—Loop 241.
The festival had begun as it always did. Geisha danced in synchronization, and nobles laughed as if war hadn't threatened their borders for ten winters. But further down, below the stone paths and bridges, stood a small stall ridden with red ribbon, lace and beautiful jade pendants. Most masks lined the wall, ordained with different expressions and animalistic features.
The mask salesman of the Hao region leaned in his stall between the two drunken pavilions. Layered in rich colored silk, with the crimson half moon painted between his brows, he leaned against a ratchet cart strung with charms, masks, and amulets that shimmered like gold in candlelight.
He had sold the same goods for two centuries.
He had watched this night unfold two hundred and forty times.
He knew the exact moment when the Emperor's son—Liang Yu—would stray from the procession, chasing a rabbit down the wrong path.
He knew where the assassins would wait. He knew how fast the boy could run, how long he'd scream, and exactly how much blood would stain the stone before the night turned quiet again.
He had seen it so many times that he no longer felt pity. Or anger. Or anything at all.
But something was different this time.
Perhaps it was the way the music suddenly went quiet, or the way Wei Shen's feet seemed to move before he could think.
As the boy turned the corner chasing the small rabbit, Wei Shen's pace quickened.
The first assassin went to attack the vulnerable Liang Yu, but his legs froze before he dropped to the ground, only a small speck of blood staining the stone beneath him.
The second fell with a clean strike to the neck opened by a silver thread that no mortal eye could see. The masked man did not draw a sword, rather inconvenient weapons became his upper hand.
Liang Yu stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over his robes. His ceremonial rabbit mask had cracked, leaving one of the ears broken, forgotten on the ground.
"Y-Yan Qilin?" he began, voice shaking in the night so quiet.
The man before him said nothing, for that was not his business. The crimson moon between his brows furrowed under his mooned mask.
And for the first time in two hundred years, fate was rewritten...
The pavilion was quiet by the time the chaos below dissolved into confused shouting. Liang Yu sat, knees hugged to his chest, his face pale beneath the streaks of dust and sweat.
"You're not...w-who are you?," he said hoarsely as his voice cracked through fear as he tried to stand, trying to be a bit threatening. "What is your business?"
Wei Shen did not answer, instead, he lightly stepped his way to the rooftop, his mask daring to slip.
He stood at the edge, one hand behind his back, the other held at his stomach, looking down at the pavilions, watching from a new perspective, feeling alive for the first time in over 200 years.
His robe fluttered lightly in the cool breeze, the golden trim glinting against the dark fabric.
"What's going on?" Liang Yu asked.
Still, silence.
"Why is it you who has saved me?"
Finally, the masked man turned. Slowly.
"I was curious," the man said simply. His voice was clear, though muffled under the carved features.
Liang Yu stared, not longingly, but fearfully.
"That's it?"
Wei Shen said nothing else, he just made his way across the rooftop, headed to his ghetto cart.
As the red and gold lanterns met his eyes, he felt once again at home, caressed by the jade and silk that had surrounded him for so long. He could never grow old from it. That is most likely because he couldn't barely remember his life before the loop, and he didn't care to look back.
He didn't remember his name for the first fifty loops. But eventually, fragments began to return, piece by piece. Xilian...that had been his name.
After a hundred loops, he remembered some of his past, a bright boy with silky short black hair and soft features. His family spent their whole life saving money for his education. When he became a junior in college, he prepared to be an oncologist, and maybe someday help his grandmother.
Everyday was different, going to school, making new friends, joining another club or even starting one. His life was always changing.
When his grandmother died, so did his excitement for the next day. The only thing he had left of her was a light jade pendant. Maybe it was his mistake, wishing on an item that still held ancient spirits, but he just wanted something simple, like the old days, and that's what he got.
As Wei Shen continued his duties, selling masks to the rich, for a modest price, he couldn't help but feel as though something was not right.
There were now different people approaching his stall, some in masks and some baring their faces.
Wei Shen had recognised the golden lined markings on their faces, near their cheeks; markings of the Yu clan, had they thought he meant their prince trouble? Worst case, he dies and restarts the cycle.
He cared little, but there was a deep feeling in his stomach, his head began to feel warm, but he kept his calm smirk under the waxing gibbous, almost copying the one carved onto the mask.
Looking through the crowd before him he froze. There was standing the emperor of the Yu clan, Hou Yu. His long grey hair shined bright in the moonlight, his thin beard hanging right at his collarbone, which was covered in white and gold silk .
Emperor Hou Yu approached the cart, slightly admiring the red accents and jade set out. "News has spread that you have saved the heir of the throne, my son Liang Yu, is this true?"
Wei Shen didn't know what to do, he didn't want to seem dishonest or too prideful so he simply nodded and removed his mask in respect "Yes sir."
Wei Shen was quite handsome under the mask, sharp feature, straight jaw kept unclenched and softly furrowed brows with a crescent in between. His gaze was light, not stern, but not innocent.
First impressions have always been his strong suit, but never has he met noble royalty face to face, other than that irresponsible kid that he had saved only once before.
Emperor Hou Yu studied him carefully, eyes narrowing ever so slightly, not in suspicion but in observation. "You're younger than I imagined," he said finally, his voice calm yet laced with a weight only rulers bore. "And yet... my son says you fought with much grace. Who taught you?"
Wei Shen held the Emperor's gaze. "No one," he replied. "I have simply... had time to learn."
A flicker of curiosity passed through Hou Yu's expression.
Liang Yu, now clothed in a fresh robe and accompanied by guards, appeared just behind the Emperor, his hand still rubbing the bruises on his neck from the struggle earlier. His eyes widened when he saw Wei Shen unmasked.
"That's him," Liang Yu said breathlessly. "He's the one who saved me."
"I see." Hou Yu folded his hands behind his back, his sleeves falling over one another. "And what is it you want, mask seller? Gold? Title? A place in council?"
Wei Shen nearly laughed, but he contained it in a sharp exhale through his nose. "No," he said. "None of that."
The Emperor's brow lifted. "Then why save him?"
Wei Shen's fingers fiddled with the corner of the stall, brushing past a cracked porcelain mask. He hesitated.
"I do not know," he said truthfully.
Liang Yu took a small step forward, his guards blocking him with a hand. "Then... was it kindness?"
Wei Shen's gaze snapped to him with a soft nod and a bow. "I apologize but I simply had no reason"
The boy scoffed but didn't step back.
Hou Yu turned slightly, his white robes catching the soft lantern light. "You may not want a reward," he said slowly, "but you've drawn attention to yourself. Some will not believe you acted without motive."
Wei Shen nodded still bowing. "Let them sir."
The Emperor looked once more at the cart, at the craftsmanship. "If you ever grow tired of this…of selling trinkets, seek me for proper training."
Wei Shen tilted his head as he lifted from a bow. "Why?"
"Because from what I have heard, you can be more than able to protect the Hou family," the Emperor said, turning to leave. "And because my son speaks of your name highly."
Wei Shen blinked.
"Xilian," Liang Yu whispered, just behind the departing Emperor as he placed the broken mask. "Fix this for me and I will pay heavily."
Wei Shen's face stiffened.
He hadn't told a soul that name.
He said nothing as he watched the young Liang Yu follow his father down the path with a smile.