Chapter 210
Captain Bren stepped closer, his hand resting on his sword hilt. "What if their patrol units attempt to attack our outer flanks to provoke us again?"
Wang answered with complete composure. "Ignore them entirely. Our primary objective has not changed in the slightest."
He paused, his voice carrying a deep, quiet power. "Nothing else in this realm matters."
Every soldier standing near him knew exactly what he meant.
Lin Wan.
She was the only reason they were marching into the heart of danger.
...
Later that afternoon...
The Silver Leopard army brought its forward march to a temporary halt along the banks of a wide, frozen river.
Warriors immediately went to work setting up temporary shelters to block the biting wind, while others gathered dry firewood from the nearby treeline. Healers moved efficiently between the units, checking on soldiers who had suffered minor frostbite or fatigue during the swift trek.
Wei Xiang walked quietly away from the busy camp, making his way down to the edge of the frozen riverbank.
The thick, glassy surface of the ice reflected the dull grey sky above like a giant, cold mirror. He stood there in complete silence for several long minutes, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, staring aimlessly into the distance.
The soft crunch of snow echoed behind him as someone approached, but Wei Xiang didn’t bother turning around. "I knew you would eventually come find me out here."
Wang stopped right beside him, his long cloak catching the cold breeze. Neither of them spoke immediately, simply standing side by side as the wind howled through the barren trees.
Finally, Wang spoke up, his deep voice remarkably gentle. "Are you thinking about her again?"
Wei Xiang let out a bitter, dry smile, staring down at the ice. "When am I not thinking about her, Wang?"
The heavy, honest answer caused Wang to fall completely silent.
Wei Xiang looked out across the white expanse of the frozen river, his dark eyes filled with a deep, lingering pain. "When I saw her back at the Citadel... I almost forgot that we were completely surrounded by enemy guards."
He paused, swallowing hard. "I wanted so desperately to ask her if she had been eating properly. I wanted to ask if she was sleeping well at night... if she was terrified being trapped in that cold palace all by herself." He let out a soft, self-deprecating laugh. "But I couldn’t ask her a single thing. I couldn’t say any of the words I had been practicing in my head for months."
Wang kept his eyes fixed on the frozen river, his expression solemn. "I know how hard that was for you."
Wei Xiang slowly lowered his head, his dark hair falling forward to shadow his face. "I couldn’t even stand beside her... Not for more than a few brief moments before everything was torn away again."
Another heavy, painful silence stretched out between the two men.
Finally, Wei Xiang took a deep breath, breaking the quiet once more. "She looked thinner than when we last saw her."
Wang’s jaw tightened visibly, a flash of deep pain crossing his golden eyes. "I noticed it as well."
"But..." Wei Xiang hesitated for a moment, as if trying to properly articulate a feeling he couldn’t quite grasp. "...She also looked noticeably calmer than before."
Wang turned his head, looking at the young man with mild surprise. "What do you mean by that?"
"I don’t really know how to explain it," Wei Xiang admitted, running a hand through his hair. "It was just... different. She wasn’t panicking when she saw us. She wasn’t crying or screaming for help." He paused, searching for the right words in his mind. "It felt as though... as though she had quietly accepted something very heavy in her heart."
Those heavy words settled between them like a sudden wave of frost.
Neither man liked the terrifying implications behind that thought.
After another long, grueling silence... Wang finally broke the quietness, his voice resolute. "When this entire nightmare is finally over..."
Wei Xiang turned his head to look at the Patriarch. "What will you do?"
"I will properly apologize to her," Wang said softly.
Wei Xiang blinked in surprise. "Apologize? For what? You have risked everything to save her!"
Wang looked back toward the distant black mountains, his expression filled with a profound, quiet regret. "I will apologize for everything, Wei Xiang."
His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. "So many terrible things happened to her... simply because I was not strong enough to be by her side when she needed me most."
Wei Xiang stared at the older man in silence.
