Chapter 21 – Phoenix’s Silent Tears

Night descended upon Dragon Tale City with a shivering hush, mist curling like ethereal serpents around the towering pavilions of Black Starmoon Commercial's eastern compound. Lanterns lined the stone walkways, their dim orange glow flickering against the intricately carved wooden pillars that held up sweeping eaves of black-tiled roofs.

Within the private courtyard of the Alchemy Division's residence hall, incense spiralled lazily into the rafters, carrying the scent of aged sandalwood and tranquil lotus pollen. The silence here was broken only by the soft dripping of condensation from moon lotus leaves into koi ponds below.

Fang Qiu sat behind his low ebony tea table, his aged fingers curled around a steaming porcelain cup. His dark indigo robes, embroidered with silver cloud patterns along the hems, accentuated his gaunt cheeks and thin lips pressed into a solemn line.

Across from him, kneeling on a woven bamboo mat, was a young woman of seventeen summers. Her robes were of deep crimson silk embroidered with faint phoenix feather patterns at the hem and sleeve edges. Jet-black hair fell to her waist, tied back with a single jade hairpin carved into a delicate blooming magnolia. A faint glow of golden-red aura flickered beneath her pale skin, like dying embers within ash.

She bowed her head deeply, her forehead pressing against the mat. Her voice trembled with a suppressed fragility.

"Grandfather… you summoned me."

Fang Qiu studied her quietly for a long moment. The lamplight cast shadows across his hollowed eyes, revealing age's weary etchings upon his brow. He sighed, setting the teacup down with a quiet clink.

"Feng Xue," he said softly, voice carrying a restrained tremor beneath its calmness. "Your condition… it flared again today, didn't it?"

The girl shivered at his words. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill down her flushed cheeks. Her lips parted as if to deny it, but her trembling shoulders betrayed her.

"…It… it's worsening, Grandfather," she whispered, unable to hide the truth. "My meridians burned all morning. I tried circulating the Fire Meridian Purification Technique… but it's useless. The flames only rise higher each day."

She clenched her fists tightly atop her knees, her knuckles whitening. The room's warmth grew suffocating as heat roiled from within her core, crackling painfully across her qi channels. She felt like a sealed furnace with no outlet, her bloodline's phoenix essence screaming for release.

Fang Qiu watched her quietly, pain flickering through his eyes before his expression hardened into its usual stoic calm. He leaned back, folding his arms into his robes as he gazed at the moonlight pooling beyond the curtained window.

"After your father and mother died when you were four," he began, his voice deep and resonant, echoing in the stillness like a solemn chant, "the Feng Clan severed all ties to you."

Feng Xue's eyes darkened, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.

"They called your mother a disgrace for marrying your father without their approval," Fang Qiu continued. "When she died, they discarded you like refuse. Had I not taken you in… your bones would already be buried nameless beneath the frost."

He paused, exhaling softly as if venting countless unspoken frustrations to the drifting incense smoke above.

"I raised you as my own granddaughter… though our surnames differ, it never mattered to me. You were… you are… my family."

Feng Xue squeezed her eyes shut, tears falling freely now. Her memories blurred between fragmented flashes: cold winds whipping against black funeral banners, her mother's warmth gone in an instant, the scent of incense overwhelming her as elders murmured cruelly behind half-covered fans.

Her voice cracked as she spoke, filled with grief, anger, and suffocating despair.

"…But it's my birthright, Grandfather. The Phoenix Manual… only that can stabilise my bloodline. Otherwise… I… I will burn from within before I turn twenty."

Fang Qiu closed his eyes, his hand curling into a trembling fist atop his knee. The flickering lamp flame reflected against his thin irises, revealing a turbulence suppressed for too many years.

"I know," he said finally, his voice a low growl of helplessness. "I have tried everything. I've used every connection I possess as Black Starmoon Alchemy Division Manager. I sent emissaries to the capital, offered trades to rogue cultivator guilds, scoured trade halls for mimicry manuals. But none of them worked."

His gaze darkened as he stared into his tea's swirling surface.

"The Phoenix Rebirth Manual is exclusive to the Feng Clan. Without it, your bloodline's innate flames will consume your meridians entirely. It was only sealed temporarily because of your mother's manual fragments when you were born… but with her gone, that protection ended long ago."

Feng Xue's lips trembled. The flickering golden-red glow beneath her skin pulsed in erratic waves, making her wince as her meridians burned with phantom fire. Sweat beaded upon her forehead despite the courtyard's cool evening breeze.

"Why… why do they hate me so…?" she whispered brokenly. "Why condemn me to die just for existing…?"

The silence that followed was oppressive. Fang Qiu's hand twitched atop his knee, longing to reach out to comfort her, but he kept it firmly clenched within his sleeve. He could not afford to show weakness – not when he needed to remain her unbreakable pillar.

