Mo Zhu's hand hovered in the air.
The distance between them was but a single step, the night breeze carrying her scent—a faint trace of orange blossom.
Yu Zhiling kept her head lowered, gaze fixed absently on the brick beneath her feet, unfocused.
"I'm barely older than you. In fact, I know far less. You've read countless books, met countless people, traveled to countless places. But not me. The places I've been can be counted on one hand. The people I know are fewer still, and those I can truly talk to? Even fewer. My twenty-some years... sickness has always been my companion."
"I'm a little childish—you can tell, can't you? Did you think me foolish from the start? After losing my memories, acting like an idiot, wearing my heart on my sleeve even when I knew you wanted me dead?"
Mo Zhu's breath hitched, his voice trembling. "No. Never."
Yu Zhiling didn’t know what she was doing. The sash at her waist had been tied into a knot, yet her fingers kept twisting it mindlessly.
"I can't be mature. You might not know this, but I spent less than a year in school. I had only one friend to talk to. I couldn’t even travel alone. Since childhood, I knew my life would be short. Then suddenly—I was free of illness. I could run, jump, eat spicy food, stay up all night. Do you know how happy that made me?"
"I had no memories. Subconsciously, I didn’t want to distance myself from any of you—whether it was you, my senior brothers and sisters, or even Yun Zhi and the others. Yes, reason told me I shouldn’t act so recklessly, so foolishly."
She turned away, a single tear slipping down her cheek.
Mo Zhu met her gaze. That tear became a blade, carving his heart open until it bled.
Her words were strange. These shouldn’t have been Zhuo Yu’s experiences, yet they felt undeniably real—as if she had truly lived them, suffered in ways they never knew.
Mo Zhu stepped forward. "Shizun."
Yu Zhiling retreated.
"But you all treated me so well. I grew selfish—I wanted to keep you all to myself, to cling to Zhuo Yu’s place. I couldn’t bring myself to stay away. I was so foolish, yet none of you doubted me. You cherished me, protected me, because you thought I was Yu Xiaowu. To you, forgetting was just forgetting. Compared to the mighty Zhuo Yu, the carefree Yu Xiaowu mattered more."
"I’ve always been alone," Yu Zhiling whispered, wiping her tears. "Finally, I had a family. I would do anything for them."
"Mo Zhu, stop asking. Stop pushing me. Please."
Don’t make her hesitate any longer.
How desperately she didn’t want to leave. How deeply she loved this place.
If he kept questioning her, kept making her waver—Mo Zhu would never let her go. Neither would Yan Shanqing or the others.
One glance back, and her reluctance would shackle her steps. The danger facing Ying Mountain would only grow.
Mo Zhu’s heart turned to ice. He stood a step away, close enough to wipe her tears, yet her sobs were a mountain crushing his chest, stealing his breath.
He felt the cold in his bones, the tremor in his hands, the plea in his voice.
"...Then what about me? You’d die for Ying Mountain, but you won’t live for me?"
Yu Zhiling kept her head down, refusing to look at him. Only her tears fell, one after another.
Her voice was raw. "You’re young. Your future is limitless. Lose one person, and you’ll find someone better."
"Mo Zhu, the future holds endless possibilities. Just... keep moving forward. Everything will be alright."
Mo Zhu laughed—a hollow, broken sound. He said nothing, but his steps carried him backward, inch by inch.
"So, I’ll always be the one left behind. Is that it?"
Yu Zhiling stayed silent. If she spoke, her cries would escape.
Mo Zhu closed his eyes and walked away.
Yu Zhiling stood alone in the courtyard. The jade token at her waist had been buzzing unnoticed, ignored in the midst of everything.
Now, with no one left—Mo Zhu must have left Tingchun Cliff—she felt the ripple in the cliff’s barrier.
He was gone. This time, he hadn’t even stayed on Tingchun Cliff.
He might never return.
