The Devil's Peaks had claimed countless lives in its centuries-long existence, their bodies left for the vultures until their bones crumbled to dust, leaving behind nothing but the echoes of lost souls that would mourn with the desert winds. Tonight, those ghosts seemed to rise with the growing fog, their cold, spindly fingers grasping for the warmth of the living.

Zhenghuan had never been one to believe in the occult, but there was something unnatural about their current circumstances that planted seeds of doubt in his mind.

The two dozen or so men who were with him had all been roused from their sleep, each one brandishing their sword or spear, anxiously watching their surroundings for whatever threat might appear.

Then they appeared.

Yellowish orbs floating in the darkness, shifting through the thick layer of mist. They were eyes—at least ten pairs, maybe more—staring at them with a menacing gleam.

"Wolves!" someone shouted, voice trembling with fear.

Zhenghuan frowned. There were plenty of wolf packs wandering the Luya desert, but they typically did not cross the Devil's Peaks. Was it only an unfortunate coincidence? Or was there something more sinister at play? He couldn't help but think back to the Xifeng shaman symbols that they had discovered in the valley earlier, and wonder whether they had anything to do with the wolf pack's appearance.

"Hold your positions," Yongxing ordered. "Don't make any sudden movements." He stretched over and picked up a torch, lighting it up in the bonfire. Then, he threw it towards one of the wolves.

Wolves were supposed to fear fire, so hopefully that would help scare the pack away.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

A strong gust of wind suddenly swept through the valley, extinguishing all the fires that had been lit at the makeshift camp. Darkness set in, intensifying the feral glow from the wolves' eyes.

"Ah!"

The first wolf leapt through the air, its claws slashing towards a hapless soldier. Shocked by the sudden attack, the man backed away and tripped on a loose rock, falling backwards onto the ground. His fellow soldiers immediately sprung into action, swinging their weapons at the wolf to force him away from their comrade.

Chaos ensued, as the other wolves began to go on the offensive. The soldiers of the Nanmen camp were all well-trained, but the strength and unpredictability of these wild animals made it difficult for them to gain the upper hand. Zhenghuan stabbed his blade through the neck of one beast, then moved to help Mingshen shake another off his back. Through it all, he kept a watchful eye upon Yongxing, impressed by how the other man was giving orders to his men in a calm and composed manner, even as the wolf pack continued to bear down upon them.

Between them, they only managed to cut down two wolves, and gradually the strength of the men began to fade. Already there were several soldiers suffering from large gashes to their arms and backs. If they didn't find a way to either chase the wolves away or to escape from this place, then they were doomed to lose.

Just then, a melody of an ocarina floated through the air, cutting through the fog like an arrow. It did not sound like the music of Duan, but more like a folk song from the southern tribes.

The wolves seemed to hesitate, looking around for the source of the music. They slowly backed away, then turned and fled into the mountains, almost as if they were deathly afraid of what they were hearing.

The soldiers exchanged confused glances with one another, stunned by how their luck had suddenly turned around. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief, collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion.

Zhenghuan remained alert. Narrowing his eyes, he surveyed the darkness carefully. The tune of the ocarina had stopped once the wolves retreated, but the person who had been playing it must still be nearby. He was not about to let his guard down when he didn't yet know whether it was friend or foe.

A slight shadow appeared through the fog, walking towards the camp.

Zhenghuan's fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.

"Ling-er?" Yongxing called out in surprise.

Yuchi Ling-er? What's she doing here?

It was none other than the girl from the southern tribes that he had seen at the teahouse the other day, the girl that Han Yongxing was obviously besotted with. Judging from the brown ocarina she was holding in one hand, the person who had lured the wolves away with the melody had been her. A girl wandering the Devil's Peaks alone at this hour was highly suspicious indeed.

Yongxing immediately moved towards the girl, but Zhenghuan reached out and held him back.

The Shadow Lord stepped forward instead, still with one hand ready upon his hilt.

"You were the one who lured the wolves away?" he asked.

