The grand gathering came to an end.
Yaochi grew quiet, with immortal maidens bustling about. Bai Yujun stood beneath a thick old flowering tree, warm golden sunlight dyeing the branches and leaves yellow. The breeze was faintly cool, and withered yellow leaves spiraled down before her eyes...
"A hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers marched out in armor. How many will return?"
She gazed toward the South Heavenly Gate.
Densely packed warships raised their sails and set forth. Their battle banners shone brightly as they crossed the Immortal Bridge and headed for the far south.
Whether in legends or myths of ghosts and gods, Heavenly Soldiers and Generals were often the most overlooked. The world remembered only the Immortals, Demons, and Devils whose names shook the four seas, while ignoring the foundation of peace beneath heaven. When demons committed evil, ghosts sowed havoc, and cultivators threw the world into turmoil, people forgot who had leveled those disasters.
No great immortals or mighty gods could be seen in such matters—only Heavenly Soldiers and Generals rushing everywhere.
Only after living in the Heavenly Army Camp could one understand their hardship.
She shook her head.
Then she turned and returned to the Female Guard Camp.
Back in the little courtyard she had been away from for so long, she grabbed a handful of letters from the simple mailbox on the door and went inside. Undoing her waist sash, she let her soft gown slip down, exposing her fragrant shoulders. She glanced at the wooden bathtub in the washroom and sighed, then briskly put on her immortal armor. Piece by piece, it automatically fitted itself tightly against her body.
The bed was clean and neatly made. The flower branch in the vase by the window was tender green, and new buds had formed again.
Her gaze