Chapter 234: A Battle of Generals

Lieyin looked at Kael with deep urgency. "I don’t know what that was, but we need to leave right now. She lifted chest, which ended up being heavier than it looked. "Help me."

Kael nodded as he helped her lift it up. Together they climbed out of the wagon, looking around to make sure they hadn’t been spotted by General Sheng and his men.

They’d barely turned to make their way back to the waiting hours when they heard the sound of a horn coming from the Northern road.

Once.

Twice.

Then a third time.

Every soldier turned toward the mountains, including the duo that had frozen in their steps. Kael’s expression hardened as he made out the flag that was being raised in the air.

"No...no...no..." Lieyin looked toward the ridge. A massive formation of imperial soldiers appeared through the trees.

And at their front rode a man in dark armor. It was no one else but General Han Zheng. The soldiers behind him numbered in the hundreds, their banners snapping violently in the wind.

General Sheng’s men were already starting to reorganize themselves.

Han Zheng raised his sword from where he stood. "Protect the convoy!" he commanded. His voice carried across the entire battlefield. ’Do not let anyone leave with the weapons! It belongs solely to the empire."

The unmistakable thunder of approaching horses filled the space. The ground seemed to tremble beneath the weight of General Han Zheng’s advancing army.

Kael looked toward them with a frown. "More soldiers," he whispered with a sigh. "How are we going to make it out of here alive?"

General Han Zheng and his men stopped when they were a couple feet from General Sheng.

"General Sheng!" Han Zheng called across the battlefield. "Withdraw your soldiers from the imperial convoy. Failure to do so means defying the order of the emperor."

General Sheng laughed, he wasn’t even worried. "You make it sound as though you expect me to obey your flimsy words."

"I expect you to understand the consequences of attacking an imperial shipment." Han Zheng’s face was set in a hard line. "A man like you should know all the rules."

General Sheng looked at the ruined wagons briefly. "Your shipment appears to have survived. There’s nothing to worry about."

Han Zheng’s eyes moved across the road. Several soldiers were injured, others were attempting to regroup around the remaining wagons. One wagon had been damaged so badly its wheels had collapsed.

Han Zheng’s expression hardened. "You killed imperial soldiers, that alone counts as treason." He immediately drew his sword.

General Sheng drew his own sword with a smile. This was the perfect opportunity to test the boundaries of Ru Yi’s shadow ability.

Han Zheng nodded, his eyes trained on the other general. He wondered if Empress Lihua knew this was going to happen or if she’d set it up herself.

"You leave me no choice," Han Zheng said, gesturing to his men to prepare for battle.

Kael and Lieyin watched them from their hiding place. Their fight was going to give her the perfect distraction she needed to leave with the chest.

Kael looked at her. "We have to leave now before things get even more bloody."

Lieyin nodded which he hadn’t expected.

"I thought you were going to stand your ground and fight," Kael muttered. "Looks like you also know when it’s time to withdraw and count your losses."

Lieyin gave him a puzzled look but moved quickly. Kael took the chest while Lieyin covered him, and together they slipped behind the wagons.

They stayed low, moving through the spaces between broken crates and abandoned weapons. A soldier nearly rounded the corner but Lieyin was quick to grab Kael’s sleeve and pull him behind a wagon.

The soldier passed without noticing them.

Kael exhaled, looking visibly shaken. "That was close." Times like this made him wonder if he’d go back to his real world if he ever died here. He wasn’t ready to find out.

"We need to find out what’s inside after we get somewhere safe." Lieyin checked the corner. "At least to make sure whatever is inside there is worth risking our lives for."

Neither of them noticed the shadow moving several yards away.

Not even Ru Yi who was standing near the center of the battlefield. Her face was already turning pale, color draining from her as she struggled to control the tendrils.

The shadows surrounding her had become restless again. She forced them back with both hands. "Stay."

The darkness twisted beneath her feet. "Stay!"

The tendrils reluctantly withdrew, but it took all the energy she had left. The whole situation was becoming a chore to her.

General Sheng glanced toward her. "You’re improving."

Ru Yi looked at him coldly. "I don’t want your praise." She knew he was pushing her to her limits for his own sake.

"You should. You’re controlling something most cultivators couldn’t survive touching."

Ru Yi didn’t answer. Her eyes drifted toward the imperial soldiers. She could feel their fear. And underneath that fear, she could feel the hunger of her shadow.

She hated it.

