Chapter 3:
The Ninety-Nine Stairs of the Palace rose like a waterfall of polished bone.
As the carriage door opened, the roar of ten thousand soldiers hit me. They were all kowtowing, a sea of silver helmets and crimson banners pressed into the dirt. But at the summit, two men remained standing.
Prince Hou stood in robes of shimmering azure, his face a mask of perfect concern. Beside him stood Grand Chancellor Wei, an old man whose eyes were like stagnant pools—calculating and deep.
"Brother!" Hou cried, his voice carrying down the stairs with practiced warmth. He didn't look at Long Feng's face; his eyes flicked immediately to the Emperor's wrists, searching for the tell-tale gray of the rot. "The Heavens have shown mercy! The scouts whispered of a miracle, but I dared not believe it until I saw your stride."
Long Feng stepped out onto the marble, dragging me along by the tether. I stumbled as the iron collar jerked my neck forward. "The Heavens were busy, Hou. This girl did the work."
Hou's eyes finally landed on me. His smile didn't falter, but I saw the muscles in his jaw tighten. He saw the collar. To him, I wasn't a savior; I was a variable he hadn't accounted for.
"A... peasant?" Hou asked, his voice dripping with forced kindness. "Surely, Brother, a commoner cannot be the Anchor for the Great Yan. To allow a 'Void-Born' into the Inner Sanctum... the Ancestors would weep at such a heresy."
"The Ancestors are dead, Hou," Long Feng said. His voice returned to that tectonic rumble, making the stone beneath our feet vibrate. "And this 'heresy' is the only reason you aren't currently breathing in the Void."
Grand Chancellor Wei stepped forward, his voice a dry rattle. "Your Majesty, the safety of the Seal is paramount. But we must verify the girl's stability. A hole in the world cannot be trusted to protect it. She must be tested."
"She is not protecting the world," Long Feng said, pulling me flush against his side. The heat of his body was a stark contrast to the icy whispers in my head. "She is eating it."
Suddenly, the world tilted.
The silver veins in my arm turned ice-cold. A scream erupted in the back of my mind—a jagged sound that didn't belong to me.
It's too much! Yue's voice shrieked. The ink is too heavy!
I stumbled, my knees hitting the marble with a sickening crack. My vision fractured. For a second, the bone-white stairs weren't stone—they were a waterfall of black ink, pouring upward into a sunless sky.
Long Feng caught me before my forehead hit the stone. His arms were like iron bands, anchoring me to reality.
"Mei?"
A single drop of black blood leaked from my nose, splashing onto the white marble.
Long Feng's eyes locked onto the black drop. His jaw tightened, his grip on my waist becoming a bruise. Across from us, Prince Hou's gaze flicked to the blood, and his smile widened into something razor-sharp. He leaned in, whispering so only I could hear as the guards scrambled forward.
"An empty vessel is so easily shattered, little ghost. I wonder... how much can you drink before you burst?"
Long Feng's killing intent exploded outward like a physical shockwave. The stone beneath Hou's feet spider-webbed.
"Take her to the Phoenix Chamber—the isolation wing," Long Feng commanded, his voice a low growl that silenced the court. "And Chancellor... if she is disturbed before I return, I will personally show you what lies on the other side of the Seal."