Chapter 206: A message in the dark

Yexue did not sleep that night.

Han Shuying’s words had followed her back to the room and remained with her long after the fortress had fallen silent.

What do you want?

It sounded like such a simple question, yet Yexue had spent years avoiding it because the moment she tried to answer, she found herself thinking about her sisters first.

She had always known what Qingyue wanted. She had always known what Lieyin wanted. She had always known what their little family needed.

But herself?

That answer had always been buried beneath everything else.

She eventually left the room and wandered through the eastern castle, moving quietly through the corridors while the moonlight poured through the broken windows.

Workers had repaired some of the damage, but much of the castle still looked wounded, with sections of stone blackened by smoke and pieces of the roof missing.

Yexue stopped outside the room where she and her sisters had once slept with Ru Yi. She stared inside.

The beds had been rearranged, and the blankets had been replaced after the fire, but the room still carried traces of what had happened there. She could almost hear Ru Yi laughing, almost feeling the warmth of her beside her.

Yexue closed her eyes. Then she heard footsteps.

"Yexue."

She turned.

Qingyue stood at the end of the corridor. "You’re awake too."

"I could say the same."

Qingyue approached, her expression tired but composed. "Lieyin hasn’t returned yet."

"I know."

"Han Shuying told me she was speaking with you."

Yexue looked away. "She was."

"About Ru Yi?"

Yexue hesitated. "No. She said she was going back to the capital."

Qingyue’s expression tightened. "Do you think she’s going to rattle to Empress Lihua? I’m concerned about her sending soldiers here."

"Han Shuying is one grain to figure out. But if she said she’ll help open the trade routes, then she might be on the right side of history for once."

They stood silently. Then Yexue noticed the jade necklace around Qingyue’s neck. "You’re still wearing it."

Qingyue’s hand immediately covered the necklace. "I forgot it was there."

Yexue didn’t believe her. Before she could say anything, a strange sensation passed through the corridor. The candle flames flickered.

Qingyue immediately reached for her sword. "What was that?"

Yexue looked around. "I don’t know."

The darkness beneath Qingyue’s feet suddenly moved. She froze.

Yexue stared. "Qingyue..."

The shadow stretched across the floor. It was barely noticeable at first, like an illusion caused by the flickering candles, but then it began crawling toward the wall.

Qingyue stepped backward. "What is happening?"

The darkness reached the stone wall and spread upward. A faint black mist gathered in the center. It made Yexue’s eyes widen.

"This isn’t your shadow."

"No." Qingyue raised her hand and the mist condensed.

For one terrifying moment, a woman’s silhouette appeared within it. Yexue’s breath caught. She knew that figure.

"Ru Yi." The name was whispered like a sacred prayer.

The image flickered. It wasn’t clear enough to see her face properly, but Yexue knew.

Qingyue stood completely still. "Can you hear us?"

The figure didn’t answer. Instead, the shadow moved across the wall, forming words in darkness. Yexue’s heart began pounding, she felt a strange chill.

Qingyue’s hand tightened around the jade necklace. "Ru Yi?"

The shadow flickered again. For a brief moment, Ru Yi’s face appeared. She looked different.

Not physically. But her eyes were different.

The softness Yexue remembered was still there, but beneath it was something colder, sharper and far more difficult to recognize.

Yexue stepped forward. "Is it really you? Are you safe?"

Ru Yi looked at her through the darkness. Then her gaze shifted toward Qingyue. For several seconds, neither woman spoke.

Qingyue’s lips parted. "Ru Yi..."

The image disappeared.

Yexue’s heart dropped. "Wait!"

The shadow returned for one final moment. Ru Yi’s voice was faint, almost swallowed by the darkness. "Don’t worry about me."

Then she was gone and the corridor returned to normal.

Qingyue remained frozen.

Yexue looked at her sister. "She wanted us to know she’s alive."

Qingyue didn’t answer.

"She could have said something."

Still nothing.

Yexue moved closer. "Qingyue."

Her sister finally looked at her. "She changed." What the hell did General Sheng do to her? And how was she able to appear in shadow form?

Yexue swallowed. "Yes."

Qingyue looked at the empty wall. "She sounded..."

"Different."

Qingyue’s hand tightened around the necklace.

Yexue watched her. "Do you regret letting her go?"

Qingyue closed her eyes. For a moment, she looked exhausted. Then she opened them again. "I don’t know. I know she didn’t mean to betray us but...letting her go was the only way to save others."

It was the most honest answer Yexue had ever heard from her.

Far away, beneath the mountains, Ru Yi stood in the underground chamber with her hand resting against the Eclipse Relic. Her breathing was steady.

The shadow beneath her feet had returned to normal.

General Sheng stood several steps behind her. "You contacted them."

Ru Yi didn’t turn around. "Yes."

"You were told not to."

"I know...I just wanted to know how they were doing." Without me.

"And?"

Ru Yi stared at the relic. "They seem fine."

"Did you expect anything else?"

"No."

Sheng approached. "You could have told them where you were. I’m sure they’ll put up a fight to bring you back to them."

Ru Yi shook her head. "I don’t want them to come for me."

"Why?"

She was silent. Then she looked down at her finger. At the empty place where the ring had once been. "Because I don’t know what I’ll do if they do."

Sheng studied her. "You still care about them."

Ru Yi’s expression hardened. "That doesn’t matter."

"It matters to your shadow."

Ru Yi looked toward the darkness.

General Sheng continued. "Every time you think about them, your power responds."

Ru Yi’s eyes narrowed. "Then I’ll learn to control that too."

"You cannot control everything you feel."

"No."

She turned toward him. "But I can decide what I do with it."

General Sheng smiled faintly. "That is the beginning of wisdom."

Ru Yi looked back toward the relic. The darkness around it pulsed. "Tomorrow, I want to try again."

"With the relic?"

"Yes."

"You’re progressing quickly."

"I need to progress faster."

Sheng studied her. "Why?"

Ru Yi thought of Qingyue’s face. Of Yexue’s voice. Of Lieyin and the fortress she had once called home.

Then she remembered the moment Qingyue had told General Sheng to take her and her expression became cold. "Because one day they’re going to realize that letting me go was a mistake."

The Eclipse Relic pulsed behind her, and the shadows climbed the walls. And this time, Ru Yi smiled.