Xiao Rangchen ultimately stayed.
That night, he waited until Lou Yue had fallen asleep in his arms before slowly and carefully withdrawing his arm. He put on his outer robe, lifted the door curtain, and went to sit on the cold stone stool outside.
With a slight movement of his fingers, he took ancient spellbooks and jade slips from his storage ring and began reading through them one by one.
During the three months since falling into the Chaos Abyss, he had traversed nearly every part of it.
He could not find the reason for Lou Yue’s coma or the cause of her dwindling vitality. All he could do was try everything he could think of, attempting to break through the seal here and take her out immediately.
He had indeed found the formation’s core, but he was unable to shake it.
Breaking the seal required power surpassing the peak of the Deity Transformation stage. Moreover, once the seal was broken, it could never be restored. Every ghost fiend in the Chaos Abyss would pour out, and the world outside would be plunged into misery. Ordinary mortals, who had no spiritual power and no means of defending themselves, would be the first to suffer.
He would have to exterminate every ghost fiend and reach the legendary Godhood Realm before he could break the seal.
But Lou Yue could not wait that long.
The speed at which her vitality was draining had grown faster and faster. At first, she had needed to activate the Life Seal once every half month. Now, it was once every two days.
She would not last more than a few days.
Xiao Rangchen did not entirely believe what the ghost fiend leader had said, but since its words had managed to awaken Lou Yue, there was at least some hope in trying.
The Life Seal he had placed on Lou Yue could transfer any damage to him. If that ghost fiend tried to deceive them, he would notice in time.
And besides getting Lou Yue out safely, he also had to find a way to give her the power to protect herself once she left. He had to ensure that, when she faced Cangya Lan and Yue Qianzhong, she would still have a chance to survive.
If Yu Youchun were awake, he could still discuss matters with him. But even after Xiao Rangchen had given Yu Youchun the essence of the lingzhi that could restore the soul, he still had not awakened.
By the time the blood moon rose again in the sky, he had still found no way to protect Lou Yue...
Xiao Rangchen lowered the jade slip and looked up at the eternally dim, deathly silent sky above the Chaos Abyss, where no trace of daylight could be seen.
His dark eyes churned with unwillingness and anxiety, flickering between light and shadow—emotions no one could see.
After a long while, he rose and quietly returned inside the cave.
He removed his outer robe and lay down beside Lou Yue once more.
She was facing inward with her back to him, so he moved closer and gently gathered her into his arms. Lowering his head, he pressed a kiss to the crown of her soft hair.
Only after more than half an hour did Lou Yue gradually awaken.
Cultivators at the Deity Transformation stage had no need for sleep, but she had already grown accustomed to sleeping for a while each day.
Sensing the warm body pressed close against her back, she turned over to face him.
“You didn’t sleep?” Lou Yue had just woken, and her voice still carried a hazy rasp.
Xiao Rangchen’s gaze remained fixed on her face. He lifted a hand and gently caressed her cheek with his fingertips.
Lou Yue rubbed against his palm and asked softly, “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“I’m not tired.”
Lou Yue let out a laugh, the corners of her eyes curving upward. “Don’t tell me you watched me all night.”
Xiao Rangchen’s lips curved faintly in response. “No. I also read some spellbooks.”
Lou Yue raised an eyebrow. “Did you finally remember that you cultivate spells as well?”
Xiao Rangchen gave a low hum.
Lou Yue sat up. With a movement of her finger, she took out stacks of ancient books and jade slips from her storage ring. Without even looking at them, she pushed the entire pile into his arms, her voice carrying a bold, carefree flourish.
“Don’t say I don’t support you.”
Xiao Rangchen looked down at the rare spellbooks in his arms, each one valuable enough to drive cultivators outside into a frenzy. He was briefly stunned, then slowly smiled and played along.
“Thank you for your support, Young Master Yue.”
That smile was so gentle it was almost soft. When it fell into Lou Yue’s eyes, her heart gave a sudden tremor.
On an impulse, she bent down and leaned closer, brushing a light kiss over his lowered lashes.
Before he could react, she had already leapt off the stone bed, put on her shoes, and headed outside, calling out provocatively, “I’m going to kill ghost fiends today! I’m going to cultivate!”
