The earth mound behind the ruined temple looked desolate under the moonlight. Inside the carriage, Qi Hao had fallen into a deep sleep, tear stains still visible at the corners of his eyes. Beside the campfire, the orange-red light flickered across the five weary but determined faces.
Blue Five (Si Jingyu) broke the silence. Sitting cross-legged, her eyes held a trace of urgency. "Yellow Seven, what exactly happened to you in Southern Tang? How did you end up as the Mistress of Linglong Pavilion and get tangled up in royal power struggles?"
Yellow Seven (Qi Yunxuan) gently rotated her bandaged wrist, her gaze fixed on the dancing flames. Her voice was as cold as snow, her thoughts drifting back to that blood-stained afternoon a year ago.
"A year ago, when I first crossed over, my ears were filled with screams and wailing. It was so loud I couldn't even open my eyes," Yellow Seven said. Her tone was flat, yet the content was bone-chilling. "It was the day the Prince of Qi's family went on an outing. Who knew they would encounter assassins disguised as bandits on a mountain path? That scene... was more chaotic than any mission we ever handled in the modern world."
The firelight reflected in her eyes, as if recreating that nightmare.
"To cover the retreat, the Prince and his Consort ordered the guards to take the Princess and the young heir away first. On the run, the original Princess was struck by an arrow and died. That was the moment I woke up." Yellow Seven let out a self-deprecating smirk. "The arrow wound in my shoulder snapped me awake instantly. But when I looked down, I saw a child of about seven huddled in my arms. That child was Qi Hao."
Seeing that terrified, tear-streaked face, Yellow Seven's instincts as a spec-ops agent overrode her panic.
"The guards were almost all dead, and the pursuers were closing in. I had no gun, no compound bow. But I had a brain," Yellow Seven's gaze suddenly turned sharp. "I calculated the slope of the mountain path and observed the distribution of dry grass and deadwood. I used a jar of strong liquor—originally meant for the Prince's meal—to increase volatility, laid oiled hay at the ignition points, and then used the principle of leverage to set a 'landslide trigger' at a key support point."
Xiao Zhan and Chu Fengning exchanged a glance. Although they didn't understand "leverage" or "trigger," they could imagine the precision required.
"The second the pursuers stepped into the calculation zone, I lit the fuse," Yellow Seven said softly. "With a thunderous roar, I personally burned and collapsed half the mountain path. Boulders and fire cut the road completely. Those assassins... were buried under that landslide. I crawled out of a pile of corpses with Qi Hao."
In that battle, she used modern knowledge and sheer ruthlessness to protect the sole bloodline of the Qi Prince's manor, and from then on, Southern Tang gained a "Master of Strategy" at the Linglong Pavilion.
Hearing Yellow Seven's harrowing account, Crimson Nine (Chu Zhaoning) knitted her brows into a tight knot, her fingers instinctively gripping the hilt of the blade at her waist.
"A year ago..." Crimson Nine's voice was low, filled with inquiry. The three of them had arrived in this world at different times—was it magnetic interference?
"Classic Yellow Seven! Your opening move is literal demolition!" Blue Five joked, breaking the heavy atmosphere. She then turned to Chu Fengning like an inquisitive child, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "But if you're a Princess in Southern Tang, how did Second Brother Chu end up with you? Is this what novels call 'fated encounter'?"
Yellow Seven flicked Blue Five's forehead. "What 'fated encounter'? You've been watching too many web dramas."
Chu Fengning looked at the fire, his mind returning to the cold battlefield.
"After the battle at the Eastern Border, our army was attacked from both sides. When Lin Jin dragged me out from the sea of corpses, my meridians were damaged, and I was hanging on by a thread," Chu Fengning said with a trace of weariness. "He hid me while we evaded pursuit, eventually meeting an old couple named Chen. They were kind-hearted and took in us two 'brothers in distress'."
Xiao Zhan listened intently. He knew how difficult it was for a wounded general to remain hidden among commoners.
