Hao Enlai doesn't remember how he got home. The lights of his estate burn dim without its owner. He doesn't bother lighting more torches, nor calling for anyone to do it. Right now, he finds the dark and familiar passages of his house very comfortable. And yet, the unease lingers. He seeks for more comfort.
Yuki. The word drifts through his mind like a lifeline.
Yes, his birds. My pure, precious birds.
His heavy steps quicken as he climbs the stairs to the top floor. Just thinking about being in that room was starting to calm him down. It reminds him of his childhood—the simple days in the cold hell, when he lived with his family in the small palace of Lord Enma's third wife, Lady Liu Xiulan.
She was unlike the suffocating nobles of the capital. Perhaps just lonely in that frozen fortress, but she was kind. She let her son, Liu Xue, experience a normal childhood, allowing him to play with low-level servants. No rigid rules, no class barriers. Hao Enlai's family and many others were welcomed. Thanks to her, they had warmth in that icy place.
Atleast their childhood was warm. Liu Xiulan made sure it was.
And fluttering above those warm days in the cold hell were these birds of snow —Yuki. They carried him back to a time before ambition. Before loss. Before the dead outnumbered the living in his life.
His fingers curl around the bronze door handle and push it down eagerly. His shoulders already relaxing with the movement. And then the stench hits.
Rot and Blood.
The white room is drenched in crimson. Red blood and white feathers carpet the entire room Scattered among them lie gouged-out, pale blue eyeballs. That's right. Every bird is dead.
Except one.
In the middle of the carnage stands a lone bird. Relief floods him. His mind buzzes like a static-choked radio as his knees hit the floor. He reaches for the survivor with trembling hands, pulling it gently into his arms. He pats away clumps of matted blood from its white feathers, inspecting it. Its claws, body, and its beak. His thumb slides inside its mouth as he peeks into it.
Hao Enlai's eyes widen with shock. His gaze frantically run over the corpses of the other birds. It looked like someone had taken a huge bite out their bodies while they were alive. And the traces of their flesh remained inside the beak of the one alive.
His wide eyes finally meet with the bird in his hand. This bird…
The bird's beady gaze feels unsettling to Hao Enlai. In a trance, he loses himself under its eerie gaze.
Those eyes aren't blue.
They are grey.
The gentle grip on the bird tightens resolutely.
This is not a Yuki.
Its bones snap in his hands. Black blood splatters all over his face and drips down his fingers, his palms crushing the treacherous bird to death with no hesitation.
It was a predator. A murderer.
His birds knew before he did. Their erratic behaviour tried to warn him of the imposter. They called for help and his dense mind couldn't make any sense of it. And now it is too late, they are all gone.
He remains kneeling in the gruesome room, engulfed by the rotting smell of twelve birds with no will to stand up. Not even when he feels another presence behind him.
"Why aren't you speaking?"
Hao Enlai mumbles hoarsely. Head bowed with grief.
"Say something."
"Speak." His voice cracks. "You must have a lot to say to me. You must be vying to curse at me. You- "
"Fucking say something!" His roar rips through the room, but his back remains exposed, shoulders hunched in defeat.
The intruder steps from the shadows, silver scabbard glinting in the flicker of torchlight. His voice is cold as ice. "I have nothing to say to you."
Liu Xue's grey stare down with contempt. His lips pulled in a scorn.
"You are not even worth spitting on."
Hao Enlai remains silent. No longer continuing his outburst. But he cannot help but state the purpose of Liu Xue's sudden visit. "You are here to kill me."
Hao Enlai chuckles darkly. "Atleast, you find me worthy of your sword."
Liu Xue's sword hisses against the scabbard as he swiftly unsheathes it. Hao Enlai's survival instinct doesn't allow him to stall any longer. He jumps to his feet and blocks Liu Xue's icicle-like sword with his own, still sitting in the scabbard. He strains his arms as he feels the poison spreading through them, slowly numbing them.
He doesn't have the strength to kill Liu Xue. Nor did he have the audacity to do it with his own hands.
Setting aside the consequences of killing a prince, some pesky knot inside his heart falters him.
