Chapter 36

📖 CHAPTER 36: THE GHOSTS OF THE PAST

The night stretched deep and silent after Feng Yusheng's departure, but the weight of his warning lingered.

Gu Qingyan ran her fingers over the jade pendant, the cool surface pressing against her palm.

The ones who were supposed to be dead.

She had fought against scheming relatives, greedy nobles, and treacherous allies. But this was different. This wasn't just about power struggles within the imperial court—this was something older, something buried so deep even history had erased it.

Xiao Yue shifted uneasily beside her. "Miss… do you think His Highness is telling the truth?"

Gu Qingyan's silver eyes gleamed in the dim light. "Partially."

Xiao Yue frowned. "Partially?"

Gu Qingyan's lips curved slightly. "He's withholding something."

Feng Yusheng had warned her, but he had also tested her. She could tell. He wanted to see how she would react, if she would flinch, if she would break.

But she had given him nothing.

Xiao Yue bit her lip. "What do we do now?"

Gu Qingyan stood, slipping the pendant into her sleeve. "We prepare."

Xiao Yue's eyes widened. "Prepare for what?"

Gu Qingyan's smile was sharp.

"For the dead to return."

—

📍 Deep Within the Forbidden Archives

Far from Gu Qingyan's quarters, in a heavily guarded part of the imperial palace, an old man knelt before a flickering candle.

The air smelled of ink, parchment, and time itself. Shelves of forgotten records loomed over him, their contents hidden behind heavy iron locks.

His wrinkled hands trembled as he unfolded a brittle scroll. His eyes, cloudy with age, scanned the familiar yet terrifying words.

A name that should never have resurfaced.

A lineage that should have remained buried.

His breath hitched.

Someone had found it.

The records had been broken.

A shuffling noise echoed behind him. His back stiffened, his fingers gripping the parchment.

"Who's there?" his voice rasped.

Silence.

Then—

A whisper.

Low. Hollow.

"You kept our names buried for too long, Elder Fu."

A shadow shifted beyond the candlelight.

The old man's heart pounded. "No… you can't be—"

The whisper came again, closer this time.

"We are still here."

The candle flickered—

Then, the room fell into darkness.

—

📍 Gu Manor – The Courtyard

A storm brewed in the distance, clouds rolling in like ink spilling across the heavens.

Gu Qingyan stood beneath the eaves, her arms folded as she gazed at the sky.

A new piece had entered the game.

Or perhaps… an old one had finally returned.

The jade pendant at her wrist pulsed with a faint, eerie warmth.

Gu Qingyan smirked.

"So," she murmured, "let's see who dares come back from the dead."

The first move had been made.

And she would not lose.