Lin Yuyan's POV
The moment we landed at Heavenly Sword Sect, I knew something was horribly wrong.
The main courtyard was FILLED with people. Hundreds of disciples lined the pathways, all staring at me. Sect elders stood in rigid rows. Even servants had stopped working to watch.
This wasn't a private meeting. This was an audience.
"Why are there so many people?" I asked the messenger, my voice shaking.
He wouldn't look at me. "Sect Master's orders. Please follow me to the main hall."
Every step felt like walking through mud. Disciples whispered behind their hands as I passed. Some looked at me with pity. Others smirked. One girl actually laughed.
My legs wanted to run in the opposite direction, but I forced them forward. Xiao Chen would explain everything. He had to.
The main hall doors stood wide open.
Inside, even MORE people crowded the space. Every important elder from Heavenly Sword Sect. Representatives from neighboring sects. Even some people I recognized from my own Flowing Cloud Sect.
And at the far end, sitting on his throne like a judge about to deliver a sentence, was Xiao Chen.
My Xiao Chen. The boy who'd held my hand and promised forever.
Except nothing about him looked like my Xiao Chen right now.
His face was carved from ice. Cold. Distant. Empty. His slate-gray eyes stared straight through me like I was invisible. He wore his formal sect master robes—the ones he only wore for important ceremonies.
My heart cracked.
Then I saw her.
Qingxue stood three steps below his throne, positioned in the place of honor. My sister wore a stunning purple dress that probably cost more than I'd seen in my entire life. Her hair was decorated with expensive jade pins. She looked like a bride.
And she was smirking at me.
"Yuyan." My father's voice came from the side.
I spun around. Elder Lin stood with a group of Flowing Cloud Sect elders, his expression blank. The warmth from last night—the smile, the pride—was completely gone. He looked at me the way he always had: like I was a disappointing stranger.
"Father, what's happening?" My voice came out as a desperate whisper. "Why is everyone here?"
He said nothing. Just gestured toward the throne.
Xiao Chen stood slowly. The entire hall fell silent.
"Lin Yuyan," he announced, his voice echoing off the walls. Formal. Official. Wrong.
Not "my Yuyan." Not "my love." Just my full name, spoken like I was a stranger.
"You summoned me?" I managed to say, though my throat felt like it was closing.
"I did." He descended three steps, stopping far enough away that I couldn't reach him. "Thank you for coming quickly."
"Of course I came." I tried to smile, tried to find the boy I loved in this cold stranger's face. "Your letter said it was urgent. About our future."
Something flickered in his eyes. Pain? Regret? It disappeared so fast I might have imagined it.
"Yes. Our future." He took a breath. "Lin Yuyan, I asked you here to inform you of an important decision regarding our engagement."
The floor seemed to tilt under my feet. "Decision? What decision? The wedding is in three days—"
"The engagement is dissolved."
Four words. That's all it took to destroy my entire world.
I stared at him, certain I'd misheard. "What?"
"I'm breaking our engagement," Xiao Chen repeated, louder this time. For everyone to hear. "Effective immediately."
The hall exploded in whispers. I couldn't hear them over the roaring in my ears.
"You're... breaking..." I couldn't form full sentences. Couldn't breathe. "Xiao Chen, I don't understand. Is this a joke?"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
He didn't. He looked serious. Final. Like he'd already made up his mind and nothing I said would matter.
"But why?" Tears burned my eyes. "What did I do wrong? Tell me and I'll fix it! Whatever it is, I'll—"
"You can't fix this, Yuyan." His jaw tightened. "Your cultivation is insufficient for a sect master's wife."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
"You KNEW I was weak when you proposed!" My voice broke. "You said it didn't matter! You said you loved me anyway!"
"I was wrong." Two words. Cold and cutting. "The sect elders have made it clear—Heavenly Sword Sect needs a powerful alliance. A strong partnership. You can't provide that."
"But I love you!" I was crying now, ugly desperate tears, and I didn't care who saw. "We've known each other since we were children! You promised—"
"I promised many things as a child." His eyes finally met mine, and they were empty. "We're adults now, Yuyan. Sect responsibilities come first. Childhood dreams come last."
