Cracks with a faint glow

Since that nearly open confrontation, the atmosphere in Tingxue Garden has become increasingly strange.

Jiu Che did not increase the punishment or avoid seeing Qi Yuan because of her provocation. He still came every day, sometimes to check the seal, sometimes just to stand quietly for a moment, as if inspecting a dangerous item that had been carefully stored away. He did not speak much to her, his icy eyes as calm as an ancient well, as if her words that day had not stirred up the slightest ripple.

Qi Yuan stopped trying in vain to provoke him. She began to treat her imprisonment with an almost indifferent attitude, spending her days leaning against the window, watching the thousand-year-old plum tree in the garden go from blooming profusely to becoming a lush, green canopy, as if everything outside was irrelevant to her. Only the occasional, extremely subtle restlessness that flashed across her eyes betrayed the unease in her heart.

On this day, when Jiu Che arrived, his hands were not empty; he was carrying a food box. He placed the food box on the only stone table in the room, opened it, and inside were not celestial dew or fine wine, but several exquisite yet ordinary pastries, and even a pot of steaming...ordinary tea.

"Eat." He said succinctly.

Qi Yuan glanced at it and sneered, "What does Immortal Lord mean by this? Pity? Or do you think you can humiliate me with these mortal things?"

Jiu Che ignored her sarcasm and said calmly, "Your demonic body is sealed, making you no different from a mortal. You need to eat."

It turned out to be just a necessary measure to prevent the "item" from being damaged. Qi Yuan felt a strange pang in his heart and turned his head away: "No need to trouble yourself."

Jiu Che said no more, left the food box behind, and turned to leave.

For the next few days, he brought different food each day, sometimes spiritual fruits, sometimes simple porridge and side dishes, silently placing them down before leaving. The food emitted a faint fragrance, stirring up Qi Yuan's long-forgotten instinct for "survival." After his demonic energy was sealed, hunger and cold became so real.

After he left, she finally walked to the stone table. Her fingertips touched the slightly warm bowl, and a complex, indescribable emotion welled up inside her. She picked up a piece of what looked like the most ordinary osmanthus cake and put it in her mouth. Its sweet, soft texture was a taste she had long since rejected, a taste belonging to the "human world."

She ate very little, but she did eat something eventually.

When Jiu Che came the next day, his gaze lingered for a moment on the almost untouched food box, but he still said nothing. However, when he brought food again, Qi Yuan keenly noticed that the pastries were exactly the kinds she had touched more than once the day before.

He noticed it.

This realization made Qi Yuan's heart skip a beat. She looked up at that frozen profile, trying to find a flaw, but to no avail.

Is it a coincidence? Or...?

She dared not think too deeply about it.

The days flowed by in an eerie stillness. He brought her food, which she would occasionally consume. He reinforced the seal, which she watched coldly. There was almost no conversation between them, as if they were engaged in a silent tug-of-war.

Until a sudden cold wave swept through the Azure Mist Realm.

Although Tingxue Garden was protected by an array, the bone-chilling cold still seeped in. Qi Yuan's demonic body was sealed, so she felt it especially acutely. She wrapped her thin fairy servant dress tighter around herself, sat by the window, and looked at the frozen branches and leaves outside, her lips turning pale.

When Jiu Che stepped into the room, he brought with him an even colder chill. His gaze swept over her slightly trembling shoulders, and his steps paused almost imperceptibly.

Instead of leaving immediately as usual, he walked to the warm jade array eye in the corner of the room, and with the flow of immortal power at his fingertips, he quietly raised the array that maintained the basic temperature of the room by one level.

A warm feeling slowly dispelled the chill.

Qi Yuan sensed the change and suddenly turned around to look at him.

Jiu Che had stopped and turned to walk out the door, as if he had only done a trivial thing.

"Why?" Just as he was about to step out the door, Qi Yuan finally couldn't help but ask, his voice carrying a hint of hoarseness that he himself didn't even realize.

Jiu Che stopped walking, but did not turn around.

"Shouldn't the Immortal Lord... be hoping I'd rather perish here in this ice cave?" She stared at his back, her tone sharp and probing. "With such 'care,' aren't you afraid your ruthless path will be tainted by dust?"

The sound of wind and snow could be faintly heard outside the door.

After a long while, Jiu Che's clear, cold voice finally came, as fleeting as snowflakes outside the window:

"I imprisoned you, not to torture you."

After saying that, he disappeared outside the door, leaving behind only the warmth gradually filling the room and Qi Yuan, whose mind was in complete turmoil.

Not to torture you...

But what was the purpose of that?

She stared at the door he had closed, and for the first time, she clearly heard the subtle, yet real, whispers that emanated from beneath her frozen heart...

The sound of cracks.