Yu Zhiling sat on the bed and answered the jade token without speaking. The sound of rushing water came through first, followed by Sui Ji’s voice.
"When do we leave?"
He sounded drunk, his words slurred.
Yu Zhiling was silent for a moment. "Two more days," she murmured. "Let me stay... just two more days."
"...You’re crying?"
Sui Ji’s shock was palpable. Yu Zhiling hadn’t shed a tear even when he’d shattered her bones—what was this now?
Yu Zhiling’s voice was thick. "It’s nothing."
Now it was Sui Ji’s turn to fall silent.
The waterfall roared behind him. He cast a soundproofing spell, cutting off the noise that had grated on her nerves.
Sui Ji asked, "You don’t want to go?"
"If it were you, leaving the Wu family patriarch—could you?"
Sui Ji answered honestly. "No."
Yu Zhiling couldn’t either.
Neither spoke. The silence between them was a beast devouring all else, heavy and suffocating.
Finally, Yu Zhiling’s lips parted. "He said... he’ll always be the one abandoned."
Sui Ji stayed quiet. There was nothing he could say—only listen.
"I know he’s angry. He doesn’t understand why we’re all willing to die for others but refuse to live for him. He’s been asking himself that for years. I can’t give him an answer because... I don’t know how to choose either."
"Sui Ji, what would you do?"
It took him a full minute to respond. "I would choose her. But she never chose me."
Wu Weining, like Mo Zhu’s parents—like Yu Zhiling now—chose to die for duty, for those they swore to protect.
Yu Zhiling lowered her head. "Yeah."
"Yu Zhiling."
Just as she was about to sever the connection, Sui Ji stopped her.
She waited, silent.
Sui Ji said, "To enter the Demon Abyss, you’ll need to summon your inner demons willingly. I... I’ll do my best to pull you back. I’ll keep you alive inside."
Yu Zhiling laughed weakly. "Your cultivation isn’t even on my level. The abyss is crawling with demonic spirits and fiends. How can you promise that?"
Sui Ji suggested, "You could bring Mo Zhu with you."
Yu Zhiling asked, "If he goes... what are his chances of survival?"
Sui Ji paused for a moment before speaking earnestly, "Less than half a chance. He's only at the middle stage of the Great Ascension realm and lacks the Reverse Scale. But there’s someone who can help you—your odds of survival would be higher. He isn’t angry because you’re willing to die for Ying Mountain. He’s angry because you’re leaving him behind to face death alone."
"Yeah, I understand."
Yu Zhiling ended the communication through the jade token.
She sat cross-legged on the bed, gazing at the courtyard filled with luminous pearls, and asked the system once more.
"Is my merit value really just for survival? If it runs out, can I still live?"
[Host’s merit value is solely for sustaining life. If it reaches zero, the host will perish immediately.]
"...Alright."
Yu Zhiling responded softly.
The system only appeared when triggered by keywords, and its replies remained mechanical and standardized. She couldn’t glean anything beyond its scripted answers.
The red thread around her wrist and the emerald-green snake bracelet beside it complemented each other. Yu Zhiling lightly touched the love knot—a gift from just a few days ago. Who would have thought that in such a short time, they’d end up in such a bitter argument?
This was the first time they’d fought so severely. Yu Zhiling knew Mo Zhu was hurt, knew he was furious. But she couldn’t bring herself to comfort him—just as she couldn’t bring herself to stay for his sake.
She couldn’t keep hiding anymore.
Ghostly flames flickered in the dark forest, the only light in the suffocating gloom.
Ni'e sat at the edge of a cliff, her feet dangling over a thousand-foot abyss. Below, tens of thousands of crimson eyes gleamed—an army of demonic fiends, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, bred within the demon pit. She stared at them silently.
"What are you thinking about?"
Someone approached, sitting a short distance away from her.
Ni'e didn’t spare him a glance, her voice icy as she addressed the demon horde below. "You were the one who led the slaughter of the Immortal Alliance, weren’t you?"
