Yanmen [Prequel]

Li He, a wanderer of the martial world, strayed into the borderlands, where the Yanmen female general Chen Yanzhen kept him in the army.

He was a wanderer; she was a lone general.

One carried old debts from the martial world, the other an abandoned order from the imperial court.

When the court cut off the food supplies and enemy troops surrounded the city, Chen Yanzhen defended it with her life, and ultimately died atop the walls.

Li He returned with provisions sent by the martial world, took up her old saber, and defended the city for eight days before taking his own life in the snow.

Corpse blood stained the snow, red as plum blossoms.

"She had already died, so he followed her."

Beneath the weight of fate, they asked nothing of love or hate, only kept watch over Yanmen amid wind and snow.

Reader's guide:

1. This is more or less a prequel to the neighboring novel Yanmen. It's a short story with brief sentences, and doesn't really qualify as literary fiction. I originally wanted to write literary fiction, but the narrative was too simple and the style didn't quite measure up.

2. I originally planned to write a novella, but figured I might as well write a full-length novel instead. So in the full-length novel, Chen Yanzhen and Li He will be reborn. If you're interested, you can bookmark the neighboring novel Yanmen [Both Reborn].

Theme: The martial world