Xuan Han couldn't believe he heard the name Feng Lan after five thousand years, and it was from his son Xiao Yu, who had come for revenge.
After fleeing the cell, he rushed to the Hall of Returning Souls, passing by guards and cultivators who greeted him, but he didn't pay attention to any of them.
He reached the hall, where an altar stood alone at the center. It is a three-tiered pyramid of flawless white jade, each tier edged in deep crimson lacquer.
One hundred spirit lanterns encircle the altar in perfect rings with pale gold flames. A thin ribbon of incense smoke rises from a censer shaped like a coiled dragon.
At the apex rests a single tablet of polished wood and characters carved in a flowing seal script and inlaid with gold.
Feng Lan.
Beneath in minor, knife strokes, were these words written. "Beloved Warlord, Eternal Companion. Taken on the ninth day of the ninth moon."
"Feng Lan," Xuan Han whispered as his knees met the cold marble. He pressed his palms flat to the floor and whispered, "I failed you."
The lanterns flickered as though agreeing with his words.
"I found your son," he paused and raised his head to face the tablet. "I searched for him, I did—every realm, every battlefield, every nameless village where omegas lived for thousands of years, Lan. And tonight, he stood before me, and I didn't realize he was your son," he groaned and rubbed his eyes, then dropped his hand on the marble floor.
"I put my hands on his throat," his fingers curled against the marble until the nails bled.
The memory of the kiss appeared in his head, and he remembered how hungry he had felt when he tasted Ling Yue's lips. He had wanted the omega the first day he saw him because of his resemblance to Feng Lan.
Xuan Han thought that Feng Lan was reborn, but didn't realize that the boy he had been searching for years was him.
"Curse me, Feng Lan. I kissed your son…" his voice broke, and he lowered his head to the ground.
Then he lifted his head, and his eyes met the tablet. "I betrayed you, Feng Lan," his voice shook as he spoke. "During that last battle, Lan. I held you after I struck you with my blade," his eyes welled up in tears.
"I had to do my duty as Heaven's Emperor, and because I loved you enough to murder you and not let you die a traitor."
A tremor ran through his shoulders, and he remembered Feng Lan's words when his blade struck him. "Hold me, Han. One last time."
A lone tear streamed down his face as more memories flooded in, including when he had held Feng Lan's cold body.
"I am sorry, Feng Lan," he whispered, lowering his head to the ground again. "I will make it up to you now that I have found your son. He will be protected from harm, and I will make sure I keep his identity a secret," he sniffled.
His tears slipped free, tracing the sharp line of his cheekbone, before they fell to the ground.
"Xiao Yu won't face the same fate as you, and whatever it takes, even if it means I have to die protecting him, I will do it," he swore and rose from the altar's edge.
He lifted a fresh stick of incense from the lacquered box beside it.
His fingers trembled as he touched the tip. Pale gold licked the stick, and he placed it in the dragon censer's mouth, and then fell to his knees and bowed three times. "I will keep the oath."
A moment later, he left the Hall of Returning Souls and headed towards his hall, the Hall of Silent Vows.
When he reached the front of his hall, he noticed a familiar face pacing in front of his doors: Wei Jin, his loyal friend, a phoenix member on the Twelve Council. When he spotted Xuan Han, he spun on his heel, meeting him halfway.
Wei Jin was just as tall as Xuan Han with long Auburn hair secured by a single jade pin shaped like a phoenix feather.
His golden eyes lit up as he came face-to-face with Xuan. "There you are," he said, opening the fan in his hand, a crimson phoenix in full flight. "I have been waiting here for you for hours. Where did you go?" he demanded and let out an exhale.
"The cell," Xuan Han responded.
Wei Jin's fan snapped shut, and he groaned. "You went to meet the omega?" he asked, flicking the fan and reopening it.
"Yes."
"The words are spreading fast about how the omega tried to kill you in the throne room today."
Xuan Han said nothing as he walked past Wei Jin toward the hall. He pushed open the doors and stepped inside with Wei Jin trailing behind him.
"The Twelve Council demands that the boy be punished for his treacherous act. Not only did he attack you, but he also locked lips with you. That's—"
"Enough," Xuan Han cut him off.
The last thing he wanted to be reminded of after his visit to Feng Lan was the kiss.
"Don't talk about that," he walked toward an ebony desk and sat down on a high-backed chair with its frame carved like a coiling serpent dragon. "What does the Twelve Council want?"
Wei Jin opened his fan wider as he leaned on Xuan Han's desk. "The Twelve Council," he fanned himself languidly once, twice, and then whispered, "They want his soul condemned."
"Impossible," he snarled and slammed his hands on the desk. There is no way I am letting that happen to him."
He slammed both hands on the desk again. "He doesn't deserve that," his voice cracked as he spoke, his mind filled with conflicted emotions about how he was failing Feng Lan already.
" His soul will not be condemned."
Wei Jin's fan stilled, and he chuckled. "Xuan Han. That boy tried to kill you openly. It's a statement."
"Doesn't matter," Xuan Han groaned. "He doesn't deserve to die for that."
"What if the enemies had sent him here? You are our emperor, the one holding the Heaven realm. If anything happens to you—"
Xuan Han raised his hand to stop him before he could finish. "That is why I need him to be alive to find out who sent him." That was far from the reason because no one sent Ling Yue; instead, the poor omega had been driven by vengeance for his father.
"What then shall be done to the boy? Are you going to leave him? It will create rumors."
"I…" Xuan Han heaved a deep sigh and clenched his fists tightly as he spoke. "The boy will be flogged tomorrow afternoon, but he will remain in the selection."
Wei Jin chuckled and shut his fan. "I have never seen you act like this about someone. Is there something I should know?"
Xuan Han was tempted to tell Wei Jin about his little discovery, but since he wasn't sure about it yet and didn't want to draw attention to it, he decided to keep it to himself.
"There is nothing, and while we are at it, I need you to send one of the best men to investigate the Su family for me, especially Ling Yue. I want to know everything about him."