Chapter 17

📖 CHAPTER 17: THE SHADOW'S WARNING

The night was quiet, but Gu Qingyan knew better than to trust silence.

She stood by her window, the moonlight casting silver patterns across her chambers. The events of the day replayed in her mind—Gu Ruoyun's downfall, the family's shifting suspicions, and Feng Liyan's cryptic words.

Everything is a game.

She exhaled softly.

If that was true, then she would make sure she was the one controlling the board.

A faint rustle.

Her gaze sharpened.

Someone was on the rooftop.

Without hesitation, she moved. With a swift step, she opened her window and slipped outside. The cold wind brushed against her skin as she landed lightly on the wooden beams.

There—a figure in black, standing just beyond the lantern's glow.

She tilted her head. "You're getting bolder."

The figure did not move.

Then—

"Leave the manor."

The voice was deep, almost whisper-like, yet filled with an unshakable weight.

Gu Qingyan's lips curled slightly. "Is that a warning?"

The figure took a step forward, the dim light revealing a masked face.

"It is a promise."

Her fingers curled around the silk of her sleeve.

Interesting.

For someone to risk breaking into her chambers just to tell her to leave?

They were either a fool—or knew something she didn't.

She smiled faintly. "And if I refuse?"

A pause.

Then, in a voice like a blade against glass—

"Then you will not live to regret it."

The wind howled between them.

For a long moment, neither moved.

Then—

Gu Qingyan took a step forward. "If you wanted me dead," she said softly, "you wouldn't be warning me."

The figure went still.

She tilted her head. "So tell me. Who sent you?"

The figure exhaled, as if laughing silently.

"You ask too many questions, Lady Gu."

And in the next instant—they vanished.

Gu Qingyan stared at the empty space, her pulse steady.

A warning. A promise. A shadow that did not wish to strike—yet.

She turned, stepping back inside.

She did not need to leave.

She only needed to be ready.

Whoever was playing this game with her—

They had just made their first mistake.

---

📍 The Hidden Chambers – Somewhere in the City

The masked figure knelt before a seated man, his golden eyes glinting in the candlelight.

"She did not listen," the masked figure said.

Feng Liyan smirked.

"She never does."

The masked figure hesitated. "She is not afraid."

Feng Liyan leaned back, his gaze thoughtful. "Of course not."

A pause.

The masked figure finally asked, "Then why warn her?"

Feng Liyan chuckled.

"Because," he murmured, "I want to see if she survives."

His golden eyes gleamed.

"The real game hasn't even begun."