The wind finally fell still.
The flames that had burned through the entire night slowly died beneath the first thread of dawn, and the scorching ash was covered by a thin veil of pale morning mist.
Yao Tower still stood, though its surface was scarred and weathered. Between its patterns, unsettled Yao-light continued to flicker.
Bright, then dim, then bright again, like a heartbeat still trembling after a long night.
The plaza before the tower was wrecked. Rubble and broken armor plates lay tangled across the ground, and remnants of Yao-energy still drifted in the air.
The Five Yao and the Three Generals stood at the base, robes torn, breaths uneven. Not one of them stepped back.
Si Mo Heng was half-kneeling on the ground, his sword tip buried in shattered brick, each breath threaded with blood.
Luo Ye pressed a hand to his wound, his voice carrying a rare edge of agitation. "If you keep forcing it like this, then saving the tower was pointless."
Si Mo Heng didn't answer. He only lifted his eyes toward the sky, still wrapped in dawn mist.
Cang Yuan approached You Qing and helped her out of the tower's core light array. Her sleeve had been scorched by Yao-energy; faint light-marks still lingered on her palm.
He asked softly, "Are you okay?"
You Qing smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just… that aura. It hasn't fully dissipated."
Sang Qi looked up at the tower wall, his expression darkening. "The Yao-veins have returned to place, but… there's still residual flow in the lower layers. Like something is tugging on it."
Lin Lie frowned. His fingers traced a sigil in the air, and Golden-Yao light answered with a sharp flash.
"I can feel it. Deep in the Source, there's another dark pattern."
He lifted his gaze past the distant palace roofs. "That aura is seeping toward the Yao Palace."
You Qing froze. The pocket watch in her hand gave a faint glow again, the seal on its surface flickering with unease.
That familiar pulse tightened something in her chest.
"The Rift-Yao… didn't vanish completely."
Everyone's expression shifted. The air tightened in an instant.
Li Yan's voice dropped. "That thing destroyed its own heart-core. It likely left behind a remnant soul. If it truly slipped into the palace…"
"Then the palace becomes the next battlefield," Luo Ye cut in, brows and eyes sharpened like blades.
Cang Yuan, however, laughed lightly, his tone unexpectedly calm. "No rush. If the light has returned to its place, then darkness rising again won't last long."
You Qing looked at them, her expression gentle yet unwavering.
Slowly she raised her hand. The light in her palm faded, leaving only a faint residual warmth.
"This night, the Yao Realm rekindled its light. As for the shadow…"
She lifted her eyes. "We'll face it together."
A gust passed over the tower's peak, and dawn finally poured down.
Under sunlight, the runes on the tower settled into quiet, like a sleeping heart.
From afar came the low toll of palace bells, a summons that signaled the start of a new day.
Si Mo Heng rose, sheathed his sword, and spoke in a low, forceful voice.
"Let's go. It's time to see my imperial brother."
They turned to look back at Yao Capital, still breathing smoke.
Morning light fell across armor and wounds alike, casting a halo of gold and crimson.
In this moment, the night of war was finally over, and a deeper storm was waking inside the dawn.
[Yao Palace · Council Hall]
The morning mist had not yet lifted when the palace bells rang three times.
It was the signal to summon the lords of each hall and the imperial princes for deliberation, the proclamation of an emergency:
"A change at the city's heart. An immediate decision required."
The gold-and-crimson doors opened slowly.
Si Chengxun entered the council hall in black-gold battle robes. The dents in his greaves left mark after mark on the stone steps.
He hadn't slept all night. The afterglow of war still lingered in his eyes.
The atmosphere inside was heavy.
Crown Prince Si Mo Yan sat at the head, his face slightly pale, his hands still wrapped in bandages split by Yao backlash.
Princess Si Yi Rou leaned at the side seat, as poised as ever, cold and immaculate.
Si Chengxun swept his gaze across them and spoke. "Yao Tower is stable, but the remnant aura of the Rift-Yao remains. The eastern array and the southern wards still show disturbances. We must investigate at once."
"I've already deployed troops by district," the Crown Prince said gently, though fatigue threaded his voice. "But the people are shaken. If we don't seal the news, it may spark another wave of chaos."
Si Yi Rou lifted her eyes, tone cool. "Seal it? The entire capital saw that pillar of light. Who are you trying to deceive?"
Her lips curved into a cold, faint smile. "Better to soothe them openly. Declare that the Saintess has returned, that light has come again. At least let them believe someone is still guarding this city."
Silence settled across the hall.
Si Chengxun turned to the Crown Prince, voice low. "She's right. Without the Saintess and the Five Yao, Yao Capital would already be ruins."
"The Crown Prince's name matters, yes, but the people also deserve to know who saved them."
The Crown Prince's expression tightened. His fingers clenched, but his voice remained warm. "I will issue an edict of commendation…"
"Commendation?" Si Yi Rou cut in. "A sheet of paper."
"She saved an entire capital, not a single palace."
Si Mo Yan fell silent, then finally raised his eyes. "I understand."
"Saintess Gu Xingyu and the Five-Yao bearers will be recorded by my own hand and sealed as 'Guardians of Light of the Yao Realm.'"
