Before Ye An could react, the executioner's sword descended with a force so monstrous that the heavy blade embedded into the wooden platform. Ye An could only watch in utter shock as the beheaded corpse flopped to the ground, a pool of blood rapidly spreading from it. Someone from the crowd shrieked.

"Silence!" Minister Peng yelled towards the general audience. "Or your head would be the one rolling next!"

The executioner proceeded to jerk the sword free. Blood arching into the air with the momentum. A discrete signal must've been given to the executioner when Ye An was blinded by the reddish haze of her rage. A rage had grown into a tempestuous blizzard, compelling her to take a step forward.

Xi Chen yanked her back by the elbow and hissed, "Not now!"

Ye An turned to look at Xi Chen with a furious gaze and snarled, actually snarled, at him. "Let me go. I'm going to kill those men. I'm going to slash that smile off of their faces."

Xi Chen's own incensed gaze met hers squarely but it wasn't to burn at her, only with her, as his whispers grew urgent. "It's not the time! You know it's not the time! There's only ten of us here! You reveal yourself and who's to know that five hundred archers won't be raining arrows down on us?! Then what do you think will happen? We'll die and this would continue!"

Ye An pursed her lips.  With a sharp turn away from Xi Chen, she returned her gaze to the crowd, her face conflicted. Most of the crowd were trembling with horror but Ye An watched as they tried their very best to stand as stiff as the trees in a breezeless forest, as if fearing that even slightly shifting their weight without permission would make them the next target to be executed. 

Sensing that Ye An won't be barreling into the crowd anytime soon, Xi Chen released her. Ye An slumped dejectedly and gritted her teeth. Xi Chen was right. She squared her shoulders and faced the small party, putting on a mask devoid of any emotion. "Let's go."

They turned away from the crowd with reluctance dragging at their feet and headed towards one of the two towers framing the city gates. Unlike the multiple towers dotting the walls at northern border, there was only a pair of towers here that were bridged by a corridor above the city gates. 

Ye An's original plan was to split the party into two for an ambush above the city gates, disarming the watch guards that were sure to be there before opening the gates. However, with the crowd gathered around the execution platform, the group, however small it was, won't be able to escape their eyes if they were to cross to the other side of the city gates. Ye An had to revise the plan.

"We will be entering through this tower together." Ye An explained to the men as they huddled around her. "So we better make it count and make it fast. Anyone who doesn't surrender willingly will be slain."

"And those who do?" One of the soldiers asked.

Xi Chen was the one who answered, "Let them live."

To which, Ye An nodded while adding, "I couldn't discount those who might not have the choice to flee." Her eyes darkened momentarily as her mind returned to the man that was executed mere minutes ago. "But if they prove to be against us, or if you suspect that they are merely hindering us in any way to buy time, kill them. We couldn't afford to waste any time. Our goal is to open the city gates as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty." The soldiers all echoed quietly.

Ye An's eyes met each and everyone of their gazes and finally rested on Xi Chen's bright hazel eyes. "It's time. Let's go."

With Ye An's lead, they moved as one. She tried the door at the base of the tower. Ye An wasn't surprised that there wasn't any guards at the tower base but she was surprised that the door wasn't locked. They must've thought that there wasn't any need for such tight security with the whole city under lockdown. What fools. Similar to the towers at the northern border, the inside of this tower was dark, its twisting stairs steep and narrow with well worn stone steps that were as slippery as the koi fishes from the lakes of the Imperial Garden.

"Tread carefully." Ye An's murmured warning travelled through the men's careful breathing and light steps.

Soon, they hit the wooden trap door at the top of the stairs. With a hand lifted to signal the men behind her to halt, Ye An perked her ears. No sooner did she do that, bootsteps thumped overhead with indistinct mutterings of a conversation between two watch guards. Everyone in the party froze, only releasing their muscles when the watch guards were far enough that they no longer hear any noise overhead.

