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Shen Qingqiu drew her bow, muscles tense as she waited to shoot.
She shot the arrow and hit the target in the center.
She relaxed and breathed in the fresh air. Dawn was the perfect time to train: she did it when he was with the other hunters and Lady Artemis, she didn't see why he had to change her habits when she was at Camp Halfblood.
In addition, using the training camp at five in the morning also avoided hassle and unwelcome encounters ...
"SHIZUN!"
Well ... not all of them.
The huntress sighed, "Binghe, I already told you not to call me that."
A thin, pale 14-year-old, whose milky color was highlighted by the ridiculous orange Camp Halfblood shirt, ran towards her, nearly falling.
Shen Qingqiu was used to those antics. None of the campers understood I've taken a vow of chastity for eternity, so don't flirt with me, but after a lot of trash and a few arrows in painful places, they left her alone.
Binghe no. Luo Binghe had her father's stubbornness and determination to get what she wanted.
No matter how much rejection she received, she would always come back.
The demigod smiled at her, "You taught me a lot of things! You are my Shizun."
"I saved your life once, and I taught you how to use your dagger."
"You taught me how to fight. It's more than what Chiron did."
She pouted and Shen Qingqiu had to refrain from pinching her cheeks. She didn't doubt that Chiron had tried to teach the girl something, but finding her a sparring partner was next to impossible. They were all afraid of the first daughter of Hades born over a hundred years after the Big Three was sworn in. And the fact that her father was Hades didn't help.
Hades was a feared god, and the powers of his children were unsettling.
Though, looking at Luo Binghe and her antics, she didn't see anything disturbing about her.
"Chiron does his best."
"Well, that's not enough. If you were here ..."
Shen Qingqiu sighed, "I have duties to Lady Artemis. I am her lieutenant."
"But you could decide to dissolve the vote ..."
"Who told you?"
" It is true?" Binghe asked her, her eyes shining.
"Lady Artemis is not cruel. She doesn't force a girl to stay, she is not like the other gods. She gives a choice to those who have doubts."
"And you..."
"I've been a huntress for over a thousand years. A little late for doubts."
Hades' daughter shifted her weight from foot to foot, "But what if you meet someone who makes you change your mind?"
"I doubt it."
"The possibility is there."
"Not in my case - she looked at her with suspicion - How do you know all these things? Did Chiron tell you?"
Binghe blushed, "No. It was...it was Aphrodite."
Shen Qingqiu looked like she was about to pass out.
"You met Aphrodite," she repeated slowly, as if saying the name of the goddess hurt her.
"Yeah, during my last quest - Luo Binghe's blush got deeper - She is very beautiful. She is like you."
"What?"
"Mhm ... she looks like you. A lot. I've always known you're beautiful, so saying you're as beautiful as Aphrodite shouldn't be offensive or ..."
"She appeared to you like me."
Binghe looked at her, "Um ... yeah, I told you. She invited me to have tea with her. It was weird. Ning Yingying and Liu Mingyang were fighting the Minotaur, and I had a tea party with her. goddess of love."
Aphrodite had a distorted perception of emergencies, and if she was personally interested in Luo Binghe...
"What else did he tell you?" she asked, feeling her heart pounding. Not again, she couldn't stand it again.
The demigod replied, "She told me that it takes time to heal a wounded heart, but that sometimes, you just need to have the right person by your side."
"Only she could say something so ..."
“Who hurt you, Shizun? - Binghe cut her off, her eyes suddenly red - I'll find him and give him a taste of Hell. "
“He's long dead, Binghe. And he didn't… he didn't want to hurt me. "
"But he did it!" the fourteen-year-old blurted out.
Shen Qingqiu nodded hesitantly. She didn't like talking about the past. ”He promised me that he would come back from his quest and that he would take me away from the owner. I prayed that he would come back, every day. "
"Did he come back?"
The huntress bit her lip, ”No, he didn't. He completed his quest and was offered a crown. He chose to become king and ... "
"And he abandoned you," Binghe finished, angry.
"He did. Artemistrmis saved me, without her ... "
She never wanted to think about what would happen if she didn't join Lady Artemis. Qiu Jianluo would have forced her to marry him, only to kill her when he got tired of her. And he would have passed it off as an honor killing because she was like her degenerate mother.
It wasn't going to be a quick death, not when he liked to play.
Meanwhile, Luo Binghe's anger had increased, “That bastard! I would have chosen you! I didn't even need to think about it. "
"Binghe ..."
"Do you still love him?"
" Not"
“Then you can heal! "
Ah, blessed girl, "It's not that simple."
“Aphrodite said it is! She said it takes courage to embrace a new love. "
Of course, she had said it. She was the goddess of love. She could have anyone. But love was neither easy nor gentle. It was a monster that took everything and burned, burned everything until leaving only the ashes. It was better to stay away from that evil.
She would like Binghe to understand this too.
"Binghe, I'm too old to ..."
The clatter of hooves made her stop. Chiron came at a trot towards them, his expression uneasy, “Luo Binghe, you must come to the Great House right away. "
"Why?"
"Your father sent something for you."
Binghe made an unhappy expression, but didn't protest. If Hades bothered about his mortal daughter, it meant it was important. As much as she didn't like it, she had to go.
But first, she looked firmly at Shen Qingqiu, “I will always come for you. I will always choose you. I will get stronger and no one will ever hurt you. Just wait for me. "
She didn't believe her. These were the same things that Yue Qingyuan told her before leaving.
The facts proved her right: a few days later, Binghe left the camp, and no one heard from her anymore. She told herself it was predictable. She told herself it wasn't worth thinking about. Shen Qingqiu was just a bad liar.
Years later, when Gaea was awakening and the giants had returned, Shen Qingqiu was about to be killed by Qiu Jianluo.
His sword was coming down on her, and all she thought about was, "Peace, finally."
But the blow never came: another sword blocked Qiu Jianluo's. A sword of stygian iron.
The huntress looked up and met her eyes with a person she didn't think she would ever see again.
"You're back, Binghe."
“Of course. I promised you, Shizun. "
And only in that moment she understand. Luo Binghe was not like Yue Qingyuan. She was better.