The Princess’ Shadow Guard – Chapter 40
by Little PandaYanyan, be good, don’t ever look back (Separation)
After living with the hunter couple for three days, one noon, Ming Qin looked at Murong Yan, whose complexion had recovered, and finally revealed a relieved smile.
Half-lying on the bed plank, Murong Yan was teasing the little tiger, her finger gently poking the little tiger’s soft paw, making him flip over and show his belly like a kitten.
“Ah.”
Perhaps too excited, the little tiger suddenly stuck up its tail, bared its teeth, and gnawed at the hand before it, not knowing its own strength, causing the woman some pain.
The moment Murong Yan cried out, Ming Qin looked up and scooped up the little tiger cub with one hand, pulling him off the bed. Heedless of the fur ball rolling twice at her feet, she anxiously took the hand of the woman on the bed to inspect it closely.
“Ah Qin, I’m fine.” It was just a painful scrape from his sharp teeth, it wasn’t bleeding. Murong Yan smiled and squeezed Ming Qin’s hand back, comforting the worried-looking person before her.
Ming Qin looked at the several conspicuous red marks scraped onto the back of the woman’s fair hand. The corners of her mouth, which had been turned up, fell, and with an incomparably stern expression, she grabbed the little tiger cub by the scruff of its neck, looking directly into its eyes.
“This won’t do!” The human and the tiger stared at each other, a somewhat amusing sight. “Being so reckless and rough with a noble person, I really don’t know who you take after.”
(It’s you he takes after, you blockhead…)
The little tiger, not knowing if it understood or not, opened its small mouth and let out a sharp ‘aow,’ as if unconvinced.
Bringing the little tiger before Murong Yan, Ming Qin sternly lectured, “This is my most important person. You should cherish her like a treasure. If she is cold, you will be her hand warmer. If she is bullied, you will tear those bad people to shreds, understand?”
Ming Qin grabbed the little tiger’s paw, making gestures with its not-yet-fully-formed claws.
“If you hurt her, I will fix you!” Ming Qin threatened.
Murong Yan watched Ming Qin speaking so seriously to the young beast and couldn’t help but smile. She patted the Shadow Guard’s leg and said, “Ah Qin, are you sure he can understand human speech?”
Putting down the now-docile little tiger cub, Ming Qin nodded confidently and said, “He understands. If he doesn’t, a lesson will make him.” After speaking, she glanced at the young tiger, which had been frightened into burrowing under the covers.
Just as the person on the bed was about to continue resting, Ming Qin suddenly felt a faint vibration from the ground. Her expression instantly became serious, and she immediately dropped to the ground, pressing her ear to it to listen.
“This is bad!”
A few breaths later, Ming Qin got up and quickly began to put the prosthetic limb, shoes, and socks on the barefoot woman on the bed.
Murong Yan’s expression was calm. She simply cooperated by lifting her leg, holding the little tiger cub that was about to take a nap, and asked in a composed tone, “How many people?”
“About ten, lightly equipped. Hearing the sound of hooves, they should be the Capital’s Iron Cavalry1.” Ming Qin said quickly, while tying the fox fur coat on the woman, and then bent down to lift her up. “The number isn’t large, I’m afraid they are just the advance pursuers.”
“Let’s go.” Murong Yan’s tone was still faint, she just buried her face in Ming Qin’s shoulder and neck and took a deep breath.
Hurrying towards the stables, they encountered the hunter’s wife feeding chickens outside. Seeing their anxious figures, the heavily pregnant woman was somewhat surprised.
Leading the horse over, she mounted it with the human and tiger in her arms. Ming Qin straightened her back and shouted to the stunned woman, “This one below is endlessly grateful for your care these past few days. If anyone comes looking for trouble, just say that This one below held you and your husband hostage with a blade.”
With that said, without waiting for a reply, Ming Qin rode the horse away, treading on the snow.
Following the small path in the mountain forest, her black outer robe flew in the wind.
The cold wind mixed with snow scraped harshly against their faces, but Ming Qin did not dare to stop, only daring to let the horse gallop continuously northward.
Looking at the footprints in the snow ahead, Ming Qin’s eyes darkened.
Seven or eight men in military uniforms with swords hanging at their waists appeared in her field of vision. The fine fabric and the cloaks embroidered with dark patterns showed at a glance that they were from the capital.
Ignoring the shouts of several men ordering her to stop the horse, Ming Qin not only did not slow down but instead squeezed the horse’s belly and sped past them.
In an instant, she drew her blade with a backhand motion and cut the reins of the several horses tied to the side.
Faster! Faster!
The horse galloped on, and Ming Qin’s arm holding Murong Yan tightened.
But even the finest steed could not run wild day and night. After about half a shichen2, the sound of iron hooves on snow clearly slowed down.
Ming Qin looked at the map in her hand while pricking up her ears to observe the movements behind her.
