And that was the last of his flickering memories. He couldnât remember what happened next, all he knew was that after he regained consciousness again, his parents were dead and he became an orphan.
âIn that second, I only had one thought in mind, kill them all and save my motherâs life. Even in death, thatâs all I wanted,â those fingers had inexplicably tightened into a ball, showing how much frustration the boy really had over his inability to change things.
Watching the changing emotions before her eyes, Ling Yue suddenly had the crazy impulse to hug the boy.
As the chief of the Phoenix Manor and all thatâs under him, Feng Shen was carrying far too much burden over that shoulder. Perhaps, not even the boy himself realizes it, but he too was only just a teenager.
Taking a small step forward, the hand hesitated for a bit before finally wrapping itself around the manâs waist. Then letting her head lean in against the stoic chest, they are now one.
âThe fault isnât on you Feng Shen, you were still a child back then. Whatâs more, you are not alone either. You have Dao Nu, Mr. Mu and many friends now. Also, you have, meâ¦..â When it came to the last part of her sentence, Ling Yueâs voice had devolved into a murmur like sheâs too shy to say it aloud.
Like being greatly encouraged, Feng Shen answers the girl in kind with an embrace of his own. And as a complimentary service, he went ahead to peck down at her forehead with a kiss.
This instantly causes her to fall into a panic: âI canât breathe Feng Shen, you are holding me too tightly. Also , since that Phoenix Edict is your motherâs momentum, I canât accept it.â
She knew the item held great value, but not this type of memorial value as well! And according to the boyâs meaning, the Phoenix Edict should come in a pair and not just one piece.
âThe Phoenix Edict is the heirloom of my family. Now that its been given I wonât take it back. Besides, I think my mother wouldâve liked you very much if she was still alive.â All smiles in his handsome face, Feng Shen denies the request with no room for refusal, âItâs getting late, why donât we call it a night and rest early.â
Sending the girl back to her room, he didnât leave right away. Instead, the lad remained outside alone in the yard, staring quietly at the sky with a touch of frustration in his face.
In the end I failed to tell herâ¦.
He only told half the truth to that story. For the latter half, not even the king knew because heâs been keeping it a secret all these years.
It was right before he lost control. Rage, endless and destructive rage, thatâs all he wanted for the evildoers who were slowly closing in on himself. Then what happened afterwards was nothing but a blank slate until he regained consciousness underneath that cliff.
All wet and alone, it wasnât just him when the kingâs men located his whereabouts. In fact, there were a lot of blood, pools of it even scattered across the rocks like a horror show. Yet, not a single body was ever located like they just vanished from thin air.
Against this level of savageness, not even the well-trained soldiers of the king could remain unfazed. They knew the battle mustâve been terrifying based on the traces left behind. So, what did that mean? Thereâs only one plausible explanation, someone had snatched away the corpses after dismembering them all!
While Feng Shenâs mother was never found after the tragic event, not even a corpse, the boyâs father did eventually return home to the capital though. However, this time around instead of being alive when he left, what came back was nothing more than a cold hard corpse, plus a thousand bodies of his loyal followers.
This was undoubtedly a direct provocation of the royal family: a princess has been killed, the Wargod of North Qing murdered upon his return, and the attempted murder of a prince.
In a fit of rage, the king immediately issued out one of the heaviest punishments ever to come across this great nation. Sentencing any involved party to death, including their closest kin, carnage was the only word that could be used to describe what occurred in the following month at the nationâs border.
Towards these events, Feng Shen never did manage to witness it firsthand because he had fallen into a coma after being brought back to the palace. Then when the critical period was over, thatâs when he discovered the changes to his body, which was the birth of a âDemonâ within his soul. Or to be more exact, it was a demon known as Wu Chong, the current Ghost Emperor thatâs feared across the lands.
Sighing at his own life, Feng Shen finally turns away for the night.
Unbeknownst to the boy though, he wasnât alone in standing there until now, Ling Yue too didnât rest when the door closed between the pair.
She just had the strange notion that the boyâs different from the usual him. As to whatâs different, the girl couldnât quite tell. Perhaps its that unsolvable sadness in his eyes, or maybeâ¦.
Taking out the Phoenix Edict from inside her clothes, Ling Yue eyes it strangely, Should I really be accepting something like this? It represents the mistress of this household. If I do, then wouldnât it mean Iâm accepting his proposal?
Itâs not like she hated the boy, rather its very positive even. Just that, to call this feeling love wasnât quite right either. Or perhapsâ¦. Sheâs just being a coward and was too afraid to love.
Ye Ling Yue, you canât fall in love, you absolutely mustnâtâ¦..
The night was going to be a long one tonight.
She was getting a nightmare about herself after falling asleep. Well, its her but not exactly her as well. Itâs the same face, the same appearance, but the woman on the opposing end was much more enchanting and experienced in life.
However, thereâs one major difference between them both, this second version was being cruelly tortured until that body could barely be recognized. And those eyes, they never wavered even once in light of all that pain.
âXi Jiu Ye, if there is ever another life for me then I will make you pay for everything! Blood for blood, life for life!â The vow was directed at the two individuals further away.
It was a handsome man with his face blurred out from view, and sitting beside him on the throne was another woman of definite beauty. Though she couldnât quite make out who these two individuals were, Ling Yue could still see the smug smiles on their faces. Its downright infuriating and she didnât know why like cancer to the heart.
You mustnât love, you mustnât ever love.
Night Ling Yue, Ye Ling Yueâ¦
The hoarse outcry of pain and screams continuously rang beside her ears until endless darkness drowned out her consciousness.
â!!â Jerking open those eyes, sheâs awake again.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âLing Yue, what happened, are you okay?â Carrying a bit of anxiousness in his voice, the picture of Feng Shenâs face soon appeared from the front after the door swung open.
Based on how the morning light was shining through, plus the boy still hasnât gotten properly dressed yet, its obvious he too had only just gotten out of bed.
âI had a nightmare.â Touching her own forehead, Ling Yue frowns upon discovering how much sweat she was covered in.
She doesnât know it either, but sheâs been often haunted with the same dream over and over again.
âWhat did you dream? Your scream was very loud there just now.â
Because Feng Shenâs room was right next to the girlâs very own, it didnât take much for him to be alarmed by that loud scream.
âI canât remember, every time I wake up I would forget.â Deflated in her voice, she explains.
The only thing she does remember though was that thereâs a woman constantly reminding her of not falling in love. It was so filled with hate and sadness that she didnât know whether its her illusion or something true.
âItâs okay now, its all just a dream. Here, your bandages are wet because of how scared you were, let me change them for you.â Furrowing his brow, the boy grew rather suspicious over the necessity of those wraps on the head.