Xinyue was wrong. The Crown Prince didn’t summon them by the time they had rested well. In fact, he didn’t summon them that day. It was two days after the sparring match that they were summoned, at which point Haoran had officially lost his mind.
“Can you believe him? What gives him the right?” Haoran threw his hands up in frustration as the servant of the Crown Prince left the tent for them to get ready to follow him to the Crown Prince. For the past two days, they waited. Haoran had even gone to inquire after the Crown Prince, but all they got in response was a short response: His Highness is otherwise occupied.
“His birth.” Zixin stood beside Haoran, his eyes rolled as Haoran paced the length of the tent.
“It doesn’t matter. We are at their camp, in their kingdom.” Xinyue reminded Haoran as she tied the cape to her armor. She wore black, except for her hair ribbon, which tied up her dark hair, a bright red that flowed down her back.
“On the border of our kingdom!” Haoran was practically spitting as he stomped around. The blood rushed in his veins, he was so annoyed that he had even forgotten that he was addressing a superior officer.
The General raised her eyebrows in response and looked to Zixin, signaling for him to deal with the spiraling Second-in-Command. The man sighed and stepped in front of the pacing Haoran.
“There’s nothing that can be done now. We need to meet with the Crown Prince. Some people need our help, and the bandits are still out in the mountains.” Zixin was the voice of reason, a role he usually didn’t take. It wasn’t necessarily a pleasant experience for him; he preferred being light-hearted and full of mirth, but for Haoran, he would at least try to be reasonable.
The switch in personality of Zixin was so surprising to Haoran that he snapped out of his anger. “Since when were you reasonable?”
“Since now.” Zixin shrugged the smile back on his face. He calmly reached out and grasped either side of Haoran’s shoulders and gave them a small pat, like he was calming down a fussy cat.
In truth, when Xinyue rose in the ranks, Haoran wasn’t the first choice for Second-in-Command; Zixin was. Zixin was more level-headed than Haoran and got along better with most of the troops. He had a natural talent for talking to people and breaking down barriers between others, which was one of the reasons why Xinyue had asked him to take over as her spymaster. However, when Xinyue had asked Zixin to take the position of Second-in-Command, he refused, insisting that Haoran would be the better candidate. Xinyue still sometimes doubted the decision, but Zixin was adamant that he would not compete for the same title as Haoran.
“We can’t stay here all day.” Xinyue watched the two men as Zixin rested his palms on Haoran’s shoulders.
“Right, General. I apologize for my outburst.” Haoran shrugged off Zixin’s hands and turned to the General to salute her. Zixin’s face fell for a brief moment before it was once again replaced with a cheeky smile.
Zixin, too, turned on his heel and saluted the General. “I apologize, General. We are ready whenever you are.”
“Then let’s head out, we don’t know if His Highness might change his mind if we are late.” Xinyue tied her face covering and tucked it into her armor.
“Will you not wear your helmet, General?” Zixin cocked his head to the side.
“No need. We are there to discuss strategy, not to battle or spar.”
“You never know,” Haoran said under his breath, but everyone in the tent could still hear his resentful remark.
Xinyue decided not to respond and walked purposefully out of the tent. She nodded to the servant, who immediately saluted the General as she came from the tent. They all walked together through the camp, the canvas tents rustling with the cool breeze of the north. On their way, various soldiers paused to greet and salute them.
“Is it just me, or are they far more polite?” Zixin watched as one of the soldiers almost dropped his sword that he was polishing in his haste to salute the General as she passed.
“It’s not just you.” Haoran’s eyebrows were scrunched up, and his fingers were once again tapping the hilt of his sword.
“Hm.” Xinyue made a sound of agreement. Something had definitely shifted in the camp. She made a mental note to ask the Crown Prince about his troops’ behavior during their meeting.
