Chapter 206
A short while later, Lin Wan stood on the vast stone platform of the eastern terrace.
The location overlooked nearly half the northern mountain range, with biting winter winds sweeping across the open space.
Cassian stood near the stone railing, his hands folded behind his back. He did not turn around when her footsteps approached. "You came."
"You asked for me," she replied, stepping up beside him.
Below them, countless snow-covered peaks stretched as far as the eye could see.
"It really is beautiful," Lin Wan remarked quietly.
"It is," Cassian agreed.
"I have never seen mountains this endless," she murmured, gazing out toward the horizon. "Is the Upper Realm much larger?"
"Bigger than the Lower Realm," Cassian explained. "Bigger than most people can comprehend."
Lin Wan smiled faintly. "Maybe one day..." She paused, trailing off.
Cassian turned his head slightly to look at her. "One day?"
"I wanted to travel," she said, lowering her eyes. "I wanted to see every corner of the world and show my children different realms."
"What stopped you?"
Lin Wan let out a soft, breathless laugh. "Life. Every time I thought things had finally settled down, something happened." She began counting on her fingers. "The Phantom Beast, the Beast Tide, the Lower Realm, the Upper Realm... It feels like trouble always finds me."
Cassian’s tone remained calm and measured. "Or perhaps you find trouble."
Lin Wan looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Are you teasing me?"
"A little."
A genuine laugh escaped her lips. "I never imagined the Manticore King could make a joke."
"I rarely do."
"I noticed," she smiled.
For a fleeting moment, the heavy tension between them dissolved. Cassian then pointed toward a distant, looming mountain peak. "Do you see that?"
Lin Wan followed his gaze. "The tallest one?"
"Yes. That is Frost Crown Peak. No one lives there."
"Why?"
"The spiritual pressure is too intense," he explained.
Lin Wan stared at the solitary mountain. "It looks lonely."
"It is," Cassian said quietly.
Silence settled between them once more until Lin Wan asked, "Did you bring me here just to see the view?"
"No," Cassian answered, raising his hand slightly. "I wanted you to see this."
Far below, the massive outer gates of the Supreme Citadel slowly began to open. Lin Wan’s eyes widened in surprise. "They’re opening?"
"Only the outer gate," Cassian clarified.
She watched closely as a small group of mounted soldiers rode out, escorting several heavy wooden wagons. She looked at him, puzzled. "They aren’t carrying weapons."
"No," Cassian said. "They are carrying food."
"Food?"
He nodded once. "Our border villages are nearly depleted. Most civilians fled before the armies arrived, but several elderly villagers refused to abandon their ancestral homes."
Lin Wan remained silent, listening.
"I am sending supplies to sustain them," Cassian continued evenly.
"You could have reserved those provisions for your own soldiers," she noted softly.
"My soldiers are prepared for war," Cassian replied calmly. "The elderly villagers are not."
Lin Wan looked at him with gentle respect. "Thank you."
Cassian did not acknowledge the gratitude directly. Instead, he asked, "Would Wang have done the same?"
"Yes," Lin Wan answered without a moment’s hesitation.
Cassian glanced sideways at her. "You answered quickly."
"Because I know him," she said softly. "He would have sent food, he would have sent medicine, and he would have personally ensured that every child was taken care of."
Cassian looked back toward the horizon, remaining silent. For reasons he could not entirely articulate, her answer brought no irritation—only a quiet stillness as they watched the supply convoy vanish into the white expanse below.
Far away on a high ridge overlooking the valley, Wei Xiang circled overhead in his magnificent Azure Lightning Roc form. His sharp golden eyes caught sight of the small convoy emerging from the Citadel’s gates.
Folding his wings, he descended swiftly toward Wang’s position, shifting back into his human form as his feet touched the snow.
"Wang," Wei Xiang reported.
Wang looked up from the strategy map on the wooden table. "What did you observe?"
"The Citadel opened one of its main gates," Wei Xiang said.
Several officers instantly reached for their weapons. "Are they mounting an attack?"
Wei Xiang shook his head. "No. They are escorting supply wagons. There are elderly people and children among them. They are delivering food to the local border settlements."
An unexpected silence fell over the command tent. Wang stood quietly for a long moment before giving a single nod.
"...Continue watching."
"Understood," Wei Xiang replied, casting one last look toward the distant fortress.
As the afternoon sun drifted westward, Lin Wan walked back through the palace corridors with Sister Yun.
"My lady," Sister Yun broke the silence gently. "You have smiled more over these past few days."
Lin Wan blinked in surprise. "Have I?"
"A little," the older woman nodded warmheartedly. "I noticed."
Lin Wan lowered her gaze. "I suppose being allowed outside my room has helped. Being confined felt like years."
