“My Peaceful Life With the Heroine I Once Fought”

Chapter 10: A Visitor in the Night

It was well past midnight when the wind changed.

The village of Jingyang lay beneath a cold hush. Even the trees stood still, their branches frozen in mid-sway. Clouds passed slowly over the moon, dimming the light, leaving only soft shadows to stretch along the stone paths.

Inside a modest home at the edge of the village, Yu Zhen stirred. He had been lying down, but not sleeping. Not truly. The rhythm of the world had shifted—something his instincts caught long before his mind formed the thought.

Then came the sound.

Not loud. Not hurried.

Three knocks—slow, measured, deliberate—struck the village gate.

Yu Zhen stood without a word. His movements were smooth, practiced. He tied his robe, reached for the wooden sword resting by the door, and stepped outside.

Lan Yueran was already under the peach tree, moonlight glinting faintly off her blade's hilt.

"You felt it?" she asked.

He nodded.

They moved together, silent, weaving between the shadows of sleeping houses until they reached the front of the village. The gate creaked slightly as they opened it—just enough to see who stood beyond.

A tall figure in gray robes. A wide conical hat. And a blank, white mask with no features.

The mask was the kind used by spies or wandering monks who renounced identity. Yet the stillness of this one, the utter lack of spiritual signature, felt unnatural.

Yu Zhen stepped forward. "You've knocked. Speak your reason."

The figure bowed. "I bring a message. And a warning."

Lan Yueran's eyes didn't leave the visitor. "Step forward into the light."

The masked one did so—slowly, carefully.

"I come from the northern ranges," he said, voice calm, androgynous, with no trace of accent. "Where the Black Phoenix has stirred."

Yu Zhen's gaze hardened. "That name again."

The stranger reached into his sleeve and pulled out a scroll. He held it forward. Yu Zhen took it, unrolled it, and read:

> "The past awakens.

The Black Phoenix spreads its wings.

The stars above the Azure Sea remember your flame."

Yu Zhen folded the scroll again and tucked it into his sleeve.

Lan Yueran said coldly, "You know who he is."

"I do," the stranger replied.

"And you came anyway?"

"I came because time is short."

Yu Zhen stepped closer. "Who sent you?"

The masked figure hesitated. "Once, I fought beside you. In the battle at Mount Sanri. Under your command. Now… I bring a message from another who survived."

Yu Zhen's jaw tightened. "I remember Mount Sanri."

"Then you remember the price paid. The allies lost. The betrayal that followed."

Lan Yueran tensed, but said nothing.

Yu Zhen's voice dropped low. "And now?"

"Now," the masked figure said, "those who remember you are divided. Some want your return. Others want your death. And one wants only your silence."

The mist around them thickened. A branch cracked in the forest beyond.

Yu Zhen looked up. "Why the mask?"

The stranger touched the edge of it. "Because I once served your enemy. Because I carry shame."

Yu Zhen turned slightly. "If you came to beg forgiveness, it's wasted. If you came to threaten me, it's suicide."

"I came," the stranger said slowly, "to warn you: the bounty has been issued. Two thousand gold pieces. Alive, if possible. Dead, if cleaner."

Lan Yueran hissed through her teeth. "That high already?"

"It will rise with every rumor. You drew too much light. The Council noticed. So did the wrong ears."

Yu Zhen stared. "Then why warn me?"

"Because I owe you," the masked one said, voice cracking for the first time. "Because you spared me at the gates of Surong Pass. I never forgot that."

A long silence stretched between them.

Then Yu Zhen said quietly, "Leave. Don't return."

The stranger bowed again. "One last thing."

He dropped a black token into Yu Zhen's hand.

It bore the crest of a serpent curled beneath a burning sun.

Yu Zhen's breath caught for half a second.

"The others are waking," the stranger said. "And not all are kind."

Then he turned and vanished into the trees without a trace.

---

By morning, the sky was clear, but the weight in the air had not lifted.

Yu Zhen sat outside, holding the black token. Lan Yueran watched him from across the courtyard.

"I thought they were gone," she said.

"So did I."

Madam Yue came out with hot buns and ginger tea. She frowned at their expressions but said nothing. The tension was familiar, even if she didn't know the source.

Yu Lian skipped into the yard, waving a small paper fan. "The spring festival is coming soon!"

Yu Hao followed her, holding a wooden training sword. "I'm getting stronger! Big Brother, will you teach me something new?"

Yu Zhen looked up and smiled gently. "Later."

Lan Yueran stood. "They shouldn't have to know what's coming."

"No," Yu Zhen agreed. "But we have to be ready anyway."

---

That afternoon, Yu Zhen walked the perimeter of the village and checked every formation he'd placed months ago—spirit glyphs, pressure seals, hidden wards that would whisper a warning into his mind if breached.

He added three more along the river path and one beneath the northern footbridge.

Lan Yueran returned with a message from the nearby town: several mercenaries had been seen drinking heavily and asking questions about a "man with a wooden sword."

"They're closing in," she said.

"I expected worse," he replied. "The real ones won't talk at taverns."

---

At dusk, a courier arrived on horseback. His robe bore no symbol. His eyes were bloodshot. He looked half-dead.

Yu Zhen met him at the edge of the forest.

"Message for Yu Zhen," the courier said hoarsely. "From the West."

Yu Zhen opened the scroll and read the message:

> "The Raven flies west.

The sword of winter is drawn.

The debt will be paid."

He burned the paper in his hand.

The courier watched with hollow eyes. "You're not what they say."

"No one ever is," Yu Zhen said, handing him a flask of water.

The man drank, bowed, and disappeared into the trees.

---

That night, Yu Zhen sat beneath the stars with Lan Yueran.

Neither spoke for a long time.

Then she said, "The Raven… that was one of your titles, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"And the sword of winter?"

"Refers to someone who once followed me. Now he's hunting."

She looked up. "Do you regret not killing them when you had the chance?"

"I regret ever needing to."

He closed his eyes, listening to the wind.

"The past is coming," he said quietly.

"Then let it come," Lan Yueran replied. "We're not the same fools we once were."

Yu Zhen smiled bitterly. "No. Now we have something to lose."

---