LU CORPORATION – LOWER FLOORS – THE NEXT MORNING
It started like any other day.
Yueying sipped her tea in the private executive lounge while reviewing the notes for her upcoming project pitch. Her fingers were steady, her mind focused — but her senses were alert ( it has always been like that ever since she discovered her true identity).
The pendant under her blouse pulsed faintly. Restless like a caged bird wanting to be free.
Outside the glass walls, the city buzzed like every other day.
Until the screams started.
A loud crash thundered through the lower levels.
Panic swept up the building like tsunami.
Yueying stood up immediately, instincts flaring as the fire in her blood woke without permission.
"Emergency lockdown initiated," said a cold automated voice from the ceiling.
Footsteps rushed past outside.
She opened the door.
A junior staffer stumbled down the hall — her arm bloodied, eyes wide and red .
"They—they're inside! They've breached the front lobby! People are trapped downstairs!"
Yueying didn't hesitate.
She moved very fast, going down through flights of stairs. Past frightened employees huddled near fire exits. Her breath calm, steps sharp and fast.
This wasn't panic.
She reached the main floor — and saw it;
A group of masked attackers. Armed, organized. Using dark technology — smoke from mils bombs that left trails of unnatural shadows. They wore black insignias( batch) shaped like an open eye — glowing faintly blue.
Behind the main reception desk, a group of interns cowered together. One girl — barely twenty — was pinned under collapsed light fixtures, crying.
And no one could reach her.
Except Yueying.
One of the attackers noticed her.
"Hey—! What are you—"
She raised her hand.
Red with flame and glorious as it always was.
The pendant flared violently — casting a sharp red glow across the lobby and a circle underneath her feet.
Heat surged through her bloodstream, her irises flaring like burning suns ready to devour her opponents.
A spiral of flames danced around her hands as she stepped forward.
Then — she called it.
The Sword.
Not metal. Not forged by man. Gifted by the heavens. Crafted by Spirits.
It was a blazing, straight blade of ethereal flame, inscribed with ancient writing that shimmered gold beneath the fire.
The room cracked with power.
Attackers turned — too late.
She moved like she hadd trained for centuries.
One swing — and the sword sliced through a dark form like paper.
A second spin — her blade cut through the floor in a glowing arc as she knocked two men off their feet.
Her movements were not human.
Too fast.
Too precise.
She lunged toward the pinned girl — sliced the debris off her with precision only possible through some divine intuition — then yanked her free with one hand while shielding her with the other.
Flames spiraled from her sword's edge, deflecting stray bullets mid-air. She hit all bullets down with precision.
Yueying turned, standing between the girl and the intruders.
The sword hovered in her grip — now burning brighter.
"Leave," she said, voice echoing unnaturally across the cement walls.
They didn't.
A single upward slash — and fire rose from the floor, circling her like a blooming flower of wrath.
The masked men faltered.
Then retreated.
The moment the last one ran away — the fire winked out.
Her sword flickered… then vanished into thin air leaving only speck of fire flying.
Yueying exhaled.
And realized she was being watched.
From the upper balcony, Lu Quing stood.
Expression unreadable.
Eyes glowing faintly silver.
But he didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Just watched her — as if something ancient in him had waited to see that exact moment.
Lu Quing stared at her, he had only seen that move from her mother. It felt like yesterday to him.
---
LU CORPORATION – SECURITY FLOOR – MINUTES LATER
The emergency team rushed in.
The press was already outside.
And Yueying stood at the center of it all — her blouse torn at the shoulder, face dusted in black, blood not hers.
A medic tried to lead her away.
She shook her head.
"I'm fine," she said.
The rescued girl gripped her sleeve tightly. "You… you saved me."
Yueying looked at her.
And for a second — just a second — she saw herself.
Younger.
Powerless.
Afraid.
"Next time," Yueying said, brushing the girl's hair back gently, "save someone else."
Then she turned.
And walked away before anyone could take her name.
---
PRIVATE HALLWAY – EXECUTIVE FLOOR
Lu Quing waited by the end of the corridor, hands at his back.
When Yueying approached, he didn't say anything.
Not immediately.
Then—
"You called the sword," he said.
She blinked. "You knew I could?"
"I was waiting to see it in person again."
She was quiet.
"I have done that once. When I went after Ren ". She said in a low voice .
He stepped closer, voice dropping.
"But now I know exactly who they're coming for."
She lowered her gaze.
"Does that mean I can't stay here?"
He reached up — touched her chin lightly, lifting her face.
"No," he said. "It means you don't have to fight alone."
---
UNKNOWN TOWER – NIGHT
The silver-eyed figure sat cross-legged before a bowl of black water. He watched her flame-sword bloom across the reflection.
A woman appeared beside him. Tall and cloaked in blue flame.
"She's stronger than expected," the woman said.
The silver-eyed man narrowed his gaze.
"She's becoming what her mother feared."
"Then we strike now?"
He shook his head slowly.
"No. We wait until she loves him enough… to destroy herself for him."
---
LU CORPORATION – BOARD FLOOR, CONFIDENTIAL CHAMBER
The room was cold.
