Lace Glory Universe King GL - Chapter 15

That really was the Sun Shangxiang of the past.

Only later, she grew much quieter, learning that this world would sooner or later reveal its sharp and cruel edges. But now, with Hua Mulan at her side, she felt that the world after her brother’s death had, after all, treated her kindly.

Like Hua Mulan’s indigo-violet robes, under the crystal’s glow they shimmered with a silky radiance, like the rarest jewel of the continent.

Had she never met her, Sun Shangxiang would also have carried her Heavy Crossbow of a Thousand Gold and walked into the canyon’s depths alone, her chest filled with hatred.

Now, she still carried warmth.

“If you encounter other enemies in the canyon, just avoid them. You’re only here to nurture this weapon, remember, little princess?” Unable to help herself, Hua Mulan began to remind her.

“Were you this worried about people back when you were at the Great Wall?” Sun Shangxiang’s bright eyes glinted with deliberate teasing.

“No. Only about you.”

Hua Mulan answered firmly, her long brows shadowing eyes that pierced straight into the young princess’s heart.

It was both like laying bare her affection and like having no burdens at all. It could be taken as concern and longing, or as distrust in her ability.

“…Alright.” Sun Shangxiang gave up, no longer probing.

She packed her simple belongings and set off.

Hua Mulan watched as the figure in the yellow long coat slowly disappeared up the temple’s mountain path.

Two days later, she had fully recovered her strength. Taking advantage of the little princess’s absence, Hua Mulan returned to the center of Haidu to find a place to contact her brothers of the Great Wall.

On the phone, Kai told her that the Bureau of Weights and Measures had already dropped its investigation on her, declaring that she could immediately return to her original post.

“Lord Sikong said he won’t hold it against you for trespassing into the Bureau.”

Hua Mulan said nothing, only smiling coldly on her end of the line.

“So… you’re still not coming back?” Kai’s voice grew anxious.

“I’m recovering from wounds, not that quickly. For now, you’ll have to keep acting in my stead,” Hua Mulan told him.

He panicked—wanting to keep her away from investigating the seaside battleship, he decided it better to offer her good faith, urging her to return as a patrol guardian. Only, once she went back, who knew what other traps might await.

Hua Mulan hung up the phone, leaned against the public booth, and sipped the brightly-colored drink she had bought in Haidu.

After a thought, she dialed another number.

The intermittent ringing lasted a long time before a strange male voice picked up.

“I’m looking for the Prince of Lanling.”

“The master is not here.” Humble, yet cold.

“Do you know where he went?” Hua Mulan asked.

“Sorry, I have no right to disclose the master’s whereabouts.”

“I never knew where he found someone like you to answer his calls,” she frowned, anger flickering.

“Sorry. That was the master’s decision.”

The line went dead.

Hua Mulan shook her head and stepped out of the booth.

She stayed a while longer on the mountain of the temple. When Sun Shangxiang returned, they set off together—back to Jiangjun.

They still took a black ship. Small and tossing, the hours at sea slowed, leaving them ample time to plan.

To secretly probe the seaside battleship, they decided to strike east while moving west: Sun Shangxiang would make a loud return, drawing away attention.

“The bigger the commotion, the better. Best if everyone in the group sees you, so Sun Quan won’t dare play dirty,” Hua Mulan said from the cabin window, the sea breeze snapping her skirt.

“I’ll need an excuse,” Sun Shangxiang thought aloud.

“Excuses aren’t hard. Say your brother left you something, and now you’ve come to take it back. After all, you’re still family.”

“It has to be something he refuses to hand over, so it can drag out longer,” Sun Shangxiang added.

“Exactly.” Hua Mulan nodded, then remembered something. “And at night, don’t stay wherever he arranges. Do you have anyone else you trust?”

“The old butler always stood with my brother,” Sun Shangxiang recalled how Butler Ge had worried for her before the engagement.

At that time, she was under Sun Quan’s house arrest, refusing food or drink, resisting every arrangement. Sun Quan had sent her eldest brother’s lifelong butler, Ge, to persuade her. Loyal to the Sun family yet knowing the tides had changed, Ge had said he could no longer help her—and when it was over, he would quietly retire home.

“The butler will do.”

They spoke eagerly, when suddenly, something outside the window caught Sun Shangxiang’s eyes.

Hua Mulan turned her head. Out on the sea, a cruise ship was sailing parallel to them.

Before she could ask, Sun Shangxiang leapt up, pressing to the window to get a clear look. “The Red Lotus!“

That had been Sun Ce’s birthday gift to her, the ownership hers, with a suite built specially for her. She knew that distinctive side walkway design—she couldn’t mistake it.

But now, painted on its prow was the mark of “Eastern Sea Domain.”

