Later that night, Yuan Yi walked alone through the camp, pausing now and then to check on the wounded. Her steps were soft and steady lacking the arrogant deanor of typical leaders.
Fighters sat around their campfires, listening to the crackle of burning wood as if it were the only warm thing left in their lives. A few bowed their heads to her, while others avoided her gaze entirely. Most of them just stared at the flas.
She stopped beside a young man whose arm was wrapped in makeshift bandages. "Change those," Yuan Yi said. "The herbs they used will rot before dawn."
The man blinked, startled that she addressed him. "Y–yes, envoy."
"Yuan Yi will suffice," she corrected him gently before moving on with her inspection. Behind her, two figures watched from the shadows. Zheng Huang and his second-in-command, Lian Ho.
Lian Ho whispered to his superior, "She has them in the palm of her hand." Zheng Huang's lip curled slightly. "She has them by the throat. They take her kindness for granted."
"Piety is a form of strength, lieutenant."
"But make no mistake," Zheng muttered. "She survived partly due to Li Wuji favoring her, Let us not forget the ssages relayed by her instead of bleeding beside us."
Lian Ho frowned. "That is definitely a subject for debate, but the envoy certainly stood close to him. However, her involvent…"
"She lived while nurous others died," Shen snapped quietly. "That simply cannot be condoned."
Lian Hu fell silent, Zheng's eyes never left Yuan Yi's back.
Yuan Yi returned to the central tent, where the physically capable of the fighters had gathered. A total of thirty in number, most were older n hardened by decades of conflict. They were a few others that were young and overeager, ready to follow anyone who could give them a cause beyond simply surviving in silence.
As she stepped inside, the group rose up to greet her Captain Feng Long, an older veteran with streaks of gray in his beard, bowed slightly. "Env— Yuan Yi. The n await your word."
Yuan Yi glanced around. "You have already begun reorganizing the units?"
"We did not want to delay," Wu Long answered. "I regret to inform you that resistance is prevalent, consisting of a battalion still clinging to Li Wuji's regi."
"They will soon learn that there is no respite for those that choose wrong." A quiet chuckle moved through the tent. Yuan Yi lifted her hand and the laughter died down "Now then, we must move before Li Wuji's enemies locate our settlent," she said.
"Scavenged supplies will not last a week. And if the imperial scouts reach us first, we will be dead or scattered again." A consensus was made on the spot regarding their next course of action.
"We cannot afford to flee blindly. It is imperative to move north, toward the river gorge. The terrain is steep and better for defense against a siege, while abandoned villages dot the region. Rebuilding can be done slowly, as soon as a foothold is established."
Her calm explanation set the room alight, as Feng Long nodded. "I will inform the squads at dawn." But another voice cut through the tent. "That will not be necessary just yet."
Everyone present turned to the main entrance. Zheng Huang stood at the entrance, with a fully lowered hood and eyes that were cold enough to freeze tal.
Yuan Yi's brow lifted slightly. "Lieutenant. You seem to have a better idea?"
Zheng stepped inside, boots crunching against the dirt.
"I do not," he said again, louder this ti. "This is simply a campaign to petition a change in leadership." Lian Ho followed him in, a tense expression veiling his face.
Feng Long scowled. "Watch your tone, Zheng. She is—"
"She is nothing," Shen snapped. "Nothing but a forr ssenger swollen with a limited level of authority." Silence fell like a blade, while Yuan Yi did not even flinch.
"You appear to have a number of grievances with ," she said evenly. "Speak up clearly."
Zheng Huang's laughter was low and hardly audible. "A complaint? I have dozens." He stepped forward. "When Li Wuji ordered a tactical retreat during the raid on Ku Pao Valley, who carried the dispatch that turned back our reinforcents?"
Yuan Yi stared at him without even blinking, It appeared the issue at hand did bother her in the slightest.
"You," Zheng hissed. "Your command cost three hundred n."
Yuan Yi answered in a complacent tone . "Li Wuji ordered the retreat because the valley was collapsing due to the unstable core below ground. Reinforcents would have been buried alive."
"My n were buried anyway," Zheng said. "Your ssage didn't save anything."
"I had nothing to gain from their demise, yet you hold responsible?" Yuan Yi asked.
