Chapter 190: The Eclipse Relic

Han Shuying’s words settled between them with a weight that seemed to silence even the battle raging beyond the fortress walls.

Qingyue stared at her. "What did he find? What are you talking about?" She asked in a voice that seemed to tremble with panic. It was already unusual that Qingyue’s calm exterior had been stripped away.

Han Shuying did not answer immediately. Her eyes remained fixed on the eastern castle, where smoke was already pouring from several shattered windows. The sound of fighting still echoed through the ancient corridors.

Soldiers were still rushing toward the breach, while others dragged the wounded away from the walls. But all of that seemed to fade into the background.

Lieyin turned to Han Shuying. "Don’t tell me you had this planned from the start." Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Is this why you followed us here?"

Han Shuying almost rolled her eyes. "Don’t delude yourself into thinking you matter much to me." She pointed outside the castle. "If General Sheng was here to kill the three of you, he would’ve been done with it already."

Qingyue pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose. "What then is he here for? There’s nothing in Ashen Fortress that could possibly catch his interest."

"That’s what you think." Han Shuying’s expression darkened. "He must’ve found what he’s looking for because the soldiers have stopped attacking. As for what he’s looking for..."

"The relic?" Qingyue asked.

Lieyin was confused. "What relic?" she looked between the two women. "What are you two talking about?"

She hadn’t noticed it at first but now that Han Shuying pointed it out, the difference was now obvious to Lieyin.

General Sheng’s army had not completely withdrawn, but the relentless assault against the walls had stopped. Only the small group that had broken into the old Eastern castle remained.

"The relic is worth more than this entire castle," Han Shuying said.

That sent a cold chill down Ru Yi’s back. She thought about the abandoned castle they’d been given. All the old furniture, the faded paintings, the sealed rooms and the stories of the former Empress that remained.

Lieyin stepped closer to Han Shuying with anger swirling in her eyes. "What is this relic you speak of and what does it have to do with this castle?"

"Remember the shadow that healed Ru Yi back at Tiancheng?" Han Shuying asked.

They all perked up at that.

"What does it have to do with anything?" Yexue asked, her body moving slightly to step in front of Ru Yi in a protective stance.

Han Shuying folded her hands against her chest. "The three of you really know nothing," she said with a sigh. "Hundreds of years ago, there was a woman known as the first shadow saint."

"Like a shadow cultivator?" Qingyue asked.

Han Shuying shook her head. "Not exactly. She wasn’t born with shadow powers. But during a war between cultivators and the royal bloodline, she discovered that every human soul had a hidden shadow—"

"Are we really about to have cultivation lessons in the middle of a battle?" Lieyin asked in annoyance.

Han Shuying paid her no mind. "The shadow is a part of the soul containing suppressed desires, memories and instinct. She learned how to separate the shadow from the soul. But she encountered a problem...Once separated the shadow became sentient."

"Her own shadow became so powerful that it could possess bodies, consume souls, and manipulate people’s emotions. It nearly destroyed the entire kingdom. But she couldn’t destroy the shadow because it was still connected to her soul."

Lieyin couldn’t take it anymore. "What does any of this have to do with Ashen Fortress?"

"The woman created a relic using a fragment of her own soul, the heart of an ancient shadow beast and a piece of heavenly meteorite that had fallen during an eclipse. She used it to control her shadow."

Han Shuyin’s voice dropped lower. "There was only one rule. It can only control a shadow whose soul has accepted another soul as its master."

Ru Yi felt like every part of her had been pricked by tiny needles. She remembered the words of the fortune teller back at Emberfall. That the body she was currently possessing had something else in place of a soul.

Could it also be related to the shadow that was buried deep in her?

Officer Liang who had been quiet all this time finally stepped forward. "One of the ancient royal records says that, ’When the shadow returns, the Eclipse shall awaken’."

Qingyue immediately looked at him. "You know of the relic?"

Officer Liang nodded. "I’ve heard stories, but I never thought any of it would be real. There’s a prophecy attached to it." He hesitated–

Qingyue urged him to continue. "Go on."

"The shadow saint created another relic after the Eclipse relic made from her shadow fell into the wrong hands. It was called ’The Shadow Severing relic’. She created it because she knew that one day, a person carrying two souls would be born and that person could awaken the power of the Eclipse relic."

"What happens when the power of the Eclipse relic is awakened?" Ru Yi asked, dread clutching the inside of her throat.

"The wielder will gain the power to manipulate people’s shadows and control their will." Han Shuying looked in the direction of the Eastern Castle. "If it falls into the hands of someone like General Sheng, then the entire kingdom is doomed."

"No one has been able to find the location of the Eclipse relic," Officer Liang responded. "No one even believes something as powerful as that exists."

"We can never be too sure," Han Shuying replied under her breath. "Because the location is right under—"

Another loud horn sounded right outside the gates. The other soldiers of General Sheng were forming a line right outside the Eastern castle.

Qingyue’s eyes narrowed. "What are they doing?"

Han Shuying’s face went pale. "I think they want to make a demand."

A rider emerged from the enemy formation, carrying a white cloth tied around his spear. He stopped in front of the castle where Qingyue and her group were.

He looked at them from under the window. "General Sheng offers you an opportunity to prevent bloodshed between the two parties."