He knew Jin Mulan better than anyone. The moment he returned to her side, she would unconsciously place every burden upon his shoulders.
She would stop forcing herself to carry the weight of the Jin Mansion alone because she trusted him completely. Luo He refused to let that happen.
In his eyes, strength could never be borrowed. It had to be earned. Every obstacle he removed for her was one less obstacle she would overcome herself.
If he continued solving every crisis on her behalf, she would never become a true commander capable of standing beside him as an equal.
So he chose to remain away, allowing her to struggle, to make difficult decisions, and to bear the responsibility herself. It was a cruel lesson, one that demanded she suffer before she could grow.
Whether the world judged him a bad husband for that choice made little difference to Luo He. He had never cared much for appearances.
What mattered to him was the result. If Jin Mulan emerged from this war stronger than before, then, in his mind, every hardship she endured would have been worth it.
Even if she came to resent him for it.
So this was his pattern, his design. While his wife suffered and fought, he sought new adventures and fresh intimacy.
Su Kim had been waiting for him, and with her was their son, Lang. The boy was approximately two years old now and had developed into a remarkably talkative child.
Far more verbal than their daughter Lin, who spent most of her time with her servants. Lang actually conversed with his mother, engaged in genuine dialogue with Su Kim in ways that delighted her.
Su Kim herself was a particular kind of woman. To the outside world, she was cold and ruthless. Calculating and without mercy.
But within her family, within her private sphere, she transformed into someone entirely different. Unlike Jin Mulan or Ning Jia, who maintained certain reserves even in intimacy. Su Kim talked incessantly.
She would speak about everything, achievements, plans, observations, memories. Until those around her grew weary from the sheer volume of her words.
This constant talking had shaped Lang into an exceptionally articulate child. As she continued talking with him when she got bored.
When Luo He and Su Kim came together for their intimate time, the usual dynamic reversed. Normally, Luo He was the one who dominated conversation during pillow talk.
His words flowing endlessly while his women listened. But with Su Kim, she matched him word for word, speaking about her own experiences and thoughts with equal enthusiasm.
Luo He had visited the Northern Isles only once or twice during the war preparations, brief visits where he showed affection but didn't remain long.
This time, however, he chose to stay. He spent the entire day with Su Kim and Lang, and when night fell, he slept with her. He remained into the morning of the fourth day as well.
Holding her close, speaking with her about the war and its progress. Su Kim had news to share. She had finally achieved a breakthrough in her sorcery, reaching the second level.
She had hoped to advance faster, and even two weeks prior, when Luo He had last visited, she had not yet succeeded. But his encouragement had sustained her, and now her efforts had borne fruit.
Luo He's joy at this news was genuine and immediate. In his happiness, he showed his affection physically, and the two became intimate once more, lost in each other as the morning hours passed.
This was how Luo He managed his household, systematically moving through his wives, categorizing them carefully.
First there was the official wives, women who had undergone formal wedding ceremonies. Then came the loyal women, those who had been taken into his household and shared his bed.
But without the ceremonial trappings of marriage. He considered them equals in all respects, but for organizational purposes, he maintained the distinction.
It made management simpler, even if his heart didn't acknowledge such narrow hierarchies.
Day Four: A Calculated Cruelty
On this fourth day, while his wife Jin Mulan stood sleepless on the castle walls. Having not slept a single night since Luo He's departure, he lay in Su Kim's arms, warm and content.
Simultaneously, at the pirate island, Jin Sang was returning in defeat and terror.
The third day had brought disaster towards him. Elder Zhong, proving himself a brilliant strategist despite his age, had laid a trap that Jin Sang had walked directly into.
Luo He had specifically warned against excessive boarding raids, had counseled Jin Sang to maintain distance and continue bombardment rather than engage in close combat.
But Jin Sang, proud and confident in his abilities, had ignored the warning. He had led his men onto enemy vessels, and Elder Zhong had struck with devastating force.
