Chapter 283: The Sky Palace (4)
Jun Haoxuan let out a furious shout as he tore his hand away from Ningyan’s chest and stood up abruptly, the heavy wooden bedframe shuddering beneath the sudden rush of his aura.
Rong Yue, Yan Wuhen, and Lan Meishan stood nearby, each wearing a different expression of grim exhaustion and disappointment.
Three days.
It had been three grueling days since they had brought Ningyan to the Sky Palace. Three days of desperately trying to breach the corrupted barrier surrounding his demon crystal.
They had found a way to reach his subconscious, while he was unconscious.
And despite everything, the corruption remained as suffocating as ever.
Jun Haoxuan’s imposing frame trembled with barely restrained rage, his dragon qi rolling wildly around him in visible, crushing waves. His eyes burned with helpless fury as he stared down at the sleeping phoenix.
Even in unconsciousness, Ningyan’s delicate face was twisted in deep pain, his brows tightly drawn together as if he were engaged in a losing battle against the nightmare locked inside his own mind.
"We have to be patient," Lan Meishan tried to keep his voice reassuring, though the deep exhaustion was plain in his eyes. "It has only been three days."
Wuhen turned toward him, his red-gold eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "I have seen enough. It is time to burn the Phoenix Clan to the ground."
He turned on his heel and strode toward the chamber door.
Rong Yue moved instantly, catching Wuhen firmly by the upper arm. "Take a breath again, Hen’er."
The nine-tailed fox slowly turned his head, leveling a truly murderous glare at the tiger beast.
Rong Yue tightened his iron grip. "And remember that slaughtering the phoenixes right now will only make Ningyan suffer more when he wakes."
Wuhen’s expression remained icy, but after a tense, suffocating silence, some of the lethal tension finally left his shoulders. Rong Yue held him for another breath before releasing his arm as it was safe.
For now.
Jun Haoxuan, however, had reached his limit. He stormed out of the chamber without uttering another word, his heavy footsteps echoing down the long corridor.
The remaining three divine beasts watched him disappear beyond the doorway.
Lan Meishan lowered his gaze, his chest tight. Rong Yue let out a heavy, weary sigh and quietly slipped out of the room to follow the Dragon beast.
Meishan remained beside Ningyan, his expression was carefully composed, but the harrowing pain in his eyes could no longer be disguised.
"You cannot bear it anymore."
Meishan’s fingers shook as that voice echoed directly within his mind.
"Stop trying to pretend you are positive."
"You want to tear the Phoenix Clan apart just as much as Wuhen does."
"Just admit it."
Meishan slowly reached up and removed his spectacles. His fingers closed tightly around the thin metal frame, his knuckles turning white.
"Let me take control, Lan Meishan."
"I will handle it myself."
"I’ll handle everything for us."
"Don’t let him affect you. The fun you, that is."
Meishan’s serpent eyes widened.
While he had been lost in his internal struggle, Yan Wuhen had crossed the room without a sound. The fox was now sitting where Haoxuan had been moments ago, one hand reaching out to gently stroke the side of Ningyan’s cheek.
"Don’t let him take control," Wuhen murmured softly.
Meishan stared at him in stunned silence. "...How do you know?"
"I guessed." Wuhen’s long fingers continued moving gently over Ningyan’s skin, smoothing away the tension in the phoenix’s brow. "Besides... you are always like this whenever the four of us gather, you are always silently fighting yourself."
Meishan swallowed.
"Even if he doesn’t remember us right now..." Wuhen’s fingers paused against Ningyan’s cheek. "...it is still far better than living in a world where we believed he was dead."
Meishan had not realized how transparent his grief had become to those around him. He had spent centuries mastering the art of hiding his true emotions behind his spectacles, a mask of calm elegance.
Yet Wuhen had seen right through him all along.
Meishan slowly turned his head to look back at Ningyan. Without the nightmares tormenting him, their husband looked peaceful now.
Silently, two of Wuhen’s massive, fluffy tails stretched across the space between them. One brushed softly over Meishan’s dark hair, while the other curled loosely around his tense shoulders, wrapping him in gentle warmth.
Meishan lowered his gaze, closed his eyes, and allowed the fox to comfort his aching heart.
^°^
Meanwhile, Jun Haoxuan stood alone on the open balcony, staring out toward the approaching dawn.
Beyond the stone railing, the vast spiritual lake stretched beneath the fading night sky, its dark surface reflecting the faint golden glimmer of the rising sun.
The first light of morning had begun to creep across the horizon.
Haoxuan exhaled a heavy, ragged breath and pressed a hand against his forehead, his body leaning heavily against the cold marble railing.
"Go back inside," he said without turning around, his beast energy subtly rippling through the air. "There is nothing to say to me."
Rong Yue stopped a few steps behind him, his broad shoulders squared. "I haven’t even said anything yet."
Haoxuan finally turned his head. His golden, reptilian eyes were sharp with deep exhaustion and suppressed anger. "I don’t wish to speak."
"Well, I wish to speak." Rong Yue walked closer. "And what I wish to say is that we are all completely exhausted. We haven’t slept properly since we arrived at the Sky Palace. We barely eat. We are a complete mess, Haoxuan. We cannot help Ningyan if we destroy ourselves first."
Haoxuan’s jaw tightened into a rigid line. "Nothing is working." His voice dropped into a low, hoarse growl. "I keep trying. Again and again. But every time I touch that crystal, it exposes another crack." His fingers curled tightly against the stone railing, crushing the edge into fine powder. "And every crack hurts him."
Haoxuan closed his eyes, his voice cracking with rare vulnerability. "I can feel it every time."
He sounded so lost.
Rong Yue watched him silently for several long breaths, the harsh morning wind stirring his golden hair. "Then we go through the main path."
Haoxuan turned to face the tiger beast fully.
Rong Yue held his intense golden gaze without flinching. "We still haven’t tried while he’s awake."
Haoxuan slowly straightened, his brows drawing together. "I..."
"We will stabilize him together. Him, us, the crystal, everything." Rong Yue said, stepping closer. "If we keep throwing ourselves into this while we’re already falling apart, we’ll only drag him deeper into the abyss with us."
Haoxuan gave a low, humorless scoff. "I cannot count how many times you’ve lectured me over the past three hundred years just to stop me from destroying myself."
A faint, fleeting smile tugged at the corner of Rong Yue’s lips. "I’m good with words." His smile faded just as quickly, his eyes growing dark with lingering pain. "That doesn’t mean I’m fine myself."
Haoxuan’s hard expression softened only slightly, but enough to bridge the distance between them. Then he looked back out toward the lake.
"I can’t do it," Haoxuan confessed softly.
Rong Yue’s brows furrowed. "Haoxuan..."
Haoxuan’s fingers slowly tightened into trembling fists at his sides. "I don’t know what I’ll do if he looks at me and hates me." His voice dropped into a fragile whisper. "What if he tells me he hates me?"
The thought alone seemed to shatter the Dragon beast from within.
"I don’t want to face that," he swallowed hard, his gaze fixed upon the brightening horizon. "Not when I’m barely holding myself together as it is."
Rong Yue stepped up beside him instead of standing behind him, both beasts kings standing shoulder-to-shoulder, looking toward the rising sun. "You don’t have to face everything at once. You don’t even have to approach him immediately. But eventually, we have to let Ningyan choose what he wants to do."
Haoxuan’s golden eyes trembled slightly, a subtle ripple clearing the storm in his gaze.
He slowly exhaled, watching the sun rise a little higher, painting a shimmering golden path across the quiet water of the spiritual lake. "Very well, then."