part 3

[Rainfall, Old Pavilion Ruins]
Rain lashes against broken tiles. Shen Yiren and Liang Fenghua stand beneath the skeleton of what once was a moon-viewing pavilion—now consumed by moss, rot, and ghostlight...
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
How long have you been this way?
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
Time slips strangely in the dark. But I remember my death like it happened yesterday
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
(gently) Tell me
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
(a bitter chuckle) Now you want to listen?
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Yes
Liang Fenghua turns away. For the first time, his voice loses its venom. He sounds… tired
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
They dragged me out in chains. Labeled me heretic, blood cultivator, traitor. I screamed for you. Once. Then never again
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
(quietly) I was locked in seclusion. Forbidden to speak of you.
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
Did you try?
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Yes. And I failed
Lightning forks across the sky, casting sharp shadows across Liang Fenghua’s pale face
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
They buried me alive. Left me in the catacombs beneath Lingxu Pavilion Thought I’d rot
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
But you didn’t
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
A scroll found me. Or maybe I found it. It spoke to me—offered a way out. It cost everything
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Your soul?
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
No. That, I’d already given to you...
Shen Yiren breathes in sharply. Rain hides the tremble in his fingers.
___
[Scene shift] {Memory Fragment: The Catacombs of Lingxu Pavilion}
Darkness. Stone walls weeping. Chains cutting into flesh. A faint red glow pulses from a torn scroll clutched in broken hands
voice
voice
(Unseen) (whispering) Abandon breath… abandon warmth… Take blood… become eternal
Liang Fenghua, near death, smiles faintly
Liang Fenghua (then): So be it..
___
[Present] {Rain Still Falling}
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
And now?
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
(smikrs) Now I drink from the ones who killed me with silence. Now I rot the rotters. And you still look at me like I’m worth saving.
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Because you are
A long silence. Thunder muffles the ache in those words...
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
You’re a fool...
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Maybe..
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
You still believe in justice?
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
No. I believe in you. You chose vengeance. But you also chose to let me live
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
(steps closer) Don’t mistake sentiment for mercy..
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Then show me your cruelty. Prove you’re gone
A beat. Then Fenghua’s hand rises—claws black with dried blood. He brushes Shen Yiren’s throat, just barely pressing against the pulse
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
…Still warm Still foolish
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Still yours..
Liang Fenghua exhales. For a moment, just a moment, his fingers curl—not to strike, but to hold...
___
[Scene shift] {Shanhe Sect Hall}
Elder lu
Elder lu
(slams scroll on the table) He must be destroyed!!
Leader Shen minzi
Leader Shen minzi
You saw him with your own eyes?
[Sect Leader shen minzi]
Authoritative figure of the Shanhe Sect | Cold and politically calculating
And yiren's uncle
Personality: Calm, manipulative, bound by duty to maintain the Sect’s reputation.
(Back to story)
Elder lu
Elder lu
Yiren hesitated. That’s all the proof I need. He’s compromised
Leader Shen minzi
Leader Shen minzi
We can’t accuse a righteous disciple of collusion without—
Elder lu
Elder lu
He must not cloud judgment with sentiment. Or we will all drown in blood
___
[Scene shift] {Nightfall, Cangxue Valley}
A woman in white robes kneels before a crystal basin filled with bloodied lotus petals
Cangxue Priestess
Cangxue Priestess
So… Liang Fenghua has returned
Messenger
Messenger
Yes, High Priestess
Cangxue Priestess
Cangxue Priestess
Then the blood moon approaches faster than we feared. Prepare the wards. And tell Shen Yiren… if he cannot kill the monster, we will...
---
{Back in the Forest, Abandoned Shrine}
Liang Fenghua sits atop a crumbled Buddha statue. A blood vial spins between his fingers
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
(murmurs) Justice is what the powerful call revenge… when someone else wins...
A soft rustle—Shen Yiren appears again
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
You’re persistent
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
You’re bleeding...
Fenghua glances down. A long cut across his ribs. From their earlier fight
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
Don’t flatter yourself. It’ll heal
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
I brought you something
He opens a small wrapped cloth. Inside—a warm rice cake, slightly crushed
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
…What is this?
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
You always skipped meals
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
I don’t eat food anymore
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
I know... But memories don’t die, do they?
A long silence. Then Fenghua reaches out—not for the food, but for Shen Yiren’s wrist. He lifts it slowly
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
This is the only thing I hunger for now...
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Then take me fenghua..
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
(a whisper) Don’t call me with that name i am not that fenghua anymore
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
.....you always be my fenghua
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Then you believe it or not you always been mine... and....I am...yours
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
take blood my fire babe take it
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
(Whisper) Don’t tempt me..
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Then kiss me or kill me. But don’t keep walking that line
___
The wind howls. The shrine creaks. Fenghua pulls yiren and hold him in his arms leans in—fangs brushing skin. Then—he stops...
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
Not yet...
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
Why fenghua?
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
(loose him and turn) I won't drink your blood...
Shen Yiren
Shen Yiren
(Hold his hand from behind) Don't do this to me fenghua don't hate me (Cracking voice) I can't take this anymore...
Liang Fenghua
Liang Fenghua
Then forget me because even if I try I can't be yours
___
..
..
..
to be continue...

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