The cave was silent.
Too silent.
The kind of silence that clung to the bones and made the heart forget how to beat. Ash drifted in the air like ghostly snowflakes, landing on Mei Lin's lifeless body. Her blood had seeped deep into the stone, blackened by the remnants of the Demon Flame that had consumed her killers.
Feng Xieyun sat beside her, his head bowed, his fists pressed into the dirt until his knuckles split. The crimson in his eyes refused to fade, pulsing faintly with every heartbeat.
He did not cry. He could not. The fire inside him burned too hot, devouring even the shape of his sorrow.
But he felt the weight. Heavy. Crushing.
Mei Lin's gaze—empty, glassy—was etched into his mind.
---
Lian Zhi stood at the mouth of the cave, watching the horizon. The scar in the sky pulsed faintly, Heaven's wrath lingering like a stain. Yet her violet eyes were turned not toward the heavens, but toward Xieyun.
"You cared for her," she said softly.
His jaw tightened. "She was a child. She had no part in this."
"No one innocent remains once Heaven takes notice," Lian Zhi replied. Her voice was calm, but her hand tightened at her side. "She died because she stood near you. And more will follow."
His head snapped up, eyes blazing. "Then I'll destroy everything that dares stand near me!"
The words echoed like a vow, the Black Lotus flame flickering around him. The cave walls groaned under the heat, stone melting at the edges.
Lian Zhi did not flinch. She walked toward him, her silver hair brushing the firelight, and crouched by Mei Lin's body. With delicate hands, she closed the girl's eyes.
"Then begin with this," she whispered. "Learn to bury the innocent you cannot save. For if you cannot carry this weight, the world will crush you long before Heaven does."
Her words were a blade—sharp, merciless. Yet beneath them, something softer lingered. A recognition. She, too, had buried her share of innocents.
---
The System chimed, mercilessly precise.
> [Death Witnessed: Mei Lin.]
[Corruption Increased: 5%.]
[Warning: Emotional suppression detected. Host's humanity at risk.]
[New Path Unlocked: Ash-Bearer's Will.]
Xieyun clenched his fists harder. Humanity? What had mercy bought him? Nothing but betrayal and corpses.
Still, he whispered under his breath: "Forgive me, Mei Lin."
Then he rose.
---
They buried her beneath a twisted pine outside the cave. The soil was shallow, rocky, but Lian Zhi wove chains of starlight into the earth, softening it. Together, they lowered her body.
Xieyun pressed the last stone over her grave himself. His hand lingered there, trembling.
No prayers. No blessings. Only silence.
But in his heart, something blackened further.
---
As they left the cave, Lian Zhi spoke again, her voice low. "Those assassins… they carried the mark of Lotus Hall. But Lotus Hall alone could not know you had survived Heaven's wrath so quickly. Someone guided them."
Xieyun's eyes narrowed. "Who?"
She hesitated. Then: "The Lin Clan."
The words struck like steel. His blood roared.
"My mother's clan…" His voice was a growl. "They hunt me already?"
"Of course," she said simply. "Your Demon Bone belongs to them. And if Heaven has marked you, they will either seal you… or use you."
Xieyun's flame writhed, black lotus petals blooming faintly in the air. "Then they'll choke on both."
Lian Zhi studied him, her gaze unreadable. She said nothing more, but in her silence, he sensed both warning and… perhaps, a sliver of respect.
---
As night deepened, they descended the mountains. The land below the Pavilion was eerily quiet, villages abandoned, beasts fled. Word had spread fast: the Azure Heaven Pavilion was gone, burned to ash by a crimson flame.
Every step drew eyes. Not mortal ones—those of clans, sects, and even Heaven itself.
And in the shadows, unseen by either of them, a figure watched.
He wore no mask, yet his presence was blurred, as though the world itself refused to shape his face. His robes were black embroidered with silver lotuses, his hands folded behind his back.
When he spoke, the wind carried his words like poison.
"Good. Burn, little demon. Burn until your flame reaches the heavens. When the time comes, you will return what is mine."
His eyes glinted crimson for an instant—an echo of the same flame that burned in Xieyun's chest.
Then he vanished, leaving only the faint scent of blood lotus in the night air.
---
Far below, Xieyun halted suddenly, his body stiff. He felt it—a gaze, sharp and cruel, brushing his soul.
He looked up at the sky, into the endless darkness. His flame flickered.
Someone was watching.
And whoever they were, they would come