In a secluded street away from the celebration happening in the clan, Ningyan stumbled out from the shadows, breathing heavily. Crimson-black light still flickered within his eyes before gradually fading back into violet.
His hand immediately flew to his neck, fingers pressing against the cluster of black veins spreading there beneath his skin.
His breathing grew uneven.
"That battle was barely a moment..." he muttered under his breath.
Yet his body already felt unstable.
Leaning against the cold wall behind him, Ningyan shut his eyes briefly before forcing his demonic aura back under control. Only after several moments did the violent pressure surrounding him finally settle.
Then his gaze lowered.
Something gleamed within his palm.
A ring.
A red-gold ring engraved with intricate fox markings.
Ningyan stared at it silently.
He had taken it from the nine-tailed fox during the clash without even realising it.
His brows slowly furrowed. "The resemblance..."
His thoughts drifted back to Yan Qinghe.
Those same red-gold eyes.
That same overwhelming presence.
"...they are siblings."
If that was true...
Then Qinghe had recognised him. And so had that fox.
Ningyan slowly closed his fingers around the ring, his expression darkening. "Were they the ones who killed me?"
But then... His eyes narrowed further.
"He called me Yan’er..."
The intimate softness in that voice replayed inside his mind with unsettling clarity.
Why would someone who murdered him speak his name like that?
Why would hearing it make his chest ache?
The confusion gnawed at him until irritation surged through his veins.
With a cold scoff, Ningyan concealed his aura completely and returned to the inn.
^
The moment he stepped inside, General He Yuting hurried toward him, concern written plainly across her face. "Your Greatness... were you engaged in battle?"
Ningyan ignored the question entirely. "Where is Xie Zhenting?"
He Yuting faltered briefly before replying, "Lord Zhenting has not yet returned."
Ningyan paused.
Then, unexpectedly, he seemed to relax. "Is that so..."
He resumed walking, his robes swaying behind him, while He Yuting quickly followed after him, unease growing clearer across her face.
After a long silence, Ningyan suddenly spoke. "I will be leaving the Vermilion Fox Clan for a while."
He Yuting froze.
Ningyan continued calmly, "Handle whatever arrangements remain in my stead."
Shock flashed across her face.
"Y-Your Greatness...?" She hurried after him. "Why this sudden decision? We still have preparations for war to complete. Did something happen tonight? I sensed your aura earlier... you fought someone, didn’t you?"
Ningyan stopped walking and slowly turned toward her.
His violet eyes were calm now, but far too sharp. "I wish to uncover the truth surrounding my death."
The moment those words fell, panic flooded He Yuting’s expression. "No!"
The answer came too quickly. Too desperately.
Ningyan’s brows lifted slightly. "...No?"
Only then did He Yuting realise her mistake. Her eyes widened before she lowered her head. "My apologies, Your Greatness."
But Ningyan had already noticed.
Every reaction. Every hesitation. Every trace of fear.
"I cannot permit you to leave."
Now Ningyan was truly interested.
He took a slow step toward her, gaze locking onto hers.
"And why," he asked softly, "would you try to stop me?"
He Yuting remained silent.
Ningyan’s lips curved faintly. "Is it because of Xie Zhenting?"
He Yuting’s reaction did not escape Ningyan’s notice.
The phoenix general’s silver lashes trembled faintly beneath the lantern light, but the panic that had flashed through her eyes had already betrayed her.
Ningyan stared at her for a long moment.
The night wind swept through the inn corridors, stirring his loose white hair and the dark robes hanging from his broad shoulders. The scars across his exposed chest seemed even more striking beneath the warm lantern glow, especially with those black veins curling faintly against the side of his neck like living marks of corruption.
"And why," Ningyan asked softly, "would Xie Zhenting have an issue with me searching for the truth of my own death?"
He Yuting clenched her fists. "Your Greatness—"
"No." Ningyan interrupted calmly, though the temperature around them suddenly dropped beneath the pressure of his aura. "Answer me properly."
His violet eyes slowly darkened into crimson-black.
The demonic mist leaking from his body thickened instantly.
He Yuting’s breathing hitched.
For the first time since Ningyan’s rebirth, she looked afraid of him.
Not because he was cruel.
But because she could suddenly see it clearly.
He was beginning to doubt them.
And if Su Ningyan began pulling apart the lies surrounding his rebirth, then everything Xie Zhenting had built over three hundred years could collapse.
He Yuting forced herself to speak carefully. "The realms are dangerous for you right now."
Ningyan laughed softly.
Dangerous? For him?
After slaughtering entire clans?
The sound of his laughter made He Yuting’s chest tighten uneasily.
"You fear I will remember something," Ningyan said suddenly.
Her pupils constricted.
Ningyan watched her expression carefully before smiling slowly. "So I am correct."
"No!" He Yuting stepped forward immediately. "Your Greatness, we only wish to protect you—"
"Protect me?" Ningyan repeated softly and took a step toward her.
The overwhelming pressure pouring from him forced He Yuting backward instinctively.
"Tell me," Ningyan murmured, "what exactly are all of you protecting me from?"
Silence.
Heavy silence.
The corridor became deathly still.
Even the music and laughter echoing from the distant streets of the Vermilion Fox Clan suddenly felt unbearably far away.
Ningyan watched He Yuting carefully.
"To think..." he said quietly, "that the first beast to make me curious in three hundred years would be a stranger."
His fingers tightened around the red-gold ring hidden inside his sleeve.
That nine-tailed fox.
Those eyes. That voice.
’Yan’er.’
The way the fox had looked at him like he had lost the entire world.
Ningyan could still feel the touch against his face.
And for some reason, remembering it still made his chest ache strangely.
A feeling he did not understand. A feeling that angered him.
His expression darkened.
"You all told me," he said coldly, "that the divine beast clans murdered me."
He Yuting’s face paled further.
"But tonight," Ningyan continued, "I met a fox who looked at me like he would rather die than harm me."
He Yuting immediately understood.
Yan Wuhen.
Ningyan’s eyes narrowed sharply at her silence.
"So it is true," he whispered.
"No—"
"Enough."
The single word slammed through the corridor with terrifying force.
He Yuting froze instantly.
Ningyan slowly walked past her.
His loose robes swayed around his tall frame while blackish-red mist coiled faintly around his fingers.
"I will find out the truth myself."
"Your Greatness!" He Yuting hurried after him desperately. "Please reconsider! Lord Zhenting only wishes for your safety!"
That made Ningyan pause and slowly turned his head.
For the first time since awakening, genuine hostility appeared in his eyes when Xie Zhenting’s name was mentioned.
"Safety?" Ningyan repeated softly and smiled.
A beautiful smile. Cold enough to freeze blood.
"If he truly wished for my safety..." Ningyan whispered, "then why does it feel as though I am his prisoner?"