A sharp, echoing scream shattered the quiet mountain morning.
The birds scattered from trees, and the knights jolted awake, hands on their swords.
From one of the larger tents near the center of the camp, two voices yelled in unison—one alarmed, the other horrified.
Inside the tent, Prince Xìn Xuān sat up in shock.
Except—when he looked down at his hands… they weren't his.
They were broader, calloused, scarred.
And across from him, Shèng Lín also sat upright, trembling, staring at the prince's face—his face.
"No… no no no no—what is this!?" Xìn Xuān cried, grabbing at the mirror shard in the nearby pack.
The reflection confirmed it.
He was in Shèng Lín's body.
And across from him, in the royal robes and wide terrified eyes—Shèng Lín was in his.
"I—I'm you…" Shèng Lín whispered, touching his face in disbelief. "And you're me…"
"What did we do!?"
Before they could process more, the tent flap burst open, and several knights rushed in, followed by Princess Lù Zhāo and Shèng Méi.
"What happened?" the princess asked, her sharp eyes sweeping the tent.
Xìn Xuān—trapped in Shèng Lín's body—froze.
Shèng Lín—now in the prince's body—tried to steady himself.
"Nothing," Shèng Lín said quickly, adjusting his expression. "We were… startled by a dream."
Lù Zhāo narrowed her gaze but said nothing.
The camp began packing up shortly after. Horses were prepared. Tents rolled up. The journey back to their respective kingdoms was to begin.
But the two men stood awkwardly by the road, unsure where to go.
Xìn Xuān (Shèng Lín in body) turned to the princess. "I… I believe the prince told me to return to his kingdom. As his knight."
The princess raised a brow. "Did he?"
She looked toward the real prince, who is shèng lín , who immediately nodded. "Yes. I want him as my personal knight. I asked for it specifically."
The princess glanced between them, something unreadable in her eyes.
"Are you sure you want him to stay close to you?"
"Yes," the prince replied firmly through Shèng Lín's body. "I trust him."
It was a clumsy lie. But somehow, the princess accepted it.
"Then I will make a request as well," Lù Zhāo said, turning to the other. "Would you mind… if your sister stays with me? Until the marriage?"
The prince (as Shèng Lín) blinked, unsure if he could even approve such a thing.
But the real Shèng Lín, now in his body, gave a single slow nod. "It's fine."
The decision was sealed.
The party split—the princess and Shèng Méi returning to her kingdom, and the prince and Shèng Lín (swapped souls and all) journeying back to the royal palace together.
They rode side by side through misty forests and along quiet trails, trapped in each other's skin, pretending nothing was wrong.
But inside their minds, questions boiled:
How did this happen?
How long would it last?
And what if…
they started to understand each other more than either of them expected