Shadow Love (Yu Jin Chang An)

The next morning, at the break of dawn, a soldier came to report to Li Shuang that Chang Wanshan had awakened and requested an audience with her.

Li Shuang had not slept all night, holding the paper stained with Chang Wanshan's black blood and staring at it for a long time. Though the paper bore only a few words, it was as if she could glimpse through this rare piece of information the mysterious man who had been taken away, now thousands of miles distant. She could almost see his crimson eyes from that hasty farewell...

She was startled to realize she actually missed him a little...

Upon hearing of Chang Wanshan's request, Li Shuang immediately rose and went to the personal guard camp.

As she arrived, everyone in the camp saluted her. Chang Wanshan attempted to rise from his bed, but Li Shuang pressed a hand on his shoulder, saying, "No need for formalities."

Chang Wanshan wasted no time on pleasantries and got straight to the point: "General, the mysterious man you seek is at the Wuling Gate in South Chang Mountain."

Li Shuang nodded. "I've read the note. Tell me everything that happened in detail."

Chang Wanshan's expression darkened as he clutched his chest, his composed demeanor tinged with lingering fear:

"Three months ago, I followed the trail of that group southward, sending messages back to Lucheng along the way. When I reached South Chang Mountain, I intended to scout the area and send word back. But unbeknownst to me, the leader of the Wuling Gate, Wu Yin, had seen through my tracks the entire time. Not a single letter I sent made it out. In the end, I was captured by Wu Yin himself..."

Chang Wanshan's fingers trembled slightly as he held his chest. "I am ashamed to admit that Wu Yin's martial skills and agility were far beyond my reach. After my defeat, instead of executing me, he imprisoned me in the dungeons beneath South Chang Mountain... alongside that mysterious armored man."

Li Shuang was taken aback. "Why were you imprisoned with him? How... how is he?"

In truth, Li Shuang was burning with impatience to ask for more details about that man. But in front of the weakened Chang Wanshan, showing too much emotion would be unbecoming of a general. So she suppressed her feelings and waited quietly for his response.

"In the dark dungeon, the light was too faint to see clearly. During the day, the dungeon was eerily silent. I only remember that every night, someone would come with a torch. The mysterious man was chained to the wall by his neck, limbs spread wide. They would cut into his chest every day. I didn't understand what they were doing, but in the first few days, the mysterious man would occasionally regain enough clarity to ask me about you..."

He asked about her?

Li Shuang's heart skipped a beat.

He still remembered her.

"...Later, he seemed to lose his mind, howling and growling like a beast in the dungeon day and night. Sometimes silent, sometimes roaring—it was terrifying."

Li Shuang frowned slightly, a dull ache throbbing in her chest.

"Eventually, Wu Yin came to the dungeon. After observing the man for several days, he used many methods I couldn't comprehend—draining his blood, tormenting him in various ways. But this only made the man more violent. He broke iron chains as thick as arms multiple times. I could tell he desperately wanted to escape that dungeon, to flee with all his might."For some reason, as Chang Wanshan spoke of that man, Li Shuang could almost see him in her mind—his struggles and cries in the darkness, the way he gritted his teeth to endure the bone-piercing agony.

Chang Wanshan hadn’t described it in such detail, yet in that moment, Li Shuang felt as though she could truly empathize.

She closed her eyes slightly, her thoughts drifting back to that day in Lucheng, amidst the fireworks and the lively streets, to the warmth of that mysterious man in the secluded alley, the clarity and tenderness in his gaze…

The way he had treated her was gentler than a spring breeze.

"As time passed, there was no sign of improvement in that man. Instead, he grew increasingly frenzied day by day. Eventually, Wu Yin seemed at a loss. He casually ordered my disposal, saying there was no further use in keeping me. I still remember him saying, 'The Jade Silkworm can no longer adapt to another host.'"

Li Shuang’s expression darkened.

The Jade Silkworm… This wasn’t the first time she had heard of it.

Chang Wanshan pointed to his chest. "They dragged me out of the dungeon, cut open my chest, and said they would feed me to the gu. I may not be much, but before enlisting, I had spent some time wandering the martial world and knew a thing or two about the dangers of gu sorcery. So before entering the Southern Chang Mountains, I had prepared some antidotes. That delayed the gu’s effects, and I seized the chance to escape when the disciples of the Five Spirits Sect weren’t paying attention."

The others stared uneasily at the wound on Chang Wanshan’s chest.

These burly men, fearless in battle, still found the mysterious southern gu sorcery horrifying—the mere thought of worms burrowing inside their bodies sent chills down their spines.

