The silence that followed was suffocating.
Hundreds of masked soldiers knelt in eerie unison, their armor catching the firelight like a field of dark scales. Behind Jeng Minh, Zhou Chen's own troops watched with a mixture of awe and fear—no one dared breathe too loudly.
General Feng broke the stillness first.
"My lord," he whispered, close to Jeng Minh's ear, "if you step toward them, my men will fight to retrieve you even if it kills us all."
Jeng Minh didn't turn. He couldn't.His heart hammered against his ribs as the masked leader stood tall once more.
"You have questions," the man said. "We have answers. But only when you come with us."
Jeng Minh forced his voice not to tremble. "And if I refuse?"
The man tilted his head slightly—an oddly graceful gesture.
"Then destiny will take its course. Tonight was the first test. Many more will follow. Whether you walk willingly or resist… we will still meet again."
Cryptic. Of course.
But Jeng Minh focused on something else—the way the masked man kept calling him "you" rather than "Lord Zhou." The way he didn't speak like a subordinate. The way he asserted inevitability like a force of nature, not a negotiator.
And the way Zhou Chen's soldiers around him were gripping their weapons, ready to clash with this strange legion at the slightest command.
A battle now would be catastrophic.
So he took a steadying breath.
"What is your name?" Jeng Minh asked.
The masked leader paused. "A name has no weight unless the listener is ready to bear it."
Fantastic. Another riddle.
But the man continued, almost gently.
"You may call me… Bai Ye."
General Feng scoffed, stepping forward protectively. "You want our lord to walk off into the night with a man whose name is probably false?"
Bai Ye's hidden eyes seemed to glitter behind the bone-white mask."General. If I meant your lord harm, he would never have awakened in that body."
Jeng Minh stiffened.
He knows about the transmigration. Too much. Way too much.
But Bai Ye didn't elaborate. Instead, he turned away, raising a hand. His legion rose in a synchronized ripple of motion—silent and terrifying.
"We will return when the moon wanes thrice," Bai Ye said. "Prepare yourself, Iron Wolf's Vessel."
He began walking back toward the forest, masked warriors following like shadows.
But just before disappearing into the trees, Bai Ye glanced over his shoulder.
"And remember—what revived you will also seek you."
Then they were gone, swallowed by the darkness.
Only when the last of their footsteps faded did Zhou Chen's troops exhale collectively.
General Feng turned sharply to Jeng Minh.
"My lord… what did he mean? Revived? Vessel?" His eyes narrowed with suspicion, but there was something else beneath it—fear of losing the man he served.
Jeng Minh opened his mouth, closed it, then forced steadiness into his voice.
"Feng Yao… I will explain when I understand it myself."
Feng looked torn but nodded slowly. "Then allow me to speak plainly. Your command tonight, your clarity… and now this." He gestured to the smoking battlefield where masked warriors once knelt. "You are not acting like the Zhou Chen I've followed for years."
The surrounding officers stiffened.
Jeng Minh felt sweat bead on his palms.
He could lie.He could invent a story about divine visions, about near-death clarity, about strategy born from desperation.
But Feng Yao had been with Zhou Chen for nearly a decade. Any falsehood would crumble under scrutiny.
So instead, he said something very close to the truth.
"Earlier today, I nearly died."
He let the weight of that sink in.
"And when I awoke… something was different. My memories, my instincts, my judgment. They're sharper. Clearer. As if I've seen the end of this path and been given another chance."
The soldiers exchanged glances. Feng's expression softened by a fraction.
"You speak as if Heaven touched you."
In this world, that explanation wasn't impossible.
"It gave me new eyes," Jeng Minh said quietly. "New purpose."
Feng bowed his head. "Then I will trust this 'new' you—as long as you remain the man who protects his people."
Relief washed through Jeng Minh.
But the moment was cut short by another soldier rushing up, breathless.
"My lord! We've taken prisoners from the ambush group. They request to speak with you."
Jeng Minh frowned. "Why?"
The soldier gulped. "They say… they did not come by order of their clan."
Feng bristled. "Then who sent them?"
The soldier hesitated.
"They claim they were hired by someone… wearing a bone-white mask."
Jeng Minh's stomach dropped.
Bai Ye orchestrated the ambush… that was supposed to kill Zhou Chen?
But why save him afterward?
Why kneel?
Why call him a vessel?
Feng touched his sword hilt. "My lord… this is no longer a simple battlefield."
Jeng Minh nodded slowly.
"No. This is the start of something much bigger."
He looked toward the forest where Bai Ye vanished.
"Three moons," he murmured. "I have three moons to figure out what I've inherited… before destiny comes to collect."
And behind him, the flames crackled like distant laughter—as if the world itself knewthat the real warhad only just begun.