Chapter 14: The Forbidden Scroll
The ancestral library was nothing like Mei Xiao imagined. It wasn't some grand, echoing hall with dramatic torches and echoing footsteps. No. It was quiet, cramped, and smelled like old wood, candle smoke, and secrets that hadn't been touched in a hundred years.
Murong Jing He led her through shelves packed with ancient texts, stopping in front of a locked cabinet carved with dragons and flames. He touched a hidden sigil on the side, and the cabinet clicked open.
Inside was a single scroll. Black silk binding. Crimson ribbon. A wax seal stamped with the same Phoenix character as the scorched sigil.
Mei Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Not suspicious at all."
"You can still turn back," he said.
"You keep saying that," she replied, already reaching for it. "I think you secretly want me to go full main-character mode."
His lips twitched. "You already have."
As soon as her fingers touched the scroll, something pulsed — like heat through her veins, like a memory too old to be hers. She staggered, clutching the scroll tightly.
"Mei Xiao?" Jing He moved forward, but she waved him off.
"I'm fine," she whispered. "Just… déjà vu dialed to eleven."
She broke the seal.
The scroll unrolled slowly, revealing… not words. Symbols. Swirling, glowing faintly with a golden hue. And then —
A flash.
Not a vision. A memory.
She was someone else. Standing in white robes, fire swirling around her body like silk. A golden crown shaped like phoenix wings on her head. Men bowed before her. She raised her hand and spoke with a voice that was hers and not hers:
> "The blood of the Phoenix must not fall into mortal hands. If I die, seal it away."
Then — blackness. Cold. And Mei Xiao fell backward into Murong Jing He's arms, gasping.
He steadied her, but his eyes were wide. "You saw something."
"I saw… her."
"The Phoenix Queen," he murmured. "So it's true. You're not just Mei Lin. You're her reincarnation."
She looked up at him, breathless. "Then who exactly did I marry?"
He met her gaze without flinching. "Someone sent to make sure the Phoenix never awakens again."
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