Sorrow In Autumn

Chapter 12. Conflict At The Cliffs

Xiao Guo's body seemed to shiver and the river, the mist...everything vanished around them. Before Shen Wei could call for Kunlun, truly register the loss of his Yunlan again, the scene around him changed.

Blinking, Shen Wei squinted in the sudden light. They were out of the cave, in the afternoon sun he realized. Mountain cliffs towered above them, the ground nothing but dust. Spartan trees grew at the base of the grey rock and Shen Wei tried to look around as Xiao Guo, but the boy didn't turn his head.

His eyes were fixed on the line of Dixingian soldiers gathering at the opening in the cliffs, that led out into barren fields. Where they were, Shen Wei couldn't place and he could only presume that this was a part of the journey back from the meeting with the snake demon.

That the king of Shangbei would undertake a journey like this, in the middle of the conflict was surprising, madness. At this juncture, they were looking at the end of the war. The Alliance had pushed Southern Haixing finally to the brink of defeat. Kunlun was here, not that far from the meeting place where their forces would combine, using the Gates and take the fight to the Hanga lands. The last frontier between them and peace.

He knew this, due to the time frame. This was only days away from Kunlun going missing. From the peace anniversary they all celebrated.

The Shen Wei of this era was miles to the south, leading Yashou and Dixing forces in a battle against General Wu. Ma Gui and his forces were on the sea front, using wind and sail against the South's more advanced ships. It was a split but highly successful plan, boxing Haixing in, where they were vulnerable.

Shen Wei fought for days on that battlefield winning a bloody victory in end, on the hilltop overlooking the plains. When it was over, he did not rest. Could not, fearing for Kunlun's life. He took the remaining army and moved back, which was not part of the plan.

Through Xiao Guo's memories he was learning more about the weight Kunlun carried for the days before Shen Wei had returned for the battle in the old Hanga lands, than he had thought possible. Most of the people who could have told him were either dead or like him kept in the darkness of ignorance.

He felt a desperate pain in his chest at the thought. His righteous hero had paid a price never meant for him. Oh Yunlan.

In bringing the war to an end, Kunlun had without choice stepped into a trap. He was forced to divert half of his army led by Zhu Hong to the oncoming attack that would come behind them and kept his own eyes squarely on the Crown Prince.

Zhao Yunlan had wounded him but Shen Wei took his head in Kunlun's defense. His death ensured that the Crown Prince's plan would fail, but Kunlun rightfully feared what the madman had put into place. Dixing was under attack, Shen Wei was too far away and Kunlun was trying to spread the word...but it was too late.

Shen Wei didn't blame Zhao Yunlan. He could see the toll this was taking, the chaotic pattern Kunlun was trying to weave while trying harder still to keep everyone alive. He had warned them.

When it was over... when his mother was dead and his lover was missing... When his brother was lying so still and in so much pain, he had learned the truth. Kunlun had sent word that they were under attack. Kunlun had warned them that Dixingian rebels working for Southern Haixing had infiltrated the Palace. He begged them to move the Empress and Emperor out of the way. He told them how they would attack. Kunlun had tried everything he could to warn Shen Wei and the Palace in Dixing.

Shen Wei never received the message. Perhaps the courier had died on the road, perhaps all the ways Kunlun had tried had failed to reach him, before he returned to Kunlun's side. After that, Shen Wei was wounded, barely conscious. But the Palace? They ignored him and carnage raged. No, he would not blame Zhao Yunlan. His love had tried and in trying had turned his back at the worst possible moment.