"A-die!" A voice squealed when Qing Xiashu drew towards the ground.

At first he suspected this was a call for one of the older disciples that were accompanying him, but he quickly recognized the voice.

Hei Xianying was calling him A-die again...

His heart exploded on the spot despite his distress.

"A-Ying!" He chirped as he jumped off Touming, holding his arms out towards the little girl who rushed him, leaping into his waiting hold, Hefeng bounding after just a step behind, barrelling into them both.

"Shu-gege is home!" Hei Xianyin squeaked. "You were gone so long!" She said with a big frown, tears collecting in her big eyes. "I was scared something bad would happen while you're away."

"Shu-gege is home now, Shu-gege is home, don't worry... Nothing will hurt you, even if I'm hundreds of miles away." Qing Xiashu said gently as he scooped her up.

"I know." The girl reasoned. "But I feel better when I can see you." She murmured, melting down into his chest.

Qing Xiashu only smiled and kissed the top of her head. He was way too proud of her. She had grown so much, even her true form had grown from a tiny stick tailed kitten to something a little more reminiscent of the elegance found in adult cats. "A-Ying has kept up on her studies in my absence I hope."

"Of course! I got the top marks for most of my subjects!" The huan insisted, holding his arms tightly.

"Ahh! A-Ying is so amazing!" Qing Xiashu cooed as he walked with Hei Xianying tucked in his arms, making his way closer to the meeting hall. Hefeng dutifully followed at his side, nails clicking against the stone floors.

"Da-ge helped lots." Hei Xianying had taken to calling Xue Feiyi the same way Xue Huayu did. "Did you know Da-ge was so smart?"

"I did." Qing Xiashu laughed softly. "Xue-Shixiong is very bright."

"Mm!" Hei Xianying chirped again.

Qing Xiashu just smiled warmly again as they reached the large marble hall. "A-Ying should go find her shijies for just a little while. I need to speak with Xue Shixiong."

"But Shu-gege just got back... can't he stay a bit?"

"It'll only be for a little, I'll be done very soon, I promise." Qing Xiashu said with a warm bright smile. "Hefeng, if you would?"

"Well... Ok." Hei Xianying finally caved and stepped away from him, giving a weak little wave as Hefeng gently grabbed the girl's sleeve, pulling her away. Qing Xiashu gave the girl one last smile before the expression of softness slowly vanished from his face, exchanging for a grimace. He didn't want her to lose anything to a coming war...

"Shixiong." Qing Xiashu said as he opened the door to the meeting hall, steps ringing out over the clean marble floors, walking towards the man seated at a desk on a platform. Most meeting halls didn't look quite this empty. But the North hadn't hosted any meetings in decades.

"Qing Shidi, welcome back, I trust you had a fittingly frustrating time during the trials." Xue Feiyi said writing something out on some parchment before finally looking up, he was preparing to smile, but the expression on Qing Xiashu's usually neutrally happy face struck him cold.

The king stood from his seated position quickly. "A-Shu, what's the matter?" Xue Feiyi asked worriedly.

"Xue Shixiong." But the head disciple corrected himself, hesitantly, as though afraid to open the channel of more grave communication. "Beifang Dianxia."

The king straightened, this tone was far too serious for his bouncy sassy brother. "What's happened?"

"Beifang Dianxia, I suggest we prepare to go to war." Qing Xiashu said sternly. He was the head disciple. His duties were of the sect leader in all ways but title. He knew when a subject called for more earnest counsel...

"Explain to me exactly what has happened." Xue Feiyi demanded.

And oh how did Qing Xiashu even start to explain all that had happened?

"I was paired with the Second Southern Prince, Hong Chunji, for the trial. This decade, the task was to travel from the middle of the wilds to Tiantang tower without the use of any of our amassed resources. No one was allowed to bring their swords or money they had brought."

"They sent you into the wilds without swords." Xue Feiyi scoffed. "Have Xue Huayu and Qi Haomi made it?"

"I haven't seen Xue Xiaojie yet, however a disciple did spot her just out of the wilds, she's been paired with a youngster so we can expect her progress to be slow. As for Qi Haomi, I haven't heard any news, good or bad." Qing Xiashu explained, letting Xue Feiyi take in the information and relax a bit. "While in the wilds, Hong Chunji and I were... bumped ahead."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Bumped ahead how, why are you only just now arriving?"

Qing Xiashu anxiously cleared his throat, eyes darting around the room before quietly responding. "Linghun Xianshen, Hong Chunji's paternal uncle..."

"I see."

"You suspected this development?"

"Mn. Please continue."

"Linghun Xianshen gave us funds to make our trip easier, and transported us approximately halfway into our journey, just past Yang Xin City. Because we were so far ahead, Hong Chunji and I decided it would be best to wait for the others to catch up. We traveled South a bit to visit his foster family." Qing Xiashu nearly missed the way his brother's eyes widened before they narrowed once more. "During this time we grew rather close." The head disciple's face flushed a significant bit, chewing his cheek in mild embarrassment.

Xue Feiyi raised a hand, cutting the head disciple off before he could say more. "I will not ask you to relay to me what he told you in confidence."

Qing Xiashu let out a relieved sigh. "When we did eventually make our way to the East tower, the citadel sect leader was awaiting her disciples. She recognized him. And refused to let him fade into obscurity. He's been announced as alive."