"Things will not stay this way forever," Sister Yun reassured her.
"I hope not," Lin Wan smiled faintly.
As they turned the corner toward her courtyard, Doctor Elias was already waiting. He offered a polite bow. "Lady Lin."
"Doctor Elias," Lin Wan laughed softly. "You always arrive right before dinner."
"Then you have learned my routine," he chuckled, opening his medicine case. "I must examine you again."
"Do I have a choice?" she teased lightheartedly.
"None at all," he smiled.
A few moments later, as Lin Wan sat under the covered pavilion, Doctor Elias checked her pulse with deep concentration. After several long seconds, he nodded approvingly. "The children remain exceptionally healthy."
Lin Wan let out a relieved breath. "And my condition?"
"You have been resting, which is good," he said seriously. "However, do not grow careless. The final months are the most critical." He paused before adding, "The children are growing even faster than I anticipated."
Lin Wan’s smile faltered slightly. "Is something wrong?"
"Not wrong, but unusual," Doctor Elias explained carefully. "The density of spiritual energy surrounding them continues to escalate rapidly. You may feel significantly more exhausted, and their movements will grow much stronger."
"They kick quite hard as it is!" Lin Wan admitted with a helpless laugh.
Right on cue, a sudden, firm kick pressed against her palm. Doctor Elias laughed softly. "I believe they heard us."
Lin Wan rubbed her stomach affectionately. "You lot certainly love surprising everyone."
After the physician finished his checkup and departed, Captain Rhys approached the pavilion, holding a small, polished wooden box.
"My Lady," Rhys bowed.
"Another summons?" Lin Wan asked, exasperated.
A rare, faint smile appeared on Rhys’s face.
"No, my lady. I came to deliver this. His Majesty requested the royal craftsmen to fashion it for you."
Lin Wan accepted the box carefully, opening the lid to reveal three delicately carved wooden animals, each small enough to fit within her palm: a silver leopard, an azure roc, and a black manticore.
She stared quietly at the intricate craftsmanship.
"His Majesty mentioned that children enjoy small toys," Rhys noted softly.
Lin Wan offered a bittersweet smile, gently lifting the tiny silver leopard before picking up the small azure roc. A warm, fond expression touched her face. "...Wei Xiang."
Then her eyes rested on the little black manticore, her feelings swirling with unspoken complexity. She carefully placed the carvings back into the box and closed the lid. "Please express my gratitude to His Majesty."
Rhys bowed, but hesitated before taking his leave. "My Lady... I have served His Majesty for many years. I have never seen him commission toys from the palace artisans."
With those final words, he turned and quietly departed.
Lin Wan stood alone in the quiet courtyard, holding the box against her chest.
Sister Yun looked at her gently. "What are you thinking, Lady Lin?"
"I don’t know," Lin Wan whispered. "He keeps doing things I cannot quite understand."
Evening fell over the Silver Leopard encampment as large bonfires crackled against the cold twilight.
Near the command tent, Wei Xiang sat on a wooden crate, the rhythmic scrape of a whetstone echoing softly as he sharpened his blade.
Footsteps approached, and Wang sat down beside him without a word. For several minutes, the two men simply watched the flames burn against the darkening sky.
"Patriarch..." Wei Xiang spoke quietly.
"Hm?"
"When all of this is finally over... what will you do?"
Wang remained silent for a long time before answering honestly, "I do not know."
Wei Xiang offered a quiet, bitter smile. "I expected you to say you would bring Wanwan back home."
"I want to," Wang confessed softly, looking toward the distant mountains. "But whether she comes home with me... is entirely her choice."
Wei Xiang turned to look at him. "You are afraid she will decline?"
Wang did not deny it. "Yes."
"If... if she chooses another path," Wei Xiang asked softly, "what will you do?"
The crackling fire was the only sound in the freezing air before Wang finally answered, his tone filled with absolute conviction. "I will still protect her."
Wei Xiang looked at him in surprise. "Even then?"
"My feelings do not vanish simply because she makes a different choice," Wang said, a faint, gentle smile touching his lips. "I learned that long ago."
Wei Xiang looked back into the fire, nodding slowly. "I understand."
High above the silent camp, a lone white hawk circled against the starlit sky before flying back toward the Supreme Citadel to deliver its report.
Far away inside her private chambers, Lin Wan sat by the window under the soft glow of the lanterns.
The small wooden box rested on her lap as her fingertips slowly traced the three wooden carvings—a silver leopard, an azure roc, and a black manticore.
Three distinct paths. Three different hearts.
Outside, snow fell silently over both armies, holding them in a quiet, fragile truce—knowing that with every passing dawn, the moment of ultimate truth drew inevitably closer.