ch 23 – Beneath the Mirror Lake

The serpent never strikes the same place twice — unless he leaves something behind.

That was what Rui Xuan told himself as he walked into the ancient shrine buried in the Northern marshlands.

The temple was abandoned. Ruined. Flooded with fog.

But still laced with Mo Jue's scent.

And Rui Xuan followed it like a thread pulled taut across lifetimes.

He had come alone.

He always did.

But this time — not without purpose.

Beneath his sleeve, he wore a talisman laced with binding spells. A mirror-seal inscribed with celestial runes that could trap a demon's shadow if placed beneath moonlight.

> "This ends tonight," Rui Xuan murmured, voice steady. "I will not be toyed with again."

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🐉 The Lure

The Mirror Lake shimmered just beyond the broken altar, still and silver. Its surface reflected not just the sky — but memories. Whispers. Illusions.

Rui Xuan stood at its edge, barefoot, waiting.

And Mo Jue came.

Not with thunder or smoke.

But barefoot as well — walking on the water's surface as if it were glass.

His robes swayed like darkness given shape. Hair silver-white in the moonlight. His golden eyes unreadable.

He didn't speak right away.

He only looked at Rui Xuan — long and hard — before finally asking:

> "Why are you alone again, Rui Xuan?"

Rui Xuan didn't raise his sword.

Not yet.

> "You like shadows. I wanted to give you one."

> "A trap, then?"

> "A mirror," Rui Xuan corrected. "So you can finally see what you've become."

Mo Jue stepped off the lake. Onto land.

Closer.

He said nothing. But his gaze dipped — not to Rui Xuan's weapon, but to the tension in his hands. The tremble beneath the holy calm.

> "You came to bind me," Mo Jue said softly, "but you brought no army. Just a priest's charm... and doubt in your eyes."

> "I do not doubt," Rui Xuan snapped. But the words didn't land.

Mo Jue kept walking. Closer.

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⚔️ Trap and Turn

Rui Xuan raised his hand, summoning the mirror-seal.

The runes lit up — silver, bright, ancient.

It pulsed once.

Twice.

And then—

Mo Jue stood directly in front of him, letting the magic circle encase his feet, locking him in place.

> "So… this is how it ends?" he whispered.

Rui Xuan's heart pounded.

> "You've taken too many lives," he said. "You crossed the realms with blood in your mouth. You deserve to be caged."

Mo Jue didn't struggle.

He only looked up — and smiled. Soft. Broken.

> "If you wanted to cage me, Rui Xuan, you should've done it before you started haunting my dreams."

The seal flickered.

> "What are you talking about?" Rui Xuan asked.

> "You think this obsession is only mine?" Mo Jue whispered, stepping forward despite the seal beginning to burn his skin. "You come alone. You let me get close. You never kill me — even when you should."

The light surged. Mo Jue's veins glowed faintly with pain.

> "Why did you come tonight, Rui Xuan?" he asked, voice shaking. "To end me? Or to see if I'd beg you not to?"

Rui Xuan faltered.

Just enough.

And the seal — cracked.

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🌑 Reversal

The ground shook.

Not from Mo Jue's power — but from his refusal to fight.

He dropped to one knee.

Bleeding from the palm where the seal had burned.

But still — his eyes never left Rui Xuan's.

> "Go ahead," he whispered. "Do what you came for. Banish me. Kill me."

> "Don't make this harder," Rui Xuan whispered.

> "Then why are you crying?"

Rui Xuan's breath hitched.

He hadn't noticed.

But a single tear had fallen. And Mo Jue had seen it.

The seal finally failed.

Magic shattered like glass.

Mo Jue stood again — wounded, exposed — and brushed his hand gently against Rui Xuan's cheek.

> "You hate me," he said. "But no one else sees you like I do."

> "You don't see me at all," Rui Xuan said, stepping back.

> "That's where you're wrong," Mo Jue replied. "You're not a protector. You're a man. A lonely one."

Their eyes locked.

And for a moment, neither side of the war existed.

Just them.

Breathing.

Bleeding.

Almost touching.

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🌓 Later

Rui Xuan left the temple with the seal half-broken, the mission failed.

But Mo Jue didn't follow him.

Not yet.

Because somewhere in the trap Rui Xuan had set — he had been the one caught.

And that truth terrified him more than any blade.

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End of Chapter 23