After a long moment, he exhaled, his eyes sharpening with cold resolve.

"…I've made a decision," he said quietly, every syllable carrying an iron edge. "The Black Starmoon Commercial is dispatching envoys to Black Dragon City to expand their operations. They require experienced division managers to solidify their influence in that city."

He paused, looking directly into her tear-streaked eyes. "I will take that transfer. I will assume position as the Alchemy Division Manager of Black Dragon City."

Feng Xue blinked through her tears, confusion dawning in her gaze.

"Black Dragon City…? But… why there…?"

"Because it is closer to the imperial capital," Fang Qiu said, his tone brooking no refusal. "From there, it will be far easier to negotiate directly with the Feng Clan. Whether it requires bribes, trade deals, or political concessions, I will acquire the Phoenix Manual for you before your condition worsens beyond salvation."

Feng Xue's lips parted as she stared at him in silent shock. The flickering lamp flame illuminated her tear-stained cheeks and trembling eyelashes. All her life, she had known only abandonment from those who shared her blood – yet the man before her, whose blood did not flow in her veins, carried her burdens upon his shoulders without question.

"…Grandfather…" she whispered, her voice breaking into sobs. "I… I don't deserve you…"

Fang Qiu closed his eyes briefly, inhaling the quiet incense-laden air. When he opened them again, his gaze was filled with an unyielding iron calm.

"You are my granddaughter," he said simply. "Nothing more needs to be said."

A silence fell between them, filled only by the chirping of night crickets beyond the curtained windows. The moonlight fell upon Feng Xue's bowed form, painting her in ethereal silver as her tears dripped quietly onto the bamboo mat below.

Finally, Fang Qiu spoke again, shifting the conversation with practiced swiftness.

"There is also another matter," he said. "Ren Moxi."

Feng Xue blinked through her tears, raising her reddened eyes to him.

"The alchemist who refined tier three pills for his disciple…?" she asked quietly.

Fang Qiu nodded, swirling his tea absently.

"Yes. He wields Phoenix Flames of an unknown variant. His control over them surpasses even Feng Clan's junior alchemists. If… if he possesses even fragmentary knowledge of Phoenix cultivation theory… it may hold auxiliary insights to stabilise your condition until we secure the true manual."

Feng Xue remained silent, digesting his words. The embers beneath her skin flared again, making her gasp softly. Her clenched hands dug into her thighs until her nails threatened to draw blood.

She forced her breathing to slow. Tears still pooled at the corners of her eyes, but a faint flicker of determination ignited within them.

"…I will endure it, Grandfather," she whispered, her voice low yet firm. "Until you secure the manual… I will not die."

Fang Qiu felt a rare warmth swell within his chest. He nodded once, rising from his seat. The folds of his indigo robes rustled softly in the quiet chamber.

"Rest tonight," he ordered, his tone resuming its usual stoic authority. "Conserve your energy. I will finalise transfer preparations within the week."

Feng Xue bowed deeply until her forehead pressed against the mat.

"Yes, Grandfather."

He turned towards the doorway, pausing only once to glance back at her kneeling form illuminated by moonlight and lamp flame. For a brief moment, his eyes softened with a grief that only he himself would ever witness.

Then he turned away, stepping silently into the candlelit corridor beyond.

Night Outside the Courtyard

The moon hung low over Dragon Tale City, casting silver light upon tiled rooftops and drifting mist. Courtyard lanterns swayed gently in the night breeze, their glow illuminating the koi pond's rippling surface where scattered lotus petals floated in silent beauty.

Feng Xue remained kneeling long after Fang Qiu departed, tears dripping silently onto her robe. She clenched her fists tighter, feeling the phoenix flames roiling within her, screaming for freedom.

Outside the courtyard walls, robed shadows moved under cover of darkness. Black Starmoon envoys prepared their travel documents, sealed goods lists, and convoy formations for the upcoming transfer to Black Dragon City. Murmured voices discussed trade expansion, guild position shifts, and potential alliances with other city alchemy halls.

None of them knew that within a silent courtyard chamber, a young girl knelt upon tear-stained mats, praying to any heaven or ancient phoenix spirit that might hear her silent plea.

Please… let me live long enough to repay him…

She raised her trembling fingers to her chest, feeling the flickering heat threatening to devour her from within.

I will endure it. Until I can fly… until my wings awaken… I will not die.

Beyond the high pavilion walls, lightning flickered faintly in the distant northern sky, illuminating the storm clouds that coiled like silent dragons above Black Dragon City far away – the city where her fate, her grandfather's resolve, and her dying bloodline would converge upon a path paved in crimson feathers and undying flames.