Xiao Chen's POV - One Month After the Wedding
"Get out of my bed."
Qingxue's shrill voice shattered my sleep. I opened my eyes to find my new wife glaring at me like I was dirt on her expensive shoes.
"This IS my bed," I said tiredly. "In my chambers. That I've had for ten years."
"Well, I don't like it. The mattress is too hard. The room faces the wrong direction. And you snore." She grabbed her silk robe—the one that cost more than most disciples earned in a year. "I'm sleeping in the guest quarters until you get better furniture."
She swept out without waiting for a response.
I lay there alone, staring at the ceiling, wondering for the thousandth time what I'd done.
One month married, and Qingxue had already:
Fired half the household servants for "incompetence"Demanded I give her access to sect treasury funds for "necessary purchases"Thrown public tantrums when I refusedSpent more time at social gatherings than cultivation trainingMade it crystal clear she found me boring
This morning, I'd caught her flirting with a visiting sect leader. When I confronted her, she'd laughed in my face.
"What are you going to do, divorce me? Your elders would never allow it. We're STUCK with each other, Husband."
She was right. I'd made my choice. Now I had to live with it.
A knock interrupted my miserable thoughts.
"Come in," I called, expecting a servant.
Ji Mingyu entered, his expression darker than I'd ever seen it. He carried a sealed report.
"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting up.
"You need to see this." He threw the report on my bed. "I've been investigating your wife like you ordered. The results are... bad."
I opened the report and felt my blood run cold.
CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATION: LIN QINGXUE
Evidence of forbidden blood cultivation practicesThree confirmed murders of sect servants to harvest spiritual energySecret meetings with demon cultivators at the borderHer "Heaven-grade" spiritual roots are FAKE—artificially enhanced through blood sacrifice
"This can't be real," I breathed.
"It's real. I have witnesses. Physical evidence. Qingxue isn't just cruel—she's a MONSTER." Ji Mingyu's fists clenched. "She's been killing innocents to boost her cultivation since before you married her. The elders were so excited about her 'talent' they never bothered to check if it was genuine."
"The elders chose her because—"
"Because they're idiots blinded by power." Ji Mingyu's voice shook with anger. "They pushed you to marry a murderer. And you let them."
I stared at the evidence. Witness statements. Blood samples. Documented meetings with known demon cultivators.
My wife was a killer. A fraud. A monster wearing a beautiful face.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I demanded.
"I tried! Three times I tried to talk to you before the wedding. You were too busy drowning in guilt over Yuyan to listen!" Ji Mingyu's eyes blazed. "You married the wrong woman, Xiao Chen. And an innocent girl died because of it."
Yuyan's face flashed in my mind. Her soft brown eyes. Her gentle smile. The way she'd loved me when I had nothing.
"We don't know she's dead," I said weakly. "Maybe she survived—"
"She fell a thousand feet onto rocks. Nobody survives that." Ji Mingyu's voice went quiet. Deadly. "Nobody except maybe someone with hidden phoenix bloodline. But that's just a myth, right? A convenient fairy tale to make you feel less guilty?"
Phoenix bloodline?
"What are you talking about?"
"I've been researching." He pulled out another document. "Yuyan's mother died in childbirth, but before she married Elder Lin, she was from the Xi family—an ancient clan known for phoenix maiden bloodlines. They died out two hundred years ago. Or so everyone thought."
My heart started pounding. "You think Yuyan had phoenix blood?"
"I think her 'crippled' meridians might have been SEALED meridians. Standard practice for hiding powerful bloodlines from enemies." Ji Mingyu leaned forward. "I think we didn't kill a weak girl. We killed someone with the potential to become one of the most powerful cultivators in the realm."
"That's speculation—"
"Is it? Then explain this." He showed me a final report. "Three weeks ago, demon territory scouts reported a massive phoenix fire explosion near the border. The exact location where Yuyan would have fallen."
Ice flooded my veins.
"She survived," I whispered.
"Maybe. Or maybe it was just a coincidence." Ji Mingyu's expression was unreadable. "Either way, you have bigger problems right now. Like the fact that your wife is murdering people and working with demons. What are you going to do about it?"
Before I could answer, Qingxue's voice rang through the hall: "XIAO CHEN! Get out here NOW!"
I found her in the main courtyard, surrounded by elders. She looked furious.
"Tell them," she demanded, pointing at me. "Tell them that I have your complete support and authority to purchase whatever I need for my cultivation!"
"What did you try to buy?" I asked carefully.
Elder Wu stepped forward, looking uncomfortable. "Lady Qingxue attempted to withdraw five hundred thousand gold from the sect treasury. For... personal use."
FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND?
"That money is for sect operations," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "Not personal purchases."
"I'M YOUR WIFE!" Qingxue shrieked. "What's yours is mine! That's how marriage works!"
"That's not how sect leadership works."
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you refusing me? In front of the elders?"
The elders shifted uncomfortably. They'd pushed me to marry this woman. Now they were seeing their mistake, but none of them wanted to admit it.
