Testing, Not Recognized by the Nine Provinces Realm

A hunting falcon—the king of the skies, and the finest aerial scout there is.

Talk about a timely lifesaver, right?

Isn’t this almost too much of a coincidence?

Serena Feng had never been to Taroko Grand Canyon, but she could guess what it was like—remote, desolate, and rarely traveled, especially near the northern border.

No one really knows how big the canyon is—not even the families who’ve lived nearby for generations. Finding someone inside depends entirely on luck: if you’re lucky, you might spot them right away; if not, you could search for ten days or half a month and still come up empty.

Serena trusted Lance Quinn—if he said William was in Taroko Grand Canyon, then odds were he really was there. With a hunting falcon’s help, searching that place would be twice as effective with half the effort.

Fine, Serena admitted she was tempted—even though she knew this man’s identity was anything but ordinary, and his appearance downright suspicious. But to find William as quickly as possible, she was willing to gamble…

Watching the man’s casual, unhurried departure, Serena gritted her teeth and called out: “Fine, I agree. You can come with me—but you have to follow my orders along the way.”

Serena could only hope her luck held—that this man wasn’t here to kill William. Everything else could wait until William was found. As long as William was safe, she didn’t mind paying a price.

The man seemed to have expected this all along. He paused, turned gracefully, patted his falcon to send it flying, and led his horse toward Serena. “Miss, if you’d just agreed earlier, there would’ve been no issue. You just had to make me walk a few extra steps—honestly, so dramatic.”

His tone sounded almost like he was blaming Serena Feng for not being decisive enough—a classic case of getting his way and still acting aggrieved. Serena felt stifled, as if their roles had suddenly reversed.

Normally, she was the one who got what she wanted and played innocent, but today, she’d been outmaneuvered by a foreign man and was left speechless.

Fine, she’d swallow her pride—she was desperate to save William, so she had no choice.

Felix Fuller was quick to seize the win; seeing he’d gotten what he wanted, he swung up onto the horse and reached out to Serena. "Let’s go. You’re in a hurry to save someone, aren’t you?"

His manner was open and straightforward, with no hint of impropriety. Serena wasn’t petty; after a brief pause, she accepted his hand without fuss.

Once they were both mounted, Serena did her best to keep some distance between them. Felix Fuller was considerate, making no move to wrap his arm around her. Sharing a horse wasn’t awkward at all.

Felix Fuller had good boundaries—Serena pointed the way, and he followed. Both tried to show goodwill, and after two days of peaceful travel together, he finally asked where she was headed.

Since she’d already agreed to let him come along, there was no point in keeping secrets now. Serena put on a show of complete openness and told him her destination directly.

"I’m going to Taroko Grand Canyon to rescue someone."

Felix Fuller was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. "You just come right out and say what you’re doing? Aren’t you afraid I’m a bad guy? You’ve been on guard against me these past two days."

For two days, they’d both kept their guard up while trying to build trust.

Afraid? Of course I’m afraid. I’m terrified of dying. But if I choose to use someone, I have to trust them; suspicion destroys cooperation. Even if I have doubts, I can’t show it—otherwise, I’ll just hurt their feelings.

Serena pointed to the hunting falcon on Felix Fuller’s shoulder, her gaze full of trust. "I believe anyone who can win a falcon’s submission can’t have evil intentions."

She could only hope he wouldn’t betray her trust. Most days, Serena felt like a reckless gambler—once she placed her bet, she wouldn’t give up until the very end.

"That’s all it takes? Every adult man in my tribe has his own hunting falcon." Felix Fuller whistled, raising his hand, and the falcon obediently landed on it. Its fierce eyes fixed on Serena, looking as if it wanted to tear her apart, but Serena didn’t flinch.

"That just proves the men in your tribe are kind by nature." Everyone likes a compliment, and Felix Fuller was no exception. He even went further, following up with, "Compared to you Nine Provinces people, my tribesmen really are much kinder."

"You keep saying 'you Nine Provinces people.' Where are you from, anyway?" Serena wasn’t prying for secrets; she was genuinely curious.

"Since you trust me, I’ll trust you too. I’m from an outside tribe. You can call me Felix Fuller." He didn’t say anything more.

"An outsider? There are plenty of tribes in the Nine Provinces Realm, but that still makes you a Nine Provinces native." Serena thought back to what she knew of the realm’s history.

There were plenty of outsiders in the Nine Provinces Realm—most lived in remote or harsh regions, rarely interacting with others. But even so, they were still considered part of the realm, just not under direct government control.

Felix Fuller shook his head. "I’m not like those people. My tribe was placed outside the Nine Provinces Realm ages ago, and the land we live on doesn’t belong to the realm at all." He clearly disliked being lumped in with Nine Provinces natives.

Long ago, the Nine Provinces sovereign abandoned them. Now, they refuse to acknowledge any Nine Provinces identity.

Serena saw no reason to argue about something so trivial. She readily accepted Felix’s claim—she wasn’t the emperor, so why should she care who governed his tribe?

Besides, the Nine Provinces Realm was fractured, with disputed borders everywhere. Land grabs and skirmishes were routine; after seeing so much chaos, she’d gotten used to it.

With that settled, Serena started telling Felix about the customs and landscapes of the Nine Provinces Realm.

Of course, most of what she shared wasn’t firsthand—she’d read it in books, and some came from William’s stories.

William had traveled widely for his studies. He hadn’t seen every corner of the Nine Provinces, but he’d covered most of it, and Serena trusted his accounts completely.

Riding through the night, Serena’s voice grew hoarse—lower and softer than most women’s, but not rough like a man’s. It was gentle and deep, the kind of voice that made people want to keep listening. Felix Fuller was clearly interested.

Felix was happy to listen, and Serena was happy to talk. It was both a test and a way to build rapport. After hours of conversation, she concluded that unless Felix was an incredible actor, he truly didn’t know much about the Nine Provinces Realm and probably was from outside its borders.

After three days together, they understood each other better. Serena relaxed a bit—Felix didn’t seem like an assassin, and besides, she still needed his falcon. Killing him at their destination was no longer part of her plan.

Thinking about that falcon, Serena couldn’t help but feel like a complete failure—it had almost crushed her spirit.

She’d spent three days trying to win over that proud bird, hoping it would treat her better, or at least look at her with a little kindness instead of sizing her up like prey.

But the stubborn thing wouldn’t give her the time of day, no matter what she did. And if she pushed too far, it didn’t even bother to warn her—it just went straight for her face...

If Felix hadn’t stopped it in time, Serena might have become the first woman to get her face clawed and her hair pecked bald by a falcon.

After that, Serena had to give up on befriending the falcon. The king of the skies wasn’t so easily tamed—and she wasn’t exactly the kind of person everyone loves and every carriage would stop to pick up.