“Don’t be afraid.” Ming Qin leaned down and said softly in the woman’s ear, “I will protect you.”
『SWISH!』
Just as Murong Yan was about to speak, Ming Qin suddenly turned her head and caught the arrow shot from behind with a backhand grab.
But what followed were more arrows, falling as densely as raindrops. Some with poorer aim landed on the treetops. Ming Qin turned and swung her sword, striking down every sharp weapon aimed at her.
Feeling they were out of range, Ming Qin breathed a sigh of relief and urged the horse beneath her to pull away from the distant pursuers. But just as she lowered her head to speak to Murong Yan again, a much more piercing sound, completely different from the other arrows just now, came tearing through the air.
『THUD!』
Murong Yan felt the body of the person pressed tightly against her back stiffen, and then suddenly lurch forward as if shoved hard.
“Ah Qin? Ah Qin? What’s wrong?”
The woman tried to turn her head, but was held firmly in place by Ming Qin’s arm. The usually calm Murong Yan was now very anxious, her voice almost scattered by the fierce wind.
“It’s nothing.” Ming Qin said softly in Murong Yan’s ear.
“Don’t be afraid.”
A coarse voice, mixed with profound internal energy3, came from behind them. Xiao He, on horseback and holding a longbow, shouted loudly, “Your subject, Xiao He, under the new emperor’s command, has come to pursue the scoundrel who abducted the Commandery Princess Chongwen. Stop your horse and surrender at once!”
Hearing who it was, Ming Qin’s face turned ashen. She reached back and pulled out the arrow embedded in her right shoulder. The iron arrowhead was coated in poison, emitting a horrifying purple color, and had several barbs protruding from the front. The motion of her hand deeply tore at her flesh, and a large gush of bright red blood poured from the wound.
As if completely unconcerned, Ming Qin didn’t make a sound. She casually tossed aside the arrow she had pulled out, drew the long blade from her waist, and slashed at the surroundings. The severed tree trunks fell onto the road, attempting to slow the pursuers’ speed.
Gritting her teeth, Ming Qin’s mind raced.
The horse beneath her was already tired and could not continue its high-intensity gallop, not to mention the indelible tracks left in the snow.
Ahead, beyond the forest, was an open plain. The people behind were led by Xiao He.
Let alone letting Xiao He get close, if he ordered the men behind him to fire a volley of arrows, without the cover of the trees, even she, with her high martial skill, could not guarantee Murong Yan would remain unharmed.
It won’t work.
Looking at the no fewer than fifty pursuers behind her, Ming Qin thought.
She had already promised His Majesty the Emperor, her Shifu, and her Shijie that she would safely deliver Murong Yan to the northern border.
Most importantly, she had promised herself.
She had to stop the pursuers here.
Even if her body was smashed to pieces.
However.
No matter.
Her reckless and negligent self had made Murong Yan suffer a lot along the way. As expected, compared to a protection mission that required meticulous care, simple contests of force and matters of slaughter were what she, as a Shadow Guard, was good at.
Ming Qin made up her mind.
Looking back at the pursuers, she stuffed the cloth pouch from her belt into the arms of the person in front of her. Ming Qin spoke quickly and clearly, “In a moment, you will follow this path out of the forest and go straight ahead. Don’t ever look back.”
Hearing Ming Qin as if she were giving her last instructions, Murong Yan, who was forcing herself to be calm, suddenly felt a pang of panic. “Ah Qin? Ah Qin, what are you saying?”
She fumbled with her hand to feel the person behind her, but touched a patch of wetness on the clothes. When she pulled her hand back, her fair palm was covered in glaringly bright blood.
“Ah Qin, you’re injured!” Murong Yan’s usually cool and clear voice was now off-key.
As if to comfort her, Ming Qin brushed her lips against the woman’s temple. She didn’t answer the woman’s question, but just continued to give instructions in a low voice, “After you cross the grassland, the local prefect4 will send people to meet you. With this horse’s speed, it will take less than half a day to get there. It’s very fast. I will definitely not let anyone catch up to you.”
“No, I don’t want to!”
Murong Yan gripped the iron chain in her hand, completely unwilling to let go, and shouted emotionally, “I don’t want to go, Ah Qin! I don’t want to go alone.”
Ming Qin glanced back and saw Xiao He drawing his bow, aiming to shoot another arrow.
She raised her longsword in preparation, her tone calm as she said, “It’s only half a day. You can do it.”
With a wave of her arm, she struck down the arrow coming straight for her, but her wrist felt a little numb.
“No, I can’t do it alone, Ah Qin.” Murong Yan’s trembling voice was not loud, but her tone seemed to carry a heart-rending pain. “I can’t ride a horse, I don’t know how to ride a horse at all. I can’t do it without you by my side.”
