Chapter 226: A shadowed Love

The last strand of shadow disappeared beneath Ru Yi’s palm. She stood in the center of the training courtyard, breathing heavily as the darkness that had covered the stone floor withdrew toward her feet and finally vanished beneath her robes.

For the past several hours, General Sheng had pushed her harder than he ever had before, forcing her to maintain connections with multiple shadows at once while controlling the amount of power flowing through each one.

At first, she had struggled to keep even ten connections stable.

Then twenty.

Then thirty.

By the end of the training, she had managed to maintain nearly fifty without losing control.

General Sheng stood several paces away, watching her with an expression that revealed neither approval nor disappointment.

"Again."

Ru Yi immediately frowned. "I thought we were finished."

"We are."

Her bows furrowed in confusion. "Then why did you say ’again’?"

"I wanted to see whether you would complain," he said in a flat voice that annoyed Ru Yi.

She stared at him with a blank expression. "You are unbelievably annoying."

A faint smile touched General Sheng’s mouth. "And yet you continue to improve."

Ru Yi wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Her body ached from the training, but the exhaustion felt different from before.

There was a strange steadiness inside her now, a growing familiarity with the darkness that had once frightened her.

Her shadow no longer felt like something separate from herself. It moved when she wanted it to move. It listened when she commanded it.

And sometimes, when she wasn’t paying attention, it seemed to move before she even gave it an order.

That part still unsettled her.

General Sheng turned away from the courtyard. "There is something else you need to know."

Ru Yi followed him toward the stone steps. "If this is another training exercise, then I’ll have to turn it down. I’m going back to my chamber."

General Sheng almost laughed. "It isn’t. An imperial weapons shipment has left the capital."

Ru Yi’s expression remained indifferent. "Good for them."

General Sheng stopped. "They’re transporting enough weapons to supply several military units."

"Then I hope they have strong guards."

"They don’t."

Ru Yi shrugged. "Not my problem."

General Sheng looked at her. "We need to intercept it." There was a determined look on his face that showed he wouldn’t be taking ’no’ for an answer.

Ru Yi walked past him, saying precisely what he didn’t want to hear. "No."

General Sheng turned. "No?"

She sighed. "I’m not interested."

"Ru Yi."

She continued walking. "I have spent enough time worrying about the empire, the court, the Emperor, the Empress, General Han Zheng, and every other person who seems determined to make my life miserable."

She glanced back over her shoulder. "I’m done."

General Sheng followed. "The shipment will strengthen the imperial army."

"And?"

"And if the imperial army becomes stronger, they will eventually come for Ashen Fortress."

Ru Yi stopped. For the first time, she looked genuinely irritated. "Then let them come. I’m sure the wolves can defend it."

General Sheng’s expression hardened. "You don’t mean that."

She raised a brow. "I do."

"You would simply sit here and wait for them to attack those innocent people?"

Ru Yi rolled her eyes then. "You didn’t care about their innocence when you attacked them just to get to me. Don’t act like you have a conscience now."

"And the triplets?"

Ru Yi’s expression changed slightly.

General Sheng immediately took notice of it.

Ru Yi folded her arms. "They can deal with themselves."

General Sheng kept pushing. "You don’t believe that."

"I know they’re strong."

"But are they strong enough to survive every fire the imperial army will send their way?"

Ru Yi looked away. "They’ve survived without me before. I’m sure they can do it again."

General Sheng studied her carefully.

There was something different about Ru Yi lately. She had always been stubborn, but her stubbornness had once been fueled by fear.

Now there was something colder beneath it, something that made her seem almost detached from the consequences of the choices she made.

"You should understand something," General Sheng said.

Ru Yi sighed. "Here comes the lecture."

"A war is coming."

She rolled her eyes. "People have been saying that since I arrived."

"This time, it is different."

"How so?"

"The imperial court is unstable. The Emperor is ill. The Empress is tightening her control. General Han Zheng is consolidating the military. The princesses are gathering soldiers at Ashen Fortress. You have developed a power the empire has never seen before."

He stepped closer. "These things cannot continue without eventually colliding."

Ru Yi said nothing.

General Sheng continued. "You are thinking too narrowly."

She sighed again. "Maybe."

"You think you can remain uninvolved because you don’t care who wins."

"I don’t care."

"But war doesn’t ask whether you care."

Ru Yi’s eyes hardened. "Then I’ll deal with it when it reaches me."

General Sheng stared at her. "And if it reaches the people you care about first?"

