The Taoist temple existed in a pocket of tranquility that seemed separate from the rest of the world. For two days, Yuelai lived in that bubble—sleeping, eating the simple meals the monk brought her, allowing her body to slowly knit itself back together.
The shoulder wound still throbbed with every movement, but the sharp, debilitating pain had faded to a dull ache. More importantly, her mind was finally clear. The fog of drugs that had plagued her since the night of Junwei's murder had lifted, burned away by the monk's detoxifying tonic. She could think again. Plan. Remember without the haze of sedatives blurring everything.
She'd planned to stay at least three days—the minimum the monk insisted she needed before attempting to travel. Her body was recovering, growing stronger each day. The clarity of thought felt like a gift after so many days of stumbling through a nightmare half-conscious.
But on the second morning of her recovery, that fragile peace shattered.
Yuelai had risen early, unable to sleep past dawn despite her exhaustion. She was attempting to practice some basic sword forms in the small courtyard—testing her limits, learning what her injured shoulder could and couldn't do—when voices drifted from the main temple hall.
Two monks, speaking in low tones. Not meant to be overheard.
"—terrible news from the border. Brother Liu just returned from Longmen yesterday."
"Longmen? That's General Wei Qiang's garrison, isn't it?"
"Yes. The Shen Empire has launched an attack. They're besieging the city."
Yuelai's sword froze mid-swing. Ice flooded her veins.
"Why would Shen attack Longmen? The peace treaty—"
"Apparently, they're demanding the general hand over someone. A fugitive. If he refuses, they'll continue the assault until the city falls."
No. No, no, no.
"That's madness. Starting a war over one person?"
"Brother Liu says the whole thing is strange. The Shen forces arrived five days ago with an ultimatum. General Wei hasn't responded, and now they're attacking in earnest. The gates won't hold for long if this continues."
Yuelai didn't hear the rest. She was already moving, stumbling back to her room, her heart hammering so hard it felt like it would burst from her chest.
Longmen. Her uncle's city. Under attack because of her.
She'd known Tianyu would pursue her. Had known he'd be ruthless. But this—attacking an entire city, risking war between two empires—just to force her uncle to hand her over?
The deaths in the palace had been her fault, Tianyu said. Xiaoyu and all the others, dead because she hadn't stayed in her room as ordered.
Now her uncle's city was under siege. How many would die this time? How many soldiers, how many innocent civilians, because she'd run to the one place she thought was safe?
Yuelai grabbed her few belongings with shaking hands. The sword. The pendant. The traveling clothes the monk had provided. Her shoulder screamed in protest at the sudden movement, but she ignored it.
She couldn't stay here. Couldn't rest while her last remaining family was under attack because of her.
The monk found her in the courtyard, already saddling the horse.
"Child, what are you doing? You're not healed—"
"I have to go." Yuelai's voice was tight, controlled. If she let any emotion through, she'd break. "Now. Thank you for everything you've done, but I can't stay."
The monk studied her face and seemed to understand. He didn't argue further, just pressed a small pouch into her hands. "Herbs for the pain. Change the bandage daily. And child—" His weathered face was kind but sad. "Whatever you're running toward, be careful. The body can heal. The spirit is more fragile."
Yuelai nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Then she mounted and rode.
---
Three days earlier, in the Shen imperial palace, Gu Tianyu sat in the throne room reviewing reports from the search parties.
Nothing. Five days of searching, and Princess Yuelai had vanished like smoke.
Oh, there had been sightings. A young person matching her description seen in Qinghe. Soldiers had searched every inn, every shop, every house in that border city. They'd found nothing.
She was clever, he'd give her that. Or perhaps just desperate enough to be unpredictable.
But desperation only carried someone so far. Eventually, she'd make a mistake. Eventually, she'd reach for the one lifeline she had left.
"General Gu," the captain of the imperial guard said, entering with a salute. "We've received a response to your message to General Wei Qiang of Longmen."
"And?"
"He... declined to respond, Your Majesty. The messenger was turned away at the gates."
Tianyu's fingers drummed once against the armrest. Declined to respond. Not a denial of harboring her. Not an offer to search his territory. Just silence.
Interesting.
General Wei Qiang commanded the Fourth Army, one of Luo's most significant military forces. He was also Princess Yuelai's maternal uncle—her mother's younger brother. The connection had been a cornerstone of the peace treaty sixteen years ago. Shen and Luo united through marriage, their enmity buried with the wedding of Princess Wei Mingyu to Crown Prince Shen.
But Wei Mingyu was dead now. Had been for years. And her daughter was a fugitive accused of murdering the Crown Prince.
If Wei Qiang was sheltering her, it was an act of family loyalty that could restart a war.
If he wasn't, his silence was still suspicious enough to warrant investigation.
Either way, Tianyu needed to flush her out.
"Mobilize the Third Army," he ordered. "I want them at Longmen's gates within three days. Deliver another message to General Wei—if he does not surrender Princess Yuelai, we will consider his silence an admission of harboring a criminal. The city will face the consequences."