"It will calm the people and set the court in order."
At that moment, an attendant hurried into the hall and dropped to one knee.
"Your Highness! There's renewed disturbance in the lower layers of Yao Tower! The earth-vein temperature is abnormal. Suspected black-yao residue reigniting!"
The hall jolted.
Si Chengxun stood at once. "I'll lead troops to investigate!"
The Crown Prince rose as well. "No more exhausting the army. I will go personally…"
Si Yi Rou spoke softly, interrupting them both.
"Neither of you should go."
Her tone wasn't persuasion, but certainty, as if she had already seen it.
All eyes turned to her.
She rose slowly, her skirts shifting like controlled flame, expression composed.
"If the black-yao truly lies beneath the tower, then the Rift-Yao left a soul-mark."
"And that place…" her gaze cooled, "only the Saintess can enter."
She turned, looking past the palace gate to the brightening sky.
"Go invite her into the palace."
[Yao Palace · Cloud-Step Corridor]
You Qing and the Five Yao climbed the cloud-steps under escort.
After the tower battle, her aura had steadied, but she could still feel a thread of unease deep within the pocket watch seal. The light flickered at the surface, a quiet reminder:
The war was not finished.
Leaning half against the railing, Luo Ye laughed. "We barely stabilized the tower and now we're going into the palace? That Crown Prince sure knows how to pick his timing."
Sang Qi rolled his eyes. "Save the sarcasm. If this is Rift residue, your mouth won't block it."
Lin Lie adjusted the Yao staff in his hand, voice calm. "If the black-yao beneath the tower isn't fully purged, it will indeed seep back into palace ground. We have to go."
Cang Yuan added with a grin, "Besides… if the Saintess goes into the palace, she'll need a few devoted escorts."
Luo Ye snorted and slapped his shoulder. "She's not a flower. She's fire. Get too close and you'll get burned."
Cang Yuan's brow lifted. His smile stayed light. "Perfect. I'm water. I can put out fire, and I can guard it too."
They shared a brief laugh, though fatigue still sat heavy behind it.
At the front, Li Yan's steps were steady, his back like a mountain.
He glanced back at You Qing, voice grounded. "Whatever they plan to discuss in the palace, don't carry it alone. This time… we're all here."
You Qing smiled faintly. "I know. This time, it isn't only my war."
At the end of the cloud-steps, the palace gates slowly opened.
Light fell across her white robe, casting a soft golden halo.
From within came the low thud of drums, the summons for court.
A new struggle was unfolding quietly beneath the daylight.
Morning light poured down from the dome, cutting through smoke and dying embers.
The postwar palace had not been fully cleared; the air held the scent of scorch, iron-rust, and medicinal herbs.
You Qing stepped into the Hall of Ten Thousand Scales. The seal on her pocket watch flickered; the Five Yao followed and took their places behind her.
Across the hall, the ministers called out as one:
"Saintess Gu Xingyu, enters the hall!"
That single proclamation tightened the breath of the entire palace.
Si Chengxun spoke first. "The chaos at Yao Tower has been quelled. The Saintess and the Five Yao joined forces to seal the Source. The tower-veins are stable. Yao Capital is preserved."
The Crown Prince nodded, voice gentle. "This merit cannot be denied. The people will settle. I have already ordered the reconstruction of the arrays."
You Qing lowered her head in salute. "My wish is only the peace of the Yao Realm."
Princess Si Yi Rou rose slowly.
In crimson gauze, her skirt trailing the floor, the faint scent of medicine still clinging to her fingertips, she looked as though she intended to debate policy, as everyone expected.
But her gaze did not settle on a single civil official.
It fixed, unwavering, on the familiar black-armored figure at the right.
Li Yan.
He stood at the end of the attendance line, armor still on, the guard plate on his left shoulder split by warfire, blood seeping along the edge.
He had been stone-still, but under her stare he paused, just slightly.
Si Yi Rou's voice was controlled to the point of chill. "The tower's chaos is halted. Earth-Yao bore the heaviest losses."
She looked to the Crown Prince. "If General Li had not anchored the tower with his own body, the core would have shattered. Has the Imperial Physician examined him?"
The Crown Prince replied gently. "The physicians followed the army, but… the General refused."
Si Yi Rou's eyes sharpened. Her voice rose instantly. "Refused?"
The entire hall flinched. For a moment, she sounded less like a princess and more like… a woman holding her breath.
She forced her expression back into cold composure. "The tower core isn't the only thing that must stand. The people's hearts cannot break either."
"If the pillars of this palace fall, who will guard the city?"
No one dared answer.
Only You Qing watched quietly and thought, with a silent sigh:
Her coldness was not cruelty. It was fear.
Si Chengxun smoothed the moment. "The Imperial Physician will take over at once."
The Crown Prince added immediately, "The Princess is right. General Li Yan, by order, enter the infirmary to recover."
"As you command," Li Yan answered.
Yet beneath lowered lashes, he stole a glance at Yi Rou.
Only an instant, but deeper than a thousand words.
A tacit understanding everyone saw, and no one dared name.