"This isn't in and of itself indicative of war."

"Hong Chunji told Sect Leader Shi what he knew of you. And she seems insistent on attacking. Sect Leader Shi requested I relay this to you that we should prepare ourselves. Before, Hong Chunji was hellbent on attacking you, but now the entire South is prepared to back him and they will not bypass our countrymen the way the Prince would have alone. I fear this denotes war."

Xue Feiyi sighed slowly. "Head Disciple Qing. Prepare the resident palace sect for war." He said, sitting himself down at his desk again. "I will send letters to the political sects and relevant minor sects."

"Thank you for this audience, Beifang Dianxia." Qing Xiashu said with a deep proper bow. "Preparations shall be made." He said before he swept out of the room. The large stone doors closed behind him with a great boom before he rushed down the halls towards the center courtyard where his shimei and shidi trained.

His heels seemed to clack terribly loud in the silence that came before the inevitable chaos.

Ordering the palace into war preparations was unfortunately as easy as dropping a glass.

Within two days the Sect became anxiously alive, buzzing with vicious ferocity. Disciples rushed about, his shidi and shimei were all frazzled when the declaration to prepare for an attack had been made. One by one non-resident Northern sects returned their replies, most aligning with the Palace. Even so, a few in and around the borderlands refused to participate.

The North was highly defendable. It hadn't yet fallen to outsiders in its millenia of existence. It never would if Qing Xiashu had anything to say about it.

Weapons were prepped.

Horses were prepped.

Dogs were prepped.

All animals and disciples were outfitted with talisman coated ribbons that protected from certain levels of attack.

Non-resident Sect disciples began to arrive by the next day and the day after swords became a mandatory part of the uniform for all disciples of age ten or older.

Qing Xiashu didn't like the idea of preteens carrying around weapons with the pretense that they may need to use them to defend themselves.

"Qing-Shixiong!" A truly panicked disciple shouted, flying on his sword at top speed and practically throwing himself down when he landed. "There's news from The Borderlands, a Southern General and her brigade has been spotted crossing into Northern territory." He said in a frantic rush.

"How big?" Qing Xiashu demanded, ready to fly himself to find his brother.

"At least three thousand."

Qing Xiashu's eyes went wide. "Rest. I'll tell Xue-Shixiong, do not mention this to anyone else yet." He said, already atop Touming and dashing away when he finished speaking.

How could this be happening?

How could this happen?

How could there be an all out war now?

Didn't they agree a war was a terrible idea?

Didn't Hong Chunji and he agree?

Why was this happening now?

The head disciple landed at the hall and quickly rushed in breathing a sigh of relief at what he found. Xue Feiyi was settled at the desk in his room, cradling his drowsy niece as he read through a mountain of documents. "Qing-Shidi." He acknowledged.

"Xue-Shixiong, I'm afraid I have bad news." Qing Xiashu kept his voice soft so as to not wake the resting child. "There's been a brigade sighted in the borderlands heading North, around three thousand."

Xue Feiyi sighed slowly, setting the paper down. "Take a battalion, no more than three-hundred, this is likely a distraction and I will not have the younger disciples and palace under-guarded. I leave strategizing in your hands. I will keep an eye on Hei Shizhi and await meimei while you are away." The king said as he looked back down to the documents strewn across his desk.

Qing Xiashu dipped in a quick bow before he left, collecting archers en masse as well as a number of diverse weapon users, from fan cultivators to classic jian wielders. He was shouting orders across the courtyard where he'd collected his little army when a shrill shriek snapped the air in half.

"A-die! Where are you going?" Hei Xianying cried, rushing across the courtyard and instantly latching onto the head disciple's legs, clinging to the man desperately and refusing to let go, burying her face in his hip.

Qing Xiashu smiled faintly and crouched down, patting Hei Xianying's hair. "Ah, A-Ying, don't worry, I'll be back by the weekend, I just need to fix something, so be good for me and--"

"NO! Can't go!" She shouted, capturing his hand in a crushing grip, something stronger than a human child her age should have been able to employ. "Shu-gege doesn't need to fix everything! Something bad will happen! Shu-gege has to stay!"

The little girl's guardian only sighed softly. "A-Ying. I have to go, if I don't, we won't be safe anymore. So, let me fix this."

"SHU-GEGE CAN'T GO TO WAR!" The child shrieked, shaking his arm insistently.

"Now, who said I was going to war?" He asked, a small smile appearing on his face as if the notion was silly. "I just need to fix something on the border, everything will be fine A-Ying. I'll be fine and so will you."

"You're only saying that because you're a grown up, grown ups always say everything is fine, you haven't promised." Hei Xianying sobbed, shaking his arm again but this time much weaker.

Qing Xiashu sighed softly and gave the child a warm smile. "I promise. I promise over the gods and everything we have here. Everything will be just fine."

Slowly, so slowly, she released him.

"Hefeng!" He called, the dog appeared dutifully before her owner in a moment, already foreseeing what would be asked of her and biting a hold of Hei Xianying's sleeve.

Carefully, his beloved child was dragged back to safety.

She couldn't be fronted with anymore of this.

Certainly no more than she already had.

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