Wei Ji walked slowly beside her as they returned to the small wooden bench under the old peach tree. The night breeze carried the faint smell of flowers, and the garden felt quiet, wrapped in a warm veil of moonlight. Lu Shaohua hopped onto the bench, her feet dangling, her eyes shining with curiosity.

She leaned forward. "Another story. Tell me another story. You promised a princess story tomorrow, but today you can tell me something else. Tell me something big. Something amazing."

Wei Ji settled beside her, letting out a long breath. He rested one arm along the back of the bench and looked up at the moon. For a few heartbeats, he said nothing. His eyes looked calm, but inside he felt something far more complicated.

There was a story he had never intended to speak aloud again. A tale he once hated. A tale that haunted him even now. Yet as he looked at the young girl in front of him, bright and innocent, it struck him that maybe telling it would help him breathe a little today.

"Fine," Wei Ji finally said. "I will tell you about someone called the Celestial Demon Empress."

Lu Shaohua's mouth fell open. "That sounds scary."

"It is," he said. "She was one of the most feared beings in all the heavens. People prayed she would never appear in their lifetime."

She hugged her knees. "What did she do?"

Wei Ji paused, choosing each word with care. "She was born human. Just a little girl. She had no power at the start. No sect. No master. Nothing. But she had something else. A heart that burned brighter than the sun."

Lu Shaohua blinked at him. "Brighter than the sun?"

"Brighter," Wei Ji said. "She carried so much longing, so much stubborn hope, that it grew into something terrifying. She wanted to stand above the world so that no one could bully her again. And she wanted to protect the few people she loved. But along the way… the world changed her."

Lu Shaohua's face softened. "How?"

"The people she cared for died," Wei Ji said quietly. "Some betrayed her. Others were killed right in front of her. She started to think that kindness was useless. That mercy was weakness. That only strength mattered."

Lu Shaohua frowned hard. "But… being good is not weakness."

Wei Ji looked at her for a long moment. "You would think so. But this girl lived in a world full of cruelty. And when she rose to power, she learned to take vengeance more fiercely than anyone else. She became a storm that never stopped growing."

Lu Shaohua hugged her legs tighter. "Did she… did she hurt a lot of people?"

"Yes," Wei Ji whispered. "More than you can imagine."

She lowered her head, looking troubled. "Then why are you telling me about her? She sounds… sad."

"She is," he said. "Very sad. Because beneath everything she became, beneath all the darkness she carried, she was still just a girl who wanted to be loved. To be understood. To be held without fear. She wanted someone to stay by her side."

Lu Shaohua slowly looked up at him. "Did she have someone like that?"

Wei Ji felt a weight press on his chest. Memories he had buried deep stirred again. He saw flames. He saw blood. He saw her.

"There was someone," Wei Ji said softly. "But the world pulled them apart. They did not understand each other until it was too late."

Lu Shaohua blinked. "Too late?"

He nodded. "Sometimes, even if two people care for each other, the world can push them in different directions. And they end up on the opposite sides of a war they never wanted."

Lu Shaohua was silent for a while. Then, in a small voice, she asked, "Did the Celestial Demon Empress want to be evil?"

"No," Wei Ji said. "She only fell into darkness because she had no one to pull her back. If someone had stayed beside her earlier… if someone had held her hand before she broke… she might have walked another path."

Lu Shaohua lowered her head again. Her fingers twisted together nervously.

"That sounds lonely."

"It was," he said.

Another long silence settled between them. The fireflies drifted close again, floating gently like tiny stars brushing the edges of their clothes.

After a long time, Lu Shaohua quietly asked, "What happened to her at the end?"

Wei Ji closed his eyes. Images crashed through his mind like waves. A ruined world. Fallen sects. A woman standing alone on a throne of shattered heavens. And him—broken, dying, reaching out a hand he could never extend far enough.

"She stood alone," Wei Ji finally said. "At the highest point in the world, with no one left beside her. And she looked down and realized the cost of everything she had done. But she could not turn back anymore."

Lu Shaohua swallowed, her young face serious. "Then… is she a villain?"

"That depends," Wei Ji answered. "To some, she was a monster. To others, she was a victim. To herself, she was just a person trying to survive the pain she carried."

Lu Shaohua reached out and tugged weakly at his sleeve. "Do you hate her?"

Wei Ji's breath stopped for a moment.

He looked at the girl sitting next to him. Her eyes were clear, bright, full of trust. She had no idea who she would become. She had no idea of the storms sleeping inside her.

Slowly, he shook his head.

"No," he said. "I don't hate her."

"Then… what do you feel?"

Wei Ji looked up at the moon again. The answer came out in a whisper.

"I feel regret. And I feel hope."

"Hope?" she repeated.

"Yes," Wei Ji said. "Hope that maybe, if her story were told again in another life… she might have a happier ending."

Lu Shaohua gave a small smile. "Then you should tell her this story. So she knows she is not alone."

Wei Ji breathed in sharply. His chest tightened in a way he could not explain.

"That would be nice," he said. "Maybe one day."

Lu Shaohua nodded hard, her childish certainty radiating like sunlight. "Then I hope she gets a good ending next time."

Wei Ji looked at her innocent smile, and something inside him softened.

"Me too," he whispered.

Lu Shaohua yawned and leaned against his side without warning. "Wei Ji… tell me another story tomorrow too."

He hesitated, then gently placed a hand on her head, brushing her hair lightly.

"I will," he said. "Tomorrow and the day after. As long as I can."

The garden stayed quiet under the moonlight. Fireflies drifted in slow circles. And for that short moment, the future Demon Empress slept against the man who had once sworn to kill her.