The Wu Kingdom commander had positioned six of his grandmaster-level cultivators to protect the remaining supply ships, anticipating exactly this move from Jin Sang.
The assault had been catastrophic. Hundreds of Jin Sang's men died in the raid. Approximately four to five hundred sailors fell in that single encounter.
Jin Sang's pirate armada possessed no Grandmasters of its own. The strongest fighter among them was Jin Sang himself.
Though he had not yet reached the Grandmaster Realm, he stood only slight bit below it. Against an ordinary Grandmaster, he could not hope to win in a fair fight.
What allowed him to survive was not superior strength, but the ruthless and unconventional methods Luo He had drilled into him.
Using those dirty tactics, Jin Sang could hold off one, or at most two, low-level Grandmasters for a short time. Never to defeat them, but long enough to create an opening and escape.
Against six Grandmasters working together, however, even those tricks were no longer enough. Once Elder Zhong's trap closed around him, retreat became his only option.
Jin Sang himself barely survived, and only through employing the dirty tactics Luo He had taught him. He had severed one grandmaster's leg, crippling the man.
But when another grandmaster pressed the attack, threatening to kill him, his pirate crew had responded with characteristic ruthlessness.
One of his men had fired a ballista bolt that pinned the second grandmaster to the mast, buying Jin Sang precious seconds to retreat.
But it was too late. While Jin Sang struggled with the grandmasters, Elder Zhong had taken the remaining Wu Kingdom fleet and disappeared into another route.
Completely avoiding Jin Sang's pursuit. The enemy commander had escaped, taking his main force with him. Jin Sang had no choice but to retreat.
Limping back to the pirate island in defeat, having lost the enemy fleet and failed in his mission. By mid-morning of the fourth day, he had reached the pirate island.
His first action was to find Ning Jia and apologize profusely. "I failed." He admitted, his voice heavy with dread. "I failed to restrain the enemy. The Wu forces have regrouped."
"Most likely, they will descend on the Jin mansion. Jin Mulan will suffer the brunt of it, and when Luo He learns what I've done..." Ning Jia regarded him with a mixture of sympathy and amusement.
"All right, all right," she said calmly. "He won't actually kill you. At most, he might throw you into the sea just to frighten you properly." She said mockingly.
But Jin Sang knew better. He knew exactly how protective Luo He was of his wife. If Jin Mulan suffered because of his failure.
If harm came to her because he hadn't followed Luo He's strategic guidance, there would be no mercy. There would be nowhere to run.
Day Four: Spread of News
The fourth day of the war began not with swords, but with crows. As dawn broke over the bruised & battered walls of the Jin mansion, General Jin Mulan personally oversaw the dispatch of messenger crows in every direction.
Small bamboo tubes were fastened to their legs, each containing carefully written battle reports.
The messages flew toward the Imperial Capital of Yue, the Northern Isles, the Pirate Island, the Emperor's camp. Princess Ning Luo, Su Kim, and every ally Luo He had prepared before the war received the victory report by morning.
The reports carried two pieces of extraordinary news. The first detailed the results of the second day's siege. Duke Lu's assault had ended in disaster, with the death of nearly half of his infantry.
They were destroyed beneath the walls of the Jin mansion. The defenders had held, and the enemy had suffered losses far beyond anyone's expectations.
The second reported an even greater achievement. The Jin mansion still stood but cost of life was also high. Few hundred troops of the Jin family died as well atop the battlements.
Even against overwhelming odds, the seemingly impossible fortress had only suffered minimal casualties, of about six hundred men, and survived another full scale assault.
As the crows disappeared into the morning sky, Jin Mulan finally allowed herself a small smile. The reports would take time to reach their destinations, but eventually the entire continent would learn that the Jin mansion had not fallen.
To Jin Mulan's surprise, however, the expected third assault never came. She remained on the battlements from morning until evening, fully armored, spear in hand.