“My Peaceful Life With the Heroine I Once Fought”

Chapter 14: Shadows Beneath Peach Blossoms

Spring returned in full bloom.

The peach trees in Jingyang Village fluttered with petals like falling snow. Children ran barefoot through the winding paths, carrying wooden swords and mimicking stories they'd heard in whispers—stories about a man who split the air with a wooden blade and defied the Council of the East.

They didn't know that man lived among them.

Yu Zhen leaned quietly against the old peach tree behind his house, arms folded, eyes closed. His wooden sword rested nearby in the dirt. The breeze carried laughter, the scent of steamed buns, and the light crunch of Madam Yue's gardening tools.

But Yu Zhen didn't smile.

Something was off.

He could feel it—like a disturbance in the qi around the village. Not loud, not obvious, but subtle. Someone was watching. Or several someones.

Lan Yueran approached from the side with a calm expression and a cup of hot barley tea.

"You sense it too?" she asked softly.

He opened one eye. "Yes. They're close. Three of them. One by the well. One near the carpenter's shed. One... hasn't moved for an hour. On the roof."

She sipped her tea. "They're cautious."

"They're trained."

"Council?"

Yu Zhen shook his head. "Too clean. These aren't soldiers. They're waiting for something."

---

That night, Yu Hao tugged at his brother's sleeve as they cleaned up dinner.

"Brother, there's a man in the woods. I saw him near the stream. He didn't say anything… just watched me and walked away."

Yu Zhen stiffened.

"Did he look like a traveler?"

"No... he didn't carry anything. He wore a black scarf. His eyes were yellow."

Lan Yueran rose instantly. "That's not a good sign."

Yu Zhen crouched and placed both hands on Yu Hao's shoulders. "Thank you for telling me. You did well."

The boy nodded solemnly, though his lip trembled.

Later, Yu Zhen sat in the dark on the rooftop, his wooden sword across his knees. He didn't meditate. He didn't cultivate. He waited.

And just before midnight, the peach blossoms shifted without wind.

---

Three figures slipped over the outer wall like shadows through silk.

They moved silently, their feet never crunching the gravel. Their faces were hidden beneath masks—black and red, painted with jagged lines. Their blades were curved, thin, and oiled to avoid glint.

The first one landed silently near the well.

He never saw Yu Zhen move.

The next moment, he was unconscious on the ground, his wrist bones shattered, his mask snapped in two.

The second shadow turned in time to see Yu Zhen coming. He slashed low—fast and fluid—but his blade stopped mid-swing. A wooden sword had caught the strike, pinning the weapon in place.

Yu Zhen didn't speak.

He twisted, disarmed, and struck the man's temple with the flat of the wooden blade.

The third attacker hesitated—then ran.

Lan Yueran dropped from the roof above like a falling leaf and landed silently in front of him.

"Leaving so soon?" she asked.

Her dagger flashed once—then again.

The man fell.

---

In the morning, Yu Zhen stood before the bound attackers, now tied to the old oak behind the carpenter's shed. Villagers were beginning to whisper. Madam Yue frowned deeply, but said nothing.

One of the attackers groaned.

Yu Zhen crouched beside him. "Who sent you?"

The man smiled, bloodied teeth peeking from cracked lips. "The world hasn't forgotten you, Rael."

Yu Zhen's face stayed blank, but Lan Yueran stepped forward sharply.

"We buried that name."

"You can bury bones," the man coughed, "but not fire."

Yu Zhen stood. "Then go back and burn with it."

Without a command, Lan Yueran struck the man unconscious again.

Yu Zhen turned to the villagers who'd begun to gather.

"Nothing to worry about. They were common thieves. We've sent for the guard from the nearby town."

But his voice, calm as ever, didn't ease the tension.

---

That evening, a letter arrived—sealed in red wax, delivered by no one. It sat on the doorstep when they returned from the field.

Yu Zhen opened it with two fingers.

Inside, written in flowing calligraphy:

> "To the Ashen Flame who hides in the ashes.

You have been found.

The Phoenix rises again. Come west, or we come for the village."

No name. No signature. But it didn't need one.

Cai Juren was calling him out.

Lan Yueran read it over his shoulder. Her fingers curled into fists.

"You should have killed him," she whispered.

"I did," Yu Zhen said. "Or at least I thought I did."

---

The next morning, Yu Zhen packed a single travel pouch.

"Just reconnaissance," he told Madam Yue. "I won't start a fight."

"You mean not unless they do first," she said flatly.

Yu Zhen smiled faintly.

Yu Lian hugged him tightly. "Come back soon. Hao's been drawing sword stances to impress you."

"I'll be back before he masters his first one."

He left before dawn, without ceremony.

Lan Yueran followed him, uninvited. Of course she did.

"You're not going alone."

He didn't argue.

---

As they crossed the ridge that bordered Jingyang Village, Yu Zhen paused one last time.

The sun was rising, casting gold across the peach blossoms behind them. The village was quiet, the sky clear.

"Do you think peace was ever truly possible?" he asked.

Lan Yueran didn't answer immediately.

Then: "Yes. But not for people like us."

Yu Zhen turned to the path ahead, to the mountains cloaked in shadow.

Then we fight.