By the next morning, when everyone was just waking, Si was already seated on the roof of their sleeping quarters, a simple structure of two average-sized rooms that separated the male and female graveyard slaves. He could hear chattering and movement below, the scrape of sandals against stone, the low coughs of the sick, but he ignored them all. His calculated gaze remained fixed on the Bi clan banners whipping wildly in the wind as thousands of soldiers marched away in the distance.
The conflict between Jinshan and Yunhe ignited the period later known as the Strife of the Five Kingdoms. Yet it was easy to forget the true genesis of that chaos.
From the very beginning, the Kingdom of Yunhe focused solely on culture and scholarship. It had even been termed the Kingdom of Poets and Ministers by Emperor Fengzu after his first visit two decades ago. When one thought of Yunhe, one thought of river valleys, fertile farmlands, and vast, colorful cities. It was the most favored destination for travelers within and beyond the Gan Dynasty, second only to the imperial capital itself.
So why would a state with a weak military wage a bloody war against the battle-hardened warriors of Jinshan?
Honor.
Jinshan was a mountain kingdom, famed as the Fortress of Stone. It controlled treacherous mountain passes and mineral-rich territories, its topography so daunting that invading armies would lose morale at the mere sight of its jagged peaks. It was the only one of the five kingdoms Emperor Fengzu could not conquer outright. He had been forced to surround them and starve them into submission. It was said that, had he attempted a direct assault, not even his famed Immortal Phoenix Army could have breached its defenses.
Because of this, Jinshan had always been somewhat haughty toward the imperial capital. Never did they imagine that such confidence would one day lead to their complete defeat at the end of a ten-year war.
"If only they had not messed with Yun Meilin." Si offered a rare chuckle as he brushed his hair back with his palm.
King Yun Cheng of Yunhe was a scholarly ruler devoted to philosophy and culture. He married only one wife and refused to take a second or any concubines, despite having only a daughter by his queen. That daughter, once looked down upon by many, grew into one of the Five Flowers of the Gan Dynasty. Yet Crown Princess Yun Meilin stood on an entirely different level from her peers.
Unlike the other flowers, she was a princess, and not just any princess, but the Crown Princess of Yunhe, the most prosperous kingdom in the empire. Suitors flocked to her from within and beyond the Gan Dynasty. But Yun Meilin was not merely a beauty. She was a master strategist and the greatest stumbling block Bi Si had faced in his quest to become King of Yunhe.
Considering the advantages Jinshan held and the geographical closeness between the two kingdoms, she chose to marry Crown Prince Jin Ao, a general known for his brutal yet effective methods of war.
At first, the decision had been widely applauded.
Then it went terribly wrong.
During her very first visit to Jinshan, Prince Ao, drunk and unrestrained, brutally beat Meilin and raped her. When news reached the royal court of Yunhe, it was met with unrestrained fury. Prince Ao was demanded to be sent over and put on trial. Jinshan refused.
That refusal sparked a brutal war between the neighboring kingdoms.
At the rallying call of King Yun Cheng, all noble families of Yunhe eagerly presented their armies, hoping to earn not only the royal family's favor but also Meilin's hand in marriage. The rapidly declining Bi clan was among those harboring such ambitions.
"Little do they know they will meet nothing but crushing defeat at the hands of the Jinshan experts in little over a year, with a staggering death toll of ten thousand soldiers," Si mused.
What Jinshan believed would be their triumph became the seed of their ruin. When news of the great defeat at Kong'gong Pass arrived a year later, Crown Princess Yun Meilin made her first public appearance.
Her speech changed everything.
She did not demand revenge. She did not cry for blood. Instead, she apologized. She wept for the men who had died fighting to reclaim her honor.
That single act earned her the title of Saint Flower.
Pure in body and soul became the phrase used to describe her.
That single act ignited a second war. A force of thirty thousand was raised, but it did not stop there. The kingdoms of Liangzhou, Haidong, and Lanyue sent their joint forces of seventy thousand soldiers. Together, they amassed a grand army of one hundred thousand righteous warriors, all demanding that Prince Ao be brought to justice.
The war was brutal and unrelenting. It raged for a decade before Jinshan finally admitted defeat. Prince Ao was released to Yunhe, where he was tried and promptly executed before the assembled armies of the four kingdoms.
"All this happened under the Seat of Heaven, yet the royal capital did nothing to stop the violence or aid either side, yet they benefited the most," Si recollected.
The moment Jinshan fell, the imperial army made its debut. They seized the entire Gao clan, the royal family of Jinshan, and executed them for treason against the crown. The Fifth Prince was then sent to temporarily rule Jinshan as governor until the political situation stabilized.
The four kingdoms that had fought and bled gained nothing. Instead, they had eliminated the greatest threat to the Gan Dynasty.
"However, this selfish act bred resentment in the four kingdoms, sowing seeds of bitterness. A seed I took advantage of three decades after when I carried out my rebellion…"
He exhaled slowly.
"I must say, my first century alive started slow and miserable, but it was probably the most exciting time of my life. I had rivals, mortal enemies, and dangerous allies. After that, it was just their resentful offsprings who could not accept the results of our great conflicts. From then on, it was nothing but complaints and hollow outrage."
With a sigh, Si lay back and stared at the sun. According to his memories of this year, nothing special would happen in his life.
But that was unacceptable.
He needed to step into the political arena as soon as possible, and the only path he knew was through the military.
"If I can become an Esteemed Foundation Realm cultivator, I can join the war at Hong'gong Pass and reap immense benefits from that battle… Yes… I think I will make that my goal."
The sooner he began leading an army, the better.
"What about you? What do you plan to do with your life?" Si asked, not bothering to look up.
From the other side of the roof, Bao's face appeared, wearing an apologetic smile. After Si's strange behavior the previous night and the fact that he had not returned, Bao had remained awake, restless and curious. This time, he paid closer attention to Si's words. Hearing him casually repeat the same ambitions he had spoken of the night before, as though recalling a lived memory, unsettled him deeply.
Suddenly, Si's talk of becoming Bi patriarch and King of Yunhe no longer felt like idle fantasy.
'That place must be driving him mad,' Bao concluded, looking at his friend with pity.
It was not unusual for people here to slowly lose their minds. Every one of them working among the graves suffered from one sickness or another, secrets carried in silence. Even when everyone knew, no one spoke of it. To acknowledge it would only darken the mood further.
Bao assumed Si had developed one of the many illnesses that came with their grim existence. If Si had known what Bao was thinking at that moment, he might have vomited blood from sheer frustration.
Sliding closer, Bao smiled.
"My life? Hmmm… I think standing beside you is all I want," he chuckled before adding, "Wherever you go, I go."
Si did not react outwardly, but something jolted within his chest, a strange warmth bubbling through him. He could not explain it, nor did he intend to share it.
"If that is the case, I will prepare a proper martial legacy for you when the time comes. For now, focus on your cultivation. You should be able to break through soon, now that the Yin qi clogging your meridians has been dispelled."
Rather than dwell on those rising emotions, Si buried them beneath cold logic. He began listing every relevant piece of information he could think of, speaking of cultivation paths and future opportunities, while Bao simply laughed and nodded along to everything.
Si feared indulgence. He feared that the moment he welcomed those emotions back and allowed himself to drown in them, they would grow too strong, only to be ripped away again once he resumed cultivating the Supreme Art of Death.
Thankfully, Bao was never pushy. He had always known how to blend into the background, how to simply be there. His greatest strength was patience, waiting until Si chose to open up on his own.
That was what Si loved about him.
And that was why, in this vast and treacherous world, Bao was the one person he was determined to protect.