"So you've known each other since you were young?" Ye An asked as the four of them trudged along the cobblestoned pathway towards the palace.

Ah Lin stretched his neck forward over Xi Chen who was walking in between them to look at the emperor as he answered. "Yes, we were the two runts of the military." He then turned his attention to Xi Chen. "And now look at how well little Xi Chen grew." Ah Lin said as he gave Xi Chen's back a good-natured slap.

"Runts?" Ye An asked questioningly.

Ah Lin took a few large steps and turned to face the group as he walked backward with his hands crossed leisurely behind his head. "Yup! We were the youngest in the troop when we first entered the military. And both of us had the smallest stature. So we were always paired together for everything, especially sparring."

"Yes, I remember how competitive you were back then. And ruthless too." Xi Chen rolled his eyes at Ah Lin. It was the first time Ye An saw this side of the lieutenant.

"Yes, I managed to break his ribs countless times." Ah Lin told Ye An with his chest puffed up in pride. "But hey, it probably contributed to his growth spurt by spurring his body's repair mechanism more times than it needed to be spurred. Now he's literally a giant." Ah Lin patted on Xi Chen's arm in exaggerated paternal fondness.

Xi Chen gave an exasperated smile and shook his head. "As if. Don't take credit for what was the result of my genetics. And you forgot to mention that I also managed to break your nose into a million pieces.

"Well, now. It was one clean break. Not a million pieces. Don't you ever doubt the accuracy of your punches, my brother. And I quite like the rugged look my slightly crooked nose gives me. So it seems like I should be thanking you for the upgrade." Ah Lin bowed to Xi Chen playfully before turning to Sze Chang who was striding quietly on the other side of the emperor during the entire exchange. "So, Chang. Where are you from and what do you do?"

"I'm the Minister of Foreign Affairs and I lived in the Temple of Ninety-Nine Blessings before moving to the capital about a year ago." Sze Chang answered politely, losing his own playful exuberance in the presence of Ah Lin's much rowdier spirit.

"Ohh.. Interesting. A foreign minister who lived in isolation his entire life?" Ah Lin mused. "Well if that isn't the plot of a great story, I don't know what is."

"I assure you, it's nothing remarkable." Sze Chang laughed, as he slowly thawed under Ah Lin's attention.

"Is it?" Ah Lin raised an eyebrow at him.

Sze Chang smiled. "Yes, it is."

"So how is life at the temple? Do you need to shave your head while you're there? Are you a monk who needs to abstain from everything sinful?" Ah Lin raised both his eyebrows playfully at Sze Chang.

"Ah Lin!" Xi Chen reprimanded the captain. "You shouldn't speak that way to the people you've just met."

"It's alright, Lieutenant Yun. At least he's honest about his curiosity." Sze Chang laughed before he continued. "Well, I only lived at the temple because my dad was the keeper of the grounds there. So he was the one who would do all the repairs that needed to be done and go to town for the food that the monks couldn't scavenge, plant, or produce themselves."

"Ohh.. Right. So... You're not a monk and don't need to shave your head?"

"Ah Lin!" Xi Chen scolded Ah Lin again as Ye An who was watching at the sidelines laughed softly at the young captain's antics. She found Ah Lin's unrestrained nature refreshing.

But Sze Chang didn't seem perturbed by the question and only smiled warmly at Ah Lin's question. "Unfortunately, no."

"Ah, well." Ah Lin remarked in disappointment but that disappointment soon dissipated when he realized that they've arrived at the back entrance to the Northern Wing of the Imperial Palace. "Oh look. We're already here!"

"Well, gentlemen. I guess that's my cue. Good to have shared a meal with you, Minister Sze. And nice to finally meet you, Ah Lin. I'll see you all tomorrow. Goodnight." Ye An bid the three men farewell before entering the palace grounds.

After the door closed on the emperor, Ah Lin quickly hooked his arms over the shoulders of the two other men. "So! Gentlemen, shall we look for the best liquor in town to lose ourselves in?"

Sze Chang removed himself from Ah Lin's arm gingerly and refused apologetically. "My apologies, Captain Zhang. But I would need to excuse myself. It has been a long day for me. Right now, I only long for my bed."

"Chang, just call me Ah Lin. Well, then. I wouldn't want to force it on you. Although it was a short time, it was nice meeting you." Ah Lin replied amiably.

"Likewise, Ah Lin. See you, Lieutenant Yun." With those parting words, Sze Chang left the group.