For a brief, fleeting second... Wei Xiang felt an overwhelming urge to ask him about the memory loss that Lin Wan had suffered—to demand to know if Wang remembered the sweet girl who had loved him so deeply in another life.
He opened his mouth to ask... but the words caught in his throat.
He suddenly remembered the promise he had made to Lin Wan back in the Citadel.
And so, out of profound respect for her wishes... neither would he.
Instead of asking the dangerous question, Wei Xiang simply offered a firm, quiet nod of his head. "We will bring her safely home first," Wei Xiang said steadily. "And once she is sitting comfortably in her own room... you can apologize to her yourself."
For the very first time that long day... a genuine, heartfelt smile appeared on Wang’s face. "Agreed."
...
Back inside the Supreme Citadel...
Night had fully fallen over the mountain realm.
The massive stone palace was dead quiet, save for the occasional flickering of wall torches along the high corridors.
Inside her warm chamber, Lin Wan sat quietly beside the crystal window, her dark eyes watching fresh snow drift lazily across the dark courtyard outside.
Sister Yun entered the room softly, carrying a small tray with a steaming cup of warm milk. "My Lady, it is getting late. You really should get some rest."
Lin Wan accepted the warm cup with a gentle smile. "Thank you, Sister Yun."
Sister Yun hesitated for a moment, standing beside the chair before offering a soft, affectionate smile. "You seemed noticeably happier today, Lady Lin."
Lin Wan looked up, genuine surprise gracing her pale features. "Did I really?"
"Yes," Sister Yun nodded gently. "You smiled several times throughout the afternoon."
Lin Wan lowered her eyes to the white milk inside her cup, her heart swelling with a bittersweet warmth. "I guess... it just felt so good to see familiar faces again, even if it was only for a short moment."
Sister Yun understood her words immediately without needing to ask for names. "You were thinking of young Wei Xiang, weren’t you?"
Lin Wan gave a slow, honest nod. "I was so deeply worried about him. I thought..." She cut herself off, her voice trailing away into the quiet room.
Sister Yun waited patiently, her eyes filled with gentle warmth.
Lin Wan offered a small, bittersweet smile. "I thought he might still be blaming himself for everything that went wrong. He has a terrible habit of carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders all by himself."
The older woman let out a soft, amused chuckle. "From what little I saw of that young man... he does not strike me as someone who gives up easily on the people he loves."
Lin Wan let out a genuine, musical laugh that echoed brightly through the quiet room. "He never does. He can be so unbelievably headstrong and stubborn when he wants to be."
Sister Yun smiled warmly. "I noticed."
A peaceful, comforting quiet settled over the warm chamber.
Outside in the freezing darkness... snow continued to fall gently over the palace roofs.
Neither woman noticed the tall, dark figure standing completely motionless just beyond the heavy wooden chamber doors in the dimly lit corridor.
Cassian had brought his footsteps to a sudden halt moments earlier, intending to check on her before returning to his private quarters. He had not intended to listen to her private conversation... but he had heard more than enough.
His intense golden eyes remained fixed on the closed wooden door, unblinking in the faint torchlight.
Inside...
Lin Wan’s sweet, gentle laughter echoed once again through the quiet room.
It was a beautiful, genuine sound—a sound that he had rarely ever heard her make since she had arrived at his Citadel.
And it was a sound made not because of him...
But because of Wei Xiang.
Cassian stood there in the dark hallway for several silent seconds, his body as rigid as stone, his face an unreadable mask that revealed absolutely nothing of the storm raging within his heart.
Slowly, he turned his back on the closed door.
His heavy leather boots moved across the cold stone floor, his footsteps noticeably slower and heavier than usual, before he completely disappeared into the deep darkness of the palace corridor.
Far away...
Beyond countless frozen mountain ranges...
The proud Silver Leopard banners continued moving steadily forward beneath the cold light of the winter moon.
With every passing hour...
The distance separating the two massive armies...
Was becoming smaller and smaller.