Crazy in Love

The memories came to an abrupt halt.

In reality, Ye Qingcheng stood behind the artificial hill, drenched in cold sweat.

She gasped heavily for air, her pupils contracting violently.

Ye Qingcheng slowly squatted down, wrapping her arms around her head. She dug her fingers deep into her hair, tearing at it forcefully.

"So... so this is what I was really thinking..."

She widened her eyes in the darkness, her gaze unfocused and crazed, the whites of her eyes covered in hideous, bloodshot veins.

"I don't want him to leave... I don't want him to have it easy at all..."

"I'm jealous of him... I hate him..."

"Why should he get to leave completely clean while I am tainted?"

"Why must I struggle in hell while he gets to live a peaceful life?"

"No... absolutely not..."

Ye Qingcheng's expression gradually shifted from agony to a morbid distortion.

She slowly raised her head, her gaze piercing through the layers of the night to fixate on the tightly shut door, listening to the faint, delicate pants of Ying'er coming from within.

The sound was like a venomous snake gnawing at her heart.

But strangely, she did not rush in to kill anyone.

Instead, the corners of her mouth slowly curled up, revealing a terrifyingly bizarre and chilling smile.

"Senior brother... you are truly smart."

"You've seen right through me..."

"That's right, I am selfish. I just want to lock you by my side, even if you hate me, even if you are in pain..."

She reached out her bloody fingers, gently tracing Ye Xuan's silhouette in the empty air, her eyes filled with obsessive fanaticism:

"You are mine, forever."

Outside the Listening Rain Pavilion, bamboo shadows danced as fine rain fell like silk, shrouding the lonely courtyard in a gloomy dampness.

Time flew by like a fleeting white steed; in the blink of an eye, Ye Xuan had been in secluded cultivation here for several months.

Over these past few months, a ghost-like, beautiful figure had frequented the Listening Rain Pavilion.

Ye Qingcheng, the supreme and lofty Grand Elder of the Joyous Union Sect, now acted like a lowly maidservant.

She would appear every few days, each time wearing a humble, almost ingratiating smile, holding staggering cultivation resources in her hands:

whether it was the Nether Spirit Grass that required the blood of a hundred people to bloom, or unique ancient scrolls she had stolen from the secret vault in defiance of sect taboos.

She never disturbed Ye Xuan's cultivation, merely kneeling quietly in the corner, her breathtakingly beautiful eyes glued firmly to him.

Her gaze had long surpassed the realm of adoration, resembling more of a morbid fixation.

Under Ye Qingcheng's almost unreserved guidance, Ye Xuan's cultivation progressed with overwhelming momentum.

The barrier that originally lay between the early and middle stages of the Golden Core realm shattered completely under the accumulation of countless rare spiritual medicines.

In just a few short months, the golden core within Ye Xuan's dantian had become as round as a pearl and as radiant as the blazing sun, every trace of circulating spiritual energy carrying a majestic pressure.

However, on the path of immortal cultivation, the higher one goes, the more insurmountable the chasm becomes.

The bottleneck from the middle to the late Golden Core stage lay ahead like an impassable mountain.

The mere accumulation of spiritual energy had lost its effect. Ye Xuan attempted to break through several times, all ending in a backflow of spiritual energy and piercing pain in his meridians.

He slowly opened his eyes, exhaling a breath of impure air, his brows slightly furrowed. The power within his body was abundant, yet it felt locked in a cage, unable to find an outlet for release.

"Creak!"

The door gently opened, and a familiar faint fragrance wafted in along with the damp moisture.

Ye Qingcheng walked in carrying a crystal-clear blood-jade bowl. The bowl contained a steaming spiritual broth, its liquid a bizarre yet magnificent crimson red, emitting an exotic aroma that was both heart-palpitating and intoxicating.

It was the Lover's Attraction she had brewed using a thousand-year snow lotus accompanied by the blood from the tip of her own heart; every sip was her heavy, burdensome love.

"Senior brother..."

Her voice was extremely light, as if afraid of shattering a dream.

Ye Qingcheng walked slowly to the meditation cushion and dropped into a perfectly standard kneeling posture, her skirt spreading out like a blooming black lotus.

She raised the jade bowl high with both hands, her eyelashes trembling. She didn't dare look directly at Ye Xuan, yet she couldn't help but greedily trace his silhouette from the corner of her eye.

The makeup on her stunning face was flawless, yet it could not conceal the bloodshot redness in her eyes and her deep exhaustion.

Ye Xuan took the jade bowl with an indifferent expression. As his fingertips accidentally brushed against her ice-cold fingers, Ye Qingcheng's entire body trembled, and an unnatural flush instantly rose to her face.

He took a sip. The crimson broth slid down his throat and transformed into a surging hot current that rushed through his limbs and bones, causing his golden core to tremble with incomparable comfort.

