Luo He adjusted his clothes. Underneath the worn traveling robes was the black dragon robe he habitually wore for literally everything from war to his wedding and anything in between.
The garment was almost completely concealed. That was intentional. From the outside, he looked like a wandering beggar who had somehow managed to acquire clothes far too fine for him.
In his hand, however, he carried something that did not belong in the hands of a beggar. An ancient banner.
The cloth was golden, bordered in black, and aged by centuries.
The purple characters embroidered across its center were still remarkably clear. Human Sovereign Banner. Luo He lifted it casually in his hand. Then he walked toward the city wall.
The capital was still recovering from the morning's assault. Blood stained the streets near the walls. Wounded soldiers were being carried away.
Arrows were being gathered by the thousands. Broken ladders lay scattered outside the walls, while the bodies of Wu soldiers remained in the fields beyond.
The defenders had won.
But everyone understood what that victory meant. They had lost nearly four thousand men. And the enemy had merely been testing them.
Luo He approached the nearest section of the wall. A group of exhausted guards immediately noticed him. One of them stepped forward. "Stop."
Luo He raised the ancient banner. "I need to speak with Princess Ning Luo."
The guard stared at him. Then at the banner. Then back at Luo He. "No."
Luo He blinked. "No?"
"You heard me. Leave you filthy dog." The guard said angrily.
"I have urgent business with the princess." Luo He said.
"So does half the capital." The guard said.
"I am here to help." He said.
The guard looked at Luo He's dusty clothes and laughed. "Go help someone else you worthless piece of shit."
Luo He sighed. He had expected this. In fact, he had counted on it. He lowered the banner. For a moment, he simply stared at the guard.
Then... Bang!
His fist struck the man's face. The guard staggered backward in shock. For one heartbeat, everyone froze. Then chaos erupted.
"You dare attack a city guard?!" The man was furious. "Seize him! He's an enemy spy!" He shouted.
Several guards rushed forward. Luo He made no attempt to resist. He allowed himself to be grabbed. One soldier struck him across the stomach.
Another punched his shoulder. A third kicked his leg. Luo He quickly stumbled backward, then deliberately fell to the ground. He did not retaliate. He did not even complain.
The beating continued. His clothes became covered in dust. Luo He remained completely calm. Internally, he was rather pleased. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.
Eventually one of the guards seized him by the hair. "This man attacked the guards during a siege. Take him to the princess. Let her decide whether he lives." Luo He smiled faintly.
There it was. Exactly what he wanted.
Princess Ning Luo stood upon the wall when they brought him before her.
Her golden armor no longer looked golden. It was almost entirely crimson.
Blood covered her shoulders, her sleeves, her breastplate and even portions of her face. Her long hair had become disordered during the battle.
And fatigue had settled visibly into her eyes. Yet she still stood straight. Still commanding. Still refusing to show weakness before the soldiers.
Three guards dragged Luo He forward and forced him onto his knees.
"Princess!" Ning Luo looked down.
"What is this?" She asked.
"This man attacked one of our guards and demanded to see Your Highness."
One of the guards reported.
"Who is he?" She asked.
The guard hesitated. "We don't know."
Luo He lifted his head. Dust covered his handsome face. His hair was slightly disordered. His traveling robes were deeply torn.
Yet despite everything, there was something about his features that made him unmistakably recognizable. Ning Luo stared at him. Her eyes narrowed.
Then recognition appeared.
"You are Jin He?" The guards looked at one another.
Luo He's smile immediately widened.
At once, the defeated beggar suddenly disappeared. He rose from the ground, brushed the dust from his robes and casually walked toward her.
Before anyone could react, he placed an arm around Ning Luo's shoulders. His voice became unbearably sweet. "Is this how you treat me, sister-in-law?"
Ning Luo's expression froze. "I came all this way to help you defend the capital, and the first thing that happens is that your soldiers beat me up." He mocked.
Then Luo He looked toward the guards with exaggerated disappointment. "Do you have no manners?" He asked.