Xiao Rangchen simply watched the lively figure leave, his gaze deep and somber.
For three days in a row, they went out to kill ghost fiends whenever the moon rose, then returned home side by side when the moon set.
At first, Qinglin had followed behind them. But after being ignored every single time—and having to keep a bellyful of secrets to himself—he finally holed up in the cave and slept out of spite, refusing to follow them anymore.
That night, after Lou Yue had fallen completely asleep, Xiao Rangchen infused the Life Seal with power once more.
This time, the seal lasted only a day.
The instant he withdrew his hand, the black hair hanging over his chest began to turn white, inch by inch, starting from the tips.
His expressionless face remained utterly indifferent. He coldly circulated his spiritual power, forcibly transforming the glaring white back into black.
Moving as lightly as possible, he went outside the cave. There, he took out the jade slips Lou Yue had given him and read through them one by one, occasionally drawing and deducing formations on the ground.
After finishing one jade slip, Xiao Rangchen casually selected another. The instant his divine sense entered it, his entire body froze.
The jade slip contained the Lou clan’s dual-cultivation techniques for furnace cauldrons.
It must have been mixed in by accident.
He was about to put it away when a thought abruptly flashed through his mind, causing his movements to stop.
The next moment, he no longer hesitated. He quickly searched out the other jade slips containing furnace-cauldron dual-cultivation techniques.
Ignoring the suggestive images and poses, he focused solely on the techniques’ core principles and the drawing of their secret patterns, studying them carefully and with complete concentration, word by word.
Lou Yue emerged from the cave with a yawn.
Xiao Rangchen looked up at her, but with a turn of his hand, he quietly put away the jade slips.
“Why are you awake?” Xiao Rangchen held out a hand to her.
Lou Yue sat facing him on his lap, wrapped her arms sleepily around his neck, and rested her cheek against the hollow of his shoulder.
“I don’t know.”
She casually glanced at the chaotic patterns he had drawn on the ground and yawned. “You’re really working yourself to the bone.”
“Working myself to the bone?”
“I mean you’re being diligent.”
Xiao Rangchen slipped an arm around her and drew her closer. He removed his outer robe and draped it over her back, his voice low and gentle.
“If you’re tired, go back to sleep.”
Lou Yue buried her face against the side of his neck. As she breathed in the cool, wintry scent of frost and snow clinging to him, the drowsiness clouding her mind gradually faded instead.
The Chaos Abyss was eternally dim, but with Xiao Rangchen beside her, everything seemed a little easier to endure.
The surroundings were so quiet that they could hear each other’s heartbeats—one beat after another, slowly falling into the same rhythm. It was as though time itself had come to a standstill.
Suddenly, she wanted very badly to kiss him.
The moment the thought arose, she pressed her lips to the pulse beating at the side of his neck and deliberately sucked lightly.
Sensing the instant stiffness that ran through Xiao Rangchen, she moved to his prominent Adam’s apple and nipped it.
Only when his throat bobbed uncontrollably did she lift her eyes and look at him with a mischievous, impish smile.
A gentle breeze brushed against their cheeks, bringing with it a subtle sensation. Their already-close breaths began to grow uneven, and an indescribable attraction seeped into their interlocked gazes.
Xiao Rangchen’s lashes lowered halfway. He slowly turned his head and kissed the corner of her lips.
Then, little by little, he moved to the center of her mouth and kissed her fully.
Lou Yue wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her lips and tongue with his.
What had begun as a tentative taste gradually turned into an intense, airtight kiss.
The hand Xiao Rangchen had placed on her waist tightened, drawing her even more firmly against him.
Lou Yue’s legs curled around his waist, instinctively tightening as well.
Xiao Rangchen left her lips and lingered along her neck, kissing and sucking, pressing down hard enough to make Lou Yue let out a helpless moan.
But that moan only made his kisses grow more fervent.
Xiao Rangchen turned his head slightly aside, breathing heavily as he struggled to calm himself and suppress the reaction of his body.
He tried to pull Lou Yue away a little, but she tightened her arms around him instead, holding him even more firmly.
“Lou Yue…”
His voice was husky and low, stretched taut with restraint.