"Your Majesty, the Luo Emperor will see this as an act of war—"
"The Luo Emperor will see this as justice being served," Tianyu said coldly. "We are not invading. We are simply requesting the return of a fugitive murderer. If General Wei chooses to protect her instead of honoring the law, that is his decision."
The logic was flawless, even if the premise was a lie. And once the Third Army was at Longmen's gates, Yuelai would have a choice—surrender herself or watch her uncle's city burn.
He knew which she'd choose. For all her skill with a sword, Princess Shen Yuelai had one fatal weakness: she cared too much.
It would be her downfall.
"Send the army," Tianyu repeated. "And Captain? When they find her—and they will find her—I want her brought back alive. No matter what it takes."
---
Twenty years ago, in the gardens of the Shen palace...
Eight-year-old Shen Yuelai sat by the koi pond, her small face scrunched in concentration as she tried to catch the colorful fish with her hands. Her mother, Wei Mingyu, sat on a nearby bench, watching with an amused smile.
"Yuelai, the fish are faster than you think."
"But I almost had one!" Yuelai protested, her sleeves soaked and dripping.
"Come here, little flower. I want to tell you something."
Yuelai scrambled up, leaving wet footprints on the stone path as she climbed onto the bench beside her mother. Wei Mingyu was beautiful—everyone said so. She had the grace of Luo nobility and the warmth of someone who'd chosen love over politics when she married Yuelai's father.
"Do you remember the stories I tell you about Luo? About my home?"
"The mountains that touch the clouds! And the dragons in the rivers!"
Wei Mingyu laughed softly. "Yes. And do you remember your Uncle Qiang? My brother?"
"The general! He sent me a jade bracelet for my birthday!"
"That's right." Her mother's expression grew more serious. "Yuelai, I want to teach you something important. There's a secret path into Longmen—the city Uncle Qiang protects. It's known only to our family. I'm going to tell you how to find it, and I want you to remember, even if you never need to use it."
"Why would I need a secret path?"
"You might not. I hope you never do. But if something ever happens—if you ever need help and Uncle Qiang is the only one who can provide it—you'll know how to reach him."
Yuelai nodded solemnly, sensing this was important even if she didn't fully understand why.
Before her mother could continue, ten-year-old Junwei appeared, his robes muddy from playing in the training grounds. "Mother! Yuelai! Come see—I knocked down five practice dummies in a row!"
He noticed their serious expressions and paused. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, sweetheart. I'm just teaching your sister about Longmen."
Junwei plopped down beside them, throwing an arm around Yuelai's shoulders. "She'll never need to know secret paths to Uncle's city, Mother. I'll protect her forever. That's what big brothers do."
Wei Mingyu's smile was sad and fond all at once. "I know you will, my son. But humor me. Let me teach her anyway."
"Alright," Junwei agreed easily. Then he grinned at Yuelai. "But you have to promise to teach me too, so I can rescue you if you ever get captured by bandits!"
"I'm not going to get captured by bandits!"
"You might! You're terrible at fighting!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
Wei Mingyu laughed and separated them before the argument could escalate into wrestling. "Both of you, listen. This is important..."
---
Present day
The memory shattered as Yuelai's horse stumbled on the rocky path.
She was crying. When had she started crying? Tears streamed down her face, hot and relentless, as she navigated the increasingly treacherous terrain.
I'll protect her forever.
Junwei had meant it. Had believed it with all the certainty of a child who thought he was invincible.
But he was gone. And Yuelai was alone, following their mother's instructions from twenty years ago, hoping to reach the one person left in the world who might shelter her.
The secret path her mother had described wound through mountains and forest, far from any main road. It was dangerous—narrow passes, steep drops, places where one wrong step could send horse and rider plummeting. But it was also unknown to anyone outside the Wei family. Tianyu's soldiers would never find it.
Yuelai pushed on, ignoring the pain in her shoulder, the exhaustion pulling at her limbs. Three hours, the monk had said. Three hours to the Luo border from the temple if one took the main road.
This path was longer. Harder. But by sunset, she saw it—a massive stone gate built into a mountain pass, the character for "dragon" carved into the rock above it.
Longmen. Dragon Gate.
And beyond the gate, she could see smoke rising. Hear the distant sounds of battle. The siege was real. Active. Happening now.
Yuelai urged her horse faster, her heart in her throat. She had to reach her uncle. Had to stop this before more people died because of her.
The secret entrance was exactly where her mother had described—a narrow cleft in the rock face, hidden behind a waterfall, barely wide enough for a horse to pass. Yuelai dismounted and led her horse through, the sound of rushing water drowning out everything else.
The passage opened into a small courtyard inside Longmen's walls. And that's when she realized her mistake.
Soldiers. Everywhere. Luo soldiers, their weapons drawn, surrounding her before she'd taken three steps into the city.
"Don't move!"
"How did you get in here?"
"That entrance is supposed to be secret—"
Yuelai raised her hands slowly, her mind racing. She was still dressed as a young man, her face dirt-stained from travel, her hair hidden under a cap. In the chaos of a siege, she looked like any other traveler. Or worse—like a spy.
