Poppy rose to her feet. “Tell me.”
Mingxi hesitated. “The corruption’s reached the inner forest,” he said at last. “Three sides of the wards are under pressure.”
Her breath caught. “So… what do we do?”
“We leave,” he said. “Soon.”
“How soon?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. The ache in his eyes was answer enough.
Her gaze swept the courtyard—the lanterns, the plum blossoms, the echo of laughter from the kitchens. The place she had begun to build a life in. The clan that had wrapped her in warmth without hesitation.
Her voice trembled. “They’ll hate losing you.”
“They’ll hate losing you more.” His manner gentled. “You belong here more than you know.”
She blinked hard. “I didn’t mean to.”
“You didn’t have to.”
The words struck something deep inside her—something tender and fragile and terrified to hope.
Mingxi stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Prepare yourself.”
The wind shifted.
The wards trembled faintly in the distance.
Something ancient pressed against the edge of the world.
“Tomorrow,” he said, “everything may change.”
And Poppy felt it too. That tightening in the earth. That quiet wrongness. That sense of being watched. Safety had reached its limit. The forest was holding its breath.
Something was coming.
Chapter 46
Poppy woke slowly, drifting up from a sleep deeper than anything she’d managed since crossing into the Shen forests. Warmth clung to her with soft blankets, the faint scent of foxfire, the muted hush of morning. When she opened her eyes, pale sunlight filtered through the shoji screens in gentle stripes.
For a moment, she simply breathed, letting herself feel… steady.
The door slid open, and Minghua swept in like a breeze—bright-eyed, breathless, her excitement barely contained.
“Oh! You’re awake,” she said, clasping her hands. “Good. You look much stronger today.”
Poppy blinked away the last traces of sleep. “Good morning, Minghua.”
“Mm! A very good morning.” Minghua circled her once, beaming. “Your color has returned. Your spirit feels lighter. I told Dà ge rest would help—he never listens.”
Poppy managed a soft smile. “Thank you. I… I think I needed it.”
Minghua’s expression gentled, a sweetness beneath her usual energy.
“Of course you did.”
Then her brightness dimmed—just a touch.
