Dawn began to break slowly on the eastern horizon, painting the sky with thin streaks of gold. Li Yuan stood on the porch of the Brennan family home, watching the activity of the Drakemoor soldiers who were beginning to prepare for their "demonstration."
The time has come.
Something within him had changed since the previous night. It wasn't a forced or anticipated change, but one that flowed naturally—like water finding a new path when a dam collapses.
For thousands of years, he had struggled with the question of when to use power and when to hold back. He had tried to be the wisdom that never harms, the kindness that never retaliates, the water that always flows around obstacles without destroying them.
But water can also erode a mountain, Li Yuan mused. And sometimes, the world demands something different.
Thomas Aldrich approached with slow steps, followed by Robert, James, David Miller, and several other men from the village. Their faces were grim, their eyes showing a determination born of desperation.
"Yuan," Thomas said in a low voice, "we're ready. Kitchen knives, wood axes, some hunting bows. It's not much, but..."
"It's enough," Li Yuan interrupted calmly. "What we need is not perfect weapons. What we need is the will to use them."
David stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with anger he no longer hid. "They're going to kill us all, aren't they? Even if you go with them."
Li Yuan nodded. "Yes. They'll make Millbrook an example."
"Then we have no choice but to fight," Robert said in a more resolute voice than Li Yuan had ever heard from him.
"No," Li Yuan replied, and for the first time, he felt a strange clarity. "We have no choice."
In his Zhenjing, the Understanding of Water vibrated in a different way. All this time, he had understood water as something that always finds a way around an obstacle. But water could also be a tsunami that destroys everything in its path.
Flowing like water, Li Yuan thought. But water follows gravity, it follows the shape of the world. And this world... this world is asking for blood.
A trumpet blared from the village square. Colonel Blackthorne was calling for them.
"It's time," Li Yuan said, and there was something in his voice that made all the men around him look at him with sharper eyes.
They walked toward the village square with calm but firm steps. Li Yuan in front, followed by the men of Millbrook who had decided to stand together.
In the square, Colonel Blackthorne stood with a satisfied smile. Around him, dozens of soldiers in a neat formation, weapons ready, their cold eyes staring at the gathered villagers.
"Ah, the final decision," the Colonel said. "Surrender and come with us, or watch this village burn."
Li Yuan stood in the middle of the square, his eyes looking at the Colonel with an uncanny calmness. "I have a third decision."
"Oh? And what is that?"
"We will fight," Li Yuan replied in a voice that was calm yet clear. "And we will kill all of you."
A sudden silence fell over the square. Even the trained soldiers seemed shocked by the terrible calm in that statement.
The Colonel laughed, but his laughter sounded a little forced. "You? Farmers and traders fighting professional soldiers? With kitchen knives and wood axes?"
"Yes," Li Yuan replied, and in his gray eyes, something gleamed—not a fiery rage, but something colder and more dangerous. A determination born from a complete acceptance of what had to be done.
I will no longer ask whether this is right or wrong, Li Yuan realized. The world has made this choice for me. They want to kill my family, burn my home, make the people I love an example of cruelty.
If the world asks for blood, I will give blood.
David Miller stepped to Li Yuan's side, the kitchen knife in his hand gleaming in the light of dawn. "We will not die on our knees."
"We will die standing," added Robert, his bow already nocked with an arrow.
One by one, the men of Millbrook took their positions around Li Yuan. Not in a perfect military formation, but in a solid circle—a family circle protecting what they loved.
The Colonel raised his hand, and the archers around him prepared to release their arrows.
"Last time," he said in a cold voice. "Surrender, or die."
Li Yuan looked into the Colonel's eyes, and in his gaze, there was something that made the experienced soldier unconsciously take a step back.
"We choose to die," Li Yuan replied with absolute calmness. "The question is—how many of you will die with us?"
Water follows the shape of its world, Li Yuan thought as his body began to prepare for the fight. And this world is shaped by violence.
So I will become violence.
In his Zhenjing, the sixteen Understandings vibrated with a new harmony. Not a harmony of peace, but a harmony that accepted reality—that sometimes, love must be protected with blood, and kindness must be fought for with death.
The Understanding of Emotion vibrated with a new intensity as he felt the unwavering resolve of the men around him—a resolve to die with honor rather than live in submission.
The Understanding of Rage vibrated with a focused power—no longer confused and frustrated anger, but anger that had found its purpose.
And perhaps, Li Yuan thought with a terrible calmness, in the moment when I truly accept violence as a part of the flow of this world, I will understand something new about the true meaning of these two understandings.
The Colonel lowered his hand.
The arrows began to fly.
And Li Yuan—who had spent thousands of years seeking ways not to kill—finally allowed himself to flow with the current of a world that demanded blood.
The battle for Millbrook had begun.