Lou Yue could clearly feel his body’s most honest response, but at that moment, she didn’t want to care about anything. She only wanted to draw closer to him.
Slowly, she parted her lips. “I want you.”
Xiao Rangchen immediately closed his eyes. The veins at his temples stood out, and his fingers tensed sharply.
Desire and bitterness twisted together inside him, nearly tearing him apart.
He wanted her—wanted her like a madman.
But he…
After a long while, he suppressed the surging passion that threatened to break through his reason. His hoarse voice faltered, hesitant to continue. “Lou Yue, I…”
Lou Yue said nothing.
Xiao Rangchen reached a hand inside her clothes.
Lou Yue caught his hand and pulled it away. Her voice, muffled against his neck, was low and sullen. “Don’t.”
She shifted backward, leaving some space between them. Then she closed her eyes and said nothing more.
Xiao Rangchen swallowed, his throat rough.
He drew her back into his arms, gently stroking the top of her head before lowering his face to place a light, tender kiss behind her ear.
The two of them embraced with neither too much nor too little distance between them. Neither spoke, allowing the wind to gradually disperse the warmth that had risen between them.
The next morning, Lou Yue took Qinglin out early to hunt down the guiwang. Xiao Rangchen followed behind, but Lou Yue did not look at him even once.
Xiao Rangchen stared at the jade slip, losing himself in thought several times before forcing himself to concentrate again.
After venting her frustration, Lou Yue spotted the man in the distance, absorbed in the jade slip in his hands. She turned away and vented again.
The guiwang shrieked miserably. They tried to flee, but could not escape. In the end, they turned into clouds of gray-green mist and vanished completely into the air.
Having completed both their day’s work, Lou Yue swaggered home with the club slung over her shoulder. As she passed Xiao Rangchen, she even raised an eyebrow at him, her expression brazen and defiant.
Xiao Rangchen lowered his eyes and pressed his lips together.
Over the next two days, Xiao Rangchen spent nearly all his time focused on the jade slip. Lou Yue saw him repeatedly drawing intricate, interwoven sigil patterns across the ground. His expression was concentrated, yet tinged with anxiety, as if he had encountered a problem he could not solve.
Several times, Lou Yue wanted to speak to him, but whenever she saw how deeply absorbed he was, she ultimately decided not to disturb him.
Today marked the eighth day since she had awakened.
Once again, Xiao Rangchen had spent the entire night outside drawing sigil patterns. Lou Yue stepped forward and snatched the stone from his hand. “Get some rest. You’ve been wound so tight all day—there’s no way you’ll figure anything out like this.”
Xiao Rangchen raised his eyes, which were filled with fine red veins. His mind still seemed trapped within the complex spell patterns, and he did not come back to himself at once.
Lou Yue sighed. She stepped forward and pressed his head against her chest. “You’re exhausted. Taking a day to rest won’t hurt.”
Xiao Rangchen slowly lifted his arms and wrapped them around her waist, gradually tightening his hold.
Lou Yue stroked his black hair, smooth as silk, again and again. In a soft voice, she said, “Sleep for a while. I’ll stay with you.”
At first, Xiao Rangchen refused to move. Only when Lou Yue insisted did he follow her back into the cave.
Lou Yue pushed him down onto the stone platform covered with soft cushions, then lay down beside him and continued holding him. “Go to sleep.”
Xiao Rangchen buried his face against the hollow of her throat and remained motionless for a long time.
Just as Lou Yue thought he had fallen asleep, she heard him say, “If one day I do something you don’t like and make you angry…”
His weary, hoarse voice paused before he continued, “What should I do to make you forgive me?”
Lou Yue’s fingers stilled. “That depends on what you did.”
Xiao Rangchen buried his face even more deeply against her, silent and saying nothing.
“So what, exactly, have you been hiding from me?” Lou Yue asked calmly, stroking his smooth, satin-like black hair. “Why did you suddenly start studying those sigil patterns?”
Xiao Rangchen did not answer. Lou Yue did not press him further. She merely patted his back gently. “Go to sleep. You’re truly exhausted.”
Xiao Rangchen lowered his eyes, tightened his arms around her, and desperately drew in the scent that belonged only to her.