It wasn’t long before they made it to the Crown Prince’s tent. It was large with different sections, the canvas sturdy, and in the front were two flags on either side of the entrance with the Long Kingdom’s seals. The dragons twisted playfully on the blue silk, seeming to chase each other. Up close, Xinyue spotted something she had never noticed before. While the bodies were embroidered in gold, their eyes were made of silver thread.
“Your Majesty, I have brought the General.” The servant stood just outside the tent and announced their presence loudly so that the Crown Prince could hear wherever he may have been.
“Let them in.” With that simple command, Xinyue was finally able to enter the Crown Prince’s tent.
Inside the tent was both exactly how Xinyue thought and nothing like she thought it would be. It was a luxurious tent, full of finery, but also practical and sturdy. Everything in the room had a purpose, but they were also made of expensive materials. The go board that sat on a smaller table to the side was beautifully hand-carved, with lacquered black wood. Its pieces were shiny bits of marble that gleamed in the lantern light, the squares made of mother-of-pearl. The bed and more private areas of the room were shielded off with wooden panels that were painted with delicate flowers and sea creatures. Xinyue resisted the urge to look behind them at the other opulent pieces that the Crown Prince must have brought from the Long Capital.
“Greetings, Your Highness.” Xinyue bows along with Haoran and Zixin.
“General, Welcome.” The Crown Prince nodded. Beside him stood Hongyi and one more man that Xinyue was unfamiliar with. “Come here and take a look at the map.”
The table where a map of the kingdoms was set up in the middle of the tent, much like her own, but it was made of fine wood with carvings of sea animals swimming up its legs, and the map was far more detailed.
“Your Highness, is that wise?” The man Xinyue hadn’t met yet spoke up. His eyes shifted as he eyed the newcomers, his tone distrusting and reserved. The man was of average build and countenance. He seemed to pale in comparison to the beauty of the Crown Prince and Hongyi, and to fade into the background.
“His Majesty had requested that we work together with the Wu Kingdom; we must abide by his orders.” The comment was sly and held an undertone of discontent. “We must offer what we know to the General, for the benefit of both our kingdoms.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Xinyue looked at the different Kingdoms painted in their representative colors. The purple of Mu, the white of Wu, the orange of Feng, and the blue of Long swirled together to make up the map.
“After fighting the bandits the other day, did you notice anything about them?” The Crown Prince inquired. The question was loaded; a test.
Xinyue looked up at the Crown Prince, her eyes flashing in the lantern light. The Crown Prince met her gaze without flinching. “They dispersed too fast for comfort, Your Highness. If I didn’t know better, I would say they almost disappeared by magic.”
“Your Highness-“
“Enough, Bowen.” The Crown Prince cut off the mysterious man. “You have not greeted the General.” The Crown Prince’s tone was polite but threatening, a smile on his full lips.
“Greetings to the General of Wu.” The man saluted, the knuckles of his hands white as he tightly clasped them in front of him. “I am Bowen, a subordinate of General Yichen.”
“Greetings, Bowen.” Xinyue nodded to the man. If she had to guess, she would assume he was the spymaster of the Crown Prince.
“You are correct, General Xinyue.” The Crown Prince leaned his palms on the table. “It appears that the bandits are using magic to disappear without a trace. It has happened almost every time we have confronted them in battle.”
“Did you look into the temples in the area?” Xinyue didn’t want to assume that the temples had anything to do with their current predicament, but they did need to check all possibilities.
“I’ve already contacted all of them.”
“Then I assume you asked for any who had left the temple in the past few years.” Xinyue paused but remembered she was talking to royalty. “Your Highness.”
“That’s the thing, General. There are no sources of any discontent or deserters at any temple in the area.”
“None?” Xinyue’s brows furrowed. Even at the most popular and well-funded temples, there was bound to be a few students who left or didn’t agree with their masters’ teachings. Not to mention those who didn’t have a talent for cultivation, they normally chose to either leave or were kicked out when they reached adulthood.