Chang Wanshan continued, "After leaving the Southern Chang Mountains, my loyal steed, Black Wind, had waited for me for two months. Black Wind knew the way and brought me back to the northern frontier. I thought I was surely going to die, so I wrote down all I knew. Never did I expect… that the General could still save this worthless life of mine. I truly—"

His voice grew emotional, and he tried to rise again, but Li Shuang firmly pressed him back down.

"This journey south wasn’t for the kingdom—it was a private mission under my orders. You risked your life for my sake. I should be thanking you. That I could save you is my good fortune. How could I let you thank me?"

"General, you mustn’t say such things! That mysterious black-armored man has aided our Great Jin multiple times. He is a great benefactor to Lucheng and our Changfeng Battalion. And then he protected you at the General’s residence. Whether for duty or personal reasons, I had to go and save him! I only regret my lack of skill, failing to fulfill my task—"

"Enough," Li Shuang interrupted his agitated words. She knew her personal guards well—each one was a loyal, upright, and steadfast man. The deeds of that black-armored man were etched in her heart, just as they were in theirs. They never forgot a debt of gratitude.

Chang Wanshan had risked everything to save that mysterious man, and he could swear it was out of loyalty and righteousness, to repay kindness.

But Li Shuang… what she thought of was only that man’s crimson eyes, staring straight at her—intense, tender, or filled with deep emotion.

All she wanted… was to see that gaze fixed upon her once more.Li Shuang lowered her gaze to compose herself, taking a deep breath before looking up again, her expression now calm and unreadable. She said to Chang Wanshan, "Rest well. I will handle what comes next."

Seeing the usual determination in Li Shuang's eyes, Chang Wanshan finally relaxed and lay back on the bed. "Yes."

After instructing the military physician to take good care of Chang Wanshan, Li Shuang turned and left the guards' camp. At that moment, Qin Lan was at the camp entrance, preparing to depart with his subordinates.

Before Qin Lan could even salute her, Li Shuang strode over and asked, "Are all your things ready?"

Qin Lan was taken aback. "Yes."

"Give them to me. Go back and change your clothes. You're staying at the camp."

Qin Lan stared at her as if he couldn't quite grasp her meaning. "General?"

"I will return to the capital myself," Li Shuang declared, grabbing a cloak from a nearby soldier and draping it over her shoulders. She pulled on thick riding gloves, walked past Qin Lan, took hold of the horse's reins, and effortlessly mounted the saddle with a light step into the stirrup.

Her tone and demeanor were as casual as if she were merely going for a routine patrol outside the camp.

But just yesterday, her attitude had been different—she clearly knew what returning to the capital and facing Sima Yang might entail for her.

Qin Lan's gaze remained fixed on Li Shuang atop the horse. Spring came late in the northern frontier, and the wind still carried the desolation of winter, lifting the slightly dry strands of her hair and the edges of her cloak. "General, what do you mean by this?"

"There's someone I want to save, and I may need His Majesty's help."

Qin Lan fell silent for a moment. "General, do you realize that going to the capital means you'll no longer just be dealing with the Western Rong invasion?"

There would also be the shackles of imperial favor, the collusion of court interests, and all the hidden, dark, unspoken hysteria seeping from the bones of every person involved.

"I know," Li Shuang replied firmly and decisively. "But there's someone I want to save, even if it means risking everything."

At this moment, Qin Lan found himself uncharacteristically dazed, his mind almost blank.

From the past until now, he had practically watched Li Shuang grow up. He was well aware that the divide of their status was an insurmountable chasm between them, and he would forever remain as he was now—standing below, looking up at her from afar.

Yet Qin Lan had never felt that Li Shuang was distant from him. In his eyes, she had always been the legendary woman who devoted herself tirelessly to the General's Manor and to the Great Jin. But now, today, at this very moment, he felt an unprecedented sense of her remoteness.

The look in her eyes had begun to change, becoming almost unfamiliar to him.

Before, Qin Lan had never thought Li Shuang belonged to anyone—not even to the Crown Prince.

But now, he felt as though Li Shuang... was being taken away.

And the tragedy of it was that in such a moment, he couldn't utter a single word to stop her. He knew Li Shuang too well—he understood every expression and secret of hers. He knew how resolute her decision was at this moment.

She said she wanted to save that one person, even if it meant risking everything.

In the past, her rescues had always been principled, even selective. She saved the people of Lucheng because they were subjects of the Great Jin. She saved Sima Yang because he was the Crown Prince.

But now, she wanted to save that black-armored man.

Her eyes told Qin Lan as much.

She wanted to save him—not for the country, not for her family, not for any gain—but for the sake of her own restless heart.She wanted to save him, to let him live, to see him safe and sound. She longed to gaze once more into his clear, pure eyes, to feel his gentle stare meet hers.

With all her might, without hesitation, she wished to rescue someone—simply, purely, because...

Her heart had already turned toward him.