The wind was cold that morning. The sky above the palace was gray, with dark clouds rolling in like an omen. Xie Lan stood silently beneath the shadow of a tall, ancient structure - the Sealed Watchtower.
It was hidden behind overgrown hedges and walls wrapped in talismans. Most people didn't even know it was still standing. Rumors said it was cursed. Ghosts lived inside. Some whispered that those who entered were never seen again.
But Xie Lan knew this tower held something important.
He had seen a clue in the secret archives. A page buried deep in the System's data:
[The Watchtower holds a memory erased from history. The key to understanding the Emperor's betrayal. And your mother's fate. Sealed since the fall of General Yue]
That name again General Yue. A loyal warrior who disappeared years ago. Betrayed by the very man he protected. The same way Lady Yun was betrayed.
Xie Lan touched the jade pendant at his waist, his mother's last gift to him. "Mother," he whispered, "you told me never to come here. But I have to know the truth."
He stepped forward.
The Watchtower door was sealed with golden talismans, each painted with blood-red ink. They shimmered slightly when he got close. The wind blew harder, as if the tower itself was warning him to stop.
But he didn't.
Biting his finger, Xie Lan pressed a drop of blood to the center talisman.
> [System Alert: Bloodline confirmed. Requirement One—passed.] [Shadow Lotus Qi detected. Rank Three. Requirement Two—passed.]
The seals began to glow.
The air trembled. The talismans burst into light, one by one, burning into ash and disappearing into the wind.
The heavy doors groaned open.
Inside, darkness waited.
Xie Lan stepped in.
---
The first thing he noticed was the silence. Not just quiet but thick, heavy silence. It wrapped around him like fog.
He walked down a winding stone corridor lit only by the blue glow of his spiritual energy. The System flickered in his mind.
> [System Notification: Entered Forbidden Zone – Sealed Watchtower Sublevel 1] System features restricted to passive mode. Map unavailable. Memory Echoes detected.
"Memory echoes?" he whispered.
As he turned a corner, he saw them.
Figures. Shadows painted in silver light. They moved like ghosts, silent, graceful, tragic. Warriors in ancient armor, kneeling before a tall figure wrapped in chains.
General Yue.
---
[Memory Echo – Playback]
"Your Majesty, I gave my blood for your borders," General Yue said, his voice thick with emotion. "Why do you do this?"
The Emperor stood above him, his face blurred in the memory, unreadable. "Because loyalty... means nothing when it threatens power."
"Then you are no Emperor. Only a coward who fears the truth."
Chains tightened. Guards dragged Yue down the stairs.
"Seal him. Let him rot. Let the world forget."
---
Xie Lan stood frozen.
This was real. Not just a story. Not just an old soldier. A man like Yue was betrayed because he knew too much.
And Lady Yun?
How many times had she walked these halls? How many truths had she buried to protect her son?
He moved deeper into the tower.
Another door appeared at the end of the hall, guarded by a stone guardian with no eyes and a broken sword.
The System flickered.
> [Heartstone Relic required to proceed. Estimated Location: Yue Family Mausoleum, 6th District – Abandoned Graveyard]
So that's where he needed to go next.
But before he could leave, something moved in the shadows.
"Who enters?" a voice hissed. Female. Cold. Not human.
From the darkness, a spirit rose. Dressed in torn robes, eyes glowing green.
Lady Yue.
The General's wife.
"You carry my husband's burden," she whispered. "And now, you carry mine."
The spirit raised her hand, and a rush of memories flooded Xie Lan's mind. Lady Yun, younger, smiling beside the Emperor. Laughing with Yue. A different world.
Then fire. Screams. Blood. The betrayal.
"Let their sins haunt them," she said. "But never forget your heart is your only compass. Even when it's broken."
Then she vanished.
The tower dimmed.
Xie Lan stumbled out into the stormy daylight, breath shaking.
His path was clear.
