Ling Mei had lost everything the night her parents were slaughtered. Her laughter, her warmth, her cheerfulness,even her name—buried in the ashes of Qianzhong Village.
From those smoldering ruins, a different soul emerged. Cold. Hollow. Sharpened like a blade.
She no longer answered to Ling Mei. That girl was dead.
Now, she was Jian Li.
A boy.
At least, that was what the world saw.
The military took only men. She knew this. And survival left no room for pride or sentiment. She bound her chest with thick gauze until she could barely breathe, tied her ink-black hair into a knot beneath a dusty cloth cap, and walked into the recruitment grounds with a stare that dared anyone to question her.
The officials scoffed.
"Oh, he's smaller than most boys, like a little chicken," one had muttered with a grin. "Soft hands, narrow shoulders—can he even hold a sword?"
They laughed. Loud. Cruel.
But they let her in.
Perhaps it was curiosity. Or pity. Or the lack of better candidates. But Jian Li—frail and silent—was given a uniform and a dull blade.
Majority of the soldiers were taller than her. Though,as a female she was considered very tall. But among these strong guys she looked dwarfed.
The training was merciless. Dawn to dusk under the scorching sun, drills that shattered the weak and hardened the rest. Jian Li kept her head low, avoided communal baths, and never changed before others. Whispers followed her like shadows, but no one uncovered the truth.Others felt Jian Li was a strange boy due to his weird character of avoiding to bath and dress publicly with the others.
She was careful. Always careful.
Until Wei Jian happened.
A huge proud guy with arms like tree trunks and a mouth that never stayed shut. He was the best among the new recrits in archery.He called her out during archery training, swaggering to the center of the yard.
"Hey! Fragile pretty boy!" he barked, voice thick with mockery. "Let's see what those delicate hands can do! Or do you shoot like a girl too? Don't cry when you miss."
The others burst into laughter, their taunts echoing across the field. They laughed at her small size.
Wei Jian's arrow slammed into the bullseye with practiced ease.
Jian Li said nothing.
She walked up, eyes hard as flint, and picked up a bow. In one smooth motion, she pulled back and let it fly.
Thud!
Her arrow struck the very center—splitting Wei Jian's shaft clean in two and sending the other parts flying.
A hush fell.
Then an eruption of cheers, laughter, and disbelief.
This earned her the name "Small but Mighty"
A joke at first. Then a mark of respect.
Because she wasn't just good—she was exceptional.
Her swordsmanship, footwork, and battle instincts surpassed even the senior recruits. She fought with a ruthless grace that unnerved her opponents and caught the attention of the commanders.
No one could ignore Jian Li.
By the end of her second moon cycle, she was promoted to palace guard duty—a rare honor. Jian Li was a legend.
And then came the announcement.
She was initially glad when she was told that she would be a palace guard but her heart sank because of the announcement
A sparring match with the Crown Prince.
Her comrades were excited. This was good news. It wasn't easy for common people to see royalty. Infact, a very outstanding one like Su Chen.
The words landed like a death sentence to her.
Su Chen, Crown Prince of the Bailu Kingdom, son of the Dragon Throne, war hero of the southern campaigns... was challenging her?
Ling Mei's blood froze.
Attention was the one thing she couldn't afford. But turning down the prince was as good as treason. And the palace wages were vital to her survival.
She had no choice.
The palace was a place she had only heard of in passing stories—golden roofs that touched the clouds, marble courtyards, and silk-robed nobles who never bled or toiled. Now, she was walking those hallowed grounds with a blade at her side.
Soldiers and servants gathered around the training arena. Her comrades watched with sparkling eyes, whispering how this was the highest honor a recruit could receive.
But she didn't feel honored.
She felt exposed.
The training ground was silent as she stepped onto the platform, nerves burning under her skin like fire.
Then he arrived.
Prince Su Chen.
He moved like someone born to command. Tall, broad-shouldered, his dark hair tied back beneath a silver crownlet. His armor gleamed, polished to perfection. A guard handed him his sword with both hands, as though passing down a holy relic.
His gaze swept over Jian Li.
"You're the famed recruit?" he asked, arching a brow. His voice was smooth, bored, and vaguely amused.
So this little boy before him was the popular legend. What a shocking discovery. Was this a joke?
"How old are you, boy?"
"Eighteen," she replied, voice clipped.
He tilted his head. "You look like you're fourteen. Seems like you don't eat wel. Your shoulders are not even broad. Do you eat only dry bread?" he said in a demeaning manner, looking her from head to toe.
Laughter rippled through the crowd.Some soldiers stole a laugh because it sounded funny and true at the same time.
Ling Mei didn't flinch.
