Fated Bond

Ye Xuan's face stung from the blow, and his ring rolled away into the nearby dust.

He did not go to pick up the ring, nor did he wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He simply looked at Bai Qianqiu calmly. Those eyes that were always filled with teasing and cynicism now held a chilling, heart-palpitating coldness and earnestness.

His gaze was too serious, too sincere, causing Bai Qianqiu to involuntarily halt her movements.

"Yes, anyone would be willing."

Ye Xuan's voice was very light, yet every word was like a heavy hammer, viciously striking Bai Qianqiu's heart:

"But I am not willing."

At this moment, the air was dead silent.

The entire cave fell quiet; even the crackling of the campfire seemed to vanish.

Bai Qianqiu, straddling him, froze with her raised hand suspended mid-air. She was completely stunned.

Her eyes were wide open, her mouth slightly agape. She stayed frozen in place, looking as if she had been struck by lightning.

She looked at the man beneath her.

That cynical, smooth-talking Soft Rice King now seemed like a completely different person.

Ye Xuan's eyes gradually grew red.

It was not the redness born of pain or anger, but a redness born of suppressing things for too long and too deeply, until he could finally bear it no more and broke down.

A single tear.

Crystal clear, mingling with the blood at the corner of his mouth and the dust on his face, it slipped from the corner of Ye Xuan's eye.

The tear rolled down his cheek, glistening with a crystalline light under the glow of the fire.

This was the first time Bai Qianqiu had seen Ye Xuan cry.

It was not a hysterical wailing, but a silent, suppressed, and heartbreaking weeping.

"Bai Qianqiu..."

Ye Xuan's voice choked with sobs, revealing endless grievance and bewilderment:

"What exactly did I do wrong?"

"I clearly... did nothing wrong at all."

His voice was very faint, so faint it was almost inaudible, but every word was like a knife, ruthlessly piercing into Bai Qianqiu's heart.

Ye Xuan's body curled up like a child abandoned by the whole world. Under the influence of alcohol, his emotions completely collapsed:

His body trembled, curling into a tight ball, just like a wounded little animal seeking a place to hide.

"Out of nowhere... a whole bunch of past-life Dao companions showed up."

"Each one acting high and mighty, each one making life-and-death scenes."

"They said they wanted to rekindle our past romance, said they wanted to make up for past regrets."

"But... the moment my memories awakened and I took a look, haha... hahaha..."

Ye Xuan laughed out loud, yet his tears flowed even more fiercely:

His laughter was shrill and desperate, echoing through the cave and sending an involuntary chill down the spine of anyone who heard it.

"It was all betrayal."

"Every single one of them stabbed me in the back precisely when I trusted them the most."

"Now they regret it? Now they want to make amends? Do they think that just by throwing some resources at me and giving me a few smiles, I should throw myself at them with overwhelming gratitude?"

His voice was filled with pain and despair; this emotion was real, not feigned.

Ye Xuan suddenly grabbed Bai Qianqiu's sleeve, staring fixedly at her, his eyes full of shattered light:

His grip was very tight, so tight that Bai Qianqiu's sleeve became wrinkled.

His eyes brimmed with yearning—a yearning for understanding, for validation, for salvation.

"Then what about me?"

"What about my regrets? The suffering I endured, the despair... who will make up for that?"

"What gives them the right to turn back just because they want to? What makes it so that I have to stay right where I am, waiting for them?"

"What did I do wrong..."

His voice grew quieter and quieter, ultimately turning into a near-whimper.

He was like a child abandoned by the whole world, crying in the dark, desperate for someone to hear his voice and understand his pain.

Bai Qianqiu's hand slowly lowered.

She looked at the bitterly weeping man before her, and her sword heart, which had always been as hard as iron, inexplicably trembled.

Heartache.

An unprecedented, sour emotion spread through her chest.

She had never felt this way before.

As the Holy Maiden of the Sword God Palace, she had always kept her sword as her companion, her heart as still as water, never having felt romantic affection for anyone.

But right now, looking at Ye Xuan in such agony, her heart ached involuntarily.

It turned out that deep inside this seemingly heartless and carefree man, there lay such a profound scar.

It turned out he did not lack care; rather, he cared too much, so much so that he did not dare to face it.

Bai Qianqiu's eyes also grew red.

She did not know why. Logically, she should despise Ye Xuan, loathe him, and stay far away from him.

But at this moment, she only wanted to embrace him and tell him that he did nothing wrong, that it was the world that was wrong.

Her hand reached out slowly, wanting to stroke Ye Xuan's hair, wanting to offer him some comfort.

But halfway there, her hand stopped.

She did not know how to comfort him.

Since childhood, she had been taught to keep her sword as her companion, to keep her heart as still as water, and to sever all mortal desires and emotions.