 Ye An waited and counted to ten under her breath before slowly lifting the wooden trap door, inch by inch, until she deemed that the coast was clear. Ye An climbed out of the opening stealthily with the men behind her flowing out in order, all of them with fiercely focused gazes on them. Ye An circled around to check if anyone else was around. She knew that there were at least five watch guards above the city gates at all times, but fortune was smiling down at them. No one else was around. At least not in this room. The trap door opened to a circular room that was smaller than the ones at the northern border, with only one open archway leading towards the corridor that pointed towards the mirroring room on the opposite tower. There were shelves of weapons lining against the walls, and catapults haphazardly shoved into the space in between the shelves.

Ye An edged towards the archway with her back as close as she could get to the uneven stone walls. She peeped out of the archway and saw the backs of the men from earlier. They were nearing the other tower when another pair came out from the tower and greeted them. Ye An quickly ducked out of sight.

"Stand guard." Ye An ordered. "Another pair is coming towards us."

Xi Chen then took the helm and instructed everyone, "Blend into the walls. We will ambush them when they enter. And we are doing it quietly. Understood?"

The group heeded Xi Chen's instructions and plastered themselves tight against the stone walls. Everyone in the room stood in bated breath and tightly-bound anticipation.

Faint footsteps gradually grew louder until Ye An was able to eavesdrop on the watch guards' conversation.

"Man! Did you see the spray of his blood! I wish that I could've been down there."

Ye An knew that he was talking about the execution. It was an effort to tamper the fury that started boiling again.

The other watch guard sounded like he was a bit further away but Ye An could hear that the voice was tight with reserve when he replied, "Don't be a savage. A man just lost his life."

The first watch guard stepped into the threshold and guffawed as he carelessly twisted to answer him. "What's with you? He looks like he's just a common peasant-"

Swift as a swallow, Ye An reached for a dagger on her waistband and lodged the blade into the watch guard's throat. Shock marred the watch guard's eyes as they frantically searched for his attacker, finally landing on Ye An as he gurgled in his blood. "You-" His speech sounded garbled and blood gushed out of his wound as he tried to speak.

The watch guard behind him was frozen in shock for a split second before drawing his sword. "Wh- Who are you?" He had no idea that Ye An was not alone.

Ye An's gaze swept to Xi Chen who was across her. He nodded and Ye An pulled the man she stabbed aside to give way to him. Xi Chen drew White Tiger out of its sheath and inched towards the second watch guard.

The watch guard faltered, the hands on his sword wavered. "Tha- That sword.. Lieutenant Yun.."

The rest of the party inched behind Xi Chen and the eyes of the watch guard grew into saucers as his feet stumbled back. Only then he realized that he was outnumbered. His eyes casted a quick dart towards the other tower. 

Xi Chen knew what the watch guard was planning to do before he started running back towards where he came from. Xi Chen was at his back in an instant. With the hilt of his sword, Xi Chen hit the watch guard at a median point at the back of his neck, causing him to collapse.

In the room where Ye An was, she watched as the watch guard drew his last rattled breath before removing the dagger at his throat and wiping it clean with his clothes.

"Is he dead?" Ye An asked as she emerged onto the corridor.

Xi Chen turned to look at her, sheathing his sword. "No. I just knocked him out."

Ye An nodded tersely before addressing everyone. "Let's move on. There should still be three of them in the opposite tower." And so they crept through the corridor with Xi Chen at the lead and Ye An tailing. Their careful steps treaded with caution on the weathered stones.

As they neared the open archway, they could hear the shuffling of people moving about the room. Suddenly, thunder rumbled. And without any warning, rain fell over them in great pelts. Ye An squinted through the rain. One of the watch guards passed by the open archway and noticed them. Xi Chen quickly unsheathed his sword, but only halfway, so that the pommel hit the bottom of the guard's chin, making him lose his footing.

The commotion alerted the other two guards who seemed to be taking stock of the weapons on the shelf just a moment ago. One of them uttered, "What in the world-"

Xi Chen wasted no time and grabbed the guard in front of him by the throat and pushed his way in. The soldiers behind him rushed in to grab the other two. But before they could reach them, one of the watch guards reached for the throwing star on the shelf. With lightning speed, Ye An threw her dagger from the open archway. The metal of the dagger nicked the watch guard's  cheek and sliced his forearm before embedding onto the bamboo frame of the shelf between two of his fingers.

From the corner of her eye, Ye An caught a movement. There was another watch guard by the window. In his hands was a pigeon in a cage.

