A Name From the Past

Chapter 17: A Name From the Past

The mist curled around the stone bridge, clinging to the damp wood like a silent warning.

Ye Xian remained still.

The voice had come from the trees—soft, distant, but unmistakable.

"You should not have come, Ye Xian."

Her fingers twitched near her sleeve, where the poisoned needles lay hidden.

She knew many voices. This one did not belong to a stranger.

And that made it far more dangerous.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Zhao Fengyun turn slightly, his expression unreadable.

Bai Zhen, still wiping his sword clean from the earlier fight, let out a thoughtful hum. "Well, that's interesting."

The air was too thick. Too still.

Then—a shift in the trees.

And a figure stepped into the lantern light.

Ye Xian exhaled, steady and controlled.

Because she had expected an enemy.

She had not expected him.

---

The Phantom of the Hidden Order

Dark robes. A silver mask covering half his face. A sword strapped across his back, untouched.

But Ye Xian recognized him.

She always would.

Ji Rui.

A name that no longer existed in Jianghu.

A ghost. A former legend.

And her first teacher.

He stepped forward slowly, his gaze locked onto hers.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" he murmured.

Zhao Fengyun, standing just a few steps away, raised a brow. "Oh? Should we be honored by your presence, Phantom of the Hidden Order?"

Ji Rui ignored him. His eyes never left Ye Xian's.

"You were supposed to be dead," Ye Xian said evenly.

A pause.

Then—he smiled.

"And yet," he said softly, "here I am."

---

A Warning Wrapped in Shadows

Bai Zhen rested a hand lazily on his sword. "I take it you two know each other?"

Zhao Fengyun's gaze sharpened slightly, watching Ye Xian's reaction.

She exhaled, rolling her shoulders back.

"He was my mentor."

A flicker of amusement crossed Ji Rui's face. "Is that all I was?"

Ye Xian didn't answer.

Because the man standing before her now was not the man she had once known.

Ji Rui had died. Or at least, that was what the Hidden Order had claimed.

And yet, here he was—alive. Watching her. Waiting.

She inhaled slowly. "Why are you here?"

Ji Rui tilted his head slightly.

"You should leave, Ye Xian."

She didn't blink. "Why?"

"Because if you go to the Imperial Meeting, you won't come back."

The words settled between them like a knife between ribs.

The mist curled tighter.

Bai Zhen's expression lost its usual amusement. Even Zhao Fengyun, for once, said nothing.

Ye Xian exhaled slowly. "And who sent you to deliver this warning?"

Ji Rui's lips curved slightly.

"You already know the answer."

A pause.

Then—

"The Shadow Empress."

---

The Chains of the Past

The air turned sharp. Colder.

Even Bai Zhen and Zhao Fengyun—**two men who never showed real unease—**fell silent.

Because that name was not one spoken lightly.

The Shadow Empress.

The Hidden Order's leader. The one who controlled the unseen wars of Jianghu.

And the one who had raised Ye Xian to be exactly what she was.

A weapon.

Ye Xian didn't react. She couldn't.

Ji Rui took a slow step forward. "She knows, Ye Xian. She always knows."

A heartbeat of silence.

Then, softly—

"Run."

---

The Choice She Cannot Make

Ye Xian inhaled evenly.

Then—she smiled.

Not kindly. Not softly.

But like a woman who had seen death and walked past it.

"Tell her," she murmured, "that I don't take orders anymore."

Ji Rui's expression didn't change.

But for just a second—his gaze darkened.

"Then you've already lost," he said.

And just like that—he vanished into the mist.

Leaving only a whisper of his presence behind.

Ye Xian stood still, the cold air pressing against her.

She didn't look at Zhao Fengyun.

She didn't look at Bai Zhen.

She already knew what they were thinking.

Because the moment that name had been spoken—everything had changed.

---

The Storm That Awaits

As they mounted their horses again, Bai Zhen let out a long sigh. "So. Are we going to talk about the fact that the most dangerous woman in Jianghu has her eye on you?"

Ye Xian said nothing.

Zhao Fengyun exhaled softly, glancing at her.

His voice, when he spoke, was almost amused.

"Tell me, Ye Xian—"

He turned his head slightly, watching her beneath the lantern glow.

"Did you know you were walking into a death trap?"

She smiled faintly.

"Of course."

A pause.

Then—she spurred her horse forward.

Toward the Imperial Court.

Toward the next battlefield.

And toward a war she could no longer escape.

---

End of Chapter 17