity.

There was no mistaking them.

She’d seen Ru Yi at the market and followed her to the inn they were all lodging at. Good girl, she smirked. Leading her right to her targets.

Shuying’s fingers tapped once, lightly, against the side of her cup.

The triplets were easier to read. They leaned toward one another, their familiarity obvious, their guard lowered in a way that spoke of the trust they had in each other.

Still, Han Shuying could sense the tension that was hanging over their heads. Her fingers wrapped tightly around the cup when Yexue raised her arm and put it around Ru Yi’s shoulders.

A flicker of movement drew Han Shuying’s attention, and she shifted her gaze slightly as someone approached her table.

He did not sit.

"Commander," the man said under his breath. His tone was carefully neutral, though his posture gave him away. He stood too straight, too alert, like every part of him was waiting for instruction.

Han Shuying did not look at him.

"You’ll return to the capital ahead of me."

The man hesitated. "And what should I report?"

Only then did Han Shuying move, her head tilting slightly...enough for the edge of her gaze to fall on him from beneath the hood. It was enough to make him stiffen.

"Tell her Majesty, The Empress," she said calmly, "that we lost the target on the road to Emberfall."

The man frowned faintly, uncertainly flickering across his face. "Lost...them?"

"Yes," Han Shuying answered in a bored tone.

"But..." the man’s gaze went to the table behind him where the small group Han Shuying had been watching sat.

"They separated from us in the confusion of the pass," Shuying repeated, as if the story had already been decided. "We could not find them after they made it into Emberfall."

Her tone did not change. It did not need to.

"They could not have gotten far," she added after a brief pause. "I will remain in Emberfall for several days to continue the search. If there is still no sign of them, then I’ll return to the capital."

The man studied her for a moment, as though weighing whether to question further. He did not.

"Yes, commander," he said at last.

Han Shuying gave a small, almost absent nod, already turning her attention back to the group when he stepped away.

Her gaze settled once more on Ru Yi.

She’d told a simple lie—one that Empress Shen Lihua would not question. At least not immediately.

There were too many variables, too many uncertainties along the room for such a report to seem unusual. And in that time between, Shuying would have what she needed.

Her eyes narrowed when Ru Yi shifted in her seat. She said something that drew a brief laugh from Yexue. But Shuying was no longer listening to their words.

She was watching the space between them— the way Ru Yi’s attention drifted, even in the middle of conversation.

There was something there, something worth uncovering.

Han Shuying leaned back as she considered her next move. She was here for Ru Yi alone, she could care less what happened to the triplets. But approaching her while they were there was out of question.

She played with the bracelet on her wrist, the once Ru Yi had given her. A small smile played on her lips.

As if summoned by the thought alone, Ru Yi stood up from the table.

Han Shuying’s gaze sharpened.

Ru Yi murmured something to the triplets, a brief explanation before stepping away. She weaved through the wood tables and walked back to the inn.

She went in the direction of the bathhouse.

A full smile bloomed on Han Shuying’s lips, though it never reached her eyes. Perfect...this was perfect.

-

-

The bathhouse was quieter than the main hall, the noise of the inn fading into a distant murmur as the door slid shut behind Ru Yi.

Steam curled through the air, thick and warm, carrying the faint scent of herbs and clean water. Lanterns hung along the walls, their light softened by the haze.

Ru Yi exhaled as she stepped inside, some of the tension in her shoulders easing as the quiet settled around her.

For a moment, she simply stood there. Letting the warmth calm her nerves. Before she pulled her robe off and went into the bath.

The water was warm, almost too warm at first. But she sank into it slowly, letting the heat seep into her skin, loosening the muscles she hadn’t realized were tight.

Her thoughts, however, did not settle down as easily.

They drifted, circling back to the things she could not quite shake off. What the woman had said about not belonging to this world.

Sure, she could make sense of that. After all, she’d transmigrated here after dying. But what she couldn’t wrap her head around was being the shadow that was constantly haunting this body.

It made her start to question where the soul of the original character had gone. Why had she never wondered about it in the past?

The old woman had said she’d bring doom to everyone around her.

It made her frown faintly, her fingers tracing absent patterns along the face of the water.

Was this the interpretation of her nightmare? Did the woman see the future? Were the princesses really destined to die by her hand?

Even alone in the bathhouse, Ru Yi could still feel a lingering dark presence. But she knew it was all in her head.

Maybe she should find the old woman again. If she was really going to cause misfortune to the triplets, then she needed to know if there was a way to stop that from happening.

Something twisted painfully in her chest at the suggestion she might have to leave the triplets. Especially Yexue.

A sound, soft and almost imperceptible, broke the stillness.

Ru Yi froze.

She lifted her head, her senses sharpening as she listened. "Is anyone there?" There was no answer. Just the faint drip of water, the quiet hiss of steam.

She exhaled slowly, her shoulders relaxing just a fraction. Maybe she was imagining—

A presence shifted behind her.

Before she could turn, a hand closed around her neck. It wasn’t tight enough to choke, but firm enough to stop her from moving.

Fingers curved with deliberate precision against the side of her throat, thumb resting just below her jaw.

The warmth of the water suddenly felt distant, her entire body going still as instinct took over. Her breath caught as her pulse quickened beneath the steady pressure of the hand at her throat.

"Don’t move."

The voice was low, calm, and unmistakably controlled. Above all...it sounded familiar.

Ru Yi’s eyes narrowed, her mind racing even as her body remained still. "Who are you?"

The grip not tighten. It didn’t need to. Whoever stood behind her knew exactly how much force to use.

Ru Yi’s thoughts sharpened.

The person was certainly not a common attacker...not a drunk, and not someone reckless.

Ru Yi felt them lean into her, their mouth stopping directly on her ear. They were close enough for Ru Yi to feel the faint brush of breath through the damp air.

"Wouldn’t you like to know," the person behind her whispered. "You’re also very calm for someone being held like this."

There was no mockery in it, no urgency either.

"If you intended to kill me," Ru Yi said quietly, "you would have done it already."

"Mm." The sound was soft, almost amused. "Should I be offended or impressed?"

Ru Yi did not respond.

"Ahhh, you’re not going to answer me?" the person tightened their hold on Ru Yi’s neck. "I’m not worth any words from you?"

Ru Yi gulped. "I don’t want any trouble."

The person laughed, recognition at the edge of their voice. "Oh, well. Then you should’ve never caught my attention in the first place."