Exclusivity
Yunwei raised her hand, placed her palm against his chest, and pushed him away a little distance with a slight force.
She frowned, raised her hand to touch the side of her neck, and her fingertips touched the slightly indented teeth marks. The tingling pain was mixed with a warm, damp sensation, indicating that the skin had been broken.
Her brows furrowed even more, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes as she looked at the boy leaning against the wall.
He actually bit her?
Xie Lanchen leaned against the cold wall, his cobalt blue eyes filled with a drunken haze.
Seeing her fingertips lightly touch the side of her neck, where a clear red mark had appeared on the skin, and even faintly seeped blood, the boy's pupils shrank suddenly. His drunkenness seemed to be instantly dispelled by this glaring mark, leaving only a blank and bewildered state, followed by a surge of panic.
He instinctively reached out to touch the wound, as if to confirm it or to comfort her, but afraid of hurting her again. His fingertips froze in mid-air, and after a long while, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Does it hurt?"
"It's alright." Yun Wei's tone was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger. "But you, are you sober now?"
The boy abruptly turned his face away, his voice muffled: "...Why don't you scold me?" He clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. "Or do you feel that even scolding me is superfluous?"
Yunwei did not understand.
What kind of logic is this?
She never did anything pointless; knowing he was drunk and out of control, why bother arguing?
"Why would I scold you? You're drunk. You're talking nonsense when you're drunk, and you probably won't remember it when you sober up." She paused, her gaze calm as she looked into his evasive eyes. "Xie Lanchen, I've never thought you were useless, nor have I ever thought of using someone else to get rid of you. The bond of life is a fact, and the fact that our fates are intertwined is also a fact."
She added, “If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have formed a pact with you in the first place. The path to revenge is difficult, and I need you, not because of the bond of life and death, but because you are Xie Lanchen… the only one who knows all my past and is willing to stand by my side.”
The boy's expression froze, and his back, which had been leaning against the wall, instantly stiffened. His cobalt blue eyes were fixed on her, trying to find any trace of hypocrisy or perfunctoriness on her face, but he only saw frankness and earnestness.
She needs him, simply because he is him?
"That sounds nice." His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice still low and hoarse, but less sharp, filled with suppressed emotions that were about to burst forth. "You need me? Then why don't you discuss things with me, instead listening to Ning Xihe? Do you know that I..." He paused, the rest of his words stuck in his throat, unable to come out.
"You overheard my conversation with her?" She suddenly realized that this was why the boy was behaving so strangely.
Is his concern stemming from fear of being excluded? Or... is there another reason?
She explained, "Senior Sister Ning just wanted to remind me that the Sect Master is secretly plotting to expose my disguise. It doesn't mean I don't trust you." Looking directly into the young man's eyes, her tone was solemn, "Precisely because I trust you, I don't want you to take any risks because of me."
"Taking risks?" Xie Lanchen couldn't help but scoff. "I'm willing to take risks for you, why should you say 'unwilling'? Yunwei, why can't you just tell me what's wrong? Why do you have to take matters into your own hands and bear the consequences alone?"
Yunwei gazed at him for a moment, then suddenly said, "Alright. It's settled today. From now on, you must speak frankly about anything and not hide anything. If you have any doubts, come and ask me. You must not speculate on your own, and you must not..." She lowered her eyes, and the bite mark on her neck sent a slight stinging pain with the movement, "...Continuing to drink so much will harm your health."
These words stunned the boy completely. After a moment of silence, he gave a soft "hmm" in response.
Yunwei didn't press him, but instead asked, "Why did you come here?" This old residence had been abandoned for a long time, sealing away the past that she had deliberately let go of. His appearance here was really strange.
Xie Lanchen's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. His gaze swept over the familiar, old-fashioned furnishings in the room, and his voice was muffled, tinged with a hint of defiance: "...I don't want to talk about it."
He would naturally not admit that he had come here subconsciously because he saw her chatting happily with Ning Xihe and was filled with resentment and jealousy.
Yunwei looked at him like this and felt helpless.
We just agreed that he would speak frankly from now on, but he's still acting so awkwardly.
Forget it, since he's unwilling to talk about it, there's no point in pressing him. The boy cares so much about Ning Xihe simply because he's afraid of being replaced by her.
She followed his gaze and looked around the room. The furnishings were the same, but everything had changed.
All that has happened in the past is but a prologue. Now she returns, solely to uncover the truth and avenge herself.
Yunwei stopped looking and got up to walk to the dusty bronze mirror in the corner, wanting to see how bad the wound on her neck was. The mirror was blurry, and the image reflected was not very clear, but she didn't care. Just as she raised her hand to rub the painful teeth marks with her fingertips, a hand with distinct knuckles reached out from behind and grabbed her wrist.
"Stop looking." Xie Lanchen's voice came from behind him, hoarse from drinking, but also a bit more sober.
Through the blurry mirror, Yunwei glimpsed Xie Lanchen standing behind her.
His eyes were no longer as hazy as before; now they were half-closed, cold and aggressive.
"Xie Lanchen?"
The boy didn't say much, but simply raised his hand to untie the black hair ribbon that bound his hair, letting his long, ink-black hair fall down, making his face less sharp than usual.
As the headband wrapped around her neck, his fingertips occasionally brushed against the skin on the side of her neck, causing a ticklish sensation.
His movements were still somewhat clumsy, but he was exceptionally focused. Finally, he tied a simple knot on the side, which just covered the conspicuous teeth mark.
