At the far northern border, the war ended as swiftly as it began.
Five days.
Just as promised.
"Victory! The enemy has retreated!"
Cheers rose from the soldiers like a tide breaking against stone. Dust and smoke still lingered in the air, clinging to armor and skin. The scent of iron had not yet faded.
General Guard Gu Beichen did not cheer.
He stood at the forefront of the battlefield, blood drying dark against his sleeve, gaze steady as if this outcome had been inevitable from the start.
Behind him, General Deputy Lin Yue laughed loudly.
"Hah! I told you! With General leading, five days was more than enough!"
The message of victory had already been sent to the capital by messenger pigeons.
Now only the journey home remained.
Two days from the capital.
Night fell quietly over the marching army. Torches flickered beneath the cold wind as boots crushed against gravel and frozen earth.
"General," Lin Yue called, catching up to him.
"Speak."
"The soldiers have marched without proper rest since the battle ended. If we continue through the night, their bodies will not endure."
Gu Beichen glanced back.
He saw dust-covered faces. Bandaged arms. Silent exhaustion worn like second skin.
After a brief pause—
"We halt here."
Relief rippled silently through the ranks.
"Let the army rest for the night."
Lin Yue smiled. "As expected of our General. Always merciful when it truly matters."
Campfires were lit.
The battlefield's tension slowly dissolved into the quiet crackle of burning wood.
Later, beneath a sky washed pale with starlight, Lin Yue leaned casually against a post near the largest fire.
"General, do you know something?"
Gu Beichen did not look at him. "No."
"Every city we pass through, there are always people asking about you."
Silence.
"Especially the women."
Gu Beichen's expression did not change.
"'Who is that cold and handsome General?'" Lin Yue continued teasingly. "'Does he have a wife?' 'Is he promised to anyone?'"
A faint breeze stirred the hem of Gu Beichen's cloak.
"You reject every glance like they are arrows on a battlefield," Lin Yue said with a soft laugh.
"Irrelevant matters should not be discussed in a military camp."
"Ah~ so cold again."
The fire crackled between them.
"General, you are already of age to marry. You should at least consider it."
Silence answered him.
The corner of Gu Beichen's fingers tightened slightly around the hilt of his sword.
"The empire comes first," he said at last.
Lin Yue tilted his head, studying him.
"Or perhaps… the General already has someone in mind?"
For a brief moment—
Gu Beichen did not respond.
A memory surfaced unbidden.
Golden robes.
A distant throne.
A figure who never once looked back.
His gaze drifted unconsciously toward the south.
Toward the direction of the capital.
The faintest curve touched the corner of his lips.
A rare smile.
"…General," Lin Yue murmured.
"You're smiling."
Gu Beichen's expression stilled at once.
"You are mistaken."
Lin Yue laughed lightly.
"So there truly is someone."
"Focus on your duties."
"As you command, General."
But long after the teasing ceased, Gu Beichen's eyes remained fixed on the unseen horizon.
Two days.
Only two days until he would kneel once more before the man he had sworn to protect—
And never possess.