Chapter 196: Ashes of Ashen

The moment General Sheng’s carriage disappeared beyond the mountain road, Qingyue turned toward the fortress and saw the flames climbing higher across the eastern castle.

For several heartbeats, she stood completely still, staring at the orange glow spreading through the ancient wooden structures, as though her mind refused to accept what her eyes were seeing.

General Sheng had promised to retreat, and for one foolish moment she had believed that surrendering Ru Yi would be enough to save Ashen Fortress. Instead, he had taken the woman they had loved and then ordered the fortress burned anyway.

"Water!" Qingyue suddenly shouted. "Bring every bucket you can find! Move the children away from the eastern wing and get the wounded into the northern courtyard!"

Her command shattered the silence.

Soldiers immediately scattered across the courtyard, some running toward the well while others rushed into the burning buildings to pull out anyone still trapped inside. The people who had been standing in shock began moving as well, carrying children through the smoke and dragging whatever supplies they could salvage away from the flames.

Lieyin was already sprinting toward the eastern castle when Qingyue caught her arm. "Don’t go in alone."

Lieyin turned sharply, her face streaked with soot. "Our people are still inside."

"I know."

"Then let me go."

Qingyue released her arm. "Take six soldiers with you."

Lieyin did not argue. She gathered the men and disappeared into the smoke, calling for anyone who might still be trapped.

Yexue was carrying two children away from another burning building, one clinging desperately to her neck while the other stumbled beside her, coughing so hard that she could barely breathe.

"Take them to the courtyard!" Yexue shouted as she approached. "There are more inside!"

Qingyue rushed toward her. "How many?"

"I don’t know."

"Then we’ll find them."

Yexue looked at her sister, and for a moment the two women simply stared at each other. Neither mentioned Ru Yi. Neither needed to. The empty space she had left behind seemed to follow them through every corridor and every cloud of smoke.

Then Yexue turned toward the burning castle. "We have to move."

Qingyue nodded.

Han Shuying arrived with several soldiers carrying buckets. "The soldiers who started the fires have already withdrawn," she said. "They’re heading toward the mountains."

Qingyue looked at her. "Then don’t waste anyone chasing them."

Han Shuying nodded. "Everyone form a line! Keep the water moving!"

The first bucket was passed from hand to hand, followed by another and another, until a long chain of soldiers and civilians stretched between the well and the burning buildings. Water was thrown onto the flames, but the fire had already spread through the old wooden structures, feeding greedily on centuries-old beams and dry furnishings.

Han Shuying looked toward the eastern castle. "If that roof collapses, the entire eastern wing will go with it."

"Then we stop it before it does." Qingyue grabbed a bucket herself and joined the line.

Han Shuying watched her for a moment before turning back to the soldiers.

Inside the eastern castle, Lieyin and six soldiers fought their way through the smoke while calling for anyone who might still be trapped. The heat was becoming unbearable, and every breath burned their throats, but they refused to turn back.

"Someone’s here!"

Lieyin heard a faint cry behind a fallen wooden door and immediately rushed toward it. She kicked the door aside and found a young girl curled beneath a table, shielding a smaller child with her body.

"Come here," Lieyin said, crouching down.

The girl shook her head. "We can’t leave."

Lieyin frowned. "Why?"

"My grandmother is still inside."

Lieyin’s expression softened. "Where?"

The girl pointed toward the eastern corridor. "Yexue!"

Yexue appeared through the smoke.

"Take the children."

Lieyin gathered both children into her arms. "Go."

Yexue disappeared into the corridor while Lieyin carried the children toward the exit. But before she reached the doorway, a burning beam crashed down behind her, sending sparks across the floor.

She turned. "Yexue!"

No answer came. Lieyin’s heart stopped. Then Yexue emerged through the smoke carrying an elderly woman in her arms.

"Move!"

They rushed outside just as part of the ceiling collapsed.

Qingyue saw them emerge and immediately ran toward them. "Are you hurt?"

Yexue shook her head. "I’m fine."

Lieyin lowered the children. "There are still people in the western building."

Qingyue looked toward the flames. "Then we go there next."

Han Shuying grabbed her arm. "You can’t keep doing this."

Qingyue looked at her. "Neither can you."

Han Shuying’s expression tightened. "I’m not the one who has spent the last hour running into burning buildings."

Qingyue looked toward the people gathered around them. "Neither am I." Her voice softened. "I am the one who brought them here."

Han Shuying knew what she meant.

Qingyue had promised herself that Ashen Fortress would become a place where her mother’s people could live safely again. Now, because of General Sheng, that promise was literally burning around her.

She pulled her arm free. "I won’t stand here and watch it disappear."

Han Shuying said nothing. Another explosion came from the western side.

Qingyue turned immediately. "Move!"

They rushed toward the western building.

The fire had spread across the roof, and several soldiers were struggling to break through the doors. Qingyue ordered them to move aside and kicked the damaged door open herself.

"Anyone inside?"

A faint groan answered. They found three wounded soldiers trapped beneath a collapsed beam.

Qingyue dropped beside them. "Lift it."

Four soldiers grabbed the beam.

"On three."

They pushed. The wood shifted just enough for Lieyin to pull the first man free, then the second. The third was unconscious.

Yexue took him into her arms. "His leg is broken."

"Get him to Officer Liang."

They carried him outside as another section of the roof collapsed behind them. The heat became unbearable.

Qingyue looked toward the sky.

The smoke had turned the afternoon sun into a dull red circle. She could barely see the mountains anymore.

For another hour, they fought the fire.

They tore down buildings that were already empty so the flames could not jump to the inhabited structures, carried buckets until their hands were raw, and pulled people from rooms that had become almost impossible to reach.

Han Shuying organized the evacuation while Lieyin and Yexue searched every building twice, refusing to accept that anyone might still be trapped.

Eventually, the flames began to weaken.

The eastern castle was almost completely destroyed, but its stone foundations remained standing. Several smaller buildings had collapsed, and smoke continued drifting through the fortress, but the worst of the fire had finally been contained.

Qingyue stood in the middle of the courtyard, covered in ash. She looked at the children, the wounded soldiers, and the people standing among the ashes of their homes.

For the first time since Ru Yi had been taken, Qingyue allowed herself to cry.

She stood in the ashes of the home she had promised to restore, mourning the woman who had betrayed her, the soldiers who had died protecting them, and the future she had once imagined with Ru Yi beside her.