[Corridor, like a sigh in the wind]
Yi Rou strode out of the hall. Wind caught her crimson sleeves, turning them into fluttering red shadow.
"Yi Rou."
A low voice, edged with amusement, came from behind.
She turned. Li Yan stood on the steps, half his armor removed, the wound on his shoulder still bleeding.
"You…" She stepped closer, voice cold and urgent at once. "And you're still smiling?!"
"You protected me like that in court." His eyes softened. "If I don't smile, should I cry?"
Yi Rou glared. Yet her fingers landed on his injury, Yao-light flickering.
"Smile again and I'll make you cry for real."
"That requires you to have the heart for it," Li Yan murmured, the familiar gentleness threading through.
She pushed his chest lightly, anger and relief tangled. "Idiot. If you risk yourself again, I…"
Her words broke in her throat.
Li Yan pulled her into his arms. Not hard, just enough to press her forehead to his chest.
"I know," he said softly. "I didn't die this time. I won't, next time either."
Her fingers trembled. Then she finally wrapped her arms around him, voice barely a breath.
"I believe you… but I'm afraid."
The wind passed through the corridor, carrying away ash and leaving only their warm breath behind.
He lowered his head, brushing her hair. "I'm here, Yi Rou."
Inside the hall, Si Mo Yan and Si Chengxun had not yet departed.
From a distance, watching the crimson figure disappear beyond the corridor, both fell silent.
After a moment, the Crown Prince smiled faintly. "She's finally willing to lose composure for someone."
Si Chengxun answered, voice low. "If that makes her live more truthfully, then so be it."
Outside, the Third Prince Si Mo Heng leaned against a pillar, having heard every word.
His gaze lowered, expression unreadable, a half-smile tugging at his lips.
"Princess losing etiquette for love?" he murmured, the corner of his mouth curving.
"So there is someone in this palace who can make her lose control… hm."
"My imperial sister. So even she has a day like this."
[Imperial Infirmary · Night]
Night ran deep. The last of the firelight outside the palace finally faded.
Inside the infirmary, only a few blue lamps remained, the scent of medicine mingling with the night wind.
Li Yan sat beside the bed. His armor had been removed, leaving only an inner tunic, his shoulder wrapped in bandages.
His expression was calm, but exhaustion still pressed through the edges.
The door opened softly.
Footsteps, light as breath.
He lifted his eyes. "...Yi Rou?"
Princess Si Yi Rou entered carrying a bowl of medicine. Her crimson cloak was draped over her shoulders, her hair slightly disheveled, as if she had hurried here without pausing.
Seeing him still sitting up, her brows knit at once. "The physician said you should rest. Why are you still up?"
"I was waiting for you," he said, simple and true.
She froze. Her grip tightened slightly, then she lowered her voice. "...You really know how to speak."
Setting the bowl down, she bent to unwrap his bandage. The blood at the wound had already dried.
The moment her fingers touched his skin, Li Yan's breathing deepened.
"It hurts, doesn't it?"
"It doesn't."
"Still pretending." Yi Rou lifted her eyes, gaze lingering on his arm, then finally sighed. "These wounds… should have been carried by someone else long ago."
Li Yan smiled faintly. "If I didn't carry them, how would you have the chance to scold me like this?"
She shot him a look, but couldn't fully suppress the movement of her lips.
"Keep talking and I'll tell the physician to stitch you twice more."
He reached out and caught her hand as she applied the salve.
His palm was warm, heavy, steady, like Earth-Yao itself.
"Yi Rou," he called her softly, the name carrying the afterheat and silence of survival.
"When I was beneath the tower, I heard the sounds of it breaking above. I thought… I'd never see you again."
Her hand paused. A smear of medicine slid onto his shoulder.
She lifted her eyes, forcing her voice not to shake. "Don't say that again."
He stared at her, light and shadow crossing in his eyes.
"Then tell me. If that day ever truly comes… what then?"
"Even if it does," she said sharply, "I'll chase you down and drag you back with my own hands."
Silence.
Their breaths tangled between them.
Then Li Yan laughed softly. "You…"
"Still stubborn as ever."
He pulled her closer, gently, and pressed his forehead to hers.
"I'm not alive for war," he whispered. "I'm alive for the day I can take off my armor and stand beside you, watching this city."
Yi Rou looked at him. Light gathered in her eyes. Then, at last, she answered softly:
"When that day comes, beyond the palace gates… I'll walk with you."
Li Yan stilled, then smiled. "You mean it?"
She nodded.
Under lamplight, they sat close together.
Outside, the wind carried a faint drizzle, washing the ash of war away.
He brushed her hair, his voice tender. "When everything is settled… I'll marry you."
"You dare?" she lifted her eyes, laughter hidden in her tone. "My imperial brother might slam the table in rage."
"Then I'll plead guilty again," he said with a low laugh. "My life was yours to begin with."
Yi Rou finally laughed aloud, the sound soft as newborn light after fire.
Deep into the night, the lamplight layered their shadows into one.
In this moment, palace walls, titles, and identities dissolved into nothing.
Only him and her remained, and the silent beat of two hearts.