"So what if I did?" Chou Xiao chuckled, leaning back slightly. "After pretending for so many years, that stubborn old man Jing Wei refused to budge. The secrets of the Six-Time Seal were his alone—not even the Eleventh Elder, who’d been by his side for so long, ever got a word out of him."
Ni'e sneered. "Of course you’re ruthless. They treated you well, yet after all that time together, you still had the heart to kill them."
"Why wouldn’t I?"
"And what about Chan Luo? She’s appeared—at Ying Mountain Sect. Could you kill her too?"
The man beside her fell silent. Ni'e’s red lips curled into a mocking smile as she gracefully rose to her feet, her peony-colored robes the only vibrant hue in the desolate landscape.
"You loved her, yet you used her. After using her, you regretted it. All these years, you’ve kept your distance from women. If you regret it so much, why didn’t you go find her when you knew she was alive?"
"Or were you too disgusted by your own actions, too afraid to see the hatred in her eyes? Afraid she wouldn’t love you anymore?"
Even without a response, Ni'e continued laughing, her beautiful eyes brimming with scorn.
"Then let me tell you—her choice to leave the Seven Extremes and join Ying Mountain means she no longer loves you. She’s chosen to stand with them."
"Shut up!"
Chou Xiao suddenly lashed out, a fierce gust of wind slashing toward her—only for Ni'e to deflect it effortlessly.
Ni'e glared coldly. "Believe what you want. Even if she once loved you, that’s in the past. Time has worn away whatever affection she had left. The next time you meet, the only thing she’ll give you is a blade to your throat. Keep your head ready for her."
She turned to leave, but the man behind her called out.
"You think you’re so clear-headed? Then what have you been doing all these years? At least Chan Luo and I loved each other once. What about you? You were used—did he ever love you?"
Ni'e halted. The shrieks of the demonic fiends echoed around her. Over the years, the creatures she’d interacted with most were these very fiends.
Had he loved her?
You Zhou was born of the Heavenly Demon Womb—incapable of love from the very beginning.
Ni'e laughed bitterly. "That’s right. You great visionaries—none of you have hearts."
She walked through the dense woods, distancing herself from the demon horde, and stopped before a cave, gazing up at the barrier overhead.
This was the demon realm. How could the Central Continent ever find them here?
Who would have guessed that You Zhou not only resided in the demon realm but had also raised hundreds of thousands of demonic fiends within it?
A figure emerged from the cave, robes billowing, hair loosely tied with a ribbon—You Zhou had never cared for appearances.
"Master." Ni'e bowed.
You Zhou glanced at her before walking past. "Follow me."
Ni'e trailed behind him. "Where are we going, Master?"
"The Abyss of Demons."
Ni'e froze. You Zhou noticed, turning back to look at her calmly.
"I know I shouldn’t defy your will, Master, but… the Abyss is easy to enter and hard to leave. When we went in last time, you abandoned that avatar, and I nearly died before you pulled me out. Now, you only have your true body left, and my cultivation has regressed since my injuries. If we go in again—"
She wanted to urge caution, but You Zhou only said lightly, "Sui Ji has appeared."
The real Sui Ji—Wu Weining’s husband.
Ni'e frowned. "What does his appearance have to do with us?"
You Zhou’s voice was indifferent. "He’ll take Yu Zhiling into the Abyss."
Ni'e’s face paled. Realizing the gravity of the situation, she immediately lowered her head. "Understood. I’ll accompany you at once!"
Yu Zhiling spent two days running around Ying Mountain.
She pestered Yan Shanqing, annoyed Ning Hengwu, or disrupted Xiang Wuxue while he was carving wood. She even brought new fabric to Mei Qiongge, asking her to make new clothes.
Yu Xiao Wu was still the same troublemaker—never giving anyone a moment’s peace.
Ning Hengwu stepped out with medicine, only to see Yu Zhiling doing something that nearly made her soul leave her body.
"Xiao Wu! You can’t eat that!"
