BLACK STRING PRISON WARD — XIWU OUTPOST, AT NIGHT.

Pain.

Pain.

That was all Gu Ni felt.

Not from the bruises or the energy shock that tore through her when she collapsed — but from the silence.

The silence of her child not speaking.

The silence of Ren walking away after saying she could "spend time" with the Blood Child… and feel "more pain."He never loved her, no, this was a mistake. But she would never call her child a mistake. Tears streamed her eyes, the once strong swordwoman who could cut into half with her eyes closed now lay broken and dejected.

Now she was chained in a glass-walled room, her hands glowing faintly from suppression cuffs. Blood dried on the side of her mouth.

The only light in the room came from across the glass — where a boy sat on the other side, silently watching her.

The Blood Child.

Her child.

Her son.

He was real.

His hair was jet black like his father's hair, he looked like his father a lot, he had this devilishly handsomeness. His eyes glowed red. He looked no more than eight or nine, but what her stare at was an ancient Greek god.

"They told me you  lied," the boy said softly.

Gu Ni's heart cracked. Her voice shook. "And did they tell you why I cried when I see you?"

Silence.

"You were taken from me before I ever gave you a name," Gu Ni continued. "But I still remember the sound of your heartbeat."

The boy blinked.

"They said you died."

"I didn't."

"They said you were a traitor."

"I was never given a choice."

The boy stood.

"They said… if I ever saw you cry, I should kill you."

She walked to the glass.

"And I don't want to."

Gu Ni reached forward — her hand flat against the glass.

Tears slipped down her cheeks.

"You're not a weapon," she whispered. "You're my son."

"Did he tell you who your father is ?"

"Yes"

Gu Ni blinked ' For once Ren is reasonable '  she thought but what her son said next shocked her.

" Lu Quing" the. The boy said innocently. " Master Ren said I should finish him off because he never loved ne as a father. He let me suffer ". The little walked back to his chair.

*Little Tian, Lu Quing isn't your dad ". The boy stopped when he heard her calling him a different name, a real name like the others. His emotions surged up but he tried to control it, he liked the new feeling he was feeling. It felt so refreshing to him.

---

LU VILLA – ROOFTOP

The night wind blew across Yueying's face as she stood on the railing, eyes closed, arms out like wings.

She didn't feel cold anymore.

She didn't feel human, either.

The pendant pulsed wildly now, almost restless.

Behind her, Lu Quing stood in silence.

He had heard the water running. He knew she had been crying. And still, he said nothing.

Until—

"Tell me to stop."

She turned slowly, confused.

He stepped forward, hand clenched at his side.

"Tell me to stop caring about you. Tell me to stop showing up. Stop looking. Stop hoping."

Yueying swallowed.

"You don't understand," she whispered. "I want to choose you. But I don't even know if I'm still me."

He stepped closer, eyes glowing faintly under the moon.

"Then let's find out together."

There was a pause.

Yueying looked at him — really looked.

She saw the killer he used to be.

The man that use to love his ex-girlfriend madly.

The man her mother warned her to keep a safe distance from even if he was protecting her( he's just following orders of his father).

The protector he had become.

The part of her that wanted to give in nearly stepped forward.

But instead, she whispered, "You're still in love with her, aren't you?"

Lu Quing froze. "Who?"

"Your ex. The one who disappeared the night the Han clan fell. The one that was found dead and disfigured in a plane crash."

The air turned razor sharp.

He didn't deny it.

Instead, he said, "She betrayed everything. But she wasn't you."

"Then why do you still keep her ring in your desk drawer?" Yueying asked coldly.

Lu Quing's breath hitched.

That secret wasn't supposed to be known.

"I saw it," she continued. "You kept it buried like a wound. And I'm not a bandage."

And Yueying walked off the rooftop.

Alone.

---

BLACK STRING TRAINING HALL

Ren stood at the center, eyes closed, the room thick with pressure.

The woman with blue eyes approached. "She's waking up faster than we planned."

"She was made to burn quickly," Ren replied, eyes still shut. "Like her mother."

The woman frowned. "And what about your son?"

"He's only valuable if Yueying lives long enough to see him bleed."

"And if he turns on you?"

Ren smiled darkly. "Then I'll finally know I made something worthy of hate."

---

YUEYING'S ROOM – LATER THAT NIGHT

She collapsed onto her bed, exhausted. The pendant glowed faintly now — pulsing slower, calmer.

Until suddenly—

A sharp burn stabbed her chest.

She clutched the pendant as a vision struck.

A battlefield.

A tower of flame.

Her son — Gu Ni's son — standing at the center. Crying. Screaming. Holding Yueying in her arms, bleeding.

Yueying gasped.

"He's real."

And he wasn't the enemy.

Not yet.

 

LU VILLA – WAR ROOM, DAWN

Maps covered the table. Traces of Black String activity pulsed across them like veins. Yueying stared at the largest mark — Xiwu Outpost — where Gu Ni had disappeared.

"She hasn't returned," Lu Quing said, voice tight.

