The battlefield was finally quiet. The cold morning air stung my lungs, tasting of iron and smoke. My boots were heavy, caked with mud and the dark stain of blood. All around me, the broken flags of our enemies lay trampled into the earth. The cheers of my soldiers behind me felt distant, like a dream.
I wrapped my hands around the hilt of my sword and pulled. It came free from the ground with a wet, sucking sound. We had won. My men smiled and clapped each other on the back, their faces full of relief. But looking at them, I only felt a hollow ache in my chest. Too many familiar faces were missing.
A young captain ran up, his breath puffing in the cold air. "General Lian! They've surrendered! The northern forces are broken!"
I gave a single, slow nod, my eyes still searching the empty horizon. "Good," I said, my voice rough. "Send a rider to the capital. Tell the Emperor... the empire is safe."
---
The noise of the capital was a shock after the silence of the plains. Crowds pressed in on both sides of the street, their cheers loud in my ears. The sweet smell of temple incense mixed with the dust kicked up by the crowd. I sat straight on my horse, keeping my face a calm, unmoving mask. Let them see the general. They could not see the tired princess underneath.
"Lian!"
My brother, Crown Prince Jian, was pushing through the crowd, his red robes flowing around him. He grabbed my arm, his eyes bright. "You did it! I knew you would!"
I forced my lips into a smile. "The enemy is gone. The empire stands."
Then Minister Li Wei was there, his familiar face breaking into a wide grin. He clapped me on the shoulder. "Victory looks good on you! Tonight, we celebrate! The Grand Hall is yours!"
That night, the Grand Hall glowed with a hundred lanterns. Nobles in silk and soldiers in clean armor cheered my name. I lifted my cup when they did, I smiled when they looked at me, and I laughed when it was expected. But inside, where no one could see, my heart was as still and quiet as a deep lake.
---
Later, in my room, the silence was a relief. I placed the empty cup on a table and let out a long, slow breath. For the first time all day, my shoulders relaxed.
Then, a jolt of ice shot through my veins.
My arms locked at my sides. My legs gave way, and I crumpled to the floor. I tried to call for my guards, but my throat closed tight, and only a strangled gasp came out.
A shadow moved in the doorway. A figure, dressed head to toe in black, stepped silently into the room. I could not see its face. My heart beat wildly against my ribs, a trapped bird.
The glint of a dagger caught the light.
A sharp, burning pain exploded in my chest. The world swam, the painted screens and wooden beams blurring together into a smear of color before everything went dark.
---
There was nothing. No ground beneath me. No sky above. Just an endless, silent black.
"Where am I?" My own voice was small and scared in the emptiness.
Then, like fragments of a dream, pictures floated in front of my eyes. A young girl with a happy smile, trying on a jade bracelet at a market stall. The bracelet was beautiful, and it looked familiar... it looked like mine.
The images faded as quickly as they came.
"Yan Lian?"
I turned. The girl from the memories stood there. She was pale, and her eyes were calm but sad.
"You are Yan Lian, the general? The princess?" she asked softly.
My breath caught. "How do you know that name?"
"I... saw it. After I wore that bracelet, your memories came to me." She looked down at her hands. "I think... I think your soul is here now, in my body."
I stared at her, unable to speak. My soul? In her body?and who are you?
"I am Xiao Ruyi, eldest daughter of Duke Xuan of the Xuan Empire."
Her voice echoed softly, carrying weight despite the emptiness around us. Then, as if remembering, she lifted her gaze to meet mine.
"As for the time… this is the third year of the Shengyuan reign, under His Majesty Emperor Xuanjing."
I froze. The name struck me like a blade. That was two years after … two years after my death.
Her words lingered in the void like tolling bells.
"It has been two years since your fall, Princess Yan Lian."
"I can't send you back," she continued, her voice gentle but firm. "But you can stay. You can live, through me. You must only promise me one thing. Promise you will not use my body to hurt anyone."
The darkness seemed to spin around me. It was impossible. But... it was a chance. A chance to live.
"Yes," I whispered. "I promise."
"Then you may use my body at night, but only at night, and only with my permission. Do you agree?"
I had so many questions.Who was the killer? But the darkness was already starting to fade, breaking apart like thin ice.
"Live well, Yan Lian," her voice echoed from far away. "And remember your promise."