He meets Liu Xue's icy gaze that lands on him, as if he's looking at a dead man. Liu Xue's sword strikes hard and his momentum is ruthless. Nothing reminds Hao Enlai of the fact that this man is his childhood friend. All he is allowed to see is the merciless nature belonging to the prince of hell.
Maybe that knot is nothing but fear.
Liu Xue's next blow comes like a flash of silver lightning. It draws out a mesmerizing arc as it threatens to lob his head off his body, almost grazing his neck.
But Liu Xue hasn't even unleashed half of his prowess.
Hao Enlai needs to run. He needs to escape from this demigod of death. Each strike forces him to trample on the corpses of his birds in an attempt to not join them. Blow after blow, he is slowly backed against the wall. Hao Enlai doesn't hesitate to break that wall behind him. he smashes through it, hurling himself down three floors and glances at the dark silhouette of Liu Xue.
And then he runs.
Runs like a wounded beast. Away from his hunter. But not without a plan. He is aware that the prince still has the leisure to toy with him. Or maybe he too has a knot in heart that stops him from giving him a swift death.
Whatever it is, for Hao Enlai it is a chance.
He doesn't need to look back to know that Liu Xue isn't chasing him. He knows Liu Xue stands at that shattered sill, watching him flee. Not chasing.
For situations like this, Hao Enlai has hidden survival kits all over his estate. And the most important thing in it is the precious teleportation stone. Before his hunter loses his patience for the prey, he must get the fuck out of here. And then he almost loses his footing in the snow.
He blinks confusedly. Huh? Snow?
Snow gently falls over his blood-stained body. Bewildered, he looks around the terrain which has completely changed. He is no longer running over the grasses of his lawn. The lawn is gone. In its place—an endless white expanse, snow swirls down gently from the cloudy sky. His stomach sinks.
Did Liu Xue send me to a cold hell?
His body quivers not because of the freezing temperature but because of unbridled fear. It seems like the hunter's patience has finally worn thin.
This freezing place is not a cold hell but is based upon one. Their hometown.
This is Liu Xue's domain.
Unless you command a stronger domain, escape is impossible. Those who can break out can be counted on one hand—and Hao Enlai is not one of them.
Even the soft snow drifting onto his shoulders terrifies him now. Because in this world, every flake, every whisper of wind belongs to him. This is Liu Xue's domain. He is the mountain, the storm, the silence. If an avalanche roars or a single leaf falls, Liu Xue will feel it.
Hao Enlai says that his patience has worn thin but clearly, he still had some. If Liu Xue truly had none, this domain would have devoured him whole the moment he was trapped. No, Liu Xue leisurely walks down the snowy slope. His white hair and pale features melding with the frozen world around him. As though an ice sculpture carved in the likeness of a god has stepped from its pedestal and treads towards his prey.
Hao Enlai cannot hold back his scream anymore. He is terrified. He is beyond terrified. All this time he had been guarding against Ren Jiang and Zhang Xiyu that he had completely forgotten about this calamity. But the calamity never forgot him. The prince is vengeful and to think that he wouldn't dare touch him because of Ren Jiang was incredibly naïve.
Hao Enlai starts running again. With his paralysing body he can barely hold his sword. But what else can he do? Lie on the chopping board like a stupid vegetable? So, he runs. It sure seems like it.
And yet. Why am I still in the same place?
Hao Enlai is running with full speed but the surrounding doesn't move. The landscape hasn't shifted an inch. Cold sweat slides down his spine. His legs churn frantically, but he's been running in place like a fool. And Liu Xue stands behind him just a few feet away.
Hao Enlai doesn't dare to face him but he is dreadfully aware that he stands behind him.
That's it.
He's done for.
The numbness spreads through his fingers and the sword drops on the snow. Maybe it's an illusion but he feels the numbness moving to his brain too. Slowly calming his frightened mind. All there's left is to accept that he is going to die.
His dry lips part. His voice trembles, but he forces the words out. "Will you not ask why I betrayed you?"
As expected, Liu Xue remains silent. But Hao Enlai presses on. "You can say it was for power. He is the Queen's son while your mother was just a Noble Consort. But it was not a sudden decision."
He smiles, thin and brittle. "I decided to backstab you long ago. Ever since that day." His voice cracks into a rasp. "You knew who would bear your vengeance. And I knew who would bear mine."