Not physically — but in atmosphere.
Yueying sat in a high-backed chair, flanked on either side by glass walls dimmed to gray. Across from her sat three members of the Lu Corporation Board — elderly men in silk suits and silver-tipped canes. Men who spoke in whispers, but held power like weapons.
They weren't looking at her.
They were looking at the surveillance footage paused mid-frame on the screen behind her — her, sword in hand, flame arching out like a summoned dragon.
One of them finally spoke.
"So the rumors are true."
Another leaned forward. "The First Flame... lives."
She didn't flinch.
She didn't speak.
She just watched them silently and waiting.
The third man narrowed his eyes. "You endangered civilians. Brought supernatural violence into corporate property—"
"She saved them," said a new voice from the doorway.
Lu Quing entered. Calm as always.
Composed. And
Dangerous.
His presence shifted the room instantly.
He just stood behind Yueying's chair and placed one hand lightly on the backrest. Protective. Possessive.
" Good day President Lu". They all stood up as they saw him.
"I reviewed the incident myself," he said coolly. "Without her, we would've had casualties. My building. My rules."
"She's unstable," one board member argued.
"So am I," Lu Quing replied. "What's your point?"
Silence fell.
Then he added, "Dismiss this review. Or I withdraw my assets from this branch."
The threat wasn't loud.
It was absolute.
And that was the end of it.
The board stood down.
But Yueying didn't relax — not yet.
As they exited, she glanced up at him. "You didn't need to fight for me."
He looked down. "I wasn't fighting for you."
Her brow furrowed.
"I was fighting for us."
She couldn't say anything
---
CITY CAFE – MIDDAY – AARON LI'S TABLE
Aaron Li stirred his coffee slowly, gaze lingering on the busy street through the glass window.
He'd watched Yueying all morning — not in obsession, but in curiosity.
There was something about her.
And after yesterday's incident, the rumors had begun to spread like wildfire — "the girl with the fire sword," "the witch of the Lu Tower," and most dangerously… "Lu Quing's chosen bride."
He wasn't jealous.
He was concerned.
So when the man sat across from him without invitation — he didn't even act surprised.
Tall. Pale. Hair like snow, eyes covered by dark lenses.
The man set a single envelope on the table.
"I hear you've been watching her too," he said.
Aaron frowned. "Who the hell are you?"
The man smiled.
"No one you should trust. But I know what Yueying is."
Aaron didn't touch the envelope.
"She's not a threat."
The stranger leaned closer. "She's not just a girl. She's a key. Many need her blood for experiment. She carried a very powerful bloodline.
"What do you want?"
"Watch Lu Quing," the man whispered. "He's not protecting her. He's possessing her. And when the time comes… choose a side."
And then — the man disappeared.
Without a sound.
---
LU VILLA – YUEYING'S ROOM – NIGHT
Yueying sat on the windowsill, hair damp from the shower, knees drawn to her chest.
She hadn't spoken since the board meeting.
Hadn't eaten.
But the pendant pulsed faintly now — not in warning, but in something like… sorrow.
She felt seen for the first time — and it terrified her.
Was she a threat? Was she a tool? A weapon in a bloodline war she never asked for?
Then came the knock.
Three soft taps.
She opened the door.
Lu Quing stood there — a simple shirt, no jacket. His eyes tired.
"You're not sleeping," he said.
"Neither are you."That had always been her response any time he asked.
He stepped inside without being invited — but slowly, carefully. Like approaching a wounded animal.
She didn't move as he sat on the edge of her bed.
After a long pause, she whispered, "Do you ever regret knowing what you are?"
He was silent.
Then: "Every day."
That made her heart ache.
He looked at her.
"Your sword… it's not just fire, Yueying. It's memory. It's blood calling blood. The First Flame didn't start in you. It awoke through you."
Her voice trembled. "Then I'm not even me anymore."
He reached over — gently placed his hand over hers.
"You're still Yueying," he said. "But you're also more than her."
She looked at him — raw and confused. "Then tell me something real. Something you haven't told anyone."
He hesitated.
Then leaned forward, and whispered:
"I used to have wings."
She blinked.
"What?"
"Once. Before the wars. Before the Gate. I was made to fly. But I tore them off to stay in this world."
Silence stretched.
"Why?" she whispered.
His eyes shimmered.
"For someone I loved."
" Was she human? She seemed to have lived long before the plane crash"
She swallowed hard.
He just rested his forehead against hers.
He didn't kiss her.
And for a while… neither of them needed words.
---
UNKNOWN REALM – BLOOD MIRROR CIRCLE
The silver-eyed man stood before an altar. The orb before him rippled, showing Lu Quing and Yueying — together.
"She's choosing him," the female flame figure said behind him.
"No," the man replied. "She's not choosing. She's becoming."
He turned to the shadows.
"Send the lady"
A murmur echoed behind the veil.
"Lu Quing wouldn't know what hit him"
The silver-eyed man smiled.
"Would he chose her over Yueying"
" Remember she is sick and the only blood that can cure her is Yueying's. Let's see Lu Quing make a choice " he chuckled.
---
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