[Yao Capital · Outside the Relay Lodge]
The setting sun stained the sky crimson. A crowd had already gathered outside the relay lodge, having heard that the "young lord of Xiling" had been placed here. People came to see him with their own eyes.
When Ling Dang heard the news, her heart jolted. She ran as if in a trance.
"Brother… my brother is alive!"
Her eyes reddened. Ignoring the stares around her, she pushed through the crowd.
[Yao Capital · Relay Lodge · Side Hall]
Candlelight flickered in the hall. Several commoners surrounded the "young lord of Xiling," speaking to him in low, eager voices.
Ye Yi, dressed in plain robes, wore a carefully cultivated look of exhaustion. Yet his manner was steady and composed. Tea and dried provisions offered by the people lay on the table; he accepted each gift with gentle thanks, the very image of benevolence.
The moment Ling Dang stepped inside, she froze.
The young man by the table had refined features and calm eyes. He looked almost exactly like the brother in her memories.
Tears surged down her cheeks.
"Brother… it really is you!"
She didn't care who was watching. She hurried forward, voice trembling.
"I knew you wouldn't leave me behind!"
Ye Yi's expression flickered, and a cold laugh stirred in his chest.
So she calls him brother… Ling Dang, then.
As expected, there's still someone left from the city lord's bloodline.
The chill in his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by shock and grief tangled together. His voice turned hoarse.
"…Dang'er?"
Ling Dang's vision blurred with tears. She grabbed his hand hard.
"Brother, I thought you were dead!"
Ye Yi lowered his gaze, studying her quietly while his mind calculated at speed.
Before the siege, I ordered an investigation into the city lord's family.
So Ling Dang… is still alive.
Good. Even better.
Her presence would make this body's identity all the harder to shake.
He lifted his other hand and let it hover over her hair, gentle and trembling with restrained emotion.
"I thought… you and Mother had already perished in the flames," he said softly. "Heaven took pity on me… to let me see you again."
Ling Dang broke down, clutching his hand as if afraid he would vanish.
"No matter what you suffered, I'll stay with you! Brother… you still have me!"
A cold gleam flashed through Ye Yi's eyes, hidden beneath lowered lashes.
His lips curved faintly. His voice remained deep and warm.
"Silly girl… that's all I need to hear."
The candlelight made the room feel unnaturally still.
A moment ago, Ye Yi (the false Ling Shuo) had been surrounded by grateful townsfolk. Now, as the last cup of tea was cleared away, the crowd finally dispersed, leaving only him and Ling Dang.
He looked at the girl before him, sorrow and joy floating on his face as he asked quietly,
"Dang'er… how did you escape? How did you reach Yao Capital? Have you… been well?"
At his words, tears welled again. With reddened eyes, Ling Dang poured it all out.
"When the city fell… Mother risked everything to send me into a secret passage. I fled with my maid, Xiangzhu, and we hid in other villages. But in the end… she… she died right in front of me."
Her voice choked. Her chest heaved. Her hands clenched the fabric at her sides.
"I ran for months. Kind villagers helped me, or I would've starved. Later, in Yao Capital, I met… Brother Luo. He protected me. These days I've been staying in the Yao Residence. I thought I had no family left… and then today… I truly got to see you."
By the end, she was sobbing—yet her eyes shone with relief and a fragile, desperate happiness.
Ye Yi watched her, calculation coldly pooling in his gaze.
So that's it… a powerless little girl survived by sheer luck.
And now, with the "brother" title added to her tragedy, wouldn't this story move hearts even more?
His expression didn't change. Warmth rose in his eyes. His voice softened.
"Silly girl… the fact you survived is heaven's mercy. I failed to protect Father, Mother, and the people. But seeing you now…" His throat tightened. "Only now do I feel I still have a reason to live."
Ling Dang threw herself into his arms, shaking.
"Brother…"
Ye Yi wrapped an arm around her. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile so faint it was nearly invisible—cold in the shadows, while his voice stayed sorrowful and tender.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here. From now on… no one will hurt you again."
Under candlelight, it looked like a touching reunion between siblings.
But the darkness behind it carried a quiet killing intent.
[Yao Residence · Small Courtyard, Night]
The moonlight was bleak. The courtyard lamps hadn't yet been extinguished.
