Back to present time
In the silence of her study, Yue Lusi sat behind her mahogany desk, the twilight bleeding its violet hues through the blinds. Shadows danced on the walls like ghosts from a forgotten past. The fireplace crackled faintly, a soft contrast to the cold glint in her eyes.
"Have you found the man I asked you to locate?" Her voice sliced through the room like a dagger cloaked in silk.
Ci Chang stood respectfully, his stance formal. "Not yet," he admitted, eyes lowered. "But I discovered something else."
Lusi's fingers paused mid-signature. "Speak."
He shifted uneasily. "Inspector Mu… He personally handled both the K Project and your parents' accident."
Lusi's brows twitched, the only sign of the storm brewing within. "Go on."
"He closed both cases abruptly… and resigned. Disappeared from the city shortly after. It's almost as if he was silenced."
A flicker of pain crossed her face, but it vanished like a shadow under the sun. "Continue your investigation," she said calmly, dismissing him with a wave.
Moments later, her phone buzzed. An anonymous message glowed on the screen:
> "I know your real identity. If you want the truth about the K Project, come to this address after twilight."
Lusi stared at it for a long moment, then stood. Her reflection in the glass of the window looked uncertain, as if even she questioned her next move.
___________
The forest was silent as a grave.
Mist clung to the air like memories that refused to fade. The wooden house loomed like a forgotten relic, crooked and hollow, the kind of place where secrets slept under the floorboards.
She stepped inside.
A woman stood at the window, bathed in the dying light of day. "I knew you'd come," she said without turning.
The woman turned slowly.
Lusi froze, her breath catching in her throat. "Yue Xianying?"
It was like looking into a mirror—same eyes, same lips, same quiet strength buried under sorrow.
"I'm sorry," Xianying whispered. "For everything. I saw you that day... when Mira's car approached you. It felt like fate handed me an escape. I let them believe you were me."
Lusi's voice trembled. "You left me to become your shadow."
"No," Xianying said, stepping closer. "I gave you the chance to fix what I couldn't. You're stronger than me, Lusi. Smarter. I knew you could do what I couldn't."
"I'm not as strong as you think," Lusi murmured. "Every day feels like drowning."
Xianying smiled softly. "But you haven't sunk yet, have you? Family helps each other, right?"
Lusi blinked, stunned. "What… what do you mean 'family'?"
Xianying hesitated. Looked away. "It doesn't matter."
"What are you hiding from me?" Lusi's voice cracked, sharper now.
"It's nothing," she said, forcing a brittle smile. "Let's talk about the K Project. That's why you're here."
____________
They spoke for hours—about corrupt investigators, hidden files, ghost names in redacted documents. But the deeper they went, the more it felt like they were tiptoeing over graves.
Night had fallen by the time Lusi left.
She walked back through the woods, but her mind was still in that room. That word echoed: Family. What had she meant?
Behind her, Xianying stood at the window, her soft gaze vanishing like mist. Her expression darkened. Her posture straightened. The warm vulnerability turned to cold command.
"Keep an eye on her," she ordered the figure behind her.
"Yes, my Lord," the man said, bowing low.
Xianying's lips curled into a grim smile. "Don't let her fall too far in love. Love ruins everything."
Her voice dropped. "Let's see how you fight destiny and the Grim Reaper, Lusi."
_________
At the Villa
Yue Lusi stared at the ceiling. The word family clawed at her thoughts.
What did she mean?
A voice echoed in her mind, ancient and cold:
> "Trust no one—even if they die for you and in front of you."
___________
Centuries Earlier
975 years back
The plum blossoms were in bloom as Empress Wu Xianying stood in the garden, dressed in robes of obsidian silk, staring into the moonlit sky.
A guard knelt before her. "Your Highness. Princess Yue Lusi's execution is scheduled for dawn."
She nodded slowly. "Good. And Li Xuanyin?"
"We will ensure he dies with her."
"Perfect," she said, her voice like ice over steel.
Wu Tianye approached, clad in crimson armor. "Everything is in place?"
"Yes, cousin. Soon you'll be the Crown Prince."
Tianye's lips curled with malevolent delight. "Let me end him myself."
"As you wish." The Empress smirked.
But as the wind stirred the garden, a single blossom fell from the tree.
Somewhere far away, the soul of Yue Lusi stirred—caught between lifetimes, between truth and illusion.
The war had only just begun.