The Azure Heaven Pavilion rarely opened its inner sanctum to outsiders. Yet that morning, disciples whispered of the girl found in the crater, carried through the gates like a fallen star.
They said her hair shone like silver silk, her blood like crystal dew. They said the heavens had dropped her as a gift to the Pavilion, or perhaps a curse.
Feng Xieyun heard every word but spoke none. He walked among them like a shadow, hands clasped behind his back, eyes lowered. Only when no one watched did his gaze shift toward the jade hall where the elders had confined her.
---
Inside, the elders gathered. Their faces were masks of composure, but their voices betrayed unease.
"Her blood resists all seals," one muttered.
"The pressure from her mere breath crushed three disciples to their knees," another added.
"And yet," said the Pavilion Master, a tall figure robed in azure silk, "she is wounded beyond recognition. Whatever she fled from… it was not mortal."
At the center of the hall, Lian Zhi sat chained by runes of suppression. The chains glowed faintly, woven from jade and silver, binding her wrists and ankles. Yet her posture was straight, her eyes calm, violet irises shimmering faintly.
She looked less like a prisoner and more like a queen humoring her captors.
The Pavilion Master's voice cut the silence. "Who are you, child? From where did you fall?"
Lian Zhi's lips curved faintly. "Names are wind, Sect Master. And winds shift. I am simply Lian Zhi."
The runes tightened at her deflection, glowing brighter. Pain flickered across her face for the briefest instant before her calm returned.
"Do you think this is jest?" another elder snapped. "You carry power no mortal body should! If you are demon, speak it! If you are spy of the Lin Clan, confess!"
Her laughter was soft, melodic. "If I were either, elder, your bones would already be ash."
The room chilled. The elders exchanged uneasy glances. Even chained, she spoke with the weight of someone who had seen countless years.
---
From the shadows near the hall's entrance, Xieyun watched silently. He had not been invited, yet Elder Mo had let him slip inside without a word. Mo's eyes flicked to him once, sharp, as if testing how he would react.
And Xieyun did react—though not outwardly. For when Lian Zhi's gaze swept the hall, pausing briefly on him, a shiver passed through his veins. It was not recognition, but acknowledgment.
She knew.
Not what he was, not yet—but she knew he was not like the rest.
---
The Pavilion Master rose, his aura filling the hall. "Whether you are demon or exile, you will remain bound until we decide. If you resist, you will die."
At that, her smile vanished. Her violet eyes burned, ancient and cold. For the first time, her voice sharpened.
"You speak of death as if you own it. But the Immortal Plane writes death and life with a different brush. If you knew from where I came, you would kneel instead of binding me."
Gasps filled the hall. Several elders paled, recognizing the implication.
The Pavilion Master's eyes narrowed. "Immortal Plane…"
The runes tightened violently, chains searing her wrists, forcing her down onto her knees. She trembled but did not cry out. Instead, she laughed again—low, defiant.
"Yes. I fell from the sky you dare not name. I am not gift, nor curse. I am proof that your world is smaller than you dream."
The chains glowed white-hot. Her body slumped forward.
"Enough!" the Pavilion Master roared. "Silence her until her arrogance cools."
---
Xieyun's hands curled into fists, hidden in his sleeves. He watched the blood drip from her wrists—shimmering crystal drops that refused to sink into stone.
And then the whispers rose within him.
She bleeds power. Take it. Drink it. She is weakness cloaked in starlight.
The Demon Bone throbbed in agreement, hungry. His vision blurred crimson for an instant, and he saw himself ripping free the chains, pressing her against the cold floor, drinking her blood until the world itself bent.
But he blinked, and the vision vanished. His breath shook.
No. Not now.
The System chimed softly:
> [New Directive Available.]
[Protect Target: Lian Zhi.]
[Optional Reward: System Authority Increase.]
Protect her? The System had never commanded that before. Why her?
Xieyun's eyes lifted once more, and Lian Zhi's gaze met his across the hall. Despite her chains, despite her blood, she smiled at him.
Not gratitude. Not weakness. But something sharper.
Recognition.
---
When the elders dispersed, leaving guards at the chamber's doors, Elder Mo lingered by Xieyun's side. His voice was low, almost inaudible.
"Do you understand what she is?"
Xieyun's voice was steady. "She is danger."
Mo nodded slowly. "Yes. And danger… attracts danger. Remember that."
Then he left, robes sweeping behind him.
Xieyun remained a moment longer, staring at the chained girl through the crack in the door. Her head was bowed now, silver hair spilling like starlight across her shoulders. Yet he knew she was not broken.
Neither was he.
And somewhere deep within, he sensed it: their paths, twisted and bloodstained, had just begun to entwine.
---
That night, the Pavilion whispered of a fallen immortal chained in their hall. Disciples dreamed of treasures, of blood that could grant ascension, of eyes that saw through realms.
But in the shadows, Feng Xieyun dreamed of violet light and crimson whispers colliding.
And he knew—when she rose, she would not rise alone.
---
✨ End of Chapter Fifteen ✨
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