Chapter 246: What Do You Wish To Know?
"Brother Wuhen, are you certain this is wise?"
Within the East Inn of the Phoenix Clan, music and laughter drifted through the lively halls, yet the chamber itself remained quiet.
Wuhen sat by the table, finishing his meal in silence. Across from him, Tu Lanyin watched with unconcealed concern. Her white rabbit ears twitched faintly as she studied him.
"It is," Wuhen replied.
The answer did little to reassure her.
"You know he is different now." Lanyin folded her arms. "He’s hostile, volatile and he is a demon beast. You broke when he died the first time, Wuhen. And the beast who crawled back out of that grave? He isn’t the one you remember. Look at the slaughter. He’s been annihilating entire beast clans without a shred of mercy since he returned. Please, think about this before you throw yourself back into the fire. I and Qinghe can’t watch you get torn apart again."
Wuhen lowered his gaze to the wine in his cup. "He wrote to Qinghe."
Lanyin paused.
"He wanted information about me. That means he is curious." A faint smile touched Wuhen’s lips before disappearing just as quickly. "And Meishan confirmed it. It is him."
His grip tightened around the cup. "He saw me earlier. He spoke to me. Yet he showed no hostility."
No recognition either.
But Wuhen swallowed that bitter truth. "You do not need to worry, Lanyin, nothing will go wrong, I promise you that."
Lanyin sighed helplessly. "If you say so, Brother Wuhen."
She looked at him for a long moment.
For the first time in three hundred years, the heaviness surrounding him had eased a little. But enough. Enough that she remembered the Wuhen who had once smiled without forcing it.
After Ningyan’s death, Wuhen had become a beast consumed by loss. The grief had hollowed him out. The guilt had carved deeper wounds. Again and again, he had replayed that night in his mind, wondering what he could have done differently.
What he should have done differently. If only he had arrived sooner. If only he had been stronger.
If only.....
Three centuries had passed, yet those regrets remained as sharp as the day they were born and now Ningyan had returned walking beneath the same sky. Yet stripped of every memory they had shared.
Wuhen did not know whether to thank the heavens or curse them.
After Lanyin departed, silence settled over the chamber. Deep night gradually descended upon the Phoenix Clan.
Snow drifted beyond the windows.
At last, Wuhen rose, unable to remain still any longer. He stepped outside and crossed the inn’s courtyard.
The winter wind brushed against his robes.
Then he stopped. His breath caught.
High above, seated upon the rooftop beneath the vast night sky, was a figure dressed in black.
White hair flowed behind him like moonlit silk. Snowflakes drifted around him. He sat with one knee raised, staring quietly at the stars.
He was... beautiful, untouchable.... Alive.
Wuhen’s heart slammed violently against his ribs. "Ningyan."
Ningyan slowly turned his head.
Violet eyes met red-gold ones.
Wuhen felt his entire world stop. The distance, years and grief between them seemed to vanish.
There was only Ningyan. Only that face he had dreamed of countless times.
Wuhen parted his lips. His throat tightened.
Ningyan blinked with curiosity.
There was no recognition in his eyes though. Not even a trace.
The realization struck harder than any blade yet Wuhen could not look away.
Neither of them spoke.
Snow fell silently between heaven and earth.
Then a flash of red-gold light scattered through the night. The next moment, Wuhen appeared atop the roof close enough to touch. Close enough to hear Ningyan breathe. Close enough to remember exactly what it felt like to be beside him like this.
"You came." The moment Wuhen spoke, Ningyan broke eye contact and slowly rose to his feet from the rooftop.
The winter wind lifted strands of his white hair, his dark robes fluttering softly against the snow-covered tiles beneath him.
"I need answers," Ningyan said calmly. "And yes, I still intend to go to the Heavenly Realm to deal with a few things so you can come with me."
At those words, Wuhen’s fox ears twitched upright.
The unhidden delight was immediate.
Two of his tails curled around Ningyan almost instinctively, as though they had done so countless times before.
Ningyan blinked. He still wasn’t used to how little Wuhen seemed to understand the concept of personal space.
