Long Tianxiao: (arms crossed, surveying the warriors before him with warmth in his eyes) "Who were you kids before the war?"
Mrs. Long: (turning to a quiet warrior standing nearby) "What was your dream?"
Zhao Lin: (a young warrior with short-cropped hair, his voice thoughtful) "Before joining the Dragon Blood Legion, I worked in my family's fields. I dreamed of becoming a scholar, reading poetry under the moonlight."
Long Tianxiao: (raising an eyebrow) "And now?"
Zhao Lin: (chuckling softly, glancing at his sword) "Now, I write poetry in blood."
Huang Wei: (laughing and slapping Zhao Lin's back) "He's being dramatic. But it's true—we all had simple lives before this."
Xu Fang: (a woman with sharp eyes, her arms crossed) "I wanted to be a merchant. Travel the world, trade spices, fabrics… instead, I trade sword strikes with enemies."
Mrs. Long: (softly) "And do you regret it?"
Xu Fang: (pausing, then shaking her head) "No. The world of merchants may have given me gold, but this—this gave me a family."
Long Tianxiao: (grinning, looking around) "So many of you had dreams beyond the battlefield. And yet, you're here."
Luo Chen: (a quiet warrior with deep scars on his arms, his voice solemn) "Because dreams are fragile, General Long. The world isn't kind to dreamers."
Tang Wan'er: (gently) "No, but sometimes… we find new dreams."
The conversation quiets for a moment, the warriors reflecting on the paths they have taken. Then, a loud voice shatters the somber mood.
Mo Nian: (dramatic and loud, striding into the courtyard) "Aha! Did someone say dreams? Let me tell you, my dream is the greatest of them all!"
Guo Ran: (groaning) "Oh no. Here we go."
Mo Nian: (grinning and flipping his long hair back) "Riches, beauties, and legendary treasures! That's the dream! Unlike you fools, I know what life is about!"
Long Tianxiao: (amused, arms crossed) "And you are?"
Mo Nian: (striking a heroic pose) "The one and only Mo Nian! Sworn brother of Long Chen, treasure-hunting extraordinaire, and master of charm!"
Meng Qi: (laughing behind her hand) "Master of charm?"
Mo Nian: (winking at her) "You doubt me? My charm is legendary!"
Ye Zhiqiu: (deadpan) "That's not the word I would use."
Mo Nian: (grinning, then turning serious, looking at Long Tianxiao and Mrs. Long) "Jokes aside, I've fought alongside Long Chen for quite a while. And while I may not be one of these Dragon Blood lunatics, I can tell you—Long Chen isn't just a leader. He's the kind of person who turns other people's dreams into reality."
(A silence falls. For all his theatrics, Mo Nian speaks the truth.)
Mrs. Long: (smiling warmly) "That… that is good to hear."
Long Tianxiao: (nodding, his voice quiet but strong) "Then tell me—what is your true dream, Mo Nian?"
(For the first time, Mo Nian hesitates. The playful arrogance fades slightly, and he looks up at the sky, watching the lanterns float away.)
Mo Nian: (softly) "I used to think it was about treasure… But maybe, just maybe, it's about making sure the people I care about survive long enough to chase their own dreams."
(A long silence follows. Then, unexpectedly, Guo Ran claps his hands together.)
Guo Ran: (grinning) "Alright, enough sentiment! This is a festival! Who's up for a drinking contest?!"
Laughter erupts, breaking the momentary solemnity. The warriors cheer, the weight of past memories giving way to the joy of the present. Under the lantern-lit sky, the Dragon Blood Legion and their allies celebrate—not just survival, but the dreams they still carry.
Guo Ran: (raising a wine jug, already tipsy) "Alright, listen up, brothers and sisters! Since we're all being sentimental tonight, let's make a game of it! We drink, and each person tells us the dream they had before joining Boss!"
Huang Wei: (grinning, taking a big gulp of wine) "Fine! I'll go first! I used to wanted just to be normal cultivating powerhouse and theb start trying wander the world while becoming a famous storyteller. But during my first try in hometown my first audiences not only laughed at me but even threw vegetables."
Xu Fang: (laughing) "That's because you're terrible at storytelling!"