"No." Ye An breathed. He was going to release the pigeon to notify the guards at the Imperial Palace. Ye An ran over and ordered, "Stop!", but it was too late. The pigeon was released. Ye An reckoned that they only had ten minutes to open the gates before alarms were raised. She grabbed the watch guard by the collar and spat on his face, "What have you done?!"

The watch guard's eyes quavered when he noticed the dragon emblem on Ye An's armor. "Your- Your Imperial Majesty."

"You still dare call me that?" Ye An glowered. "After what you just did?"

The watch guard shook as he averted Ye An's gaze. "I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you."

Ye An's eyes narrowed at him. "Fine. Then, I'll need you to unlock the city gates."

"Y-yes, of course, Your Imperial Majesty." The watch guard stuttered.

When she turned to face the rest of the room, Ye An found that the other three watch guards were already bound and gagged. All three of them took in the dragon emblem on her armor and widened their eyes, trying to bow despite their restrictions. Ye An nodded at the soldiers in satisfaction of their superb knotting skills. 

She then tugged her hand that was still secured around the collars of the watch guard who released the pigeon and announced, "This gentleman just released a pigeon to the Imperial Palace. So we'll need to be quick. And lucky for us, he has also agreed to help us unlock the city gates." Ye An turned her focus back onto the watch guard beside her at the end of that sentence. "Get your keys."

After some fumbling under Ye An's watchful eyes, the watch guard finally found the keys. Ye An picked three of the soldiers to remain at the tower to watch over the remaining watch guards and made sure the watch guard that was left passed out at the corridor was bound and gagged as well before walking down the tower with the rest of the group.

By this point, the rain had morphed into a wrathful seasonal storm. When the small party appeared from the base of the tower, the unrelenting rain falling onto them felt like sharp iron pellets.

"Let's make this quick." Ye An yelled over the roar of the storm before catching sight of a lone figure by the execution platform. The crowd had dispersed, most likely from the torrential rain, except for this person who was currently kneeling by the platform. Curiosity got the better of Ye An as she handed the watch guard over to Xi Chen. "Make sure he unlocks the gates."

Without any explanation, Ye An braved the heavy rain and approached the kneeling figure by the platform. As she came closer, Ye An flinched when she realized that the dismembered body of the executed man was still strewn across the platform. But her attention was soon taken by the drenched figure. 

It was Yue Fei. 

She casted her teary gaze at Ye An before darting towards Ye An's armor and to the dragon emblem there. Yue Fei scrambled to a stand and bowed. "Y- Your Imperial Majesty!"

Ye An reached out to squeeze Yue Fei's arms. "At ease." And the physician lifted her head.

"What are you doing here under the storm? Where's your family? Where's Ah Xian?" Ye An asked through the rain.

"He is-" Her voice caught. "I left Ah Xian back at the inn. At least he didn't watch this. At least I've protected him from th- this." Yue Fei's chin quivered.

Ye An's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?" 

Yue Fei's eyes filled with tears again. Her voice shook as she spoke, "The person they executed today was my husband."

Ye An's lungs constricted. She made herself turn towards the decapitated corpse on the platform and realize that she recognized his side profile. A breath whooshed out of her. Ye An closed her eyes towards the sky, rain splattering on her face as she clenched her jaw, hearing Yue Fei's sobs. 

Ye An's eyes snapped open as held Yue Fei's hand. "Listen to me. The city gates will be opened soon. You need to get Ah Xian and everyone else who wants to leave. And then you run into the forest. Hide yourselves before the battle starts."

Yue Fei looked like she was still in a trance.

Ye An shook her by the arms. "Yue Fei!" 

Yue Fei blinked.

"Did you get what I said?"

Slowly, the physician nodded. Ye An watched as a stony determination gradually set in the physician's jaw. Yue Fei roughly wiped her tears away. She casted one last look at the corpse of her husband.

Following her gaze, Ye An reassured her, "I'll try my best to retrieve his body. Now go!"

Yue Fei nodded and with a last bow to Ye An to which she returned, the physician fled the scene as the massive city gates yawned open.

In a distance, a heavy gong was struck by a mallet, its vibration spreading like an ocean wave across the city, an alarm marking the start of the battle.

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Writer's note: T_T