Chapter 262: Learned Hatred
Standing before the pulsing Demon Crystal within his spiritual space, Ningyan wore a blank expression, his thoughts refusing to settle.
How did Rong Yue know about my crystal space?
Why did he call it a Dragon Crystal instead of a Demon Crystal?
How could it possibly restore my memories?
And... who could enter this place unharmed?
Even Rong Yue had been forced out almost instantly.
Ningyan bit down on his lower lip, his brows furrowing deeply. After a long, heavy silence, he dismissed his wandering thoughts, and the crystal space faded around him.
When he opened his eyes, he was back inside the carriage.
They were still traveling toward the domain of the White Tiger Clan. Across from him, Rong Yue sat with his eyes closed. At first glance, he appeared asleep, but the occasional twitch of his golden tiger ears betrayed him.
He was listening.
"Are we there yet?" Ningyan asked out of nowhere.
Rong Yue’s eyes slowly opened, his blue feline gaze immediately settling on Ningyan. "...Perhaps." He leaned comfortably against the carriage wall. "Don’t be so impatient, little bird."
Ningyan gave him a flat look. "I’m not impatient. I’m curious."
He glanced outside the carriage window before asking, "How long have the White Tiger Clan and the Golden Lion Clan been at war?"
One of Rong Yue’s brows lifted slightly. "I thought you weren’t interested in another clan’s conflicts."
Ningyan shrugged. "I simply don’t want to sit here in silence with you."
That earned him a soft chuckle.
"My clan and the Golden Lion Clan have been enemies for generations," Rong Yue explained quietly. "My parents once hoped to end the conflict by arranging a marriage."
Ningyan blinked. "...For you?"
Rong Yue nodded. "They wanted me to marry the Golden Lion Clan’s princess."
"And?"
"I wasn’t interested." The answer came without a second of hesitation.
Ningyan tilted his head. "...Because of me?"
Rong Yue laughed softly. "You give yourself far too much credit." Then, after a brief pause, his tone softened. "It was mainly because I was already in love with Yan Wuhen."
Ningyan’s eyes immediately brightened with interest. He leaned across the carriage, resting his cheek in his palm. "When did you fall in love with him?"
Rong Yue smiled to himself, a warm memory surfacing. "Probably from the day we met. We were children. He was..." His smile widened. "...pure chaos. You simply couldn’t ignore him."
Ningyan slowly nodded. "...That sounds like him."
A comfortable silence lingered between them before Ningyan spoke up again. "So... how did I end up marrying you? Was it because of Wuhen?"
Rong Yue’s ears flicked once. "Wuhen was merely the catalyst." His gaze softened, locking onto Ningyan’s eyes. "I fell in love with you. Deeply. And despite everything... I still do."
Ningyan looked away, his ears warming slightly. "...Oh."
Rong Yue smiled knowingly. "You’ve always enjoyed making me chase after you. Even now."
Ningyan scoffed. "I am not making you chase me."
"Of course not," Rong Yue hummed, his teasing smile remaining intact.
Ningyan found himself smiling back despite his best efforts. After a quiet moment, he remarked casually, "I could wipe out the Golden Lion Clan for you."
Silence filled the carriage.
Rong Yue simply stared at him, taken aback. "...Is that your way of saying you’re growing attached to me?"
Ningyan rolled his eyes. "No. It’s simply the easiest solution."
His playful smile slowly faded as he lowered his gaze to his own hands.
"...Besides..." The words came quietly, dropping like lead into the quiet space. "...I need blood to stabilize my Demon Crystal."
In an instant, the lingering warmth inside the carriage vanished.
Rong Yue’s expression froze. "I could help with that."
The words came just as Ningyan braced himself for something far more unpleasant. His brows lifted in surprise. "...How?"
Before he could finish speaking, a silver dagger materialized in Rong Yue’s hand. Without the slightest hesitation, Rong Yue drew the blade across his own palm, splitting the skin open in a deep line.
Brilliant crimson blood welled from the wound.
Ningyan’s eyes widened. "...You’re insane."
Rong Yue merely extended his bleeding hand toward him. "Take it."
Ningyan hesitated only briefly before stepping forward.
The moment his skin brushed Rong Yue’s palm, his pupils instantly shifted into that familiar, lethal crimson-black. Dark demonic wisps rose from his body, turning the surrounding air heavy and suffocating.