Huang Wei: (mock hurt) "Lies! My storytelling is legendary!"
Long Tianxiao: (chuckling) "You should be glad fate pushed you toward the battlefield instead."
Mo Nian: (grinning, nudging a silent warrior nearby) "What about you, Shen Yue? What was your great ambition?"
Shen Yue: (a quiet woman with dark eyes, speaking softly) "To be a musician."
Tang Wan'er: (intrigued) "Oh? What instrument?"
Shen Yue: (glancing at the lanterns, her voice distant) "The guqin. My mother used to play… I wanted to follow in her footsteps."
Mrs. Long: (gently) "And why didn't you?"
Shen Yue: (smiling faintly, holding up her calloused hands) "These hands… they were made for the sword, not the strings as my family pushed me to this path."
Yue Zifeng: (quietly, for once speaking up) "Music and the sword are not so different. Both require precision, rhythm, and an unshakable heart."
Shen Yue: (meeting his gaze, then nodding slightly) "True, which is why under Boss' teaching I cultivate the Music Dao and do play Guqin not as a musical treasure but as a weapon."
Guo Ran: (grinning, pointing at another warrior) "Alright, next! Lei Feng, your turn!"
Lei Feng: (a burly warrior with a scar across his jaw, grinning as he downs his drink) "Hah! My dream? When I was a orphan, my dream was to be a farmer! I wanted to grow rice, get married, have lots of kids… a simple life until fate allowed me to be adopted by a Martial family."
Mo Nian: (teasing) "And now you're splitting people in half instead of harvesting crops."
Lei Feng: (laughing heartily) "Exactly! Life is full of surprises."
Long Tianxiao: (nodding in approval) "The simple dreams are often the most valuable."
The laughter fades slightly as the conversation turns heavier. As much as they celebrate, there is an unspoken truth—many of their brothers and sisters are not here tonight.
Xu Fang: (softly, watching a lantern drift away) "I wonder… do you think they're watching us?"
Meng Qi: (nodding, her voice gentle) "I believe they are."
Luo Chen: (gazing at the sky, voice low) "Xiao Bai… he used to talk about opening a tea shop after the war."
Huang Wei: (quietly) "Lian Yue wanted to go home to her village and raise horses."
Lei Feng: (sighing, rubbing his temples) "Too many names… too many dreams lost."
Long Tianxiao: (firmly, his voice filled with conviction) "Then you honor them by living. By fighting for those who can't anymore."
Mrs. Long: (softly, yet with great strength) "By carrying their dreams forward."
(Silence falls as everyone reflects. Then, unexpectedly, Mo Nian claps his hands together, forcing a smile.)
Mo Nian: (lightheartedly) "Alright, that's enough gloom! They wouldn't want us sulking like this!"
Guo Ran: (grinning, raising his cup again) "He's right! To our fallen brothers and sisters! May their dreams live through us!"
Everyone: (raising their drinks, voices strong and filled with emotion) "To the fallen!"
Mrs. Long: (softly, watching Long Chen laughing with his comrades) "He has built something beautiful."
Long Tianxiao: (nodding, his voice filled with pride) "He has."
The festival continues into the late hours of the night. The grand courtyard of the Imperial Palace remains alive with the sound of laughter, clinking cups, and the occasional bellowing voice of a drunk warrior. Beneath the vast, starlit sky, groups of Dragon Blood Legion members sit together, lost in conversation. Some talk of dreams, others of regrets, and a few simply enjoy the rare peace this night offers.
A Discussion About Life Before the Legion and Path of Cultivation
Zhang Wei: (leaning back, arms crossed behind his head, staring at the stars) "You know, sometimes I forget what life was like before all of this. Before the battles, the blood, and the endless marching."
Shu Lian: (grinning, taking a sip of her drink) "Before we met Boss, we were all just nobodies. Now, we're legends."
Han Tao: (nodding, eyes thoughtful) "I don't think I was meant to be a warrior. I used to work in my uncle's bakery. Every morning, I'd wake up before dawn to make bread and pastries. Thought I'd spend my whole life in that shop."
Lu Shen: (laughing, shaking his head) "You? A baker? I can't even imagine it! You kill people with a hammer, not knead dough!"
