Chapter 34:Moonblood Trial

Two women.

Two flames.

One heart.

And the heavens never let a man walk both paths without demanding blood.

---

The forbidden moon rose high above the Crimson Flame Sect — crimson-tinged and veined with lightning. It was no ordinary full moon. It marked the Celestial Alignment, a time when soul bonds were tested and old seals grew weak.

In the silent night, the fifth petal of Long Feng's Soul Flame trembled.

Ru Xue's voice echoed in his mind:

> "By the next full moon, I return… or vanish forever."

But now, with Mei Ling beside him, tangled in his sheets, her body still warm from their shared embrace, Long Feng could barely breathe beneath the weight of it all.

---

She stirred in the candlelight, rolling over to face him.

"I've made my choice," she said quietly.

His heart tightened. "Don't say it."

"I'm not leaving you," she whispered, resting her hand on his chest. "But I'm not standing in the way either."

She looked at him, eyes brimming with tears.

> "If she was yours first,

if she died for you,

then I'd rather lose you to honesty…

than chain you with guilt."

---

Long Feng stepped onto the Flame Soul Platform, a sacred circle sealed in a cliffside cavern — only accessed once every thousand years.

The ritual had one rule:

> Burn away one bond… to protect the other.

To take Ru Xue back, he must give up Mei Ling.

To keep Mei Ling, he must let Ru Xue die once more — forgotten forever.

The ancient fire priest lit the soul lanterns. "Place your hand on the Moonblood Stone," he instructed. "It will not lie. Not even to you."

---

Darkness swallowed Long Feng whole.

He found himself in a world of shattered memories — floating between past and present, between Mei Ling's laughter and Ru Xue's dying breath.

Suddenly —

Two flame specters appeared.

Mei Ling, glowing with pink-gold fire, arms open, eyes filled with pain and hope.

Ru Xue, veiled in frostfire, silent but shimmering, as though she'd waited a lifetime to speak.

The stone before him cracked.

A voice thundered:

> "Choose. One shall remain. One shall burn away forever."

---

Mei Ling stepped forward, tears in her burning eyes.

> "If you still love her, I won't hate you.

I'll only hate myself for not being enough."

Ru Xue finally spoke.

> "I waited. I gave up everything. I burned in silence, believing you'd come.

Don't let me die for nothing… again."

Long Feng's knees buckled.

"I— I can't lose either of you. I love you both."

> "Then you are selfish," the voice said.

"And the fire chooses only the honest."

The stone glowed red.

The ground cracked.

His soul flame began to split—violently.

---

Long Feng screamed.

His body convulsed as two flames — Mei Ling's and Ru Xue's — tore through his spiritual sea, each demanding to be the one.

Veins burst.

Blood poured from his mouth.

His dantian shattered and rebuilt itself over and over.

Every memory screamed:

Ru Xue, kissing him beneath divine rain.

Mei Ling, holding his shaking hand after the assassin attack.

Ru Xue dying with his name on her lips.

Mei Ling choosing him when she could have chosen power.

It was too much.

---

But then—

He heard both voices at once.

> "If you love us both…"

"Then let us both stay…"

The fire paused.

Long Feng's eyes shot open.

"No," he whispered. "I won't lose either."

He stood. Bleeding. Shaking. But firm.

> "I'll rewrite the balance.

I'll break the limit.

I will create a sixth flame."

The heavens cracked.

The Moonblood Stone exploded.

The priest screamed. "Impossible!"

---

Long Feng collapsed on the Flame Soul Platform, blood soaking the stone beneath him.

But he was breathing.

And in his chest…

The fifth petal bloomed.

But so did a sixth spark — unstable, undefined, but real.

Mei Ling appeared beside him, clutching him tight. "You're alive! You're—"

But then her eyes widened.

Behind her…

A frostfire figure appeared.

Ru Xue.

Clothed in pale robes. Breathing. Crying.

Alive.

--

Two flame maidens.

One man.

One soul flame, now blooming beyond prophecy.

The priest fell to his knees.

> "He has broken the Soul Limit.

Six flame petals. Six fates.

The prophecy is no longer bound…"

But the skies didn't celebrate.

They darkened.

Lightning cracked.

And from the Divine Realm…

Lei Wuxian's eyes snapped open.

> "So. He's chosen her."