Ming Qin thought of the image of Murong Yan in a red robe riding a horse when they first met, and a slight smile touched the corners of her mouth. “You can do it.”
She untied the hair ribbon binding the hair of the person before her, then bent down and fiddled with something on the horse’s back.
“I forbid it! I forbid it!”
Murong Yan shouted hysterically, the rims of her eyes turning red. Her hand clutching the chain anxiously reached behind her, wanting to tightly grasp the warm person at her back. “This Palace forbids it! This Palace commands you not to leave me alone, do you hear me! Ming Qin, This Palace will not let you go! This Palace forbids you to leave, this is This Palace’s command!”
She pulled the iron chain in her hand taut, her fingers turning white from the force.
“Yanyan.”
Their positions reversed, Ming Qin gently called out in the woman’s ear, her tone softer and more affectionate than ever before.
“Yanyan, Yanyan.”
As she murmured, she lowered her head and kissed the woman’s earlobe, the one with the earring.
“Yanyan promised she would listen to Ah Qin, right?”
The warm breath against her ear made Murong Yan tremble uncontrollably.
Too cunning.
To call her so proactively at a time like this, and to bring up that long-ago promise.
Ah Qin is really.
Too cunning.
Murong Yan’s eyes welled with moisture, and she bit her lower lip tightly, unable to speak.
Ming Qin pulled at the chain hanging between them. With a jolt of her wrist, the iron chain easily shattered, as if iron locks and shackles had never been a restraint for the young Shadow Guard.
“I won’t die.”
Looking at the silent woman, Ming Qin seemed to understand her worries. She clasped the back of her hand and whispered in a hoarse voice, “Yanyan knows Ah Qin isn’t lying, right?” Then she passed the reins to her.
Ming Qin lowered her head, her warm cheek pressing against Murong Yan’s face, which was red from the cold.
Tears had already blurred her vision. The woman’s nose stung as she fought back the urge to wail out loud.
“Ah Qin…”
“Yanyan, be good, don’t ever look back.”
The forest ahead had come to an end. Ming Qin said no more, only lovingly stroking Murong Yan’s loose hair. After jumping off the horse, she slapped its flank hard.
The horse, feeling the pain, accelerated into a gallop. Murong Yan’s trembling hands gripped the reins, her mind a complete blank, her slender figure lying alone on the horse’s back.
Feeling the warm embrace behind her disappear, the biting wind hitting her body, Murong Yan finally came to her senses. But by then, the horse was running so fast that in a few breaths, it had already run several dozen zhang5 out of the forest.
She obediently did not look back.
Nor did she dare to look back.
Watching the horse recede into the distance, Ming Qin contentedly drew her longsword and turned to face the nearly fifty menacing pursuers. From her sword-wielding right arm, dark red blood dripped down the tip of the blade, drop by drop dyeing the white snow on the ground red.
Even alone, she looked completely unafraid, an overwhelming killing aura, as if one could stand against a hundred, surged forth.
She used a cloth to tightly wrap her right hand and the sword together, then tied a knot with her mouth. She steadily drew a long line on the ground with her sword.
Ming Qin looked at Xiao He, who led the group on horseback, and said in a faint tone, “If you wish to continue forward, you can only step over my corpse.”
It was a stance that would not retreat even if her head was smashed and her body pulverized.
Her eyes seemed to hold flames, filled with the will to fight.
LP: Re-translated on July 28, 2025
Footnotes
- 京城鐵騎 | jīngchéng tiěqí | Literally “Capital City’s Iron Cavalry.” Refers to the elite heavy cavalry units stationed in and protecting the capital city. They are typically the best-equipped and best-trained soldiers in the empire, directly serving the emperor.
- 時辰 | shíchen | A traditional Chinese unit of time, equivalent to two modern hours. Half a shichen is therefore one hour. The day was divided into 12 shichen, each named after one of the twelve Earthly Branches.
- 內力 | nèilì | Literally “internal strength” or “internal energy.” A core concept in Wuxia and Xianxia genres, referring to the cultivated life-force energy (qi) within a martial artist’s body. It can be used to enhance physical abilities, perform superhuman feats, and power martial arts techniques.
- 知府 | zhīfǔ | An official title for the head of a “fu” (府), which was a superior prefecture or large administrative division in imperial China. A prefect was a high-ranking local governor responsible for the civil and military affairs of the region.
- 丈 | zhàng | A traditional Chinese unit of length, equivalent to 10 chi (尺). Its modern standardized value is approximately 3.33 meters or about 10.9 feet.
oh gawd. ming qin you can do it! dont make us cry!
oh gawd. ming qin you can do it! dont make us cry!
Sobbing right now..
Kyaaa! Ming Qing sempai!
…
Sorry, had to defuse the tension
Thanks for the chapter!
Sobbing right now..
Kyaaa! Ming Qing sempai!
…
Sorry, had to defuse the tension
Thanks for the chapter!