"Why so 'cloak and dagger'?

" Hao Xuan asked looking at the newly built walls around the rift.

Sun An put down the tablet in her hand and looked up. She had a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles hanging on the edge of her nose. Hao Xuan met her eyes and was somewhat taken aback.

He hadn't noticed in the meeting room earlier but she really was a sight to behold.

Clad in her dark silver armor, she looked ready for war. (Img in author notes)

"Valkyrie...

" Hao Xuan mumbled out loud without even realizing it.

He remembered reading about the Valkyries back on earth. They served directly under the AllFather, Odin, the most powerful god in Asgard.

He was told all the myths and legends on earth had some roots in reality, maybe Asgard was real too? Perhaps one of the 'Ten Heavens' was such a place?

"Is there something on my face?

" Sun An saw Hao Xuan staring at her mindlessly and touched her face.

Hao Xuan smiled and shook his head,

"No, Senior sister is so pretty that I almost got lost in your beauty,

" he replied smoothly.

It took Sun An a few seconds to process what he had said and when she did, a red hue appeared on her face.

"O-Oh, thank you,

" she averted her gaze and looked down at the tablet.

Hao Xuan was even more surprised by her reaction. Sun An looked very mature and was the one in charge of handling everything to do with the rift, but a small compliment made her blush? Maybe what he read in that magazine really was true...

Sun An gathered her composure and cleared her throat,

"Those are for our allies. Some of them are extremely popular and have many enemies, so keeping their identities secret is a high priority for us,

" she explained in a weak voice.

"Is that so?

" Hao Xuan smiled and almost wanted to tease her again upon seeing her flustered state, but stopped.

The other Valkyries standing behind Sun An had different expressions on their faces. Some were chuckling, while many were glaring at Hao Xuan angrily.

"Yo Cap'n, I'm ready, let's go!

" an energetic voice came from the entrance. Hao Xuan's smile turned into a scowl as he recognized the owner of the voice.

"I actually forgot about you,

" Hao Xuan replied without turning around.

"As if,

" Jin Wang came up to Hao Xuan and rested his elbow on his shoulder, or rather tried to but couldn't even reach it.

"Get off already dumbass,

" Hao Xuan pushed his hand away when he repeatedly kept trying to reach his shoulder.

"So who is coming with me then? They kept sending me messengers so I thought they would be here before me at least,

" he said looking around.

*clank*

There was a clanking noise from the entrance once again and in walked a group of about twenty people.

Hao Xuan turned around and saw who it was.

The leader was a youngster of about 17-18 years of age, followed by about a dozen guards in silver and gold armor that looked unnecessarily extravagant. With him were a few other young boys of the same age and a couple of older men.

What caught Hao Xuan's eye were these two old men. They looked to be about 50 to 60 years old but were giving off extremely strong energies. Both of them were in the Spirit Realm if not higher.

"Ah, Captain Deimos!

" the young man leading the group waved at Hao Xuan and came running up to him.

"Hello,

" Hao Xuan nodded back in return.

"That's one of them,

" Sun An introduced him when he kept staring at Hao Xuan with wide eyes without actually talking.

"Meet Prince Shi Chun. The youngest prince of Shi country. His is one of the parties you have to lead in there.

"

"Huh?

" Hao Xuan looked at the prince once again skeptically.

"This kid is a prince?

"

Shi Chun looked like a completely normal teenager, total opposite to his guards. He was in simple pants and shirt, looking quite elegant, but no one would be able to tell he was a prince, and of Shi country to boot!

Shi country was one of the most important allies of the kingdom of Mei. It was a Grade 1 Kingdom, so a Grade higher than Mei. It was located in the northwest and did a lot of business with Mei.

But unlike the Mei clan, the Shi clan was the most powerful authority in the entire kingdom. They ruled over everything with an iron fist and all of the powers had to answer to them. Luckily, the current head of the Shi clan was a very smart man and never did anything without reason.

"But why would they send the youngest prince to a place like this?

" the frown on Hao Xuan's face got deeper and deeper.

Shi country had thousands of profound realm cultivators. He had heard stories of the oldest son of the Shi clan, Shi Hai, who broke through to the profound realm at the age of Seventeen with Six mind palaces.

He was the older brother of Shi Chun and a cultivation genius. He alone was more powerful than most generals of Mei, so the countries resources could not be underestimated. Why would they send the young prince here?

*Clamour*

There was more noise from the entrance. Hao Xuan, already lost in thought, turned around instinctively to see what it was, and his eyes widened.

Another group had walked in. This one also had twenty people, but the one leading them was a girl, and someone he recognized.

"...Sin..?

" Hao Xuan called out to her.

"Sin? That's princess Ma Yu,

" Sun An who had walked up to Hao Xuan, whispered.

"The other party belongs to the Ma Clan. This meeting has been set up between the youngest prince of the Shi clan and the youngest princess of Ma Clan. They are to be married in six months' time and this is their first time meeting. You, are their host,

" Sun An explained from the side but Hao Xuan had stopped listening a long time ago.

****

Authors Notes:

Sun An: https:

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Shortened URL: https:

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