Eyes Of Broken Lilies

While the whole meeting hall was filled with a thick air of tension, a soft guqin melody started to float down from upstairs.

Kuradome was playing...his music like a silent call into the darkness, a prayer drifting through every crack of the ancient palace.

Even Kyoren, though he had heard these same notes countless times, never knew whom that call was truly meant for.

It felt as if the melody reached out, searching… grieving.

Other Lan cultivators lowered their gazes respectfully, sighing softly as the music wove around them.

It wasn't just skillful; it was layered with old ache, shadows of a life nobody could fully read.

"Crown Ribbon seems to be a master at guqin in his own way," Lan Suji murmured under his breath, and the others nodded silently. Even Kyoren's golden eyes softened for a moment, though his face remained calm.

For Kyoren, the music worked like a shield, cooling the burn of suspicion and secrets in the air.

Yet beneath that shield, his mind kept racing.

Lan Suji spoke again, gaze locked on Kyoren:

"What you said earlier makes sense, but… how can you be so sure the Qianhua cult is behind the Yin Yan Jei Jei? There's no record of them ever using that type of spiritual shield before…"

Kyoren slowly exhaled a pale stream of smoke, his expression unfazed.

"And that is exactly why they could be behind it," he replied, leaning in, voice low and calm. "They've always moved in shadows, hiding truths we can't even guess at. Those demonic cultivators… they've always been insane enough to hide things darker than we can imagine."

For a heartbeat, the room fell silent, each man caught by his own private worry.

Outside the door, Yurei stood still...yet his fox ears twitched, alert to every breath.

His gray eyes narrowed sharply as he noticed something on the high balcony:

A lone black figure, barely visible in the torchlight, wearing a golden owl mask.

And in its hand...something impossible.

The Royal Master Key, carved in the shape of three swirling winds.

"How… how does he have that…?"

Yurei's breath caught painfully in his chest. His pulse hammered as dark fear tangled with rage.

He clenched his right hand; silver lightning sparked around his knuckles, swirling into a sword of gray flame.

"Who the hell is he? And how did he get past Domain Baiyun…?!"

His whisper dissolved in the cold air.

The masked intruder turned his owl face toward Yurei, silent and perfectly composed.

A shiver danced down Yurei's spine, but instinct screamed louder.

"INTRUDER! Someone broke into our domain and palace! Block every door...don't let him escape!!"

Suddenly, chaos erupted.

Twenty guards surged forward, swords unsheathed, metal clanging against marble.

The intruder dropped from the balcony like black silk, moving with an impossible, graceful speed.

Sharp objects flew from his sleeves...iron ornaments, golden vases, even shards of broken lantern glass, whistling through the air.

Chairs scraped against the floor inside the hall. Suji and Kansai were first to move; blades drawn, they dashed into the corridor.

Other cultivators followed, breaths heavy with shock.

Kyoren rose too, his golden eyes shadowed with calculation.

Deep inside, something in him stirred..like a caged part longing to break free.

"Catch him alive!" Kyoren commanded coldly. His voice cut through the clamor like ice. "He dares violate our domain...he must answer for it!"

Upstairs, Kuradome stopped playing.

The guqin's strings still vibrated, humming a lingering lament.

His crimson eyes darkened, the ruler inside him fully awake.

"Impossible… I made every seal myself. Who dared...Who dared fool me..?"

The fact that someone was able to break in was something he struggled to digest..it was like a challenge to him..it hurt straight at his ego , abilities and brilliance...he felt like he's still a fool...He even barely shows interest in war or fight because he finds those..meaningless violence for nothing , endless desperation and headaches

Wordlessly, he reached for his crown ribbon. Chains whispered against crimson hair; the silk shimmered faintly in the dim torchlight.

With a single movement, he draped his upper robe over his shoulders, broadening his silhouette like spreading wings.

The guqin, left behind in the silent room, still echoed softly....notes hanging in the air like unspoken words.

From the top of the staircase, Kuradome watched below:

Guards clashed with the masked figure, blades striking sparks.

Yurei's silver fox tail slashed the air as he parried a thrown spear; sweat gleamed on his temple.

"What dares step into my domain?" Kuradome growled under his breath, rage blooming like fire .

Three fox tails rose behind him, each haloed in crimson flame.

With a practiced movement, Kuradome pressed his palms together and spread his arms wide.

The fox fire twisted into a single, massive burning blade: Jinyi ... Golden Wings.

Its molten light made the marble floor glow red.

The masked figure paused a few paces away, silent, unbowed even in the face of the legendary weapon.

Kyoren stepped closer, hidden partly behind the fighting guards.

Inside, his heart pounded with questions.

"Who… what does he want? The key? Or… someone?"

Kuradome's voice rang through the hall, dark and commanding:

"WHO ARE YOU?! How dare you enter my palace?!"

The figure tilted its head slightly, the golden owl mask catching torchlight.

But it spoke no word.

Then, without warning, the intruder drew a thin blade from beneath the black cloak.

Its edge shimmered like moonlit frost.

Kuradome's crimson eyes narrowed. His grip on Jinyi tightened; lava-like light danced up the blade's length.

From above, he leapt down the final steps, fox tails streaming behind him like living flames.

In the heavy breath before impact, the guqin's last trembling echo curved around the marble pillars...a dying note, as if the strings themselves feared what would follow.

Kyoren inhaled slowly, golden gaze fixed on the masked figure.

"Father…" he whispered, barely audible over the clash of swords...his eyes filled with worry

Yurei pressed forward too, gray sword burning in defense of the throne he vowed to protect...even if his own heart trembled.

Outside, lanterns flickered violently in the courtyard wind.

Inside, the intruder stood calm, blade ready, facing the fury of the Crown Ribbon King...and all the secrets he guarded.

And somewhere, deep within the silent palace, the guqin strings still mourned in the dark.

[ End of Chapter 19 ]