She snatched a celestial herb from Yu Zhiling’s mouth.
Yu Zhiling blinked. "...Isn’t this Purple Mellow Root? You gave me a bunch before—it’s sweet."
Ning Hengwu smacked her head lightly. "No! This just looks similar. Purple Mellow Root is harmless, but what you’re holding is lethally toxic!"
Even if a Transcendent Realm cultivator wouldn’t die from it, ingesting this would leave her writhing in pain.
Ning Hengwu wet a silk handkerchief and wiped Yu Zhiling’s hands clean.
"Where else have you been causing trouble today?"
Yu Zhiling grinned. "I just went to Fourth Sister to get a beaded hairpin."
It was tucked in her hair now—Mei Qiongge adored such trinkets and had skilled hands.
"Didn’t visit your Eldest or Third Brother?"
"I did! Went this morning. Eldest Brother said he was busy and told me not to bother him, so I went to Third Brother instead. He’s making me a swing."
Ning Hengwu tapped her forehead. "Go on, play around. Just don’t leave the mountain. Ying Mountain is yours to explore."
Yu Zhiling sat in the courtyard, watching as Ning Hengwu busied herself drying herbs, never forgetting to prepare snacks for her even while working.
On the small table beside her lay some fruits—likely the snacks and treats Fu Zhao had given Ning Hengwu, all of which she must have saved for her junior sister. Yu Zhiling casually picked up an orange, tossed it in the air, and said, "Second Senior Sister, I’m leaving now."
Ning Hengwu, who had just rolled up her sleeves to wash medicinal herbs, lifted her gaze. "Take care on your way back."
Yu Zhiling waved at her. "I’m really leaving now."
Ning Hengwu chuckled. "Go on, I heard you."
With a smile, Yu Zhiling turned away. The orange was so sour it made her teeth ache, the bitterness seeping all the way to her heart.
It was then that the voice in her mind rang out.
[Ding. The male lead has mastered the "Autumn Water Sword Technique." Host’s virtue points +50. Current virtue points: 4800. Keep up the good work.]
Yu Zhiling’s footsteps halted.
Mo Zhu had been gone for two days. She hadn’t seen him, but the daily mechanical voice in her mind assured her that, though he wasn’t at Listening Spring Cliff, he hadn’t neglected his cultivation.
She had slept little these past few nights, often awakened by the system’s notifications in the dead of night. Mo Zhu seemed to have forsaken sleep entirely, throwing himself into cultivation with a near-frenzied devotion.
He had cut off communication through the disciple jade token. Yu Zhiling didn’t know where he was, but he had to still be within Ying Mountain—there were no signs of anyone breaching the Boundless Realm’s barriers.
Yu Zhiling tilted her head to the sky. She had once thought accumulating five thousand virtue points would be an arduous task, yet here she was, on the verge of completing it in just three months.
She made her way up the mountain, through the dense forest, until she reached a place she had never dared visit before.
When she was still uncertain whether she was truly "Yu Xiao Wu," she hadn’t come, afraid she was usurping another’s place.
Later, when she began to suspect she might indeed be Yu Xiao Wu, she still avoided it, fearing the resurgence of painful memories.
The tombstone gleamed, its surroundings free of weeds—clearly tended to daily by disciples.
Yu Zhiling sat cross-legged on the ground, head bowed, unable to bring herself to read the inscription.
She sat there for a long time, until she finally mustered the courage to lift her gaze.
—Tomb of the 37th Sect Leader of Ying Mountain, Immortal Fuchun of the Immortal Alliance.
"Master."
No one answered.
Yu Zhiling rested her hands on her knees, fingers unconsciously twisting together.
"...I don’t actually want to leave," she murmured. "The elders of the Immortal Alliance are all dead. We’ve been forced into hiding, never knowing what might happen next. Sui Ji said the Demon Abyss holds all the answers—that everything will end there."
A cool breeze swept through the woods, carrying the chorus of frogs and insects.
