The moon hung low in the sky, its pale light filtering through the swaying trees that bordered the Bai estate. Wuyin stood alone in the courtyard, shadows clinging to her like old memories. The quiet wind stirred the hem of her robe, but her mind was far from calm.
The encounter with Mo Cheng had stirred something in her, a prickling sense of unease she couldn't ignore. Danger was never far from her—she knew that. But this felt different. It was as if something long buried was being unearthed.
And still… that voice. That fading whisper from long ago.
"Please… find out why I died here…"
She'd heard it just once, all those years ago, right before she awoke in this world. A child's voice, broken and soft. The remnants of a soul giving way to death. She had been too weak then to understand it fully, too focused on surviving, on mastering her new limbs, her unfamiliar senses.
But the older she grew, the more it lingered.
"You're up late."
Wuyin turned slightly, recognizing Yujin's voice immediately. She approached with that quiet grace unique to her, robes the color of wine trailing behind her like flowing silk.
"You seem troubled," Yujin said gently.
Wuyin didn't reply right away. Her gaze was on the distant trees beyond the estate walls. "There are always things to be troubled about," she murmured.
Yujin stepped closer, not pressing, simply present.
Wuyin continued, voice low, "Do you believe in… the idea that bodies have memories? That a soul can leave behind its final thoughts?"
Yujin blinked at the strange question but answered seriously. "There are legends. About souls clinging to regrets. Why do you ask?"
"There was a voice," Wuyin said. "When I was a child. I don't know where it came from. But it asked me to find out why it died. Why it ended up in a forest. Alone."
The words felt strange even as she said them. She had never told anyone before. Not even herself, not fully.
Yujin looked at her for a long moment. "You've been carrying that all this time?"
"It never screamed. It didn't cry. It just… accepted its death. That's what haunts me."
The moment was still, the silence deeper than before.
Then, suddenly, a soft rustling reached Wuyin's ears. Faint, but deliberate. Someone was there.
Wuyin's body snapped into motion. Yujin followed, keeping close behind her. They moved like shadows through the trees, slipping past the outer wall.
There, beneath a twisted branch where the moonlight barely touched, stood a cloaked figure.
Wuyin froze. The figure radiated a quiet pressure—not overwhelming, but… strange. Like something had been watching her for a long time.
"Who are you?" she called out.
The figure raised their head. A woman—pale-faced, with dark eyes like ink and long unbound hair that gleamed faintly silver in the moonlight.
"I'm someone who knew the girl before you," the woman said. "And I came to see what became of her… after she was replaced."
Wuyin's breath caught.
"Replaced?" Yujin asked sharply.
The woman's gaze turned to Wuyin, solemn and cool. "The forest didn't kill her by accident. And the Silent Monarch's techniques didn't fall into your lap by chance. You've inherited more than just her body, Lin Wuyin. You've inherited her mystery."
Wuyin stepped forward, fists clenched. "What do you mean? Who killed her?"
The woman smiled faintly, sadness flickering across her face. "That is your burden now. Her final will lives in you. If you truly want answers, follow the shadows beneath the mountain. Seek the place where no birds sing."
Before Wuyin could respond, the woman dissolved into the darkness—no light, no sound. Gone as if she had never been there.
Wuyin stood frozen.
Yujin placed a hand on her arm. "Wuyin…"
She didn't answer. Her thoughts were spinning too fast. That fading voice… the promise… it had never been forgotten.
Now, it had returned.
And this time, she would uncover the truth.