Chapter 7: Wishes

 

The towering walls of Liangzhou City stood like ancient sentinels, their stones weathered by countless battles and seasons. Yet even these formidable fortifications had crumbled before the Hu Qi's devastating first assault, failing to shield the innocent souls within.

From the ramparts, the mighty Guan River stretched toward the horizon, its waters catching the winter light. On clear days, one could glimpse distant Shuozhou across the water, where Danzhi's forces held sway.

The wall guards straightened as Duan Xu approached, offering crisp salutes of "General." Han Ling Qiu, the commander responsible for defensive positions, hurried forward—a powerfully built young man whose face bore a vicious scar from jawline to temple, lending him a fearsome appearance. With grave formality, he clasped his hands. "General Duan."

Duan Xu acknowledged him with a nod, instructing Meng Wan to inspect the fortifications alongside Han Ling Qiu before turning his attention to the young woman clutching her sugar figurine.

She moved with natural grace to the battlements, gazing toward the distant Guan River while continuing to savor her sweet treat.

The city wall bore little resemblance to the sheltered streets below. Here, winter's breath struck with savage intensity, whipping her long hair into dancing ribbons. Her cloak billowed like a blooming lotus-pink peach blossom caught in the wind.

She placed one pale hand against the rough stone. Winter-frozen bricks should have felt like blade edges against bare skin. Her fingertips appeared bloodless, while her knuckles, like her cheeks and nose, flushed crimson from the bitter cold. Yet she neither adjusted her cloak nor showed the slightest tremor.

Anyone capable of feeling cold would never behave so carelessly.

He Simu suddenly turned, her voice carrying wonder. "All the winds atop this wall reveal themselves completely. Like white spider silk, they weave between heaven and earth, their origins and destinations lost to mystery."

Wind as spider silk—what an extraordinary comparison.

Duan Xu followed her pointing finger, speaking against the knife-sharp breeze. "White wind, like the color of my sleeve cuff?"

"Precisely." He Simu's smile brightened before she asked with sudden curiosity, "General, do you harbor any wishes?"

"Wishes?"

"Yes, wishes."

Duan Xu's lips curved in a slight smile as he answered with complete honesty. "My life's ambition is to see the seventeen provinces north of the Guan River restored to Great Liang's dominion."

He Simu's expression remained unchanged, though privately she dismissed this as hollow political rhetoric, even less convincing than Guan Huai's shameless flattery.

Noticing her silence, Duan Xu inquired, "What troubles you?"

He Simu arranged her features into sorrowful concern, explaining her fear of bloodshed. The mere thought of reclaiming those provinces and the carnage it would require filled her with dread. After a pause, she stepped closer to Duan Xu, who maintained his pleasant expression while subtly retreating half a step, awaiting her words.

"During my travels, I've studied many skulls extensively." He Simu gestured toward Duan Xu's head, speaking with apparent irrelevance. "The General possesses an exceptional skull—rounded at the back, elevated at the crown, broad forehead, prominent brow bones creating deep eye sockets, and distinctive double eyelids."

Duan Xu raised his eyebrows. This hardly sounded complimentary, more like a livestock appraiser evaluating merchandise at market.

"Pure Han Chinese skulls differ significantly from yours. My father once explained that centuries ago, far beyond even Danzhi's borders, lived an ethnic group called the Di. Their people shared your skull structure. In those days, the Di and Han waged endless wars, locked in mortal enmity. Yet now, the Di no longer exist as a distinct people. They merged into Han bloodlines, into your very ancestors."

Now the Hu Qi and Han stood as mortal enemies, but eventually their bloodlines would intertwine as well. A century hence, former foes would become fathers and sons, brothers, flesh and blood united.

Most worldly matters followed this pattern. Those who harbored deepest hatred would later become closer than blood relatives, while those who loved most deeply would become strangers in a heartbeat. Intimacy and distance fluctuated like tides, and nothing endured forever.

Life-and-death struggles or grand aspirations to reclaim lost territories would all dissolve into vapor. Worldly affairs proved mostly tedious—why invest such earnest effort in them?

