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Chapter 19: The Garden of Knives
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🌺 SCENE I — The Blade Beneath the Bloom
POV: Yue Lin
The private garden was supposed to be tranquil — a sanctuary of peonies and moon lilies hidden behind jade walls.
But Yue Lin never trusted beauty without thorns.
Her silk boots brushed against dew-kissed petals as she walked. The whispers of the masked banquet still haunted her skin. The Crown Prince's gaze. Qian Feng's presence. The kiss she hadn't meant to give. The promise of something darker.
A breeze curled around her, and her System chimed:
> Lustbound Alert: Emotional Disruption Detected. Recommendation: Dominate or Distance.
She rolled her eyes. "As if that's new."
From the shadows, a figure emerged.
Black robes. A jade pendant. Not masked.
> "You followed me," she said without turning.
> "You kissed me," Qian Feng replied.
She paused.
Then turned — slowly. "You let me."
He stepped closer. "You stole it. Like you do everything."
> "So steal it back."
He did.
Fingers in her hair. Lips on hers — harder this time. No audience. No pretense.
Only fire.
Until —
A glint.
He pulled back just in time to see the edge of a throwing knife bury itself into a nearby tree.
> "Assassins?" she murmured. "Or admirers with bad aim."
She reached into her sleeve, fingers curling around the hilt of a hidden dagger.
> "Guess we'll find out."
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⚔️ SCENE II — Blades and Breathlessness
POV: Qian Feng
They came in silence — three shadows dressed in grey, blades glinting beneath moonlight.
He and Yue Lin moved back to back — the rhythm of familiarity between warriors who danced with death.
> "Who do you think sent them?" he asked, parrying a strike.
> "Pick a name," she grunted, driving her heel into one attacker's ribs. "The list is long."
He laughed — then cursed as a dagger nicked his shoulder.
She spun, kicked high, and threw a needle straight into an assassin's throat. He dropped without a sound.
> "Show-off," Qian Feng muttered.
> "You like it."
"I do."
The last attacker lunged at her — only to be intercepted by Qian Feng's blade, clean across the chest.
He turned to her, panting. "You alright?"
> "Better than alright." Her eyes glinted. "I haven't had that much fun since I made a prince beg."
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💔 SCENE III — The Ruin in His Eyes
POV: Yue Lin
He was bleeding.
Not badly. But enough.
She stepped close, tearing a strip of silk from her sleeve. "Let me—"
> "Don't."
He pulled away, jaw clenched. "You can't… fix things with fabric and flirtation."
She stilled.
> "That's not what I'm doing."
> "Isn't it?"
Her hand hovered between them. "What do you want me to say, Qian Feng?"
> "That the kiss meant something."
Silence.
> "That it wasn't just another move in your game."
The wind carried petals across the bloodstained grass.
> "Then don't be a piece," she whispered. "Be my opponent. Or my equal."
He blinked.
Then nodded, once. "I can do that."
> "Good." She turned. "Because I think someone just declared war."
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🎴 SCENE IV — A New Player Enters
POV: Crown Prince Rui Shen
The scene before him was all scent and sin — Yue Lin's torn sleeve, Qian Feng's blood, three corpses wilting among moonflowers.
> "They touched her," Rui Shen said. "Unforgivable."
Beside him, his spy bowed. "Shall we retaliate?"
He considered.
> "Not yet."
> "Your Highness?"
He smiled — sharp and cold. "Let them think she's alone."
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📜 EPILOGUE — A Letter on Silk
That night, Yue Lin found a letter under her pillow.
Perfumed.
Sealed with a lotus sigil.
It read:
> "You live. Impressive. The Garden was just the beginning."
> "Next comes the Maze."
> "I do hope you're ready to bleed more beautifully."
There was no signature.
Just a kiss mark.
In her own shade of lipstick.
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END OF CHAPTER 19