The heavy wooden door of LiuYan's quarters slid shut, the sound echoing the finality of Lin Yuehan's angry, stomping retreat. Her boots struck the corridor like rolling thunder—sharp yet unsteady. LiuYan didn't bother calling after her. She stood at the doorway, alone in the silence, her gaze fixed on the door. A slow, deep, and thoroughly satisfied smirk was deepening on her lips. She let out a quiet breath.
"Cute," she whispered, the word escaped her like the breath she didn't know she was holding.
"And hot. But childish— too." A new voice, smooth as velvet and sharp as obsidian, slid into the room from the darkest corner.
LiuYan turned. A dark, shadowy figure was leaning against the wall where she had placed Crimson Mourning, its form coalescing.
"So," LiuYan said, looking up and down at the dark figure. "you finally have the gut to show up."
A silvery laugh answered, light as chimes. "Not all of us enjoy lurking in corners."
LiuYan glanced toward the window, where moonlight spilled across the tatami. A second figure sat by the window, bathed in pure, white moonlight. She wore blueish silvery-white robes, her posture rigid and perfectly proper, her face a mask of serene judgment. This was the soul of Shattered Radiance.
The dark figure clicked her tongue. As she stepped forward, the lamplight hit her, revealing a face that was a perfect, chilling mirror of LiuYan's own. But it was sharper, more wicked. This was the soul of Crimson Mourning.
"If I were you, I'd choose my words carefully— cupcakes…."
Shattered radiance glared at crimson mourning. But she turned to LiuYan and continued , her tone sharp with disapproval.
"You shouldn't have provoked her, Master. That was reckless."
"Oh, hush, cupcakes…." crimson mourning drawled, moving towards shattered radiance. "Reckless is fun. And did you see her face? She was two breaths away from kissing us or killing us. Maybe kiss, then kill. Maybe vise versa--"
Shattered Radiance stood up, her robes whispering. "That is improper! And cease calling me that ridiculous name."
"Why?? You're sweet, pale, and—" Crimson Mourning said with a flirty wink. "easily frosted*"
" The hell—I'm not—"
She then turned her predatory gaze back to LiuYan. "She wants you, Master. This's going to be easier than we thought."
"She's – she suspects you!" Shattered Radiance countered, her voice tight with anxiety. "That is not 'easy,' that is a complication."
The bickering continued, a familiar back-and-forth of prim morality versus chaotic instinct. LiuYan, ignoring them both, walked calmly to her low table, poured a cup of tea, and took a slow, measured sip.
"…and your methods are barbaric!" a distant roar erupted from LiuYan's righteous sword.
"Unbelievable," LiuYan sighed, half to herself. "These two bicker even more than those damn elders."
"—at least I get results, you self-righteous snowflake…"
LiuYan let the noise wash over her for another moment before setting her cup down with a sharp click.
"Enough," she said, her voice quiet but absolute. Both spirits froze mid-sneer.
"Both of you. Shut up. I need to think."
" She started it…" shattered radiance huffed.
The room fell instantly silent. Shattered Radiance glared at Crimson Mourning, who merely sent a slow, mocking flying kiss in her direction. Shattered Radiance dodged it as if it were a physical object. LiuYan glared at them both.
Shattered Radiance folded her sleeves, gliding back to the window seat in silence, her presence once again faint and holy. Crimson Mourning, of course, did the opposite—sauntering over to LiuYan, moving with a fluid, sensual grace that LiuYan herself never used before. She moved forward till she stood near LiuYan's chair, leaning on one hand on the table.
LiuYan gazed up at the dark figure, her perfect twin. The resemblance was uncanny. She stared at her for a long, uncomfortable moment.
"Can you… just…?"
Crimson Mourning leaned in, her smile wicked. "Tell you my beauty secret? Oh, I can, but you'd owe me a kiss later—"
LiuYan's nose scrunched in disgust. "You look—like me," she interrupted, her voice flat.
"So?"
"Can you take another form? It's not exactly comforting seeing my face talk back."
Shattered Radiance didn't even glance up. "Yes, please do. I don't fancy arguing with my master either…. You can try the one from the temple, by the way…" She gestured vaguely. "That green, slippery, slime-like thing—"
A small, bound book of poetry from the table flew across the room and hit Shattered Radiance square in the face with a loud THWACK, knocking her backward off her seat.
A startled silence. But—LiuYan laughed. A rare, unguarded laugh that rippled like silver bells through the room.
"Sorry," she said halfheartedly when both swords glared at her.
Crimson Mourning rolled her eyes but obliged. Her features shimmered and reformed. The dark hair, the pale skin, the silver eyes—all dissolved and reformed into the alluring, manic, green-robed figure of the Vixen, Emerald Khaos. She struck a theatrical pose, her smile razor-sharp.
"Better?" she asked, stretching languidly. "Or should I change back with different robes and makeup?"
LiuYan's gaze trailed up and down the illusion, her eyes narrowing. "No—it's Fitting."
Crimson Mourning, in her new form, glided behind LiuYan, resting cool hands on her shoulders, fingers tracing the still-healing wound beneath the bandages. Her touch was surprisingly deft. "Did that hurt… Master?" she purred. "I didn't want to hurt you, but what to do… The act had to be—convincing."
Shattered Radiance reappeared at the window, rubbing her forehead. "And how exactly does this help us now? That general already suspects you…. master"
LiuYan didn't look up. She simply stirred the tea in her cup, watching the faint whirlpool form on the surface. "Isn't that what we want?"
"Yes, cupcakes!" Crimson Mourning chirped. "But you wouldn't understand. It's called 'intrigue.'.. you're too small to understand that.."
Shattered Radiance's eyes flashed. But crimson mourning interrupted—as always.
She continue kneading LiuYan's shoulders with mock affection. "Oh.. Master," she adopted a fake, pouting whimper, "that did hurt, you know? You hit me so hard."
"That had to be convincing," LiuYan replied nonchalantly.
"Hmph" Crimson Mourning scoffed but continued her massage. "So," Shattered Radiance asked, "what is your next move, Master?"
Before LiuYan could answer, Crimson Mourning leaned in, voice sweet and poisonous. "Why don't we hunt down that bastard. Uhh...what's the name again?? Feng—Feng— whatever it is. I still owe him a scream or two."
LiuYan shook her head, her gaze distant. "He's just a weapon. First, we need a reliable ally inside these walls. That will make things easier."
Shattered Radiance nodded. "Like the Lotus General?"
Crimson Mourning let out a derisive snort. "No, cupcakes, she's too soft for this. Look how flustered she got when our master adv—" She was cut short by LiuYan clearing her throat, a silent warning.
Crimson Mourning froze mid-word, smiling sheepishly. "I mean, the matriarch, yes. That old hag already knows something, doesn't she… Master?"
LiuYan didn't reply immediately. She simply raised her cup to her lips again, eyes half-lidded, lost somewhere between thought and memory.
The candle beside her flickered, its flame trembling faintly — as though even fire feared what she might decide next.
" let's go meet her, then."
Author's note:
*IF YOU KNOW….YOU KNOW…😏