Vermilion Palace – South Pavilion, Third Watch of the Night
The moon hung like a silent witness above the gardens, draping silver over the quiet ripples of the lotus pond. Inside her temporary chamber, Mei Xueyan knelt before a sealed scroll, her ink brush hovering, untouched.
For the first time in her life, she did not know how to begin.
Not as a disciple.Not as Holy Daughter.Not even as herself.
She exhaled, pressed the brush down, and wrote.
To the Inner Blossom CouncilEncrypted under seventh-ring petals
Honored Elders,
The parley was not a lie. But it was a veil. What I have seen in the depths of Vermilion's soil is neither treasure nor weapon. It is something older than our feud. Older than kingdoms.
A vault. A seal. A presence that does not sleep, but waits. It speaks without sound. It echoes through bloodlines not only royal, but… Lotus-bound.
You will think I have been deceived. I assure you—no truth comes so heavy without cost. I have felt it beneath my bones.
We have always called ourselves the Shadows. But what sleeps beneath this land… makes shadows of all of us.
If you must move against the Vermilion King, do so with open eyes. This is no longer a game of revenge. It is a question of survival.
I await guidance—but I do not await permission.
—Mei Xueyan
She sealed the scroll with her personal sigil, then overlaid it with a thin slice of moon-petal charm. A touch of her qi activated the enchantment—one that could only be received by a living elder within the sanctum of the Crescent Grove Spire.
As the scroll vanished in a shimmer of night lotus light, Mei Xueyan leaned back, staring up at the wooden ceiling beams.
"What am I becoming?" she whispered.
Shadow Lotus Sect – Crescent Grove Spire, Dawn Ritual Chamber
The scroll appeared before Elder Magnolia in the middle of morning incense rites. The other elders glanced toward it, surprised—but Magnolia raised a hand, halting any questions.
She read it once. Then again.
And then... again.
The silence that followed was like the calm in the eye of a storm.
"She's not just wavering," Elder Orchid muttered. "She's tipping."
"She's seeing," Magnolia corrected. "That's more dangerous than betrayal."
Mistress Hua, ancient and white-haired, looked up from her seat.
"She speaks of a ley-prison. Of something ancient."
"She's being fed false visions," Orchid growled.
"Or," Magnolia said, "she's seen something we were never meant to find."
A hush fell.
Then Magnolia stood, placing the scroll into a sealed iron urn shaped like a lotus pod.
"We do not call her back. Not yet."
Orchid frowned. "You're letting her wander deeper?"
"No," Magnolia replied, her voice sharp and cold. "We're letting her lead us. If what sleeps beneath Vermilion is real, we'll need someone on the inside when it wakes."
Vermilion Palace – Balcony Outside the Inner War Hall
Mei Xueyan watched the sunrise crack open the mist over the Eastern hills. The sky bled pink like cut silk.
Behind her, Tianming approached. He didn't speak, only stood beside her, sipping a bitter root tonic from a jade cup.
"You didn't sleep," he said quietly.
She didn't look at him. "Neither did you."
"What did you write?"
"I sent word," she replied, voice neutral. "But not surrender. Not treason either. Just… a warning."
Tianming nodded. "Let them think what they will."
"They already are."
She turned toward him, studying the king without crown, without guards, without war paint.
"You're gambling with me."
"Yes," Tianming admitted. "But I'm gambling with myself, too."
A breeze stirred her veil.
"And if we both lose?"
"Then no one will be left to keep score."
Meanwhile – Western Tiger Basin, Border Encampment
A crimson-robed envoy stood before a blazing bonfire, arms outstretched as runes of war ignited around him. A shadowed figure behind him—wearing the crest of the Western Tiger Warlords—whispered into a spirit mirror.
"The Holy Daughter hesitates."
From the mirror came a voice:
"Then apply pressure. Ignite an incident. Strike near the Lotus—make it look like Vermilion."
The envoy bowed.
"As you command, Minister."
The flames flared red.