The moon hung low, shrouded in a thin veil of clouds, casting a silver pall over the sacred training grounds of the Celestial Palace.
Jin Xuan Yue stood at the center, alone, sword in hand, his strikes sharp and precise — yet every movement held an edge of fury.
Clang. Slash. Spin.
Each motion was flawless.
But his breath was uneven.
Each strike… not just against air — but against ghosts.
Her eyes. Her scent. Her defiance.
He saw them everywhere now. In dreams. In silence. In her.
Li Hua.
He dropped the blade and let it pierce into the ground.
"Enough," he muttered.
Behind him, someone approached. Not silently enough.
"Still can't sleep, Your Highness?" Rui Shen asked, arms crossed, a teasing smile on his lips — though it didn't reach his eyes.
Jin Xuan Yue didn't turn. "Were you spying again?"
"No," Rui said. "I was merely walking. But since I'm here… would you like to talk about the fact that you haven't stopped training since dusk?"
Silence.
"I saw you looking at her again," Rui said carefully. "Li Hua."
That name. Again.
"She's… just a servant," Xuan Yue said stiffly.
Rui Shen raised a brow. "Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night?"
Jin Xuan Yue turned, silver gaze sharp. "There's something wrong about her. She's hiding something."
"And yet you haven't thrown her out."
"She reminds me of someone I failed," Jin Xuan Yue said at last.
Rui blinked.
So he admitted it.
"I don't know if it's her eyes, her tone… or just my cursed guilt," Xuan Yue murmured. "But when she speaks… I feel as though the past is clawing its way back."
Rui Shen, for once, had no joke to offer.
---
Meanwhile, deep within the Fox Shrine hidden beneath the Palace gardens, Li Hua knelt before a glowing relic — her fox pearl — encased in sacred flame.
Her hands trembled as she reached for it… but stopped.
"Why do I hesitate…?"
She had planned everything — from her entry as a servant to her slow rise close to the War God. Revenge had burned in her chest for a thousand years.
But now…
She had seen him feed a stray beast he thought no one was watching.
She had seen him wait outside the temple for a priestess too old to walk alone.
She had seen him mourn her.
And tonight, she had heard him whisper her name… not Li Hua.
But Qing Yue.
"How could a man capable of betrayal… still grieve like that?"
Was it all a lie? Or had she… misunderstood?
No. The Moon Goddess had told her the truth. Hadn't she?
Hadn't she?
Her grip on the fox pearl loosened.
From the shadows, a voice murmured, "You're faltering, Qing Yue."
Li Hua turned sharply. The cloaked figure of the Moon Goddess emerged, veiled in white mist.
"Do not forget who destroyed your clan. Who watched you die."
"I remember," Li Hua said, but her voice shook.
The Moon Goddess smiled coldly.
"Then stop questioning what must be done. The Demon Star awakens soon. Jin Xuan Yue must fall — or all this was for nothing."
Li Hua's breath caught.
She nodded.
But her heart was no longer certain.