The city woke before sunrise.
Not because of celebration.
Not because of war.
Because rumors moved faster than either.
By the time merchants opened their stalls, whispers were already spreading through the capital.
A dangerous criminal.
A hidden assassin.
A ghost in white.
The palace wanted him found.
Dead or alive.
Shen Lian heard the rumors before noon.
A fruit vendor repeated them casually to a customer.
Neither knew the man they were discussing stood only a few steps away.
He kept walking.
Head lowered.
Veil hidden beneath a dark cloak.
For years he had lived in shadows.
Today the shadows felt smaller.
The arrest order spread quickly.
Too quickly.
Which meant one thing.
Someone wanted him cornered.
Someone wanted him desperate.
Advisor Chen.
By evening, Shen Lian was already changing safe houses.
Then changing again.
And again.
Every location felt compromised.
Every street felt watched.
Every unfamiliar face became a threat.
For the first time in years—
he felt hunted.
Meanwhile, Li Xuan sat through another court session.
Barely listening.
The Crown Prince spoke.
Ministers argued.
Advisor Chen presented reports.
None of it mattered.
Until one sentence caught his attention.
"We believe the target is attempting to leave the capital."
Li Xuan's eyes lifted immediately.
Target.
Not suspect.
Target.
The decision had already been made.
That night he left the palace.
Again.
This time he wasn't looking for answers.
He was looking for Shen Lian.
Rain began to fall.
Thin.
Cold.
Enough to empty the streets.
The city became a maze of reflections and shadows.
Li Xuan moved through it quickly.
Following instinct more than evidence.
And then he heard it.
A bell.
Soft.
Brief.
Almost lost beneath the rain.
His heart reacted before his mind did.
A narrow alley.
A flash of white.
Then—
movement.
Too much movement.
Three figures dropped from nearby rooftops.
Masked.
Armed.
Waiting.
Not for him.
For Shen Lian.
The trap had already been sprung.
Steel flashed.
The first attacker lunged.
Shen Lian blocked the strike and twisted away.
Fast.
Precise.
But not fast enough.
Another blade cut across his shoulder.
Blood appeared immediately.
Dark against white fabric.
Li Xuan moved before thinking.
One moment he was at the end of the alley.
The next he was in the middle of the fight.
His sword crashed against an attacker's blade.
The impact echoed through the rain.
For a brief second—
Shen Lian looked surprised.
Not because Li Xuan came.
Because he came anyway.
Despite everything.
The attackers hesitated.
Only for a moment.
But a moment was enough.
Together, Li Xuan and Shen Lian broke through the formation.
Not perfectly.
Not cleanly.
But enough.
The surviving attackers retreated into the darkness.
Gone before reinforcements could arrive.
Silence returned.
Broken only by rainfall.
And breathing.
Li Xuan turned immediately.
"You're hurt."
Shen Lian almost laughed.
That was his concern?
Not the ambush.
Not the arrest order.
The injury.
"It's nothing."
The lie was obvious.
Blood dripped from his sleeve onto the wet stone.
One drop.
Then another.
For a moment neither spoke.
Rain fell between them.
The city around them felt very far away.
Finally Shen Lian said quietly,
"They found me faster than I expected."
Li Xuan's jaw tightened.
"No."
Shen Lian looked up.
"No?"
"They're not finding you."
The certainty in his voice made Shen Lian's chest ache.
Because for the first time—
he wanted to believe him.
But both of them knew.
The hunt had only just begun.