He left after giving me that warning.
But before he disappeared into the trees, I sent him a transmission.
Shen Wuyin: "Xu Yunfei and I are getting married, by the way… brother-in-law."
Xu Xiao paused.
His back was to me, but I felt it—the shift in his aura.
Silent fury.
He didn't respond. Didn't turn.
Just walked deeper into the forest, each step heavy with restraint.
The trees swallowed him whole.
I waited until she woke.
Eventually, she did—rubbing her eyes, looking at me.
She smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
I escorted her back to her room.
Then I returned to mine… and noticed Lingxue was already there.
Shen Wuyin: "You're very persistent, Lingxue."
Lingxue: "Like I said—I don't want to stay here longer than we have to. But I'm biding time. I got attacked tonight by the Serpentine assassins. They really want my head."
Shen Wuyin: "Why are you in my room, anyhow?"
I looked around.
Liraine, Shuyin, and Sura were there—minding their own business.
They'd asked to learn cultivation.
So I decided to teach them.
I looked back at her.
Shen Wuyin: "Are you going to answer me or what?"
I waited until she replied.
Lingxue: "What's wrong with me coming into your room? You've done it more than once."
Shen Wuyin: "Yes, I have. I just want to know your reason. Mine was to tell you what's happening with the plan. Yours—I don't know."
She scoffed.
Lingxue: "Fine. I'll leave then."
Before she could, I held her arm.
Shen Wuyin: "Stop being such a princess. Forget I asked."
She scoffed again and sat back down in her seat.
Lingxue: "I don't feel safe in my room right now. Usually, I do—but it wasn't your typical assassins. It was that woman… the Slitherin Serpent. Her name is Nagni."
She looked away, voice low.
Lingxue: "She didn't seem happy about something. Kept ranting about a person called Ren—whoever that is. She was bloody ruthless. I would've died… her cultivation's far higher than mine. But she let me go. For some reason."
Shen Wuyin: "You can stay here for now, if you want. There's a spare room—sleep there until you feel safe enough to go back."
She hesitated.
Lingxue: "Thank you."
Her voice was quiet, almost reluctant.
But it held weight.
Someone knocked on the door.
Xu Yansheng: "It's me—may I come in?"
Shen Wuyin: "You can come in."
He entered, glanced around, and noticed the four women in my room. He smiled.
Xu Yansheng: "Looks like my sister has some competition. I came to congratulate you—on marrying my little sister."
Lingxue scoffed.
Lingxue: "I'm not his woman."
Xu Yansheng: "I apologise, then. I also came to tell you—the wedding will happen in five days. That should be enough time for us to change everything."
He smiled faintly.
Xu Yansheng: "My sister seems very joyful… excited to marry you. To be your wife."
He turned to leave.
Xu Yansheng: "Well, I'll be leaving now. Good day."
After he left, I taught Liraine, Shuyin, and Sura everything I'd learned in cultivation since arriving at Mìngjiè Xiānlù.
Lingxue didn't speak.
She just watched—quiet, focused—as I passed on what I knew.
Liraine: "You've learned a lot, haven't you, Shen? Where did you learn the technique Final Turn from?"
Shen Wuyin: "My master—Fairy Jin of the Glass Lotus Sect."
Shuyin: "Why did she teach you such a technique?"
Shen Wuyin: "She trusted me. It belonged to her family—but whoever uses Final Turn, it won't be exactly the same. My dark black flames… they come from me. If you three used it, it would take on a different form—one shaped by your own essence."
Sura: "You're willing to teach us such a technique, then?"
Shen Wuyin: "Of course. Why wouldn't I? You're carrying my children. You wanted to learn cultivation—I won't hold back on what I teach you."
"All three of them said, 'Thank you.'"
Their voices overlapped—soft, sincere.
After I finished teaching them, I sat down in the chair near the fireplace, watching the flames.
They danced—quiet, restless.
Like memories I hadn't named yet.
I watched my younger self in the flames—fighting, dominating everything in his path.
Clad in Black Dragon armour, full helm, and a flowing cape.
The other nine stood beside me.
Together, we waged the Eternal War.
I summoned the flames with my hand.
They rose, shaping the figure of my younger self.
I looked at him—armoured, resolute—as he raised the Black Dragon sword into the air.
Dark black flames surged from the blade, streaking through the sky.
I heard Lingxue coming in through the door.
Quiet steps—no words.
I lowered my hand, and the flames returned to the fireplace.