Wei Ji looked ahead, eyes calm, yet burning with a new determination.

No matter what fate had written, he would try again.

This time, he would fight the ending itself.

. ..

Wei Ji lay back on the bed once Lu Shaohua finally drifted off in his arms, her soft breathing warm against his chest. The candles burned low. The quiet of their private room wrapped around him like a blanket. He told himself he would sleep soon. His body was tired. His mind was tired. But warmth and peace had made him relax too deeply.

His eyes slowly closed.

Then everything twisted.

Darkness slammed into him like a falling mountain. The air turned cold and sharp. The world around him shook. Wei Ji looked up and found himself standing inside the Sword Shandian Sect's grand courtyard, but the sky was nightmarish. It was blood red. The moon was split in half. Shadows crawled across the broken tiles like living things.

He frowned and whispered, confused. "Why am I here."

His voice echoed back, warped.

A loud screech answered him. Not human. Not beast. A cry filled with madness, rage, and something ancient. A violent wind tore through the courtyard and flung his hair back. Bodies lay everywhere. Elders. Disciples. Guards. All dead. All torn apart. The stone pillars were cracked, as if something huge had slammed through them.

"What happened here," Wei Ji said as he moved forward. "Who did this."

A whisper slid into his ear. "You should know."

He spun around. No one.

A long shadow stretched across the courtyard, tall and graceful. A woman's figure. Her silhouette alone made the world tremble.

Wei Ji froze.

Her steps echoed. One. Then another. The air around her shimmered with oppressive power. Her presence was like a mountain falling on him. The Shadow parted and revealed her face. Pale. Beautiful. Terrifying. Two curved horns glowed faintly above her head. Her long black hair flowed like a river of death.

The Celestial Demon Empress.

Wei Ji felt the world press on him. His knees almost buckled.

She smiled at him with a cold sweetness. "Wei Ji," she said, dragging his name out like a blade. "You ran for so long in your past life. Did you think I would not find you again."

He stepped back without meaning to. "This is a dream. It has to be a dream."

She laughed, a light and sharp sound that stabbed through his skull. "Dream or not, tell me. Why did you flee before. Why did you betray me."

"I didn't," he said at once. His breath grew heavy. "I never betrayed you. I never even met you."

She tilted her head in amusement. "You met me more times than you remember. You fled from me more times than you can count. You were always so weak. Always so delicious to chase."

Her words cut him. His heartbeat thudded painfully.

Suddenly she blurred. She vanished from where she stood.

Wei Ji's body froze.

A cold hand slid around his neck from behind.

He tried to move, but his limbs felt like stone.

She leaned close, her lips brushing his ear. "Should I kill you now. Or play a little longer."

A shiver went down his spine.

He forced his voice out. "Why come here. Why kill the sect."

"Oh," she said softly, almost playful. "They got in my way."

She flicked her finger. Light flashed. The bodies around them lifted from the ground for an instant, then burst apart like rotten fruit, scattering blood everywhere.

Wei Ji almost vomited.

The Celestial Demon Empress giggled. "Look how scared you are. You shake like a little rabbit."

Her hand tightened around his throat. He gasped. His vision blurred.

"This time," she whispered, "I will not give you another chance to escape. I will tear off your arms. Your legs. Your soul. And keep you beside me so that you will never run again."

Wei Ji struggled to breathe. "I'm not yours."

"You were always mine."

Her grip grew stronger.

His spiritual energy felt locked, frozen by her terrifying aura. The world around him cracked. The sky shattered like glass, fragments falling and dissolving.

"Say my name," she whispered. "Say it before you die."

He clenched his teeth. "No."

Her cold lips brushed his cheek. "Then scream."

She raised her hand. A claw made of demonic energy formed above her palm. It was long. Thin. Sharp. It aimed right at his heart.

Wei Ji felt death press into his chest.

The claw shot forward. The world exploded in white.

He yelled.

His eyes flew open.

He sat up so fast the blanket fell off him. His chest rose and fell. Sweat dripped down his forehead. For a moment he could still feel her hand on his throat. He grabbed his neck in instinct, gasping for air.

His heart hammered.

He looked around frantically.

The room was quiet. Candlelight flickered softly. No blood. No broken moon. No corpses. No demon empress waiting to tear him apart.

Only peace.

Only warmth.

Then a soft groan pulled his attention.

Someone lay beside him.

Wei Ji turned his head and froze.

Lu Shaohua lay next to him, curled slightly toward him, her hair messy, her cheek pressed against his arm as if she had fallen asleep trying to hold onto him. Her breathing was calm, steady, warm.

Wei Ji stared at her for a long moment.

His nightmare faded, but the fear stayed. The Celestial Demon Empress still lingered in his mind like a shadow.

Lu Shaohua shifted slightly and blinked her sleepy eyes open. She looked up at him with a confused and drowsy face.

"Mm… Wei Ji… Why are you sitting up… Did something happen…"

He swallowed hard, his throat still dry.

He stared at his wife, safe and warm beside him, and couldn't speak for a moment.

The contrast between her gentle face and the monstrous empress from his dream made his heart shake.

He whispered. "Shaohua…"

She blinked again, then reached out to him with a small tired smile. "You look pale… Did you have a nightmare…"

Wei Ji did not answer right away.

He just stared at her.

Alive.

Warm.

Beside him.

And nothing like the creature in his dream.

The fear inside him slowly loosened, replaced by something else. Something protective. Something fierce.

He let out a shaky sigh.

And the scene ended on the moment he finally realized she had been right next to him the whole time.

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