She simply gripped her sword.Su chen unsheathed his sword. It shimmered brightly in the sun mirroring his own reflection.He faced Jian Li who looked like a different being while holding his sword. His aura was different as if he was possessed by something. He looked so fearless and had a dark stare with arched eyebrows ready to attack.
The duel began.
Steel rang against steel. Sparks lit the air. Jian Li moved like lightning—precise, swift, unpredictable. Her feet barely touched the ground as she weaved through Su Chen's defenses, striking again and again with merciless efficiency.
Su Chen was a seasoned fighter.
But he was struggling. He was on the defensive. Sweat was beginning to form on his forehead.
He gritted his teeth, parrying blow after blow. Each time he tried to regain control, she slipped past him like water. Her strength was far enormous than her size. Every strike forced him back.Jian Li's footwork was unmeasured and his sword technique was top notch. Prince Su Chen was stunned. He had underestimated this boy. Su Chen had trained and fought for many years but he had never witnessed anyone who was at par with him.
This "boy" was stronger, faster, and more cunning than any recruit he had ever faced.He was a master in a little boy's frame.
She could have ended the match.
She chose not to.
Perhaps it was mercy. Or pride. Or fear of what winning might cost her.
But Su Chen felt the truth—and it stung.
He could tell that the boy was not exerting his full strength probably to save his dignity as the crown prince of Bailu kingdom.He hated to admit that this boy would effortlessly defeat him if he should really show his full capacity.The crown prince had always been able to defeat many people at a go but this boy was different. He was not an ordinary soldier, he exhumed great strength. He was definitely stronger than The boy had many chances to be the winner but he deliberately refused to use it.
His pride was hurt.
He, the Crown Prince, was being toyed with by some unknown recruit.
And so, he decided to resort to a petty trick so as to save his face.
"Hey— look behind you!" he shouted, pointing with serious urgency.
For a heartbeat, she glanced.
A mistake.
His sword came flying.
She twisted just in time, countering the blow, but not before his blade slashed across her chest—ripping her cloth open.
Gasps broke the silence.The sound of " Oohs" and "Ahs " filled the air.
Beneath the torn fabric was a layer of tightly wrapped pink gauze.
Not a soldier's undershirt. Not something a man would wear.
A moment of horror.
Ling Mei staggered back, surreptitiously clutching her cloth—but it was too late.
The eyes of a hundred soldiers were upon her.
Su Chen froze, his blade lowered.
Then, in one swift motion, he reached out and cut the tie in her hair.
Black strands tumbled free, cascading down her back like a silken waterfall momentarily living her spectators spellbound by her extraordinary beauty and the discovery of her true gender.
Time stopped.
Every breath held.
The feared, respected, and beloved Jian Li... was a girl?
"No wonder…" someone whispered. "The flawless pale skin. The light voice.The bathing alone…her legs and hands that had no hairs, her refusal to bath or dress publicly with them, her small stature and height…"
The pieces of the puzzle now fit in. This was the reason for her weird character with associating with her fellow colleagues.
"That's treason!"
"A woman... in the military?"
Punishable by death.
Ling Mei's world spun.
Her secret—her shield, her mask, her only means of survival—was gone.
Why now? Why like this?
She had given the prince mercy. Fought fair. Hid her truth to survive—not to betray. And yet here she stood, stripped of everything before a crowd.
The murmurs grew louder. The palace guards looked to Su Chen.
He hadn't spoken.
Still stunned, he stared at the girl before him. Her face was pale, lips tight. But her eyes—those fierce, dark eyes—were the same ones that had matched him blow for blow just moments before.
He had touched swords with her.
And she had won him.
Not a boy. A girl.
Ling Mei stood alone, the wind tugging at her loose hair, her cloth flapping open at the chest. The gauze was still intact, but the truth had already been laid bare.
A ghost of admiration flickered in his eyes—followed by confusion, shame, and a thousand calculations.
This wasn't just a duel anymore.
It was a scandal.
This was a grave offence punishable by death except when granted pardon.The crown prince was so dazed by all that happened that he couldn't utter a word.He finally found his voice and issued his command. He was still in disbelief by all that had happened.
Meanwhile, Ling mei's mind was in a great turmoil
The silence was suffocating.
" Why did this fight have to end this way? Why did I look?Why did this silly prince slash my cloth despite the way I was kind while we were fighting? What would be my fate now?
Everywhere was dead silent as they awaited the prince verdict. It could either make her doomed forever or save her.His choice would determine her fate
The girl who had survived fire, blood, and betrayal... now stood unarmed, her fate balanced on the verdict of a prince she had defeated.
Some watched with awe.
Some with pity.
Some with barely concealed joy over her downfall.
But none forgot what they saw that day:
The girl who fought like a legendary warrior in myths—
was uncertain about her fate.