From the shadows, Xu Min's despair mixed with admiration. She knew then this was no accident. Every timing gap.
Every line. Every gesture. Every moment she had been allowed to watch were carefully orchestrated.
A demonstration. He was telling her,
I know you are there. I know what you wanted. But I choose where the scene goes not you. Xu Min closed her eyes briefly. Then smiled bitterly.
"So this," she whispered to herself, "is why people follow him." On the bridge, Jin Mulan sensed the watcher retreating.
"She is leaving." She said with quite indifferences. "Yes." Luo He sensed the same. "Should we feel guilty?" Luo He asked form Jin Mulan. "Do you?"
Jin Mulan investigated. "No." He replied.
"Excellent." She slipped her hand fully into his.
"Take me back inside." She said. "As my wife?" He inquired. "As your price of victory." Luo He laughed softly, and together they disappeared into the silver night after shearing a romantic kiss in the warm moonlight. Leaving the bridge, the pond, and one defeated strategist behind.
They left the bridge side by side, saying little. There was no need. The night air was cool, the stone paths silver beneath the moon, and the satisfaction between them warmer than any words. Jin Mulan walked with calm dignity, but every few steps the corner of her mouth twitched upward.
Luo He noticed each time. "You are pleased, I am composed. You are enjoying this, I am evaluating results." he said as if he is analysing. "You nearly laughed when she retreated." She pushed back.
"Yes, I nearly laughed out loud even now." Luo He said. "So what is wrong with that." Jin Mulan gave him an annoyed look. What gives this man the courage to treat me this way every time... She thaught.
That was enough. He laughed first.
She tried to resist but failed completely.
By the time they reached their chamber, both of them were holding back smiles like children who had successfully caused trouble.
The door closed behind them. Jin Mulan turned to say something sharp and clever. But Luo He was already laughing openly. She stared at him one second.
Then burst into laughter herself. They stumbled toward the bed still dressed exactly as they were, falling onto it without ceremony.
Silk robes tangled, pillows slid to the floor, blankets twisted beneath them. For several moments neither could speak properly. Every time one calmed down, the other remembered some detail.
The false surprise at the bridge, Xu Min hiding in the trees, Luo He's ridiculous politeness, Jin Mulan's performance of accidental elegance and laughter began again. "You bowed to me," Jin Mulan gasped. "You called it coincidence." Luo He smirked. "You touched my hair like some court poet." Jin Mulan said yet again. "You charged me emotional damages." She buried her face against the pillow laughing.
He pulled her back by the wrist. That changed the mood. Laughter softened.
Eyes held longer. The thrill of shared victory became something deeper and warmer. They had not merely outplayed another person. They had acted together. Trusted each other. Moved as one mind.
That kind of closeness was rarer than desire. And far more dangerous. That night they remained busy for nearly three hours, the chamber filled first with laughter, then silence, then heavy breathing and soft screams, then the quiet aftermath of two people who understood each other better than they had the day before.
Exhausted from a fierce and satisfying night, they finally slept tangled in each other and their shredded clothes beneath half-pulled blankets.
The next morning the sunlight entered softly through the screens. Jin Mulan woke first. Luo He's arm was across her waist. Their robes what was loft of them were wrinkled beyond dignity. One of her hairpins had somehow ended near the lampstand.
She looked at him for a long moment.
Then smiled to herself. When he opened one eye, she was still looking. "You are staring." she asked casually. "I am judging damage." Luo He corrected.
"And?" she asked curiously.
"You seem acceptable." He grinned.
Something had changed. Not dramatically. Not loudly. But clearly. There was more ease between them now, more instinctive warmth. Less guarded pride. More shared understanding. Ironically all thanks to Xu Min.
Later that morning, Luo He, Jin Mulan, and Fei went to train in the forest clearing. The morning mist still lingered between the trees. Sunlight cut through branches in long golden shafts. Birds scattered as the three entered the wide arena Luo He had ordered cleared months earlier.
Fei and Jin Mulan stood opposite one another. Both had improved greatly.
Fei's body was broader now, movements heavier yet faster than seemed possible. His fists carried the disciplined violence of forged iron.
Jin Mulan stood with the black steel spear in her hand, poised and elegant, fire hidden beneath control. They bowed.
Then clashed. Steel rang. Feet tore dirt.
Fei pressed forward with relentless combinations, every punch carrying brutal force. Jin Mulan used range, angles, and precision, her spear flickering like a serpent striking from grass.
For several exchanges they were equal.
Then Fei adapted. He stepped inside one thrust, slipped another, and drove a body blow into her guard so hard it numbed both arms. She recovered instantly.
Too late. His next strike shattered her footing. The spear flew wide. He stopped his final punch an inch from her face.
Silence. Jin Mulan stared at him. Then lowered her eyes briefly in frustration.
Her first defeat to someone less than her husband. Luo He clapped once.
"Excellent." Both turned. He looked genuinely proud. "Defeat," he said, "is the beginning of victory and growth."
He pointed at Fei. "You learned confidence." Then at Jin Mulan.
"You learned urgency." He smiled.
"Wonderful morning." Jin Mulan narrowed her eyes. "You enjoy this too much." "Yes. I am your master. I get genuinely proud when my desipels perform well."
He walked toward the weapon rack and took a plain spear used by guards. "Jin Mulan, you are now weak." Fei nearly laughed and wisely suppressed it.
"I will train you in a new technique to raise you again."
He spun the ordinary spear once. Its movement alone whistled through the air.
"Watch carefully." He said. Then he looked at Fei. "Try to hit me." Luo He said casually. Fei grinned and charged.
Their clash began instantly. Fei attacked with powerful direct punches, forcing angles, crushing space, hunting contact.
But Luo He was always one step ahead.
A half-turn here. A shaft redirect there.
A retreat so small it felt insulting.
He used almost no strength at all. Only timing. Only position. Only superiority.
Fei attacked again and again, sweat rising, frustration growing. Then Luo He said "Good. Now serious."
Fei inhaled sharply. His right fist drew back. Muscles coiled. Then JAB.
The punch exploded forward faster than sound. A sonic boom burst through the clearing. Even Jin Mulan's eyes widened.
The strike would have broken stone literally.
Luo He finally moved. His spear blurred.
And the world changed. Mirage of Spears. One spear became ten. Ten became hundreds. Then countless identical shadows surrounded Fei from every direction, each carrying the same killing line, same perfect angle, same impossible intent.
The forest itself seemed filled with spearpoints. Fei's instincts roared. He struck the first illusion apart. Then the second. Third. Fourth. Each vanished.
But more came. He turned, blocking wildly as shadows pierced air around him.
Then a black spear among ghosts.
Real. It slid through his defense and struck his plated armor with enough force to drive him backward three full steps.
At that exact moment Luo He's thrown spear crossed the clearing like lightning and slammed into Fei's chestplate.
Bang!
Fei crashed to one knee. Dust rose around him. The illusions vanished.
Only one spear remained lodged harmlessly against the armor, vibrating from impact. Silence filled the clearing.
Birds had stopped singing. Jin Mulan stared openly. Fei looked up breathing hard. Luo He caught the returning practice spear casually. "This," he said calmly, "is what deception looks like when disciplined."
He turned toward Jin Mulan. "With a spear, power is useful." He spun it once more. "But uncertainty is fatal." Then he smiled. "Now pick it up." Jin Mulan stepped forward immediately, pride burning brighter than defeat ever had.