"No," Shen said hurriedly. "I think you simply lack the gall to admit your faults."
The torchlight flickered and Feng Long stepped between them. "You have said enough! Zheng, stand down before—"
The lieutenant raised his hand. "I will not kneel before a woman who lived because she was lucky enough to stand behind the commander. I will not bow to soone who has earned nothing and does not care about those below her in ranking"
Yuan Yi exhaled slowly. "I seem to have earned your hatred," she said. "But hatred will not build anything."
Zheng smiled. "That is where you are wrong, again."
Before anyone realized what he had done, Zheng's fingers twisted unnaturally. That split mont revealed a talisman hidden under his sleeve. The parchnt glowed faintly—an unstable charm, the kind only used when one expected to die.
"Lieutenant!" Lian Hu grabbed his wrist. "This isn't—"
Shen shoved him aside.
"You speak of rebuilding," Shen shouted at Yuan Yi. "But you will rebuild nothing. You are simply another tyrant waiting to climb atop corpses."
He raised the talisman higher.
"Only the heavens know the origin of your madness." Yuan Yi's eyes sharpened. "You do not actually plan on using that Binding Explosive Charm. If you trigger it—"
"Then we die," Shen said with a grin. "But you die first."
He slapped the talisman hard causing a violent surge of qi jolted the air. Several n dove backward, others scrambled for the exit. anwhile, a blast of raw spiritual power tore upward—
Yuan Yi moved fast. Her hand twisted in a circular motion, weaving a faint symbol through the air. A translucent barrier shimred to life, absorbing most of the explosion in a wave of distorted light.
The tent shuddered abruptly, as grown n tumbled to the ground coughing.
Zheng stared at the scene astonished and was rather stunned by the aftermath "You actually deflected it?"
"Not quite accurate," Yuan Yi said. "I rely altered the direction of the blast downwards."
The floor beneath Zheng's feet cracked violently, it did not take long for a shocking event to transpire. As he staggered to keep as the earth burst upward like a coiled beast. His own talisman's backlash slamd into him, hurling him across the tent.
He hit the wall, slid down, and spit blood profusely. Lian Ho ran to his side, torn between fury and fear. "Lieutenant! Are you alright—"
Zheng shoved him away and rose unsteadily. "So you can defend actually yourself," Zheng said, panting. "Impressive. But they will not follow you throughout this lifeti." Yuan Yi didn't bother chasing him.
"You seek power through pandemonium," she said. "But chaos does not crown kings, only usurpers" Zheng wiped blood from his chin.
"Only ti shall tell," he rasped. "Let's see who they follow when the night ends." He waltzed out of the tent with half the n's eyes following him out. The other half looked at Yuan Yi with a peculiar gaze
in that mont, she understood. 'He will not stop, until a victor has been decided. n of his character would return in the dead of night to settle a grievance.'
She turned to the others. "Seal the periter imdiately," she instructed. "Do not let Zheng rally more fighters. If he does, the camp will split during the crossfire and our lives shall be rendered forfeit."
Feng Long bowed. "Understood, we shall heed your command." The n dispatched themselves to their posts and Yuan Yi remained still, hands behind her back. Her shoulders eased the smallest fraction. Lian Ho was still inside, trembling slightly.
He swallowed. "Env— Yuan Yi… if he returns…"
"He will," she said simply. "Ambition and grief share a narrow road."
"What will you do?"
Yuan Yi looked toward the dark ridge beyond the camp, where shadows stretched long like waiting serpents. "I will et him on that road," she said. "And decide where it ends."
Elsewhere, the night sky above the encampnt flickered with sickly red hues. Earlier that night, the periter torches burned proudly. Most of them were guttered low, half-extinguished, their flas wavering like frightened whispers.
The camp was beginning to unraveling, while wounded soldiers limped in disorganized clusters. Patrols staggered rather than marched. The usual roars of confidence had been replaced by murmurs that were fearful, bitter and resentful.
Under this suffocating presence, very few dared gather.
But so still did.
In a half-collapsed storehouse on the southern ridge, a small fla burned behind a stack of crates. There, ten figures knelt in a circle with bowed heads and shallow breaths. All of them awaiting the arrival of the one man who had invited them.
They all turned as footsteps approached.
Zheng Huang had arrived.
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