Chapter 2: The Gathering of the Three Great FamiliesA Night of Celebration
Every ten years, the Three Great Families—the Fen, Chu, and He clans—gathered in the Immortal Realm's ancient city of Gadarin. Lanterns flickered like stardust across jade archways, and the air thrummed with music and laughter.
In the grand hall of the Fen Family, golden tapestries shimmered in the lanternlight, each thread woven with the family's storied history.
Fen Hao stood at the edge of the crowd, his gaze steady despite the sneers and whispers that rippled through the hall. He wore simple robes of white and green, a jade hairpin glinting at his temple.
"That's the exile's son," someone murmured behind a lacquered fan."Rumor says his mother was a commoner—no wonder he doesn't belong here."
Fen Hao clenched his jaw, ignoring the sting of the words. Beside him, his father, Fen Huang—newly raised to patriarch after years of quiet maneuvering—watched the room with a calm, implacable gaze.
A Glimpse of Destiny
Across the hall, the Chu Family entered in a swirl of blue and silver silks. Chu Lanyue, the young lady of the Chu clan, moved with an icy grace that drew every gaze. Her hair, a cascade of midnight blue with glints of silver under the lanterns, framed a face as pale and cold as moonlight. Golden eyes regarded the gathering with distant indifference.
Her younger sister, Chu Nanyue, flitted at her side—a bright smile curving her lips as she teased and cajoled, laughter bubbling like a spring.
"Sister, don't scowl so much—you'll scare the suitors away!" Chu Nanyue teased, earning a flick of Lanyue's cold gaze.
Fen Hao's breath caught in his throat. A memory—hazy and sharp all at once—seized him:
A woman with golden eyes…A young man with white hair and red eyes, crumpling as a blade pierced his chest…Blood—so much blood—staining snow-white robes.
The vision vanished as quickly as it came, leaving him breathless and unsteady.
An Unexpected Meeting
As laughter and music rose around them, Chu Lanyue excused herself from the hall. Her gaze flicked over the crowd with faint disdain, her footsteps soft against the polished marble as she slipped into the quiet of the courtyard beyond.
Fen Hao watched her go, a frown knitting his brow. Without realizing it, he followed—drawn by something he couldn't name, a pull that echoed in the depths of his soul.
A Quiet Encounter
The moonlight spilled over the courtyard, silvering the koi pond and the carved stone lanterns. Chu Lanyue stood alone beside a flowering plum tree, her profile as still and perfect as a statue.
Fen Hao paused at the edge of the courtyard, suddenly uncertain. Yet when she turned her golden gaze on him, he stepped forward, his voice rough.
"I… didn't mean to intrude."
"Then why are you here?" she asked, her tone cool as the night air.
Fen Hao swallowed, the memory of that stabbing vision still lingering in his mind.
"I… don't know," he admitted."But when I saw you leave, I…" He trailed off, unable to find the words.
For a moment, silence stretched between them, the soft murmur of water and wind the only sound.
Then a flicker of something—pity, or perhaps curiosity—softened Chu Lanyue's expression.
"You're… Fen Hao, aren't you?"
He nodded.
"And you're Chu Lanyue."
"Indeed." She turned away, her fingers brushing the bark of the tree, and in that moment, she seemed almost… fragile.
A Trap in the Moonlight
Neither of them saw the faint etchings beneath the plum tree—runes carved by a careful hand, pulsing with hidden power.
As Chu Lanyue shifted her weight, her foot pressed against a rune's heart. Crimson light flared around her, forming a snare that licked at her skin, drawing thin lines of blood that shimmered like rubies in the moonlight.
She gasped, golden eyes widening as pain coursed through her veins.
"What—"
Fen Hao's Wild Intervention
In that instant, Fen Hao moved. The sight of blood—her blood—roused something fierce and protective in his chest. With a growl of defiance, he lunged forward.
He caught her just as she staggered, his arms bracing her waist, with his pure physical power pouring into the snare to shatter its bindings. The formation cracked beneath the weight of his dual energies—celestial gold and devilish red.
"Hold on," he whispered, his breath hot against her ear."I won't let you fall."
With a final surge of qi, the trap burst apart in a shower of fading crimson light, and the night fell still once more.
A Moment Between Them
Chu Lanyue looked up at him, her golden eyes wide with shock and something else—an emotion she quickly masked.
"You… saved me."
Fen Hao swallowed, his own heart pounding.
"I… had to," he said softly.
Laughter in the Dark
Unseen above, the leader of the Black Society—a man with cold amusement in his eyes—watched from a rooftop, his lips curling in a lazy smile.
"How delightful," he murmured, his voice low."Lets meet again ...."
End of Chapter 2