Free Web NovelChapter 233: Rebirth Of The Phoenix (5)
Yan Qinghe could scarcely believe what she was seeing.
Su Ningyan stood before her alive. Tall, beautiful and dangerous.
His long white hair flowed down his back like silver snow while black robes lined with crimson patterns draped elegantly around his figure. Those familiar violet eyes rested upon her calmly, yet within them there was not a trace of recognition. Not even the slightest.
Ningyan looked at her with open curiosity before a faint smile curled across his lips. "What a pleasant surprise."
His voice was smooth and unhurried. "You know my name."
Yan Qinghe’s fingers tightened around the cup in her grasp.
In that instant, she understood.
He truly did not recognize her.
Her heartbeat quickened faintly.
What exactly had happened to him?
Three hundred years ago, Su Ningyan had died.
Everyone knew that. Yet here he was now, returned as the Phoenix Beast King.
Returned as the terrifying demonic beast god whose name had become a nightmare whispered across the realms.
"You are the Phoenix Beast King," Yan Qinghe said slowly. "The demonic beast god who has been eradicating entire clans."
Ningyan merely looked at her quietly before asking instead, "May I sit with you?"
Yan Qinghe paused.
Her eyes studied him carefully again, almost desperately, as though trying to confirm whether this was truly reality before her.
But no matter how long she looked, he remained undeniably real. Alive. Powerful. And completely unfamiliar with her existence.
"...You may."
Ningyan smiled faintly before sitting across from her without hesitation.
Unlike the untouched liquor before him, he reached immediately for the food instead, eating with surprising ease before speaking again.
"You know who I am." He lifted his gaze toward her curiously. "You addressed me by name."
His tone remained light, genuinely inquisitive despite the food still between his lips. "I cannot simply ignore that, Your Divine Majesty."
There was no mockery within his voice. No teasing. Only sincere curiosity.
Yan Qinghe’s chest tightened painfully. "You do not remember me." She said it quietly.
Because perhaps, perhaps this was better.
He would eventually leave again. Disappear back into the Phoenix Clan. And she did not want Yan Wuhen discovering the truth like this.
Not yet.
Ningyan tilted his head. "Hm?"
A small smile touched his lips again. "I am certain I would remember meeting someone like you."
Yan Qinghe laughed softly under her breath and shook her head. "Of course you would."
Then she straightened. "But perhaps we should discuss the reason you came here."
"Yes." Ningyan finally abandoned the food and poured himself tea instead.
He took a slow sip before setting the cup down carefully.
His posture straightened.
The amusement vanished entirely from his face. And his violet eyes darkened into crimson-black.
The atmosphere inside the chamber shifted instantly.
It was heavy, oppressive and terrifying.
Demonic aura seeped from his body in waves powerful enough to suffocate lesser beings.
"I have no intention," Ningyan said calmly, "of forming any alliance with the Vermilion Fox Clan."
Yan Qinghe swallowed hard despite maintaining her composure. "Why is that?"
She could feel it clearly now.
He was restraining himself. Holding back an unimaginable amount of power.
Ningyan repeated her question softly. "Why?"
His eyes slowly returned to violet once more as though the earlier darkness had never appeared at all.
He casually poured himself another cup of tea. "I am not a peaceful beast, Your Divine Majesty."
His voice was calm, almost conversational. Yet every word carried terrifying certainty.
"I intend to wipe out every beast clan." His gaze locked onto hers. "Including the Divine Beast Clans." freeweɓnovel.cѳm
A smile slowly spread across his lips. "And when that day comes, my beast kin will rise while all of you..."
He lifted the tea to his lips again deliberately. "Must I truly finish the sentence?"
Yan Qinghe stared at him for several silent moments and laughed softly. "You think highly of yourself, Su Ningyan."
Ningyan seemed genuinely amused by her words.
It was the first time anyone had ever told him he was overestimating himself.
A faint smile curved across his lips as he leaned against the table. "I doubt that."
His violet eyes rested calmly upon Yan Qinghe. "I am merely stating the truth."
