35: The Crimson Pavilion Invitation
The early light of dawn slipped through the windows of Lin Tian's quarters, warming the wood-paneled walls and casting long, golden stripes across the floor. Birds chirped in the gardens below, and a distant flute melody floated on the breeze — yet Lin Tian remained motionless, sitting cross-legged atop a stone meditation platform.
Eyes closed. Breathing steady.
But he wasn't meditating.
He was waiting.
Then, at the stroke of the seventh hour, a quiet pulse of spiritual energy knocked gently at the edge of his senses.
A message talisman.
He opened his eyes slowly.
The talisman drifted through his open window like a falling leaf. It hovered in front of him — a small slip of golden silk parchment folded into the shape of a phoenix.
He caught it between two fingers.
The moment he did, it unfurled mid-air and a single line of elegant calligraphy shimmered into existence:
"The Crimson Pavilion. Come alone. – Yuyan."
There was no title. No honorific. Just her name.
Jiang Yuyan.
She had made her move.
Lin Tian stood, stretching his limbs. He felt no urgency. Only a slow-burning anticipation.
The former Sect Mistress had watched, waited, tested. And now, with the balance shifting and her rivals stirring, she had finally decided to act.
"Let's see what you're hiding behind that smile," Lin Tian murmured, and walked out the door.
Crimson Pavilion – The Forbidden Peak
Built at the very edge of Azure Moon Sect's highest territory, the Crimson Pavilion was more legend than landmark. It was said that only those deemed worthy by Jiang Yuyan herself had ever stepped inside.
No disciple had dared go near it.
No elder had returned with stories.
Lin Tian arrived at the base of the narrow path just before midday. The climb to the pavilion was steep, winding along cliff edges and bridges strung between craggy peaks, flanked by crimson banners and old stone lanterns.
He ascended slowly, not out of caution, but because he could feel something more than wind along this path.
Tests.
Small, almost imperceptible formations veiled in the natural terrain — emotional pressure arrays, intent resonance echoes, and illusionary constructs that probed his thoughts.
They weren't designed to stop him. Just to see him.
He passed them all with ease.
By the time he reached the wide stone landing before the Crimson Pavilion's gates, he had already sensed her presence waiting inside.
And she was alone.
The double doors opened silently as he approached, revealing a large, circular interior space lined with scarlet silk curtains, a polished marble floor etched with phoenix imagery, and a raised dais at the far end where a single, graceful figure sat.
Jiang Yuyan.
She was dressed in a violet gown laced with silver threads that caught the light and shimmered with every breath. Her long hair was tied back in an elaborate braid, and her bearing was relaxed — regal without trying.
Lin Tian stepped inside, and the doors shut quietly behind him.
"You came," she said.
"I always honor invitations from women who send phoenix-shaped summons," Lin Tian replied.
She smiled faintly. "Still as quick with words."
He walked to the center of the room and stopped just before the dais, where she remained seated, legs crossed on a velvet cushion.
"So," he said, voice calm, "you've seen enough from afar?"
"I've seen enough to know you're dangerous," she replied.
"And yet, here I am. Alone. In your private domain."
"That's because I'm dangerous, too."
Lin Tian met her gaze without flinching. "Then why invite me?"
Jiang Yuyan raised a slender brow.
"Because I'm tired of watching others act," she said. "Su Meiyu has already made her move. Yue Qingyan is trying, failing, and pretending she's not. But me? I don't pretend."
She stood slowly, descending the dais one silent step at a time.
"I wanted to see for myself if what I've heard… is real."
Lin Tian tilted his head slightly. "And how will you do that?"
Jiang Yuyan reached into her sleeve and produced a small crystal orb. It shimmered with a soft pink light.
"This is a resonance orb," she said. "It reveals emotional truth."
Lin Tian's eyes flickered, amused.
"Testing my feelings now?"
"No," she replied, stepping close. "Testing mine."
She placed the orb between them. "It will glow brighter the more I feel. If I feel nothing, it remains dim. If what I feel is dangerous… overwhelming… it will react."
Lin Tian stared at the orb, then at her.
"And what are you hoping to see?"
Jiang Yuyan gave him a look that wasn't cold or distant — it was curious, open, and just a little dangerous.
"I don't know. That's why I'm here."
Lin Tian didn't move as she reached forward, fingers gently grazing his collar as she leaned in closer. The orb floated between them, slowly pulsing.
"Let's begin," she whispered.
Her hand rose to his chest — flat against the fabric of his robe, just above his heart.
Silence.
Then—
The orb brightened.
Slightly.
Jiang Yuyan's eyes narrowed. She moved her hand higher — fingers brushing his neck.
The orb pulsed again. Brighter.
Still, she didn't speak.
She reached up, fingers sliding into his hair, pulling his face just a fraction closer.
The orb glowed brighter.
Lin Tian's smile returned. "Looks like the great phoenix isn't immune after all."
"I didn't say I was," she murmured. "But I needed to see if it was real… or just a trick."
"And?"
The orb flared, bright pink and vivid — then cracked, a thin fracture running across its center before it flickered and dimmed.
Jiang Yuyan pulled her hand back slowly, expression unreadable.
"Well," she said. "That answers that."
Lin Tian exhaled softly. "You break your own test. That's new."
"I didn't expect it to shatter," she admitted, her tone quiet.
He stepped back slightly, giving her space. "So… what now?"
Jiang Yuyan walked past him, gazing out the narrow window overlooking the sect below.
"Now I stop pretending to be above it all."
She turned her head just enough to glance at him over her shoulder.
"I won't chase you like Su Meiyu. I won't resist like Yue Qingyan."
Her voice turned softer.
"But I'll stand in your way… and if you reach for me, I won't move aside."
She faced him fully now.
"Prove you're worth standing beside."
Then — like wind — she stepped away, and the doors behind him opened once more.
The meeting was over.
But the game had changed.
Meanwhile – Sect Mistress Yue Qingyan's Quarters
Yue Qingyan stood by her window, watching the sky.
She had felt the spike of spiritual energy near the Crimson Pavilion.
Jiang Yuyan had summoned him.
The reality burned like ice in her chest.
She turned from the window and called for her attendant.
"Prepare the inner sanctum," she said.
"Are you expecting visitors, Sect Mistress?" the attendant asked carefully.
Yue Qingyan didn't answer.
She was done hesitating.
If she waited any longer… she would lose something she could never regain.
Elsewhere – Su Meiyu's Private Garden
Su Meiyu traced her finger across the surface of her wine glass, eyes narrowed.
She too had sensed the energy burst from the Crimson Pavilion.
Her smile turned cold.
"So she's moving now…"
She stood slowly, her tails twitching once.
"Good."
She reached for a talisman scroll hidden beneath her wine table, unrolled it, and began to inscribe a name.
Not Lin Tian's.
But someone else's.
A rival elder.
Her plan was simple: distraction.
If Jiang Yuyan wanted to test Lin Tian's emotional depth, Su Meiyu would test his instincts.
She wouldn't lose ground to anyone — not the Ice Queen, not the Crimson Phoenix.
End of Chapter 35