Chereads / "Whispers of Yanjiang: 燕江幽语" / Chapter 2 - "The little fox revealed its claws."

Chapter 2 - "The little fox revealed its claws."

Yan Jianri's body bore countless wounds, so deep and numerous that she no longer knew where the pain began or ended. Tears trickled down her cheeks, reaching the corner of her lips, leaving a bitter taste. Was it her tears that were bitter, or her broken heart?

A sharp ache rose from her chest to her throat, and with it came blood—warm, metallic, and unrelenting. As she collapsed to her knees, the red flames consuming the Yanjiang Palace painted the world in a fiery haze. Smoke filled the air, but amidst it all, a familiar fragrance drifted in—a soft, sweet scent of jasmine.

It was the scent of memories, of fleeting happiness. She saw him then, standing tall in his red attire, the blue sash at his waist as vivid as the skies she would never see again.

Shaungwei knelt before her, his expression unreadable, like a frozen statue carved by the gods. He tilted her chin up, forcing her to meet his gemstone-like eyes—cold, distant, and yet, in the depths, something unspoken stirred.

"Yan Jianri, are you afraid?"

His voice was calm, devoid of emotion, yet it carried a quiet satisfaction that made her chest tighten. Yan Jianri, though broken, held her ground. She looked into his eyes with unwavering defiance.

"I, Yan Jianri, will never fear you."

A faint smirk tugged at his lips, a shadow of something that could have been tenderness, had the world been different.

"Will you regret it?"

The weight of his words pressed against her like an unseen chain. She let out a soft laugh, one filled with sorrow and the faintest flicker of peace.

Reaching for the dagger in his hand, she cut through the blue sash, the thread of their bond severed with a single, final act.

"If I have one regret in my life, Lin Shaungwei, it is loving you."

The blade pressed against her neck, sharp and unforgiving, as warmth spilled over her skin. Her vision blurred, and her last breath carried a whisper:

"Perhaps, in another life..."

As her body fell, the scent of jasmine lingered, soft and eternal. It was not just the end of Yan Jianri, nor even the Yan Kingdom.