"How about you focus on the fight you started?" she said with a scoff.

Han Zheng finally noticed the shadows from across the battlefield. He lowered his sword slightly. "Who is that woman?"

One of his commanders looked toward Ru Yi. "We don’t know, General."

His eyes narrowed at the familiar face. "Keep the soldiers away from her."

"But—"

"I said keep them away."

The commander immediately bowed. "Yes, General."

Han Zheng’s gaze returned to Sheng. "You brought a force this large for a weapons shipment?"

General Sheng smiled. "I came for something far more valuable than weapons."

Han Zheng looked at him in suspicion. Could it be that he was the one the Empress had asked to get rid of him? Even now, Han Shuying’s warning was still ringing in his ears. "What?"

General Sheng didn’t answer. Instead, he looked toward the wagons. His expression changed. One of the wagons was open.

The hidden compartment beneath it had been exposed and the black chest he had actually come for was gone.

General Sheng’s smile disappeared. "Search the wagons."

His soldiers immediately moved.

Lieyin immediately to Kael when she heard the commanded. They were about to be in a whole lot of trouble. "They know the chest is missing."

Kael closed his eyes briefly to keep himself from panicking. "Then we move faster. We can’t let them catch us, it will be a literal death sentence."

They slipped away from the convoy and entered the forest. Behind them, General Sheng’s soldiers searched every wagon while the rest prepared to charge after the imperial army.

One soldier dropped to his knees beside the hidden compartment. "General!"

General Sheng approached.

The soldier pointed toward the empty space beneath the wagon. "The sealed chest is really gone. Someone must’ve taken it."

General Sheng’s jaw tightened. "When did this happen?"

The soldier lowered his gaze, cowering away. "We don’t know."

"Who was guarding this wagon?" General Sheng’s voice thundered.

The soldier hesitated. "The two men that were stationed here are already dead."

General Sheng looked toward the battlefield. Someone had entered during the chaos and stolen the chest. Anyone from miles away could see the flames leaving his ears. "Find them. They couldn’t have gone so far."

His soldiers scattered.

Meanwhile, Lieyin and Kael pushed deeper into the forest. Branches scratched against their clothing as they climbed a narrow slope.

Kael finally stopped beside an enormous pine tree. "We can rest here." He was panting, barely able to suck air into his lungs.

Lieyin shook her head. "No. It’s too risky. They’ll be searching for us." She looked around. "He won’t spare us."

"I don’t see us leaving here alone," Kael replied. "I should’ve just stayed back at Ashen Fortress."

Lieyin ignored him and examined the chest. The seven metal bands remained wrapped around it. None had broken.

Kael crouched beside her. "What exactly did we steal? And why is it so important to General Sheng?"

Lieyin looked down at the symbol engraved into the lid. "I don’t know."

"You said it belonged to your mother."

Lieyin sighed. "I said the symbol resembles hers. They’re not the same." She traced the emblem with her eyes.

Something about it bothered her.

The shape was familiar, but there was another detail beneath it. A tiny inscription. She brushed dirt away from the metal.

Kael leaned closer. "What does it say?"

Lieyin read the faded characters, her expression shifting to one of confusion. Kael noticed it at once.

"Don’t tell me we’re carrying a deadly weapon."

She didn’t answer immediately. Then she whispered, "Blood Lotus."

Kael stared at her. "The Blood Lotus Temple?"

Lieyin nodded slowly, moving her head slightly towards him. "Do you know about it? Is this some kind of offering?"

Kael didn’t know how to answer without giving away much. "I don’t really know. I’ve not met anyone that spoke extensively about it. All I know is that it’s an ancient temple that’s very far from here."

Yet somehow, her mother’s symbol had been placed on a sealed chest hidden inside an imperial weapons convoy.

Lieyin suddenly understood that the shipment had never been as simple as they believed. "We’re going to the Blood Lotus Temple," she said. "I need to find answers."

Kael looked at her. "While General Sheng is searching for us?"

"Yes."

Kael sighed. "I knew you were going to say that."

A horn sounded in the distance. Then another. The two opposing sides were about to engage in a fight that would probably go down in history. If it wasn’t for the chest in her hand, Lieyin would’ve been thrilled to witness it.

She looked toward the mountains. They were being hunted right there in the forest. But for the first time, she wasn’t thinking about the weapons.

She was thinking about her mother. And why a secret chest bearing her mother’s symbol had been hidden beneath an imperial convoy.