Yunwei's body stiffened slightly.
Is he... afraid of being seen?
Amidst the subtle ripples in my mind, I sensed that his actions were becoming increasingly eccentric and unpredictable.
Ning Xihe's words echoed in my ears again: "Junior Brother Xie is stubborn and inflexible, and says one thing but means another, but he treats Senior Sister differently. Even I, an observer, can clearly see this difference."
The bond of life and death may not only connect the two people's lives, but also their increasingly entangled and complicated emotions.
After tying it, he seemed satisfied. He took a half step back, his gaze lingering for a moment on her neck where the hairband was tied. His voice was deep and somewhat forceful: "You're not allowed to take it off."
Yunwei raised her hand to touch the headband, finding it both amusing and inexplicably touching, and finally couldn't help but say, "It's a bit... tight."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lanchen seemed somewhat annoyed, then abruptly turned his face away, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth: "Yunwei, you blockhead!"
She blinked, neither confirming nor denying, and then brought up the main topic: "Ning Xihe's Five Cranes Cloud Formation was meant to remind me that the sect leader might be secretly plotting against me."
Xie Lanchen turned around and sneered, "The sect leader is used to playing dirty tricks in the shadows. Does he think that by sending a few pairs of eyes to watch you, he can find your flaws?"
“What he thinks is unimportant.” Yun Wei’s tone turned cold. “What is important is that they have become suspicious of me. So I must go to Hanpo Abyss. I need to find out the truth about my mother’s death, and also take this opportunity to see what they are really up to.”
The young man frowned: "You can't go. It's too dangerous there, and the sect leader must have set up many spies. If you go in, you'll be walking into a trap, playing right into their hands."
Yunwei shook her head: "That's precisely why we must go. If they set a trap, we'll just play along."
The Cold Soul Abyss is where her mother perished, and also the trap her father laid for her.
Xie Lanchen's concerns were not without merit, but being timid and hesitant was never her style.
If you want revenge, you must take the initiative and fight for a chance of survival in a dangerous situation.
"How can we turn the tables on them?" the boy pressed.
Yun Wei pondered for a moment, then lowered her voice: "Elder Wu is eager for me to reveal a weakness so he can get rid of me as soon as possible. If that's the case, then let's give him that opportunity and let him 'get' the result he wants."
However, he will likely have to bear the cost of this "gain" himself.
The young man understood immediately and sneered, "The chilling aura deep within the Cold Soul Abyss is malevolent, capable of corroding one's consciousness and disturbing one's mind. If Elder Wu is careless... he might be devoured by the chilling aura, or witness some 'unseeable' illusion, causing his mind to be shattered and him to fall into the abyss..."
Before he finished speaking, a very faint sound came from outside the door, like the crisp sound of a foot breaking a dry twig.
Is someone eavesdropping?
Thinking of this, Yunwei suddenly stood up, turned around and waved her sleeve, shaking open the tightly closed door.
Outside the door, a disciple of the Guiyun Sect was trying to escape in a panic, clearly not expecting to be discovered so quickly.
The moment the door opened, the young man drew his sword, and a sharp, unparalleled blue sword aura struck the man's back.
Ouch!
Amidst screams, the man's robes ripped apart on his back, revealing deep, bone-revealing wounds. He was thrown forward and crashed heavily to the ground, struggling but unable to get up.
Who was that person? How much did he hear?
Was it sent by the sect leader, or was it a spy from the other five elders?
She exchanged a glance with Xie Lanchen, then quickly walked out of the room and into the courtyard.
Yun Wei stared coldly at the figure curled up on the ground, her killing intent surging within her.
Whoever this person is, if they heard something they shouldn't have, they shouldn't be allowed to live.
Xie Lanchen stepped forward, grabbed the man by the back of his collar with his right hand, and roughly lifted him up.
The disciple's face was deathly pale, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were filled with terror.
It turned out to be Elder Wu's prized student, Zhao Ming.
"Zhao Ming?" Xie Lanchen narrowed his eyes, his tone full of danger. "What a coincidence. Elder Wu's esteemed disciple, instead of resting at his own residence in the dead of night, has come to this deserted place to eavesdrop? Did Elder Wu send you here?"
Zhao Ming winced in pain and hurriedly begged for mercy: "No! Thank you for your mercy, Senior Brother! I was just curious and happened to hear something while passing by... No! I didn't hear anything! Please spare me!" He was so frightened that he was incoherent and his body was trembling like a leaf.
The boy scoffed, his eyes cold: "You think we'd believe that? Your lie is too clumsy."
Did you overhear it by accident?
Yun Wei stepped forward slowly, drawing her Duan Chen sword and pressing the tip against Zhao Ming's throat. "This place is remote; ordinary disciples would never 'pass by' here. Who can you fool with this excuse?"
Zhao Ming was so frightened he almost fainted, tears streaming down his face: "I was wrong! I'll never do it again! I swear I'll never tell anyone! Please spare me!"
If we kill him now, it will immediately alert Elder Wu and scare the enemy away; if we don't kill him and let him go back to report, the plan will be exposed.
A thought suddenly flashed through Yun Wei's mind: perhaps she didn't need to kill him, but could borrow... his identity.
"Elder Wu is quite impatient." She looked at Zhao Ming, her tone calm but meaningful. "Since he has sent such a 'generous gift,' wouldn't it be a waste of his 'kind intentions' if we didn't make use of it?"
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