Ye Xuan set the bowl down, a faint smile touching the corners of his lips: "Qingcheng, you are very thoughtful. If not for you during this time, I'm afraid I would still be lingering in the early stage."

Ye Qingcheng's body stiffened abruptly. Then, those previously humble and downcast eyes suddenly shot up, bursting with a terrifying light.

As if she had received some kind of pardon, she shuffled forward on her knees and fiercely grabbed the hem of Ye Xuan's robe, her knuckles turning pale from the force.

"Senior brother... as long as you like it... as long as you like it, you can even dig out my heart to brew soup..."

Her voice trembled, carrying a heavy nasal tone and suppressed panting.

She stared obsessively at Ye Xuan's soup-stained lips, her throat bobbing: "As long as it can help you... I am willing to do anything... anything at all..."

She spoke faster and faster, her breathing becoming rapid and chaotic, the black flames in the depths of her eyes beginning to spread out of control.

"But senior brother..." Her tone suddenly shifted, her voice becoming low and hoarse, carrying a trace of seductive stickiness: "Have you felt it? Relying solely on these external items can no longer push your cultivation forward."

Ye Xuan raised an eyebrow, looking with a half-smile at her face, which was slightly twisted with excitement: "Oh? And what brilliant idea do you have?"

Ye Qingcheng took a deep breath, a sickly flush appearing on her face.

She slowly straightened her back, her hands that had been grasping his robe slithering upward like a snake, finally resting tremblingly on Ye Xuan's knee.

"Senior brother, you and I were lovers in our past lives. This is destined by the Heavenly Dao..."

Her eyes glazed over, her pupils somewhat unfocused: "Since you no longer blame me... why not completely fulfill me? As long as we dual cultivate, my entire cultivation can be yours... Let alone the late Golden Core stage, even the Nascent Soul stage, I can help you reach the heavens in a single step!"

By the end, her voice had taken on a crying tone and a plea.

She lunged forward, her upper body almost pressed against Ye Xuan's chest. Her eyes surged with crazy lust and possessiveness, like a beast that had starved for a thousand years finally seeing flesh and blood.

"Senior brother... I will be very gentle... I will serve you well... I beg you, give yourself to me... let me become a part of you..."

Her fingers dug fiercely into Ye Xuan's flesh with astonishing force.

It was as if the moment Ye Xuan uttered a single "no," she would break down on the spot, or do something utterly insane to imprison him.

However, facing this confession filled with seduction and threat, Ye Xuan's heart remained as placid as an ancient well, even finding it somewhat ridiculous.

Compared to that crazy, unreasonable Xia Lengyue, the Ye Qingcheng before him, although morbid, had a fatal weakness.

She loved him too much, loved him to the point of subservience, loved him to the point of fear.

She was like a mad dog tightly bound by a chain called the past, and the other end of that chain was held in Ye Xuan's hand.

Ye Xuan smiled faintly, reaching out to gently stroke Ye Qingcheng's burning cheek with the pad of his thumb.

This gentle touch made Ye Qingcheng narrow her eyes in comfort. Like a cat being petted, a satisfied whimper escaped her throat.

"Qingcheng," Ye Xuan's voice was so gentle it could almost drip water, yet he spoke the cruelest words: "I am not mentally prepared for this just yet."

The air instantly froze.

The intoxication on Ye Qingcheng's face shattered in an instant, replaced by a deathly stillness as pale as paper.

She snapped her eyes open, her pupils shrinking violently as her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Not... prepared?"

She muttered to herself, her voice pitching into a sharp, distorted tone as tears burst from her eyes without warning. "So... you still despise me... you still don't want me..."

She gripped Ye Xuan's knees with a deathly grip, her nails piercing through his robes and digging into his flesh.

She looked up, her breathtakingly beautiful face now twisted like a vicious demon, tears mixing with disheveled hair plastered across her cheeks.

"I've already lowered myself this much... I've offered myself right to your lips! Why? Why is it still not enough?"

She screamed hysterically, the madness in her eyes completely overpowering her reason. Demonic energy surged around her, as if she would violently lash out in the very next second. "Do I have to break your arms and legs and lock you to my bed for you to obediently listen to me?!"

Looking at Ye Qingcheng on the verge of a rampage, the smile on Ye Xuan's face only deepened, his eyes flickering with cold mockery.

He slowly withdrew his hand and leaned back. His posture was lazy and casual as he lightly spat out a single sentence:

"It seems you really want to force me to death. Since that is the case, I wouldn't mind trying the 'Love of Qingcheng' again, just to see what it tastes like."

These words were like a bolt from the blue, viciously striking the crown of Ye Qingcheng's head.

"No!"

An incredibly shrill and miserable shriek echoed throughout the Listening Rain Pavilion.