Dusk was fading into night. Unlike Listening Spring Cliff, this place wasn’t illuminated by countless glowing pearls, but the two mermaid pearls pinned in her hair and at her waist cast a soft glow around her.
Bathed in light, her delicate profile remained composed, her back straight despite her lowered head.
Yu Zhiling spread her palms. Her slender hands were pale, but the right index finger was slightly crooked, and the calluses from sword practice roughened her skin.
"I’ve trained with the sword for so long, all to protect you all. If this truly can bring an end to everything, shouldn’t I go?"
"My parents, Jinghong Village, my disciple’s entire clan—even you, Master. Every loss in my life traces back to him. I can’t accept it."
She couldn’t. She truly couldn’t.
"If I leave this time, even if I somehow survive, I likely won’t be able to return to the Central Continent. I’d only bring trouble to them." Yu Zhiling laughed, her voice light despite the emptiness in her eyes. "If I live, I’ll find a quiet place to retire—leave the martial world behind. I won’t let Ying Mountain suffer for me."
"After all, a Tribulation Transcendent who could fall into demonic cultivation at any moment… the Central Continent won’t tolerate that."
"I just hope they won’t come after me. I don’t want to raise my sword against the Central Continent."
She rambled on for a while longer, until the night deepened completely. Finally, Yu Zhiling stood and kowtowed several times.
"Master, I won’t be coming back after this. But if I live, every year on the anniversary of your passing, I’ll kowtow toward Ying Mountain."
"I won’t forget. I’ll remember always."
On her way back to Listening Spring Cliff, disciples greeted her with reverence and excitement. Yu Zhiling responded cheerfully to each one, their joyous cries warming her heart and easing some of her dread for the path ahead.
Ying Mountain was a good place. The people here were good.
When she returned to Listening Spring Cliff, the entire cliff was aglow with thousands of luminous pearls. The path home was never dark—this place was warm and safe.
Only one person was missing.
She gripped the jade token at her waist, hesitating time and again before ultimately setting it down.
One last time. If she could just see him once more, she could leave in peace.
Yu Zhiling clenched her teeth and reached for the token again.
—BOOM.
A thunderclap split the sky.
The token nearly slipped from her fingers. She caught it just in time and whirled around.
Over the peak behind the mountain—the very spot where she and Mo Zhu had once faced their tribulations—dark clouds gathered without warning, swirling ominously.
Violet lightning snaked through the sky as a gale howled. A thick bolt of tribulation lightning struck down, crashing directly onto the mountaintop.
The only person who could be undergoing tribulation there was him.
When had Mo Zhu returned?
The entire mountain stirred awake. Yu Zhiling’s jade token lit up, and she hastily answered.
"Xiao Wu, is that Mo Zhu?"
Yu Zhiling’s breathing was heavy. "Yes."
A long silence followed. She knew Yan Shanqing must already suspect something.
Mo Zhu’s cultivation progress was far too rapid.
"Xiao Wu, something’s not right. It’s late now—let him rest after the tribulation. Have him come to the Teaching Hall tomorrow."
"...Alright."
The call ended.
Yu Zhiling stared at the tribulation lightning wreathing the mountaintop. Even she could hardly believe it. In the original story, Mo Zhu hadn’t faced his tribulation until his thirties—and even then, it had been a sudden breakthrough.
She had once assumed it was due to his extraordinary talent. But now, considering even Zhuo Yu had needed over a century to reach this stage, while Mo Zhu—whose aptitude didn’t surpass his—had gone from Golden Core Perfection to Tribulation Transcendent in just twenty years…
There had to be another method.
And now, this bizarre acceleration only confirmed her most unsettling suspicion.
He had cultivated this path before. Every tribulation strike was one he had endured in full. A youthful body, housing the tempered soul of a thirty-seven-year-old who had already weathered these trials.
