She avoided Xiao Xun's gaze, lowered her head, and looked at her fingers, which were twisted white: "I only know... you can't die. Qi Huaiyu... he has to pay the price." This was the only part she could clearly express.

Xiao Xun didn't press further. He simply gazed at her, at her lowered, slightly trembling eyelashes, at the faint blush on her pale face caused by excitement. In the dim light, his expression was shrouded in shadow, indistinct. Silence fell once more in the warm pavilion, but this time, the silence was no longer cold; instead, it carried a strange, unsettling tension.

After a long silence, Xiao Xun finally spoke, his voice low and slow, carrying the weakness of someone recovering from a serious illness, yet each word was clear, as if stating an eternal truth:

"Xin Jiuwei, remember this."

"From this day forward, your life belongs to me."

"My life... is also yours."

"This has nothing to do with the contract."

His gaze was as sharp as ever, yet something seemed to have completely melted away the layer of ice, revealing a rock beneath that had never been seen before, radiating a scorching heat: "We... are fellow travelers."

Fellow travelers.

They are not master and servant, not contractual partners, not one who uses and is used.

They are fellow travelers who have walked through the flames of hell, leaving scars on each other, and then helped each other crawl out. They are fellow travelers who share a deep-seated hatred for the same enemy, and also share the faint warmth of surviving a catastrophe.

These three words, like a thunderclap, exploded in Xin Jiuwei's ears! They shook her to her core! She abruptly raised her head, meeting Xiao Xun's unfathomable eyes. Gone were the usual cold calculations, gone was the condescending scrutiny; only a profound stillness, like the sea, yet seemingly burning with a silent flame. That flame reflected her figure, and also reflected his unprecedented honesty and… a certain decisiveness she dared not delve into.

The air inside the warm pavilion seemed to freeze. The last rays of the setting sun disappeared completely below the horizon, dusk settled, and the orange-red flames leaping in the charcoal brazier became the only source of light, casting flickering shadows on the two people's faces.

Xin Jiuwei's fingertips were icy cold, but her heart pounded like a drum, almost bursting out of her chest. She looked at Xiao Xun, at his still pale but sharply defined face, at the heavy, undeniable declaration in his eyes. A tremendous surge of emotion, a mixture of bewilderment, shock, disbelief, and a faint but undeniable palpitation, like a turbulent undercurrent, instantly swept away all her defenses.

She wanted to argue, to say "no," to say it was absurd. Between them, there was only a cold contract and a calculated exploitation! How could he... how could he so easily bind their lives together so heavily? Using words like "fellow travelers"... almost like an oath?

However, all the words stuck in his throat. The back of the figure standing in front of him, the antidote clutched tightly in his arms, the unfinished words "Chase Qi Huaiyu" as he fell, and the unwavering, rock-solid calm in his eyes now... all of this silently testified to the weight of those three words.

"Your Highness..." Her voice was so soft it was like a sigh, carrying a tremor she herself didn't even realize, and a hint of... vulnerability?

Xiao Xun didn't respond to her address, but simply looked at her deeply. That look seemed to contain a thousand words, yet it was also simply the purest confirmation. He slowly stood up, his movements still showing the weakness and slowness of someone recovering from a serious illness.

"Take good care of yourself." His voice returned to its usual deep and steady tone, but it seemed to have an indescribable warmth, like a stream that has just begun to melt. "Tell Youye what you need."

Having said that, he didn't linger. He turned around and, with You Ye's careful support, slowly and resolutely walked out of the warm pavilion. His dark figure blended into the deep twilight outside the door, leaving only those three words—"fellow traveler"—like a burning brand, deeply engraved in Xin Jiuwei's heart.

Silence returned to the warm chamber. The charcoal fire crackled. Xin Jiuwei remained seated, staring at the empty doorway, unable to come to her senses for a long time. The cold wind outside the window seemed distant, and the dull ache from the old wound in her heart seemed to be covered by a more unfamiliar and turbulent emotion.

Fellow travelers...

She slowly raised her hand, her fingertips unconsciously tracing her heart.

They are kindred spirits.