The hall of Baron… Ran, she thought, was humble compared to the accommodations she was used to. A layered stone keep built to withstand siege and shelter a town’s population behind sturdy, purified stone rather than to be beautiful, the polished white marble cladding over the walls nonetheless had a certain austere appeal. Hung now with banners of the Gu and Baron Ran fluttering in the wind and filled with soldiers celebrating victory, Father swept through the halls with regal steps and the occasional raised hand.

The Baron himself welcomed them at his gates, a man with hair that was more gray than black, firmly in the fourth realm of cultivation. He welcomed Father back into the keep with flowery words that Gu Xiulan’s tired mind found difficult to focus on.

Unlike her, Father’s eyes did not waver as their vassal spoke, and he answered the man's questions of their purpose with respect and a tight smile as he agreed to attend the victory feast later that evening.

But all the same, they were soon channeled to a secure room. The Baron Ran’s own study she supposed, going by the rich desk and plush chairs, and the shelves full of preserved and bound scrolls and tomes.

“Lady Guo, this Lord apologizes deeply for the condition with which you have found my holdings. I am shamed to have had my eyes so thoroughly fooled,” Father said as the door shut behind them and qi flashed through the completed privacy formations.

“There is nothing to apologize for, such a combination of the Dead is not common. You held, and that is all that is required. I have no doubts that your eyes would have penetrated the trickery in time,” Guo Xinhua said.

“As you wish,” Father said, turning to the rest of them. “Regardless, I welcome you, the rest of my guests.”

Guo Xinyan gave a small nod, stepping to stand behind her mother with her head demurely down.

The Zheng siblings were much less quiet about things. Their presence filled the room, making the relatively small study seem even more snug.

“Haha, it's all good, you got lots more important things to worry about than us. Just pleased to even be invited,” Zheng Nan said.

“Mah, they’ll want us bringing the important stuff to Gran,” Zheng Yang shrugged, though she was smiling too. “Glad we could make it in time though! Things sure don’t calm down out east.”

“Even our Golden Fields does not often have such strife,” Guo Xinhua said coolly. “Viscount Gu. I presume you were able to view the wider situation with the webs and mirrors dispersed.”

“...My generals have not fallen. I ensured that command was well distributed, such that defenses could be maintained even if communication were cut off,” Father said. He squeezed his eyes shut, looking pained. “But I shake with fury at the cost of smaller settlements. Thus, I must apologize for my failures.”

Gu Xiulan saw the embers in his hair, the steam rising from the corners of Father’s lips. It was unsettling to see her father showing signs of temper no different than she. “Then shouldn’t we ride out immediately Father?” She asked before she could catch herself. “We can’t afford to sit and feast…”

“Xiulan, look at yourself, look within, and tell me that you can ride within the hour,” Father said.

“I-” she bit back the words, because she couldn’t say them under his gaze. Her dantian ached, her arm felt as if it were struck through with countless burning needles, her legs ached and her meridians throbbed.

“If I may, young woman. It is a leader's necessity to appear unruffled by even the greatest trials, to bear confidence, even in the most dire need. Those who follow you must see you and draw their confidence from your well,” Guo Xinhua said. “You understand this, when in the saddle. Neither I nor your Father found victory over the Dead scion of Jin and his spirit beast without cost either.”

She looked at them both, only father showing any more signs of stress than he had outside.

“We will crush the Dead back into the sands, but we must rest first. The soldiers are less hardy than even we,” Guo Xinyan said.

“I apologize for my outburst,” Gu Xiulan said, bowing her head.

“I don’t like it either, a hero ain’t supposed to sit and wait around,” Zheng Nan said frowning. “Parties are for after you’ve won.”

“Think like that, there won’t never be a party,” Zheng Yang said, shrugging. “Cause the work’s never done. I dunno about you brother, but d’you think those guys on the walls are marching anywhere?”

“Doesn’t mean I gotta stay,” he grumped back.

“If you make me punch your sun dried skull off cause you ran ahead and got Dead-ed, Master will drag your carcass back out from the desert for a whooping,” Zheng Yang snorted.

“Enough,” Guo Xinhua said, her fan snapped shut with a sharp clack that cut off the next line of bickering like a blade severing thread. “Viscount Gu, the situation.”

