I slammed awake like a drowning man breaking through the surface of black water.My body jerked upward violently.My back arched off the floor, my hands immediately flying to my throat. I clawed at my own skin, choking, gagging, expecting silver strings that were no longer there, the laughing faces of the dead.My vision swam violently, blurring and clearing in uneven pulses.I could still see the white fog ; the endless white, the laughing faces, the echoes.My chest heaved harder.Then a pair of warm calloused palms grabbed my shoulders.“Wei!”I flinched so hard my core my meridians and dantian groaned “Easy…..easy, you’re back.”The voice sounded warped at first, distant and distorted, like someone speaking through layers of water.I blinked wildly. My breath hitching in broken, jagged pulls. The room was still spinning. My vision swam, blurring reality with the nightmare I had just escaped. The wooden ceiling beams above me fractured, looking exactly like the broken memory gate

We sprinted through flooded city streets where the water burned like acid. We climbed through the upside-down corridors of a ruined temple, force and pressure shifting violently with every step. We crossed a burning battlefield, then slammed waist-deep into the snow of a frozen mountain.Han Ruo knew these paths. He navigated the impossible maze with a desperate familiarity, proving he had escaped this creature many times before. But it didn't matter.Every time we turned a corner, every time we breached a new memory, the entity was already there. Standing on a burning siege tower. Waiting at the end of a flooded alley. Not chasing us. Just waiting. Smiling.And then, my own mind began to turn on me.The cognition sea recognized me as an intruder long ago, but for some reason, it waited this long to start fighting back. As we ran through an endless stone corridor, the walls shifted. Suddenly, I saw Brother Chen standing at the end of the hall. He looked at me with cold, dead eyes, t

By noon, the imperial palace had mastered the art of pretense. The chaotic frenzy of the morning had been neatly tucked away beneath the air of absolute orderliness. Guards rotated in perfect formations across the marble courtyards. Those not actively on patrol were strictly confined to the training grounds; the sharp, rhythmic clatter of wooden practice swords echoed over the walls, leaving no spare time for idle rest or the usual barracks gambling. Servants hurried through the palace halls with lowered heads and silent footsteps, carefully avoiding eye contact with anyone in uniform. Officials walked in groups, conversing only in lowered, hushed tones, their smiles tight and practiced. Nobody dared utter the word "war." But standing there, breathing in the cold air, the truth was undeniable: the palace felt exactly like a fortress pretending to host a party.The tension didn't just brew from the rumor.. The offering ceremony contributed strongly to the tension and war preparation

The ceremonial masks vanished immediately the large brass door of the ceremonial hall was shut. The ministers had mostly exited from the palace, their hurried footsteps and anxious whispers fading deeper into the massive palace complex. As the delegations filed out, the atmosphere in the palace shifted from forced celebration to a freezing, dangerous quiet. I watched from the shadows of the corridor as the representatives dispersed. Han Ming led his heavily armed retainers toward the guest residences. The Jiang and Lan representatives continued their hollow political chatter, following an official who escorted them to their quarters, as tradition dictated they could not leave until the peace incense finished burning the next day.But my biggest concern was Shuyin. After separating from the departing crowd. She didn't hesitate, she didn't look around, and she carried no invitation scroll. She simply walked with terrifying purpose directly toward the Inner Sanctum.The Inner Sanctum

The question dropped into the room like a stone in a glass pond. The temperature seemed to plummet ten degrees. My heart slammed against my ribs, a violent, terrified rhythm that I prayed didn't show in the pulse of my neck.I had my answer ready in a heartbeat. Stuttering or hesitation will be seen as guilt. "I know Lord Han Ruo by appearance only," I answered evenly.A heavy pause settled between us. Han Ming didn't blink."I’ve seen him a few times during ceremonies," I added, keeping my voice flat.Another suffocating pause carried in the room. "Nothing beyond that, My Lord.”“Nothing beyond that,” Han Ming repeated, nodding slowly, as if digesting the bland information. But he didn't move on. Instead, he began to circle me verbally, jabbing at the edges of my defense."Have you ever spoken to him?" "No, my Lord." "Never?" "No." "Not even once?" "No." I insisted. "Interesting." Han Ming tapped a single finger against the jade teacup. "Did he ever notice you?" "No." "Di