Two Weeks Later – On the Road to Yanzhou Ridge
The sky citadel faded behind them, floating once more in silence.
Jiang Xuan didn't look back.
He led now with a blade at each hip — Echo Fang and Yun Qing's saber. One remembered pain, the other demanded answers.
Beside him walked Sang Lian, her sharp eyes scanning the path ahead, and Emei, her expression colder since Jiuhua. Behind them, a fourth presence—quiet, bare-footed, and unsettling.
Fang Yao, the Red Monk.
He followed without chains, without commands. But he smiled too easily.
And he never blinked.
---
The road twisted along the cliffs.
Down below, Yanzhou Ridge stretched — once a stronghold of roaming sects, now fractured. Rumors claimed its leaders were vanishing. Others said their disciples had started kneeling to the wind.
Jiang Xuan spoke quietly as they walked.
"They know."
Sang Lian raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
He nodded toward the horizon.
"The ones who remember the old name. The ones who still whisper in shadows."
Emei's voice was low. "You mean the ones who used to serve the Demon Crown."
"No," he said.
"I mean the ones who still do."
---
A Nearby Town – Yunlan Crossing
The four of them entered at dusk.
A small trading post — dusty roads, low-roofed houses, paper lanterns swinging in the breeze. At first, no one noticed them.
Then the whispers started.
"That scar on his neck…"
"Those blades…"
"He matches the scrolls."
"It's him."
Jiang Xuan kept walking.
He didn't smile. He didn't wave.
He didn't need to.
---
They stopped at the main tavern.
A barkeep stumbled to greet them. He looked nervous.
"We—we don't have much, but there's tea. And food. We welcome all travelers—"
Fang Yao stepped forward, smiling.
"We're not here for food."
The man paled.
Sang Lian intervened gently. "We'll take a private room. And ask no questions."
The barkeep nodded furiously and vanished.
---
Inside – Quiet Table, Quiet Storm
They sat in silence.
Until Emei broke it.
"This is the fourth town in a row that recognized you."
Jiang Xuan didn't reply.
She leaned forward.
"This isn't just memory. Someone's talking."
He nodded.
"They're spreading the name."
Sang Lian asked, "You want that?"
Jiang Xuan looked at them both, eyes calm.
"If they fear me, they won't stand in my way."
---
Fang Yao chuckled.
"I remember when fear followed you like a crown. Now, you wear nothing."
Jiang Xuan's voice was cold. "A crown bends the neck. Fear sharpens it."
---
A Knock on the Door
Soft.
Polite.
Sang Lian reached for her glaive, but Jiang Xuan raised a hand.
He stood and opened it.
A young girl stood there — maybe twelve — holding a scroll in both hands. She looked terrified, but determined.
"I—I was told to give you this."
He accepted it.
The scroll was plain, unmarked.
Inside:
"The Ash Banner rides again. Meet us at Hollow Root within seven nights. Come alone, or not at all."
No name.
Just a sigil burned into the parchment.
A winged crown.
His crown.
---
Emei read it over his shoulder.
"That's impossible. The Ash Banner fell in the Demon Crown's last stand."
Sang Lian said nothing — her grip tightening slightly.
Fang Yao grinned.
"Oh, they fell. But clearly, someone crawled out of the ashes."
Jiang Xuan rolled the scroll again, slow and calm.
Then said:
"Good."
---
Three Days Later – Hollow Root Forest
The trees here didn't whisper.
They moaned.
Twisted and blackened, the forest stretched like a scar across the land. Mist clung to the roots like it was alive, curling between branches and bones half-buried in the soil.
Sang Lian stood just outside the edge of the trees, eyeing the mist. "You sure this is the place?"
Jiang Xuan nodded. "They chose it for a reason."
"Why?" Emei asked.
"Because this is where I buried them," he said quietly.
---
They entered at dusk.
Fang Yao was the only one smiling.
"Ah, the Hollow Root. I remember when the forest cried louder than the generals."
Sang Lian gave him a sharp look. "You were here during the last stand?"
He nodded. "We all were. But only some of us stayed."
---
As they walked, the mist thickened.
Shapes flickered between trees.
A woman in red, weeping.
A child holding a broken crown.
Swords rusting in an invisible breeze.
"These aren't ghosts," Emei whispered. "They're illusions. Formed from guilt."
"They're watching," Jiang Xuan said. "Testing."
---
They reached the clearing by moonlight.
Dead silence. Cracked stones arranged in a broken circle. Old banners torn and faded, half-buried in ash.
Then—
A dozen figures stepped from the mist.
Hoods. Armor blackened with soot. Eyes veiled. Silent.
And in the center, one knelt.
He wore no hood.
No armor.
Just a burned cloak and a heavy stare.
He spoke first.
"You are not the Demon God."
Jiang Xuan stepped forward.
"I am what remains of him."
---
The man stood. "That is not enough."
Jiang Xuan didn't blink. "Then kill me."
A pause.
The other man walked closer.
Looked into his eyes.
Saw the mark pulsing faintly at his throat.
Then knelt again.
One by one, the others followed.
Twelve shadows, bowing to silence.
---
"We are the Ash Banner," the man said. "And we kneel not for forgiveness. But for purpose."
Jiang Xuan lowered his gaze slightly.
"What purpose do you want?"
"To finish what you started."
---
Later That Night – Beneath the Hollow Sky
They lit a small fire in the ruins of a stone temple. The Ash Banner remained at a distance — watching, waiting, whispering to one another.
Jiang Xuan sat beside it, flames flickering across his scarred features.
Emei leaned close. "They fear you. But it's not hate."
"They're waiting to see if I become him," he replied.
Sang Lian joined them. "What if you do?"
Jiang Xuan said nothing for a long while.
Then: "Then they'll follow. Or they'll die."
---
Fang Yao approached, quiet as ever.
He placed a folded map beside the fire.
"New message came while you were in the woods. From the east."
Jiang Xuan unfolded it.
The parchment was smeared in blood.
No signature.
Just four words:
"The Saintess has bled."
He stared at it for a moment.
Then folded it again.
---
Emei frowned. "What does it mean?"
Sang Lian looked uneasy. "Who is the Saintess?"
Fang Yao chuckled, low and slow.
"It means someone has touched the spear you left behind, Your Grace."
Jiang Xuan stood, staring into the trees.
"She's not ready."
"Who?" Emei asked.
But Jiang Xuan was already walking away.
----
End of Chapter 26