sleepy feather

Note: Now let's return to the timeline of the wedge.

Listening Snow Garden remains tranquil, yet it has become a magnificent cage.

All the defensive and isolation formations within the garden have been personally strengthened and reconstructed by Jiu Che. The invisible barrier, like the most resilient spider web, completely isolates the inside from the outside. This is no longer a celestial family courtyard, but a top-secret place where the Demon Lord is imprisoned.

Qi Yuan was imprisoned in the main house of the garden. Her demonic energy was completely sealed by Jiu Che using the power of the Ruthless Dao and the secret techniques of the fox clan. At this moment, she was no different from an ordinary weak woman, or even worse—the seal was constantly eroding her meridians, bringing her a needle-like, fine pain.

She sat by the window, gazing blankly at the scenery outside, so meticulously bound by rules. Her magnificent demon lord robes had long been replaced by a simple dress belonging to a celestial servant, a sight that filled her with a humiliating absurdity.

Footsteps sounded from behind, neither hurried nor slow.

She didn't turn around.

Jiu Che stopped a few steps behind her. He was still dressed in a snow-white robe, spotless, exuding the coldness and pressure of someone who had mastered the Dao of Ruthlessness, which clashed with the faint, lingering fragrance of her in the room.

"How does it feel to have your demonic energy sealed?" he asked, his voice as calm as if he were asking about the weather, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Qi Yuan chuckled, still looking out the window: "Comparable to your ruthless path, Immortal Lord, which severs emotions and desires, I imagine... the taste is even more 'wonderful'." She spoke with sarcasm, deliberately emphasizing the word "wonderful".

There was a moment of silence behind me.

"Why give up the Crystal Heart?" Jiu Che suddenly asked. This question had lingered beneath the frozen depths of his heart for a century, even after their reunion on the battlefield and his capture of her. Given the circumstances at the time, she was within his grasp.

Qi Yuan's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. Why? The palpitation and panic she felt when she turned back at the altar and saw his immortal energy dissipate surged up uncontrollably again. She clenched her palms tightly, using the pain to bring herself back to her senses.

"Why should I explain my actions to you?" She turned her head and finally looked at him, her eyes regaining the arrogance and coldness of a demon lord. "What's wrong with acting on a whim, or thinking that thing is nothing special?"

Her answer was evasive and carried her usual arrogance.

Jiu Che looked at her quietly, his icy eyes seeming to see through all pretense. "It was to save me."

It's not a question, it's a statement.

Qi Yuan's heart trembled violently, but a more sinister and sarcastic smile appeared on his face: "Save you? Immortal Lord Jiu Che, has your ruthless path gone awry and you've started to hallucinate? I wish I could extract your soul and refine it, why would I save you?"

"At that time, my immortal essence collapsed, and my life hung by a thread." Jiu Che remained calm, unaffected by her words, and stated, "You exhausted your original demonic essence to forcibly keep me alive."

"That's so I can kill you with my own hands!"

“If you wanted to kill me, you could have done it then. Why go through all this trouble?” Jiu Che’s logic was cold and clear. “You abandoned Liuli Xin, turned around to save me, exposed your identity, and fled in panic. This is not the usual style of Demon Lord Qi Yuan.”

Every word he spoke was like a hammer blow, striking at her carefully constructed defenses. Qi Yuan abruptly stood up, staggering slightly from the seal on her demonic energy and the sudden movement, her eyes piercing him with sharp, knife-like glares: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Jiu Che took a step forward, closing the distance between them instantly. He looked down at her, and for the first time, her pale, angry face was clearly reflected in his icy eyes.

“I’m very curious,” he said in a low voice, with a hint of cold inquiry, “what could have made the ruthless Demon Lord make such an… irrational choice?”

His approach carried an invisible pressure, and his familiar, cool scent rushed towards her, making Qi Yuan's breath catch in her throat. She forced herself to look directly into his cold eyes, trying to find a trace of the past, but only saw a deep, indifferent chill.

"Curious?" She suppressed the turmoil in her heart, her red lips curving into a provocative smile. She even moved closer, almost feeling the coolness of his breath. "Didn't the Immortal Lord cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness, severing all emotions and desires? How could you still feel 'curiosity' about the past, about the motives of 'old friends'?"

Her gaze swept across his cold face, finally settling on his pale lips, carrying a blatant scrutiny and mockery.

"Or perhaps..."

"Immortal Lord, you are a heartless sage!"

"It's not as you portray it..."

"unbreakable?"

The moment the words left his mouth, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Jiu Che's aura seemed to freeze for a moment, and in the deepest recesses of his icy eyes, something seemed to crack slightly. But soon, it returned to its unchanging, ancient coldness.

He did not back down, nor did he get angry. He simply looked at her face, which was so close to his, and remained silent, her expression both provocative and tentative.

A silent standoff spread between the two.

At this moment, the identities of hunter and prey seem to become blurred.

But this time, who is actually trapped?