There is a certain image people have when they hear the word heroine.
They imagine someone noble, poised, dressed in flowing robes with the wind dramatically fluttering their sleeves. A woman whose mere presence could silence a battlefield. Whose eyes held the secrets of lifetimes and whose beauty could make cherry blossoms bloom out of season.
Xia Nanxi looked nothing like that.
She was pale, drenched in sweat, her robes clinging to her skin in all the wrong places, and there was a leaf stuck stubbornly in her hair. She had climbed a mountain, trekked through suspiciously noisy shrubbery, nearly tripped over a squirrel, and now lay on the grass like a tragic dumpling that had rolled off the plate.
Truly, a majestic entrance.
Clutching the compass in her hand like a lifeline, she barely had time to groan before a shadow loomed above her.
"Nanxi, don't be so whipped. We haven't even reached the village yet!" a voice declared cheerfully, before two strong arms yanked her upright like a sack of rice.
Her vision spun. Her soul might've left her body for a moment. "Wait.. wait- I think I just saw my ancestors…"
"You're so frail," the girl beside her sighed, brushing imaginary dust from her sleeves.
Nanxi blinked at her through the dizziness. "Lady Wenxia is truly vigorous, like the rumors say..."
"I'm not vigorous. You're just weak," Wenxia replied, eyes narrowing with that good-natured deadpan unique to someone who regularly trained with grown men twice her size and still beat them unconscious.
Before Nanxi could offer a humble wheeze in reply, another voice sliced through the air, as soft as silk and twice as cutting.
"She is very frail. Wenxia, don't be so harsh on Lady Nanxi. She might cry," the newcomer said sweetly, twirling an ornate fan with the grace of someone who had practiced in front of a mirror every day since the age of five.
Nanxi flinched.
If the compass had a dangerous enemy nearby function, it would be screaming right now.
"Cheng Wexia?" Nanxi turned, her face falling like someone realizing the dumpling they bit into was filled with disappointment and regret. "What are you doing here?"
Wexia raised a brow, her smile never quite reaching her eyes. Behind her, a servant trailed dutifully with a parasol, as if Wexia were made of sugar and would melt in direct sunlight.
"Oh, you know," Wexia drawled, inspecting her fingernails. "Just making sure my darling sister doesn't mess up. Wouldn't want the Cheng family name dragged through the mud because of her."
Nanxi silently took one step backward. There was no lightning, but she could practically smell the static in the air.
Wenxia's eye twitched. "What did you just say?"
"Are you deaf?"
"YOU!"
And just like that, it began.
No warnings. No honorifics. No restraint.
Hair was pulled. Fans were weaponized. Vocabulary descended rapidly from "graceful noble ladies" to "drunken sailors in a bar fight."
Nanxi stood frozen between them, blinking rapidly as a gust of wind blew petals and possibly someone's hairpin past her face.
"Y-Your Ladyships," she tried, voice strangled. "Maybe we could…not…duel to the death?"
They ignored her.
The servants, meanwhile, expertly shifted three steps to the side and began admiring the scenery. One of them yawned.
Clearly, this was a regular occurrence.
With a flurry of silk and screeching, the twins rolled dramatically down the slope in what could only be described as a high-speed fabric tangle of chaos and elite family shame. The servants eventually sighed and moved to separate them, looking like war veterans assigned to babysit two particularly aggressive ducks.
Cheng Wexia, once the very picture of elegance, now stood with her hair disheveled, her fan bent, and one slipper missing. She was shouting words that Nanxi was quite sure hadn't been invented yet.
Wenxia was foaming at the mouth like a heroic general leading her final charge into battle, and had to be dragged away before she could successfully bite someone.
Nanxi covered her ears, staring up at the sky, utterly done with everything.
"This is it," she muttered. "This is how I die. Not at the hands of demons or curses but between two rich girls arguing over who insulted whom first."
As the screaming died down and the twins were forcibly positioned on opposite rocks like misbehaving puppies, Nanxi sighed and looked at the compass in her hand.
Its needle spun once. Glowed faintly. And then pointed ahead right toward the gates of the village that had yet to witness the walking disasters that were Cheng Wenxia and Cheng Wexia.