"So that's it?" My hands clenched into fists. "Ten years of friendship, of promises, of love—all gone because your elders said so?"
"Yes."
One word. That's all he gave me.
I wanted to scream. To hit him. To make him FEEL something, anything besides this terrible coldness.
Instead, I whispered, "Then who? Who's powerful enough to replace me?"
Xiao Chen's silence was my answer.
No. No, he wouldn't—
Qingxue stepped forward, her smirk growing into a full smile. She climbed the steps and stood beside Xiao Chen—in MY place—her shoulder almost touching his.
"Surprise, Sister," she said sweetly.
The world stopped spinning.
"The elders have decided," Xiao Chen continued, still not looking at me, "that your sister, Lin Qingxue, with her Heaven-grade spiritual roots and powerful cultivation, is a far more suitable match for Heavenly Sword Sect's master."
"You're marrying my SISTER?" I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth. This had to be a nightmare. "Xiao Chen, please, this isn't funny—"
"The wedding will proceed as scheduled," he said. "Three days from now. With Qingxue as the bride."
My knees buckled. Someone gasped. I grabbed the nearest pillar to stay upright.
"You knew," I breathed, staring at my father. "Last night. When you smiled at me. You KNEW."
Elder Lin's face remained stone. "Qingxue brings far greater benefit to the Flowing Cloud Sect's alliance with Heavenly Sword Sect. This arrangement is better for everyone."
"Better for everyone?" I laughed, a horrible broken sound. "You sold me out for a better deal!"
"Watch your tone—"
"I spent eighteen years being called useless by you! By everyone! And the ONE PERSON who said I mattered—" I turned to Xiao Chen, tears streaming down my face, "—the one person I trusted with my whole heart—YOU'RE THROWING ME AWAY TOO?"
For just a second, his mask cracked. Pain flashed across his face.
Then Qingxue touched his arm, and the moment was gone.
"Sister, don't be dramatic," Qingxue said. "You should be happy for me. For us. Brother Chen and I are much better suited. We've actually gotten quite close over the past few months." She emphasized the last part, her eyes glittering with malice.
Past few months.
While I'd been planning our wedding. Writing my vows. Dreaming of our future.
He'd been with her.
"How long?" My voice came out flat. Dead. "How long have you been planning this betrayal?"
Neither of them answered.
"Take her out," Xiao Chen ordered. "Make sure she doesn't cause a scene at the wedding."
Guards moved toward me.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I screamed, backing away. "Xiao Chen, look at me! LOOK AT ME!"
He finally did.
His eyes were empty. Like I meant nothing. Like ten years of love and promises and dreams had never existed.
"Goodbye, Yuyan," he said quietly. "I'm sorry it ended this way."
The guards grabbed my arms.
As they dragged me toward the exit, past hundreds of staring faces, past my smirking sister and emotionless father, I saw one person who looked genuinely upset.
Ji Mingyu—Xiao Chen's second-in-command—stood in the back, his face twisted with guilt and anger. He mouthed something that looked like "I'm sorry."
But sorry didn't change anything.
They pulled me out of the hall. Out of the sect grounds. To the edge of the mountain where a transport formation glowed, ready to send me away.
"Wait," one guard said, checking a note. "Actually, Sect Master said to take her to the north cliff."
My blood ran cold. "The north cliff? That's not a transport point. That's—"
"Orders are orders."
They dragged me to the cliff's edge. Below, clouds swirled around jagged rocks thousands of feet down. This wasn't an exit.
This was an execution.
"You're going to throw me off?" I couldn't believe it. "Xiao Chen ordered this?"
The guard looked uncomfortable. "Sect Master said you might try to disrupt the wedding. This ensures you won't."
"He's going to KILL me?" My voice rose to a shriek. "Over a wedding?"
"The fall might not kill you," the other guard muttered. "You'll probably just wish it had."
They lifted me up.
And threw me over the edge.
As I fell, the last thing I heard was Qingxue's distant laughter echoing across the mountains.
Then there was only wind, and clouds, and the certainty that the boy I'd loved had just murdered me.