She did not know how to comfort someone, nor how to express her own emotions.

She could only watch him quietly, watching him break down in front of her, watching him shed tears, watching him suffer.

Ye Xuan let go of her sleeve, grabbed the wine flagon from the ground again, and regardless of how much dirt had mixed inside, tilted his head back and chugged wildly.

The flagon had been cracked, and wine spilled from the broken opening, splashing over his face and body, soaking a large patch of his clothes.

The spicy liquid burned down his throat and into his stomach, but it could not burn away the chill in his heart.

The wine was too strong, so strong it felt like fire, burning all the way down his throat into his stomach, where it ignited and caused him a burst of sharp pain.

But he did not stop; instead, he drank even more fiercely.

He needed this pain, this stimulation, to numb his nerves and forget those agonizing memories.

The more he drank, the more his gaze became glazed and feverish.

The alcohol fermented within his body, causing his consciousness to blur. His face turned flushed, his eyes grew hazy, and his entire being exuded a dangerous aura.

Watching him in this state, an ominous premonition welled up in Bai Qianqiu's heart.

She wanted to stop him, but did not know how.

She could only watch helplessly as he chugged the wine mouthful after mouthful, watching him get drunker and drunker, watching his eyes grow increasingly frantic.

Outside the cave, the night grew deeper.

Time slipped away, minute by minute, second by second.

Ye Xuan finished one flagon of wine, pulled another from his storage bag, and continued drinking.

He drank fast and hard, as if determined to drink himself into a stupor.

The wine trailed down the corners of his mouth, soaking his lapels, and dripped onto the ground with a steady dripping sound.

His eyes became more and more glazed, more and more crazed.

His gaze was filled with pain, despair, anger, and an indescribable madness.

Bai Qianqiu looked at him, the unease in her heart growing stronger by the second.

She had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.

But she did not know how to stop it.

She could only sit there quietly, watching Ye Xuan lose control little by little.

Suddenly, Ye Xuan reached out, somewhat roughly pinching Bai Qianqiu's chin. Reeking of alcohol, he asked:

"Bai Qianqiu, what about you?"

You are so proud. What does the man of your dreams look like?

His voice carried a hint of drunkenness, along with an indescribable emotion.

Bai Qianqiu froze for a moment.

She had intended to push him away, but looking into those hazy, drunken, yet exceptionally resolute eyes, she found herself inexplicably staying still.

She didn't know why. She clearly should have cut him down with a single strike of her sword, pushed him away, and distanced herself from him.

But she didn't.

She just looked at him quietly, allowing him to hold her chin.

She took a deep breath, her expression returning to its usual coldness and seriousness.

My future husband...

Must be a peerless hero.

His Way of the Sword must be stronger than my master's. Only such a man can conquer the sword in my hand, and conquer me.

At the mention of the Way of the Sword, Bai Qianqiu's eyes sparkled.

That light was blazing and sincere, full of her love and pursuit of the Way of the Sword.

That was her Dao, her lifelong pursuit, the meaning of her existence.

In her heart, the Way of the Sword was above everything else.

Only someone who surpassed her in the Way of the Sword had the right to become her Dao companion.

Stronger than your master?

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes as if he had heard a joke, drunkenly pointing at her.

You girl... have quite the ambition.

Your master is the Sword Sovereign, the number one sword in the world.

His voice carried a hint of mockery, along with an indescribable emotion.

Bai Qianqiu sneered and said proudly,

I don't care. If not, I would rather never marry and spend my life with my sword.

She was the Holy Maiden of the Sword God Palace, a proud daughter of heaven, the object of countless people's pursuit.

But she never cared about those suitors.

In her heart, there was only the Way of the Sword.

Only someone who surpassed her in the Way of the Sword had the right to become her Dao companion.

Hahahaha!

Ye Xuan suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. His laughter echoed in the empty cave, carrying a madness that looked down upon the world.

His eyes suddenly lit up with the excitement of a hunter seeing their favorite prey.

His eyes were filled with madness, excitement, and an indescribable possessiveness.

Look at me... am I suitable?

Ye Xuan suddenly leaned in close, their noses almost touching.

The drunkenness in his eyes mostly dissipated, replaced by the deep-seated arrogance belonging to his past life as the Sword Venerable.

It was an arrogance that only someone truly standing at the pinnacle of the Way of the Sword would possess.

It was an arrogance that looked down upon all living beings and the entire world.

Not to mention the Way of the Sword.

Even your master, who claims to be the best in the world, in front of me...

Would have to obediently kneel!

You!

Bai Qianqiu was furious. This bastard was just crying, and now he was shamelessly insulting her master!

Her eyes were filled with anger and killing intent.