Nanxi gulped.
Somewhere in that village, someone was in trouble.
But honestly, Nanxi suspected she was the one who needed saving.
Xia Nanxi watched as the chaotic scene before her finally settled, her heart soft and full of concern for the two sisters. She could already feel the knots of tension between them winding tighter, as if their personalities were constantly at odds, but Nanxi was too kind to hold any malice. Instead, she sighed quietly, a small smile on her lips as she adjusted her robes, wiping the dirt from her hands.
She was the kind of person who found peace in simplicity and harmony. But when you were stuck between two raging storms, well… that was another matter.
Wenxia, brushing a strand of hair from her face, narrowed her eyes at her sister. "If you think you can just embarrass me in front of everyone, you've got another thing coming."
"Oh, don't worry. I wasn't trying to embarrass you, dear sister," Wexia said with an exaggerated sigh, rolling her eyes as she fanned herself lazily. "You did that all on your own."
The insults flew like arrows, and yet Nanxi felt her heart ache for them both. The sisters didn't really seem to hate each other at least, not in the way they let on. No, this was something far more complicated a love hidden beneath layers of pride, sharp words, and jealousy. Their rivalry felt so familiar to her, and she couldn't help but wish that they could see beyond their pride and just talk.
Taking a deep breath, Nanxi stepped forward, her voice gentle but firm. "Lady Wenxia, Lady Wexia," she called softly, trying to catch their attention as the servants moved to separate them. "Please, there's no need for further quarrels. The day is too beautiful to be spent on anger."
The two sisters paused for a moment, and for a fleeting second, their harsh expressions softened, but only for a moment. Wexia looked at Nanxi with an expression that was just a little too mischievous to be called kindness. "Oh? And what would you have us do, Lady Nanxi? Humble ourselves and apologize?"
Nanxi's face flushed a little, but she nodded, her voice still calm. "Not an apology, Lady Wexia. Just… maybe a moment of quiet reflection? No more shouting, no more insults. Let's take a step back."
Wenxia shot her sister one last glare, but it wasn't as fierce as before. She sighed heavily. "Fine, fine. I'll stop yelling. But I'm not promising anything else."
Wexia waved a hand dismissively, fanning herself again. "You're so boring when you try to be calm, Wenxia."
Nanxi's heart lightened a little as the tension between them simmered down, though she could feel the storm still swirling just beneath the surface.
Before she could think much more on the matter, her compass let out a soft pulse. A slight tremor. Her gaze fell on the glowing needle that was now pointing firmly toward the village gates.
A small sigh escaped her lips. "We should get moving. It seems like someone needs help."
The twins exchanged a glance, and despite their constant bickering, both of them were sharp enough to notice the determined glint in Nanxi's eyes.
"You're really going to just march right in there, aren't you?" Wexia asked, her voice laced with curiosity rather than mockery now. "With all that sweet naivety, you make it look easy."
Nanxi nodded with a soft smile. "I don't think it's about being easy. Just... doing what I can to help."
Wenxia, who had been quiet for longer than usual, finally gave a small smile of her own. "You're a strange one, Nanxi. But… I suppose if anyone could make a difference in that village, it's you."
The words were simple, but Nanxi caught the hint of something else there. Maybe it was respect. Maybe it was something even deeper than that. It was hard to tell, but it warmed her heart all the same.
With her head held high and her heart even higher, Nanxi turned toward the village. "Let's go," she said softly, but with a quiet certainty. "The compass never leads me astray."
The two sisters didn't say anything more. Perhaps it was the sincerity in Nanxi's voice, or maybe the way she looked so determined yet so gentle at the same time, but something shifted in their gazes. For once, they didn't argue.
And so, the trio set off together toward the village, the sun dipping low behind them, casting long shadows and a soft, golden light over the scene. Nanxi, with her compass in hand, her gentle heart full of resolve, and her quiet determination leading the way.
But as they approached the gates, Nanxi could feel that familiar stirring in her chest the feeling that trouble awaited.
Her steps quickened as the village loomed ever closer, its walls just visible through the trees. And though she didn't know it yet, this would be the first of many times that the compass would lead her to places where the only thing brighter than the stars was the trouble she would soon find.