Chapter 269: You Hate Him Now
Ningyan lifted the flute, deliberately avoiding Yan Wuhen’s gaze.
Across from him, the nine-tailed fox stood unnaturally still, nine crimson tails swaying lazily behind him. Yet the anticipation radiating from him was impossible to hide. His eyes glittered like molten gold, focused solely on Ningyan.
Ningyan lowered his lashes.
Then, the flute touched his lips.
The first note drifted into the snowy courtyard. It was.... soft, pure, and crystal clear.
The melody floated through the falling snow like flowing mist, weaving itself between the frozen branches. The cold winter wind answered the song, lifting their robes and hair into graceful arcs. It was the exact melody he had played back in his past days at the Celestial Beast Academy.
Yan Wuhen’s breathing stopped. "...Yan’er..."
His whisper disappeared into the music. Every single note was painfully familiar.
Slowly, Yan Wuhen raised two fingers. A strand of pure beast qi flowed from his fingertips like liquid sunset, spiraling around the flute in a warm, radiant weave of crimson and gold. His energy quietly merged with Ningyan’s, not to interfere or control, but only to stabilize him and soothe the corruption before it could erupt.
The music deepened.
Ningyan shut his eyes as fragments surfaced behind his eyelids.
A classroom filled with children’s laughter. Tiny hands tugging gently at his sleeves. A gentle woman smiling as she packed his lunch. A laughing as he called him home for dinner.
Li Wei. His first life.
The scattered memories began knitting together like distant stars finally forming a constellation. His heartbeat quickened with hope. Just a little more...
Then, the world shattered.
Darkness swallowed everything as Ningyan’s consciousness crashed into his crystal space.
The enormous crystal pulsed before him like the beating heart, blackish-red, heavily corrupted, and terrifyingly alive. Its rhythmic thrum shook the foundation of his inner realm.
Then came the screams.
Countless shrieks of dying beasts and wails of agonized souls erupted together, swelling into a single, maddening roar. The forming memories instantly fractured into dust.
"No..." Ningyan staggered, clutching his head. "No..."
Black chains burst from the crystal with terrifying speed, coiling tightly around his wrists, ankles, waist, and throat. Each chain dripped with suffocating demonic qi, dragging his consciousness back down into the abyss.
Forget. Forget. Forget.
The command echoed through the space like unyielding heavenly law.
Ningyan’s eyes snapped open within the realm. "...No!"
His scream exploded through the dark void.
BOOM!
Black-red flames bursted across his space as the crystal answered with another pulse, releasing waves of raw corruption that crashed over his body.
Ningyan glared at the crystal through trembling, tear-filled eyes. "You won’t let me remember..." His voice cracked with rage and sorrow. "You don’t want me to remember!"
He could feel it now, the corruption wasn’t merely residing inside him; it was actively guarding the truth. The chains dug deeper into his form, threatening to tear his very soul apart.
With a furious roar, Ningyan summoned every ounce of willpower and ripped himself free.
The crystal realm shattered.
Outside, the red-and-gold flute slipped from his numb fingers, dropping onto the snow.
Before his body could hit the floor, strong arms caught him. Ningyan’s forehead struck Yan Wuhen’s shoulder as he struggled to draw air into his lungs.
Dark wisps of demonic qi poured endlessly from his skin like smoke escaping a dying star. His violet eyes had completely drowned in pools of blood-red darkness.
His fingers instinctively clutched the fabric of Yan Wuhen’s sleeve. Only then did he realize he was trembling.
"It..." his voice was hoarse, barely a rasp, "...didn’t work."
Yan Wuhen didn’t answer right away. His playful demeanor had vanished completely. His sharp fox eyes narrowed as he watched the black veins crawling rapidly up Ningyan’s neck.
Reaching out with his spiritual sense, Yan Wuhen inspected the energy rushing beneath Ningyan’s skin and what he felt made even the nine tailed fox go still.
It felt as though ten thousand demonic tools had been ground into dust, their resentment refined and their hatred compressed before being forcefully sealed inside a single vessel. Even a Demon Beast King shouldn’t possess demon qi this dense... unless someone had performed an unimaginable forbidden ritual.
Not merely to corrupt Su Ningyan, but to erase him entirely, burying the beast he once was beneath endless malice.
Yan Wuhen’s pupils dilated. "...Jun Haoxuan," he whispered.
Ningyan froze. Instantly, he shoved himself out of Yan Wuhen’s embrace.
"You too?" His voice turned icy cold. "You also think only he can help me?"
Yan Wuhen blinked, realization settling in. "...Too?" He let out a quiet sigh. "No."
He took a step toward Ningyan again, his expression unusually grave. "You still carry the Dragon Crystal. There is no beast in the Three Realms who understands its nature better than Jun Haoxuan. He may be the only one capable of reaching the part of you that the corruption cannot touch."
Ningyan shot him a flat look. "You trust him?"
Yan Wuhen blinked once. "Of course, I do." He tilted his head slightly. "You don’t?"
Ningyan’s gaze drifted away toward the snow-covered courtyard. "He is a dragon."
Silence settled between them in the cold winter air. Then, understanding slowly dawned across Yan Wuhen’s face.
"...Ah." His ears twitched. "So that’s it. You hate him now."
Ningyan immediately frowned, his tone turning firm and defensive. "I do not. I simply refuse to trust a dragon." He turned on his heel. "I am returning to the Phoenix Clan. None of you seem willing to help me unless it involves the Dragon Beast King."
He had barely taken two steps.
Flick.
A finger struck the center of his forehead.
"...!"
Ningyan’s eyes flew wide. His hand instinctively covered the sore spot as he glared furiously at the culprit. "What was that for?"
Yan Wuhen withdrew his hand with seriousness. "I was checking whether your senses had returned."
"..."
"They have not."
Ningyan’s eye twitched. Before he could retort, Yan Wuhen stepped closer and lightly pressed a single finger against his lips. The motion wasn’t forceful, yet it effectively stole the words before they could leave Ningyan’s mouth.
"Don’t waste your breath, Yan’er." His nine tails swayed lazily behind him. "You are not returning to the Phoenix Clan."