Dance Of The Phoenix
54. Men trapped in the past

The white-haired old man on top of the 'iron chair' was his grandfather. The only real family he had, as well as his teacher who had given him a lot to be able to stand in his current position. His grandfather was the only person he admired the most and he cared about.

(Iron chair is an idiom of the throne seat. Can be found in western royal themed novels or series.)

Bai Tianzhi, the King of Tianshuang Palace who had served for over 100 years. He has a daughter named Bai Ying, who is married to an unknown man and has Bai Youzhe as their only son.

Since both of them died defending Tianshuang Palace a few years ago, little Bai Youzhe was entrusted to the Luo Clan by Bai Tianzhi in a wounded state to be protected until the time came.

The disappearance of Bai Youzhe as a teenager was a time when he met Bai Tianzhi and understood all the situations that occurred. He remembers the past. The time when the men killed his father and mother was right in front of the two blue irises that night. It took Bai Youzhe a long time to come out of her trauma.

This time it was time to take what he should have gotten.

Linghun Palace had to pay for everything.

"I've been waiting for you a long time." Bai Tianzhi got up from his chair. He went down the stairs, approaching his only granddaughter who was present after a long time.

Bai Youzhe with an unchanging cold look, said in a flat tone, "The Linghun Hall death squad has destroyed several cities and replaced them as their new headquarters. I met their leader soon."

"I understand." Bai Tianzhi sighed. He saw Bai Youzhe as a grandfather, not a ruler. "Have you been okay all this time?"

"I'm always okay."

"Very visible. You look so much better than you did the year before." Bai Tianzhi smiled gratefully. He had always been worried about Bai Youzhe, afraid that her beloved grandson who was stiff like this wood had trouble handling his own strength.

"I found phoenix blood." Bai Youzhe said in a flat tone. There was a strange feeling when he said it.

"That's a good thing." Bai Tianzhi did not look surprised. "I originally intended to tell you when I came home, but you already knew. Do you know him?"

"Yes." Yeah."

"I don't think you know him enough." Bai Tianzhi smiled wryly. This made Bai Youzhe wonder what Bai Tianzhi wanted to say.

Bai Tianzhi walked towards the wide-open window, displaying such a beautiful view of the forest. He looked towards the bright moon.

"The moon tonight is very good," he murmured, then sighed. "There are some secrets in this world that cannot be revealed directly. The girl you met was one of them. I think it's gonna be hard for you."

"The fact that he's from the royal family?" Bai Youzhe guessed.

"It's pretty complicated." Bai Tianzhi seemed to know many things that the crowd did not know. He said in a slow tone. "When Princess Vanya married the King of Linghun Palace, they had two children. That girl is one of them."

His palms were tightly clenched. Bai Youzhe already knew this, but she still could not accept it. The fact that the person he liked was the daughter of the person who killed his family was a hard thing he could not accept.

Bai Youzhe had guessed from the start, but she convinced herself to deny that there could be a mistake. But if his own grandfather said it, he would inevitably have to accept the reality.

As someone said. In the end, they'll still be hard together, right?

Had Bai Tianzhi not known, he could have buried all these facts just for himself and covered up the identity of the girl.

Bai Tianzhi said, "There's no point in lying to yourself."

He turned to look at Bai Youzhe who looked chaotic. Although his face still looked cold, his mind was really like a tangled thread.

"What does your heart and mind say?" ask Bai Tianzhi.

"That's not all important." Bai Youzhe covered her glassy feelings.

"I understand the attachment between phoenix blood and dragon blood. You want to hate it, but you can't do it so you choose the hardest option."

Bai Youzhe did not say anything more. He was completely silent without being able to say a word.

Grandpa's right. He can hate others easily, but only one person is difficult to hate even if he wants to.

Ah, he'd go crazy if he kept going like this.

"What are you going to do to handle this?" Bai Tianzhi asked. This is a test.

Bai Youzhe looked at her grandfather seriously. "For this matter, I will look for Gu Yuan to get a statement from him. Who he chooses, determines what to do."

A certain girl loves her sister so much that she will definitely follow whatever her brother does. If he wants this competition to succeed, he must not give up.

