Seizing the Dagger, Leng Qingqiu Realizes Gu Yan's Identity

Mei Xue held Gu Yan's decoy body, unable to look at her former master, yet bound by the script.

She had to say, "Leng Qingqiu, you are no longer fit to lead us."

As she spoke, Mei Xue tightened her grip around the decoy Gu Yan's neck. "This man has influenced you, made you weak and pathetic."

"Look at yourself—your Power of Night is fading. You can’t even wield the dagger anymore!"

"Wait!"

Watching Gu Yan groan in pain as his neck was squeezed, Leng Qingqiu’s composure shattered.

Her usual calm gave way to visible panic.

She turned desperately to the impostor Night King. "Let Gu Yan go! This is between you and me!"

Yet her plea only drew mocking laughter. "What? Has a man reduced the mighty Night King to this state?"

"Do you... still deserve to be called the Night King?"

"N-no, that’s not..."

Leng Qingqiu clenched her dagger, glancing between Gu Yan and the impostor. "What do you want?"

"Release Gu Yan first... He’s just an ordinary person. Don’t drag the innocent into this."

Her voice trembled. She couldn’t understand how things had spiraled so far.

Her Power of Night vanishing, her subordinates betraying her.

Gu Yan captured, and no way to turn the tide.

Even... Xiao Leng in her mind had gone silent.

"Innocent? Since when does the Night King care about such things?"

The impostor sheathed his claw-like dagger and strode toward her. "Look at the blade in your hand. It mourns for you."

"Your weakness has severed its allegiance to you."

The outcome was sealed. The moment Leng Qingqiu faltered over Gu Yan, she had lost all right to the title of Night King.

Her fingers tightened around the dagger—then loosened.

The impostor was right.

No matter how she denied it, her inability to summon the dagger’s power was undeniable.

Then, Gu Yan stepped forward, extending his hand.

Though reluctant, he spoke the scripted words: "Leng Qingqiu, you’re no longer suited to be the Night King. Accept this truth."

"Give me the dagger, and I’ll ensure the one you love leaves unharmed."

"But in exchange, you’ll live as an ordinary woman for the rest of your life."

"Choose: watch Gu Yan die before you, or renounce your title as Night King?"

The impostor’s words stabbed at Leng Qingqiu’s ears.

Her breath quickened; her heart pounded like war drums.

Normally, she’d analyze such an offer—but now, only one thought consumed her:

Gu Yan... will die?

No. She couldn’t let that happen.

But... surrender the dagger?

Abandoning the Power of Night meant abandoning her vengeance.

Without revenge, what purpose did her life hold?

Yet... if she refused, Gu Yan would die. She no longer had the strength to control the dagger and change this fate.

Mei Xue’s techniques could teleport Gu Yan away in an instant—and what came after, she dared not imagine.

Leng Qingqiu’s heart was a sail torn by a storm. Handing over the dagger meant losing her vengeance.

But keeping it meant losing the one she loved—the tether she could never sever.

What should she do? What could she do?

Agony gnawed at her bones, ravaging her heart.

In that moment, she felt cast into endless darkness—no direction, no light.

She closed her eyes, searching for even a glimmer of clarity in the abyss.

But there was none. No escape.

Relinquish the dagger, or abandon Gu Yan?

Power or love—which mattered more?

Once, power would have been her answer.

But now...

Power could be regained. Gu Yan... could not.

"I... understand."

Her voice was hoarse, her hand unsteady.

The dagger’s dim glow flickered in her palm.

After a long silence, Leng Qingqiu lowered her head and placed the Night Dagger into the impostor’s waiting hand.

In an instant—

The bond between her and the dagger shattered.

Yet the expected scene—the impostor consumed by the dagger’s power—never came.

The blade rested harmlessly in his grasp, showing no resistance.

This meant...

The dagger had acknowledged the impostor as its new master.

The realization made Leng Qingqiu’s fists clench.

But suddenly—

As if by telepathy, a wave of sorrow suddenly surged within Leng Qingqiu’s heart.

This was... Gu Yan’s emotions?

She opened her eyes and looked down at the faintly shifting life essence of the imposter at her feet.

Leng Qingqiu realized that she seemed...

to have sensed a certain familiar life essence once again on the imposter Night King.

She raised her head and turned her gaze toward the ‘Gu Yan’ whose neck was gripped by Mei Xue.

His life essence was dull and dim...

completely unlike the radiant life essence Gu Yan usually possessed.

Leng Qingqiu’s heart froze in that instant.

Meanwhile, Gu Yan had already stored the dagger in his system space.

He looked at the silent Leng Qingqiu, his expression growing increasingly complicated.

A soft sigh escaped his thoughts.

He said nothing, made no sound, only slightly raised his hand.

Buzz!

The surroundings shifted, and the figures of Gu Yan and Mei Xue vanished.

......

......

The scene transition completed.

Leng Qingqiu found herself back in the Leng Family study.

But in contrast, she discovered she had lost the ability to see the [Threads].

Leng Qingqiu remained silent.

Suddenly, she detected a familiar presence.

“This is... perception?”

“Gu Yan’s aura...”

She murmured to herself, touching her eyes—she still couldn’t see like a normal person.

But her perception hadn’t disappeared?

She had only lost the Power of Night, yet her perception remained?

And...

Leng Qingqiu stood up and chased in the direction of the familiar presence she sensed.

She ran fast, her perception now sharper, broader, and clearer than ever before.

She dashed out of the house, sprinting toward a certain destination.

With the Power of Night gone, her Night King physique had also faded.

“Hah... hah...”

Within moments, she was panting like an ordinary person.

Finally, at a street corner,

she saw it—the familiar, radiant life essence.

Her perception hadn’t vanished even after the dagger disappeared.

And at the same time, upon seeing this life essence before her,

Leng Qingqiu seemed to... realize something.

Gu Yan clutched his head, leaning against a car.

His expression was deeply troubled. “Qingqiu, I just now seemed to...”

Before he could finish,

Leng Qingqiu threw herself at him, clinging tightly to his body.

She shut her eyes, unwilling to think, unwilling to speak.

Her voice trembled. “...Gu Yan...”

“I don’t... need anything anymore...”

“I just... beg you not to leave me...”

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

She slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes.

Staring at the man she trusted most, she finally broke into sobs. “Promise me, Gu Yan. Don’t leave me.”

“......”

All the words Gu Yan had prepared dissolved in an instant.

At that moment, he felt like a scoundrel who deserved to die a thousand deaths.

Lies upon lies, deception upon deception—taking the Night King’s dagger was no different from stealing Leng Qingqiu’s path of vengeance.

He was utterly despicable... Was this the pain of deceiving Qingqiu?

Gu Yan clenched his fists.

He wrapped his arms around her, his expression equally conflicted. “I promise you.”

And with that response,

Leng Qingqiu buried her face in his chest,

weeping silently.

She didn’t want to think, didn’t want to reason, didn’t care about anything anymore.

Because...

just moments ago, she had discovered a truth that filled her with despair—

The life essence she sensed on the imposter Night King...

and the one she sensed on Gu Yan...

were one and the same.

The imposter Night King... was Gu Yan.

The realization stole the breath from her lungs.

What pained her even more was that, despite knowing the truth...

she still... couldn’t bring herself to hate him.

Leng Qingqiu clutched the fabric of Gu Yan’s clothes, breathing in his familiar scent.

Her heart felt as though it were shattering.

The one who stole my power of vengeance... was Gu Yan all along...

What do I do...

What... do I do now...