Free Web NovelChapter 38: Chapter 38: When the Duke Lost His Composure
Han Soi had been sitting calmly in the meeting room, listening to reports about border energy routes and military supply schedules, his expression cold and steady as always, when suddenly a sharp discomfort pierced through his chest without warning.
It was strange. His fingers paused mid motion. Something felt wrong.
It was not pain, not anger, but a deep, crushing unease that surged from his heart straight into his bones, making his breathing turn heavy.
Han Soi lowered his gaze slowly, his pupils shrinking sharply as a suffocating sense of dread wrapped tightly around his mind.
"She’s not safe," he said suddenly, his voice low and dangerous.
Before anyone could react, he slammed his hand onto the table and stood up abruptly, his chair screeching loudly as it was pushed back by force.
"I’m leaving," he said coldly.
The four men seated nearby instantly rose to their feet, their expressions changing the moment they felt the Duke’s unstable aura leaking out uncontrollably.
"Duke..." Bao Tie shouted. But Han Soi was already walking away.
His steps were fast, heavy, filled with suppressed rage, his heart pounding violently as the urge to see Yue Yue immediately burned inside him like wildfire.
Until he saw her. Until he confirmed she was safe. He would not calm down.
The four men exchanged a glance and followed without hesitation, their instincts screaming that something catastrophic had happened.
The moment they arrived at the location, it knocked the breath out of them. They were too stunned to even say something.
The entire area had turned into a battlefield, like some escaped polluted beast had caused havoc here.
Han Soi stopped.
His gaze locked onto a familiar figure lying motionless on the ground.
"Mu Jian..." one of the men whispered.
Mu Jian was unconscious, his body bloodied, wings damaged, breathing shallow.
Han Soi’s heart clenched violently.
The world seemed to blur.
In the next instant, a terrifying roar tore from his throat as black scales burst across his skin, his beast aura exploding outward uncontrollably, energy waves blasting everything nearby as his rage spiraled out of control.
"DUKE!" two of the men shouted, rushing forward. It was Ke Hong and Ru Jing.
"Calm down!" Ru Jing urged urgently, grabbing his arm. "We must find out what happened!"
"We need to save Mu Jian first!" Bao Tie added quickly.
Two of them immediately knelt beside Mu Jian, activating emergency stabilization devices, while the remaining two struggled to suppress Han Soi’s raging aura.
Then Tong Yu suddenly froze.
"Duke," he said urgently, holding up his terminal, "this... this was broadcast live."
Han Soi turned sharply.
The screen lit up. The livestream replayed. The fight. Mu Jian falling.
Han Ruyan, and then her terrified face. The moment she was grabbed. The moment she disappeared.
Han Soi’s eyes turned blood red.
"I will dig the heart out of that bastard," he said slowly, his voice so cold it froze the air.
Without another word, he turned and strode toward the Fang Command Tower.
"Prepare the ship," he ordered. "We’re heading to the Winged Serpent State."
***
Somewhere far from the scattered field or Winged Serpent estate.
Far away, inside a vast and dimly lit hall, a man leaned lazily against an elevated seat, one long leg crossed over the other as the empire’s livestream flickered across a massive screen before him.
His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.
A strange glint flashed through his eyes.
"So... there you were hiding," he murmured softly.
The screen froze on Yue Yue’s face.
His expression darkened slightly.
"But how did you end up there?" he asked quietly.
A complex emotion stirred in his chest. It was confusion, disbelief, and something sharp that he refused to name.
"Little female," he muttered, "you really are strange."
"You exposed yourself to the entire empire."
His lips curved faintly.
"I should have acted faster."
Footsteps approached.
A subordinate knelt respectfully. "Your Highness, we investigated. The female has no records in the empire database."
The man’s eyes narrowed.
"She has never worked in the temple," the subordinate continued carefully, "nor has she ever appeared here before."
"But this description," he added, "matches the female from the livestream."
Silence filled the hall.
"You may leave," the man said calmly.
When he was alone again, his gaze returned to the frozen image.
"She never worked in the temple..." he murmured.
Then how?
He remembered that day, her soft and pure presence around him, her small hand grazing his body. She had already awakened the deep hidden desire in him, only to disappear from the surface of the empire.
He had searched everywhere afterward. But there were no records about her, no existence in the empire. As if she never existed.
But he refused to believe it.
"No," he said softly, gripping the armrest. "I saw you."
His eyes sharpened. And now... he finally had a clue.
His gaze lingered on her frightened expression.
"You should have stayed with me," he said quietly.
"If you had, you wouldn’t have faced this."
He stood up.
"Send the invitation to all females," he ordered coldly. "Whether registered or not... all of them should be in the temple."
His subordinate stiffened. "Your Highness?"
"Advance the date," he continued. "The Celestial Bloom Rite."
It was the most sacred event of the empire. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
The day when all females who reached eighteen were tested for fertility, spiritual power, and grade.
Supervised by the Temple under strict rules.
"And also release the news, that if someone dares to harm a female or detain her against her will, strict action will be taken," he said in a dangerous tone, his eyes flashing with images of her frightened face.
The Temple of Celestial Origin was not merely a religious institution.
It was law itself.
Rising from the heart of the capital like a divine spine piercing the heavens, its towering white spires were said to have been carved from the bones of ancient gods. Every stone was engraved with sacred runes that predated the empire, glowing faintly with an authority no mortal dared challenge.
Even the Emperor bowed when he entered its gates.
In this empire, laws could be rewritten, borders could fall, dynasties could perish, but the Temple stood eternal. Its decrees were absolute. Its judgment final.
To defy the Temple was to defy the heavens.
The Celestial Bloom Rite, in particular, was untouchable.
It was the most sacred ceremony of all, where every female of age was summoned, regardless of status, bloodline, or origin. Noble or commoner, registered or unregistered, willing or unwilling, none were exempt.
The priest’s lips curved faintly as he gazed at the frozen image on the screen.
By advancing the date, he was bending fate itself.
No one would dare question it. Because once the Temple called a female, she was no longer merely a person.
She became protected property of the Temple.
Within the Temple’s protection, violence against a female was a capital sin. Detainment, coercion, or even an improper gaze was punishable by annihilation of the offender’s bloodline.
And once she crossed into his domain, no one could ever lay a finger on her again.
The priest’s fingers tightened slowly.
"You will come," he murmured, his voice calm but heavy with inevitability.
"The Temple will find you... and you can only be mine."
