Gu Changge & Yuerou' POV — Aftermath
The corpse still radiated traces of baleful qi, curling in the air like black mist as Yuerou knelt beside it. Her fingers, wrapped in thin silk gloves, brushed away the torn cloth on the chest. Beneath it, scorched flesh revealed a half-burnt sigil — a spiraling rune etched in demonic script, barely readable, pulsing with faint residual heat.
> "This isn't from any known assassins' guild," she murmured, voice low. "The markings… they're too old. Ancient, maybe even pre-Eastern Reign Dynasty."
Gu Changge stepped forward, cold eyes glinting with calculation.
> "System, analyze the rune," he said mentally.
A cold screen flared before his mind.
> [Analyzing… Fragmented Soul Sigil Identified — Last Used by Soul-Devouring Demon Hall, Exiled 300 Years Ago]
[Villain Quest Branch Unlocked: 'Unravel the Soul-Devouring Demon Hall']
Reward: Forbidden Soul Technique Scroll + 2,000 Villain Value
He clicked his tongue, amused. Another thread in this palace of shadows.
With a flick of his hand, the corpse vanished into his system's storage — where he would later extract soul fragments using system tools to trace the assassin's chain of commands.
Yuerou stood, brushing her robes clean.
> "You don't think the Empress sent him?" she asked.
Gu Changge's smile was cold. "No. She might watch, test, threaten — but she doesn't act this recklessly. Someone else within the palace is moving. A noble house, or perhaps... one of her own enemies."
He turned to Yuerou.
> "Tomorrow, you'll infiltrate the noble families. Use the Bone Pearl — become one of their inner court ladies. I'll draw their eyes elsewhere."
She nodded. "And you?"
Gu Changge's gaze sharpened. "The next Imperial Assembly. I'll be there… but not as Gu Changge."
---
The moon hung low, cloaked in haze, as Lin Tian crept through the servant tunnels beneath the palace. His ill-fitting gray uniform reeked of grease and incense, stolen from a drunken stable hand just hours before.
His heart pounded, not with fear, but furious determination.
> Shui Yuerou… If she's in their hands, I'll burn this palace to ash.
His ring grandpa's voice echoed within his mind. "There's a sealed archive deep within the Imperial Library — hidden records even the Empress rarely accesses. Start there."
Moving like a shadow, Lin Tian slipped through servant entrances and hidden stairwells, avoiding patrols with practiced ease. breathing fortress still felt like a coiled beast.
Eventually, he reached the high level of the library. The entrance shimmered with a barrier rune, but his ring glowed softly, nullifying it.
Inside, darkness reigned. Dust danced in golden shafts of moonlight filtering through narrow windows. The shelves here weren't made for casual reading — jade slips and sealed scrolls were bound with spell-thread and carved with restrictive seals.
He found it tucked behind a jade lion sculpture — a half-cracked seal marked with the sigil of a forgotten era.
> "That's it," the ring grandpa whispered. "Break it — carefully."
He did. Inside, he found a map scroll — and attached to it, a thin jade slip containing only one line:
> "The key shall awaken what slumbers below. Do not break the seal unless fate is forfeit."
Before he could examine more, a flicker of light flashed — the guarding array had noticed him.
> "INTRUDER!"
A storm of qi surged behind him. Lin Tian clenched his teeth and activated the footwork technique — shadows curved and bent around him as he slipped through walls of qi like a spirit.
He escaped, barely, emerging near a dry well that led to an old servant passage.
> "There's a secret realm beneath the palace," he muttered, breath ragged. "And I'm going to find it."
---
In the lin Estate courtyard, Lin Rou sat beneath a flowering moonlight tree, its blossoms gently falling around her.
Her fingers absentmindedly traced the rim of a wine cup, untouched.
> "Gone again… without saying goodbye," she whispered, her voice barely louder than the wind.
A servant approached, holding a sealed letter bound with red silk.
> "Mistress… a letter arrived. Marked for your hands only."
She opened it — the paper bore his calligraphy, smooth and effortlessly elegant.
> "Rou'er,
I miss the warmth of your smile more than I miss the stars above. But a matter has arisen , and I must resolve it before I can return to your arms. Wait for me, and dream of the night we share again soon."
— Changge
Her fingers trembled slightly. Her smile returned — soft, touched with longing.
> "You always say the right words, you fox…"
She folded the letter close to her heart, and the wine no longer tasted as bitter.
---
Moonlight filtered through silken drapes into the Empress's personal chamber, where a mirror of obsidian water floated above a basin of starlight.
She sat alone before it, her ceremonial headdress laid aside, revealing unbound hair like a waterfall of midnight.
> "Show me the futures yet unwritten."
The mirror rippled. Two visions formed.
In the first, Gu Changge stood beside her, cloaked in golden flames, driving back foreign invaders with a host of shadow guards. Her empire soared to new heights.
In the second… Gu Changge, clad in black, stood atop her palace — her banners burning, Lin Tian broken beneath his feet. The heavens wept blood.
Suddenly, a pulse of energy flared from the mirror — something else had noticed her .
> "What…?"
Her vision cracked.
Far away, in his personal chamber, Gu Changge's System flared.
> [Warning: Tier 5 Divination Attempt Detected. Countermeasures Active.]
[Cost: 5,000 Villain Value. Proceed to Sever Interference?]
> "Proceed," Gu Changge whispered.
The scrying mirror shattered in the Empress's room, startling her. A single line burned into the silk rug:
> "Do not look where you are uninvited."
The Empress's expression darkened.
> "Feng Lian," she summoned.
The Shadow Guard Captain knelt instantly.
> "Your Majesty."
> "You are to investigate both Gu Changge and Lin Tian. Quietly. And if they're hiding anything—bring it to me."
> "As you command."
The Empress stared into the empty mirror frame.
> "He's dangerous… but I cannot decide to kill ."
---
Lin Tian's POV—
Dust choked the stairwell as Lin Tian descended beneath the palace — far below the roots of the throne.
He reached a vast stone chamber, lined with statues of ancient cultivators. A single dais lay in the center, surrounded by glowing array runes.
> "This must be it," he whispered.
The map from earlier matched the layout perfectly.
He stepped into the center.
An ancient array flared. Runes spun in the air, light seeping from the cracks in the earth.
> "WHO DISTURBS MY SLUMBER?"
The voice was vast, layered with centuries of slumber. The walls trembled.
A shimmering spirit form rose from the seal — demonic in form, yet humanoid, its eyes flickering with unbound greed.
> "Mortal. You seek power?"
Lin Tian's breath caught.
> "Yes."
> "Bring me the key that unseals this prison. And I shall grant you immortal techniques — and treasures beyond imagination."
His ring grandpa hissed.
> "Fool! This thing is ancient — sealed for a reason! Something about this reeks of a trap!"
But Lin Tian's eyes blazed with desire.
> "Where's the key?"
> "Seek it in the royal vault … unlock it, and I shall rise again."
Lin Tian nodded slowly.
Far above, in a new manor bought within the capital, Gu Changge leaned back in a silk robe, sipping wine. Yuerou sat near the balcony, combing her hair in silence.
The System flared.
> [ALERT: UNKNOWN THREAT DETECTED NEAR PROTAGONIST]
[Resonance Spike: Half-Immortal-Level Aura Detected — Dormant]
Gu Changge's smile faded.
> "So… the true game begins now."
---
End of Chapter 18
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Author's Note:
Want to see what Yuerou looks like?
I've shared her illustration in the comments section below — scroll down and check it out! Let me know what you think!