Nine peaks encircled Jiuzhao City. At dawn and dusk, light fell across them, casting wheel-like shadows.
Shen Yufeng stood proudly on the city wall, his cloak stirring in the wind.
Beyond Jiuzhao City lay land ravaged by the Demon Spring, though its last eruption had been three years ago.
The land it had reached remained barren and scarred.
Nothing lived there.
Shen Yufeng rested a hand on the parapet and stared out, lost in thought.
His deputy said, "Young Lord, the soldiers will report if anything happens. It's windy here. You needn't come up every day. I'll inform you at once if the situation changes."
"I worry about another sudden eruption, but lately something else has been troubling me."
Shen Yufeng turned to his deputy. "The Demon Spring has grown quieter for years. Its threat seems smaller. Looking at the recent changes in command, I shouldn't have been sent to guard Jiuzhao City. Yan Tai, you've served my father for years and fought many battles. Tell me: did he choose me only to add a posting to my record?"
"Young Lord, you reached the Four-Vein level while still so young. No one in the royal capital can match you. Everyone sees your ability in war and civil affairs. Even His Majesty praises you. Why would you think that?"
"Don't hide it from me," Shen Yufeng said. "I studied Jiuzhao City before I was appointed General of Zhaonan. It's Suyuan's most dangerous stronghold, with fewer than thirty thousand civilians. Why do the figures now show fifty to sixty thousand?"
"Have people been moved here in secret from elsewhere so I can take credit for it?"
"Certainly not! The Demon Spring isn't as severe as before. Naturally the population has grown," Yan Tai said earnestly.
"You still aren't telling me the truth." Shen Yufeng looked disappointed. "My father sent you here, but I brought people of my own. As soon as I arrived, I sent them to check the city's soldiers and civilians."
"My father has always been hard on me. Even before I left, he reminded me that Jiuzhao City is a battlefield even without fighting. Yet behind my back he..." Shen Yufeng turned away angrily.
Yan Tai stepped forward. "Young Lord, it isn't like that! The duke loves you. He knows you better than anyone: you may look detached, but you're proud."
"The Demon Spring is fading and surely won't remain a problem. The duke is preparing for your future. Jiuzhao City has held back three eruptions, and every commander who guarded it is remembered."
"Talented as you are, some opportunities never return. His Majesty approved it too. That shows his trust in both you and the duke."
Shen Yufeng stared into the distance without speaking.
Yan Tai hurried on. "Please don't think your father sent you only to polish your record. Jiuzhao City is still dangerous. What father would place his child in danger for that alone? Governing its soldiers and people is a serious duty too."
"He wouldn't have recommended you if he didn't trust you greatly."
The wind rose, stirring yellow sand. Shen Yufeng turned without a word and descended the wall, his cloak snapping behind him.
"Young Lord!"
"Don't follow me!"
He returned alone to the commander's residence and stood before a large map on the wall.
It showed the land for hundreds of li around Jiuzhao City in fine detail.
Beside it hung a white cloth marked with a row of red circles.
Each circle stood for one day.
Shen Yufeng gazed at them, his expression troubled.
Since the nightmare began, he'd never slept well. He hadn't had it for some time since leaving the royal capital, but he couldn't forget it.
The scenes had felt too real: blood and violence, all life withering, and that man.
A voice had told him the man would come to find him.
If the dream was real, why hadn't he appeared?
If it was false, why had it felt so real?
He was angry that his father had sent him here to polish his record, when he knew he was capable of more.
But that no longer mattered much to him.
The dream mattered—the dream that seemed to show the future.
It had covered a long span, from midsummer to deep winter and falling snow.
By that reckoning, he might have fewer than two hundred days.
Would the Demon Spring erupt in winter? If it burst from beneath the ground across the world and drowned everything, what could he do?
Shen Yufeng's fingers curled around his sword hilt. He paused, as if weighing a decision.
Then he drew the sword. Cold steel slid from the bronze-rimmed sheath, and its sharp sound echoed through the hall.
As he moved, his armor rang. Fear and confusion mingled in his eyes.
His first stroke was measured and controlled.
Half a step later, his moves changed, the blade swift as wind over water, fierce as thunder through the trees.
Sword energy swept through the hall, sending papers flying from the desk.
The faster he moved, the deeper he frowned. His unease did not fade.
The face of a short-haired man only grew clearer in his mind.
After half an incense stick, the sword came to rest.
Shen Yufeng stood with his blade lowered, breathing unevenly, cold sweat on his brow.
"Are you real or not?" he murmured with his eyes closed.
A young man in light armor had appeared at the entrance and waited.
When Shen Yufeng stopped, he wet a cloth at the basin and brought it over.
Shen Yufeng wiped his forehead. "Yuanliang, I sent you to learn what's happening among the people. Why are you back so early? Is there news?"
"No," Zhao Yuanliang said. "Everything seems normal in the city. But when I passed the gate today, the guards received an urgent message from the royal capital."
"What message?"
"A warrant. Three people committed a crime in the capital and escaped. They're still being pursued."
"Just three?" Shen Yufeng asked. "What did they do to get a warrant sent as far as Jiuzhao City? That must be the highest level. Where's the message?"
"Uh..." Zhao Yuanliang took a small step back, hesitating.
"What's wrong with you? Did you come rushing back without getting it?"
"No, Young Master. I have it, with portraits of all three fugitives. It's just that one of them..."
"Speak plainly! You've followed me for years. Act like a man."
"You know one of them. You've met him many times. It's Du Wenyan!"
....
(Only two chapters today, friends. Sorry. I have something urgent to deal with.)