“All major hardpoints hold, and the enemy does not have the density of Dead needed to overwhelm the countryside entire,” Father said, embers still flickered in his hair and sparks danced and snapped in his breath, but the signs of temper were fading. “Some outlying locations have fallen, but the retreats and fortresses hold.”

“As I suspected then. Dead with advanced interdiction abilities were deployed to make up for a lack of power,” Guo Xinhua said. “This is well for us.”

Gu Xiulan looked at her askance. Their lands were being trampled, how…

She took a deep breath, she understood.

“Means the business with your Patriarch gutted what could be deployed. You don’t bother with tricks like this if you can just throw bodies till you win,” Zheng Yang said.

Guo Xinhua gave the Zheng woman a cold look but nodded. “Indeed, together with the reports I may now receive from Father Wanlisan…. It means the back of the host was broken at the battle in the east Grave. There are many fractious splinters left to hunt down, but the Golden Fields has endured those since our reformation and before.”

“We will tally our losses with heavy hearts, but there is no doubt to victory.”

“So, a night of rest, a night of meditation to restore our vigor. Then, we will march, and crush these splinters unto dust,” Father said. “Lady Guo, I thank you for your assistance now and in coming days.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“To defeat the Dead has always been the Guo clan's most sacred oath and covenant. Duty does not sleep,” the Ambassador said. “Let it also be said, Father Wanlisan is only the beginning. The Guo are returning for all that the east will need to be garrisoned more heavily.

“Finer news I have not had in some time, Ambassador,” her father said. Clapping his fist to his chest, he bowed low as Gu Xiulan herself had done outside the gates.

“I accept it in good faith, I and my daughter will stay until your lands are cleared, and then move to our destination in the west,” Guo Xinyan said. “What of you, guests of the Ebon Rivers?”

The two Zheng shared a look. It was Zheng Yang who spoke up first. “I’m heading home, gotta convey all the words back to master and the grannies huh?”

“And I’m gonna stay. Might be more things to do than punching, but that ain’t what I’m good at,” Zheng Nan said. “So consider me at your disposal.”

“...As you wish,” the Ambassador replied.” Let us take our repast then. There is much to do on the morrow.”

***

Zheng Nan’s undignified flop into the chair beside her had the wood creaking violently, the polished wooden legs of the chair visibly flexing under his sudden drop. “Uuuuuugh, never thought I’d find a party I didn’t like.”

She gave him a cross look. They were at the head table of the dining hall, but the older cultivators had already either vacated the room or were mingling among each other on the floor. “At least try not to insult our hosts.”

“I aint insulting nobody. Even the Master of Revels in Shuilian couldn’t put together a bash I’d be happy with right now.”

“It would be foolish to rush out before organizing,” Gu Xiulan replied quietly. She even managed to sound as if she believed it.

He cracked open one eye, leaning back until the chair wobbled dangerously on one set of legs. “Uh huh, and you’re saying me an’ you couldn’t ride out with a couple hours to get our qi together?”

“And accomplish what?” She spat, crossing her arms.

“I dunno, saving even one person? Buying a failing garrison another few hours for the big folks to get things together? There’s gotta be something!”

He was at least politic enough to have their words muffled to others by his qi, but his gesticulating still drew looks. She made sure to scowl even harder just to assure no rumors were born.

“I will not second guess Father’s intent, he has higher eyes than we, if he thought we could accomplish something of the sort, we would be riding,” Gu Xiulan replied stubbornly.

His expression screwed up, hands clenching behind his head. It made the muscle ripple under his skin and… Gu Xiulan pulled her eyes away. She had been running too much fire through her head in these last few days. “...Dammit. I know that. Just tired of old men and women telling me I can’t actually do shit. Been away, so I forgot. Your pops isn’t like that though. Sorry.”

She glanced toward him, her scowl slipping, he didn’t apologize often. “Accepted.”

He rocked back and forth on the back legs of his chair, brow furrowed deeply. Though she would not countenance insult to her father… she did understand his restlessness. Sitting here under the cheery lantern lights, watching the floor below where officers and courtiers mingled, celebrating today's victory…

Her heart itched.

“I know this is gonna sound… bad, but these months out here in the desert have been the time of my life,” Zheng Nan said, slower and more thoughtfully than he usually spoke.