The smile dies, replaced by raw hatred twisting his face. "It is you! My family wouldn't have died if they weren't so fucking loyal! That blasted loyalty to your mother! Your mother- "
The ground erupts.
Thick icicles blossom upward, skewering him from legs to tongue in one merciless strike. His body jerks violently as cold spikes punch through flesh and bone, pinning him like a grotesque insect on a collector's board. Blood drips down the ice, thick and red against pure white, staining the snow like spilled wine.
Through waves of agony, he hears a soft click of the tongue. And then he hears the familiar cold voice.
"Your filthy blood has sullied my domain."
With an upturned sneer, Liu Xue self reflects. "I suppose…I did have some sentiment left for you."
Hao Enlai understands what he is implying. Liu Xue personally came here to kill him.
The prince's gaze is glacial. His words cut sharper than any blade.
"You should have died whimpering under some nameless goon. A death befitting of a cheap dog that you are."
His pale blue robes flutter in the wind as he turns his back to the dying man. His voice drifts, soft and final.
"If only I had known. How worthless you are."
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Liu Chunhua hasn't heard from her husband in two days.
She admits Liu Xue is aloof by nature and is not the doting type. He is more consumed by ambition than affection. But that never mattered. Their marriage wasn't built on something as fragile as love. It was an arrangement, sealed when they were still children, orchestrated by his mother to fortify the Liu family's grip on the royal court. And so, Liu Chunhua, some distant cousin of Liu Xue, was raised meticulously to become his wife. As for Liu Xue's indifference towards her and their marriage? She secretly likes it.
Burrowing deeper into the silken mattress, she hides a smile as she thinks of him. Maybe it's because she has been conditioned to impress him or perhaps a purer emotion. Whatever it is, she likes him. She likes his frigid aura which contrasts with his angelic appearance. How he acts withdrawn but is secretly attentive to her needs.
Her brows furrow with worry. Where has he gone?
A harsh pounding at the door shatters her thoughts. A voice trembles from beyond. "Madam! it's me, Ning. Something terrible has happened."
Liu Chunhua is on her feet in an instant, robe loosely cinched, hair tumbling down her back as she hurries barefoot down the corridor. Her usual poise melts into urgency. Ning stumbles after her, pale-faced, breath hitching between broken sentences.
"I swear- the guards… they were on patrol- I don't understand how- "
Liu Chunhua reaches the hall. The servants outside bow low and scatter as she enters. Their legs seem frozen, their faces drained of colour. No one dares to speak. This isn't just any room. It's the family's prized artifact hall, housing priceless relics. It's protected by spells, reinforced doors, and a constant rotation of guards. Access is strictly regulated—only cleaners and caretakers are permitted entry, and even then, under tight supervision. Apart from the regular cleaners and maintainers of this hall, no one was allowed to enter it without proper authorisation. As the day was ending and the cleaning maid opens the door, she finds that-
"The fragment is gone."
Liu Chunhua gasps with disbelief as she looks at empty glass case. There should be a fragment inside it. A blue one. She doesn't know much about it but she knows that for Liu Xue that thing is extremely important. After all, a few weeks ago, he had asked her to keep an eye on it. He said that it's a family relic given to them brothers but she suspects that it is more than that.
The door wasn't broken and the alarms didn't sound but clearly, someone has robbed them.
Her cold eyes sweep over the quivering servants that stand with their heads bowed. Who could it be?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Eat shit."
Yutao grins smugly as he moves his queen to H6, taking the white queen.
Zhang Xiyu looks at him with a helpless expression, as if humouring a child.
"You're childish." he says flatly. "And you seem to enjoy killing women these days."
Zhang Xiyu glances toward the rotting heart placed atop the black mantle. Seeing it out in the open oddly lifts his mood. It's like getting flowers—pretty at first, but eventually, you just have to throw them out.
Yutao's peach-blossom eyes curve even more, but he doesn't bite back.
Zhang Xiyu moves his knight to G7, checking the black king. Yutao pushes the king forward, leaving his bishop open. The white bishop on F5 wastes no time taking it.
"Tsk." Yutao slides his queen to G6, threatening both the knight and bishop.
Then the bishop kills his queen.
