Jiang Clan Eastern Wing — Hidden Chamber, Nightfall
The moon loomed low, a cold sovereign in the heavens, casting argent light over the Jiang Clan's ancestral grounds. Plum blossoms shivered under its gaze, petals drifting like fallen snow over jade-tiled eaves and silent courtyards. All was still—deceptively serene.
But beneath the eastern wing, behind layers of soul-binding seals, spiritual misdirection webs, and silence-forging talismans, pulsed the heart of another world.
A hidden chamber, steeped in darkness and thick with incense, breathed softly. Blood-ink smoke spiraled from an obsidian brazier, curling like ghost-serpents toward the soul-lanterns that clung to the walls, burning in pale hues of glacial blue.
At the chamber's center stood a man cloaked in black, his aura veiled so thoroughly it vanished beneath perception—an illusion of mediocrity. He wore no mask, yet his presence distorted truth itself.
Before him knelt Ye Cang.
Despite the chamber's cold, sweat lined his brow, tracing thin rivers down his temple.
"…My Lord," Ye Cang murmured, voice hushed with reverence. "This lowly servant failed to recognize your form. I beg forgiveness."
The figure raised a hand, silence following like a tide.
"No need," came the reply—low, slow, and edged with a sovereign's stillness. "I wore the skin of another. You did as trained."
Then the illusion shimmered.
With a whisper of qi, it dissolved like smoke.
The hidden aura unfurled.
Like a blade drawn beneath moonlight, sharp and terrible in its beauty.
White hair, flowing like starlight. Gold-irised eyes, cold as forged judgment.
Gu Changge.
Ye Cang's breath caught. He dropped even lower, forehead brushing black jade.
"This life is yours to command."
---
Gu Changge paced forward, the folds of his robe whispering like midnight silk. He stood before the incense brazier, watching the red smoke twist.
"You had no difficulty entering?"
Ye Cang straightened slightly. "None. The weak points in the eastern perimeter—just as your message detailed. Even the guardian beasts remained dormant."
Gu Changge's lips curled faintly. "As expected. The Jiang grow soft in their pride."
His gaze turned toward a wall scroll—an ink painting of plum blossoms against mountain fog.
"And Jiang Yini?"
Ye Cang's tone shifted, threaded with quiet esteem. "Still secluded. Her breakthrough proceeds well—Nascent Soul within twenty-five days. Possibly twenty."
A pause.
Gu Changge's fingers traced the edge of his sleeve. From its depths, he withdrew a delicate porcelain bottle, marked with three crescent moons.
Even capped, it radiated a subtle, potent heat.
"A Nascent Soul Ascension Pill," he said, placing it on the obsidian altar. "Deliver it to her. Say it was acquired at the auction."
Ye Cang nodded.
> [Ding!]
Villain Value -3000 → Remaining: 3,720
Item Acquired: Nascent Soul Ascension Pill – Guaranteed breakthrough to Nascent Soul Realm
Ye Cang's brows twitched. "This pill… is priceless, even among ancient sects."
Gu Changge's voice dropped, glacial and absolute.
"And still worth less than her loyalty."
Ye Cang nodded once. "Jiang Yini would walk into the Abyss if you commanded it. Her devotion is absolute."
---
A breath stirred the stillness.
Then silence shifted.
A slender silhouette stepped through the doorway—a boy.
Black hair spilled across pale shoulders. His eyes were obsidian mirrors—deep, empty, and still.
He didn't bow.
He simply watched.
Gu Changge turned, the soul-lanterns glinting off his features—unmasked, undisguised.
"Yue Wusheng."
The boy stepped forward.
"I was summoned by… Jiang Taizu," he said. His voice was calm—but guarded.
Gu Changge studied him. Not his face, but the silence he wore like skin.
"You were. But Jiang Taizu is dead. I killed him. This appearance was merely a vessel—to call you here."
A beat.
No shock.
Just a quiet intake of breath—and then stillness.
The chamber darkened slightly, not from qi, but something older.
Authority.
Yue Wusheng slowly knelt. Not out of fear.
But because he understood.
"…My Lord."
Gu Changge gave a single nod.
From the shadows stepped a tall figure—black-robed, eyes sharp like crescent blades.
"This is Ye Cang. Shadow Vice Leader. He once slew a Nascent Soul expert with a single strike—without leaving a wound."
Ye Cang studied the boy like a weapon half-forged. "Small. But the eyes are clean. No fear. No hesitation."
Gu Changge turned toward Wusheng. "From today, he will train you. In the art of the Silent Sword."
His tone became iron beneath silk.
"A killing style passed to only one disciple per generation. Those meant to become perfect blades."
"You, Yue Wusheng, bear the Silent Moon Physique."
> Silent Moon Physique:
– Absorbs power from moonlight
– Becomes partially ethereal under moonlight: invisible to divine and spiritual sense
– Can nullify all sound and presence within a short radius
Yue Wusheng didn't ask questions.
He only bowed lower—accepting.
Not as a boy given a fate.
But as a blade accepting its whetstone.
Gu Changge approached, voice calm and final.
"Your name means 'Silent Victory.' But soon, the world will learn the name I carve into history."
Wusheng's voice was a whisper of oath.
"Yes, my lord."
---
As Ye Cang gestured for the boy to rise and follow, Gu Changge's voice echoed once more, sharp and commanding.
"One last task."
Ye Cang paused mid-step. "Your order?"
Gu Changge's eyes turned toward the ceiling, as if peering through the stone and time itself.
"Contact Elder Huo Xie of the Divine Flame Hall. Use one of the old channels—deep ties. The kind no sect dares admit."
Ye Cang's eyes flickered. "…What shall I tell him?"
Gu Changge's lips curled into a blade's smile.
"Tell him this—the one who killed his son, Lin Tian, is currently in the Cangyu Kingdom."
For a moment, the silence thickened—then cracked.
Ye Cang lowered his head. "Yes, my lord."
Without another word, he turned and vanished into the shadows, his figure slipping into the corridor where Yue Wusheng waited, silent as ever. Together, the two disappeared into the night, like blades drawn and returned without a sound.
---
Gu Changge turned his back, walking deeper into shadow.
A whisper curled from his lips, low and cold—
"The game is about to begin, Lin Tian."
The silence behind him was absolute. Only the soft rustling of plum blossoms falling from distant boughs accompanied his departure, like faint applause from the night itself.
But Gu Changge didn't walk aimlessly.
His steps turned, quiet and sure, toward the rear courtyard—toward the secluded chamber that once belonged to the former matriarch.
Qiu Lingxuan.
A thread of emotion tugged faintly at his senses—fractured, trembling. Not powerful enough to be divine intent, not chaotic enough to be madness.
But unstable. Fraying.
The Villain System pulsed faintly at his core, silent now, but Gu Changge had already felt it—an echo from her soul, like a ripple across the surface of still water.
She's remembering.
A slow smile curved his lips, colder than moonlight.
Perfect.
He adjusted his robes slightly, brushing aside the trailing edge of his cloak. As he approached the entrance to her chamber, he didn't knock. The formation guarding her door flickered for a moment—then parted for him like silk under a blade.
Gu Changge stepped inside, his voice soft but unignorable.
"You're awake, aren't you… Yuerou?"
---
End of Chapter 28
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