There was no moon tonight. The air, already dry and cold, now carried a strange weight to it; sothing pressing, suffocating.
Li Xun exhaled deeply, again and again, trying to purge the gloom that seed to have been woven into the very fabric of the heavens and earth. But a faint unease still lingered in his chest.
“Dark nights, fierce winds… perfect for murder. The ancients weren’t wrong.”
The connection between Heaven and Human ans that shifts in the world’s natural qi always find a way to show up in people. Just like the way sumr heat makes you irritable, or how thunder and lightning can rattle the heart; this kind of heavy, gloomy weather quietly seeps into people’s minds. Under skies like these, dark thoughts crawled out of hiding.
Things like… suffocation, jealousy, hatred. Even the urge to kill.
Li Xun wasn’t quite at the level of attuning to the will of Heaven, but the flow of true breath within him was already linked to the outside world’s vital energy. That made him more sensitive to these shifts than most people.
“Could it be… the heavens also sense that sothing’s about to happen tonight?”
He shook his head, brushing away the intrusive thoughts. Then he lowered his gaze and double-checked his gear.
His Azure Jade Sword, Phoenix Feather Needle, the Jade Bixie amulet… anything that could kill or save a life, he checked two, three tis over. He couldn’t afford even the smallest mistake. And through these repeated motions, he tried to ease the tension coiling in his gut.
Only after confirming everything was in place did he draw in a long breath, suppressing his presence entirely. Then he stepped out into the night.
....
Fanghua Pavilion sat deep within the royal gardens, a place known for its beauty. In spring, flowers blood in brilliant waves all around, the landscape bursting with color like a painted sea. But now, in the depths of winter, only bare branches and withered soil remained.
Li Xun sat quietly in the pavilion, eyes closed, waiting for ti to pass.
Before he realized it, half an hour had gone by. His eyes snapped open just as faint footsteps rustled in the distance, crunching over dead twigs, drawing closer.
He let out a slow breath, then turned to look behind him. His gaze was sharp as lightning, cutting through the dark. Walking quietly toward him was the very person he’d co to find.
Consort Qin.
He hadn’t seen her once since that night. And now, standing there again, she was just as graceful as ever, her beauty untouched by ti. She wore a fox-fur cloak, though the hood hung loose behind her, revealing that elegant, serene face.
Maybe from the cold, or perhaps sothing deeper, her complexion looked unnaturally pale. But that frailty only made her seem more fragile… more heartbreakingly delicate.
She stepped into the pavilion without hesitation. Only then did she lift her eyes to et his, her gaze calm and clear as water. Under his scrutiny, her expression didn’t change. She simply gave a slight bow. “Daoist Li, I hope you’ve been well,” she said softly.
Her voice… had changed. At least, to Li Xun, it had never sounded like this before. It was so soft, almost trembling, laced with a quiet, lingering sorrow that twisted his heart at the sound of it.
That scream… that pained cry from the past echoed in his ears again.
Suddenly, Li Xun couldn’t bring himself to et her gaze anymore.
The thought of backing down flickered in his mind, but he crushed it with effort. Drawing in a breath, he replied in a steady tone, “And I hope Your Grace is well.”
The words ca out. And he instantly realized the irony. That was the opposite of the truth. But Consort Qin showed no reaction. Her lips curled into a barely-there smile.
A hint of sorrow. A touch of mockery.
Li Xun suddenly found it hard to breathe, and that irritated him. He hadn’t co here tonight to get tangled up with this woman. He had a task to complete, one that could cost him his life.
And yet… this woman. Just her expression, the subtle shifts in her eyes, her mouth; every flicker held a haunting, devastating power. She didn’t even need to speak, and already his emotions were surging like a tidal wave.
Was he really going to let her take control like this?
No way. He wasn’t so frightened child anymore.
That fire inside him surged to life. He stood up abruptly, stepping right up to her.
He was only seventeen, still growing, but his body was changing fast. Right now, he towered over her by a good half a head. Standing this close, his presence was overwhelming.
But Consort Qin didn’t flinch. Her eyes remained clear, her brows relaxed. She looked straight ahead without the slightest sign of unease.
Her skin was like snow, flawless and cold. That faint, lingering scent around her stirred sothing deeper in him. The fire in his chest roared again; he had the sudden urge to push her to the ground, to use force, to make her understand that she should never provoke soone stronger than her.
But the fire went out.
Snuffed by one thing. Fear.
Beneath her calm, composed expression, he saw it: the shadow of Yin Wanderer.
A presence like black wings stretching across the sky, dark and ominous. Just the mory of it sent chills down his spine.
A strong one? Him?
He wasn’t even close.
All his so-called strength ant nothing in front of Consort Qin. And behind her, that barely-there echo of Yin Wanderer’s power could crush whatever courage he had left.
Even here, even now, face-to-face with her… he felt paralyzed. Powerless.
No doubt about it…. this was humiliation.
The mockery on her lips deepened. And the more it showed, the deeper the sorrow beneath it seed to run. But what was that sorrow trying to say?
Maybe it ant this: How pathetic. If it were a real strongman who broke , I’d accept it. But you? A weak, pitiful fool like you…
Li Xun let out a low growl and grabbed her by the shoulders—round and soft under his grip. He’d ant to grab her by the throat, to choke her. But he hesitated, and in that mont, his hand changed course.
That one flicker of doubt said it all.
The clearest proof of his own weakness and sha: even in a mont of rage, he still had to consider Yin Wanderer’s will.