Ning Luo grabbed his wrist. Then she threw his arm away. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was cold. Completely indifferent. Luo He smiled.
"My sister-in-law is rather cold." He looked her up and down. "Still, I like it."
Ning Luo's eyebrow twitched. Luo He continued shamelessly.
"Actually, you possess almost every quality I like in a woman." The nearby guards exchanged really uncomfortable glances. "You are strong. You are loyal. You can kill without hesitation."
"And most of all you have a surprisingly cute face." He raised the back of his hand toward her cheek. Ning Luo slapped it away. Smack! She brutally slapped his hand off.
Luo He laughed. The guards immediately stepped forward. "Your Highness, allow us to restrain him. Kill him if necessary."
Ning Luo lifted one hand. "Leave."
The guards hesitated. "Princess?!"
"I said leave." She said coldly. They immediately withdrew. Only the two of them remained near that section of the wall where she initially stood.
For the first time since the morning assault, Ning Luo allowed herself to exhale. "What do you want?" Luo He tilted his head.
"No, no." He smiled. "That is the wrong question." Ning Luo frowned. "It is not what I want." He pointed toward the blood-covered battlefield.
"It is what you need." The previous playful expression disappeared from his face. "I came here because the capital is going to fall if nothing changes." He declared calmly looking at her eyes.
Ning Luo's eyes hardened. "I know." She replied. "You lost five thousand soldiers today." Luo He asked. Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her sword.
"Nearly five thousand."
"The enemy lost sixteen thousand." She said proudly. "That sounds like a victory." Luo He smirked. "It was." Luo He looked beyond the walls.
"But you cannot afford another one." He said calmely. Ning Luo remained silent.
He continued. "Three hundred thousand soldiers are surrounding this city. You have barely six thousand soldiers left."
"Even if you gathered another fifty thousand civilians, they would not suddenly become soldiers." He briefly glanced toward the city.
"Three or four untrained peasants might not equal one properly trained soldier. Most of them cannot hold formation."
"They cannot properly use military weapons. They have never fought beneath a commander's banner."
"If you place them on the wall tomorrow, many will simply become corpses." Ning Luo's expression darkened. "Then what do you suggest?"
"Find me a courtyard." She stared at him.
"And gather everyone I ask for."
"Everyone?" She asked.
"Yes everyone." Luo He said.
His smile returned. "I will train them."
Ning Luo looked at him as though he had finally lost his mind.
"You intend to train an army overnight?"
"Not an army." Luo He said.
He paused.
"Something better."
She did not understand. Luo He stepped closer.
"I can give you another day or two." He said confidently.
That sentence changed the atmosphere.
Ning Luo stared at him. For the first time, her composure cracked. Only slightly.
But Luo He noticed. She turned her face away before he noticed but he did.
"I don't know how much longer I can hold it." Her voice was quieter.
"The walls almost fell. I watched four thousand people die.I sent them to the wall knowing they might never come back." She said solemnly, her fingers trembled.
Only once. Then she clenched them into a fist. "They followed me anyway." Luo He said nothing.
Ning Luo had spent the entire day as a princess, a commander and a grandmaster.
She had not been allowed to be a woman who was afraid. Not until now. "I don't know if I can protect them tomorrow." Luo He looked at her. Then he smiled gently.
"But I will try my absolute best, because you are family. " Ning Luo's eyes flickered. The words struck deeper than she had expected.
For a heartbeat, the iron wall around her expression disappeared. Then it returned. "You are shameless." She said trying to hide her weaknesses.
"You attacked my soldiers." She struck back.
"They wouldn't let me in." He complained proudly.
"You deliberately allowed them to beat you." She pushed his shoulder.
"That part was intentional." He said.
"Why?" She asked confused.
"Because otherwise they wouldn't have brought me to you." He replied calmly.
Ning Luo stared at him. Then she finally understood. This entire ridiculous performance, the beggar's clothes, the attack, the beating, the arrest it had all been deliberate.