Chapter 261: I Prefer Freedom
"They’re..." Ningyan hesitated. "What are they like?"
Rong Yue leaned back slightly. "The eldest is Su Mian. She is a phoenix beast."
"A phoenix?"
"Mm," Rong Yue nodded. "Though she’s inherited more of Jun Haoxuan’s temperament than yours. She’s refined, loves studying, and spends most of her time trying to keep her younger siblings out of trouble. She prefers staying in Wind City."
Ningyan’s eyes softened. He wondered... would she like the Hidden Phoenix Clan?
No. He quickly dismissed the thought. He didn’t want her anywhere near that place.
"And then there’s Su Ruo." Rong Yue chuckled. "She’s a menace. A greater menace than Yan Wuhen."
Ningyan laughed. "Is that possible?"
"I’d say they’re evenly matched," Rong Yue smiled. "No one can tame her. But... she’s our sunshine."
Ningyan couldn’t help smiling wider.
"And finally... Su Miao." Rong Yue’s expression became incredibly gentle. "He’s charming. Always smiling, always believing the best in everyone. It worries me sometimes... but he’s strong. So very strong." He looked directly at Ningyan, unmistakable pride lacing his voice. "They’re all Divine Beasts."
Ningyan found himself staring. Rong Yue looked... beautiful. Like a father talking about the children he loved more than anything in the world.
"They sound amazing..." Ningyan murmured. "I’d like to meet..."
His voice cut off. The excitement slowly drained from his face.
"...No." He lowered his gaze. "I don’t think I should."
Silence settled over the room.
Rong Yue spoke quietly, "They were still very young when..." His voice faltered for a fraction of a second. "...when you were taken from us. They love you, Ningyan."
Ningyan scoffed, lowering his eyes. "I don’t... I don’t deserve that." He laughed quietly, but there was no amusement in it. "They grew up without me. Whatever father they remember... it isn’t me."
His voice remained calm, too calm, as though he had carefully wrapped every painful emotion behind high, impenetrable walls.
Rong Yue watched him for a long moment. "They still love you."
Ningyan frowned. For a brief second, blackish-red swallowed the violet in his eyes before disappearing again. He looked away. "I don’t think... I want to meet them like this." He swallowed hard. "Perhaps... when I recover my memories."
Rong Yue’s gaze softened. "Wouldn’t waiting only hurt you more?"
Ningyan blinked rapidly. "I’m not hurt."
Rong Yue sighed. "Saying you aren’t doesn’t change what you’re feeling, little bird."
Ningyan’s head snapped up. "You don’t know what I feel!"
"No," Rong Yue admitted, "I don’t. But I do know you’re.."
"Pitiful?" Ningyan exploded. "I’m not pitiful!"
Bang!
His palm slammed onto the table so hard the wood groaned. Bowls rattled, tea rippled, and an overwhelming wave of demonic energy burst from his body.
The violet in his eyes vanished completely, consumed by a fierce crimson-black. Dark veins rapidly spread from his neck, climbing across his jaw and reaching toward his cheek. The pressure inside the room instantly became suffocating.
Yet Rong Yue never moved.
A gentle silver light quietly spread across his skin, naturally shielding him from the crushing aura. He simply watched Ningyan, not with fear, not with disgust, but with an agonizingly soft concern.
And that, somehow, made Ningyan even angrier.
"You’re in pain, little bird... and lost," his voice was quiet, steady, and soft. "It shows in your anger. In your frustration. That is what I was going to say."
Ningyan bit down hard on his lower lip, fighting with everything he had to stop himself from breaking apart. His eyes burned with unshed tears.
Lately... he had been feeling far too much. Far more than when he had first awakened; far more than during all those quiet years he had lived among the phoenixes. It felt as though something long sealed deep within him had finally cracked open.... like a dam riddled with cracks, ready to burst at any moment.
"I’m not..."
The demonic aura surging around him slowly retreated. The black veins crawled back beneath the collar of his robes, settling quietly against his neck, while the crimson-black glow faded from his eyes until only their familiar violet remained.
He looked away with a huff. "And who do you think you are?" Folding his arms, he glared sideways. "My emotional advisor?"
Rong Yue’s lips curved upward.
"If you wish..." He spread his arms lazily. "You may come here and rest for a while, little bird."
Ningyan shot him a stubborn glare. "I do not wish to."
Rong Yue merely shrugged. "As you please."
Ningyan frowned. Why was Rong Yue always so infuriatingly composed? No matter how irritated Ningyan became, no matter how much demonic qi leaked from his body... the golden tiger merely watched him with endless, unshakeable patience.
Strangely... Ningyan found it comfortable. Annoying, yes, yet oddly comforting. Around Rong Yue, he didn’t feel the suffocating need to constantly restrain himself. He could become angry, act childish, or speak whatever came to mind.
It was... easy.
As if sensing his thoughts drifting elsewhere, Rong Yue suddenly produced a jade letter slip from within his sleeve.
Ningyan’s eyes immediately narrowed. A single strand of blackish-red demonic qi shot from his fingertips, wrapping like a silk thread around the letter before snapping it cleanly from Rong Yue’s grasp.
The jade slip flew neatly into Ningyan’s waiting hand. He lifted his chin proudly, while Rong Yue simply watched him with an amused, challenging gaze.
Unable to withstand that intense look for long, Ningyan quickly lowered his eyes and unfolded the letter. His brows furrowed. "It isn’t from Jun Haoxuan."
He tossed it back, and Rong Yue caught it effortlessly.
"No," Rong Yue agreed, scanning its contents once more as a trace of solemnity entered his expression. "It is from Rong Chen. There has been another dispute between the White Tiger Clan and the Golden Lion Clan."
He lifted his eyes. "Would you like to return to the White Tiger Clan with me?"
Ningyan crossed his arms. "I came to recover my memories. I have no interest in involving myself in another clan’s conflict."
"I am not asking you to," Rong Yue answered calmly. "If you come with me... you will simply rest. You will be cared for. Protected."
Ningyan snorted. "You mean hidden. I prefer freedom, Your Majesty."
Rong Yue studied him quietly, only then realizing that Ningyan was provoking him on purpose. The fleeting glances, the deliberate challenge in his tone, the way he looked away before daring to meet Rong Yue’s eyes again, he was inviting another one of their little verbal duels, just as they must have done countless times before.
"You will not be hidden," Rong Yue answered without a second of hesitation.
Ningyan rested a chopstick lightly against his lips, his violet eyes studying the tiger beast carefully. "Really? You call me ’little bird.’ And every time you look at me..." He tilted his head. "...it feels as though you’re wondering how to lock me inside a golden cage."
His gaze held Rong Yue’s. "Are you certain?"
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then, Rong Yue smiled, a slow, helpless, devastatingly gentle smile. He nodded once. "I am certain." Wetting his lips, he asked softly, "So... are you coming with me or not... little bird?"
Ningyan stared at him for another heartbeat before giving an indifferent shrug. "I will."
As though the decision carried no weight at all, he calmly returned to his breakfast, reaching for another dish.
Across from him, Rong Yue silently lifted his wine cup. Watching Ningyan happily sample every delicacy on the table, his eyes softened with quiet affection. "I’m glad."