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“None. Zero.” The Crown Prince tilted his head to the side, and the dimple in his right cheek made an appearance. “Strange, isn’t it?”
“Have you visited any of the temples?” Xinyue had a checklist in her head. She searched for a possible solution, going from one option to the next.
“Ah, we were waiting for the General’s presence to go to the temples ourselves. I had, of course, sent some soldiers to ask and talk to the temples. Politely.” The Crown Prince shrugged one shoulder. “But, let’s just say, the temples were less than forthcoming with any information.”
“So either their withholding information or they truly haven’t had anyone leave the temple?”
“One of them is more likely than the other.” The Crown Prince pushed himself up from the table and pointed at a mountain range on the map. “You see, these mountains are where we suspect the bandits to be hiding.”
“It’s rough terrain, difficult to search.” Xinyue nodded in understanding. The mountain range was large with plenty of trees and rocks. It would be difficult for any army to search the whole area.
“We’ve tried.” The Crown Prince traced the mountains. “Even got so far as to come just as some fires were put out and the ashes still warm, but we can’t seem to catch the bandits.”
“They’re large in number.”
“Not one was left behind.”
Xinyue’s thoughts began to race. “Are there any temples in the area?”
“One.” The Crown Prince pointed to a mountain, the tallest on the map. “It’s on this mountain.”
At this point, the subordinates of the generals sat back and watched them work. All of them knew better than to get involved in discussions with their superiors. Hongyi, in particular, didn’t want to interrupt and be punished for practicing more spear work.
“When are we going to go visit?” Xinyue paused. “Your Highness.”
“And you were doing so well in not addressing me by that title.” The Crown Prince smirked and chuckled as Xinyue raised an eyebrow at him. “I’m thinking of setting off tomorrow. The mountain trek is not light, and we won’t be able to take all the troops.”
“Understood, Your Highness. I’ll only bring a small amount.”
“Well, that’s the thing, General.” Xinyue had a bad feeling that she wouldn’t like what was about to come out of his mouth. “You see, I have an excess amount of troops already. If we included Wu soldiers, it would be a difficult path forward.”
Xinyue could feel Haoran bristle from where he stood. Zixin put his hand on Haoran’s arm to stop him from saying anything or doing anything stupid.
“Not to mention,” The Crown Prince continued, “I’m very wary of spies and don’t put trust in many people. You understand, don’t you, General?” He smiled with all of his teeth gleaming. Unlike before, it was a threatening smile, his lips pulled tightly over his teeth, and the dimple nowhere to be seen.
“Understood, Your Highness,” Xinyue repeated her response from earlier. There was no choice in the matter, he was technically above her in rank. “Then it’ll be us three who have come to your tent today.”
The Crown Prince nodded in agreement. “Tomorrow morning, when the sun rises, we’ll head up the mountain.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for your understanding, General.” The Crown Prince smirked, and he stressed her title, letting it linger and expand. Xinyue fought the urge to smack him, praying to the gods to give her the patience to maintain her composure.
Xinyue never considered herself to be a violent person. Even after all the wars and battles she had been in, she would consider fighting needed. It was not out of her own volition she fought, and she was never angry at the other opponents on the battlefield. But there was something about this man that dug under her skin and made her feel emotions she didn’t want to feel.
“Yes, Your Highness.” Xinyue wanted to run back to her tent, to meditate, to cultivate, to breathe without being in his presence. No one in all of the kingdoms could call Xinyue a coward, but, in that moment, Xinyue felt the urge to run.
“Wonderful.” The Crown Prince clapped his hands. “Hongyi, make the preparations for tomorrow for the General and her soldiers.”
“Your Highness, if that is all, I’ll take my leave.” Xinyue was so close to the comforts of her tent.
“Ah, but we’re not yet done.” The Crown Prince pulled a surprised look on his face. Like he was in a performance, he exaggerated his facial expressions.
