Sheng

A cold wind blew down from the peaks and lashed at their faces, as if trying to erase the very memory of the battle they'd just endured. The snow crunched underfoot, soaked with smoke and blood. The pass was silent—too quiet for a place where war had recently raged. General Sheng stood motionless, sword in hand, but his gaze wasn't fixed on the fallen enemy. His eyes were fixed on one man. To a soldier he knew. To the warrior he trusted. To the one who just saved them all. Mulan lay unconscious, her breathing weak but even. Sheng took a step closer, unsure whether it was anxiety... or premonition that was making his heart beat faster. “Take off your armor,” he ordered curtly. And at that moment the world seemed to crack. The fabric parted, and the truth, hidden for so long, lay bare before everyone. Not a soldier. Not a man. Young woman. Sheng recoiled as if struck. Everything he believed in—duty, honor, order—was instantly called into question. But worse than that, something else happened.