Yuchi Ling-er tipped her chin upwards in an almost disdainful manner. "No 'thank you'? Maybe I should have let the wolves rip you apart then," she said.

"Of course we're thankful!" Yongxing exclaimed. "We—"

"How did you do it? And what are you doing all the way out here on your own?" Zhenghuan interrupted. He almost wanted to clobber Yongxing over the head. For a captain of a battalion, to be letting his guard down just because it was a girl he fancied was far too reckless. To think that a few moments ago he had been impressed with Yongxing's performance in the face of danger.

Ling-er did not seem the slightest bit perturbed by Zhenghuan's stern tone. Shrugging, she said, "My tribe has always had the ability to communicate with animals to some extent." She reached around her shoulder and took down the straw basket she had been carrying on her back. "I was gathering blood tears in the valley. They only bloom at night. One liang of these petals are worth an entire silver tael—which is very good money."

Inside her basket was a small quantity of tiny red flowers—what the locals called blood tears, because of the petals that were shaped like teardrops and stained the same colour as blood. These flowers had incredible medicinal properties and was used to produce a popular numbing paste that many of the tribe folk used to ease the pain of various injuries.

Zhenghuan didn't believe in such coincidences, but it was impossible to prove her intentions at this point. If she did have a hidden agenda, then maybe it was better to keep her where they could see her.

"Thank you," he conceded, "for helping to chase the wolves away. If you don't mind, you're welcome to stay here for the night. We can set up a separate tent for you."

Ling-er shook her head, the beads of her headdress creating a soothing sound of rain as she did so. "No need for that. I've hardly gathered enough flowers and I've already wasted enough time on the bunch of you as it is." Waving dismissively, she turned and headed back the way she came.

Yongxing immediately reached out to grab hold of her wrist. "Ling-er, you can't go out there on your own, especially not when the fog is this bad," he said.

Pathetic, Zhenghuan thought, rolling his eyes. The girl completely had Yongxing wrapped around her little finger.

Ling-er shrugged herself free of Yongxing's grasp, scowling in annoyance. "Han Yongxing, I've already said it many times. Leave me alone!" She fished a dagger out from her waistband, pointing it at him. "Do you want me to stab you again?"

"I'm only concerned about your safety..." Yongxing replied, with a miserable grimace that made him appear like a wounded animal.

Does he not even care that he's behaving in this embarrassing manner in front of his men? Zhenghuan shook his head. If Yongxing were not Zi-ning's older brother, he would have given the man a good scolding already.

Yuchi Ling-er huffed and stalked away, disappearing into the fog from whence she came.

While the men regrouped and helped one another tend to their injuries, Zhenghuan pulled Mingshen to a side.

"I want you to tighten the surveillance on Yuchi Ling-er. Her appearance tonight is far too coincidental, and when it's too much of a coincidence, it's probably not. She has something to do with tonight's attack, and I want to know exactly how she's involved and who's behind her."

Mingshen nodded solemnly, evidently agreeing with Zhenghuan's analysis. "Should we warn Han Yongxing about this?" he asked.

"No," Zhenghuan replied. "He won't want to believe it, so there's no need to complicate things." For Yongxing's sake, he hoped that his suspicions would turn out wrong.

#

Zi-ning was up and about before dawn broke the next morning, having been unable to sleep the entire night because she was beyond herself with worry. Ever since Zhenghuan left the manor, she had not heard any word about the situation at the Nanmen camp, and her mind kept surfacing those terrible memories from her past life, when she had witnessed Yongxing dying in front of her.

The same question kept cycling inside her mind: What if I can't change fate?

Her head was throbbing from the lack of sleep, but she knew that she would be unable to rest until she received news.

The rest of the Du household was only just beginning to stir, with the servants emerging to begin with their chores. Pulling a shawl around her shoulders to keep out the early morning chill, Zi-ning left the manor to take a stroll about town, hoping that the bustle of the marketplace might help to take her mind off things. She eventually settled down at a congee stall for a piping hot bowl of chicken congee, enticed by the delectable fragrance wafting through the air. She had barely gotten halfway through her breakfast when the excited chatter from a group of men at the next table caught her attention.

