The gentle breeze under the veranda blew softly, carrying with it the arid breath of the distant desert. The three stood there, and though they were clad in ancient robes, their eyes gleamed with a lucidity and tacit understanding born of transmigrating across spacetime.
Huang Qi snapped her ivory fan shut. The merchant's shrewdness originally painted on her face vanished, replaced by an exceptionally rare solemnity. Looking at Chi Jiu and Lan Wu, she spoke deliberately, emphasizing every word: "By the way, there is something I need to officially tell you. 'Qi Xuan,' the county princess of that Southern Tang princely estate of a foreign surname, no longer exists. I have decided to reclaim my true name—Qi Yunxuan."
She paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping across the faces of her two life-and-death comrades, her tone carrying an unquestionable steel: "By transmigrating here, we have already carried too many masks and false identities. I believe it is time for us to put down the concept of codenames. Within the Nine Fortresses of Zhanchuan, inside this core circle of ours, let us call each other by our truest names."
Hearing this, Lan Wu blanked out for a split second before throwing her hands out, laughing heartily, though her laughter harbored a touch of poignant emotion.
"Sure thing, I support this proposal with both hands. Having used a codename for so long, I've almost forgotten who I am." Lan Wu pointed at herself, her brows furrowing slightly in vexation. "In Western Yan, I am Situ Jing, the tyrannical daughter of the mining tycoon who walks sideways in the Sunset Mining Zone; but in that distant modern world, my true name is Si Jingyu."
She looked at the two of them with a hint of entanglement, spreading her hands self-deprecatingly. "But I'm pretty conflicted right now. This body belongs to Situ Jing, but the soul is Si Jingyu. Tell me, which name is smoother for you to call? If it's too long, I'm afraid my short fuse will cause me to space out."
Looking at Lan Wu's conflicted state, a gentle warmth rippled into the corners of Chi Jiu's eyes. She nodded and softly agreed, her voice resembling a clear spring striking stone—pure and resolute: "My name in the modern world was Shen Ning, but here, I am Chu Zhaoning, the descendant of a martial lineage."
She looked down at her slender hands. These hands had once held modern sniper rifles, and had also wielded ancient longswords. "Whether it is Shen Ning or Zhaoning, that character 'Ning' has never changed. From now on... just call me 'A-Ning.' That is a name for family, and it is the truest color I wish to preserve."
"A-Ning," Qi Yunxuan murmured softly, her lips curving into a genuine smile. "It sounds lovely, and it suits you perfectly. Calm, serene, yet capable of standing the firmest at the center of a storm."
Lan Wu—now Si Jingyu—clapped her hands together and bellowed jovially, "A-Ning! That sounds way more intimate. Since the Captain... no, since A-Ning has taken a stance, then I, Si Jingyu, won't twist myself in knots anymore. Behind closed doors, I am your Jingyu. But in front of that gang of bandit chieftains, I'll still be that fiery, arrogant eldest Miss Situ!"
The three of them looked at each other and smiled.
At that exact moment, the former "Chi Jiu, Huang Qi, and Lan Wu" sank entirely into the abyss of memory, replaced by Shen Ning, Qi Yunxuan, and Si Jingyu.
This was not merely an exchange of names, but a realignment of their souls. In this unfamiliar antiquity, they were finally no longer just tools executing missions, but individuals possessing real names and genuine emotions, forming an alliance poised to turn the world upside down together.
"Let's go, Yunxuan, Jingyu." Shen Ning turned her form, her gaze snapping like steel toward the nine distant mountain peaks. "Now that the names are settled, it's time to take back what belongs to our territory."
A few moments later, inside the council chamber of the Zhan Manor.
Light filtered down through the high clerestory windows, causing fine dust motes to dance frantically within the golden beams of sunlight.
A massive, slightly scorched sheepskin map was laid out dead center across the red sandalwood conference table, meticulously marking the nine treacherous mountain fortresses surrounding Zhanchuan. Shen Ning had placed stones of various colors onto each marker, representing each fortress's current geographical advantage, troop deployment, and functional allocation.
"These nine peaks are currently nine venomous fangs sunk straight into the throat of Zhanchuan. Just looking at them makes my hands itch," Shen Ning's finger traced the undulating mountain ranges on the map, her tone laced with a calm, predatory aggression.
Si Jingyu propped one foot onto a bench, her finger pointing at a red stone perched on the most treacherous terrain, her lips curling in disgust. "Look at these names—Black Tiger Ridge, Clear Wind Crag, Wild Wolf Lair... each one is more rustic than the last. It's practically a violent assault on my aesthetics. A-Ning, shouldn't we change the names of these nine fortresses at the earliest opportunity? Change them to something easy to remember and highly prestigious, otherwise when we report our faction's name in the future, I'll feel too embarrassed."
"What do you want to change them to? Tech company registration codes? Or laboratory serial numbers?" Qi Yunxuan teased from the side.