Yu Zhiling returned to the courtyard at Listening Spring Cliff. Her belongings had long been packed—most were gifts from Yan Shanqing and the others. If she survived, she would start anew somewhere else.
She sat in the courtyard, listening as tribulation lightning struck the mountain again and again. When the ninth bolt descended without pause, Yu Zhiling let out a soft laugh.
Even now, she couldn’t help but think—wasn’t this just cheating?
A max-level expert reborn in a beginner’s world, on the verge of tribulation in less than three months. In his past life, it had taken him twenty years.
After twenty years of relentless battles and cultivation, Mo Zhu had just reached the early-stage Transcendence Realm at the age of thirty-seven when he leaped into the Demon Abyss.
For two hours, the tribulation lightning roared for Mo Zhu.
The day was nearly over by the time the thunder finally ceased.
When the last echoes of the lightning faded, Yu Zhiling stood up and glanced around the small courtyard. She had long imagined how her departure would unfold.
At first, she thought Mo Zhu would eventually kill her—that her chance at redemption was hopeless, and she would flee without looking back the moment she earned enough merit points.
Later, when they fell in love, she realized he wasn’t the cold-blooded killer described in the books. Knowing he would never harm her, she no longer wanted to leave.
But now…
[Ding. The male lead has entered the early-stage Transcendence Realm. Host’s merit points +200. Current merit points: 5,000.]
This time, there was no encouragement to keep going.
The system said: [Host’s mission is complete.]
Yu Zhiling asked quietly, “Wasn’t the mission to prevent him from falling into darkness and help him cultivate diligently so he could ascend sooner?”
[System analysis confirms that after entering the Demon Abyss, the possibility of abandoning the immortal path no longer exists. Ascension is inevitable. Therefore, the host’s mission is complete. 5,000 merit points will grant the maximum lifespan before ascension.]
Yu Zhiling’s expression remained blank. “Now that I’ve reached 5,000 merit points, can you return all my memories? And tell me—what exactly are you?”
Merit points, the original plot—she wasn’t a fool. She had figured it out by now.
The system stayed silent. Yu Zhiling pressed, “Why was the original novel called Long Autumn?”
No one answered.
She scoffed. “The Long Autumn Lotus symbolizes my life’s calamity. Wasn’t this supposed to be a male-centric novel?”
These questions seemed beyond the system’s programming. It remained unresponsive.
Yu Zhiling slung a bag over her shoulder, stuffed with fresh fruit for the journey.
She pushed open the courtyard gate and walked down the mountain, her steps quickening as she followed the deserted back path. The front gate was guarded by disciples—Yan Shanqing had forbidden her from leaving.
When she reached the foot of the mountain, waist-high wild grass swayed around her. She tilted her head back, gazing at the towering Ying Mountain.
Amid the silence, she murmured, “System, this mission was always about me from the beginning, wasn’t it?”
Long Autumn—the Long Autumn Lotus.
She should have realized sooner.
Her life’s calamity was the root of all tragedy. From the moment Yu Xiaowu went to the Four Slaughter Realms to face her death, her shattered spirit marked the beginning of Ying Mountain’s downfall.
When Mo Zhu spent twenty years avenging the dead, he turned around to find only corpses.
His leap into the Demon Abyss was indirectly caused by Yu Xiaowu’s death.
Yu Zhiling lowered her gaze. The night wind lifted the hem of her green robes, and the jade ribbon in her hair fluttered wildly.
“I understand now. You wanted me to save everyone.”
Not just Mo Zhu alone.
Just as she took a step forward, her foot froze mid-air. Her heart skipped a beat, and a chill crawled from her soles to the crown of her head.
Under the moonlight, the young man’s black robes blended into the darkness. His posture was rigid, his high ponytail defiantly untamed. He stood with his hands behind his back, his dark eyes fixed on her.
Fresh wounds from the tribulation lightning marred his skin, streaks of blood smeared across his face.
Yu Zhiling instinctively stepped back, snapping a dry twig beneath her foot. The sound echoed sharply in the night.
