C33 The Strange Music

This was deep in the mountains. Ethan couldn’t understand why this place felt so familiar. He stared at the small thatched hut on the mountain top, surrounded by green bamboo, birds circling above his head. A spring flowed beside the hut.

Where was this place? He rubbed his head, confused.

“This is your home,” a voice behind him said. “The place you lived with your master.”

It was Zhao Fan.

“How do you know? How did I get here? What did I do? I thought I was having a nightmare… I dreamed I killed people.” Ethan was fully awake now, but he remembered nothing of his rampage.

“It wasn’t a dream. Everything was real. You are no longer fully human.” Zhao Fan’s voice was low and sorrowful. “The poison of the Dragon Pearl has fully awakened inside you.”

Ethan laughed bitterly. “Being a monster isn’t so bad. I’m tired of being human—all the lies, the fake kindness, the betrayal. The wild is honest: kill or be killed. Human beings are just beasts wearing masks. I don’t care if the whole world rejects me. I lived as a man without hiding behind fake decency. Now I can be a true beast and see this so-called civilization from the outside.”

His mind was clearer than ever. Lost in the world of puppets and politics, he had forgotten himself. Becoming a monster felt like freedom.

“Don’t give up,” Zhao Fan said softly, her eyes wet. “This is just the Dragon Qi, Tiger Soul Qi, and the Dragon Pearl clashing inside you. There must be a way to reverse it.”

“You don’t have to care about me. We have no real connection. Your mission is already ruined.”

“We do have a connection! I won’t let you give up! I’ll stay with you until you become human again!” Zhao Fan’s voice trembled. “I’m still your 24‑hour assistant, aren’t I?”

“An assistant who’s also my captor? The Dragon Clan will hunt me down. If your job isn’t to arrest me, you should leave. I’m bad luck. Everyone close to me gets hurt.”

“I would never arrest you!” Zhao Fan cried, tears finally falling. “You’re the only family I have in this world.”

Ethan stared. “Family? We met only days ago!”

“It’s true. This hut was your master’s home. It was also my grandfather’s home.”

Zhao Fan took a deep breath and let out a long, painful sigh.

“I should call you Uncle. Your master had three disciples. You were his only true apprentice. I am the daughter of his youngest son.”

Ethan’s mind reeled.

“I’m your grandfather’s granddaughter. I spent my childhood here.” Pain crossed her face. “But he never loved me. He looked at me like I was his enemy. Later, I learned why: I am not just his granddaughter. I am the daughter of his greatest foe.

From another life… I am your elder martial sister.”

Her smile was bitter. “Our relationship is messy beyond belief.”

Everything clicked into place. The Tiger Taoist’s prophecy had come true. Even at 200 years old, his daughter was tied to Ethan’s fate. No matter how hard he ran, destiny pulled him back.

“My real name is Li Fei. My father was the Tiger Taoist. You are formally his disciple.” Li Fei’s voice shook. “I carry both Dragon and Tiger blood. That is why I can stand your power.”

Ethan now understood the bond between them. Their lives were twisted together across generations.

He felt a chill. The Tiger Taoist was dead, but his shadow still controlled Ethan’s life.

“What do I call you now?” Ethan muttered.

“Call me Li Fei. And call me Elder Sister. The old grudges die with the past.” She tried to smile. “Do you still want to be a wild beast? I don’t think I can handle having a monster in the family.”

“Of course I don’t! You think I choose this? Even a beggar wants hair, not baldness!” Ethan groaned.

Li Fei laughed through her tears. “At least you still have enough hair to be a Taoist.”

They began to talk about finding a cure.

Then Li Fei suddenly froze.

“Do you hear that? Music?”

Ethan listened. Faint, distant flute notes drifted on the wind.

“I don’t hear anything—wait… yes! That strange music!”

The melody was soft, but hypnotic. It made his heart race, his mind blur. It stirred primal, ancient desires deep within him.

Ethan’s scales heated up. His eyes blazed blue. He tore off his tattered clothes, overcome by feral rage.

Li Fei was also affected. She began to dance, her clothes falling away one by one. She was lost in the music’s spell.

When the music stopped, the bamboo grove fell silent.

Ethan woke up naked, his mind foggy. Li Fei lay not far away, also uncovered, still unconscious.

