Yan Wuhen stormed into Han Yunyi’s chambers and stopped.

It was... Empty.

The dining area lay still, lit only by a single flickering lantern mounted on the wall. Shadows stretched long across the floor.

Wuhen tilted his head, his expression darkening.

"Ah...?" A scoff left him, low and sharp, his fangs briefly catching the dim light. His nine tails swayed behind him, slow and deliberate, his red-gold eyes gleaming in the gloom. "She’s not here."

He didn’t turn. Not until Rong Yue stepped into the chamber.

Wuhen glanced at him, then walked over, lifting a hand to cup Rong Yue’s cheek with unsettling calm.

"It means she’s a threat," His smile thinned. "I should have killed her when I saw her earlier."

His voice dropped, almost a whisper. "I would have torn her heart out. Ningyan would have loved that."

Rong Yue’s lips twitched faintly, though his gaze had already shifted, scanning the room. "If she’s not here, I’ll have the guards search the palace," he said.

Wuhen hummed in agreement, already turning away. He went straight to the children’s chamber.

Without hesitation, he lifted Su Miao into his arms. The boy stirred immediately, his hazel serpent eyes fluttering open. "Dad... Wuhen..."

Wuhen smiled softly, brushing his hair back. "Let’s get you back to your father," he murmured.

He shifted, picking up Su Ruo as well but when his gaze fell on Su Mian’s bed...

Empty.

Wuhen froze. "...Mian?"

He checked the bathing chamber.

Nothing.

He searched every corner of the room, both children still in his arms but there was no trace of her.

Something cold tightened in his chest.

When he returned to the main chamber, Jun Haoxuan and Lan Meishan were still there.

They both looked up.

Wuhen rarely looked shaken.

Now... he did.

"What happened?" Jun Haoxuan rose immediately.

"I can’t find Mian."

"What?" Haoxuan frowned. "But we just—"

"Han Yunyi isn’t in her chamber either." Wuhen gently placed the still-sleeping children onto the bed.

While Jun Haoxuan was already moving.

Orders spread instantly. Guards flooded the palace. Searches extended beyond its walls, into the capital itself.

Every corner. Every shadow was being searched but there was no Su Mian or Han Yunyi.

The atmosphere of the entire palace turned heavy and oppressive.

Because when Su Ningyan woke and heard, everything changed.

He didn’t shout. He didn’t rage.

But something in him shifted.

He kept Su Miao and Su Ruo constantly within his sight, never letting them stray even a step away.

He did not cling to his husbands. He did not seek comfort.

It was as if he refused to let anything soften what was growing inside him.

His eyes burned with a vivid purple light. The crystal within him restless and unstable as days passed.

And still... he refused to let anyone near.

Even as the energy within him rushed violently, like waves crashing against his body, he endured it silently.

Seven days.

That was how long it took before the truth became undeniable.

Han Yunyi had taken Su Mian. And despite the combined efforts of all four divine beast clans, despite every eye, every scout, every search, there was no trace of them.

^°^

Leaving the Azure Dragon Clan behind, Ningyan chose to retreat to the Abyss Serpent Clan.

He brought the children with him and sealed himself away into deep cultivation.

For days that stretched into weeks, he remained within the chamber, cutting himself off from the outside world.

Using the wrath. Using the instability of the crystal. Turning both into fuel.

Lan Meishan stood at the entrance of the chamber, watching. His expression was faintly creased with worry.

Beside him, Su Miao clung to his leg, small arms wrapped tightly around him as he peeked toward the closed doors.

His hazel serpent eyes were filled with unease.

Ningyan hadn’t been himself. Not for a long time.

Meishan exhaled quietly and bent down, lifting the boy into his arms.

"Come," he murmured.

He turned and walked down the hall only to be stopped by one of the serpent guards, who bowed and presented two scrolls.

Meishan accepted them.

Before he could even react, Su Miao reached out and grabbed one, curiosity lighting up his face.

Meishan opened the other.

Wuhen’s writing.

Han Yunyi has been sighted in Fire City.

His gaze sharpened.

Then, he turned to the second scroll.

A golden sigil shimmered across its surface. The mark of the phoenix clan.

Meishan’s eyes narrowed.

He attempted to open it but the moment his fingers brushed the seal, a fierce golden light flared outward, coiling tightly around the scroll, rejecting him.

He lowered his hand slowly and set Su Miao back onto the ground.

"Go to Papa Xuan," he said softly. "Stay with your sister."

Miao hesitated.

"But... Father..." his voice wavered. "When is he going to be okay? He misses Mian, doesn’t he?"

For a moment, Meishan said nothing.

Then he reached out, ruffling the boy’s hair with a faint smile.

