Chapter 35 – Face to Face with the Past
The warehouse at Dock C was quiet, save for the low hum of electricity in the overhead lights and the steady beat of rain on the tin roof.
Xu Yanshang stepped into the light.
He looked older—sharper jawline, eyes like steel—and yet, there was a haunting familiarity in his expression as he studied Bai Xueqing, as if he had been waiting centuries to see her again.
"Zhaohua," he breathed. "You haven't changed."
Xueqing didn't flinch. "You have."
He smiled faintly. "Life does that. Especially after betrayal."
"I didn't betray you," she said calmly. "You betrayed yourself."
He tilted his head. "So cold. Just like then."
Behind her collar, the mic picked up every word. In the surveillance van, Mo Chen stood like a statue, his jaw locked tight.
"Remember the night the palace fell?" Xu Yanshang continued. "You said you would always stand by my side. But the moment Mo Chen returned from exile, your loyalty shifted."
"I stood by the empire," she said. "Not your madness."
Xu's eyes darkened. "You were mine."
She took a breath. "I was never a possession. Not then. Not now."
His smile broke. "Yet here you are. In the flesh. After all these years, fate returns you to me."
"Fate didn't bring me here," she said coldly. "I did."
He stepped closer, and her fingers brushed against the small blade hidden in her sleeve.
"I know your secrets, Zhaohua. I know you've remembered everything. The transmigration. The truth about your family. About the Su lineage."
Her heart thudded once.
Xu Yanshang chuckled. "Ah. You hadn't told them, had you? The precious Bai Xueqing—descendant of Su Huayin, guardian of the phoenix relic. Even Mo Chen doesn't know."
In the van, Lin Nuo swore. "Did he just say relic?"
Meng Zhihao muttered, "This just got mythical."
Xueqing didn't let her expression falter. "So that's what this is about. Power."
"It was always about power," Xu said. "Even love. Love is just the prettiest mask it wears."
"And obsession is its ugliest," she replied.
His smile faded. "You really are different in this life."
"And I'm not alone."
At that exact moment, the warehouse doors exploded inward. Mo Chen strode through the smoke, dressed in all black, fury in his eyes and a gun in his hand.
Xu didn't even blink. "Of course."
Mo Chen pointed the gun. "Step away from her."
Xu looked between them—Xueqing, calm and unflinching; Mo Chen, lethal and protective.
Then he smiled again. "You still won't choose me."
"I never did," Xueqing said.
Xu Yanshang raised his hands in mock surrender. "Then finish it."