CHAPTER 17 — The First Surviving Night
Zheng Wen Te did not know how long he lay on the cold stone.
Minutes.
Hours.
Maybe an entire lifetime.
The sky above this world was not Earth's sky.
It was deeper… heavier… filled with unfamiliar stars that looked like the eyes of gods.
His lungs burned.
His bones screamed.
Yet the worst pain was not physical.
It was the pressure.
A presence.
Like standing before a mountain that could decide, at any moment, to fall.
He forced himself upright.
His hands trembled as they pressed against the ground.
The pavilion behind him was silent.
Too silent.
No birds.
No wind.
Only the faint scent of incense and something colder… like blood that had dried centuries ago.
Then—
A voice.
Soft.
Right beside his ear.
"You're still alive."
Zheng froze.
He turned his head slowly.
She was standing there.
The Heart-Severing Immortal.
Her white robes did not move.
Her hair was like spilled midnight.
Her eyes…
Those eyes held no warmth.
Only a hatred so old it had become calm.
Zheng swallowed.
"I… don't know why."
Her gaze sharpened.
"You don't know why?"
She stepped closer.
Each step made the air heavier, as if reality itself was kneeling.
"You abandoned me."
Zheng's throat tightened.
"I don't remember—"
Her hand snapped up.
The world blurred.
Zheng was slammed into the pavilion pillar so hard the wood cracked.
Blood filled his mouth.
"I remember."
Her voice was quiet.
"I remember begging."
"I remember waiting."
"I remember dying."
Zheng coughed, shaking.
"Then… kill me."
For the first time…
She paused.
Her eyes flickered.
Not mercy.
Not kindness.
Something worse.
Conflict.
"You want death?"
She leaned down, close enough that Zheng could feel the chill of her breath.
"No."
"I won't give you peace."
Zheng's heart pounded.
"Then what do you want?"
The immortal's lips curved, not quite a smile.
"Stay."
He stared.
"What?"
"Thirty days."
Her voice became law.
"Do not flee."
"Do not collapse."
"Do not die."
Zheng whispered, broken:
"Why?"
Her eyes darkened like an abyss.
"Because after thirty days…"
She straightened.
"…you will finally understand what it means…"
To be punished by heaven.
She turned away.
And the pavilion doors shut by themselves.
Leaving Zheng alone in the night…
With the first rule of his trial carved into his soul.