Yueying didn't answer.

He stepped closer, jaw clenched. "She could be dead."

"She's not," Yueying said coldly. "I saw her. In my vision. She's alive."

Lu Quing paused. "And the child?"

Yueying closed her eyes. "Not a child anymore. Not really. But… still innocent. Still redeemable."

Lu Quing's gaze hardened. "You want to bring him back."

"I have to."

He grabbed her arm. "Yueying, if you go there—"

"Don't try to stop me."

Their eyes locked.

And Lu Quing saw it.

Not fear.

Not confusion.

But resolve.

The same fire he once saw in Han Liuhua before she walked to her death.

"You're not her," he whispered.

"I know," Yueying replied. "That's why I'll survive."

There are certain things that now made sense to her.

He met her mother.

He knew the story that she thought only existed in fantasy novels.

He wasn't on ordinary human or he wasn't human at all.

So what was he.

An angel?

 

A devil?

A god?

A vampire? 

Or a werewolf?

---

BLACK STRING – INNER HOLDING CELL

Gu Ni sat on the floor, arms chained above her. Her vision blurred, but her mind was clear.

She knew Yueying would come.

She only hoped it wouldn't be too late.

Across the chamber, her son stood — dressed in ceremonial black, a glowing sigil etched on his wrist.

"She's coming, isn't she?" the boy asked.

Gu Ni looked up. "You feel it too."

"I feel her heartbeat," the boy whispered. "It's soft. But angry. Like mine."

Gu Ni smiled, blood on her lips.

"She's not here to kill you."

The boy's eyes dimmed.

"Then she'll fail."

---

MOUNTAIN PASS – SUNSET

Snow fell as Yueying walked alone through the trees, her black cloak dragging behind her like smoke.

The pendant around her neck pulsed brighter with every step.

Each beat matched her breath.

Her heartbeat was steady.

But her mind wasn't.

She heard her mother's voice.

 "You were not born to be a weapon. You were born to end the weapons."

She heard Lu Quing's voice.

"I want to be the reason you survive this."

And she heard her own.

"I don't even know if I'm still me."

She stepped over a fallen log, pausing as a figure emerged from the mist ahead.

A boy — older now. Fifteen? Sixteen?

Blue eyes.

Sword in hand.

Not Gu Ni's son.

Someone else.

"You saved me once," he said, lowering the blade slightly. "Do you remember?"

Yueying blinked.

A flash of memory—

A child, hiding in a burning orphanage. Her arms around him, shielding him from the flames.

"I remember."

The boy nodded.

"I asked them to spare you. They said no. So I ran."

Yueying took a step forward. "Why are you here?"

He raised the blade again.

"To test you. Ren's orders."

Her jaw clenched.

"And if I refuse?"

He shrugged. "Then I die."

"No," Yueying said. "Then we refuse."

She reached out her hand—

He hesitated.

Then a scream split the air.

"INCOMING!"

Black String guards rushed the clearing.

Yueying moved without thought — the air shimmered around her, fire dancing from her fingertips and feet catching the already dried woods and leaves around. The pendant blazed with life.

The boy turned, back-to-back with her.

"We fight together?"

Yueying nodded.

"Let's go " she smiled.

---

BLACK STRING CHAMBER – NIGHTFALL

Ren stood over a flaming scrying pool, watching the scene unfold.

"She's stronger than we calculated," the woman with blue eyes said beside him.

Ren's jaw twitched.

"She was supposed to bend. Not to feel high and mighty."

He turned to the child beside him.

The son of Gu Ni. And his.

"Prepare him ," he ordered. "The First Flame is coming."

The boy stepped forward. "And if she wins?"

Ren didn't answer.

Instead, he looked down at the glowing sigil on his own hand.

A mark that matched Yueying's pendant.

"She won't," he said. "Because we gave her love. And that's what will destroy her just like her mother."

---

INSIDE THE TEMPLE 

Yueying limped through the hall, cloak scorched, body bruised.

But her eyes still burned bright.

At the end of the corridor stood Gu Ni's son — a blade in one hand, his mother's necklace in the other.

They stared at one another.

Yueying didn't raise her hand.

"I'm not here to fight," she said.

The boy didn't move.

"I know you don't believe me. But I'm here… for you."

A pause.

"Your mother is still alive."

That made the girl blink.

"Gu Ni," Yueying said. "She never gave up. Not for one second. She came here hoping to hold you."

"Lies," the bou muttered. "She abandoned me."

"No," Yueying said. "They abandoned you. They trained you to hate. But hate was never yours. It was fed to you."

The girl trembled.

"She remembered you," Yueying whispered. "Even when she didn't know your name."

The blade shook in the child's hand.

"She called you her greatest pain… and her greatest reason to fight."

Then—

The blade fell.

Tears slipped down the boy's cheeks.

"I… don't know who I am."

" Even I too don't know who I am"

Yueying stepped forward slowly.

"You're not a weapon," she said gently.

"You're someone's child."

She opened her arms.

The girl flinched—

Then collapsed into Yueying's embrace.