The basalt stairs felt narrower as Lin Xiyao and Lu Yan ascended, the air growing colder and thinner with every step. The rhythmic thudding of the approaching footsteps grew louder until the first line of the Empress's personal guards appeared at the top of the landing. Their armor, polished to a mirror finish, reflected the flickering violet light from the chamber below, but it was their eyes that stopped Xiyao's heart. The pupils were no longer human; they were wide, golden pools of light that pulsed in time with the rising moon.
"Stand aside," Lu Yan commanded, his voice a low, vibrating growl that echoed off the stone walls. He did not draw his saber yet, but his posture was that of a predator ready to spring.
"The Empress has given orders," the lead guard replied, his voice sounding hollow and distorted. "No one leaves the underground. The transformation must be completed."
Lin Xiyao stepped forward, her Heavenly Forensic System already scanning the guards' vitals.
Heavenly Forensic System: Neural Analysis Target: Imperial Shadow-Guards. Status: Stage 1 Mutation. Cause: Inhalation of airborne catalyst. Condition: Mind-control link established via Lunar Altar resonance.
"They aren't acting on their own will," Xiyao whispered to Lu Yan. "The altar in the garden is acting as a signal tower. It is overriding their basic logic and forcing them into a hive-mind state. If we kill them, we are only killing puppets."
"Then we do not kill them," Lu Yan said. He moved with a sudden, blinding speed, his hand catching the lead guard's spear mid-thrust. He twisted the weapon away and used the blunt end to strike the guard's temple, knocking him unconscious. "We clear the path."
The corridor erupted into a flurry of movement. Lu Yan fought with the precision of a master and the strength of a beast, using non-lethal strikes to disable the mutated guards. Xiyao followed closely behind, using her forensic needles to strike pressure points on the guards that Lu Yan missed, her movements guided by the sapphire light of her system.
They burst out of the basalt passage and back into the Garden of Veiled Petals. The scene was unrecognizable. The white peonies had turned a deep, bruised purple, and the air was thick with a heavy, sweet scent that made Xiyao's head swim. Above them, the moon was no longer white; a sliver of crimson had begun to creep across its surface.
The Empress still stood on her jade platform, but she was surrounded by a swirling mist of violet energy. She looked down at them, her veil fluttering in a wind that did not exist.
"The physician returns with her beast," the Empress said, her voice echoing through the garden. "Master Mo promised that the altar would bring immortality. He said the blood of the wolf would make the Ming Dynasty eternal."
"Master Mo is dead, Your Majesty," Xiyao shouted, her voice firm despite the overwhelming resonance in the air. "He didn't seek to make you immortal. He sought to make you a queen of monsters. Look at your guards. Are these the soldiers of a glorious empire, or are they mindless animals?"
The Empress looked at the guards who were now prowling the edges of the garden on all fours. A flicker of horror passed over her face, the first sign of the human woman behind the silver silk robes.
"The altar is the heart of it," Lu Yan said, pointing toward the large jade structure beneath the primary peony bed. "We must destroy it before the moon turns fully red."
"You cannot destroy it," the Empress whispered, her voice trembling. "The foundation of the pavilion is built upon it. If the altar shatters, the palace will collapse."
"Then let it collapse," Lu Yan growled, his amber eyes glowing with a fierce light. "A palace built on the blood of the cursed is not a home. It is a slaughterhouse."
Xiyao ran toward the base of the jade altar. Her system was screaming with red-level warnings as the resonance intensified.
Heavenly Forensic System: Structural Analysis Target: Lunar Altar Core. Vulnerability: The central jade pillar is the resonance anchor. Solution: A high-frequency strike synchronized with the peak of the lunar pulse.
"Lu Yan! I need your strength!" Xiyao cried out. "I will mark the point. You must strike it with everything you have at the exact moment I signal!"
Lu Yan leaped from the platform and landed beside her. He gripped his black spring saber with both hands, his muscles bulging as he prepared for the final strike. The Blood Moon was now half-covered in crimson, and a low, mournful howl began to rise from the city beyond the palace walls.
"On my mark," Xiyao said, her eyes fixed on the sapphire light of her system as it tracked the pulse of the moon. "Three... two... one... STRIKE!"