Princess Agent: The Legend of Chu Qiao Season 2

Chapter 4: Season 2

Every single memory from the past flashed before her eyes. Finally, her soul had crumbled under all the pressure, being smashed into many pieces and fluttering in the air, fragment by fragment, like goose feathers.Suddenly, the midnight clock struck. A group of kids ran towards her and collided with her. A young girl was knocked to the ground; the somewhat fish-shaped lantern in her hand was squashed by the impact. It was white colored and had red eyes; it looked more like a rabbit instead. It had a symbol of a gold coin carved on its stomach. The young girl picked up her squashed lantern and started to cry loudly, as Chu Qiao stopped in her tracks. She squatted down and wiped the tears off the girl’s eyes, as she took out a lump of silver to give it to her.At that moment, a deafening sound of fireworks echoed out. As the nation welcomed the new year, the various households released fireworks into the sky as a gesture of celebration. The child froze and stopped crying as she covered her ears and shouted in excitement. However, Chu Qiao was seemingly struck hard by an invisible giant, as the color on her face drained away.“If you died, I would release 100 rows of fireworks to celebrate the fact that I would no longer need to return the favor,” she had previously said to the man. The man smiled without hiding his airs of arrogance and replied, “I don’t think you will have the chance to.”As the sounds of fireworks became louder and more synchronized, Chu Qiao started to cry aloud. Those memories which she had tried so hard to forget and suppress started to replay themselves again, causing an indescribable feeling of pain to surge within her heart, totally erasing her outer layer of calmness and composure.“What…what’s wrong?” the child was startled. As the fireworks continued to boom, she said, “Don’t cry. You don’t need to pay me anymore…” The sounds of the fireworks became even louder. Chu Qiao could no longer hide her inner feelings as she sat in the middle of the bustling street, bawling her eyes out as she covered her face.

Splash! A ripple formed as something fell into the pond outside. The wind blew open another window in Chu Qiao’s house. She stood up to close the window, seeing that the plum plants under her house had grown to be as tall as the building itself. She froze as her hand hung in mid-air. The moonlight shone on her hand, forming a mottled shadow. In a flash, two years had passed. The plum seeds that she had planted back then had grown into plum trees which were as tall as her rooftop. Time was the most callous thing to grace the surface of the world. It never stopped due to any joy or sorrow; any intense emotions would be cooled down along with its passing. That night, she departed Yunbi City. After journeying for half a month, she reached Beishuo City. On another particular morning, she walked along the deserted streets of Beishuo, all the way to the city gates. When she stepped out of the city gates, she saw numerous citizens of Yan Bei. The contingent was made up of the city’s inhabitants, as well as other civilians which had made the long trip down from the inner mainland. They included citizens from the cities of Shangshen, Luori Mountains, Lan, Chidu, Huihui Mountains and Meilin. When the citizens caught wind of the news of her departure, they gathered at Beishuo without saying another word. On her journey here, she had met many such parties. She did not know them, nor did they disturb her. They had followed her all the way here, till the city gates of Beishuo. They looked at her quietly as they prepared to send her off on her final journey. People from all walks of life were present, from the elderly to the children, from the foreigners outside the pass to the merchants from the eastern lands. The conscripts of Chidu, who had fought alongside her in battle against the Xia troops; the civilians of Beishuo, whom she had protected from certain death; the citizens of Shangshen, who had participated in the city’s reconstruction process; the shepherds under Huihui Mountains…they were all present. These people had gathered outside the city gates from early in the morning, forming a passageway on both sides for her to pass through. As she walked out, all of them gazed at her. Chu Qiao could never forget the look in their eyes. Some of them displayed unwillingness, sadness, worry, and fear. However, these emotions combined together to form an awkward feeling of dead silence which lingered in the air. Even the young children did not speak a word, as they gazed at her quietly, ever so quietly. In that instant, she felt overwhelmingly sad.She was aware of the responsibilities that she had to shoulder.