"Where's your chivalry, Mr. Zhang?" he mutters.
Zhang Xiyu only laughs, coldly capturing Yutao's rook in the corner.
Renhu, who had slipped in a minute ago, is being blissfully ignored by the two superiors as they play. It's one of the few pastimes Yutao discovered while searching for fragments on the mortal plane. Life in Hell is mostly slow-paced, and the two of them do get bored from time to time. Smartphones are useless in this internet-less world, so they pass the time playing children's board games or gambling like middle-aged uncles.
But chess—chess is what they always come back to.
Judging by Yutao's dark expression, he isn't enjoying it now.
A shiver runs up Renhu's spine when Yutao's glare lands on him. And just like that, it is his turn to be the punching bag.
"I didn't know you were raising a rat," Yutao sneers at Zhang Xiyu. "A snooping one."
Zhang Xiyu hums. "Hold on now—you were the one who ordered him to snoop."
Yutao ignores the fact and snaps back, "I was out there fighting for us while he was just swimming around in his stupid pot. And now he thinks he is my father." He turns to Renhu
"Do you think you're my father?"
"Do you think you're his father?" Zhang Xiyu adds, teasingly, making the atmosphere no less intimidating.
"Nope. No. Never." Renhu shakes his head so fast it's a blur. The thought of having a son like Yutao is horrifying enough.
Yutao turns back to the board, moving a pawn forward without thought. "The brat thought I betrayed you. And have you seen him as a girl? Fucking graceless."
Zhang Xiyu brushes off Yutao's misplaced outrage, instead joining in on tormenting Renhu. "The important question is, why didn't he tell me about these suspicions? Surely, I would have cleared them up."
You wouldn't. Surely, you wouldn't.
A nerve twitches on Renhu's forehead. This sadistic bastard is so bored he'd probably make things worse just for fun. They're the ones who kept him in the dark—so why is he the one getting grilled?
"I know why," Yutao says, smiling thinly. "He had the balls to think he could kill me. Isn't that right, you punk?"
"No. Never. Nuh-uh."
"You wanted to quietly take me out, right?"
At this point, Yutao isn't even mad, he's just enjoying the show, watching Renhu squirm like a worm poked with a stick. As he half-heartedly bickers with him, Zhang Xiyu moves his bishop to E4. The white rook checks Yutao's king. Yutao moves his king to F7 and takes the knight.
Then the white bishop slides to D5, cornering his king with two rooks and the bishop.
Checkmate.
Yutao sighs, clearly annoyed, while Zhang Xiyu leans back smugly.
"Waiting moves." Zhang Xiyu says. "You must have the patience to let the prey fall into your trap."
Yutao stares at him, deadpan, thoroughly irritated. Then, turning to Renhu: "Why are you here?"
Renhu exhales and reports, "I just heard from Liu Xue's estate. My plant there tried to steal the fragment during her cleaning shift, while Liu Xue was gone. But the fragment wasn't there."
"Someone else stole it before us."
Yutao's expression darkens, while Zhang Xiyu facepalms, stifling a groan. When Yutao looks at him, he notices how tired the man seems. He seems to understand the reason and states it. "We will have to hunt another fragment down."
"No need."
With an exhale he drops his hand back to his side as he slouches in his seat. "I know where it is."
"No need." Zhang Xiyu exhales, letting his hand drop as he slouches in his seat. "I know where it is."
Their eyes meet—Yutao's questioning, Zhang Xiyu's unreadable. A tense silence falls. Renhu stays still as water. He has a vague suspicion who it could be, but he wisely keeps his mouth shut. One wrong guess could mean another round of mockery.
Finally, Zhang Xiyu rises from his chair. "I'm going to her temple," he says. "I will pick up the remaining fragments on the way. Could take a few days."
He points at Yutao. "You should stay away from Ren Jiang while I am gone. We cannot afford him using you again. Not yet."
Yutao just shrugs.
Zhang Xiyu glances around the dimly lit room and mutters to himself,
"Now, where did I leave my sword?"
"…"
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Zhang Xiyu returns to the chamber hidden beneath the temple—only to find the Blue Lotus gone. The stone platform that once bound it has vanished as well. In its place, the rear wall has been demolished, opening into a tranquil lake.