Duan Xu studied He Simu for a long moment before suddenly erupting into laughter. He leaned against the wall, his mirth so intense it doubled him over with shaking shoulders.

He Simu observed him with puzzlement, finding nothing amusing in their discussion. This young man laughed like a simpleton.

Her assessment proved unfair, however. Duan Xu appeared remarkably handsome when laughing. His eyes sparkled with slight curves, brimming with infectious joy that revealed perfect white teeth.

"Forgive me, Miss He. I was born with an unfortunate tendency toward excessive laughter, not from any disagreement with your wisdom." Duan Xu composed himself and straightened, addressing He Simu directly. "Your words reminded me of childhood days spent building sandcastles by the sea. No matter how magnificent the construction, rising tides would inevitably wash it away. Had I possessed your insight then, perhaps I wouldn't have felt such sorrow. After all, the sandcastle didn't truly vanish—it simply returned to sand."

"You might consider me similar to yourself, and I like a sandcastle."

He tilted his head, smiling warmly at He Simu. "I was sand before birth, will become sand after death, and exist as a fortress for merely one brief moment. I need only live fully within this moment."

What occurred a century ago or would happen a century hence—even should reincarnation exist and he live again in this world, that would not truly be him.

He Simu observed Duan Xu carefully. He stood bathed in brilliant sunlight, with spider silk-like winds wrapped densely around his form, resembling a butterfly cocooned in preparation for transformation.

Inwardly, she sighed. Mortals with their fleeting hundred years ultimately could not escape love and hatred, joy and sorrow. Outwardly, however, she displayed admiration through gentle applause.

Duan Xu's gaze settled on the sugar figurine in her hand. "I intended to ask earlier—the sugar figurine Miss He carries, does it represent...?"

"Shen Tu. Chen Ying possesses Yu Lei—the paired door gods." He Simu waved the confection, which had lost half a shoulder to her nibbling. "After our recent midnight encounter with that ghost, Chen Ying has remained thoroughly frightened. Today I obtained extra sugar from Commander Meng and crafted two door gods. Legend claims evil spirits fear these protectors, so we're employing them to ward off malevolent forces."

As she spoke, she bit off half of Shen Tu's head in one decisive motion.

Duan Xu couldn't suppress his smile. He crossed his arms and shook his head, but then noticed He Simu extending the sugar figurine toward him. "Would you care for a taste?"

The amber-colored confection gleamed translucent in the sunlight, sparkling like a precious gemstone. Through its crystalline surface, he could see her smiling face, open and radiant with warmth.

Duan Xu reached forward, broke off the untouched left foot of the figurine, and placed it in his mouth. He frowned slightly before smiling. "Miss He, this is excessively sweet."

He Simu drew closer to Duan Xu, her voice playful. "General, which aspect do you find sweet?"

The young woman before him displayed a face reddened by cold, yet her smile held infinite sweetness.

The young man's eyes flickered momentarily, but he remained composed. "The sugar figurine."

"Sweet, is it?"

"Overwhelmingly so."

"Everyone possesses different preferences. What can one say? I confess to having quite the sweet tooth." He Simu took another bite of her figurine. Gazing toward the frozen Guan River stretching into the distance, she announced suddenly, "Four days hence, on the eighth day of the eleventh month, during the Hai hour, an eastern wind will bring snow."

Duan Xu understood her meaning and bowed in gratitude. Then her voice reached his ear, soft with concern.

"Must you truly go?"

Duan Xu looked up to find the young woman staring directly into his eyes, her expression touched with compassion.

"I heard Commander Meng mention that the General wasn't originally assigned to Taibai, but appointed during this crisis. Given your distinguished background, through proper negotiation, you should be able to return to the capital."

Duan Xu released a gentle sigh. "Why does everyone speak as though I march toward certain defeat? Rest assured, Miss. In my youth, I consulted a fortune-teller. The master proclaimed that throughout my life, I would transform misfortune into blessing."

He Simu reflected silently that this man had descended from Supervising Secretary and chancellor candidate to Imperial Guard Commander to frontier Lieutenant General to a general poised on death's threshold. He had certainly encountered abundant misfortune, but where were these promised blessings?

