The Past- 5 Years Ago

  The arrow shot through the air, barely missing General Xinyue. The Wu Kingdom fought against the Long Kingdom for the past few months in a border dispute. Skirmishes along the border due to a long-term drought in the Kingdom of Wu had evolved into an all-out battle between the two nations. It had not yet reached the level of a war, however, both nations had sent their most-feared generals to the front lines.

  “Haoran.” General Xinyue sliced down with her sword, cutting through one of the soldiers who had tried to charge forward. It was chaos on the battlefield, but there was a bright spot of blue that had caught the General’s attention.

  “Yes, General. I see him.” Haoran rode his horse next to the General’s. The battle raged around them. Armor of silver and gold plating clashed, and the sound of the whines of horses and the screams of men permeated the air. Through the mass of bodies and dirt, the blue of the General of Long’s cape stood out. It was still a vibrant blue, even as the man wearing it was coated in blood. The Generals of the two nations were almost evenly matched, leading to the question of which of them would be able to win this battle over the other.

  As they watched, another silver armored soldier fell under the spear of the blue-caped general.

  “I will take care of it.” Xinyue rode forward with Haoran on her right, pushing through the line to get to the current bane of her existence. They worked together to cut down soldiers who barred their path. As they continued forward, Xinyue dismounted from her horse. She wanted to meet the General on even terrain, not trusting that her horse wouldn’t make a mistake.

  General Yichen of the Kingdom of Long caught sight of the General of Wu, charging toward him, and knew a decisive moment in the battle had come. Unlike the other soldiers of Wu, the General wore only black with a long red hair ribbon, spectacularly still clean.

  “Hongyi, don’t interrupt.” General Yichen cut down the soldier in front of him, the gold plating on his armor coated in blood. He dislodged his spear and twisted it to pierce the next man who tried to cut him down with his sword.

  “Huh?” Hongyi was preoccupied with trying to save his head from an exceptionally strong blow by a cavalryman. He wasn’t aware of the incident that was about to happen.

  It wasn’t until the first slash of Xinyue’s sword that Hongyi understood what his General had meant.

  As the battle raged, the generals of the two kingdoms faced off.

  Blocking the down slash with the butt of his spear, Yichen smirked. Running the end of his spear up the length of the sword, he got close to Xinyue. Her sword trapped between the two of them, she wasn’t able to dislodge it. Close with both hands on his spear, he used his body weight to push her.

  Sliding back, Xinyue gathered her balance in time to block Yichen’s spear as he stabbed. He used the distance that he created to his advantage, attacking again and again. Slashing and stabbing, Yichen kept Xinyue at a distance so she couldn’t use her sword. Dancing back from the spear, Xinyue dodged and rotated away from the tip of the spear.

  As the two generals were locked in their deadly dance, almost as if they knew not to interrupt, soldiers made room away from them. The chaos continued to rage, but the generals were in their own world on the plain.

  Xinyue dodged the spear and saw her chance, rolling along the length of the spear, she swept toward Yichen and sliced at his exposed neck with her sword.

  Yichen laughed and ducked, spun, and centered himself to sweep his spear up in an overarching motion. Reaching up with her sword, Xinyue blocked the spear. Similar to Yichen earlier, Xinyue used their closeness to drive shoulder into his chest, knocking him back enough so she could loosen her sword from his spear.

  Yichen recognized Xinyue’s intent and, dropping one hand from his spear, spun to the side, creating distance between the two.

  They both breathed heavily as they watched each other.

  “General,” Haoran stated almost in warning, but instead of deterring either general, his voice ignited them to start again.

  They once again charged at each other. Both wanted to use this moment to decide the outcome of the battle. Over and over they fought, until Hongyi’s voice of reason broke in.

  “Generals! The troops!” Hongyi gestured around them at the fallen. His voice was high and strung out with exertion and worry.

  In that moment, both generals had a moment of understanding, the spell that seemed to be placed on the shattered, and they nodded to each other. The situation would not resolve itself, at least not today. They called off the battle, and both retreated to their respective camps.

  That night, Haoran and Xinyue stood in the General’s tent, glancing at the desk in front of them. “General, I don’t see this battle ending soon.” The battlefield on the board was littered with figurines. “If it escalates, it’ll be a total war between nations.”

  “We wouldn’t win against the Long Kingdom,” Xinyue answered the unspoken question, her voice grim but solid.

  “General-“

  “We’re in the middle of a drought, not to mention they have a far superior number of troops.” The General thought of all the damage that had already been done to the kingdom because of the drought, the starved faces of the civilians as they marched into the area. The people in the street as they tried to grab onto the soldier’s armor, begging for any food or water that the army could spare. Their faces were worn, hollow, their bones pushed against their skin. If they went to war, how many would perish in the process? Not just soldiers, but civilians as well.