"I need to see General Wei Qiang," she said, keeping her voice steady. "I'm—"
"You're a Shen spy," one of the soldiers snarled, his sword pointed at her throat. "How else would you know about this entrance? Captain! We caught an infiltrator!"
More soldiers appeared. Within moments, Yuelai found herself disarmed, her hands bound, being dragged toward what she assumed was a command post or prison.
"I'm not a spy," she tried again. "I'm General Wei's niece—"
"Sure you are. And I'm the Emperor of Luo," one of the soldiers laughed. "Save your lies for the general. If he doesn't execute you immediately."
They threw her into a small room—not quite a cell, but close. The door locked behind them. Yuelai sat on the floor, her shoulder throbbing, her mind reeling.
She'd made it to Longmen. Made it to safety.
And now she was a prisoner, accused of being a spy, while outside the walls her uncle's city burned because Tianyu wanted her back.
Footsteps approached. Multiple sets. The door opened.
A man entered—tall, broad-shouldered, with the bearing of someone who'd spent his life in military service. His face was weathered but handsome, with the same sharp cheekbones Yuelai saw in her mirror. Her mother's brother. General Wei Qiang.
He looked at her with the cold assessment of a commander interrogating a prisoner. "My soldiers tell me you knew about the secret entrance. That's impossible unless you're family—or unless you tortured the information from someone who is." His voice was hard, unyielding. "So which is it? Are you a very clever spy, or are you going to tell me the truth?"
Yuelai met his eyes. Saw her mother's eyes looking back at her.
"Uncle," she said quietly. "It's me. Yuelai."
Wei Qiang's expression didn't change. But something flickered in his eyes—recognition, shock, grief.
Before he could respond, the door burst open again.
A young man strode in—eighteen, perhaps nineteen, with the same military bearing as the general but not yet fully grown into it. He wore an officer's uniform and carried himself with the rigid posture of someone desperate to prove his worth.
"Father, the Shen forces are—" He stopped short, seeing Yuelai. "Who is this?"
Then his eyes found his father's face, saw the shock there, and his own expression sharpened. "What's going on?"
Wei Qiang seemed to struggle with something. Then he spoke, his voice rough: "Han. This is your cousin. Princess Shen Yuelai."
The room went silent.
Wei Han stared at Yuelai. His face went through several rapid changes—disbelief, recognition, shock. "That's impossible. She's—the reports said—"
"I know what the reports said," Wei Qiang interrupted.
"But Father, Shen is attacking because of her! They're demanding we hand over—" Wei Han's voice cracked slightly. "They're demanding we hand over the princess who murdered Crown Prince Junwei. And you're saying she's here? Actually here?"
"I didn't murder him," Yuelai said, her voice breaking despite her efforts to stay strong. "Uncle, you have to believe me. Tianyu killed Junwei and framed me. He killed everyone. My entire household. He tried to force me to marry him, and when I escaped—"
"We know," Wei Qiang said quietly.
Yuelai stopped. "You... know?"
"The reports from Shen reached us days ago. The official story is that you murdered your brother and fled justice." His expression softened slightly. "But I knew your mother. I know the kind of people she raised. And my sister would never forgive me if I believed for one moment that her daughter was capable of such an act."
Relief so intense it was painful crashed over Yuelai. Someone believed her. Finally, after days of running, of being hunted, of carrying the weight of those false accusations—someone believed her.
"Now it makes more sense," Wei Han said slowly, his initial shock giving way to cold fury. "Why Shen is attacking Longmen. You came here for shelter, and they followed."
"I didn't mean to—" Yuelai started, guilt overwhelming her again.
"Of course you didn't," Wei Han interrupted, his tone sharp but not unkind. "This is Tianyu's doing. I never liked that Gu bastard anyway, always acting so sweet and perfect. Whatever." He turned to his father. "We need to decide what to do. The Shen forces have us surrounded, and—"
The door burst open again. This time, another officer—older, breathing hard from running.
"General! The Shen commander is demanding a response. They're saying if we don't hand over the princess within the day, they'll launch a full assault. Our scouts report their battering ram is being moved into position." The officer's face was grim. "Sir, with respect, the gates won't hold more than two days under a sustained attack. We need reinforcements from the capital, or—"
"Or we need to make a decision," Wei Qiang finished. He looked at Yuelai, and for the first time, she saw the weight he was carrying. A city full of people. An army under siege. And a choice between family and duty.
Wei Han stepped forward. "Father, we can't hand her over. She's family. Aunt Mingyu's daughter."
"I know who she is, Han."
"Then what are we going to do?"
The room fell silent. All eyes turned to General Wei Qiang, waiting for orders that could save the city or doom it.
And Yuelai, still bound, still dressed as a common soldier, still bearing the weight of everyone who'd already died because of her, waited to learn if the last member of her family would choose to protect her—or sacrifice her to save his city.
---
END OF CHAPTER 5