They stared at each other. He remained where he was, lips pressed thin, waiting for her to come to him.
Yu Zhiling hadn’t seen him in two days. Her voice turned sharp. “Weren’t you at Listening Spring Cliff? Why are you here?”
But the answer became clear when she noticed the sheer drop behind him.
She had taken the winding back path—he had simply leaped down from the summit to cut her off.
Of course he knew she would sneak away. Of course he guessed she’d choose the back mountain.
Mo Zhu finally moved. His voice was icy. “I haven’t seen you in two days. I forced my cultivation day and night, recklessly channeling spiritual energy against my meridians—just to break through faster.”
Yu Zhiling’s pupils constricted. “Have you lost your mind? Reversing spiritual flow risks demonic possession!”
He advanced step by step, matching each of her retreats.
“What else could I do? How else could I keep you here? How could I make you stay alive—for me?”
Yu Zhiling spun to run. She finally understood—this little snake had planned this. He’d timed everything perfectly to ambush her now.
She barely took two steps before crashing into a solid chest. He had teleported in front of her.
Staggering back, she was caught by his arm around her waist.
He even had the audacity to laugh. “Why run? Two days apart, and you don’t miss me at all? I’ve been aching for you, Shizun—down to my bones.”
Yu Zhiling braced her hands against his chest, teeth clenched. “Don’t think reaching Transcendence means you can overpower me. I’m mid-stage Transcendence. I can still crush you!”
Mo Zhu suddenly pressed a quick kiss to her lips. The scent of sandalwood and blood clung to him. His smile deepened as his bloodstained hand cupped her cheek, smearing crimson across her skin.
“Your mouth is sweet, and your words are sweeter. If you want to crush me, let’s go back to your room. I’ll strip bare and let you have your way, hm?”
Yu Zhiling shoved him hard. “Stop twisting my words!”
He only grinned wider. “Weren’t you the one who wanted to bed me two days ago? I was too stubborn then. Now I’ve changed my mind—I want you too. Is it too late?”
Her face burned. She retreated further, flustered. “That ship has sailed! You refused, so don’t even think about it now!”
“That won’t do. I’m only eighteen—I can’t live like a monk.”
He closed the distance between them. Though his lips curved, his eyes were devoid of warmth.
Yu Zhiling knew he was furious. This was a descending path—now that she had stepped back, she stood slightly higher, looking down at him. She didn’t miss the tension in his jaw.
Beneath the anger, there was hurt.
She stood still, the space between them charged.
After a long silence, she pleaded, “Mo Zhu, let me go.”
He laughed then—a clear, chilling sound. “You keep asking me to release you, but have you forgotten something?”
Yu Zhiling said nothing. The bag of fruit on her shoulder wasn’t heavy, but the weight of his gaze, his sorrow, threatened to crush her.
“Mo Zhu…”
He lifted his eyes, smiling. “Shizun, I’ve reached Transcendence. Don’t I deserve a reward?”
Long ago, she had promised him—once he ascended, he could ask for anything.
Yu Zhiling couldn’t move. She no longer had the courage to turn away.
Mo Zhu stepped closer, his voice soft and coaxing: "For example... you."
He closed the distance between them.
At such proximity, the emotions in the young man's eyes overwhelmed Yu Zhiling completely—those depths of sorrow and unwillingness, thick enough to suffocate.
The bag slipped from her shoulder, scattering fruits across the ground.
Mo Zhu's eyes curved into crescents as he smiled at her, sweetly demanding: "Will you give it to me, Shizun?"
Yu Zhiling remained silent, words failing her.
The smile faded from Mo Zhu's lips. He leaned down, capturing the corner of her mouth in a kiss, nipping lightly before murmuring against her skin: "Say it. Give yourself to me."
"Tell me you love me. That you love only me, and I'll forget how you tried to abandon me today."
"Shizun... indulge me. Right now."
He was easy to appease. All she had to do was speak.
