The night air was cold, but Lian barely noticed.
She stood at the edge of the training cliff, staring down at the clouds that churned far below Mount Yunyuan. The wind tugged at her robes, whispering secrets in a language she didn't understand—but felt like she should.
Ever since she stepped into this world, everything felt like a memory she couldn't reach.
Behind her, footsteps approached.
"Couldn't sleep either?"
It was Li Fang.
Lian glanced back but didn't speak. He joined her, standing just close enough to share the silence.
"The elders are saying strange things about you," he said, arms folded. "That your aura flickers between mortal and celestial. That sometimes, your eyes glow."
Lian bit her lip. "I didn't ask to be special."
Li Fang gave a dry laugh. "No one does. But when you are, people start to choose sides around you. Even when you don't want them to."
She turned to look at him. "And what side are you on?"
He didn't answer right away. "The side that wants to know who you really are… and why Shengzhi is hiding it."
His words struck too close.
Lian stepped away, her voice low. "You think I haven't tried asking?"
"I think you're afraid of the answer."
A pulse of heat flared in her chest—just like the day she'd saved Shengzhi. She took a breath, calming it before the qi burned her palms.
Li Fang noticed. "You're changing."
"I don't know into what," she admitted.
He looked at her then—really looked at her—and for a moment, there was no teasing in his gaze. Only concern. And something softer. Something she wasn't ready to name.
---
Meanwhile, deep in the sect's inner chambers, Wuqian kneeled in a shadow-drenched hall.
The figure before him sat upon a throne of ice and smoke, his face hidden in darkness.
"She's progressing faster than expected," Wuqian said. "Soon, her power will bloom."
"And my son?" the voice was cold, ancient.
Wuqian hesitated. "He protects her. He suspects nothing. But… he's growing attached again."
A hand emerged from the shadows, fingers sharp as blades.
"Then sever it. If she remembers who she was, everything I erased will unravel."
Wuqian bowed deeply. "As you command… master."
---
Back at the cliffside, Lian turned to go—but Li Fang called out.
"Lian."
She paused.
"…Just be careful. Not everyone here wants you to find out the truth."
She gave him a tired smile. "Then I'll be ready when they try to stop me."
And with that, she walked into the night—unaware of the eyes watching from above, and the trap quietly forming around her awakening power.
---
To be continued...