Back in his tent, Xue Kai collapsed onto the bed, his entire body aching from the physical toll.
It was clear—he still wasn't at his best. He picked up his right hand, now burned red from the heat from the fight. He hadn't expected that dealing with someone like Zheng Hu would be so exhausting. Just a few months ago, a dozen such people wouldn't have been enough to make him break a sweat, let alone feel this drained.
Truly, fortune does not come alone, and neither does disaster. Images of tragic scenes flashed through Xue Kai's mind, and he instinctively clenched his fists.
Three months ago, everything was normal. Xue Kai lived and trained in the family's valley, going through his daily routine. But that all changed when several bloodied family members returned, barely alive, with grim news.
Invading enemies, unable to resist.
Mountains of corpses, a sea of blood, and suffering beyond words.
Had it not been for the clan leader's desperate persuasion, Xue Kai would never have fled through the clan's secret passage. Facing death takes courage, but choosing to live and rise again, bearing the weight of such responsibility was an even heavier burden.
As the saying goes, 'A phoenix choosing to retreat into the ashes, not out of fear of the flames, but to gather the strength needed to rise anew, with wings capable of carrying the weight of the heavens.'
In one night, the clan that had numbered in the hundreds was reduced to ashes. The only survivor was Xue Kai.
Born an orphan, with no memory of his parents or any willingness on the clan's part to tell him who they were, Xue Kai now truly found himself alone in the world.
Lost in thought, Xue Kai reached into his chest and pulled out a cold object from his clothing. The sensation of the cool touch against his palm soothed the burning heat of his hand.
He gazed at the jade pendant the clan leader had left him.
Closing his eyes, the jade pendant had been passed down through generations in his clan, though it seemed to serve no purpose other than as a symbolic heirloom. But when the clan leader handed it to him, he had said, "Everything is in your hands now, fulfill your destiny, the one that has already been decided for you in the cycle of reincarnation."
Xue Kai had examined this jade pendant countless times, but no matter how closely he looked, there was no hidden mystery.
It seemed like the simplest of trinkets, a mere pendant.
Suddenly, a hand as white as jade shot out like lightning, snatching the jade pendant from Xue Kai's hand.
"Hey, give it back to me, stop messing around," Xue Kai didn't even look at who had taken the pendant, but just extended his hand to demand it back.
"So whiny," a voice, ethereal yet tinged with a hint of mischief, rang out. The jade pendant transformed into a flash of white light and returned to Xue Kai's hand.
Xue Kai muttered, half-heartedly, "I told you, do you really need to come find me every day? With such a big military camp, you can go anywhere you want to play."
"Except for you, everyone else runs away when they see me. Little Kai, be a good sport and take a walk with me. After all, I've been serving you for two whole months," a young girl, dressed in a green hanfu, sat directly on Xue Kai's bed, grabbing his arm and shaking it non-stop.
'If I had known your intention was just to find a playmate, I would never have let you serve me.' Of course, Xue Kai only dared to keep these words to himself. Reflecting on what he had done in the past few days, he felt a chill.
He finally understood why the soldiers, who faced arrows and blades on the battlefield without even flinching, would all avoid this girl, who could be considered a beauty, when they saw her.
Half a year ago, when he saw a shooting star, Xue Kai had made a half-assed wish to encounter a beautiful woman.
Now, why was this wish coming true so quickly?
"Answer me, are we going or not?" The girl planted her hands on either side of Xue Kai's body, leaning over, and stared at him, asking continuously. Her long hair, swaying at the ends, brushed against Xue Kai's nose, making him itch.
"Can we not go? I just had a fight, and my whole body aches and feels weak." Xue Kai had no choice but to show weakness, secretly praying for Zheng Hu 'Sorry, but I have no choice but to use you as a shield.'
The girl became slightly angry, grabbing Xue Kai's collar and shaking his upper body rapidly, like a rattle drum.
"Still talking back? Do you really think I don't know? You didn't even tell me about such a big thing beforehand. You're too much!"
The girl scolded. If looks could kill, Xue Kai would have been dead several times over by now.
'This is too... illogical to think about, right?,' Xue Kai, whose head was a little dizzy from being shaken, could only think clearly about one thing in this mess: this wasn't even a real problem.
- Creak... creak...
"Hey, stop! You're about to tear it!" Xue Kai could feel his collar getting dangerously close to being completely ripped apart.
"No stopping!" the girl roared, her hands speeding up instead.
- Creak... creak... boom!
Outside the tent, a young man passed by, hearing the noise inside and silently inhaling.
'This is tough for you.'
