Chapter 197: The Only reason He Survived
The forest was unnaturally quiet, the air heavy with the lingering scent of blood.
Ningyan and Wuhen steadied themselves as the portal collapsed behind them, the dead serpent beast hitting the ground with a dull, heavy thud.
Then.... they saw him.
Lan Meishan stood beneath a crooked tree, his robes stained dark with blood, breath uneven. His emerald eyes burned too brightly... too sharp.
"I don’t want to wait." His voice came out strained. "I... I am done waiting!"
Ningyan frowned, stepping forward. "What are you talking about..."
"Lan Yunlai." The name snapped out of him with rage. "I am going to kill him now and you’re going to help me."
A burst of emerald energy burst around him, distorting the air.
Wuhen’s ears twitched.
Ningyan’s gaze sharpened. "No."
He walked toward Meishan anyway, steady, unhurried. "We already have a plan."
Meishan let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "You want me to wait until tomorrow? He sent a beast to kill me when I was asleep! I want him dead now!"
His hand lifted, the intent to attack written in every line of his posture.
But then, he froze.
His body jerked violently, like something inside him had slammed into a wall.
A strangled sound tore from his throat as he staggered back.
Ningyan’s eyes widened. He’s still there.
Wuhen stepped forward instantly, killing intent flickering but Ningyan caught his arm.
"Don’t."
Wuhen glanced at him.
"He’s in there."
Meishan slumped against the tree, breathing hard, fingers digging into his own arms.
"You don’t understand," he said hoarsely. "Do you have any idea what he did to him?!"
The forest trembled faintly with his voice.
"He broke him. Again and again. Said he wasn’t good enough. Said he was weak."
His eyes burned.
"And Meishan called for me.. I answered."
Ningyan’s expression didn’t soften. "I know."
That made Meishan pause.
"I know what Lan Yunlai did," Ningyan continued, his voice low and controlled. "And I know why you exist."
He took a step closer. "But you’re not him. You don’t get to decide everything for him."
Meishan’s lips curled. "I’m the only reason he survived."
"And now you’re the reason he’s disappearing." Ningyan snapped.
Meishan’s expression twisted.
And for a second, just a second, something flickered beneath the surface.
Ningyan saw it and pressed forward, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous edge. "You want revenge? Fine. I’ll help you kill Lan Yunlai. But we do it right or you don’t do it at all."
Meishan’s aura flared violently. "You think you can stop me?"
"I know I can." That landed heavier than any threat.
Wuhen’s lips curved slowly into a grin behind him.
Ningyan didn’t look away.
"You’re not him," he said again. "And you’re not taking him away from me."
Meishan’s breathing grew uneven again, his body trembling as if something inside him was fighting back.
"Wuhen." Ningyan frowned. "Knock him out."
Wuhen blinked once, then a wide and dangerous smile spread across his face.
"Well," he drawled, stepping forward, tails swaying behind him, "I do love it when you give orders like that."
His gaze locked onto Meishan.
"Come on then," he said lightly. "Let me impress my husband."
Meishan straightened slowly, eyes narrowing. "So that’s how it is."
"You had your choice." Ningyan’s expression didn’t change. "You made the wrong one."
^
The clash between Wuhen and Meishan tore through the forest.
Trees collapsed in waves, splintering under the sheer force of their impact.
Ningyan stepped back, fists clenched at his sides then turned, crouching beside the corpse of the serpent beast.
His fingers hovered... then pressed lightly against the cold scales.
"Was this staged?" His eyes narrowed.
Meishan’s behavior, the sudden attack of this serpent, the urgency.... it was all too convenient, too forced.
Behind him, another violent collision rang out. Wuhen was holding his ground, even at a disadvantage of still being in the saint beast stage, meeting Meishan blow for blow.
Ningyan ignored it... Thinking.
Then, his eyes widened.
"Lan Huiwen." He rose abruptly. "I have to get to her. Tonight."
A rush of violet light exploded from his body, wings bursting free from his back, radiant and immense as they beat once, lifting him into the air.
The wind howled. From above, the forest stretched on endlessly until he finally saw them, three massive serpents.
They were closing in on Wuhen and Meishan, their bodies dripping with a dense, suffocating demonic aura.
Ningyan’s expression hardened. "Damn it. We are in the Abyss Serpent Clan."
He dropped fast.
A violent impact shattered the ground beneath him as he landed between them, violet energy erupting outward, forming a massive dome that forced the battle to stop.
Wuhen and Meishan both froze.
The serpents lunged, but they never reached their mark. Ningyan moved with a lethality that was clean, efficient, and utterly terrifying.
In a blink, they were gone, erased from existence.
Wuhen stared.
Meishan’s lips parted.
Ningyan exhaled slowly, exhaustion threading faintly through his breath before he turned toward them.
Wuhen’s gaze flickered. He understood now. Ningyan hadn’t told him to knock Meishan out earlier because he lacked the strength to fight; he simply didn’t want to hurt Meishan.
Somehow, that realization made the situation worse, yet better and infinitely more dangerously beautiful.
"Take us back to the Azure Dragon Clan," Ningyan said.
Meishan frowned. "What are you..."
"Actually... no." Ningyan cut him off, voice colder now. "You and Wuhen go back."
Both of them froze.
"Bring Haoxuan and Rong Yue."
Wuhen’s brows lifted. "Yan’er, what are you.."
"Go!" Ningyan snapped.
The ground exploded. A massive violet portal tore open beneath their feet, swallowing them whole.
And they were gone, just like that.
Ningyan stood alone, his breathing the only sound in the quiet forest. Then, his hand lifted, his illusion mask appearing in his grasp.
He placed it on without hesitation.
His form shifted as his bones adjusted and his aura compressed, his presence dimming into a wolf beastman.
Perfect.
Without another word, Ningyan moved.