And that bitter truth struck him like a mirror held to his heart.
The more he understood it, the more it crushed him. If he could, he would’ve shattered her shoulder right then, just to claw back a shred of dignity.
Just then, a sudden pang gripped his chest. An inexplicable dread, like ice-cold water poured from the heavens, drenched him from head to toe, chilling him to the bone.
The sensation vanished as quickly as it ca, but in that fleeting mont of clarity, Li Xun rembered sothing he had nearly forgotten.
Has it... already begun?
In that instant, his body stiffened like a withered tree trunk. The next mont, a sensation coming from nearby gave him the answer. His eyes quickly settled, growing calm. And a thick layer of ice seed to form over them.
Consort Qin, standing before him, noticed the shift in his expression and couldn’t hide her surprise.
Then, Li Xun’s low voice slithered into her ear: "I’m glad you ca obediently. Now, let’s do sothing even more... fun."
Qin Fei shuddered. She opened her mouth to cry out, but before a sound could escape, Li Xun sealed her lips with his own, muffling her protests into weak, incoherent whimpers that soon faded entirely.
Only when she was breathless and dazed did he finally pull away. Then he tilted his head, and let out a bold laugh. Loud enough to be heard clearly for dozens of yards outside the pavilion.
Though their lovemaking had long gone beyond this, this wasn’t the privacy of Lanshe Courtyard but within the heart of the imperial gardens, where even in the deep silence of night, people would inevitably pass by. How then could Consort Qin not feel fear?
Flushed with humiliation and panic, she pushed weakly against him, but Li Xun only tightened his grip, lifting her effortlessly. In a flash, she found herself seated atop the stone table in the pavilion.
By now, she knew exactly what he intended. Tears of sha spilled down her cheeks, yet she dared not scream for help; she could only beg in a whisper, “Please, Master… not here… not like this…”
Li Xun paid no heed to her protests. With a few deft moves, he loosened the sash around her waist and tossed it carelessly into the night breeze. The delicate ribbon fluttered away before finally drifting to the ground. Li Xun was already busy untying his own robe, about to have his way with her on the spot.
Their movents had already grown intense. Qin Fei’s lower-body garnts were entirely stripped away, and in her struggle, her calf inadvertently hooked around Li Xun’s waist; her skin strikingly pale against the darkness of the night.
The quiet night filled with a man's ragged breaths, the rustle of fabric, and Consort Qin’s stifled sobs.
Just as Li Xun’s belt was about to co undone, a furious cry shattered the night:
"You lecherous bastard!"
A purple shadow suddenly sprang up from the cracked branches and twisted tree shadows. Still midair, a dozen shimring violet sword beams crisscrossed fiercely, humming as they sliced through the air and plunged downward.
The entire Fanghua Pavilion seed to be gripped and crushed by an invisible giant hand, groaning as it shattered into pieces — splinters, dirt, and stones flying in all directions with an overwhelming force.
Consort Qin barely had ti to let out a gasp before Li Xun yanked her up and hurled her toward the path of that dazzling, deadly sword qi.
At the sa mont as Qin Fei’s cry, the female cultivator in midair shouted in furious anger, “Li Xun! Do you have any sha?!”
The swordlights vanished at once. Gu Pin’er forcibly retracted her attack. Ignoring the backlash sending her qi churning painfully inside, she grabbed hold of Qin Fei’s arm midair and pulled her up.
anwhile, Li Xun had already tidied his robes, and with a calm, almost unhurried tone, his sword Azure Jade rang as it was drawn. He pointed it at Gu Pin’er from a distance, his grip steady as stone. From wrist to blade tip, there was not the slightest tremor. The aura he exuded was deep and composed, carrying the unmistakable presence of a true sword master.
Gu Piner's eyes flew wide as she stared at him in disbelief. "You..." The rest of her words caught in her throat. It wasn’t until her eyes brimd with tears that she finally forced out a trembling word: “Disgusting…”
Li Xun’s face betrayed neither guilt nor any trace of smugness. He just gave a slight nod. "My apologies, Senior Sister Pin’er," he said flatly.
After a brief pause, a faint smile suddenly appeared on his lips. "By the way, Senior Sister Pin’er... did you happen to pick up Concsort Qin’s sash just now? How did you find the... fragrance?"
The sash? That thing that fluttered down right in front of her? Gu Pin’er’s face flushed red. Her mind flashed back to the nudity she’d seen in the pavilion earlier. And she was about to explode with fury when a sudden dizziness washed over her. That’s when it all clicked. Her expression went pale.
“You poisoned !”
She now noticed it. The faint, almost undetectable scent coming from Consort Qin was exactly the sa as the one on the sash. Just… stronger.
Her instincts kicked in, and she almost tossed Consort Qin aside then and there. But as she glanced down, she saw the look of anguish on Consort Qin’s face, so full of sorrow, helpless and lost, that her heart softened.
That tiny hesitation was all it took.
With a growl, charged like lightning, his sword flaring with blue-green light as it streaked through the air.
Gu Pin’er forced herself to hold her breath and muster her strength. She thrust her sword forward with full force. But the mont she made her move, she felt a strange force wrap around her arm like a vortex, dragging at her, making every motion sluggish and heavy.
She knew this feeling; it was the power of a restrictive formation!
The entire area around the pavilion had been laced with restrictions. And now, they’d all been triggered at once, catching her completely off guard!
Gu Pin’er’s heart sank. There was no way these formations were just set up!
Could it be that this was all planned?
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