The wind changed first.
Not loud. Not fast.
But different — like it remembered something.
Qiuyue stiffened, her fan flicking shut with a quiet snap.
> "Someone's coming."
---
They were already too close.
Figures in white robes, wind-whipped and moon-backed, hovered on glowing talismans above the valley.
The Lotus Sect had returned.
---
Yinan dropped behind a withered pillar.
Still soaked. Still breathing too loud.
Qiuyue pulled him deeper into the ruined shrine, eyes sharp.
> "Your face isn't ready. You still look… half-dead."
> "I am half-dead."
> "That's not a selling point."
---
Outside, sect elders landed in a graceful circle — robes embroidered with silver lotuses, sharp eyes scanning the area.
One of them was Shen Liansheng.
Still tall. Still unreadable.
His sword hummed at his hip, tuned to pain.
---
> "This place reeks of ghost Qi," a female elder muttered.
"A resurrection attempt?"
> Liansheng's eyes swept the shrine.
He paused.
Looked toward Yinan's hiding place — and didn't speak.
Qiuyue whispered in Yinan's ear.
> "He smells you."
"He won't say it. But he knows."
> "Then why isn't he—"
> "Because if he speaks your name, the others will finish what the mirror didn't."
---
They watched from the dark.
Silent.
Breathing like hunted things.
---
Suddenly, a fourth figure floated into view — not dressed in sect robes at all.
Silver chains jingled on their boots.
Crimson eyes shimmered in the moonlight.
A delicate smirk curved their lips, framed by sharp eyeliner and glimmering earrings.
---
> "Wow," the stranger said, inspecting the broken stones.
"So this is where he woke up."
They crouched and picked up a single petal from the cracked pond.
> "Cute."
---
Yinan felt a chill climb up his spine.
> "Who—?"
Qiuyue exhaled sharply.
Her voice was almost reverent.
> "That's Jin Suyin.
Crown heir of the Black-Fanged Moon Clan."
> "A demon?"
> "A diplomat, technically.
But yes. And worse — they flirt with everyone."
---
Suyin rose and turned in Yinan's direction — eyes locking through the wall, like they could see through stone.
> "He's alive, you know."
> "Who?" Elder Bai asked.
> "The broken boy."
Suyin's grin widened.
"And I hope you're ready. He's not going to stay broken."
---
> Liansheng looked down at the petal in Suyin's hand.
He said nothing.
Just turned and walked away.
---
Back in the shrine, Yinan finally exhaled.
> "They'll come for me."
> "Yes," Qiuyue said.
"And if you want to be ready, you'll have to bleed harder than before."
She held out a scroll.
Blood-red. Sealed with a flower sigil.
> "Ready for your next technique?"
Yinan took it.
His hands didn't shake.
---
💀 [SYSTEM STATUS — Updated]
> Lotus Qi: 200 / 300
Next Unlock: Fury
New Quest: "Complete the Crimson Bloom Sutra Trial"
▸ Survive demon contact
▸ Restrain your emotions
▸ Or weaponize them
---
> Somewhere far away, in a garden of living swords, a boy lit incense for the dead.
The smoke curled around his face.
> He whispered:
"I hope you stayed dead, Yinan."