"There's no need for that, but I've already thought it out. We should arrange them according to the three major divisions you all decided on earlier: 'Shang' (Commerce), 'Zong' (Domain/Order), and 'Po' (Breach). That way, it sounds like a large-scale, disciplined multinational conglomerate..."
Before Si Jingyu could finish her sentence, the heavy doors of the council chamber were pushed open, emitting a deep, grinding friction. Xiao Zhan and Chu Yuning stepped into the room, one after the other.
Shen Ning, who had been focused on the map, lifted her gaze, instantly colliding head-on with Xiao Zhan's eyes.
The moment Xiao Zhan caught sight of Shen Ning, his footsteps stiffened for an imperceptible fraction of a second. The incident from last night under the blazing red candles—where their forced consummation had nearly crossed the line—was like a lingering specter, playing on a frantic loop inside his mind.
Looking into Shen Ning's cold, clear, and utterly unbothered eyes, the strategic opening remarks he had rehearsed in his head were instantly choked back into his throat.
This was a rare flash of discomposure and awkwardness for the Prince of Zhan. His fingers instinctively tightened around his sleeve, his gaze drifting for a split second, actually not daring to look the woman ahead straight in the eye. He was even wondering—was she also reminiscing about the proximity of their body heat last night?
In stark contrast, Chu Yuning, who followed right behind him, had an entirely different reaction.
The moment his eyes landed on Si Jingyu, those fierce tiger-eyes of his, which usually harbored an undercurrent of killing intent, lit up instantly like two blazing torches ignited in the dead of night. Completely ignoring the heavy, stifled atmosphere in the room, he covered the distance in three strides, his tone carrying an unmasked warmth: "Jingyu, did you sleep well last night? Did the servants in the manor neglect you in any way? If the bedding wasn't soft enough, just say the word and I will have them replaced immediately."
Pushed back by this sudden onslaught of enthusiasm, Si Jingyu's brain went slightly haywire. She retracted her foot from the bench, letting out a couple of awkward, dry laughs. "Yuning, I slept perfectly fine, really. I'm a hardy soul with a resilient mind; even thunder wouldn't wake me up, so don't sweat it."
"That's good, that's good," Chu Yuning beamed radiantly, entirely oblivious to the fact that Xiao Zhan's expression beside him had practically frozen over with awkwardness. He even extended a hand, attempting to smooth out a slight wrinkle on Si Jingyu's sleeve.
Shen Ning pulled back her gaze, breaking the subtle tension. Her fingernail lightly rapped against the tabletop, her cool voice pulling everyone's attention back to the matter at hand. "Since everyone is here, let us talk business. Jingyu proposed changing the names of the Nine Fortresses. Coincidentally, I also intend to rename these nine outposts to streamline unified command in the future."
Xiao Zhan let out a light cough to mask his state, stepping toward the map and forcing his focus away from Shen Ning's profile toward the sheepskin chart. "The Consort speaks with absolute precision. Now that the leaders of these nine fortresses have been replaced, the old titles would indeed invite excessive speculation from the Imperial Court and Western Yan's secret scouts. I wonder... do you ladies have an appropriate consensus in mind?"
Shen Ning looked toward Si Jingyu, giving her a slight nod.
Catching the cue instantly, Si Jingyu pointed toward three distinct sectors on the map, opening her mouth with absolute confidence:
"We have decided to officially divide the Nine Fortresses into three major echelons.
The first echelon will be 'Shang' (Commerce), responsible for commercial route expansion and logistical supply. The wealth centers among the nine peaks will henceforth be renamed Shang-One, Shang-Two, and Shang-Three;
The second echelon will be 'Zong' (Domain/Order), responsible for intelligence gathering, civil administration, and internal discipline. Those fortresses with complex terrain that are ideal for concealment will be renamed Zong-Four, Zong-Five, and Zong-Six;
The third echelon is my absolute favorite—'Po' (Breach)!"
A wild, scientific fervor gleamed in Si Jingyu's eyes. "Responsible for weapons research and development, special operations training, and heavy fire suppression. The three mountain peaks with the most treacherous terrain, which are easy to defend and impossible to storm, will be Po-Seven, Po-Eight, and Po-Nine!"
"Commercial assets for civil livelihood, organizational structures for discipline, and breaching formations to slaughter the enemy." Chu Yuning put away his smile, a streak of raw admiration flashing in his eyes. "Though the nomenclature is unconventional, the division of labor is flawless and cuts with lethal precision."
Looking at the brand-new organization mapped out before him, Xiao Zhan's evaluation of Shen Ning escalated once more. This was no petty gathering of mountain bandits playing at righteousness; this was a calculated, cold-blooded tactical layout aimed at the entire empire.
"Excellent." Xiao Zhan pressed his fingertip directly onto the location marked 'Po-Nine,' his gaze deep and unfathomable. "Since the names are set, then next, let these 'nine venomous fangs' become the hardest hidden trump card of our Zhanchuan."
Outside the windows, the desert sands continued to howl, but inside this council chamber, a tempest poised to subvert the paradigm of this era had, along with the birth of these new names, quietly raised its curtain.