The moon hung low, heavy and pale, casting a silver sheen over the eastern courtyard. Most of the palace had retired for the night — all except for the ones burdened by ghosts.
Jin Xuan Yue walked alone through the corridor lined with phoenix lanterns. Each flicker of flame reminded him of her — not Li Hua, but Qing Yue, the woman he had lost, the woman he might be seeing again.
He stopped outside the royal library.
A single spark of qi surged from his palm, and the sealed doors unlocked with a whisper.
He entered.
Within, scrolls older than the empire itself lined the walls. Some written by celestial scribes, others transcribed from oracles long gone mad. He found the section forbidden even to gods — The Record of the Betrayal.
His fingers hovered over the scrolls.
> Qing Yue, once Guardian of the Foxfire Realms, fell from grace after colluding with demon forces during the Moonfall Rebellion…
No. That wasn't the truth. He could feel it.
But then his eyes caught something else — a sealed letter. Not written by the heavens.
It bore the crest of the Vermilion Fox Clan.
He opened it.
> "…She refused the alliance. The one who accepted was cloaked in silver, face hidden. It wasn't her. It never was."
He froze.
Then who…?
---
At the same time…
Li Hua — or rather, Qing Yue — sat alone under the old plum tree in the garden. Her fingers were stained with ink from the scroll she had found earlier.
She thought back to that night, one thousand years ago.
The screams. The flames. The betrayal.
But now… new doubts stirred.
> "She merely responded to the call…"
Could it be…
Her revenge, her hate, everything she'd clung to — was it built on a lie?
"Still awake?" a voice startled her.
She looked up. It was Rui Shen, holding two cups of warm rice wine.
He plopped down beside her.
"You looked like you needed a drink," he said, handing her one.
She hesitated, then took it. "Thank you."
They sat in silence, the night wind whispering through the trees.
"You know," Rui Shen said softly, "Xuan Yue has been hurting for a long time. He just doesn't show it. Not to anyone."
Li Hua's fingers tightened around the cup.
He still hurts?
Before she could reply, Rui Shen yawned loudly. "Well, if I disappear in the morning, assume your wine was poisoned. Good night."
He left, leaving her with a thousand questions and no answers.
---
Elsewhere, in the Moon Temple…
The Goddess of the Moon stared into her scrying mirror.
"Pieces are moving," she murmured. "But they will never see the board."
Behind her, the demon with silver eyes bowed low.
> "The seal has cracked, my lady."
"Good," she smiled. "Let it bleed. Let them all drown."