The night stretched on in silence. A cold breeze slipped through the open window, stirring the curtains as the moon cast its pale glow across the room. Inside, the house was peaceful Yue and Lian slept soundly, their breathing soft and even.
But Shen Xu did not sleep.
He sat by the window, his gaze lost in the dark expanse of the sky. His face was calm, but beneath the surface, something stirred. His pulse was rapid, his body tense, inside, a restless energy coiled like a serpent.
He had felt this before.
Memories flickered in his mind like dying embers, fragments of a past he never spoke of. The image of a girl formed in the darkness.
She had stood beside him her blade gleaming under the moonlight, unwavering even as they were surrounded.
The enemies came in waves, no matter how many they killed, more and more come.
And then..
A cry.
He had turned around his breath catching in his throat, she was there, her body swaying, blood staining her lips.
She fell into his arms, she was small in his arms, blood trickled down her chin as she fought to breathe.
"Xu" her voice was barely a whisper yet it reached him like a scream.
His grip tightened around her, his own body trembling.
"My Xu..." Her trembling fingers reached for his cheek, her touch light as a feather " next time... you find a girl you love... "
Her eyelids fluttered, her breath slowing.
"Don't let her get hurt... no matter... what... "
Her hand fell limp.
And the light in her eyes faded.
That night he had wept, not tears, but blood.
She was gone.
The bodies of there enemies had piled around him, blood soaking into the earth, he stood among them victorious yet utterly defeated, he had won the battle, but lost the only thing that mattered.
She had once smiled at him, had once spoken his name with warmth. But that night, she had looked up at him with fading eyes.
That night had changed him.
Shen Xu exhaled slowly, his grip tightening around the edge of the window.
His dark eyes lingered on the horizon, his mind quieting as the wind carried the distant sound of rustling leaves. He had made a promise once, and though time had dulled the edges of his past, he had never forgotten it.
No matter what, he would not let history repeat itself.
Outside, the night remained still. But within him, something had begun to stir.
"Ruoxi..." He whispered