Su Yan stared at the young phoenix, and a chill crawled up his spine.
Three thousand years? He was fourteen. The math didn't work. It couldn't work.
He laughed—a loud, forced sound meant to cover the unease twisting in his gut. "Nice try," he said, turning away. "I'm not falling for it."
The great bell clanged behind him. "Don't listen to that bird, A-Yan! She's trying to trick you into dying for her. You're fourteen. How could she have met you three thousand years ago?"
Yuan Qi poked his head out from Su Yan's collar, glaring at the phoenix. "I've read for a hundred and twenty years, and even the wildest histories don't have lies this big."
Su Yan shook his head, walking toward the edge of the phoenix tree branch. His mind told him this was a con. A manipulation. A spirit trying to find a fool to serve as her shield against heaven's wrath.
But something else nagged at him. Something he couldn't name.
"If you don't save me, I will die here," the phoenix's voice echoed in his mind, soft and desperate.
Su Yan hesitated. Their eyes met for a heartbeat. Then he leaped down to the next branch.
Behind him, the bell and the snake exchanged glances Su Yan didn't see.
"Elder Bell," the bell whispered to Yuan Qi. "Every time A-Yan remembers his childhood home, the names change. His parents' names are never the same twice. And he never notices. Could someone have sealed his memories?"
Yuan Qi shrank back. "I'm just a snake. A month ago I was reading in Qinyan Cave. Don't ask me these questions."
"What if he's lived countless lives?" the bell pressed on, its voice trembling with excitement. "What if he's older than I am?"
Yuan Qi retreated into Su Yan's collar and said nothing.
* * *
Su Yan passed Veyon and the others, raising his voice. "Leave now! Danger is coming!"
Veyon frowned, turning to the beautiful woman beside him. "Aunt, we should go."
The woman—Li Yingzhu—waved him off. "The words of a peasant mean nothing. The Empress Wu herself gained power by studying phoenix bones. This is our chance."
Veyon's unease deepened. He knew Su Yan wouldn't lie about something like this. He bowed and dropped from the tree.
Guo Xiaodie chased after him. "Brother Weiyang, wait! Let's catch that pervert together!"
Veyon sighed and let her follow.
Li Yingzhu smiled at the young man and the old servant beside her. "Veyon grows more handsome every year. It's time he married. Little Xiaodie has adored him since they were children. We should arrange it."
The old servant—Elder Xiao—stammered, his face pale.
Li Yingzhu's smile cooled. "You think our Guo family isn't good enough for the Yuan clan?"
Elder Xiao silently cursed his luck. The truth was far more complicated. Veyon wasn't a man at all. The Yuan family had raised her as a boy to carry the family line, but that secret couldn't survive a marriage.
Before he could answer, a dark cloud rushed across the sky. It moved fast—too fast. Elder Xiao landed on the ground just as the cloud reached Mount Jiuyi.
He smelled rot. Then screams rose from below.
"Something's climbing from the Abyss of Cangwu! It's eating people!"
Elder Xiao looked down. Crimson flesh crawled up the cliffs—pulsing, growing, sprouting massive serpents that snapped at everything in their path.
* * *
Guo Xiaodie had cornered Su Yan near a mountain lake, dragging Veyon with her. "Brother Weiyang, block the shore! Let's make him strip and—"
Veyon coughed. "Demon King Xu, we're far from the phoenix tree now. You can stop running."
Su Yan turned, grinning. "I thought you were really going to help her catch me."
Guo Xiaodie paled, clutching her chest. "You're working together? Don't come near me! My family's guards are everywhere!"
Su Yan's smile vanished. He darted toward them. "Bell!"
Guo Xiaodie screamed—then froze as a massive wall of crimson flesh erupted from the cliffs above. Serpents of rotting meat lunged down, mouths gaping.
A deep bell tone shook the air. The great bell flew from behind Su Yan, its surface blazing with ancient patterns. A dome of golden light expanded, pushing back the flesh-serpents. Where they touched the light, they sizzled and blackened.
More serpents poured up the mountain, swarming toward the phoenix tree. The nuo masters perched in its branches panicked. Screams tore through the air as flesh consumed flesh.
The three blue birds with pearls hovering above their heads shot upward. The pearl's light blazed as they hurled themselves at the shadow in the storm cloud—a beaked monstrosity larger than a house.
The creature flinched at the sound of the bell. In that instant of hesitation, the pearl struck, tearing three bloody holes through its hide.
The young phoenix became a blade of fire. She shot through the monster's skull, entering through its brow and exiting the back of its head.
"You ambushed me!" the thing roared, vanishing into the storm.
The flesh-serpents collapsed, lifeless and rotting.
Su Yan stood in the silence, breathing hard. A soft voice reached his ear:
"Thank you, brother. Your mouth says no, but your heart says yes."
Su Yan blinked. "Wait—when did I save her?"
"Rest a few days," the voice whispered. "When my wounds heal, we will meet again."