Chapter 233: Battlefield and Shadows

Lieyin and Kael descended from the ridge beneath the cover of the pine trees. The battlefield below them had become a storm of steel and shadow.

Imperial soldiers struggled to maintain their formation while General Sheng’s forces pressed inward from every direction.

Black tendrils crawled across the roads, occasionally rushing into the air before snapping back toward the ground.

Lieyin kept her eyes on the wagon, she was determined to get the weapons they needed after being temporarily distracted by Ru Yi’s presence and her newfound power.

Kael followed her gaze. "The third wagon?"

"Yes." Its wheels were still intact, and unlike the others its canvas covering had barely been disturbed. "That one hasn’t been searched yet."

"Then there’s probably a reason for that,’ Kael replied, eyes set on the wagon. Kael caught Lieyin’s arm before she could move. "And if that reason happens to be twenty soldiers waiting to kill us?"

Lieyin looked at him calmly. "Then we’ll deal with them. I’m not afraid of a little fight." In fact, it was something her soul craved. If it wasn’t for the younger boy, she would’ve already charged in.

Kael almost scoffed. "You make everything sound remarkably simple. A sword is not the answer to everything."

Lieyin flashed him a smile, hand going momentarily to the hilt of her sword. "That’s where you’re wrong. If it wasn’t—"

A scream echoed across the battlefield and Lieyin’s expression immediately hardened. The duo moved, keeping low as they slipped between the trees and reached the rear of the convoy.

General Sheng’s soldiers were too occupied with the fighting to notice them. Lieyin waited until two guards passed before darting towards the wagon. Kael immediately followed.

Lieyin placed one hand against the wooden door. It was locked.

She looked at Kael. "Can you?"

Kael looked at her in disbelief, but proceeded to draw a thin blade and started to work on the lock. A moment later, it clicked.

Lieyin opened the door.

Inside were rows of weapons—swords, spears, and crossbows. It was exactly what they’d been told to expect.

"This seems too easy,’ kael muttered. He didn’t want to believe stealing weapons was like a simple walk in the park.

Lieyin frowned. She pushed aside several wooden cases and tapped the floor. The sound that echoed from it was different. Hollow.

Kael crouched beside her. "I think there’s something under it."

Lieyin ran her fingers along the wooden boards until she found a narrow seam. Together, they pried it open.

Beneath the floor was a hidden compartment. And inside the compartment sat a black iron chest. The two of them stared in surprise.

The chest was surprisingly small. It was bound by seven thin metal bands, each stamped with the imperial seal.

Kael started to become worried. "That isn’t part of the weapons shipment."

This doesn’t look like it’s part of the weapons shipment."

"No," Lieyin agreed. She reached toward it only to have Kael slap her hand away.

"Don’t touch it yet," he warned. He was trying to remember exactly what happened in the book, but this Chapter was completely blank in his head.

Lieyin stopped to look at him "Why?"

"We don’t know what it is," he replied. "It could be something dangerous. There has to be a reason it’s properly locked like this."

Lieyin ignored him. Her fingers hovered above the iron. Something about it felt familiar. Not the chest itself, but the symbol on it.

At the center of the lid was a carved jade-colored emblem.

Lieyin’s breath caught. She knew that shape. The memory was faint but she had seen it around her mother’s neck before. She slowly lowered her hand. "That’s my mother’s symbol."

Kael looked at her sharply. "What?"

Lieyin traced the emblem without touching it. "My mother had this. I would recognize it anywhere."

For several seconds, neither spoke, the battlefield seemed to disappear around them. Lieyin’s mind raced

Why would her late mother be connected to an imperial shipment? Why would her symbol be carved onto a sealed chest? And why had General Sheng come all this way searching for it?

Kael noticed her expression. "Lieyin?"

She looked at him. "We’re going to take the chest."

Kael stared at her. "I thought we only came for the weapons?" He looked around them, "There’s no way we can get this out without anyone knowing."

Before Kael could continue, a strange sound came from outside. It was a low steady hum. Lieyin immediately turned toward the wagon opening. She could feel the shadows getting closer.

Something was happening—

Across the battlefield, Ru Yi was surrounded by darkness. A wounded soldier lay several paces from her. She had managed to stop her shadow before it could strike him again, but the darkness surrounding her was restless. It twisted beneath her feet.

Ru Yi clenched her fists. "Stay back," she ordered.

She forced her hand downward when another tendril rose, the darkness stopped— for a moment. Then another soldier stumbled nearby, blood dripping from his shoulder.

So far, this practice has been a complete disaster. It was different from her fight with General Sheng’s men when they tested her powers in the chamber.

Something about the blood that had been spilled in the beginning had made her shadows go haywire. Every drop of blood it had consumed had only made it stronger and much more hungry.

Worry made her forehead crease.

If the triplets were really coming after the weapons too, what would be their reaction if they saw her like this?

Ru Yi shook her head. That was just her being over confident, when all evidence that they’d lost feelings for her was ever so evident.

Behind her General Sheng watched with quiet admiration "You’re resisting its strength," he mused. "Maybe it’s time you let loose."

Ru Yi looked at him angrily. "I’m not going to be responsible for all their deaths," she shot back. "You said this would only be a way to test out my powers."

General Sheng nodded. "That would be correct. Except there’s a little problem, Ru Yi. You keep holding back, that’s defeating the entire purpose of this journey."

Ru Yi rolled her eyes. "I might not be the smartest, General. But I’m not stupid. You merely want to see the extent of the destruction the shadows can bring."

"I’ve never denied that fact." General Sheng stepped closer. "The problem, my dear Ru Yi... is that you’re not willing to confront the monster that you’re becoming. The one that is buried deep inside you."