On the grass, faint spots of bright red.

His blood turned cold.

What had they done?

He carried Li Fei into the hut, dressed her in his master’s old Taoist robe, and covered her with a dusty quilt. He dared not imagine the truth.

Li Fei woke moments later, wrapped in the robe. She said nothing, just stared at him, her face bright red.

Ethan cleared his throat. “That… was some song.”

Li Fei nodded, her cheeks flaming. “Strange music.”

In that moment, Ethan made a decision.

“I’ve never had a real home. I want this life to mean something. Will you stay here with me? Forever?”

He looked at the faint blood on the grass. A real man didn’t run from responsibility. Especially not with someone he already cared for.

Li Fei’s eyes widened. “You don’t have to take responsibility. I’m over 200 years old. It was the music. We can forget this ever happened.”

“I mean it,” Ethan said firmly. “I’ve never felt peace until I met you. Dana was from a different world—she could never understand this life. But you do. I’m afraid when you’re gone, and restless when you’re near. I don’t know if that’s love, but I know it’s real. You’ve been alone for two centuries. Fate brought us together. I’m thankful for that music.”

Li Fei’s lips trembled.

“You really mean this?”

Ethan dropped to one knee.

“I have never knelt to heaven, earth, or even my master. I’ve knelt for only one woman: Dana, out of guilt. I swore I’d never kneel again… except to ask the woman I love to marry me.

I’m kneeling now. I’ll wait here forever until you say yes.”

Li Fei panicked. “Get up! A wedding needs parents, a matchmaker, tradition—”

“So that’s a yes!”

Ethan leaped to his feet, grinning.

Li Fei stared, then laughed despite herself. “You’re impossible!”

“You’re 200 years old and still act like a girl. I’m a half-monster. Our wedding will be the craziest one in history!”

Li Fei’s smile suddenly froze. She stared at his face.

“Wait… your scales. They’re gone!”

Ethan touched his skin. Smooth. Human.

“I found the cure!” Li Fei gasped. “I’m the Saintess of the Dragon Clan—my power is pure Yin. But I’m also the Tiger Taoist’s daughter, so I share the same Tiger Soul Qi as you.

Your body is pure Yang, raging out of control. The Dragon Pearl forced you into a monster. But my Yin balances your Yang. Our… union… calmed the storm inside you.”

Ethan blinked. “We already ‘balanced’ once?”

Li Fei blushed so deeply she could barely speak.

Ethan threw back his head and laughed.

The flute music started again, softer this time, filled with warmth.

This time, they danced together—not in madness, but in tenderness.

They didn’t care who was playing. Whoever it was, they owed a life debt.

When the music ended, they held each other in the quiet bamboo grove.

“Let’s stay here,” Li Fei whispered. “Let’s leave the clans, the war, the Pearl, everything behind.”

Ethan kissed her forehead.

“Tomorrow, we’ll have a real wedding. Old‑style. Heaven and earth as witnesses. No politicians. No monsters. Just us.”

Li Fei smiled through happy tears.

“Let’s clean up your master’s house. Maybe he left books about the Dragon Pearl. If we understand it, we can cure you completely.”

Ethan nodded.

Inside the hut, Li Fei worked miracles. In minutes, every surface was spotless. She even washed and dried the quilts in record time, using her power to heat the air.

Ethan gaped. “You just used Dragon Qi to do laundry?”

“Waste not, want not,” Li Fei sniffed.

He hunted in the woods and returned with two pheasants and wild vegetables. His senses were still sharper than a normal human’s—one benefit of being a monster.

Li Fei had transformed the hut. It felt like a real home.

While she cooked, Ethan searched for his master’s hidden books. He remembered his master guarding old scrolls, refusing to let Ethan touch them.

But he found nothing.

When dinner was ready, they sat at a three‑legged table and ate.

It was the best meal Ethan had ever tasted.

He looked at Li Fei, at the quiet mountains, at the peaceful hut.

For the first time in his life, he understood:

Plain living is true happiness.

Mayor, millionaire, hero, monster—none of it mattered.

This was home.

“Let’s get married tomorrow,” Ethan said softly. “No clans. No missions. Just you and me.”

Li Fei smiled, her eyes bright.

“Yes. Forever.”