The rain came without warning.
Dark clouds rolled in from the north, heavy and violent, drenching the Celestial Palace in minutes. Servants rushed through the courtyards, collecting scrolls and silks before they were ruined.
Li Hua stood under the eaves, her hands trembling slightly as thunder cracked across the sky.
But it wasn't the storm that unsettled her.
It was the call.
Low. Wild. Distant — yet echoing inside her bones.
A beast's cry.
No human could hear it.
But she could.
Because that cry didn't come from the outside world… it came from within the sealed realm, buried beneath the palace. A prison no mortal should sense. A place where old power slumbered — and where her kind had once been chained.
A spirit beast…? But this presence… it's familiar.
"Li Hua."
She flinched at the sound of her name.
Jin Xuan Yue had appeared beside her, silent as shadow. His silver robe was barely touched by the rain, and his golden eyes studied her with unsettling calm.
She bowed quickly. "My lord."
"You hear it, don't you?"
Her heart froze.
He didn't look accusing. Only... curious. Knowing.
"I hear thunder, my lord."
He stepped closer, voice low. "You heard the beast's cry. Only two beings in this palace could recognize it."
She swallowed. "What do you mean?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he lifted a hand and traced a sigil in the air — a golden rune that shimmered like starlight. For a moment, the storm quieted.
And in the silence… the cry came again. A deep, ancient howl. Beautiful. Sad. Powerful.
Her knees buckled.
His hand was suddenly at her waist, steadying her.
"You heard it again," he whispered.
Her eyes locked with his.
She didn't speak.
She didn't need to.
Because in that moment, the fragile wall between them cracked a little more.
---
Elsewhere, Rui Shen sneezed loudly as he tried to cover a sacred scroll with his coat.
"This is ridiculous!" he shouted to no one. "Who orders silk prayers in the middle of monsoon season?!"
Behind him, Jin Mei walked calmly through the rain, untouched by a single drop. Her parasol glowed faintly, repelling water as if the sky itself obeyed her.
"You could just ask me to help," she said, amused.
"I could also jump off the east tower, but we both know neither will end well for me."
She smirked. "Maybe you're not as dumb as you look."
"And maybe you're not as terrifying as you act."
Her foot connected with his ankle.
He yelped, hopping in circles. "Okay, okay! I take it back!"
But she was already walking away, not bothering to hide the small smile on her lips.
---
Back inside her chambers, Li Hua sat drenched, clutching the jade pendant again.
The spirit beast's cry… it wasn't random.
It had been a warning.
A seal was weakening.
Something buried deep below the palace was stirring.
And part of her — the part that remembered being Qing Yue — felt the truth like a blade to the heart:
If the seal breaks… not only Jin Xuan Yue will fall. The entire realm might burn.