  “Then what can be done?” Haoran’s face had drained of color as he thought of all the different possibilities. It was all written on his face, his doubts and worries. It was unlikely that the issue could be resolved peacefully. Both of the kingdoms had refused to negotiate when the first skirmish had occurred, and now the royal families were too prideful to admit defeat. The Wu Kingdom was fortunate enough that the Long Kingdom had yet to declare a full-on war on them.

  “We will need to have a more decisive battle. The outcome will lead to the end of these…skirmishes.” Xinyue was careful with her language, making sure she didn’t refer to anything they were doing in terms of war. “Call one of our messengers.”

  “General?” Haoran’s eyes were wide. “Have you thought of a way to win?” From all the scenarios that Haoran could think of, there was no clear way for victory between the two generals. Both were matched in strategy and tactics.

  “I will ride out to fight the General, His Highness of Long, on the battlefield tomorrow.”

  “But, General, he is the God of Death.” Haoran’s voice shook.

  “And?” Xinyue’s eyes flashed in the candlelight, the gold was unnerving and made Haoran’s stomach tie up in knots. “I am the God of War.”

  “Understood.” Haoran didn’t question her further, but he couldn’t help the worry that coated his voice over the outcome of tomorrow’s duel. Not only would the General possibly lose her life, but also the hope of the nation depended on her fighting. The General of Wu was excellent, after all she had been at war for six years, but, even still, this was the Long Kingdom’s Crown Prince. Even if Xinyue was skilled, he wasn’t given the name the God of Death for no reason. Not to mention, she wasn’t recognized as a member of the royal family of Wu, only as their representative. If she did kill him, would that not lead to retribution? A bastard child, unrecognized by her own father and his court, killing the heir to the mighty throne of the Long Kingdom. What would come of this?

  “I know what you fear, but I have no plans to lose.” Xinyue could almost read Haoran’s mind. His thoughts and fears mirrored in his eyes.

  “I-“ Haoran snapped his mouth closed and nodded. Haoran couldn’t push past his respect for the general to inform her that he was more worried about her winning than losing. Her loss would be at the cost of her life, but her winning would be a fate worse than death.

  “What if he rejects your offer?” Haoran’s hope slipped into his voice, coating his words with lightness.

  Xinyue’s thoughts went back to the man she faced earlier on the battlefield. She recalled his icy eyes through the visor of his helmet when she pushed against his shoulder, their helmets almost touching. The techniques he used and his experience with his spear were those of an expert, someone who had been through numerous battles and fights. But most of all, she recalled his laughter as they fought.

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  “He won’t.”

  “General-“

  Xinyue’s mind was made up, she knew how to end the battle. “Send the message. I will deal with any consequence, whether it be a win or a loss.”

  The morning came far too suddenly for Haoran. He hadn’t slept at all in the barracks, his mind racing after they received a response to their message last night: a time for the battle to take place.

  “General, are you sure about this?” Since they woke up, Haoran had asked her variations of this question. Xinyue sat on her horse, her back straight, without so much as a hint of worry on her face. She was prepared for any outcome. On the other side of the battlefield, there were soldiers of the opposition, all on their horses. The two sides faced off with each other, waiting for the moment their respective generals would go to battle with each other.

  While Xinyue looked calm on the outside, she was facing her own demons underneath the mask. Mainly, she feared losing. If she won, she would accept whatever consequence there would be, but if she lost, she feared for her troops and the civilians caught in the crossfire. This land, which had been part of the Wu Kingdom for generations, would be lost to the Long Kingdom. Not only that, but the rage of the Wu Kingdom’s Court would be fiery and burn through the kingdom. If she lost, it would be best to be cut down in battle by the Crown Prince than suffer at the hands of the Court.

  “I’m sure.” Xinyue nodded to Haoran as she dismounted from her horse. “The time has come.” She took off her cape and draped it over the saddle, she didn’t want anything to get in the way. Across the field, Yichen did the same. He took his spear from Hongyi and walked to meet Xinyue. For possibly the first time in his life, his heart raced, and the tingling of anxiety pulled at his shoulder muscles. He rolled his shoulders as he walked, focused on the battle ahead. A normal battle, just like any other, but he couldn’t help the excitement that wriggled in his gut.

  “Greetings to His Highness, the Crown Prince of Long.” Xinyue saluted in greeting, bowing further down.

  “Greetings, General Xinyue.” He returned the salute, his voice light and almost happy.

  “I hope whatever the outcome will be honored.”

  “You have my word as both the general and Crown Prince of Long.”

  “Thank you for your sincerity, Your Highness.”

  “We are not in the palace, I am a general here.”

  “Hm. Understood…Your Highness.” Xinyue nodded in acknowledgment and unsheathed her sword. She held the scabbard in her left hand, and her sword in the right. “Shall we begin, Your Highness?”

  He shook his head at her use of his title. “Let’s.” With a chuckle, he charged forward, his spear arching and smashing down into her raised scabbard.

