Perspective: Zhuge Su Lan
My older brother walked with all the elegance an emperor ought to possess as he approached the palace gates.The sound of his steps on the jade floor was steady, firm, almost solemn — as if each one was a silent declaration of power.
The four generals, who until that moment had held perfect formation before the gates, stepped aside.No words were spoken; they simply moved with the precision of a military mechanism.Their spears rose in unison, and the defensive Qi lines dissolved, opening a path for him to pass through.
Bai Xuan Hua, who had accompanied him thus far, stopped beside the generals.She didn't cross the boundary.It was as if she knew that, from this point on, the stage no longer belonged to her — but to him.
And so my brother became what he was slowly growing accustomed to being.What, apparently, our father had been training him to be since the beginning.
The center of all attention.
A single man, standing before an entire clan.
The snow began to fall harder at that moment, swirling in small storms around the gate, as if even the wind wanted to find a place to watch the spectacle.Zhuge Su Yeon lifted his chin and looked directly at the leader of the Shu Clan — Lord Shu Lin — who stared back at him wearing that insolent smile only men overly confident in their own destiny could muster.
"Lord Shu Lin," he began, his voice cold and clear, cutting through the air like a blade of jade. "This emperor received a rather… disturbing letter from your lordship."
With a small motion, he withdrew a scroll from the inner pocket of his robe and unfurled it.The Shu Clan seal gleamed under the pale morning light.
"I have a few questions about it."
His calm was almost provocative.With each word, the sound seemed to slow the world itself — even the wind quieted.
Yeon opened the scroll slowly, his eyes gliding over the lines with the serenity of someone reading a shopping list, not a political threat.
"I see here," he continued, "that Lord Shu Lin has declared the power vacuum caused by the disappearance of my imperial father to be a source of instability for the realm.Due to this, Lord Shu Lin wishes to intervene — for the sake of the people — to stabilize the empire."
He lifted his gaze from the parchment, and the silence that followed was absolute.Even the wind seemed to hesitate.
"I would like to ask what, exactly, your lordship wished to convey to this emperor with those words."
When he finished, his tone was still the same — smooth, but sharp as ice.Nothing in his expression suggested hostility, and for that very reason, everyone present knew: danger began here.
Shu Lin, in turn, looked caught off guard.For a moment, the man blinked, confused — as if wondering whether Yeon truly couldn't read between the lines.Whether he truly didn't understand that the letter was nothing more than a veiled declaration of war.
But the confusion didn't last.
The Shu leader straightened his posture, puffed out his chest like a peacock, and his eyes gleamed with arrogance.His loud, theatrical voice boomed across the courtyard:
"Of course, Your Majesty has misunderstood my intentions! What I meant is simple: only the powerful can protect the people from external threats.And in the absence of your father, the title of strongest inevitably falls upon this humble lord!"
Around him, the Shu cultivators began shouting in unison, their laughter and cheers swelling into a chorus of crude bravado.
It was a pitiful spectacle — a crowd of men intoxicated by the sound of their own voices.
The generals did not move, but I could feel their Qi stirring — subtle, dangerous, like beasts ready to tear arrogance apart.Bai Xuan Hua watched in silence, her eyes fixed on Yeon, as if trying to predict his next move.
And then, my brother's face changed.
Just slightly — a faint lift of his brow, the ghost of a smile forming at the corner of his lips.But knowing him as I do, that was all I needed to recognize the decision forming behind his eyes.
"Ah… I see now."
His voice, once neutral, took on a tone almost amused."So I presume Lord Shu Lin believes himself stronger than this emperor — and for that reason, came knocking at my gates so early this morning."
The man before the army lifted his chin with a satisfied smile."Naturally."
The word echoed amid another round of laughter and shouts from the Shu ranks.The sound was deafening — full of arrogance and disdain.
But Yeon was unfazed.
"Unfortunately," he continued, "the situation is a little more complicated than that, Lord Shu."
"For a simple reason."
He smiled — that calm, polished smile inherited from our father.The kind of smile that made the air grow lighter and more dangerous at once.
"This emperor also believes himself to be the strongest in this entire empire."
The laughter faltered for a moment, replaced by stunned silence.Men of the Shu Clan exchanged glances, unsure.Some forced laughter to mask their unease.Others began hurling insults and provocations — all predictable, all meaningless.
Yeon, however, just kept smiling.The same smile I had seen since childhood — the smile that always preceded something unstoppable.
"But fortunately," he said, "this is a simple matter to resolve, Lord Shu."
The air seemed to vibrate.The generals exchanged tense looks.Even Bai Xuan Hua stepped forward slightly, as if trying to discern whether he truly intended to go that far.
Yeon tilted his head just a little, his tone light, almost friendly.
"Let's simply fight."
The reaction was immediate.A murmur rippled through the Shu ranks, and even the wind seemed to hesitate between shock and disbelief.
"This emperor, in fact," he added, "will grant you three attacks' worth of advantage.That way, you won't be able to accuse him of being merciless afterward."
The smile widened.Dangerous. Beautiful. Unbearably confident.
He looked as if he were at a banquet, not standing before a mortal confrontation.And from where I stood above, I realized — with a mix of admiration and exasperation — that my brother had finally inherited not only our father's throne, but also his greatest and most fascinating flaw:
The habit of turning every battlefield into a stage.