When Xuan Xi returned to the Blacksmith Shop, Hellas was busy in the kitchen.
Beef stew bubbled away in the pot, its rich aroma mingling with the smell of onions and filling the entire kitchen.
He stood at the stove, flipping carrots in a frying pan with that old spatula of his.
“Back?” he asked Xuan Xi without looking away from the carrots.
“Mm.”
Xuan Xi quietly stuffed the money pouch she’d been hiding behind her back into her pocket, then walked over to the stove and peeked in.
Beef stew, pan-seared carrots, roasted potatoes, and a large bowl of creamy mushroom soup.
“What’s the occasion for such a nice meal?”
“You’re rarely home, that’s all.”
Hellas scooped the cooked carrots onto a plate and carried it to the table.
Two sets of utensils were already laid out, with a basket of sliced dark bread on the table and a small pat of butter on the wooden board beside it.
Xuan Xi sat down, tore off a piece of bread, and dipped it into the stew’s gravy.
The beef was fall-apart tender, barely holding together at the touch of a fork, and the rich, savory broth slowly unfolded across her tongue with the sweetness of onions.
When she was little, Hellas’s beef stew had been her favorite dish.
Unfortunately, back then Hellas couldn’t afford good meat—only the occasional bony scraps—so he’d make a huge pot that lasted for days.
Now their circumstances were better, but he still stuck to stew, and he still scooped the largest piece of meat into Xuan Xi’s bowl.
Hellas ladled another piece of beef onto her plate.
“That’s enough, that’s enough. Eat some yourself.”
“I’ve had my fill.”
Hellas cut off a piece of beef and put it in his mouth.
He ate quickly, his fork clinking against the plate.
He’d always eaten fast, because he had to get back to work while the forge fire was still blazing.
After the meal, Xuan Xi stood up and began clearing the dishes herself.
“I’ll wash up.”
“What’s this? Aren’t you heading out?”
Hellas took the plates from her hands, carried them to the sink, and turned on the faucet.
Water splashed noisily over the dishes.
Xuan Xi froze for a moment and asked, “How did you know I was going out?”
“You came back with an extra pouch in your hand, didn’t you? All bulging.”
Half of Hellas’s words were drowned out by the running water.
“Don’t go too far. Just make it back before dark.”
“Mm.”
She replied, then took some leftovers with her as she left.
Xuan Xi slipped out the back door and followed a small path into the forest.
She quickened her pace and ducked into the cave entrance.
Inside the cave, Shen Lingshuang was leaning against the stone wall, her eyes half-open.
When she spotted the food basket in Xuan Xi’s hands, she instinctively swallowed.
After running for three days and three nights straight, claiming she wasn’t hungry would’ve been a lie.
Xuan Xi opened the basket, revealing thick slices of dark bread, a small bowl of beef stew, a few crispy roasted potatoes, and even a little jar of creamy mushroom soup.
Shen Lingshuang took the basket, speared a piece of beef with her fork, and chewed.
“Good?” Xuan Xi crouched down, watching her slightly unkempt eating manners.
“Mm, delicious!” Shen Lingshuang speared another piece, this time eating more slowly, as if savoring it.
“It really takes a Dragon Race to get it right. Your cooking is way more refined than the Beast Tribe’s. The cooks back at the Jiao long Abyss only know how to stew and roast—nothing else.”
Xuan Xi glanced at Shen Lingshuang’s right leg.
The wound on her calf had mostly healed, with fresh scales covering the surface, though the muscle beneath hadn’t fully knitted back together yet.
“As long as the bone’s fine, you’ll be walking in a few more days.”
Xuan Xi pulled a medicine bottle from her pocket and applied the liquid to the calf.
The medicine was cool and stung slightly.
Shen Lingshuang’s muscles tensed, but she held still and didn’t flinch.
“The Flood Dragon Clan and the Dragon Race aren’t quite the same.”
Shen Lingshuang shoved a piece of roasted potato into her mouth and said, “When you guys get hurt, your wounds heal mainly through Spiritual Energy treatment. We rely more on our physical constitution. The stronger the body, the faster it recovers. Spiritual Energy helps a bit, but we’re not as dependent on it as you are.”
“So what do you do when you’re not fighting? Surely it’s not all brawls all the time?”