Han Tao: (grinning) "Turns out, smashing enemies with a warhammer isn't so different from pounding dough."
Xiao Ning: (smirking) "Wouldn't mind tasting some of that bread, though. The food in the barracks is terrible."
Wu Fei: (snorting) "You can barely survive a battle, and you're complaining about food?"
Xiao Ning: (mockingly clutching his chest) "Hey! A man's gotta eat! Besides, a good meal is a warrior's fuel."
[Family and Regret]
Yuan Bo: (staring into his cup, voice quiet) "I miss my sister. She was just a little girl when I left five years ago."
Shu Lian: (softly) "You never went back?"
Yuan Bo: (shaking his head, staring at the lanterns floating into the sky) "Didn't get the chance. By the time I had the strength to return, my village was gone. Raided by bandits."
Lu Shen: (gripping his cup tighter) "Same thing happened to me. My family's farm was burned down when I was a kid. That's why I fight—to make sure no one else loses everything like I did."
Wu Fei: (quietly, his usual smirk absent) "We all lost something. Some lost their families, some lost their homes… some lost themselves."
Xiao Ning: (exhaling, glancing at Yuan Bo) "You ever wonder what life would've been like if you had never left?"
Yuan Bo: (nodding, his expression unreadable) "Every day."
(A separate group bursts into laughter as a particularly heated discussion takes place.)
Ji Rong: (grinning, wagging his finger at a red-faced warrior) "So, Zhen Yu, tell us—who's the girl?"
Zhen Yu: (groaning, rubbing his face in embarrassment) "I told you, it's not like that! I just—she's just a friend!"
Mei Xiu: (laughing, nudging his shoulder) "Right, right. And I suppose 'just a friend' explains why you turn red whenever she talks to you?"
Qian Rui: (teasingly) "Or why you suddenly become ten times braver when she's watching?"
Zhen Yu: (grumbling) "You all are impossible."
Ji Rong: (grinning mischievously) "Come on, at least give us a name."
Zhen Yu: (muttering under his breath) "…Lin Mei."
Mei Xiu: (mock gasping) "Lin Mei?! The same Lin Mei who patched up your wounds last battle? The one you awkwardly tried to flirt with?"
Zhen Yu: (groaning louder, burying his face in his hands) "Can you all just kill me now?"
Ji Rong: (laughing and raising his cup) "To Zhen Yu and Lin Mei! May he one day find the courage to say something that doesn't make him sound like an idiot!"
Everyone: (raising their drinks, roaring with laughter) "To Zhen Yu and Lin Mei!"
Somewhere else::
Gu Jiao: (tracing a scar on her arm, her voice quiet) "Do you ever think about how many times we should've died by now?"
Bai Shen: (exhaling slowly, staring at his own scars) "More times than I can count."
Gu Jiao: (smirking slightly, nudging him) "And yet, here we are. Drinking, laughing, living."
Bai Shen: (nodding, his expression thoughtful) "Because that's all we can do. We fight for the dead by living for them."
Zhou Fan: (grinning, raising his cup) "Well said! And if I'm going to live, I'm going to do it with wine in my belly and a woman on my lap!"
Mei Xiu: (rolling her eyes, smacking the back of his head) "You'll be lucky if a woman even looks at you, you fool."
Zhou Fan: (mock dramatic) "Mei Xiu, you wound me! Am I not the most handsome man in the Legion?"
Gu Jiao: (laughing, shaking her head) "Not even close."
Han Tao: (softly, watching the lights fade) "I wonder where we'll be next year."
Shu Lian: (smiling faintly, her voice calm) "Hopefully, still together."
Yuan Bo: (nodding, his voice steady) "No matter where we are, as long as we still fight for each other, that's enough."
Wu Fei: (smirking slightly) "That was surprisingly poetic for you, Bo."
Yuan Bo: (laughing quietly) "Maybe I should've been a poet instead of a warrior."
Mei Xiu: (grinning, looking around at her comrades) "Well, no matter what happens, at least we had this night. No war, no bloodshed—just us."
Lu Shen: (raising his cup one last time) "To dreams lost, dreams found, and the ones we still have left!"
Everyone: (raising their drinks, voices strong and full of life) "To our loved ones and everyone's dreams!"
To Be Continued...