He lifted the teacup leisurely.
"If I truly thought too highly of myself, I doubt I would have bothered responding to your invitation at all."
Yan Qinghe nodded slowly in acknowledgment.
"Then why come," she asked quietly, "if you had no intention of forming an alliance?"
"A sightseeing trip." Ningyan answered without hesitation before rising gracefully to his feet.
His robes shifted softly around him like flowing darkness.
"You would not mind if I remain within your clan for the night?"
A teasing smile appeared. "I promise not to harm any beasts."
Yan Qinghe looked up at him silently for a moment before replying, "Very well. I do not mind."
That answer seemed to satisfy him greatly.
Ningyan smiled before turning and walking out of the chamber with the teacup still in his hand.
And the moment he disappeared beyond the doorway, Yan Qinghe immediately pressed a hand against her chest and shut her eyes tightly.
Only then did the strain finally show on her face.
At that exact moment, spiritual energy rippled softly through the chamber. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Tu Lanyin appeared.
Dressed entirely in flowing white robes, the rabbit beastwoman stepped into the room with concern written clearly across her delicate features. Her soft bunny ears drooped slightly as she sensed the lingering pressure saturating the chamber.
Her eyes widened faintly. "Is that demonic energy?"
She crossed the room quickly before climbing effortlessly into Yan Qinghe’s lap, straddling her waist naturally.
Qinghe immediately wrapped both arms tightly around her wife’s waist as though grounding herself.
Then she whispered quietly, "Su Ningyan is alive."
Tu Lanyin froze instantly. "...What?"
"He is the Phoenix Beast King." Yan Qinghe leaned back so their foreheads nearly touched.
Her expression had turned deeply troubled. "When the phoenixes first reclaimed the Phoenix Clan, Wuhen wanted to investigate immediately."
A bitter sigh escaped her lips. "I stopped him."
Her gaze lowered. "I told him he had already been shattered by Ningyan’s death. I told him not to fill that emptiness by rushing into a war we might not survive."
Her fingers tightened unconsciously against Lanyin’s waist. "But this war was always going to come for us eventually. And now..."
Her eyes darkened slightly. "It is being led by Su Ningyan himself."
Tu Lanyin remained silent, processing the words carefully.
Qinghe continued quietly, "He is not dead. But something is wrong with him."
A shadow crossed her expression. "The demonic energy inside him is horrifying. Consuming. Suffocating. And he did not recognize me at all."
For a moment, Tu Lanyin did not know what to say.
Her expression gradually turned thoughtful instead.
Softly, she asked, "How do you think Wuhen and the others will react if they discover the truth?"
Her ears drooped lower. "If Ningyan truly cannot remember... And if he continues slaughtering clans like this..."
She hesitated briefly before continuing anyway. "There are already gatherings being held between the Divine Beast Clans."
Her expression darkened. "They are preparing to kill the Phoenix Beast King."
Silence filled the chamber.
Because both of them understood the rest without needing to say it aloud.
If the realms discovered the feared Phoenix Beast King was Su Ningyan, everything would collapse.
After all, the phoenixes had already spilled too much blood.
Entire clans had been eradicated. Countless beasts slaughtered.
The realms would never forgive him.
Yan Qinghe let out a long exhausted sigh before resting her forehead against Tu Lanyin’s shoulder. "I am worried about Wuhen."
At those words, sadness filled Tu Lanyin’s eyes as well. "Me too."
Her arms wrapped gently around Qinghe in comfort. "But there is nothing we can do now."
Her voice was quiet. "They were always destined to meet again. Especially now that he has returned."
Yan Qinghe felt her heart grow heavy at those words. Offering no comment, she simply melted into the comfort of her wife’s warmth, closing her eyes as thoughts of her brother pulled her under. Lanyin was right. There was nothing they could do to help.
Su Ningyan was Wuhen’s mate, after all. Memory or no memory. Yet, regardless of the cost, Yan Qinghe was willing to protect her clan. Even if it meant destroying the one thing her brother cherished above all.