  Xinyue twisted the scabbard in her hand, blocking and maneuvering the spear away. She spun out and into Yichen, her front to the shaft of the spear that remained outstretched, and swung her sword with her right hand toward his neck. He barely dodged back and raised the spear back up off her scabbard. Twisting it so the butt of the spear was turned toward her he made contact with her stomach before swinging it back over to hit her over the head. Xinyue took the blow to the stomach, doubled over, twisted to the side, and let the spear just miss where she stood. In response, Xinyue used the opportunity of the lowered spear to get into close quarters with Yichen.

  This time she was successful in her slash. Before Yichen could dodge fully back, she made a small cut across his armor. The sound of metal on metal ringing out. No damage was made, but at least this time she touched him.

  “Not bad, General.”

  “You as well, Your Highness.”

  The fight raged on, blows shared and blocked between the two. Xinyue could understand why they had given the moniker the God of Death to such a person. He tried multiple killing blows and didn’t pull back any of his blows. Due to his actions, Xinyue also felt confident in using her full force as well. It was a thrilling experience to fight someone who not only was at your level, but also to be able to fight without limits.

  After a while, Xinyue felt the flow of cultivation.

  “Can we make this more exciting, General Xinyue?” He smiled, his eyes lit with anticipation.

  Xinyue called the cultivation into her, and they began to fight in earnest. The blows were weighted with magic, and their feet were light on the ground as they worked. Trembling with the force of his blows, Xinyue’s sword sang a high-tuned melody with Yichen’s spear. What Xinyue couldn’t match in force, she matched in speed and technique. While she could acknowledge Yichen’s strength, it didn’t deter her from attacking.

  They pushed at each other’s boundaries and worked to find any limitation the other had. One moment, Xinyue thought she had the upper hand, but in the next, she was losing against him. Xinyue wondered how much longer each of them could hold, it wasn’t as if they were both immortal, one of them had to exhaust themselves first. She could taste the metallic twinge of blood on her tongue, and her lungs burned with exertion.

  Yichen looked much like he had when they first began the fight, but his chest heaved, and he had sweat on his brow. Xinyue was almost positive he was as exhausted as her and he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. The question was who could outlast the other? Xinyue’s brain raced, as she calculated all her options, but she knew that she couldn’t lose. She wouldn’t lose, and in a moment of clarity, she knew what she had to do.

  Yichen stabbed out with his spear, grunting with the power he used, and Xinyue let her scabbard slip from her fingers to the ground. Her left shoulder radiated with pain as the spear pierced into the area. A small cry escaped her lips before she sent as much cultivation as she could to the area to keep the pain localized. The spear had gone clean through, but without hitting anything vital. It was the most ideal injury that she could think of with the most ideal outcome.

  Now, closer to him, Xinyue stabbed out and up with her sword where the Crown Prince’s armor had a gap just under his right ribcage. It was where his armor overlapped, the gold detailing and plating left a small unshielded spot. Xinyue had the same spot in her armor. The sword’s aim was true, hitting him where Xinyue had planned. Without his spear, since it was still embedded in her shoulder, he was defenseless to block her attack. Up close, she saw his eyes widen in shock and disbelief at what she had done. She ripped the sword from his body and dropped it to the ground in one smooth motion. The placement wasn’t deadly, but it would keep him from getting back up after he went down and made sure he couldn’t fight her again. At least not anytime soon.

  The Crown Prince fell to his knees, his hands at the wound staunching the blood, “I lost this battle. I admit defeat.” He said these words through gritted teeth. Although he admitted he lost, his eyes showed a gleam of determination. Xinyue knew this wasn’t the last time she would meet the God of Death.

  “Thank you for this battle, Your Highness.” Xinyue heaved in gasps of air, she kept her voice as strong as she could. She didn’t try to salute or bow, the pain finally could no longer be alleviated by cultivation. It spread as her cultivation pooled back into her stomach, worn out and almost dried up. She grasped at whatever little she had left, but she couldn’t seem to grab onto the magic; it flowed like a river through her fingers, slipping and passing through.

  “General!” Xinyue could hear the sounds of worried soldiers and the sounds of feet as they raced towards the two of them. Haoran’s voice was loud as he ran he screamed for the general. She couldn’t focus on them; all she could focus on was maintaining whatever cultivation she had left on her shoulder and remaining on her feet.

  The rest of that day was a blur, from breaking and pulling the spear from her shoulder to the healer’s tent. Xinyue could barely remember anything that happened after the fight. The only thing she remembered from after the battle was the medical tent and His Majesty the King of Wu’s reward: a specialized healer in cultivation.

  Although the wound left a permanent scar, Xinyue gained full use of her shoulder and arm. Something she was prepared to sacrifice when she was fighting with the Crown Prince. She had considered it a necessary evil, her arm for a peaceful kingdom, but His Majesty had surprised her. For a time, however, she had to use her left hand to practice swordsmanship. This would lead to her eventual use of two swords in battle, and the gossip pages to spread the word that the King of Wu had a weapon that rivaled the King of Long’s God of Death. It was the first time that Xinyue and the Crown Prince of Long met, as adversaries of equal strength on the battlefield, but it was far from the last.