Min Ning left the Prince Mansion, her steps wide and determined, as she crossed through alleyways and passed through doorways, leaving the increasingly bustling courtyard behind her.
The cobblestone road beneath her feet gradually turned into a gravel path, and the towering walls of the Prince Mansion retreated steadily beside her.
She walked faster and faster, the scabbard of her single sword lightly tapping against her leg, producing a rhythmically urgent sound, as if urging her to go faster, even faster, to leave all those entanglements, longings, and the glimpse of a small home far behind.
Yet no matter how fast she walked, that hollow feeling seemed to follow her like a shadow, weighing heavily on her chest, as if a piece had been gouged out, with a cold wind rushing in.
This feeling was both unfamiliar and familiar, like mingled with a peculiar sourness and helplessness, a pang in her chest that she knew shouldn't be there but couldn't suppress.