"You know this will cause misunderstanding." Bai Tianzhi reminded.

"I know the consequences." His blue iris saw the dark sky filled with stars. "I'll take it to my side."

Can he be a little selfish for himself? Or will it just give up?

Whatever the outcome, there must be success.

If not, there will only be death.

...ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ...

"For over 6 months I served Miss Gu, she's actually not what you've seen in the academy. I can guarantee he's not like most Linghun Palace people." Chu Xin said confidently to the two men by her side. He was indeed surprised by this fact, but he would not let go of his belief just because of an identity.

"Everybody can change, as it did to our master." Hey Changge, the tallest man among them said nonchalantly.

"He's a freak. Sometimes it looks happy, sometimes it looks gloomy, then it changes again every day." Bao Jun muttered so, but was heard by Chu Xin until it was hit by a blow from him.

"You want to lose your neck?" Chu Xin snorted. At that very moment Bao Jun held his own neck in horror.

"Whatever the reality is, it won't have much change. Young Master couldn't have killed that woman."

"Is the feeling between the dragon blood and the phoenix so strong?" Chu Xin thought hard. It was a bit strange to see his always heartless master approach a woman.

"Eitherway. Do you think it's really just a feeling between dragon blood and phoenix?" Hey Changge just asked back.

"Unfortunately, it can only be answered by the Young Master directly." Bao Jun looked towards the door, knowing someone was about to enter the room.

Sure enough, the open door revealed Bai Youzhe who entered the room with a cold feeling she was carrying. The three humans immediately stood up straight after a long moment of silence while gossiping.

"Young Master."

They bowed to pay their respects, whereas the man simply walked over without saying anything. His steps stopped in the middle of the room, then glanced at his three subordinates who were still lowered.

"Go back."

"Meet Su Churan and tell her what to do" Bai Youzhe continued.

Ah, it turns out that way. Although they did not understand much about Bai Youzhe's plan, at least they knew what steps to take.

Su Churan was a friend of Gu Yuena. Bai Youzhe wanted Su Churan to confirm Gu Yuena's condition in the academy. If he were to send Chu Xin, the girl would be suspicious.

But isn't one person enough?

"The rest return to their respective positions." Bai Youzhe actually expelled them, returning them to the jobs within the guild.

Though they were already very happy to be able to go to Tianshuang Palace on the grounds of escorting Bai Youzhe on Bai Tianzhi's orders. But they were just asked to come home.

It seemed like this was the karma of a subordinate gossiping over the superior.

"Okay, Young Master."

They cannot resist or protest. Inevitably, the three turned around and stepped away that very day.

It's okay, with their speed, doesn't it only take a few days to arrive?

Ordinary people may be able to travel for months, but they are different.

After the three humans left in a lethargic state, the room became quieter than it should have been. Bai Youzhe simply stayed in place, with her thoughts muddled and tangled like threads.

There was a lot of doubt in his heart.

"Gu Yuena."

The name just came to light when his eyes were closed. The same face has been ringing since a year ago where their first meeting took place.

A year ago, he came to the Imperial Capital of Yi to follow in the footsteps of the Ye Clan. The Ye clan was part of Linghun Palace. Their connection to Linghun Palace was quite strong and had soul stones stored in their residence.

Unfortunately, when Bai Youzhe infiltrated the Ye Clan, she did not find any soul stones. He had to gather 3 Linghun Palace soul stones to perfect his plan.

He thought that the Duke's Residence who was in a marriage alliance with the Ye Clan knew some things regarding soul stones. But apparently they were only the insignificant stepping stones of Linghun Palace in his eyes. They knew nothing about the soul stone.

Precisely because he found nothing in the capital, he was instead met with a girl who intended to run away after killing the people of the Ye Clan. He thought it might be possible that the girl knew something after killing them, and began to interrogate him.

It had happened unexpectedly because of a little carelessness, but it was all successfully overcome. He found out that the girl was a member of the Gu family he was looking for. It just so happened that he knew their First Young Master in Yinyang Academy.

Finally, to investigate deeper, he decided to join the Luo Clan as Young Master Luo who was famous for his bad reputation. He already knew that the Clan Chief was going to marry Luo Yi to Gu Yuan, and that honor-hungry Head of the Gu Family paved the way for his investigation.