“I am glad our strife entertains you,” Gu Xiulan shot back. “But you clearly knew what your words implied.”

“Hah! Yeah. That’s the thing, innit. To be a hero in the old style, you need people to be getting trashed by baddies, don’t you? If everything was peaceful and orderly, all I’d be able to do is sit around getting fat on kegs of beer,” Zheng Nan laughed.

“As if the world could ever be free of strife,” Gu Xiulan scoffed. “I did not think you were that kind of useless navel gazer, Zheng Nan.”

“Maybe not, maybe not, but I can definitely see how there could not be enough to go around, for generation after generation of little heroes,” Zheng Nan said. “I get why the grannies feel like we all just need to be managed, kept in our little parks to play at defeating evil.”

Gu Xiulan looked at him silently. She recognized the speech of one turning over their own thoughts aloud.

“The Strife broke us,” Zhen Nan said. “It snapped something important deep down inside. The Bai didn’t give a shit, they never had any pretense of being anything but killers.”

“I don’t know that you should be saying such things to me,” Gu Xiulan said.

He chuckled and tugged at the tattered black scarf around his neck. “Ah, you’ll hear it all soon enough, even if I shut my mouth. But if you really don’t wanna hear my history ramble, I’ll shut up.”

“I did not think you were a scholar either.”

“Neither did I! But nothing else could answer my questions.”

Gu Xiulan huffed; reaching for her wine cup, she cast her thoughts back searching for memories of old lessons. “My ancestors would hardly agree that the ancient Zheng were not killers.”

“Ha, they wouldn’t!” Zheng Nan agreed. “But the difference is in how we saw ourselves.”

“We were warriors and heroes, fighting was our virtue, and we took prizes we felt worthy of our strength. Each of us could live in our own heads, the king of our own little story, for all that there could be no King of the Zheng,” Zheng Nan said, chair falling forward with a thud and creak. “But the Strife… the Strife, we thought we were just getting into another little romp. Buncha knuckleheads we always were.”

The Strife could only refer to the Strife of Twin Emperors, the interregnum between the first and second dynasty, a thousand year civil war embroiling all the Empire.

“I think you Fields folks would understand the best. That wasn’t a fight, it wasn’t even a war, a thousand years of nonstop killing is an ancestors-be-damned nightmare. Every Way and every craft turned to nothing but thoughts of how to kill better. The journals from those days are some unhinged shit let me tell you. It’s no wonder the Ao emperors had most of it burned.”

He shook his head. “Point is though, it broke us. We couldn’t go on being what we were after that. But we couldn’t abandon our ways either, couldn’t disrespect our ancestors like that. So… we made the Ebon Rivers a park, one big hidden world, a cultivation site for the Zheng clan. Everything managed to let us cultivate the old Ways without ever breaking things enough to start another nightmare like that. Just enough strife and evil to sharpen our ways on, but never actually allowed to root it out. That's how we’ve lived for ages.”

Gu Xiulan chewed her lip in discomfort, having a scion of a ducal clan so freely talking about internal clan matters was… not done. She glanced around the room, no one was looking their way, yet…

She truly wondered what was in those journals. Despite that though, there was an ember, a question, sparking angrily in her throat. “And where were they when the Sun's death faded and the Dead surged back? If you were so starved for heroism to do? When my ancestors were…”

She cut herself off, sparks erupting between her teeth.

Zheng Nan turned to her and grinned, elbows thumping on the tabletop. It was not a pleasant expression, wide and full of too many teeth.

“Right?”

His reply startled her with its vehemence, an anger she’d not heard from the man before.

“You’ve all been here struggling, for millennia, against an unending enemy. Something no one anywhere could argue didn’t need to be fought. And. There. We. Sat. Zhi would fucking weep.”

He took a deep breath.

“A lot of us are done playing pretend. One way or the other. Me, I’m staying here until you all physically kick me out, whatever my Master or those old ladies say. I’ve got villains to crush.”

He grinned at her.

“Looking forward to kicking ass with you again tomorrow, pretty lady,” he said, eyes glinting with the promise of violence.

She turned away, rolling her eyes even as she forced the heat out of her cheeks. But… she couldn’t deny the appeal.

“Hmph, I will drive them all before us. Do try to keep up.”