Ru Yi’s expression flickered and she immediately looked away. "I’m not interested in stealing imperial weapons if that is what you’re on about."

"Why?"

"Because I don’t want to?"

General Sheng sighed. "Fine." He turned away.

Ru Yi watched him for a moment before following. "I have made myself clear. I want no part in this."

"You have."

"Good."

They walked several steps in silence. Then General Sheng stopped again. "There is one thing you may want to reconsider."

Ru Yi groaned. "What now?"

"The princesses.."

She immediately became still.

General Sheng continued calmly. "They will be trying to intercept the shipment too."

Ru Yi stared at him. "What?" She hadn’t considered that possibility.

"I thought that would get your attention."

Ru Yi’s face hardened. "How do you know?"

"The same reports that told us about the shipment also mentioned movement around Ashen Fortress."

General Sheng turned toward her. "Your three princesses have been preparing their forces for some time. They know the empire is strengthening its army, and they understand what an imperial weapons shipment could mean."

Ru Yi said nothing.

"They are going after it."

Her fingers slowly tightened.

General Sheng noticed. "You said you weren’t interested."

"I said I wasn’t interested in the empire." Ru Yi glared at him. "I know what you’re doing."

"Do you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You’re trying to make me care."

"No." General Sheng’s voice was surprisingly quiet. "I’m reminding you that you already do."

Ru Yi looked away. She hated that he had said it. She hated even more that he was right.

Qingyue.

Lieyin.

Yexue.

She had spent days telling herself that whatever happened at Ashen Fortress was no longer her concern.

They had rejected her and taken away the love that had once connected them. Even the ring had broken.

That should have been enough. She had every reason to stop caring.

Yet the thought of the three of them riding toward an imperial weapons convoy made something uncomfortable twist inside her chest.

General Sheng watched her carefully. "They will probably leave soon."

Ru Yi remained silent.

"They may take a small force so they can move quickly."

Still silent.

"If the imperial army has anticipated the attack, the princesses could be surrounded."

Ru Yi finally looked at him. "How many soldiers?"

"I don’t know."

"How many are guarding the shipment?"

"More than enough," he replied. "General Han Zheng has always been thorough in all his dealings. He’s no doubt prepared."

"That’s not an answer," Ru Yi fumed.

"It’s the only one I have." General Sheng folded his arms. "You don’t have to care about the empire. You don’t even have to care about winning the coming war."

Ru Yi’s eyes narrowed. "Then what exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"That you might care about three women who are about to ride into a battle."

Ru Yi looked toward the distant mountains. She could almost picture them.

Qingyue would be at the front, refusing to let anyone else take the greatest risk. Lieyin would complain about her recklessness while following anyway. Yexue would probably smile as though everything were some grand adventure, even while hiding how frightened she was.

Ru Yi closed her eyes.

These memories will not haunt her. These memories will not haunt her. These memories will not haunt her.

Except...

She remembered Yexue’s hand holding hers. She remembered Lieyin’s intense gaze that always burned through her defenses.

She remembered Qingyue placing the jade necklace around her neck.

Then she remembered the ring breaking.

Her eyes opened— "I don’t know what they’re planning."

General Sheng’s expression remained neutral. "They’re planning to intercept the weapons down the Western road."

Ru Yi gulped. Hard. "How far from Ashen Fortress?"

"Several hours by horse."

Ru Yi stared at the ground. "I said I wasn’t interested."

"I heard you."

She grimaced. "I’m not changing my mind."

"I didn’t ask you to."

She looked at him suspiciously.

General Sheng simply turned toward the courtyard. "The choice is yours."

Ru Yi watched him walk away. "General Sheng."

He stopped.

She hesitated— "If they intercept the shipment..."

He looked back.

"What happens?" Ru Yi asked in a quiet voice.

"That depends on how many imperial soldiers are guarding it."

Ru Yi nodded slowly. "And if they fail?"

General Sheng shrugged. "They retreat."

"And if they don’t have the chance?"

General Sheng’s expression darkened. "Then the empire gets three more names to add to its list of enemies."

Ru Yi said nothing.

Sheng left her standing alone in the courtyard.

The wind moved through the trees, carrying the distant sound of soldiers training beyond the walls.

Ru Yi looked down. Her shadow stretched across the stone beside her.

For a moment, it moved without her. A thin black tendril curled around the toe of her boot before disappearing.

Ru Yi stared at it.

Then she looked west.

She was slowly beginning to realize that not caring was much harder when the people in danger were the ones she still loved.