Contents
Chapter Five: Fatal Mistake
Overview
Yang Guang arrives early, senses Wu Zetian’s strong spirit pressure, and selects her as his companion. In his loft, he charms her with power and talk of looming offensives, unsettling her certainty that he killed her sister. As they nearly become intimate and she plans murder, a Hundun attack alarm interrupts, forcing immediate action.
Summary
Yang Guang arrives at the watchtower ahead of schedule, resplendent in full spirit armor. Xiao Shufei, caught with Wu Zetian’s concealed hairpin, returns it under pressure. Yang Guang detects Zetian’s strong spirit pressure and, intrigued, immediately chooses her as his companion for the shift, taking her hand and asserting interest.
He carries Zetian by elevator to his loft overlooking the Hundun wilds. There, he playfully demonstrates his spirit armor’s construct-making and discusses legends of Emperor-General Qin Zheng and strategic theories about reclaiming the lost Zhou province. He credits recent momentum to Li Shimin, arguing wider stakes outweigh personal misgivings about him.
Surrounded by neat decor and model Chrysalises, Zetian’s assumptions waver; Yang Guang seems more boyish and sincere than the abuser she imagined. Torn between vengeance for Ruyi and the larger war effort, she studies her reflection, flirts deliberately, and leverages expectations to lower his guard, intending to kill him once he sleeps.
They move toward intimacy; Yang Guang pauses to ask if she is sure, briefly shaking her resolve. Before she answers, alarms blaze red: a Hundun attack. Yang Guang breaks off, forcing an abrupt pivot from seduction and planned murder to imminent battle.
Who Appears
- Wu ZetianProtagonist; retrieves her weaponized hairpin, is chosen by Yang Guang, plans to kill him, then hesitates before a Hundun alarm interrupts.
- Yang GuangAce pilot; arrives early in full armor, senses Zetian’s power, selects her, charms and discusses strategy, seeks consent before alarm sounds.
- Xiao ShufeiFellow concubine; caught holding Zetian’s hairpin, intimidated into returning it, jealous and flustered when Yang Guang picks Zetian.
- Auntie DouMatron of the watchtower; introduces Zetian as a high-scoring consort and facilitates Yang Guang’s selection.