The palace at night was a beast of gilded shadows, its every corridor whispering of power and peril. I walked through its veins with measured steps, though my thoughts churned like storm-tossed seas.
Then—
"Do you even realize?"
Li Jun's voice cut through the silence, pulling me to a halt. He emerged from the archway's gloom, his usual composure frayed at the edges.
"Must you always appear like some brooding specter?" I arched a brow, but my jest fell flat. His eyes—those usually unreadable depths—burned with something raw.
He stepped closer, voice low. "Is this truly the path you choose? Knowing what awaits?"
The weight of his gaze pressed upon me. This wasn't the detached strategist I'd once known. This was a man standing at the precipice of some private torment.
"Fear never stopped me before." I turned fully toward him. "Every soul in these halls dances on knives. Why should we be any different?"
His jaw tightened. For a heartbeat, I thought he might reach for me—might say the words neither of us dared voice.
Then—
A laugh like shattering ice.
Liu Rufeng strode through the moonlit courtyard, his silks whispering of obscene wealth. "Li Jun," he tutted, "still playing the loyal hound?"
Li Jun's hand twitched toward his sword.
"State your business," I snapped.
Liu Rufeng's smile turned razor-thin. "Merely to enlighten you. This game you think you're winning?" A pause, deliberate as a garrote tightening. "You've only seen the first move."
Something in his tone sent ice down my spine. This wasn't mere taunting—it was a hunter revealing the trap already sprung.
"Hidden identities," he mused, circling us. "Such fragile things in a palace that eats secrets for breakfast."
My pulse roared in my ears. How much did he know?
Li Jun remained statue-still, but his silence was louder than any protest.
I forced a laugh. "If you think threats will sway me—"
"Oh no," Liu Rufeng interrupted, suddenly deadly serious. "I'm simply curious how far you'll walk before the abyss looks back."
With that, he melted into the shadows, leaving his poison to seep into our bones.
The night seemed heavier now.
Li Jun exhaled sharply. "You're still resolved?"
I met his gaze, the truth crystallizing within me. "More than ever. This isn't just their game anymore." My fingers brushed the dagger at my waist. "It's mine."
Somewhere beyond the walls, a nightingale sang—its melody swallowed by the coming storm.
Let the abyss stare.
I would stare back.
ns216.73.216.67da2
and then Add to home screen.