"The treasury stays locked," I said firmly. "If you need something for legitimate cultivation purposes, submit a formal request."
"Legitimate?" She laughed, high and cruel. "You want to talk about legitimate? Let's talk about how you MURDERED your previous fiancée because I was better!"
The courtyard went silent.
"I didn't murder—"
"You threw her off a mountain! Everyone knows!" Qingxue's smile turned vicious. "Poor little Yuyan. So weak. So pathetic. She probably died crying your name. And you know what? She DESERVED it."
Something inside me snapped.
"Don't talk about her." My voice came out cold. Deadly. "You have no right—"
"I have EVERY right! I'm your wife! I'M the one you chose!" She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear. "And here's the truth, Husband—I don't even love you. I never did. I just wanted your power, your status, your sect. Yuyan actually loved you, and you threw her away for ME. How does that feel?"
It felt like being stabbed.
"You disgust me," I said quietly.
"Good. The feeling is mutual." She turned to the elders with a fake smile. "Sect Master Xiao seems tired. Perhaps he needs rest. I'll handle sect business from now on."
"You will NOT—"
A massive explosion rocked the sect.
The ground shook. Alarms started ringing. Disciples ran toward the eastern wall, shouting about an attack.
"DEMON CULTIVATORS!" someone screamed. "Demon cultivators at the gates!"
Ji Mingyu and I ran toward the wall. When we arrived, my blood went cold.
At least fifty demon cultivators surrounded the sect, their dark energy crackling in the air. But that wasn't the worst part.
Leading them was a cultivator in black robes with a familiar face.
Elder Lin. Yuyan's father.
"What are you DOING?" I shouted down at him. "You're a respected elder of Flowing Cloud Sect!"
"Was," Elder Lin called back, his eyes glowing with corrupted spiritual energy. "Until I discovered demon cultivation is SO much more effective than your pathetic righteous methods. Why waste decades on slow progress when blood sacrifice gives instant power?"
"You're working with demons?"
"I'm working with QINGXUE." He smiled coldly. "My brilliant daughter has been recruiting cultivators to our cause for months. Soon, we'll have enough power to overthrow the righteous sects and rule ourselves."
I turned to look at Qingxue, who'd followed us to the wall.
She wasn't surprised. Wasn't shocked.
She was SMILING.
"Surprise, Husband," she said sweetly. "Did you really think I married you for love? I married you to get inside Heavenly Sword Sect. To weaken it from within. And it WORKED. You've been so busy mourning your dead fiancée that you didn't notice me dismantling your defenses piece by piece."
"You... you're betraying the sect?"
"Betraying? I'm IMPROVING it. Once Father and his forces kill your weak elders and useless disciples, we'll rebuild under demon cultivation principles. Stronger. More powerful. Better." Her eyes gleamed with madness. "And you'll help me. Or I'll tell everyone that you murdered Yuyan in cold blood. Your reputation will be destroyed."
"I'd rather die than help you."
"That can be arranged." She raised her hand, and suddenly the elders who'd been standing with us attacked.
Five elders—the same ones who'd forced me to marry Qingxue—now revealed corrupted cultivation auras. They'd been turned to demon cultivation. They were traitors.
"Kill Sect Master Xiao," Qingxue ordered. "Make it look like the demon attack did it."
Ji Mingyu drew his sword, standing beside me. "I've got your back."
"Always," I said, drawing my own blade.
We fought, but we were outnumbered. Demon cultivators poured over the walls. Corrupted elders attacked from behind. The sect descended into chaos.
I fought desperately, but I knew the truth.
This was it. This was how I died—betrayed by my wife, destroyed by my own bad choices, killed in the sect I'd sacrificed everything to protect.
As a demon cultivator's sword came toward my chest, I had one final thought:
Yuyan, if you're alive somewhere... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
The blade pierced my cultivation core.
I fell to my knees, spiritual energy hemorrhaging from the wound. Ji Mingyu screamed my name.
Through dimming vision, I saw Qingxue watching me die, her smile triumphant.
Then—
Phoenix fire exploded across the battlefield.
Golden-red flames erupted from nowhere, consuming the demon cultivators in seconds. The corrupted elders screamed as fire purified their stolen power.
Everyone stopped fighting to stare.
A figure walked through the flames, completely unburned. She wore a jade mask that hid her face, but power radiated from her like the sun.
Silver-white hair. Gold-flecked eyes visible through the mask's eye holes. A cultivation aura so powerful it made even Qingxue step back in fear.
"Who are you?" Qingxue demanded.
The masked woman's voice rang out, clear and cold and achingly familiar:
"Someone who's very disappointed in all of you."
She raised one hand, and phoenix flames danced between her fingers.
"My name is Fairy Yue. And I'm here to collect a debt."
I stared at her through my fading consciousness.
Those eyes. That voice.
No. It can't be.
It can't be—
"Yuyan?" I whispered.
The masked woman turned to look at me.
And smiled.