"To protect me, Lin Jin told everyone we were brothers who encountered bandits while looking for relatives. I lay in that remote wooden cabin for half a year before my injuries improved." Chu Fengning smiled bitterly, looking at his calloused hands. "But two men need to survive, buy medicine, and heal. The Chen family's savings soon ran out. To survive and repay their kindness, I decided to try my luck in Jinling City."
"So you went to Linglong Pavilion?" Blue Five blinked.
"Exactly," Chu Fengning nodded. "At that time, the most famous place in Jinling was the newly rising Linglong Pavilion. I heard the Mistress was recruiting guards. My internal energy was depleted, but my external martial arts were still there. On the day of the interview, I used a fist technique derived from the Chu Family Spear to stand out among the crowd of warriors."
Yellow Seven took over the narrative, a gentle smile appearing in her eyes. "I chose three powerful martial masters to teach Hao-er, and 'Instructor Lin' was one of them." Mentioning Qi Hao softened her expression. "Hao-er is extremely close to him and looks up to him immensely."
"I see," Blue Five teased. "A fallen Princess and a general in hiding... this is a classic TV drama plot. Quite romantic, actually."
"Romantic?" Yellow Seven sneered, rolling her eyes. "Try living every day on edge, guarding against the schemes of wolves and tigers, and then tell me if it's romantic."
"No thanks, the Princess drama doesn't suit me at all," Blue Five waved her hands dismissively, scooting closer to the fire. "I'm suited for 'violence aesthetics'—one word wrong and I start blasting. I wouldn't last two episodes in your brain-burning palace schemes."
Yellow Seven gave her a playful glare before turning to the ever-calm Crimson Nine. Her voice softened. "What about you two? What's your story?"
"We..." Crimson Nine began, but was promptly interrupted by the enthusiastic Blue Five.
"Let me! I have the floor for this part!" Blue Five cleared her throat like a storyteller. She recounted their arrival: her own labor in the Western Yan mines, the decline of the General's Manor, the humiliation of Chu Zhaoning being jilted by the Second Prince Xiao Yu, and her being driven to suicide by poison. She described how they fought back, how they teamed up with Xiao Zhan—it was a tale that left the listeners breathless.
Chu Fengning sat by the fire, poking at the embers with a dry stick. He looked at the woman he knew as Qi Xuan (Yellow Seven) and felt a jolt in his heart. In the six months he had spent at Linglong Pavilion, this was the first time he had seen the high-and-mighty Mistress show such vivid, real emotions. It was the kind of armor one only sheds in front of family.
However, when he heard Blue Five mention Chu Zhaoning drinking poison out of hatred for Xiao Yu's humiliation, the wooden stick in his hand snapped with a sharp crack.
"Xiao Yu... he dared to treat you like that!" Chu Fengning's eyes were bloodshot, his voice as cold as ice. The thought of his beloved little sister being isolated and driven to death in that manor made him want to ride back to the capital and slaughter that useless prince.
"Second Brother, don't be angry yet," Xiao Zhan said, handing over a waterskin. His tone was calm but carried the dominant aura of someone staking a claim. "Had Xiao Yu not been so foolishly incompetent, I wouldn't have been able to marry Zhaoning in the midst of the chaos. This debt... I will settle with him sooner or later."
Chu Fengning looked at Xiao Zhan, then at the cold, decisive Crimson Nine. For a moment, he felt dazed—was this woman truly the gentle, fragile little sister of his memory?
Sensing her brother's confusion and internal struggle, Crimson Nine set down her blade and sat beside him.
"Second Brother." She looked into his eyes, the firelight dancing in her pupils. "Though I am a soul from another world, I can feel every memory, every grievance, and every emotion Chu Zhaoning ever had. Just think of me as the Chu Zhaoning who was reborn through trial by fire."
She placed her hand over Chu Fengning's cold hand, her voice firm yet tender. "Beneath the skin, our souls have merged. I am still your little sister. That will never change."
Chu Fengning looked at those familiar eyes, now filled with powerful confidence. His tense body finally relaxed. He squeezed her hand, his many words finally turning into one heavy sigh.
"Good... as long as you are alive. No matter who you are, as long as you are safe, your brother will protect you to the end."