“What do you mean brawls? It’s called tempering the body, alright.”
Shen Lingshuang swallowed the potato.
“The Flood Dragon Clan doesn’t have a unified Academy, but every Academy basically has its own arena. From the moment a Beast Tribe member can walk, they’re put on the arena to improve their strength.”
Xuan Xi looked at her.
It was hard to imagine that the person currently slumped against the stone wall, barely able to stand, had grown up brawling in arenas every day.
“Then you, as the eldest princess, have you ever lost a fight?” Xuan Xi asked.
“Of course I have—lost plenty of times.”
Shen Lingshuang downed the last sip of soup from the jar and wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
“The one that stuck with me most was losing to my younger brother. He’s two years younger than me, but he was already half a head taller. The first time we stepped onto the arena, he threw me off the platform and I didn’t get to eat for three days.”
Her tone was dismissive, but the anger was plain to see.
“After that, I trained for three months and turned the tables. I threw him off instead and have stayed one step ahead of him ever since.”
Xuan Xi packed away the medicine bottle and the empty jars, then sat down across from her.
“So your brother bore a grudge and ambushed you?”
Shen Lingshuang didn’t answer right away.
She used the last piece of bread to wipe the plate clean of its juices.
“Mm. It was him. Shen Lingye, the eldest son of the Flood Dragon Clan. I’m stronger than he is—at least since I beat him—but some of the clan elders don’t like me because I’m a woman. The Flood Dragon Clan has never had a female chief, and they don’t intend to start that precedent now.”
Xuan Xi said nothing.
She recalled that the Dragon Race had never denied anyone for their gender—not her own Azure Dragon lineage, nor the great noble houses like Sige’s.
But the Flood Dragon Clan seemed different.
The Beast Tribe’s traditions were older and harsher than the Dragon Race’s.
“So your brother ambushed you to eliminate you and inherit the chieftainship?”
Shen Lingshuang leaned against the stone wall, staring at the ceiling of the chamber.
“Yes. As long as I’m dead, he’s the sole heir—legitimate and undisputed. As long as I live, he’ll always have a rival.” She paused. “Truth is, he doesn’t know I’ve never wanted to compete with him. The position of Flood Dragon Clan chief? Whoever wants it can have it.”
“Then what do you want to be?” Xuan Xi asked.
Shen Lingshuang was silent for a moment.
“I’ve actually always wanted to be a general. Ever since I was a child, I loved battle—loved arranging troops, loved leading a charge into the fray. That year, after I beat my brother in the arena, my father asked what reward I wanted. I said I wanted to be a general.”
She let out a cold laugh.
“He just shook his head and said, ‘What a shame you’re a daughter.'”
“No. Your father was wrong.” Xuan Xi’s voice wasn’t loud, but every word struck true.
Shen Lingshuang raised her head, confused.
“You’re not just his daughter. You’re you—Shen Lingshuang, an individual. You don’t want to be chief, so don’t be. You want to be a general, so become one. Since the Flood Dragon Clan has never had a woman as general, then let it start with you—be the First Female General of the Flood Dragons!”
Shen Lingshuang looked at her, her pupils trembling slightly, like a stone cast into a deep pool, stirring a massive echo.
“You’re right.” Her voice was soft—so soft it sounded like she was talking to herself.
“The Flood Dragon Clan has never had a woman as general. So let it start with me.”
Xuan Xi gathered the food containers and stood up.
“It’s getting late. I’ll head out now. Watch that right leg—don’t put weight on it. I’ll come back tomorrow.”
Shen Lingshuang nodded.
The deep, cold glint in her eyes had faded considerably, replaced by a brighter light—an eager anticipation of what lay ahead.
Xuan Xi picked up the basket, turned, and walked out of the chamber.
Shen Lingshuang’s voice followed her from behind, “See you tomorrow!”
When Xuan Xi stepped out of the cave, the sun was already dipping toward the west.
The forest’s birdsong had grown sparser than in the afternoon, an occasional call or two echoing from the distance—sporadic, as if urging her to hurry home.
She quickened her pace.
By the time she reached the Blacksmith Shop, the sound of a spatula scraping against a pan drifted from the kitchen—Hellas was already preparing dinner.
Xuan Xi stood at the back door, scraped the dirt off her soles on the threshold, and pushed the door open.