"He will be fine," he said quietly. "Now go."

Miao nodded reluctantly and hurried off.

Only after he was gone did Meishan turn back and walk toward the chamber.

The doors opened.

Ningyan was already awake. He sat against the wall, his back pressed to the cold stone, his long hair falling loosely around him.

His eyes glowed. A deep, unsettling purple.

He looked exhausted. Drained.

And yet, still unbearably beautiful.

"You’re finally out of cultivation," Meishan said, stepping inside.

He poured a cup of water and walked over, holding it out.

Ningyan took it without a word and drank it in one breath.

His chest rose and fell. A shaky exhale followed.

Meishan watched him closely, concern evident now.

"Haoxuan is here," he said. "He can help you stabilize the crystal."

"I..." Ningyan’s voice shook. His gaze had shifted to the scroll in Meishan’s hand.

"Wha..." His pupils dilated.

"That sigil..." he whispered. "Is that—"

Meishan stepped closer and knelt in front of him, holding out the scroll. "Han Yunyi was sighted in Fire City."

Ningyan’s head snapped up.

Their eyes met. "I’m going to kill her this time."

Meishan’s lips pressed together faintly.

"Before you open it," he said carefully, "you should let Haoxuan ease the strain of the crystal."

Ningyan didn’t respond. His attention was already fixed on the scroll.

But before his fingers could touch it, Meishan pulled it back.

Ningyan froze.

Slowly, he looked up. "Why are you stopping me?"

Disbelief flickered in his voice.

The scroll vanished into Meishan’s essence.

"I am not stopping you," Meishan said quietly. "I am trying to help you, so that your pain and wrath do not consume you... and disrupt your cultivation."

"I..I am perfectly fine." Ningyan’s voice trembled.

He sniffed softly, but the tears gathering in his eyes betrayed him. "I am just... sad.... And afraid."

He pressed his hand tightly against his chest, as if trying to steady something collapsing within him. "My daughter..."

His voice broke.

"What if I see her like that...?" he whispered. "What if my nightmare comes true?"

His fingers curled against his robes. "What if everything I have been running from..."

He stopped and slowly lifted his hollow gaze to Meishan.

"Please," he said softly. "Give me the scroll, Shan’er."

Something in Meishan’s chest tightened painfully.

He had never imagined seeing Ningyan like this.

"You told me," Meishan said, his voice low but steady, "to learn how to refuse you. Today... is the day I must."

Ningyan’s eyes widened. Tears slipped free.

Meishan held his gaze, even as his throat constricted.

"You need to be well," he continued. "Only then can we succeed in finding her."

Ningyan’s lips parted as if to argue.

But no words came.

Because the truth was that he didn’t want to be well. He wanted to sink into it.

The fear. The dread. The crushing weight pressing in from all sides.

The image of holding his daughter’s lifeless body would not leave him.

He sniffed, wiping his tears with the back of his hand, breathing unevenly as he leaned back against the wall. "I... don’t..."

Then his eyes widened.

"Do you think..." he whispered, "this is what they want?"

Meishan immediately stepped forward, reaching for him but Ningyan shook his head.

The gesture was small.

But it stopped him completely.

Meishan’s hand slowly fell.

"Don’t..." Ningyan’s voice wavered.

Then, suddenly, "If I go mad... will you kill me?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The glow in his eyes flickered violently.

Meishan froze. "...What?"

"I think this is what they want," Ningyan continued, his voice distant now, as though he were unraveling his thoughts in real time. "To push me into pain... into fear... So I lose control. So everything I have... is stripped away."

His breathing grew uneven. "And then... A perfect beast god. Filled with nothing but wrath."

Meishan’s eyes stung. "Ningyan..."

But Ningyan looked at him again.... truly looked this time. And there was something frightening in his gaze.

Clarity.

"That’s what they want," he said softly. "And it’s working."

He took a step forward. "In such a short time..."

He took another step. "Can’t you see it?"

He reached out grasping Meishan’s sleeve tightly. "Can you see it, my dear husband?"

His voice dropped to a fragile whisper. "They want you to kill me. They want all of you... to kill me."

His fingers tightened. "Will you?"

The question hung in the air, sharp and devastating.

Meishan pulled Ningyan into his arms tightly, afraid he might shatter.

"I... I.. love you, my sweet affection." His breath broke as he pressed a hand to the back of Ningyan’s head and an emerald glow spread gently between them.

Ningyan stilled almost instantly. The tension drained from his body.

His eyes fluttered shut. And then he went completely limp.

Meishan caught him. He lifted Ningyan into his arms, holding him close against his chest.

His expression hardened but the pain in his eyes did not fade.

Without a word, he turned and walked out of the chamber.