When it was just the two of them, Ah Lin gave Xi Chen a wicked look that Xi Chen had seen a million times before. "Now that it's just you and me, let's go have fun and drink the night away!"

Xi Chen gave Ah Lin an indulgent smile. "Aren't you tired from your travel?"

"Not at all." Ah Lin replied chirpily as he dragged Xi Chen with his arm that was still hooked over the latter's wide shoulders. "Besides, the wine at the banquet wasn't even nearly enough. I like my liquor strong."

Xi Chen gave out a small laugh. "I'm always impressed by your bottomless alcohol tolerance."

Ah Lin let go of Xi Chen and spread his arms to the sky. "That is the beauty of youth! Now less talk and let's go, old man!"

Without waiting for Xi Chen, Ah Lin headed in the direction of the tavern. Xi Chen shook his head disbelievingly at the level of energy that Ah Lin possessed. He could only wish for a quarter of Ah Lin's cheeriness.

As they headed back to the tavern, both of them passed by a shaggy dojo that they had missed earlier. Ah Lin hooked his arm over Xi Chen's shoulders once again as he spoke.

"It's been a long time since we've sparred. Care to join me for a fight down memory lane?" Ah Lin challenged.

Xi Chen smiled. "Of course I'll join you."

Even though it was dark inside, they still knocked at the sliding door of the dojo just in case.

"Xi Chen, I don't think this place is owned by anyone. At least no one came to clear those overgrown weeds." Ah Lin gestured to the weeds growing at the sides of the dojo.

Xi Chen cautiously slid the door open and both of them caught a strong whiff of must.

"Wow. The smell." Ah Lin remarked beside him, scrunching up his nose.

"Why? Can't even stand a little bit of mustiness?" Xi Chen teased Ah Lin in the way big brothers tease their younger siblings.

As Ah Lin had described to Ye An earlier, both Xi Chen and him were the military runts when they were young. But even though they were of the same age, Xi Chen was always acting as the big brother and took care of Ah Lin just because he himself looked a little bit less malnourished when in reality he was also just another small child. And that big brother act continued well into adulthood.

But what Ah Lin didn't know was that caring for him centered Xi Chen, especially during the early days when he was fresh out of the bloodshed of the war. It helped distract him from his own dark thoughts and was his only solace at the time.

Ah Lin scoffed indignantly at Xi Chen. "Let's do this." He continued as he stepped into the dojo and lit up the old candles on the wall. It took him some time to light them all up because they were covered with a thick layer of dust. It was a miracle that they even lit up at all.

"So, bare hands?" Ah Lin asked cockily as he unstrapped the sheath of his sword and took his top off to ready himself for the fight.

"You wish to end up with broken knuckles?" Xi Chen contested as he placed his sheathed sword on his own neatly folded top.

"Oooh. I'm scared. But I guess I do still need my hands to row some boats tomorrow. Broken knuckles would be a nuisance. Fine, let's wrap these bad boys with bandage then." Ah Lin opened a cabinet to search for bandages and tossed a pair to Xi Chen when he found them.

"Two out of three hits to win?" Xi Chen asked as he caught the bandages thrown at him.

"Sure. I like the way you think. Less time to conclude the fight but there would be more at stake with each punch." Ah Lin said cheekily.

Both of them wrapped their hands skillfully and efficiently, a habit that came from a well-practiced routine. In two wags of a dog's tail, they were both in a fighting stance in the center of the dojo, prepared for the spar.

Tension embellished the air of the old dojo as both men started to circle each other under the flickering fire of the candles, eyeing each other carefully to look for an open window for attack. Approximately one and a half rotations later, Ah Lin took the first jab which was dodged by Xi Chen who proceeded to aim his punch at Ah Lin's abdomen. Xi Chen's punch only grazed the side of Ah Lin's abdomen as the latter stepped to one side in reflex and counterattacked by taking a wide step forward and landing a hit on Xi Chen's back with an elbow.

"Hey! That's rude." Xi Chen exclaimed as he kneeled down from the impact. Ah Lin who was already a meter away only opened his arms and shrugged smugly.

Xi Chen stood back up. They started to circle each other again before Xi Chen feigned a punch to Ah Lin's face which made Ah Lin block his face with both of his arms in reflex. This opened up an opportunity for Xi Chen to land a punch on Ah Lin's abdomen which he did.

"Oy! That's not fair. You knew that I'd protect my pretty face. Thanks to someone, I now have a trauma of getting hit in the face." Ah Lin complained.

"Well, that was leaps fairer than your elbow on my back." Xi Chen countered with a rare boyish grin.