The Ye Qingcheng who had been so aggressive and overflowing with demonic energy just a moment ago now collapsed onto the ground, as if her spine had been ripped out.

Her face was as pale as a corpse, her pupils dilated to the extreme, and the whites of her eyes were bloodshot—a physiological reaction caused by extreme terror.

"Senior Brother, no! I was wrong! I was really wrong!"

She lunged forward, desperately hugging Ye Xuan's legs, her entire body shaking like a leaf. That fear was not feigned; it was a trauma response etched deep into her bones.

A scene from the past was her eternal nightmare.

He had turned to dust with a smile of release on his lips, leaving her all alone to go mad in endless remorse and despair.

That kind of pain was ten thousand times worse than death by a thousand cuts.

"Don't say that name... don't use that spell..."

She cried out incoherently, her forehead heavily knocking against Ye Xuan's knees again and again. "I won't force you anymore... I won't ever dare to again... Please, don't leave me behind... don't die..."

Ye Xuan looked down at her, his gaze as cold as ice. He didn't speak immediately, instead savoring this feeling of absolute control.

After a while, Ye Qingcheng seemed to recover a shred of reason from her extreme panic.

She raised her head, her face covered in tear stains, her eyes holding a trace of probing madness and desperate hope.

She reached out with a trembling hand, wanting to touch Ye Xuan's face, her voice hoarse and twisted:

"I don't believe it... Senior Brother, you're just scaring me, right? What good does suicide do for you? You want to become strong so badly... you won't die... you're lying to me, right?"

Watching her carefully probe his bottom line, Ye Xuan smiled gently.

He reached out and grabbed her chin, his fingertips applying so much force that her bones creaked.

"What good?"

He leaned in close to her face, their breaths mingling, yet his tone was bone-chillingly cold. "The benefits for me are few, but they are enough. For instance... getting rid of a suffocating madwoman like you. Even if it's only a single moment of release, it's worth trading my life for."

The last sliver of wishful thinking in Ye Qingcheng's mind completely collapsed.

Immense despair and terror drowned her like a tidal wave.

Her entire body went limp, tears pouring out like a broken dam. She believed him. She truly believed him.

Because this man was truly capable of being ruthless to himself.

Just like he had been in the past.

"Senior Brother... don't be like this... I'm scared... I'm really scared..."

She curled up at Ye Xuan's feet, like a wild dog with a broken spine, humbled into the dust. "Don't say such things anymore... I beg you... The last time you died, my heart broke... don't do it again..."

Ye Xuan released his grip, looking down at her from above with a cold sneer. "Is this your attitude when apologizing? Where did your momentum from forcing me to dual cultivate just now go?"

Ye Qingcheng shuddered violently. She frantically wiped her tears, a flash of humiliation passing through her eyes, but it was overshadowed by her absolute determination to keep him.

Gritting her teeth, she slowly straightened her upper body, then crossed her hands and heavily knocked her forehead against the freezing floor, producing a muffled thud.

"Senior Brother... I'm sorry... Qingcheng was wrong... Qingcheng will never dare to force Senior Brother again..."

She maintained her prostrate position, her body still trembling slightly, her disheveled hair spread across the ground.

This posture was one of complete submission, a sacrifice made after her self-esteem had been crushed to dust.

Looking at the once arrogant Ye Qingcheng at his feet, now resembling a stray dog, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Ye Xuan's eyes.

He reached out and pet the top of her head like one would a dog, his voice indifferent:

"I do not like anyone forcing me to do anything, especially using so-called love as an excuse."

His fingers combed through her hair, feeling her shudder at his touch, before he continued leisurely, "Furthermore, that madwoman Xia Lengyue is going crazy searching the whole world for me. You should be aware of this, right? If I am driven to distraction by your coercion again, I'm afraid my 'Love of Qingcheng' might activate at any moment."

At the mention of Xia Lengyue, Ye Qingcheng snapped her head up, a ruthless killing intent flashing in her eyes.

She nodded hurriedly, tears flying off her face. "I know... I know she's looking for you... I will stop her, I will protect you... Senior Brother, believe me, I just want to stay by your side. As long as you are alive... anything is fine."

Only then did Ye Xuan retract his coldness. He reached out to pull her up from the floor, smoothly drawing her into his embrace.

This single action was simply a shift from hell to heaven for Ye Qingcheng.

Her body stiffened before erupting into unparalleled ecstasy. She hugged Ye Xuan back fiercely, burying her face in the crook of his neck, greedily and frantically breathing in his scent.

"Senior Brother... this is wonderful... you're hugging me..."

She murmured in a drunken daze, her hands roaming over his back, wishing she could knead him into her own body. "Don't leave me... don't die... You are mine, in this life and the next, you are mine..."