---
In the courtyard of the Imperial Martial Academy, the usual bustle had stilled. News had spread like wildfire: Prince Xie Lan had ventured beyond the outer perimeter, into the sealed Watchtower, a place even nobles avoided.
But Xie Lan was already gone.
Dressed in traveler's robes of muted black and blue, he moved through the misty pine forest on horseback, eyes fixed ahead. At his side, the Shadow Cloak fluttered with each gust, hiding his spiritual presence from any Core Stage cultivators that might be watching.
> [Quest Updated: Investigate the Mausoleum of Truth] Location: Forbidden Burial Grounds, Eastern Empire Danger Rating: High Recommended Cultivation: Qi Core (Mid-Tier) and above
Xie Lan's cultivation remained low by comparison barely at Qi Core Stage 1 but his knowledge of the future gave him an edge that no one else had.
Beside him, cloaked and silent, rode Lian, the loyal eunuch who had pledged himself anew to the prince's cause. Despite his years of service, even Lian couldn't hide his concern.
"Your Highness… are you certain this path is worth the risk?"
Xie Lan didn't answer right away. His mind wandered back to Lady Yue's words, how she had spoken of betrayal, of ancient sins buried beneath honor, of names wiped from records by imperial decree.
"Yes," he said softly. "Because the truth always has teeth. And I intend to use them."
---
The Mausoleum of Truth lay deep in the Eastern Empire's Forbidden Burial Grounds. Hidden behind a wall of enchanted stone and guarded by ancient formations, it was built not to honor the dead but to silence them.
Centuries ago, it had been erected by Emperor Xie Feng the Tyrant, meant to bury not only bodies, but secrets too volatile for the empire's stability. Traitors, dissidents, and warriors who defied the throne were entombed here, denied the rites of ascension.
Now, the iron gates groaned as Xie Lan pushed them open.
> [DING!] Villain Points +5 Location Discovered: Mausoleum of Truth Sub-Mission Triggered: Unlock the Forgotten Chamber
The air inside was heavy with dust and ancient qi. Rows of stone sarcophagi lined the walls, each inscribed with talismanic seals. Some glowed faintly, others flickered like dying fireflies.
Lian whispered, "We should not linger. The dead here do not sleep soundly."
Xie Lan ignored him. He knelt before one of the sealed tombs, running his fingers along the inscription.
"General Yue Feihong," he read aloud. "Accused of treason. Executed without trial. Name erased from records."
> [New Objective: Reveal Yue Feihong's Last Memory – Requires: Blood Tribute / Cultivation Technique: Shadow Lotus – Level 2]
Xie Lan bit his finger and pressed it to the sigil.
The tomb trembled.
Mist swirled.
Then...a surge of energy erupted from the sarcophagus, hurling Lian backward and dropping Xie Lan to his knees.
A vision tore through his mind.
---
He stood not in the tomb but in a battlefield soaked in red. Bodies lay scattered. Smoke rose from burning banners. In the center, a woman in armor knelt, sword shattered, her face bruised and bloodied.
General Yue Feihong.
Before her stood the Emperor.
"I fought for you!" she screamed. "I bled for your wars! And this is how you reward loyalty?"
"You protected the Seventh Prince too well," the Emperor said coldly. "And his mother dared love you more than me."
Lightning cracked across the sky.
Swords fell. Blood sprayed.
The vision snapped away like breaking glass.
---
Xie Lan gasped, his eyes wide.
> [Memory Fragment Acquired: Betrayal of Yue Feihong] Villain Points +10 Title Unlocked: Grave Seeker New Quest Path: Discover the Mother's Pact
"Mother," he whispered. "You knew. All along."
He turned to Lian. "We're going deeper. There's another chamber beneath this one. Hidden. That's where the pact was made."
Lian's face paled. "That would mean entering the crypt of the cursed where no priest dares step."
Xie Lan stood slowly.
"Good," he said. "Let the cursed greet their kin."
And he descended into the darkness below.