The village shrine stood at the edge of the forest, nestled in wild roots and overgrown silence. The oldest structure in White Root. Older than any villager could remember.
Lady Zhao Yueyin stood before it, fanning herself lazily.
"It smells like mold and mystery," she murmured. "Perfect."
Behind her, Shen watched with arms crossed.
"You're not supposed to enter the shrine."
"Why?" she asked, turning. "Superstition or royal command?"
"…Both."
She smiled. "Then I definitely want to see what's inside."
Inside, the shrine was silent.
Dust motes drifted like spirits. An altar of forgotten gods sat crumbling, a half-burnt incense stick still frozen in place.
Yueyin brushed her hand along the stone wall. "There's something underneath."
She pressed against it.
Click.
A groan. Then a part of the floor sank.
Shen stepped forward immediately. "This wasn't here before."
"Oh?" Yueyin teased. "You knew the layout of a sealed-off holy site?"
Shen didn't answer.
The stone slab had opened into a hidden stairwell, spiraling downward, carved in black rock.
Without hesitation, Yueyin lit a flame from her fingertip. Cultivation. Fire element. Refined.
She descended.
Shen followed.
Below the shrine…
The stairwell ended in a burial chamber.
But it wasn't for corpses.
At the center was a pedestal. And on it rested—
—a golden mask.
Shaped like a twisted phoenix. Marked with imperial script long lost.
Yueyin stopped breathing.
"…This is from the First Dynasty. From the forbidden bloodline."
Shen narrowed his eyes. "You recognize it?"
"Yes. Because my mother once showed me a sketch."
Yueyin stepped forward.
"This mask belonged to the first false heir. A twin born in secret."
Suddenly, the walls trembled.
The mask pulsed.
Flames from Yueyin's hand dimmed, struggling to stay alive.
Shen stepped between her and the mask. "Back away. Now."
Too late.
The mask floated.
Then—
It lunged at Shen's face.
In a flash—
Shen grabbed the mask.
Held it.
It didn't fight him.It settled into his palm, almost… obedient.
Yueyin's voice was shaky.
"That mask should have devoured your soul."
He looked at her, calm.
"It didn't."
Back in the shrine
Yueyin watched him silently. The golden mask now rested in a locked box.
"You're not just a secret prince, are you?"
"No."
"You're something older."
Shen didn't deny it.
She smiled. Not afraid.
"I was sent here to spy on you, Shen."
"I know."
"But now I want to see what you become."