Sun Shangxiang watched in daze as the ship drifted away, then told Hua Mulan her suspicion.

“Sun Quan sold the Red Lotus to Eastern Sea Domain?”

“Mm. I guess he needed money,” Sun Shangxiang said.

“Sikong Zhen’s been sending him funds, yet he still needs more… You know what sort of thing requires that much money? That amusement park—it might actually be—” Hua Mulan stopped mid-thought.

“A battleship,” Sun Shangxiang finished for her.

Their eyes met, and both knew they had guessed right.

If this were only Sun Quan’s plan, the logical conclusion was that he wanted to use the family fortune to expand his military might, to dominate the fractured land. But if he had allied with Sikong Zhen…

Could it be Sikong Zhen was eyeing the Empress’s throne?

Hua Mulan couldn’t help but consider it.

The very first day she left the Great Wall, the Prince of Lanling had revealed the Grand Sikong’s ties to Eastern Wu. Meaning, besides the two of them, whoever had hired Lanling must know far more inside details.

Last time, Lanling had been recovering in Jinting. Now, she couldn’t reach him at all. How much had he uncovered?

It seemed all mysteries would only unravel back in Eastern Wu.

They spent another day on the ship, drawing closer to the land of Three Divisions.

At dusk, they stood on deck, watching the horizon where sea met sky, blazing orange-red after sunset.

“Forgive my bluntness… I’ve always wanted to ask: could you really raise your hand against Sun Quan?” Hua Mulan finally voiced it.

In her view, once they entered Eastern Wu, anything could happen. They had to treat it as war.

“Raise my hand? You mean…” Sun Shangxiang still couldn’t say the word.

“I don’t know what he’ll do. But since you’ve chosen to oppose him, you must have thought of the most extreme possibility?”

“Of course. Blades and arrows have no eyes,” Sun Shangxiang answered.

“Don’t be soft on your enemy, little princess.” Hua Mulan’s face was calm, her voice steady. “Whatever happens, your safety comes first. At worst, we must retreat with our lives.”

“For that, killing Sun Quan is acceptable.” Her words rang with steel, chilling the air at the stern.

“…Alright.” Sun Shangxiang’s heart ached; all memories of the three siblings now held no warmth.

Hua Mulan said no more, letting her absorb it slowly.

Like she often reminded her soldiers before battle: inexperienced ones always forgot the truth—battle means killing. It is life and death.

Because of Hua Mulan’s harsh reminder, Sun Shangxiang not only prepared herself mentally but even dreamt of killing Sun Quan.

Even in a dream, to strike down her second brother was shocking to her—her own darkness was deeper than she had imagined.

Yes, she always believed Sun Quan had caused their elder brother’s death, hiding his ambition behind a mask of hedonism, seizing the family business, forcing her engagement to Liu Bei… Her goal had always been simple: reclaim what was hers. But her hatred for Sun Quan was more about how he destroyed their sibling bond, ruined Eastern Wu Group’s foundation and spirit.

Until Hua Mulan pointed it out—he was an enemy. And enemies, when cornered, must be slain.

Her Thousand-Gold Heavy Crossbow, with its archer’s nature, always kept her at a certain distance from the front line, as though she could detach from her hatred as well.

But in her dream, she unleashed it fully. Sun Shangxiang had to admit—Hua Mulan was born a warrior.

What surprised her most, though, was that before disembarking, her elder sister kissed her.

While sailors brought the lifeboat, the two of them stood at the railing. Hua Mulan had no intention of waiting for the ship to dock, planning to slip away on her own boat instead.

Sun Shangxiang didn’t know what to say to express her anxious attachment: she feared for her sister’s safety, feared the dangers of acting separately.

“People of the Great Wall never show emotions directly. But oddly, before marching into battle, soldiers will always do things they never would otherwise.” Hua Mulan’s voice was steady as she looked out at the calm nearshore waters.

“What things?” Sun Shangxiang asked.

Hua Mulan drew her close with her left hand, her right hand gently pressing the back of her head against her shoulder.

“They do this.” She gave a firm, soldier’s embrace.

Sun Shangxiang raised her head, meeting Hua Mulan’s eyes half a head above her. The hug had just loosened, and still they lingered close.

Before she could react, Hua Mulan tilted her head and brushed her lips against Sun Shangxiang’s left cheek.

Like an old comrade’s farewell, like a lover’s casual morning greeting, like they had kissed a thousand times already.

Sun Shangxiang couldn’t tell if her cheeks were burning.

The one who kissed her, though, looked simply joyful. A frank, unburdened joy.

The lifeboat had arrived.

Hua Mulan leapt down from the height, landing steadily on the small craft.

And just like that, their second farewell had come.

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