The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Guixu Palace collapsed.

Shen Yan stood blankly at the entrance of the collapsed passage, looking at the sliver of light torn apart by the cracks in the sky.

The dome has cracked more than halfway, and the entire underground palace is slowly sinking into the ground. Fragments of stone are falling like rain, each carrying the embers of millennia-old runes, turning into grayish-white powder as they fall into the dust.

Behind her was the crumbling Guixu Palace, and in front of her was a wilderness she had never seen before.

She ran for a long time.

Yin Shi grabbed her wrist with such force that it felt like he was going to rip her entire arm off.

She staggered after him, her knees hitting the gravel, trembling with pain, but she dared not stop.

The purple sword light behind her was chasing her so closely that every time she turned around, she could see that sharp purple light cutting through the dust, like the hem of death's robe being lifted.

"Walk."

Yin Shi only uttered one word.

His puppet body had reached its limit; the cracks in his shoulder blades were widening, and fine powder was falling from the gaps in his robes.

But the hand that was gripping her wrist remained remarkably steady, as if it were using its last bit of strength to hold onto a rope for her, the other end of which was tied to her last remaining life.

"Yin Shi...your body!"

Shen Yan's voice was choked with sobs as her gaze fell on the widening crack on his shoulder blade, her pupils shrinking sharply.

"You're breaking!"

Yin Shi neither turned around nor answered.

He simply tightened his grip on her wrist and quickened his pace.

Sang Tingke was behind them.

He did not run away.

He stood at the gap in the collapsed passageway, his back to them, like a wall crumbling.

The instant the light of the Purple Snow Sword flashed before him, he heard the sound of Bei Chenji landing.

The soles of the boots trod lightly and steadily on the gravel, conveying a sense of unhurried composure.

"Get out of the way."

Bei Chenji's voice was flat and monotone, like water frozen beneath an ice surface.

Sang Tingke did not answer.

He stood there, motionless.

Bei Chenji stopped speaking.

The Purple Snow Sword twirled in his hand in a tiny arc, its blade shimmering with a chilling purple light, like the lightning bolt that cleaves through the clouds in the deepest part of the night sky.

The Purple Snow Sword fell.

That sword strike was too fast.

So fast that Sang Tingke didn't even have time to make a move, so fast that when his puppet body was split in two from the middle, the fragments were still standing upright.

The sword light sliced ​​a very thin line from his brow to his waist, and then his body began to shatter.

Starting from that line, the cracks spread to both sides, like spring ice crumbling in the warm sun.

"Even if it's just a puppet, it's really an eyesore."

Beichen Ji sheathed his sword.

The Purple Snow Sword spun half a circle between his fingers before returning to its sheath, emitting a clear and melodious ringing sound.

Without even glancing at the pile of fragments turning to ashes on the ground, he walked past Sang Tingke's remains and headed deeper into the passageway.

A purple light flashed, and Sang Tingke's resurrected puppet body fell to the ground silently.

The fragments, still carrying a trace of warmth, quickly cooled in the wind and scattered into the dust.

Shen Yan was unaware that Sang Tingke was gone.

She heard only a very faint cracking sound behind her.

She didn't dare to turn around.

Yin Shi tightened his grip on her wrist even more.

Don't look back.

He said.

"What was that sound?"

Shen Yan's voice trembled. She tried desperately to turn around, but Yin Shi dragged her forward tightly.

"Is it Cousin Sang...is it him...?"

Both puppets were created for her; protecting their master is their instinct.

But in her heart, Sang Tingke was her only family.

"Walk."

Yin Shi did not answer her question.

His voice was still hoarse, but there was no emotional fluctuation; he was simply repeating the same instruction.

As they passed through the last crevice, Yin Shi suddenly released her wrist.

She staggered a couple of steps before regaining her balance, and when she turned around, she saw him standing at the edge of the crevice, the cracks on his body expanding at a visible speed.

It spreads from the shoulder blades to the arms, and from the arms to the fingertips.

He stood with his back to her, like a stone statue slowly crumbling.

Sunlight streamed down from above the cracks, illuminating his shoulders, and the cracks shimmered with a delicate luster in the light.

"Walk."

He said.

Shen Yan opened her mouth, but her throat felt like it was blocked by a wad of water-soaked cotton.

"Erosion!"

She finally called out his name.

"Come with me!"

The sunlight in Guixu Palace had completely dissipated.

When Shen Yan crawled out from the end of the secret passage, she was covered in dust, her hair was mostly disheveled, and there were still bloodstains on her face from the rubble.

She collapsed in the wilderness, gasping for breath.

Above us was the long-lost sky, so blue it seemed unreal, and in the distance, a few birds flew across the clouds, their calls clear and melodious.

She looked at the sky and suddenly smiled.

Laughter spilled from his throat.

She laughed for a while, then fell silent, like a house blown empty by the wind.

She got up, brushed the dust off her robes, tucked the stray hairs behind her ears, and tried to make herself look less disheveled.

Then she heard a voice.

"Sister Yan, where are we going?"

The voice was clear and melodious, with a brightness unique to young people, like the splashing water from a mountain stream hitting a blue stone, yet it also carried a chill that sent shivers down her spine.

She slowly turned around.

Kong Sangyu stood not far behind her.

He was wearing a silver-blue robe today, the hem of which fluttered gently in the wind.

He was extremely handsome, with delicate features and a harmless smile on his lips, as if he had just happened to pass by on a spring afternoon and casually picked a flower.

But the wings of the Azure Scaled Eagle King behind him were slowly unfolding, its sharp claws gleaming with a cold luster in the sunlight.

"You're the only one left in the Sang family."

Kong Sangyu tilted her head, her tone carrying a gentle sympathy for her.

"A family should always be together. Isn't it a bit inappropriate for Sister Yan to just leave like this?"

Shen Yan's lips trembled slightly.

Looking at the young man before her, she suddenly recalled the noble young men from the Lintai hunting grounds of the past.

They mostly looked at her with gentle, infatuated eyes.

But Kong Sangyu always looked at her like that.

It was clear and bright, as if separated by a thin layer of glass.

She used to think it was just youthful naiveté, but now she realizes it was a kind of scrutiny that didn't care whether she lived or died.

"Your Highness Yu."

She spoke, trying her best to keep her voice steady, and even managed to force a smile that looked worse than crying.

"Do you really have to be so ruthless? Sometimes it's better to be merciful. Didn't we get along quite well before?"

"It was quite enjoyable."

Kong Sangyu nodded, even curving her lips into a gentle smile.

He took a step forward.

"Sister Yan spoke the most beautifully when she was at the Lintai Hunting Ground. I thought to myself, this person is really interesting. Every word she says is calculated, but she can make it sound like she is thinking of you."

His smile remained unchanged, but his tone turned colder.

"What a pity. If you were alive, you would be a threat to Sister Zhi. I can't stand seeing Sister Zhi injured."

Then he turned his head and very slightly raised his chin in the direction of the Azure Scaled Eagle King.

"So, Sister Yan, I can only trouble you to ascend to paradise as soon as possible."