Douluo: Starting with an Engagement to Zhu Zhuqing

Chapter 184: The Twin Shades of Xue

Heaven Dou Palace

The Crown Prince's Chambers

"Dismissed."

Xue Qinghe, with his gentle smile, spoke to the maids around him. His soft demeanor left each of them enchanted, gazing at him with longing in their eyes. Just a simple smile from him was enough to make these women—revered as beauties throughout the empire—swoon.

"Yes, Your Highness," they replied, each voice carrying a note of regret as they respectfully withdrew, reluctantly hiding their disappointment.

Knock, knock, knock.

The chamber's vast space grew quiet as the maids left. Such silence was something Xue Qinghe had endured for over a decade. Holding his wine cup, he walked over to the window, gazing at the dazzling lights of Heaven Dou City below. The usually composed prince's face was now icy and unyielding. His mind wandered back to the confrontation he'd witnessed earlier between Ning Fengzhi and Emperor Xue Ye.

"Dai Yao must mean so much to Ning Fengzhi that he'd even risk offending the empire itself to keep him safe. If Emperor Xue Ye hadn't agreed, Ning Fengzhi's determination might even have led him to consider breaking with the empire," he mused, sipping his wine thoughtfully.

Just then, a low, sultry voice spoke up from the shadows.

"Well, still wearing that hideous disguise, are you? What a shame."

He heard the click of heels behind him but didn't turn around. The next moment, he felt himself enveloped in an oddly warm embrace as a slender, elegant finger traced his jaw. A woman with a bewitching smile appeared beside him.

She had a lithe, graceful figure, draped in a sleek black gown that accentuated every curve with seductive flair. Her hair was a stark white, her lips a burning crimson, and her dark, compelling gaze seemed to draw out the very soul of anyone who looked into it. Her appearance was made even more alluring by the three pairs of jet-black wings fanned out behind her—a vision of darkness personified.

Unfazed, Xue Qinghe remained cold and expressionless, merely casting a sideways glance at her stunning face before shifting his gaze back to the window. His voice was icy. "Leave."

Rather than obey, the dark-winged woman laughed softly. She leaned back against the windowsill, a few black feathers drifting to the floor, and gazed at him with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Oh, we are one and the same, after all. Why the hostility?"

Xue Qinghe's face remained stone-cold as he replied, his voice sharp as steel. "Stop using my face to act so wantonly—it's revolting."

The woman chuckled, examining her alluring form with satisfaction.

"This face belongs to me as much as it does to you," she said, her black hair billowing in the night wind.

They locked eyes, and she arched an eyebrow as if relishing in the taunt. "We're both unwanted children, you know. You work tirelessly to gain others' approval, to earn your grandfather's approval, and—" she smiled slyly, "even her love."

She let out a delicate sigh. "Here you are, wasting your youth locked up in this palace, growing old, while no one gives you a second thought." She looked at her glossy black nails and laughed. "But me? I don't need any of that."

"Who says we're born to be loved?" she continued, her voice dripping with disdain. "Without those silly chains of affection, I'm all the stronger for it."

Xue Qinghe sneered, his voice as frigid as the night air.

"Strength without control only leads to ruin. I would rather forgo power than descend to that level."

"Clearly," he continued, "you'll never understand my resolve. My father is gone, and the angel's divine light now rests upon me. I bear the burden of my grandfather's expectations and will spread the radiance of our clan's light across the continent."

At this, the dark-winged woman burst out laughing, her lilting voice thick with sarcasm.

"Do you believe your own words?" she teased. "Why do you think I even exist? Wasn't it you, abandoned and weeping day and night, slowly devoured by the dark emptiness that created me?"

"I remember you crying," she whispered with relish. "Begging for her to hold you, but she refused without a second thought. That forlorn, tear-streaked face of yours is still so clear in my memory."

"Enough!" Xue Qinghe roared, his body suddenly glowing with a blinding golden light. He lunged, sword drawn, stopping its gleaming tip just shy of her pale neck. His form shifted as he landed, the sound of heels clicking on the ground as a new figure emerged—now exuding a holy, ethereal presence.

Two figures stood face-to-face, identical in beauty yet opposite in essence: one an embodiment of radiant light, the other a creature of shadows. They looked as if they could be twin sisters.

The holy Qian Renxue glared at her darker self, her voice thick with warning. "Never, ever mention her to me again! She and I have no connection whatsoever!"

The dark Qian Renxue chuckled wickedly.

"Funny," she cooed, "I thought you'd try to convince yourself she had no choice but to leave you." She raised a brow at the icy blade hovering near her neck and fell silent.

The stillness was suffocating. After a long pause, Qian Renxue retracted her sword, and the dark-winged woman's smile returned. She sauntered up behind Qian Renxue, resting her chin on her shoulder.

"You're unusually tense today," she murmured. "Are you still bothered by those two young men from earlier?"

"Think what you will."

Her dark half continued, her voice thick with mischief. "One is from the Haotian Clan, untouchable. The other, a free spirit, has outright rejected you. Yes, that must sting a bit."

Seeing Qian Renxue remain silent, she pressed on. "Oh, I understand. You're intrigued by Dai Yao, aren't you? Yet he rejected you so unflinchingly. Don't tell me you really believe his loyalty is that unwavering?"

She laughed softly. "To me, it was all just an act."

Qian Renxue's expression hardened, and she cast a dismissive glance over her shoulder.

"Of course, someone like you could never understand true honor. Dai Yao's talent, coupled with his integrity—it's admirable. Even I wish I could recruit him to my side."

The dark Qian Renxue smirked, clearly unconvinced.

"Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?" Her form began to fade, leaving only her taunting voice behind. "Since you don't believe me, let's watch how it all plays out."

(End of Chapter)

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