Chapter 12 — The Prophet Awakens: Shedding the Worthless Shell

Ten days after the challenge announcement ceremony, another messenger from Nam Xuyên appeared again at Nguyệt Trạch, this time not carrying a lavish gift, but carrying a proposal wrapped in a disguise of fake goodwill.

"Your Highness," the messenger bowed, his voice calm, "Our Count has always wanted to avoid the war and needless bloodshed between the two neighboring lands. You have a proposal, I hope you will consider it thoroughly before the official challenge takes place."

"Say it." Tuyết Doanh sat up straight, her eyes coldly observing.

"If the Queen agrees to cede the right to exploit the three largest mineral mines in the southern border region, along with the right to control the trade route connecting Bắcương with the eastern sea for a period of twenty years, our Count is ready to withdraw the challenge, as if everything never happened." The messenger spoke, his voice still peaceful as if he was proposing a normal business deal.

Tuyết Doanh laughed coldly, a laugh without any joy. "Ước Liêm Phong is indeed clever. Withdrawing his challenge to exchange for Northern Cuong's most important resource in twenty years - is like asking me to voluntarily surrender this entire land to him without having to fight a single battle."

“Your Majesty misunderstood, this is just a mutually beneficial cooperation proposal—”

"That's enough." She stood up, her sharp voice cutting through. "Tell Ước Liêm Phong, Bắcương is not an item to bargain with. If he wants the resources of this land, he must prove that he is worthy of having it at Đại Thí Trường, with his own ability and honor, not with threats disguised as goodwill."

The messenger bowed his head and retreated, but his eyes flashed with a smug look that Tuyết Doanh couldn't help but notice. Perhaps, making this proposal was not really intended to reach an agreement, but only to gauge her reaction, or worse, to sow more doubts in the hearts of the already wavering patriarchs, when news of the rejected "peace" proposal spread in a way that favored Nam Xuyên.

***

After the messenger left, Tuyết Doanh summoned Bạch Vũ, deciding it was time to take more concrete action to prepare for the worst situation.

"Bạch Vũ, I need you to quietly go to Thanh Lang Bộ and Tây Hải Bộ's trading post, confirm their commitment to support, and discuss in detail a coordination plan if Ước Liêm Phong decides to use force instead of just stopping at the showdown at Đại Thí Trường," she said, her voice serious. "I'm worried that, even if the duel takes place according to ancient rules, Ước Liêm Phong could still pull some nefarious trick if he sees that he's about to lose."

"My lord, it's not too much to worry too much." Bạch Vũ nodded. "My subordinates will leave tonight, make sure no one notices this trip."

"Be careful. If it is revealed that I am secretly preparing troops, Ước Liêm Phong can take advantage of that to accuse me of violating the armistice regulations while waiting for the challenge, turning me from the victim into the aggressor." Tuyết Doanh gave careful instructions.

"I understand." Bạch Vũ bowed his head, then quietly left Nguyệt Trạch that night, disguising himself as a medicinal herb merchant to avoid the attention of anyone watching.

Three days later, in Thanh Lang Bộ valley, Bạch Vũ met Lăng Chiêu Dương again and explained the situation in detail.

"Ước Liêm Phong has officially challenged him to a duel, and there are signs that he doesn't just stop at using ancient laws to fight for justice," Bạch Vũ said. "The Queen is worried that he may prepare troops to attack directly if he sees an unfavorable situation at Đại Thí Trường." Chiêu Dương nodded, his eyes serious. "I heard about the challenge. Tell Tuyết Doanh, Thanh Lang Bộ is always ready, five hundred warriors have been secretly trained by me, always on duty since the day you left last time. With just a signal, we will be there within a day and a night." At the west coast trading station, Kha Vấn Thu also confirmed the same commitment on behalf of the Tây Hải Bộ patriarch. "Our fleet has been ordered to always be ready to depart, and can approach the Nam Xuyên coast within three days of receiving the signal."

When Bạch Vũ returned to Nguyệt Trạch to report, Tuyết Doanh felt somewhat relieved, but still could not completely feel secure. She knew that, despite the support from allied tribes, the core problem still lay in the preliminary round at Đại Thí Trường - where Vọng Thần would have to directly face Hàn Bạo without any army that could stand up for him.

***

That night, Vọng Thần decided it was time to find Vân Khinh Nhược. He left Nguyệt Trạch in the dark, walking towards the small cottage at the edge of the jungle, where the old woman was still waiting with her lamp turned on as if she knew he would come.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time." She opened the door, her gentle but sharp eyes looked at him. "Come inside, I'll make tea."

Vọng Thần walked in and sat down opposite the old woman. He still hesitated before speaking. "Old lady... you know who I am, right?"

Vân Khinh Nhược did not answer immediately, just poured tea and pushed the cup towards him. "I know you carry the mark of Thien Co Pavilion. I was also a part of that place, even though I was just the youngest disciple, luckily not present that fateful night." She sighed, her eyes distant and nostalgic. "For more than a hundred years, I thought I was the last survivor. Unexpectedly, you are still there."

Vọng Thần was stunned by that confession. "So you also..."

"That's right." She nodded. "I kept myself healthy with the method I learned from the medicine of Thien Co Pavilion. I lived in seclusion for so many years, not daring to reveal my identity for fear of a repeat of the old disasters. But listening to you tell fairy tales to my daughter that night, I immediately knew you were carrying the same burden as me."

"So what do you think we should do?" Vọng Thần asked, his voice full of urgency. "In three months, I have to face a skilled warrior from Nam Xuyên in the preliminary round. If I show too much strength, the whole Northern Cuong will know that I am not as simple as I look. But if I do nothing, I could lose my life right there, leaving Tuyết Doanh and Tiểu Nguyệt helpless."

Vân Khinh Nhược pondered for a long time before responding. "You can't hide forever, Vọng Thần. But you also don't have to expose it all at once. There's a middle way — showing off enough to survive, enough to protect what you hold dear, but not enough for the world to recognize who you are, until the time is truly ripe."

"When was that moment?"

"You will know," the old woman smiled, her eyes filled with the deep wisdom of someone who had lived for more than a century, "when your heart has no choice but to protect those you love, no matter the consequences."

She stood up, went to an old wooden chest placed in the corner of the house, and took out a small leather-bound book that had worn out over the years. "This is what I still kept from the Thien Co Pavilion - not the entire Nine Heavens Prophecy, just the fragmentary notes I copied from memory after the collapse of the headquarters. There are a few passages in there about the art of hiding power - how to control it to reveal just enough, not more than necessary. Perhaps it will help you in the upcoming preliminary round."

Vọng Thần received the book, his hands shaking with emotion. This was the first piece of the past that he found after more than twenty years of wandering, seemingly everything had turned to ash along with the Thien Co Pavilion.

"Thank you." He bowed deeply, his voice choked. "I don't know how to respond."

"No need to repay." Vân Khinh Nhược waved his hand, his eyes gentle. "As long as you live well and protect your small family, that is the best way to repay what our master once represented. Thiên Cơ Các does not exist to accumulate power, but to protect the weak against injustice. If you use your strength to protect Bắcương, protect Tuyết Doanh and Tiểu Nguyệt, that is what your master, my master, wants most."

On the way back to Nguyệt Trạch when it was almost dawn, Vọng Thần hugged the small book tightly in his chest, feeling like he was carrying a part of the souls of the deceased. For the first time in more than twenty years, he felt he was no longer completely alone in the fight against the darkness of the past and present that was waiting to swallow his family.

"Master, brothers and sisters," he whispered into the morning mist, "I will not let what you taught me become meaningless. I will protect them, with my true self."