The long-legged lemon tea had sprouted a grotesque stone lion face. It turned, locked eyes with Nian—whose expression had turned noticeably grim—and lunged.
But before the cup-creature even reached her, Nian casually batted it aside with her fan. It hadn't even hit the ground before several sharp swords materialized from thin air, piercing it clean through.
The plastic body was skewered like lotus root. The lion-like face twisted for a few seconds, then melted into mist. What remained was just an ordinary cup of lemon tea—well, not quite. The holes punched through by the swords were still there, and its contents spilled out in a sticky puddle across the table.
"Miss Nian… what was that thing just now?" Amiya asked, patting her chest, still shaken.
She, Talulah, and Ch'en had all frozen in shock when the cup suddenly grew limbs. Talulah had rubbed her eyes multiple times, then pinched her own cheek, convinced she had to be dreaming.
Nian clicked her tongue in irritation, staring at the cup that had reverted to normal. Her already-tense mood tipped deeper into frustration.
When she finally replied, it was with a heavy sigh.
"That… was a qìchāng."
"Qìchāng?" Ch'en echoed, trading a glance with Talulah. The term was clearly unfamiliar.
But Amiya, watching the troubled expression on Nian's face and noticing how her long ears twitched slightly, had already started to piece it together.
"Miss Nian… this qìchāng—could it be another one of those... manifestations from your siblings?"
Amiya's voice trailed off. Ch'en, catching on, turned serious.
"You mean… these creatures are creations from one of your kin?"
But Nian, now deeply annoyed, didn't even bother answering properly. Her thoughts were racing.
Why had a qìchāng appeared here?
Why was it in Lungmen—and why had it attacked her?
The creature had stared straight at her and said, "Found you."
It was coming for her.
Or rather—it was searching for the proxy of the Sui Beast.
Only one of her siblings could create and control true qìchāng—and that was her Eldest Sister.
The others… didn't have the talent or temperament for it.
And that lemon tea thing? That had been the real deal. No imitation. That was authentic.
She clenched her teeth.
"Stay sharp. If one's shown up, there are definitely more around."
"I'll go evacuate civilians."
Ch'en immediately took action. The last time inkbeasts had appeared, they'd responded fast enough to minimize casualties—just a few light injuries, some people scared out of their wits.
But luck wouldn't always be on their side. Better to move now.
"Good idea," Nian muttered. "If we let them run loose… who knows how bad it could get."
But her heart was still in turmoil.
She could understand that ditzy, soft-hearted little sister of hers—Xi—getting caught up in something.
But her Eldest Sister?
That didn't make sense.
Among all twelve siblings, her Eldest Sister and Big Brother were always the most level-headed—the ones most attuned to the changes of the new era.
So why would qìchāng suddenly attack a city?
Did her Eldest Sister have a nightmare or something?
The thoughts whirled in her head, but before she could make a move, her waist radio crackled to life.
"PINK DUMPLING!" came Swire's voice, full of panic. "The Cultural District's crawling with little monsters! Are you guys seeing anything?! Found anything?!"
"!!!"
"We're heading there now—!"
"Why the hell would you come here?! Go find that damn Xi! That's your job! We'll hold the line here! MOVE IT! Ugh—what the hell is that?! WHY IS THAT TRASHCAN WALKING ON TWO LEGS?!"
The static-laced shouting made Ch'en instinctively pull the radio away from her ear.
She opened her mouth to reply—but before she could say anything, Talulah appeared at her side and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Swire's right. We need to focus on our task."
Ch'en turned to protest. The police in the area were regular officers. They could probably deal with small fry—but what if they ran into a large creature, or even a corrupted humanoid? They wouldn't stand a chance.
But just as she turned, she saw the look on Talulah's face—serious, steady—and realized Amiya had already drawn her driver. Nian stood ready, her fan clenched tight, eyes fixed ahead.
They were coming.
Qìchāng.
There was one carrying a lamppost like a hammer, another built like a trashcan with bulging muscles hauling a stone bench. The creatures came in swarms—malformed, monstrous—and all of them had their glowing eyes locked on the group.
Mixed in among them were the familiar inkbeasts from before—mo-ryang. But this time, none of them were rampaging. They weren't destroying streets or buildings. Citizens screamed and ran at the sight of them, but the monsters didn't give chase.
They were focused.
They had a single goal.
They were moving straight toward Nian.
She immediately recalled what the first one had said.
"Found you."
"These things are here for me," she said without hesitation.
And sure enough, the swarm didn't pay the fleeing civilians any mind. As they neared, they slowed, forming a neat, disciplined formation.
The air grew thick with tension. Amiya, Talulah, and Ch'en all raised their spacetime drivers.
Nian swirled her fan a few times, eyes narrowed.
But then… a smile crept across her face.
"You've been hiding all this time… and now you finally come out?" she muttered. "My silly little sister."
She could feel it—buried within the horde. A familiar presence, distinct among the chaos. It was Xi.
But it wasn't just her.
There was… something else. Something vast and muddled. A violent, chaotic fusion of energies and colors. Xi's presence was only a small thread within a huge, tangled web.
The sensation was familiar.
Terribly familiar.
It belonged to someone who should've been long gone.
Sui.
"So that's how it is," Nian whispered. "So this really is his doing."
She had never truly believed that timid little Xi could orchestrate something this bold—leaving Huiqi Mountain, attacking Lungmen. It didn't fit.
But now, sensing that old presence embedded in Xi's aura, the fog lifted.
There was only one conclusion.
This was the work of her Second Brother.
"…So even you are using our little sister now?"
Nian's voice dropped. Her grip on her fan tightened—hard enough to crack the wooden ribs of the frame. Her palm glowed faintly red, like painted flame.
Boom—
The creatures suddenly moved again.
They split down the middle in perfect unison, forming two symmetrical columns as if making way for someone.
Clack. Clack.
The sharp click of high heels echoed down the asphalt street—slow, steady, deliberate.
Amiya and the others stared at the gap between the creatures, hearts pounding with every step.
And then they saw her.
An ethereal beauty—one from storybooks and scrolls.
Long, ink-black hair flowed like a waterfall down her back. Her jade-colored dragon horns crackled faintly with energy, shaped like jagged bolts of lightning. Pale, rain-kissed skin framed elegant pointed ears so translucent in the sun, one could glimpse the veins beneath.
She wore a close-fitting qipao, hiding yet emphasizing her slender, graceful form. In her hand was an eight-sided Han-style sword, coiled with dark, ink-like tendrils.
Delicate. Soft-spoken in appearance.
But deadly.
It wasn't until they saw her eyes that they truly woke from her beauty.
Those eyes… blood-red beneath a shadowy veil. Ancient. Timeless. Heavy with a kind of weariness that only came from seeing centuries pass.
Eyes that looked past the now—as if glancing across the ruins of dynasties.
Eyes that turned even the strongest into whispers.
Amiya felt her grip tighten on the driver.
A dream lasting a thousand years.
And within that dream—rage, sorrow… and something else entirely.