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Well, the other day, General Xinyue, I spoke to you about my title.”
“Yes, Your Highness, I recall.” Xinyue kept her response short, her teeth gritted.
“Well?”
“Well, what, Your Highness?”
“I believe you need to change the way you address me.” The Crown Prince crossed his arms across his chest. “After all, I won.”
“I don’t believe we had a deal with those terms.” Xinyue frowned and thought back to their conversation. She remembered them discussing his title, but she never agreed to change her form of address. “We never spoke about what would happen if you won, Your Highness,” Xinyue emphasized his title.
She didn’t know what demon had taken control of her tongue, but she couldn’t help herself but verbally spar with the man. In the past six years that she was on the battlefield, she had never felt the urge to push the boundaries between her and her superiors, let alone to argue with one of them. Xinyue didn’t know what had come over her, what had the Crown Prince of Long done to her?
“It was implied, from our conversation before the spar.” The Crown Prince nodded like it was a done deal, that Xinyue would have to obey. This made her angrier, she felt the blood rush in her veins and her heart beat, like a galloping horse in her chest.
“Implied, Your Highness. Not confirmed, Your Highness.” Xinyue kept saying his title, throwing it in his face out of some amount of spite.
“Are you saying your words don’t have meaning?” The damn dimple appeared again, and Xinyue knew that he was messing with her. He was like a cat with a mouse, batting it side to side before eating it.
Haoran let out a hiss from between his teeth behind her, and she heard rustling as Zixin stepped forward in front of Haoran.
“Your Highness, are you asking if our General doesn’t have honor? Or are you implying by calling you by your Crown Prince title our General is being impolite?” Zixin bowed, a calm smile masking his emotions. He let the words drip from his mouth, syrupy and sweet, sickly so.
The one called Bowen stepped from behind the Crown Prince. “You misunderstand. Our General Yichen is simply asking to reaffirm the General’s position. After all, it was discussed before the challenge to spar was accepted.”
“Yes,” Haoran had had enough of standing behind Zixin, “But nothing was promised. By saying that our General speaks meaninglessly is clearly an attack on her character.”
Hongyi rushed forward. From his belt he pulled out a fan and snapped it open with a loud crack. “Clearly? There was nothing our General said that should be considered as a ‘clear’ attack on anyone’s character. Simply, a clarification.” Hongyi waved the fan as if brushing away Haoran’s words.
Haoran turned a bright red, and his hands became tight fists. Zixin leaned back to put a steadying hand on his chest. “Haoran.” Zixin meant for his words to calm the soldier, but, instead, it made Haoran angrier.
“Who are you to say what your Crown Prince meant?” Haoran stuck out his finger and pointed it at Hongyi.
“And who are you to say what your General meant as a promise?” Hongyi’s canines flashed in the light, and he whipped the fan faster in his hand. “Also, I am the son of the Grand Preceptor of the Long Kingdom and a lord in my own right. But, please, introduce yourself.” Hongyi went into a bow, one leg behind the other as he raised his left hand out to the side, and the right hand with the fan went to his chest.
Haoran knew he messed up. He hadn’t just argued with a fellow soldier, but a member of the Court of Wu. His mouth snapped shut, and Zixin let out a soft sigh.
“Enough.” Xinyue put her hand up to Haoran. She would not allow her Second-in-Command to go through such humiliation, not when she could do something about it. She glared at the Crown Prince, who threw her a taunting smile. “Was your General Yichen not the one who insisted on dropping titles and rank?”
“Thank you, General Xinyue, for recognizing and appreciating my sincerity.” General Yichen smiled, the dimple popping out, and Hongyi backed off to stand back to where he had stood when they first entered the tent.
“General Yichen, I look forward to tomorrow and working together in the future.” Due to their new classification of rank, Xinyue simply nodded to the snake in human form.
General Yichen chuckled and returned the nod. “I as well, General Xinyue.”
