The wind carried the scent of frost and blood.
The bamboo leaves trembled under the weight of silence, as if the forest itself feared what was about to begin.
Shivay stood before Xue Lan, the assassin and the survivor — shadow and snow.
Between them, only the reflection of the crimson moon on the Silver Lake separated life from death.
> "I told you," she whispered, her silver flute still in her hand, "this land remembers betrayal."
Her tone was calm… but her Qi shimmered around her like frost crystals dancing in moonlight.
Shivay's fingers brushed the hilt of his blade — Silent Fang, the weapon forged to end destinies.
He had slain nobles, demons, and saints alike — yet this woman made his pulse quicken for reasons he could not name.
> "And yet, I am still here," he said quietly. "Perhaps the land should remember mercy too."
The flute's soft melody turned sharp — a wave of spiritual frost energy burst forth, freezing the air around him.
Shivay leapt back, slicing through the wave with his sword.
The clash of ice and steel sent shards of light scattering like falling stars.
He vanished — his form melting into the night.
Xue Lan closed her eyes, feeling his presence like a whisper behind her ear.
In a blink, the assassin struck — but his blade stopped, mere inches from her neck.
Her eyes opened.
In that fragile distance, the world paused.
> "You hesitate," she said softly.
"An assassin should not."
Shivay's breath was uneven.
> "And you… do not look like someone who deserves to die."
The frost around her melted slightly — as if his words had touched something long frozen within.
But before either could move, a dark mist surged from the forest.
A shadowy figure appeared — a mark burned across his face, the Black Lotus Seal.
> "Shivay!" the figure's voice echoed. "The master commanded her death. Do not fail him again."
The moment shattered.
Xue Lan raised her flute — its tip glowed with azure light.
Shivay's eyes hardened; his blade shimmered with red Qi.
The assassin and the outcast stood side by side —
Enemies by order… allies by fate.
The mist closed in.
Their blades moved in harmony — her frost, his flame.
It was no longer a battle… it was a dance of survival,
a song of blades and blossoms under the bleeding moon.
When the last shadow fell, only silence remained — and the two stood, wounded but alive.
Shivay looked at her, his mask cracked, his eyes bare.
> "We're both being hunted now," he said, voice rough.
"Then perhaps…" she whispered, turning away, "we should stop running alone."
As dawn painted the sky gold, two destinies that were never meant to meet had begun to intertwine.
And in the distance, the Shadow Emperor watched from his throne of mist — smiling, as his game had finally begun.
---
🔥 End of Chapter 2: "Blades and Blossoms" 🔥
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Chapter 3: "The Frost Memory" —
Xue Lan's tragic past of the Frost Orchid Sect revealed… and Shivay begins to question the true purpose of his clan's orders.