He then lifted the tent flap and said, "Luu Xiaoxuan, stop it. Xue Kai—what are you two doing in here?"
Inside the tent, on the bed, the girl was lying flat, while Xue Kai was on top of her. As for the scraps of cloth in the girl's hand, which she had ripped from Xue Kai's collar, the young man outside had already filtered out the image.
"Uh, ahem. Sorry to interrupt, you two continue." The young man blushed slightly and quickly turned to leave. He couldn't help but think, 'Xue Kai, you're ruthless, even pushing my sister down like that. But... I guess it's not a bad thing, hehe.'
The two inside the tent stared blankly at the departing young man. Then, Xue Kai felt a pain in his abdomen as the girl kicked him over, sending him crashing to the ground, twitching.
A moment later, the girl, sitting on the bed, looked down at Xue Kai, still twitching on the ground, and said, "It's almost time. Get up, there's a lantern festival in the city tonight. Come with me to see it."
Xue Kai continued to twitch on the ground like a fish, finally gaining some clarity in his head as a thought flashed, 'Is this even human? Can't this girl be a little less domineering?'
Luu Xiaoxuan didn't care at all what Xue Kai thought. She kept 'asking' him while he was lying on the ground, determined not to stop until she got what she wanted.
"Xue Kai, just go along with it. This lantern festival is supposed to be really grand, but if I don't have anyone to go with, my father won't let me go. And besides you, no one else is willing to accompany me." With the hard approach failing, Luu Xiaoxuan resorted to the ultimate weapon every girl knows—acting spoiled.
'When did I ever say I would go with you!?,' Xue Kai continued to lie on the ground, playing dead.
Luu Xiaoxuan saw that Xue Kai remained unmoved and suddenly spotted the jade pendant that had fallen to the ground earlier.
An idea crossed her mind.
"Well, I'm leaving then. This pendant looks kind of cheap, but it should be worth a few small coins. It's just right since I don't have enough pocket money tonight. I'll take this and trade it for a little cash," Luu Xiaoxuan said, picking up the pendant and waving it in front of Xue Kai.
It seemed she had already forgotten that not long ago, she had won a small amount of money by betting on Xue Kai's victory.
'Oh my god! Why did I forget about this?' Seeing the situation, it was clear she wasn't going to return the pendant willingly.
Xue Kai finally stood up, dusted himself off, and extended his hand with a smile, saying, "Give it back. Is it that hard to go shopping?"
Luu Xiaoxuan snorted coldly, hung the pendant around her neck, and tucked it into her collar, "I'll return it later."
"So ruthless," Xue Kai muttered quietly.
"What's the problem? Is going shopping with me so hard? You're not even spending money," Luu Xiaoxuan snorted, leaning her face close to Xue Kai with a smile.
"Yeah, you're a woman who doesn't let men outshine you. To be able to accompany you, that's a blessing I must have earned in my previous life," Xue Kai said, smiling on the surface but not quite meaning it.
Luu Xiaoxuan couldn't help but laugh at his words, her whole body shaking with laughter. But at that moment, her expression made Xue Kai stare at her a little longer than usual.
"What are you looking at? Do I look good?" Luu Xiaoxuan waved her hand in front of Xue Kai's face, finally snapping him out of his trance.
"Alright, I'm leaving. See you tonight." Without waiting for Xue Kai to respond, Luu Xiaoxuan walked out of the tent.
To be fair, if she could act a bit more normal, she really could be considered a remarkable young woman. Still, she fell slightly short of the 'tiger daughters of generals' in both composure and grace.
Yet, as Xue Kai thought about it, he couldn't help but recall Luu Xiaoxuan's natural strength—it was truly intimidating. If she were like a regular girl, perhaps she could have indeed grown into a heroic figure, a true legend among women.
Xue Kai lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. The faint fragrance left behind on the bedding was rather enjoyable. After all, no matter how unruly she might be, Luu Xiaoxuan was still a young girl in her prime. Now that he thought about it, if one were to overlook her stubborn and eccentric tendencies, she wasn't half bad.
He even found himself looking forward to the upcoming lantern festival.
Besides, he had already been in this place for some time now. As for the tragedy that had befallen his clan, he still had no leads.
Perhaps tonight's outing might offer a chance to gather some information.
Such a deep-seated grudge—if left unavenged—would leave him unworthy of existing beneath the heavens.
Xue Kai silently swore to himself.
A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and the fatigue from earlier finally caught up with him.
Giving in to his weariness, Xue Kai closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, all the while anticipating the arrival of the lantern festival.