The return journey to the Azure Cloud Sect was silent.
Li Wei sat in the back of the carriage (Su Mei had decided to fly, but dragged the carriage along
with her spiritual energy so Li Wei could rest). He held his side, his breath shallow. He hadn't
taken a healing pill. He wanted the pain. The pain made sense.
When they arrived at Moon Peak, night had fallen. The palace was cold. It was always cold now.
Su Mei walked into the main hall and sat on her jade throne. She looked pristine. Not a drop of
blood on her white robes. She began to brew tea, her movements graceful and precise.
Li Wei limped into the hall. He stood before her.
"Drink," Su Mei said, sliding a cup across the low table. "It is Spirit Soothing Tea. It will help your
ribs."
Li Wei looked at the tea. "I don't want it."
Su Mei paused. She looked up, her eyebrows raising slightly. "You are being childish. You are
injured."
"You injured me," Li Wei said softly.
"I moved you out of the way," Su Mei corrected, taking a sip of her own tea. "If I wanted to injure
you, you would be dust."
"You killed them all," Li Wei said. His voice gained strength, trembling with suppressed rage.
"Three hundred people. Servants. Children. Old men who just cooked the rice. You killed
everyone."
"I cleansed the sect," Su Mei set the cup down. The sharp clink echoed in the empty hall. "This
is the world we live in, Li Wei. It is a world of predators. If the Blood Fire Sect had invaded us,
do you think they would have spared the children? Do you think they would have spared you?"
"That doesn't mean we have to be them!" Li Wei shouted. "We were supposed to be different!
We were shopkeepers! We were people who gave extra rice to the poor! What happened to that
Su Mei?"
Su Mei stood up. She floated down from the dais, stopping inches from his face. The pressure
of her aura made it hard for Li Wei to breathe.
"That Su Mei," she whispered, "was weak. She lived in fear. She feared the tax collector. She
feared the bandits. She feared growing old."
She gestured to her own body. "Look at me now. I fear nothing. I hold life and death in my
palms. Is this not what you wanted? You gave me the System. You pushed me onto this path."
"I wanted you to be safe!" Li Wei pleaded. "I didn't want you to become a butcher!"
"Safety requires butchery," she snapped. Her eyes flared with blue fire. "To stand at the top, you
must build a mountain of corpses to stand upon. That is the Dao. If you cannot understand that,
it is because your mind is still trapped in the mud of the mortal world."
She turned her back on him. "I am tired of explaining this to you. It is like explaining color to a
blind man."
"Then maybe I should leave," Li Wei said. The words hung in the air.
Su Mei stiffened. She turned slowly. The temperature in the room dropped to absolute zero.
Frost crawled up the pillars.
"Leave?" she repeated. Her voice wasn't angry; it was dangerous. Possessive. "Where would
you go? You are a mortal with an immortal lifespan. You are a freak of nature. Without me, you husband. You are my Dao Protector. You do not leave until I say you can leave."
Li Wei looked at her. He realized then that he wasn't a partner. He wasn't even a pet. He was a
trophy. A testament to her origins.
"I am sleeping in the guest room," Li Wei said quietly. He had no energy left to fight. He was
defeated.
Su Mei watched him. "Fine. The main chamber requires high concentrations of Qi for my
cultivation tonight. It would be uncomfortable for you anyway."
She waved her hand dismissively. "Go. Meditate on your flaws. Try to broaden your
perspective."
Li Wei turned and walked away. He walked down the long, icy corridor to the small, dusty room
reserved for guests.
He closed the door. There was no lock.
He sat on the narrow bed. It was cold. He wrapped his arms around himself, shivering.
For the first time in ten years of marriage, they slept apart.
In the main chamber, Su Mei sat cross-legged on the massive spirit jade bed. She was alone.
The room was vast and empty.
She closed her eyes. "Heart Demon," she whispered to the air. "Are you satisfied?"
A wisp of black smoke curled from the corner of the room. "He is a shackle," the voice hissed in
her mind. "He judges you. He holds you back. Cut him loose."
"Not yet," Su Mei murmured, her face impassive. "He is still... useful."
She began to cycle her Qi. The frost covered the empty side of the bed where Li Wei used to
sleep, burying the memory of his warmth under a layer of unmelting ice.
[System Alert: Emotional Bond Critical.] [Link Integrity: 20%.] [Warning: If the bond
reaches 0%, the System will initiate 'Severing Protocol'.]
Li Wei, lying in the dark across the hall, stared at the ceiling. He didn't check the notification. He
didn't care anymore. He just missed his wife. And he knew, with a terrible certainty, that he
would never see her again. The thing in the other room was something else entirely.