"If this isn't a doomed battle, what would you call it?"

Duan Xu paused briefly before responding with lightness, "It is 'advancing against ten thousand opponents.'"

He Simu could only nod while finishing the final morsel of her sugar figurine.

That assessment rang true. How could one wield the legendary Breaking Illusion Sword without possessing extraordinary destiny?

Little General, please survive this trial. Surely the master of the Breaking Illusion Sword is fated for greater things than this?

Duan Xu escorted He Simu back to her modest courtyard. From a distance, they observed Chen Ying hugging his knees, sitting obediently at the entrance while scanning their surroundings. Upon spotting her, his eyes illuminated with joy as he bounded forward.

Since their encounter with that evil spirit, the child had grown increasingly clingy.

He Simu bid farewell to Duan Xu and guided Chen Ying into the courtyard, asking casually, "Have you finished your sugar figurine? What would you prefer next time?"

"Another sugar figurine! Big Sister crafted such beautiful ones today, though they tasted rather bland, hardly sweet at all." Chen Ying, who had grown noticeably plumper recently, tugged at He Simu's hand with childish petulance.

He Simu halted mid-step and looked down at Chen Ying. "Not sweet at all?"

Chen Ying came from humble origins and had rarely tasted sugar throughout his childhood. He possessed complete honesty—if he claimed it lacked sweetness, it truly did.

Earlier, Duan Xu had declared the sugar figurine overwhelmingly sweet. Had he merely been jesting?

A thought occurred to her. She crouched down and asked Chen Ying, "The young general who escorted me home today—what color were his sleeve cuffs?"

Chen Ying considered this briefly before pointing skyward. "Blue! The color of heaven itself."

—White wind, like the color of my sleeve cuff?

He Simu remained silent for a moment, then toyed with the jade pendant at her waist, wearing an enigmatic smile.

Well, well. The young general had been testing her. She had grown careless.

His intuition far exceeded Meng Wan's capabilities. He had seen through her deception, that clever fox.

She dispatched Chen Ying to play, watching until he vanished from sight. Then she withdrew the luminous pearl from her robes and called, "Feng Yi."

After a brief pause, a voice emerged from the pearl. "Venerable Ancestor, what requires attention now?"

"I recall you mentioning that Duan Xu lived in the Southern Capital until age seven, then was sent to his grandmother's residence in Daizhou for her care, only returning to the Southern Capital at fourteen."

"That information is accurate."

"The Southern Capital lies far from any ocean, and Daizhou even farther from coastal regions. He should never have encountered the sea. Where did he build these childhood sandcastles by the shore?" He Simu tossed the pearl absently, speaking with leisurely interest. "This fellow isn't entirely what he appears. Help me investigate him thoroughly."

Duan Xu departed from He Xiaoxiao's courtyard entrance, walking back with visible contentment. As he approached the Governor's mansion, children played cuju in the street. One kicked with insufficient force, sending the ball flying rapidly toward Duan Xu. Just as the children's alarmed cries rang out, he swiftly sidestepped and raised his hand, his five fingers securely capturing the projectile.

A small boy ran over. Duan Xu handed him the ball, and the child gazed up with curious wonder. "Big brother, why do you smile so joyfully?"

Duan Xu crouched down and patted his head with a radiant smile. "Today I encountered a remarkably interesting friend."

"Someone who can perceive wind, yet likely cannot distinguish colors, sense temperature variations, or recognize flavors."

The little boy appeared confused. "What a peculiar person! Isn't that frightening?"

"Frightening? How could that be frightening?" Duan Xu tilted his head, his smile growing even brighter. "I find it absolutely fascinating."

The child shuddered, now considering this big brother rather alarming as well.

"General!"

Duan Xu looked up to see Xia Qing Sheng approaching with his escort of soldiers. He rose as Xia Qing Sheng offered a formal salute, worry etched across his features. "General, this isn't the Southern Capital. You cannot continue wandering about unprotected..."

Duan Xu patted Xia Qing Sheng's shoulder, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, but simply inquired, "Has Lieutenant General Wu arrived?"

"He awaits you inside."

"Excellent. Let us proceed."

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