The night had quieted.

Yan Rui drifted in and out of light sleep, his body still aching, but his mind strangely still. Beside him, Mo Jue hadn’t moved. He was awake — had been all night.

Not watching.

Guarding.

As though something was near.

And he was right.

---

🌫️ The Arrival

Just before dawn, the mist rolled through the eastern edge of the palace. Unlike the garden mist or the mountain fog, this one smelled faintly of camphor and scorched jasmine.

The guards at the eastern gate collapsed — not dead, but dreaming.

Deeper than sleep.

Silent.

Then a figure stepped from the mist.

Long white robes edged in silver, a curved fan held lazily in one hand. His eyes were narrow, gleaming faint gold. His lips smiled — but the air around him twisted like heat on stone.

His voice was soft, smooth, and dangerous.

> “It’s been a while, Mo Jue.”

---

💠 The Court Awakes

By the time the sun rose, the palace had changed.

The mist had vanished — but rumors spread faster than smoke. Half the servants claimed to have seen a man walking between walls. Others said a forgotten general had returned from exile.

But only one name was whispered by the old ones:

> “Li Xie.”

No title. No rank.

Just a name — Li Xie.

And that was enough to make even Mo Jue’s most loyal soldiers falter.

---

🌒 In the Serpent Hall

Yan Rui stood at the edge of the garden terrace, watching the shawls in the memory chamber ripple faintly. He felt something off — like the shadows were leaning closer.

Mo Jue appeared beside him, face unusually tense.

> “Don’t go wandering today,” he said.

> “Why?” Yan Rui asked. “What’s happened?”

Mo Jue didn’t answer at first.

> “A man has returned. Someone I thought… lost.”

> “Lost how?”

Mo Jue’s eyes darkened. “Because I buried him myself.”

---

💥 Flashback: The Forgotten Pact

In another time — before curses, before temples — Mo Jue had not been alone.

Li Xie was once a fellow divine — not serpent, but smoke.

A god of silence and shadow.

They had shared power. Territory. Even affection. Until Li Xie betrayed the pact of the immortal court and tried to claim a mortal soul — one who looked a great deal like Yan Rui.

> “He saw beauty in destruction,” Mo Jue whispered. “But unlike me, he didn’t regret it.”

> “And now?” Yan Rui asked, his voice quiet.

> “Now he’s back. And he won’t come for my throne…”

> “He’ll come for you.”

---

🕯️ First Encounter

That afternoon, Yan Rui was summoned to a quiet chamber under the guise of “tea with the sages.”

He arrived early.

Or so he thought.

Li Xie was already there.

Sitting on the window ledge like a serpent waiting to strike.

> “You’re not what I expected,” Li Xie said with a tilt of his head. “Too soft. Too alive.”

Yan Rui narrowed his eyes. “And you’re exactly what I imagined.”

Li Xie laughed. It wasn’t a warm sound.

> “Mo Jue must be terrified. He always was sentimental under all that venom.”

> “What do you want?” Yan Rui asked.

Li Xie leaned in, and the temperature dropped sharply.

> “To watch. To wait. To see if you’re worth dying for again.”

Then he vanished — no wind, no sound. Just one feather falling to the floor behind him. Black, curved, and burning at the tip.

---

🌑 That Night

Mo Jue found Yan Rui sitting alone, the feather in hand.

Yan Rui didn’t look up. “Why didn’t you tell me I wasn’t the only soul you ever chose?”

Mo Jue stepped closer.

> “Because he wasn’t chosen. He was warned.”

> “And me?”

> “You were the only one I ever begged.”

Yan Rui turned, searching his face.

> “Then don’t lie again.”

They didn’t kiss.

But they stood closer than before.

Because now, the game had changed.

The enemy was no longer fate.

It was a god who once knew what Mo Jue’s heart looked like — before Yan Rui ever touched it.

---

 End of Chapter 17