"Fine, I'll admit to that." Ah Lin admitted before quickly swinging his right arm into a hook to catch Xi Chen unawares at the side of his head which Xi Chen dodged by crouching down. Before Ah Lin could recover from the momentum of his right hook, Xi Chen's fist made contact with Ah Lin's chin from below as he pivoted himself back up, knocking Ah Lin back from the punch.

"Wow, you really don't soften your blows." Ah Lin moaned as he staggered a few steps back.

"Trust me, you would have been knocked unconscious just now if I didn't control my strength." Xi Chen flashed a triumphant smile at Ah Lin.

Ah Lin couldn't even say anything to that because deep down he knew that it was the truth.

"I saw how you looked at His Imperial Majesty just now." Ah Lin commented offhandedly as they continued to spar with each other despite already having a winner between them.

Xi Chen had a mental whiplash at the sudden change in subject, but quickly came back to himself. "Oh, I know what you're doing. Trying to distract me during a fight like you always do. Good try."

Ah  Lin only raised an eyebrow knowingly, letting the silence between them do its work.

In only a few moments, Xi Chen couldn't help but crack under the oppressive weight of the silence and let out a scoff that was extremely out of character for him in an effort to divert the conversation. "I don't know where you get that idea from."

Unfortunately for Xi Chen, Ah Lin was having none of that. "Well, for one, you're honest to a fault. And that honesty doesn't only apply to your words. The way you were looking at him the entire time.. That was how you looked at Yuefei all those years ago." Ah Lin said, suddenly serious.

Xi Chen could only stay silent at Ah Lin's observation. He knew that there was no point in denying it anymore. 

That was all the confirmation that Ah Lin needed as he put his hands down from his fight stance and walked urgently towards Xi Chen. "Are you insane? No, why am I even asking? You've definitely lost your marbles. For one, he's a man. Secondly, and most importantly, he's the emperor!" Ah Lin's voice turned into a whisper by the end of his statement.

Xi Chen put his fists down as well. "Yes, thank you for pointing out what I've already worked out myself. Do you think I haven't tried quelling my feelings?"

Both men stared at each other for a moment before Ah Lin sighed. "So what are you going to do?"

Xi Chen walked to the side of the dojo to dress and take off the bandage on his hands, he was no longer in the mood to do anything. "What can I do? I just need to do my job and try my best not to show what I'm feeling towards him."

"And hope that it goes away in time? Like it did with Yuefei?" Ah Lin questioned hopefully for Xi Chen's sake as he too took the bandages off his hands and dressed.

"And.. Hope it goes away in time.." Xi Chen repeated Ah Lin's words uncertainly as he folded his tall frame to sit cross-legged on the floor in defeat.

Ah Lin's eyes widened. He sat down beside Xi Chen and looked at him in concern. "My goodness, don't tell me it won't go away this time?"

Xi Chen only lifted his face to look at Ah Lin helplessly.

"Well. Dang. Sucks to be you, buddy." Ah Lin shook his head while giving Xi Chen's shoulder a slap.

Xi Chen could only sigh while he massaged his temples. "I couldn't even leave to have some space away from him to clear my thoughts. I don't even know what to do, Ah Lin."

"Well that's an understatement." Ah Lin remarked. "Why don't you request for a transfer? Let someone else be his bodyguard?"

"I can't do that. I don't think I can trust anyone with him. Too many people are against him."

"So? That isn't your problem, Xi Chen!" Ah Lin stated sternly.

Xi Chen couldn't seem to word his thoughts and only look at Ah Lin weakly.

Floored by the vulnerability in Xi Chen's gaze, Ah Lin quietly replied. "You know that I would gladly take over." 

But Xi Chen could see that Ah Lin's words didn't quite reach his eyes and he also knew his best friend was a man who lived for action. It would drive Ah Lin absolutely crazy if the only thing he did all day was guarding the emperor and nothing else. "No. I know how lost you'll be if all you do is follow the emperor throughout his day."

Ah Lin couldn't even deny that statement. 

Taking a deep breath, Xi Chen said frankly. "I'll just need to suck it up."

"And when he marries? What then?" Ah Lin asked, still worried about his best friend. "You do know that he would need to get married and have kids someday, don't you? And considering His Imperial Majesty's age, that someday might be sooner than you think."

Xi Chen took his time before answering. "I know. I'm just taking things one day at a time. And who knows? Maybe things would be better when the time comes. If not, then I don't know what I'll do."

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