Her master was the god in her heart, her lifelong goal, the person she respected the most.

Anyone who dared to insult her master was her enemy!

Just you?

Bai Qianqiu's eyes showed disdain as she gave him a hard push.

You, a soft-rice man who relies on resources given by women and climbs up by playing with feelings?

You are just scum! You aren't even fit to carry my master's shoes!

Her voice was full of contempt and disdain.

In her eyes, Ye Xuan was just trash, a soft-rice man who relied on women to get ahead.

How could such a person possibly surpass her master in the Way of the Sword?

It was simply the ravings of a lunatic!

Scum?

These two words completely ignited the anger within Ye Xuan.

His eyes instantly turned blood-red, and his whole body exuded a chilling aura.

This aura was too terrifying, too mad, causing Bai Qianqiu to involuntarily take a step back.

Good... good! I am scum!

Since I am scum, then I will do what scum should do!

Ye Xuan's voice was filled with madness and despair.

He had been forced into a corner.

His dignity had been trampled upon time and time again, his pain was understood by no one, and his despair had nowhere to vent.

He no longer cared.

Since everyone treated him like scum, then he might as well be scum!

Ye Xuan suddenly lunged. Without any technique, relying purely on brute force and the terrifying physical body of his Flawless Dao Body, he directly pinned the unguarded Bai Qianqiu onto a pile of hay.

His movements were too fast, so fast that Bai Qianqiu couldn't react in time.

The Flawless Dao Body granted him physical strength far beyond cultivators of the same realm. Even a Late Nascent Soul cultivator like Bai Qianqiu was easily subdued by him when caught off guard.

Ye Xuan! What are you trying to do? Let me go!

Shocked and angry, Bai Qianqiu subconsciously tried to circulate her spiritual energy to blast him away.

Within her body, spiritual energy began to surge, and sword intent started to condense.

As long as she willed it, she could erupt with terrifying power the next moment and send Ye Xuan flying.

But Ye Xuan's eyes were blood-red, and that aura of madness actually made her hesitate for a split second.

This gaze was too mad, too desperate, making her involuntarily feel pity.

She remembered Ye Xuan's crying just now, remembered his pain, remembered his despair.

She hesitated.

In that very instant, Ye Xuan had already firmly pinned down her wrists.

His hands were powerful, astonishingly strong.

Bai Qianqiu tried to break free, only to find that she couldn't escape at all.

He looked down at Bai Qianqiu, breathing heavily. The tear stains in his eyes had yet to dry, but they burned with raging lust and despair.

His gaze was too complex, too contradictory.

There was desire, despair, pain, madness, and an indescribable longing.

Bai Qianqiu!

Ye Xuan roared, his voice terrifyingly hoarse.

Today, I give you two choices!

Either you draw your sword and kill me right now! End it all!

Or... you let me sleep with you!

His face was twisted, carrying a desperate madness.

Kill me, and you'll have your peace.

If you don't kill me... this life, the next life, for all lifetimes to come, I will never forget you!!

Bai Qianqiu's heart beat violently.

She looked at Ye Xuan.

Looking at this man who had been forced into a corner, yet was incredibly domineering at this moment.

Her hand was right next to her sword hilt.

As long as she willed it, a surge of sword qi could pierce through his heart.

With her strength, even while pinned down by Ye Xuan, she could easily unleash sword qi and slay him.

But...

She looked at those tear-filled eyes, at that face which still made her heart flutter even while he was acting crazy.

She remembered his tearful complaints from earlier, remembered his loneliness, remembered everything they had been through on this journey.

Her hand trembled, but ultimately, she did not draw her sword.

Instead, she weakly let go.

She didn't know why she made such a choice.

Was it because her heart ached for him?

Was it out of curiosity?

Bai Qianqiu closed her eyes. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly as she let out a deeply complex sigh.

Sinful destiny...

Her voice carried helplessness, heartache, and a faint, imperceptible anticipation.

The next moment.

A storm of kisses fell upon her.

Ye Xuan's kisses were rough and domineering, carrying a reckless madness.

He was like a starving beast that had finally found its prey, tearing and devouring it with frantic abandon.

His kiss lacked any technique; it held only the most primal desire and yearning.

Bai Qianqiu's body stiffened for a split second before slowly relaxing.

She did not resist, nor did she push him away.

She simply endured it in silence, bearing the brunt of this man's madness and despair.

Her tears fell uncontrollably, trailing down her cheeks to drop onto the dry grass below.

She did not know why she was crying.

Was it out of a sense of grievance?

Was it out of heartache?

Or was it because... she too could feel this man's profound loneliness and despair?

The flickering campfire cast their silhouettes against the stone wall, intertwining and merging until they were entirely indistinguishable from one another.