Chapter 68 – Shadows Beneath the Flame
The moonlight filtered through the glass skylight of Bai Manor, casting pale silver over the marble floor. Xueqing stood before her ancestral altar, incense burning slow and steady as her thoughts spiraled.
"Xu Yanshang," she whispered. "Why now?"
Behind her, Mo Chen's presence loomed quietly. He hadn't spoken since they confirmed the pulse from the Oracle. His arms were crossed, jaw taut.
"I don't like it," he finally said.
"You're jealous," she replied, eyes still on the flame.
He stepped closer, voice lower. "Of a ghost from your past life?"
"You know he wasn't just anyone, Mo Chen. He was—"
"Devoted. Loyal. Trained to protect you. Yes, I know." His tone sharpened. "But he failed. I won't."
She turned, eyes cold. "He died for me."
Mo Chen's gaze didn't flinch. "And I'll kill for you."
They stared at each other, years of buried memories and unspoken fury suspended between them.
But neither said the other truth: they both feared what Xu Yanshang's return meant—for Xueqing, for the balance of power, and for them.
---
Across the city, in a hidden Oracle sub-lab beneath District D, Qiao Lan moved through the shadows in a janitor's uniform.
She'd been activated again.
The voice modulator clicked in her ear. "Target: Xu Yanshang. Confirm his awakening. Extract data if possible."
She reached the door marked SUBJECT-17 and slid in a keycard she shouldn't have.
What she saw froze her in place.
Xu Yanshang was awake—and standing shirtless at a training station, muscle and memory flexing with every movement. Sweat glistened across the long scar that stretched from shoulder to hip.
His voice was low but clear. "You're not just a janitor."
Qiao Lan blinked. "You... you remember me?"
He turned slowly. "You served her once, didn't you? Back when we fought the Empire of Dust."
Her knees trembled. "I... I did. But you were dead. We burned your body."
He tilted his head. "Did you?"
In one move, he was in front of her, hand on her throat—not choking, but enough to warn.
"Tell me everything about Bai Xueqing. Now."
---
Meanwhile, Xueqing poured over the decrypted files Lin Nuo recovered from the Oracle database. In the margins of one document, scrawled in red: Subject 17 classified as 'Phoenix Sentinel'. Resurrectable under emergency protocol. Memory loop unstable.
Lin Nuo leaned over her shoulder. "This means he might not be the same Yanshang you knew."
Xueqing's lips thinned. "Then we'll find out who he is… before he decides who I am to him."
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