[The Gathering at Huai-Yun Hall]
At dusk, the stone path of the Yao-Nan Manor stretched silently toward the main hall. The fading sunset glowed like fire, casting long silhouettes of ancient trees and eaves.
As Gu Xingyu and her group entered, a guard rushed to meet them. "The Master of the Manor is waiting for you in the Huai-Yun Hall."
Inside, the hall was dimly lit. The scent of aged pine incense filled the air, and strategic maps and ancient star charts lined the walls.
The Master, Ye Qixiu—known to Xingyu as Grandpa Watch—stood leaning on his staff. His hair and beard were white as snow, yet his eyes remained sharp. His gaze fell upon Xingyu and Si Chengxun.
"You have finally come."
He spoke to Si Chengxun, but also to destiny itself.
Si Chengxun bowed slightly. "It has been years, Uncle Ye. I hope you are well."
Ye Qixiu's gaze darkened. "After Yun-zhao left, I swore never to interfere in imperial matters again. But now... it seems the letter she left behind must finally be taken up."
Xingyu was startled. "She... left a letter for you?"
Ye Qixiu did not answer directly. He looked at the watch in her palm. It was glowing faintly, its Yao-seal vibrating in harmony with a long-forgotten imprint.
"You have seen the visions and remembered fragments of her life," Ye Qixiu said slowly. "Her choices—whether right or wrong—now rest upon your shoulders."
Xingyu signaled Lin Lie to present the beacon. When the Yao-crystal was placed on a copper tray, the energy in the hall surged.
"This is no ordinary beacon; it is a branching node of the Rift-Yao Source Pulse," Ye Qixiu analyzed, his fingers tracing the crystalline surface. "The Third Prince is conducting a 'Reverse-Construction Experiment.' If he succeeds, the very foundations of Yao-energy will be disrupted. The Five Yao will no longer be able to maintain stability."
"In other words," Lin Lie's voice was grim, "he's trying to reshape the very roots of Yao-energy?"
"Not just reshape," Si Chengxun added, his voice like cold steel. "He is seizing power. If he succeeds, the Saintess and the Five Yao will no longer be the keys to balance. They will become mere energy sources for him to control."
Silence fell over the hall. Luo Ye leaned against the wall, muttering, "So that lunatic wasn't just talking."
Cang Yuan turned to Xingyu, his tone uncharacteristically serious. "What about us? Are we still the Five Yao she needs?"
Xingyu felt a pang of unease. She had once thought she was just an "ordinary person who found a watch," but now, memories and emotions that weren't entirely hers were awakening within her.
Ye Qixiu saw her hesitation. "Xingyu, Yun-zhao chose you not to become her, but to finish the path she couldn't complete. If you are merely her shadow, this game... will end in failure once again."
"What was the path she couldn't finish?" Xingyu asked. "Maintaining the balance of the Yao-world?"
Ye Qixiu turned to the star chart and pointed at the intersecting orbits of the Five Yao. "Balance is just the surface, Xingyu. Yun-zhao once believed that as long as she gathered the Five Yao and protected the Source, she could maintain order. She was wrong. This world is not sustained by Yao-energy, but by the hearts of people."
"She chose to trust the Imperial family, trying to trade her power for peace. She underestimated greed, and she misjudged the line between love and power."
Xingyu's brow furrowed. "You mean... she lost because of her heart?"
"She lost because she refused to 'defy' the one she loved," Ye Qixiu whispered. "She had the chance to stop the disaster, but at the final moment, she chose silence. Because that person was... Si Chengjing."
The hall went deathly silent.
Xingyu's voice trembled. "The one she loved... is the current Emperor?"
Ye Qixiu nodded.
"And me?" Xingyu whispered, her eyes clouded. "Will I also waver between love and fate?"
Ye Qixiu looked at her deeply. "I do not know. Yun-zhao's unfinished path was to see through the illusion woven by power and affection. You must go further. You cannot just 'guard' the Yao-world. You must ask yourself—is this world worth your life?"
"The Saintess is not a puppet, nor should she be a sacrificial lamb. You are not a double. You must not become the next light to fall."
[By the Moonlight Pond]
Later, Xingyu sat alone by the garden pond. The water reflected her image and the dim glow of the watch. Ye Qixiu's words echoed in her mind: "Yun-zhao never found the Five Yao. She used her own life to force open the Gates of the Source... and handed the Heart of Yao-Spirit to Si Chengjing herself."
Footsteps sounded on the grass. She didn't need to turn to know who it was.
"Can't you sleep either?" Si Chengxun asked, standing a few paces behind her.
"It's not that I can't sleep," she whispered, looking at the ripples. "I can't stay asleep anymore."
Si Chengxun sat on the stone steps across from her. "Uncle Ye told you, didn't he? About her... and my brother."
"Why didn't you stop her?" Xingyu asked, her voice tinged with a mix of anger and sorrow.
"I knew she had made her choice. I knew that the year she died, the celestial Yao-patterns went out of balance... that was the price of her sacrifice." He looked at the stars.
"Then why help us? Don't you hate her for loving the wrong man? Don't you hate your brother for destroying her?"
Si Chengxun looked down. "I did hate."
"But I also understand... she didn't choose him out of stupidity. She was cornered by fate, trapped between conviction and her heart. And I don't want to see you reach that point."
Xingyu's chest tightened. "Do I look like her to you?"
"No," he said firmly. "She was a light falling to earth, a self-contained tragedy. You are someone who stood up from the dust, choosing for yourself who you want to be."
"But I have her memories... her love, her mistakes..." Xingyu buried her head in her knees. "I'm not even sure if I am me, or just an extension of her."
"Then define yourself," Si Chengxun stepped closer, his voice sincere and unwavering. "She gave me a message: 'If I fall to this fate, I wish for your life to be smooth.' And I... will not let fate take a second version of her."
Xingyu looked up. Moonlight caught in his eyes like stardust. It was a gaze different from Lin Lie's logic, Cang Yuan's charm, or Luo Ye's fire. It was the gaze of a man who had buried his love but decided to protect a new hope.
"I am not her," she whispered.
"I know," he smiled. "But this time, let me stand in the place she couldn't protect. Let me shield you from the wind and the storm."
[The Watchers]
From the veranda, the Five Yao watched them, each with their own thoughts.
Lin Lie leaned against a pillar in deep thought. Cang Yuan sipped tea while eavesdropping. Luo Ye chewed on a piece of dried meat, muttering, "Is it necessary to sit that close?"
Sang Qi rolled his eyes at Cang Yuan. "Some people aren't eavesdropping; they're just busy holding a grudge."
Only Li Yan watched Si Chengxun's back in silence, weighing the situation. If this man truly stood with them, then perhaps they had a chance to win this war.