Ling Dang ran back, tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes. The moment she pushed the door open, she saw Luo Ye standing in the courtyard, hands clasped behind his back.
His brows were dark. The lamp light sharpened his profile into something severe.
"Luo-ge…" Ling Dang halted, suddenly uneasy.
Luo Ye turned slowly. His eyes lowered, dangerously calm.
"Where did you go?"
Ling Dang bit her lip. After hesitating, she answered in a small voice.
"I… went to the relay lodge."
Luo Ye's pupils tightened.
"So you heard it too," he said coldly. "That man claiming to be the city lord's son. Ling Shuo."
Ling Dang's fingers clenched. Her breathing sped up. She nodded.
His voice dropped, anger restrained but heavy.
"Why did you go alone? You could've told me. We could've gone together. If he had improper intentions toward you, what then?"
Ling Dang blinked. Her eyes were still red from crying. Yet warmth rose unexpectedly in her chest at his words, and she couldn't help letting out a small laugh.
"Luo-ge… he wouldn't have improper intentions toward me. You… you're overthinking it."
She smiled, eyes curving, half helpless and half amused.
But Luo Ye's chest tightened further, his face darkening.
"Dang'er, you're too naive. The world is dangerous. Anyone can harbor designs. You're treating him like a lifeline… but who can guarantee he won't use you?"
Ling Dang pressed her lips together, half annoyed and half wanting to laugh. Looking at this sharp-browed, hard-eyed man, she suddenly thought his seriousness was… awkwardly earnest.
"Luo-ge…" She shook her head lightly. Her eyes were bright, and her voice was sincere.
"No one will harm me. Because… you're here."
Those words hit Luo Ye like a blow.
The anger in him collapsed at once, leaving only a wordless, trembling ache.
He opened his mouth to speak, but in the end he only reached out and gently brushed aside the strands of hair the night wind had blown across her forehead.
His voice turned hoarse.
"From now on… you're not allowed to disappear without saying a word."
Ling Dang nodded obediently, a small smile still lingering in her eyes.
"Luo-ge… I went to see him because…" She drew a breath, as if bracing herself. "He's my only family left. He's my brother—Ling Shuo."
She exhaled, finally letting the secret in her chest spill out.
"I was the city lord of Xiling's daughter. That night the city fell, Father died in battle, Mother forced me through the secret passage. I thought my whole family was gone. When I heard his name… I couldn't stop myself. I had to see with my own eyes whether my brother was truly alive."
Luo Ye's chest jolted. A roar filled his head.
So she wasn't an orphan.
She was the last bloodline of Xiling.
No wonder sorrow always flickered in her eyes. No wonder the word "Xiling" cut her so deeply.
His fingers trembled. For a moment he couldn't speak at all, only feeling his heart twist as if carved by a blade.
"Dang'er… you endured all of that… and you never told me even once?"
Tears fell from Ling Dang's lashes, but she still looked straight at him, voice shaking.
"Because I don't want to lose anyone anymore… Luo-ge. In this world… I only have my brother left. And you."
[Yao Residence · Small Courtyard, Deeper Night]
The wind turned colder. The courtyard lamps dimmed.
Ling Dang cried herself exhausted and fell asleep on the couch, tear marks still wet on her cheeks.
Luo Ye stood under the corridor, his hand gripping the railing hard, gaze deep and sharp.
Rumors and facts tangled in his mind:
He calls himself the "orphan of Xiling."
Wherever he goes, Riftflare traces "coincidentally" appear.
Yet each village suffers only limited losses, and each time, he arrives in time to "save" them.
Luo Ye's chest felt suffocatingly tight. His brow furrowed like it had been cut by a blade.
He let out a low, cold laugh.
"A Riftflare army capable of wiping out Xiling… would repeatedly spare remote villages?" His eyes narrowed. "This isn't an attack. It's… a performance."
He raised his gaze toward the night sky, conflict surging like a tide he couldn't hold back.
"If he truly is Ling Shuo… I should be happy for Dang'er…"
His voice caught. His fingers locked around his sword hilt, knuckles whitening.
"But if he isn't—"
The wind lifted the edge of his robe. In the lamplight, his eyes sharpened into frost.
"I won't let anyone exploit her trust. And I won't let anyone hurt her again. Not even once."