Fake sunlight now floods the once-dreary room, illuminating every crack and shadow as if mocking the darkness it used to hold. The water beyond is impossibly clear, stretching past a bank of painted clouds, endless and still.
For a moment, Zhang Xiyu simply stares, uncertain whether he's in a sacred chamber or some kind of lakeside resort.
And there she is, the Blue Lotus. Aimlessly strolling across the luminous lake, her feet barely disturb the surface. The water doesn't ripple, doesn't even flinch beneath her steps, as though she's nothing more than a ghost. The sight reminds him of those sisters.
A sister was nothing but the amalgamation of a few fragments. While a solitary fragment has no body, it has the conscious power of corroding the mind. And when multiple such fragments find their way to each other, they turn into a 'sister'. United in mind, divided by body. Waiting to be devoured by each other as they yearned to unite in body. Apart from the three fragments, the woman in front of him might as well be the complete form of the Blue Lotus. The destination of those clones that lured him. Tormented him. It has been so many years since he left them…
"I see you've been renovating," Zhang Xiyu says lazily, keeping his thoughts to himself.
The woman ignores him, walking across the water as if he isn't there.
"What about the stone platform? You seemed to like it."
He steps out of the dark chamber. Sunlight falls across his pale face, cursed to dwell in eternal darkness. The bright illusion of day stirs a trace of humanity in him, though it doesn't soften his sneer.
It's a fucking joke. The mother of darkness loves a sunny day.
The Blue Lotus stands with her back to him, gazing at the endless horizon. When she speaks, multiple voices echo from her throat.
"It feels good to move around. Experience a physical body again."
Her long blue hair hovers above the lake's surface to avoid getting wet. Which makes it look like they had a life of their own. She sighs with mixed emotions. Indescribable emotions swim in the depths of her dark blue eyes. Such emotions are simply incomprehensible to a mere mortal.
These emotions have accumulated for millenniums. Her love for a young god named Enma. Her trust in him, her upbringing, and her king. Her relief as she surrenders herself to his majesty, shattering herself into countless pieces that get lost in the fabric of time. Her existence buried with a forgotten temple.
And then her helplessness as she watched her trust burn.
Her anger at every creature of hell for consolidating her hell's downfall.
Her unwillingness to appear yet again.
The retirement made her happy. She was weightless and unburdened like the drops of rain that fall on this realm. Drifting in a peaceful sleep. But how can she continue sleeping when her house is on fire?
"These demons. They have gone too far."
She saw them running wild. Respectless bastards, they dare create havoc in the realm of justice? She saw them drag those mortal souls for their own sick plays. She saw them devour the children, rape the elderly, and make money out of their torment. Even if Enma didn't, she saw it all.
The feeling of having a body… Ah. There are too many thoughts.
"Do you have the remaining three fragments?"
Zhang Xiyu, accustomed to the flood of her voices, replies calmly "The General has secured Ren Jiang's fragment. We're still working on the other two."
Silence fell. He wondered if she had caught on.
She doesn't know I withheld that fragment on purpose… does she?
The pause stretches, thick and heavy, and Zhang Xiyu wants to fidget under her piercing gaze.
Finally, she spoke. "Ren Jiang… is he dead?"
He raised a brow, addressing her back. "No. There was no need to kill him now that we have the fragme—"
Zhang Xiyu freezes as her blue eyes meet his. Looking at them feels like he is lurking over the edge of an abyss. She doesn't look particularly angry and yet…
Why does he feel a flicker of fear?
Did I say something wrong?
The Blue Lotus composes herself. The chorus of voices sound strangely cold to his ears.
"I suggested that you kill him."
Zhang Xiyu too gathers his wit aback him. Kill him? Kill the precious son of Lord Enma?
Keeping his precarious position aside, why is she so eager for Ren Jiang's death? He suppresses the sneer tugging at his lips, keeping his thoughts hidden. "Your suggestion is now clear to me."
The woman turns her back to him in dismissal. "I am glad."
Zhang Xiyu walked back to the room, crushing the teleportation stone in his fist.
I have questions.
The flame of teleportation that absorb him, magnificently light up his malicious smile.
Why not ask Lord Enma himself?