Transcendent

Chapter V: Revelation

***A/N: !!! WARNING !!! This chapter is NSFW.
Without spoilering anything, one of the two was not aware of what they were doing.

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A pair of lesser demons stood guard side by side before a large residence in the Nightless City. The main gate was adorned with a sun crest at the top, and so did the exterior and interior of the building itself. The house was spacious, with several living quarters for its inhabitants and a well-tended garden filled mostly with medicinal herbs of all kinds.

Obviously, such a place could only be the house of a noble family, closely related to the main line of the Qishan Wen Clan, or even a relative to Wen Ruohan himself.

Wen Ning flew across the sky of Qishan, overlooking the city below. With a mist of shadows enshrouding his body, the black hawk took a roundabout way, landing in a small forest not far from the residence instead of coming right through the front door. He transformed into a more human-like form, save for the pair of black wings in what should be the place for his ears. Peeking through the thick bushes, he watched as the two guards at the main gate were scanning their surroundings before carefully sneaking away, circling the side of the house towards the smaller, less conspicuous back gate.

The young hawk demon was a quiet one by nature and for some reason had been someone who did not attract much attention since he was a child. At the moment, those traits came to his advantage as he easily snuck into the house, slipping past the wandering servants towards his own quarter. Nobody realized that he had entered the house, and his considerably tall figure did not become a setback to his stealth.

Or at least that was what he thought initially.

"A-Ning."

The black hawk stopped at once as if frozen in place; his already pale complexion, for a brief moment, looked even whiter as though blood had been drained out of his face. He visibly gulped. Like a child caught in the middle of committing mischief, he hung his head and timidly turned towards the person who called him.

"...J-Jiejie..."

A female demon, a black hawk just like he was, but with a smaller figure. Her black hair tied into a ponytail, she was a lovely and graceful woman, yet at the same time radiating both intelligence and authority that made others couldn't help but respect her. She was dressed in the Qishan Wen Clan's formal attire, adorned with the very same sun crest as ones decorating their residence. With her eyes sharp, she took a few steps forward, approaching the nervous young hawk fidgeting before her.

"Where have you been?" Wen Qing asked her younger brother, and Wen Ning instantly stuttered.

"J-Just outside..." he replied, barely having the courage to face her.

"I know you've been outside. You just came in through the back gate," she said calmly, but the tone of her voice was freezing cold, piercing like icicles, "Where did you go this time?"

"J-Jiejie... You're back early," knowing very well that he had no means to escape, Wen Ning hung his head even lower, squeezing his fingers while alternating between looking at his sister and the floor, "You said you will be staying at the palace until tomorrow."

"I did, but I finished early. If there is a chance I could spare my eyes and ears from that person's obnoxious pair of sons, why wouldn't I take it?" replied the female hawk again, "And had I not returned today, who knows what other reckless misdeed would you have done?"

Letting out a scoff, Wen Qing shook her head and turned on her heels, heading into her brother's quarter that Wen Ning was just about to enter before being discovered by her. The young hawk quietly followed his sister. It was only after the door had been shut tight that she continued her scolding.