While his conflict with Gu Yuena began from his plan to be able to stay longer in the Duke's Residence. He was not interested in the stray cat, but there were a few things that made him curious.

Those red eyes.

In addition to the unique red eyes, there is a special feeling that is difficult to explain when adjacent to the girl. That was why, he tried to get close longer to find out about it in the Dark Market. But it turns out that he got caught up in his own plan and started to notice Gu Yuena more closely.

He began to investigate Gu Yuena's identity and why Duke Gu threw her away like trash. Until finally he found something related to Linghun Palace in the ducal residence.

His investigation was not in vain. Duke Gu definitely had a certain relationship with Linghun Palace. Therefore, he sent Chu Xin as a spy. In addition to protecting Gu Yuena, it was also to spy on the entire residence.

Hold still. Protecting Gu Yuena?

Recalling the black fog that attacked Gu Yuena back then, he somehow felt an unfamiliar feeling of fear. Was it caused by her childhood trauma when she saw the fog?

Whenever he was close to Gu Yuena, he always felt a strange attraction that made him uneasy. He still doesn't know what it means.

How could he be so attentive to a stray cat that he did not treat him well at all? A wild cat that often bites with its fangs and gives it a sense of hostility. Surprisingly, it doesn't matter what that attitude is.

Under normal circumstances, he had already killed the person who had declared war on him from the very beginning.

Until Bai Youzhe finally left the Duke's Residence, then he felt the name emptiness.

When he left, he acted ordinary despite the heavy feeling in his heart. But as the days passed, he became increasingly agitated. The shadow of that face and name kept ringing in haunting him. He was not used to this feeling.

Until when he went to Yuansu Academy to retrieve the ice jade, he was surprised that the girl was in the same academy and dormitory as him. There was a feeling of pleasure, and weird together. How is there such a coincidence?

For a long time he could be crazy.

Bai Youzhe back then did not understand her own feelings and acted as the annoying Luo Youzhe. Over time he felt the annoying attitude shown came out naturally without coercion, as if it had become an entertainment for him.

There was a time when he was curious about the feeling of attraction that was difficult to explain. That feeling first appeared as they kissed at the inn, which made his sanity difficult to maintain. He wanted to make sure once again what kind of attraction he felt in the same way.

And sure enough, he became insane.

The feeling of the heart beating so hard made him uncomfortable, but did not want to stop him. When their kiss came off sooner, there was a sense of disappointment in his heart and wanted to do it again. But he knew, it was impolite and would make the girl fear him.

Bai Youzhe who was heartless and looked at everyone with the same gaze, was now paying attention to various small things for the woman who was hostile to him all day.

There is a feeling of desire to protect the strong, accompanied by a desire to have that only he can have. Until each time he would make a plan, he would consider the safety of the girl without thinking about other risks.

Like when he had retreated his plan due to the arrival of the blood of another dragon carrying a soul stone. It was he who made Bai Youzhe convinced that Gu Yuena had phoenix blood. This made Bai Youzhe wary. If that person were to meet Gu Yuena, things would become complicated.

If there were two dragon bloods that were considered impossible, Gu Yuena as the owner of the phoenix blood would have to choose one of them.

But as long as Gu Yuena had yet to choose, he still had plenty of opportunities.

Although Gu Yuena already knew about his attitude, and seemed to be aware of his intentions but gave a cold reaction and a firm rejection, Bai Youzhe did not care at all. Well, it's kind of outrageous. He'll change his ways.

He knew the reason Gu Yuena rejected him that day. It was no big deal, as he was the owner of the dragon blood.

No matter what Gu Yuena also had the same feelings as him, Bai Youzhe would not give up so easily. He will not release anyone who has been on his radar.

Even if the girl turned out to be the daughter of an enemy, and was potentially a great threat to her, she did not care at all.

Whether due to the blood ties of the dragon and phoenix or not, he would have no intention of hurting let alone killing the girl.

Even if he had to kill his family.

"You will probably hate me so much" Bai Youzhe muttered in the middle of this silent room. He looked at the piece of paper he had apparently been holding. "However, I'll protect you." For that, he had to go somewhere.