One tail brushed against his arm. The other lazily circled his waist. Yet strangely enough, Ningyan didn’t move away.
"Then what do you wish to know?" Wuhen asked. His voice had softened considerably.
"Who are you?" Ningyan asked immediately. "Are you related to the Divine Beast Queen of the Vermilion Fox Clan, Yan Qinghe?"
One of Wuhen’s tails drifted upward and brushed lightly against Ningyan’s cheek.
The soft fur tickled.
Ningyan frowned and pushed it away.
"Yes," Wuhen answered easily. "YabQinghe is my twin sister."
The tail immediately returned.
Ningyan pushed it away again.
The tail returned once more.
Ningyan stared at it.
The tail swayed innocently.
Wuhen looked elsewhere as though he had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Ningyan narrowed his eyes. "You are..." He paused, trying to recall the name.
Wuhen’s entire posture sharpened. "Yan Wuhen."
Ningyan froze. "Yan Wuhen?"
Yan Wuhen suddenly leaned in very close to him. His ears stood perfectly still. Even his tails stopped moving.
Hope exploded within those red-gold eyes. "Do you remember me now?"
The intensity startled Ningyan. "No."
Wuhen’s expression faded. "Are you sure?"
Ningyan quickly shook his head. "I am sure."
The hope vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"But your name..." Ningyan frowned. "You tried to kill me that night because you thought I was wearing someone else’s face."
Wuhen leaned back slightly. A hint of embarrassment crossed his handsome face. "Because I genuinely believed that."
Ningyan stared.
Wuhen continued without shame. "Your kin are notoriously deceitful."
Ningyan’s eyes narrowed.
Wuhen immediately added, "Not you, of course."
The fox’s gaze swept across Ningyan’s face, dangerously fond. "You are perfection."
Ningyan genuinely did not know how to react to those words. His entire clan had just been insulted. Yet somehow he had been elevated above them all in the same breath.
The worst part was that Wuhen sounded completely sincere as though stating an undeniable truth.
Ningyan rubbed his forehead.
This fox was impossible.
Yet the name lingered in his thoughts.
Wuhen.
Lan Meishan had spoken of a Wuhen.
Was it the same Wuhen?
His heart skipped.
No. That couldn’t be right. There had to be countless beasts named Wuhen throughout the Three Realms.
But the more he thought about it, the less convincing that excuse became.
Lan Meishan’s familiarity. Wuhen’s familiarity.
The way both of them looked at him. The way neither treated him like a stranger.
A terrible possibility began forming.
If Lan Meishan truly meant this Wuhen... Then the husband he spoke of...
Ningyan’s thoughts abruptly stopped.
Impossible. If such a thing had existed, Xie Zhenting would have told him.
Wouldn’t he?
Nothing aligned. Nothing made sense. Unless someone was lying. Unless all of this was merely another deception.
After all... Nine-tailed foxes were masters of illusion. Masters of lies.
"Maybe this is a mistake."
Before Wuhen could respond, Ningyan turned and jumped from the rooftop.
The cold wind rushed past him as his boots landed lightly upon the snow-covered courtyard below.
Crunch.
Snow scattered beneath his feet.
He had barely taken a step when a red-gold flash descended before him.
Ningyan stopped abruptly.
Wuhen was already standing there in front of him, blocking his path.
The playful fox from moments ago had disappeared. His nine tails swayed restlessly behind him. His red-gold eyes had sharpened in a very predatory and possessive form.
The pressure surrounding him was enough to make even Divine Beasts hesitate.
Yet what unsettled Ningyan wasn’t the power.
It was the way Wuhen was looking at him as though letting him leave was the very last thing he wanted.
A chill ran down Ningyan’s spine. His heartbeat stumbled.
"Why do you say so?" Wuhen’s voice was low, careful and dangerously restrained.
Ningyan instinctively took a step back.
The fox immediately noticed. His tails stilled.
The air between them tightened.
Ningyan swallowed and finally asked the question that had been weighing on him since Fire City. "Who am I to you, Yan Wuhen?"