The vision faded.
Lingxue: "What are you doing here by yourself?"
Shen Wuyin: "Thinking of my past, that's all."
Lingxue: "Your past… even I find that interesting. There's barely anything known about you, Shen."
Shen Wuyin: "Why would there be? Like everyone, you have to start somewhere."
Lingxue: "If you say so. How are you going to make Xu Yunfei see her brother's true face?"
Shen Wuyin: "She'll see it on the wedding day—you can count on that. Afterward, Xu Yunfei won't be able to stand being near his presence. Then Xu Xiao will lose control. He'll rally the forces he's mustered from the Xu family—the ones who've sided with him. Everyone else… we work from there."
Lingxue: "It's like you see the chessboard, Shen."
Shen Wuyin: "Who wants to be a chess piece? I'd rather be the one controlling the board than be controlled myself."
Lingxue: "I agree with you there. It's still frightening—knowing everything seems to go your way. Like it's fate."
Shen Wuyin: "Fate… you people and your fate."
Lingxue: "What does that mean, Shen?"
Shen Wuyin: "It doesn't matter."
The next day—four days until the wedding.
I trained with Xu Yunfei as usual.
She asked to learn the Final Turn technique.
So I taught her.
She adapted quickly—grasping each movement with quiet precision.
She lifted her sword into the air.
The Final Turn ignited—light burst from the blade, cutting through shadow and silence alike.
For a moment, the battlefield shimmered.
Not his fury—destructive, dominant, absolute, unrelenting.
Her clarity, her grace, her truth, her resolve.
She smiled behind me.
Then turned—swift, precise—and unleashed the Final Turn.
Her blade struck the target.
I stood just behind her as it split in two.
One half remained untouched.
The other shimmered with light.
She ran to me, eyes bright.
"Did I do good, Shen?"
I chuckled. "Of course you did."
I pulled her into a hug.
She hugged me back, laughing softly.
"Thank you for teaching me this technique. I really appreciate it. Everyone was amazed when they first saw it. The moment you used it… they all stepped back in fear. Not just because of what it did—but the force of it. It pushed us back. Even my father…"
She paused, eyes wide with memory.
"…It terrified him. I've never seen fear on his face before. He's always so stoic. So serious."
Shen Wuyin:
"Everyone carries fear within themselves.
If you have no fear, how can you ever truly adapt?
Fear forces change.
It compels you to learn something new—
sometimes even to obsess."
Xu Yunfei:
"So… you fear something?"
Shen Wuyin:
"Myself."
Xu Yunfei:
"Yourself? What could you ever fear in yourself, Shen?"
Shen Wuyin:
"Everything."
Xu Yunfei:
She looked at me with curious eyes, then smiled.
"Come on—let's forget about this for now.
I won't regret marrying you, Shen.
Either way, I should take accountability… just like you."
Narration:
She took my hand as we left the practice ground.
We walked together to her sect grounds—ancestral land of the Xu family.
She hugged my arm as we moved through the stone paths, shoulder to shoulder.
Her fellow juniors and seniors watched us pass.
They spoke in hushed tones, some smiling, some whispering.
The air carried their words, but we didn't slow.
We walked together.
Narration:
I looked at the trees as we walked.
One stood apart—tall, silver-veined, its leaves pale as starlight.
It was called the Lingxi Tree, named after Empress Lingxi of the disbanded Genesis Empire… or the Fallen Empire, as some now call it.
Xu Yunfei:
"You know, she's very famous.
Not as famous as Emperor Genesis, who created Mìngjiè Xiānlù,
but still… she was beautiful. Like the moon.
They even say her element was the moon itself."
Shen Wuyin:
"She's related to the Zhang family, right?"
Xu Yunfei:
"Yep. Zhang Lingxi—she was the first patriarch of the Zhang family.
But more than that… she controlled all eight of the other great families.
My Xu family was one of them, as you know."
Xu Yunfei:
"She never married or had children.
She was more warrior than lady.
She's my inspiration—just like you.
I'm a lady, yes… but I want to be a warrior too.
Not some meek little girl waiting for someone to protect her.
You're okay with that, future husband?" she teased.
Shen Wuyin:
I smiled.
"Of course I prefer it that way.
It means you're reliable. Independent.
It means I don't have to worry about you.
And it means you'll stand by my side—
not leave me to carry everything alone.
Like you're doing now."
Xu Yunfei:
She giggled.
"I like that answer."