Rong Yue gently turned Ningyan’s palm upward before closing his injured hand into a fist.
Crimson blood slowly dripped. One drop. Then another.
Each drop landed against Ningyan’s skin before being instantly swallowed by the ravenous demonic aura surrounding him. The blood vanished without a trace.
Ningyan’s body trembled, his eyes fluttering shut as the storm raging inside him began to quiet. Not completely... but enough.
He let out a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. "...That’s enough."
He immediately pulled Rong Yue’s hand away, gripping his own wrist as he took several slow, measured breaths to steady himself. His demonic aura gradually settled, and the black veins crawling up his neck receded.
Only then did he look back at the tiger beast. "...Are you alright?"
Rong Yue simply nodded. "I’ll live."
Ningyan stared at him for a long moment before asking quietly, "...How do you know about my crystal?"
Rong Yue lowered his gaze to his palm, where the wound was already knitting together beneath a gentle layer of silver spiritual light. "It wasn’t always a Demon Crystal." He raised his eyes. "It was a Dragon Crystal."
Ningyan frowned. "A Dragon Crystal?"
"It has been passed down through the Jun Family for generations," Rong Yue explained softly. "It was created to elevate the strength of the one who inherited it. But... it has mutated. It has become something entirely different. A Demon Crystal."
A heavy silence settled between them before Rong Yue spoke again.
"Jun Haoxuan is the one who can help you."
Ningyan stiffened. "...How? Is he going to remove it?"
"He can’t," Rong Yue answered immediately. "But you need to meet him."
"No." Ningyan shook his head before Rong Yue could even finish.
Rong Yue blinked. "...No?"
"I don’t want to meet him." The sheer firmness in Ningyan’s voice left no room for negotiation. "I cannot trust a dragon." He folded his arms tightly across his chest. "I don’t care if he was my husband. It doesn’t erase hatred. Dragons hurt the phoenixes more than anyone."
His expression darkened further. "You help me. You. We’ll find another way, there is always another way."
He paused, adding more quietly, "If not... I’ll ask Yan Wuhen." He hesitated for a second. "...Or Lan Meishan."
His voice unconsciously softened at the second name.
Lan Meishan made all his defenses crumble far too easily; around him, Ningyan couldn’t help becoming gentle without even noticing. Yan Wuhen was entirely different, he made Ningyan feel alive, restless, and burning like fire.
And Rong Yue... Rong Yue simply treated him as though they stood on completely equal ground.
Rong Yue let out a quiet sigh. "You don’t understand. The crystal is connected to Jun Haoxuan just as much as it is connected to you."
Ningyan met his gaze without wavering. "I don’t care."
For the first time that morning, Rong Yue looked genuinely helpless. "...Your stubbornness is going to be the death of me."
Ningyan offered no reply, simply staring back at him.
Meanwhile, Rong Yue looked down at his own palm. The wound had completely disappeared, leaving not even a scar behind.
Leaning back quietly against his seat, he wondered just how long it would take before Ningyan’s learned hatred finally gave way to the trust his heart so desperately wanted to place in them.
"Very well," Rong Yue finally relented. "We’ll leave Jun Haoxuan aside for now."
Ningyan looked satisfied enough to finally break his gaze from Rong Yue.
Several hours passed before their carriage at last crossed into the territory of the White Tiger Clan, a domain blanketed in endless snow, where raw strength could be felt in every corner. Towering palaces of stone stood proudly beneath the winter sky, their banners bearing the white tiger insignia fluttering against the cold wind.
As soon as the carriage came to a halt before the main palace, guards immediately surrounded the area and bowed in unison.
The carriage door swung open.
With his usual composure, Rong Yue stepped aside. "After you."
Ningyan almost refused. But after spending hours cooped up inside the carriage, he wanted nothing more than to stretch his stiff limbs.
He stepped down gracefully, grateful for the heavy white cloak draped over his shoulders that shielded him from the biting cold. He stretched with a quiet sigh of satisfaction just as Rong Yue stepped down after him.
"Your Majesty," the guards greeted respectfully.
"Brother!" A cheerful voice rang across the courtyard.
A tiger beastman with thick silver hair, matching tiger ears, a swaying tail, and striking silver feline eyes came sprinting down the palace steps. Dressed in elegant golden robes, a broad smile stretched across his handsome face as he hurried toward Rong Yue.
But the moment his gaze landed on Ningyan... His smile vanished.