Xio returned to the Lanxie main clan.
Finally back home after a long, sleepless night of trouble and silence. He sighed, standing still in front of the towering chambers that had once raised him. His eyes scanned the bold black-and-gold architecture that loomed like a crowned beast under the bleak sky.
Lanxie stood tall, proud, and ancient—but Xio took a long, bitter breath, because no matter how regal it looked from outside, the air here was far less pure than the rotten dampness of Fukaki's haunted earth... or Kitihito's silken hair
" w..what his hair ?! No ! " xio shook his head as he even subconsciously missed kirihito already..it felt confusing and even deep without knowing...
He rubbed the left of his neck which had another snake bite..probably kirihito gave him for doing something he didn't liked or wanted...
" Ah , he wanted to play more.."
Xio murmured while exhausted while looking at the chambers...the new bite with venom burned even more then the last one at night..
And also this place...
The same place where he had studied… grown older, but never truly grown. The same place that stitched every wound in his soul while carving fresh ones—under the burden of whispered titles like "2nd Grandmaster," "Lara Kumsun," or "2nd Dao."
The title that both kept him alive—and killed him slowly.
He didn't want to remember.
Even now, his head pulsed with an ache. Echoes roared in his skull—three voices screaming his name, crying it like it was the only word they remembered from their lives. Familiar voices. Painfully long gone.
The roof above was black, edged in gold; the walls glimmered with golden fire patterns and the flowing silhouette of a dragon's tail.
It looked like a dragon king's palace.
But it housed ghosts.
"Dao Xio has returned!"
A Lanxie guard spotted him from the corridor balcony and rushed inside with excitement. Xio simply rolled his eyes.
"Now I'll have to face him too..."
He muttered under his breath...then added with a hint of longing
" I would feel free if I was never binded by this curse..named lanxie and 2nd Grandmaster "
As he stepped toward the main hall, two servants opened the massive black doors for him, bowing deeply.
"Welcome back, Dao Xio."
He gave a slight nod but thought grimly, "More a curse than a welcome…"
His back remained straight, hands folded behind him, as he entered the grand corridor with a tired but composed expression.
Inside, Kage Ou's quarters:
Gold walls shimmered in candlelight, while black curtains with golden embroidery swayed softly in the breeze. The room smelled richly of sandalwood, wine, and smoke.
Kage Ou lounged lazily on his couch, a golden pipe of scented smoke in his hand, lips releasing slow fog as if drunk on both wine and boredom. Empty bottles lay scattered on the table beside him.
Two women were curled against him—one with her hand tracing lazy patterns over his half-bared chest, the other with her head resting on his shoulder, lips curled in a satisfied smirk. Their robes hung loosely from their bodies, barely covering anything. Faint love bites painted their collarbones and breasts—proof of the debauchery that had unfolded moments ago.
As the announcement reached his ears, Kage Ou turned his head with a glimmer of amusement.
"Get off, ladies~ my boy's back."
He slurred, waving them away lazily with a smirk. The women gasped in mock heartbreak, one clutching her chest dramatically.
"Don't leave us~ we still ache down there, Master~"
They pouted playfully, sliding their hands between their thighs for emphasis.
Kage Ou huffed and dismissed them like tired dogs.
"Shoo. I'm not available for now, you whining whores."
He stood up, barely fixing his robe, pushing back his shoulder-length black and silver hair, and opened the door.
There stood Xio—with his hand resting lightly over a bandaged arm, the open wound underneath still raw and dry. A painful reminder of how close to death he had been under Kuradome's guqin attack.
"Look who's back? My 2nd Dao, Xio!"
Kage Ou grinned and, before Xio could bow, slapped him on the shoulder so hard it echoed like a drumbeat.
The two women giggled from behind, their chests bouncing together in delight. Kage Ou smirked at their excitement, then turned to Xio again—who, in that moment, wished he could vanish and throw himself into his bed just to escape this absurdity.
The only good thing his uncle had ever provided him was a roof, a cursed title—and the softest, most luxurious bed in the entire clan. One he rarely even got to sleep in.
But now, he could barely breathe. His uncle's heavy arm was knocking the air from his lungs.
"Y… Yes. I… I'm back, Uncle…"
Xio murmured between the heavy smacks. Kage Ou laughed lazily.
"My boy's too handsome to keep away for too long, isn't he?~"
Xio gave a tight, fake smile. His gaze flicked briefly to the shameless women..his expression changed for some seconds by them..he rolled his eyes in disgust. They were now giving him sultry looks, biting their lips, breasts pushed up like offerings.
He exhaled from his nose, cold and sharp like a dragon's breath...it was clear by his expression that those things were included into his life..and perhaps it could he another reason why he called his life a curse
His glare made them flinch—because for a second, he truly looked deadly.
Kage Ou noticed, and wrapped an arm around him again, leaning into him with drunken ease...loomed proud for having both takamted and handsome nephew who is also another pillar of his whole lanxie clan
"Don't look at my black-gold jade like that.
He's pure. Innocent.
He's not gonna give you his huge treasure~
That's for his wife—or wives—to claim later. Maybe younger whores, if he wants to borrow a few."
He winked shamelessly.
Xio's cheeks turned slightly pink at his uncle's unfiltered speech...and that word " huge " shaken him even more The women giggled harder, now practically drooling with ideas...they are already dreaming how strong xio will be at bed..and they might ended up break one or two bones of their hips...
But more disturbing than their fantasies… was the thought that Kage Ou might have seen everything. Even that...and that feeling was even worse and hunted xio more then ghosts or any dangerous yokais..
Xio coughed and stepped back subtly, heart crawling in his throat...the way kage ou said those in teasing way..it gave him a bit of panic mixed with embarrassment
Kage Ou cleared his throat half seriously..his tone suddenly shifted—still lazy, still drunk—but sharper. He looked behind Xio, left, then right. Xio subtly ensured his collar covered the bite mark Kirihito left… he could guess what his uncle was searching for.
His heart skipped once.
"Where's that second-ranked soul garden yokai? The cursed type...
That surely first class special-grade one?"
Kage Ou's voice was low now, suspicious. Xio swallowed.
He blended truth with lie. Carefully...he's already professional enough at this..and hoping he can buy his uncle's believe by it too
"...I couldn't find him. But I discovered something else...."