Judging from the thick swathes of brightly coloured robes draped across their bodies, they looked like travelers from the southern tribes. After ordering bowls of congee and a few plates of dumplings, they began an eager exchange about something they had seen while entering the city not long ago.

"—absolutely horrific. Never seen so much blood in my entire life," one of the men remarked with a shudder. "Do you think there are many dead?"

"I counted at least ten bodies piled in that cart," another replied, before saying a prayer in one of the tribal dialects. "I asked the sentry guard at the city gates earlier and he said that it was an ambush on one of the Duan border army's training exercises. Has to be the work of the Eagle Warrior."

"The Eagle Warrior can't really be planning to launch an attack on Duan already, right?"

"Who knows? The recruitment of soldiers has been ramped up recently, so it might well be true. Anyway, best not gossip about all this, in case it reaches his ears. The Eagle Warrior doesn't take lightly to people speculating about his plans."

An ambush?

Zi-ning dropped the spoon into her bowl and turned towards the next table. "Excuse me, did you say there was an ambush on the Duan border army? What exactly did you see?" she asked.

The men looked startled by the sudden interruption, then one of them said, "We saw a convoy of soldiers rushing back to the Nanmen camp. They were dragging a whole wagon of deceased, and then there were dozens more who were being carted along with various injuries." He shook his head. "Bless their souls."

Zi-ning's heart almost stopped.

"How long ago was this? Where did you see them?"

"About an hour maybe? They were leaving the Jinsha Pass of the Devil's Peaks, which is south-east of the city. I reckon they'll have arrived back at the Nanmen camp by now though."

Zi-ning immediately sprung to her feet. Her fingers instinctively reached for the blue silk pouch hanging from her waistband, where the River Immortal's huanhun dan was safely kept. Now, she could only pray that she would be in time to save Yongxing's life with it.

"Miss, where are you going? If you're heading for the Nanmen camp, there is a shortcut that could save you some time."

"A shortcut?"

"If you take the main road, it will lead you the long way around because it was built to avoid crossing the Harun dunes. If you cut directly across the dunes in the south-west direction though, you'll be able to reach the camp in half the time."

Zi-ning frowned, wondering whether or not the advice could be trusted. If it was that much faster to cut across the dunes, then why would the Duan military not have built the road in that direction?

Sensing her hesitation, the man who had provided the directions added, "We don't build roads across the dunes because the shifting sands will end up covering them anyway, so it's a huge waste of resources. Us tribe folk always take the dune path though, because we know our way around these lands. If you don't believe me, head down that way and take a look for yourself. There are always plenty of travelers from the tribes crossing the dunes. They'll be able to give you more specific directions."

"Thank you," Zi-ning replied, bowing to convey her gratitude. Then, she rushed off in search of a horse that would be able to help her make the journey.

#

After Zi-ning had left, Li Enling walked up to the congee stall, wearing a black cloak with a large hood that cast a shadow over most of her face. She dropped a large cloth pouch filled with silver taels onto the table where the group of men were seated.

"Here's your payment," she said.

The men picked up the pouch and murmured their thanks, then they quickly left to split their reward amongst themselves.

A smug smile curled upon Enling's lips as she recalled how anxious Zi-ning had been when she had dashed away on her futile mission across the Harun dunes. The memory of how gentle Zhenghuan had been when he spoke to Zi-ning, and how he had placed his hand upon the latter's shoulder before he left, made her writhe with jealousy. How dare she appear out of nowhere and command all of Cousin Zhenghuan's attention like that? And who was she to make Zhenghuan rush to her brother's rescue, when that no-good brother of hers was merely a small captain in the border army?

Han Zi-ning, good riddance to you. You deserve what's waiting for you. 

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Author's note: Hi everyone! Thanks for still being here! I just wanted to say that I appreciate all of you very much :) Also, ICYMI, we recently did the cover reveal for my upcoming debut YA novel Of Jade and Dragons - and you can check it out on Goodreads!