The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis
Chapter 112: The Day After The Storm

Chapter 112: The Day After The Storm

The sun was already blazing in the afternoon when I rolled onto my side and found myself face-to-face with Shi Yaozu.

His hair was a mess of ink-black strands, half-tied, half-spilled across the pillow. The blanket had long since slipped down his bare back, revealing the lithe, scarred muscle underneath. For a man whose reputation struck fear into the palace, he slept like someone who hadn’t a care in the world when he was beside me. Not quite a lion at rest. Not quite a blade sheathed. Just... a man. And mine, for this quiet sliver of time.

He opened one eye, then the other. "You’re staring," he murmured, his voice rough with disuse.

"You’re pretty," I countered as I reached out to touch the faint mark between his shoulder blades. The definition of his muscles was like an unintended thirst trap that was hard to restrain myself from. "It’s a miracle you made it this far with how reckless you are," I continued, tracing all the other scars on his back.

"I’m not reckless," he mumbled, rolling over to catch my fingers. He brought the up to his lips and kissed my knuckles. "I’m efficient."

I hummed, cuddling deeper into his embrace. "You bleed every other day. It’s not good when it comes to keeping me sane and happy."

"You tend to me every other day," he reminded me, a soft smile on his lips. His lips brushed the back of my hand again. "Coincidence?"

I laughed under my breath and shifted closer, letting the warmth of him soak into my chilled skin. It had rained lightly overnight, leaving the air soft and damp, but here beneath the covers, the world didn’t exist. Just us.

"I thought you were going to leave before dawn," I said quietly, tracing the line of his jaw. "Back to the shadows. Back to work."

"I was," he said. "Then you told me to come to bed last night. So I did."

There was no guilt in his voice. No shame in choosing me over obligation. Only certainty.

A knock shattered the peace.

I groaned and flopped back onto the pillows, arm draped across my face. "Tell me that was thunder."

Another knock. Sharper this time.

Yaozu was already sitting up. I caught his wrist before he could slide from the bed.

"Stay," I said, then raised my voice. "If it’s not urgent, come back tomorrow!"

"Lady Yuan says that you need to come over to her courtyard!" the servant shouted through the door. "She’s demanding to speak to the killer of her child and you need to go over now."

I sighed.

Of course she was.

I pushed the covers off and sat up, brushing my hair back with one hand as I called out, "Then I suggest she talks to herself," I sneered. "After all, everyone with a brain knows exactly who has killed her child."

Silence fell outside the room.

Yaozu was smirking.

"She’s persistent," he said, stretching lazily. The sheets dropped down to that gorgeous Adonis belt, showing off all of his abs and pecs.

"She’s delusional," I replied. "Still parading around as if she’s already the Crown Princess. Still thinking the world owes her sympathy and status for a miscarriage she orchestrated herself."

"She won’t let this go," he warned.

"I wouldn’t respect her if she did," I replied coolly. "But she forgets—she’s a concubine, no matter how many tears she sheds in court. And concubines don’t make demands. They beg."

Yaozu pushed himself up and leaned back against the headboard, watching me as I padded to the dressing screen and pulled a robe over my shoulders. "You’re in a good mood."

"I’m not," I scoffed, fastening the ties of my robe. "But I’m alive. And today, no one is dying unless they beg for it."

"Mm." He yawned and slid back under the covers. "I like lazy days."

I poured myself a cup of tea from the brazier stand, took a sip, and let the quiet settle around us. The chamber was warm, the steam fragrant, and for once, the scent of blood didn’t linger in the corners.

"I’ve been thinking," I said eventually, setting the cup down. "About building something. Something permanent."

Yaozu blinked at me. "Here?"

"No. Not yet." I turned to face him fully. "Someday. Maybe a school. Or a sanctuary for women with nowhere else to go. A place where names aren’t currency and silence isn’t survival."

"You don’t believe in charity."

"I believe in control," I said. "But I also believe in legacy. I can’t burn the empire without building something better in its ashes."

He studied me with those sharp, hunter’s eyes of his, the ones that missed nothing. "You sound like a woman with a plan."

"I’m a woman with tea, a man in my bed, and too many enemies to count," I replied. "Planning is no more than a strategic part of survival."

The door knocked again.

This time, Yaozu rose.

"I’ll handle it," he said, pulling on his outer robe. "Go soak. Your muscles are still tight."

I smiled. "You’re just trying to see me naked, aren’t you?" I purred, enjoying how things are between me and Shi Yaozu.

"That too."

He slipped outside, and I moved to the bathing room, steam curling in delicate tendrils as I slid into the tub. The warmth coiled around me like a lover, and for a few precious minutes, the world outside vanished.

No ministers.

No poison.

No court.

Just water, and breath, and the memory of the man who would return to me once the world was done demanding his attention.

----

I must have fallen back asleep in the tub, because the next thing I knew was a soft breath of air ticking the skin of my neck.

"Happy?" Yaozu asked, his large frame shielding mine. "I got rid of the servant."

"Is she still breathing?" I murmured as I raised my leg into the air and let the water drip down my skin.

"For now," he chuckled. "I make no promises if she forces you out of bed again."

"My hero," I purred, sinking deeper into the water covered in rose petals. He couldn’t see anything that wasn’t outside of the water... but both of us knew exactly what was under the roses.

Or what wasn’t.

"Always and forever."