The bond light between them burned bright.
Wei Chen could barely breathe.
Lin Xue stood over him like a falling star made of ice.
And in the trees behind her…
Something moved.
Not a person.
Not a beast.
It was a shadow that looked wrong, like it did not belong in the world.
It slid between the trunks without sound.
Wei Chen's skin prickled.
Lin Xue felt it too. Her cold eyes snapped to the dark.
"Something is there," she said.
Wei Chen tried to sit up. His body screamed with heat.
"I know," he rasped. "And I don't like the way it's watching."
The shadow stepped closer.
The air turned heavy.
Frost crawled along the ground from Lin Xue's feet.
Golden heat pulsed from Wei Chen's chest.
Hot and cold pushed against each other—like two storms trying to fight in the same sky.
The shadow seemed to enjoy it.
It leaned in.
Like it wanted to drink that clash.
Lin Xue reached for her sword.
Her fingers shook.
She was too cold. Too weak.
Wei Chen reached for his fan.
His hand shook too.
He was too hot. Too weak.
Great.
They were both dying, and a monster was coming to take the last bite.
Wei Chen snapped his fan open with a sharp click.
Nine suns flashed in the painted silk.
He forced qi into it—just a little.
A thin golden line formed in the air, like a weak wall.
Lin Xue frowned.
"That fan is a weapon," she said.
Wei Chen gave a painful half-smile.
"I told you I was talented."
The shadow stopped.
Then it pressed forward anyway.
Wei Chen's weak wall trembled.
Cracks spread across it like broken glass.
Lin Xue's eyes narrowed.
"If it breaks," she said, "we die."
Wei Chen nodded once.
"Then don't let it break."
Lin Xue stared at him.
"You want my Yin," she said.
Wei Chen did not joke now.
"Yes," he said. "Your Yin can cool my Yang. My Yang can warm your Yin. Together, we can make the wall stronger."
Lin Xue's jaw tightened.
"You are shameless," she whispered.
Wei Chen swallowed hard. His voice stayed calm.
"I am honest," he said. "If you don't choose this… you will freeze. I will burn. And that thing will eat what is left."
The shadow moved again.
Faster.
It struck the wall like a claw.
The golden line shook so hard it almost snapped.
Lin Xue's sword slipped from her hand and hit the snow.
Her breath came out like thin smoke.
Wei Chen's breath came out like hot steam.
Lin Xue looked at him—really looked.
She saw the nine sun-marks under his skin.
She saw how close he was to breaking.
Wei Chen saw her frost lashes, her pale lips, her shaking hands.
They were both on the edge.
Lin Xue closed her eyes for one second.
Then she opened them.
"Rules," she said.
Wei Chen blinked.
"What?"
Lin Xue stepped closer, even while she trembled.
"If I choose you," she said, "we do it by rules."
Wei Chen nodded fast.
"Say them."
Lin Xue lifted her chin.
"Consent is clear," she said. "If I say stop, you stop."
Wei Chen's eyes were sharp.
"I swear it."
Lin Xue continued.
"You do not lie to me," she said.
Wei Chen gave a short nod.
"I won't."
Lin Xue's voice lowered.
"And you protect me first," she said. "Not your pleasure. Not your pride."
Wei Chen's grin flickered, small but real.
"That one is easy," he said. "I protect what is mine."
Lin Xue's cheeks went faintly pink from anger.
"I am not yours."
Wei Chen coughed, then said softly:
"Not yet."
The shadow hit the wall again.
This time, the wall screamed.
Wei Chen's fan shook in his hand.
Lin Xue snapped, "Enough!"
She grabbed Wei Chen's wrist.
Her skin was cold like ice water.
Wei Chen flinched from the shock.
But then—
Something answered.
His heat rushed toward her cold.
Her cold rushed toward his heat.
A bright line formed around their joined hands.
A seal.
Half sun.
Half snowflake.
Lin Xue's eyes widened.
Wei Chen stared too.
"It's forming on its own," he whispered.
The shadow hissed.
It did not like this.
It lunged—
Wei Chen snapped his fan forward.
Lin Xue pulled him closer.
Their joined hands pressed to Wei Chen's chest, right over the nine suns.
Wei Chen forced out one word:
"Now!"
Lin Xue whispered, "I choose this."
The seal flared.
A wave of mixed power blasted out.
Gold and frost twisted together like a rope.
It struck the shadow.
The shadow flew back into the trees.
The forest shook.
Snow fell hard, like the sky was angry.
Wei Chen gasped and almost fainted.
Lin Xue swayed.
But the shadow did not come back right away.
It was hurt.
Or scared.
Or planning.
Wei Chen panted.
"We need shelter," he said.
Lin Xue nodded once.
"There is a cave," she said, voice tight. "Not far."
Wei Chen blinked.
"How do you—"
"No questions," she snapped. "Move."
Wei Chen almost laughed. Even dying, she sounded like an elder.
He pushed himself up, wobbling.
Lin Xue grabbed his arm and pulled him along.
Each step hurt.
His body felt like a furnace ready to explode.
Her body felt like a frozen lake ready to crack.
They stumbled through the trees until they found a narrow crack in a cliff wall.
A small cave.
Inside, it was dark, but not wet.
Lin Xue quickly drew a circle on the ground with her finger.
Frost lines appeared—simple formation marks.
"A warning seal," she said. "If something enters, it will sting."
Wei Chen nodded and leaned against the wall.
His vision blurred.
Lin Xue sat across from him, breathing hard.
For a moment, they just stared.
Two strangers.
Two enemies in another life.
Two dying people in one night.
Wei Chen broke the silence.
"What's your name?" he asked.
Lin Xue hesitated.
Then she said, "Lin Xue."
Wei Chen smiled faintly.
"Pretty name," he said. "Cold name."
Lin Xue's eyes narrowed.
"Your name is Wei Chen. Everyone knows that one," she said.
Wei Chen's smile faded a little.
"Yes," he said. "And now everyone wants me dead."
Lin Xue looked away.
"You were framed," she said, like it was a fact.
Wei Chen stared at her.
"How do you know?"
Lin Xue's voice was quiet.
"Because I've been framed too," she said. "Just in a different way."
Wei Chen did not push.
He could see pain behind her cold face.
He shifted, then groaned.
The heat in his belly surged again.
His hands clenched into fists.
Lin Xue noticed at once.
"It's getting worse," she said.
Wei Chen nodded. His voice shook.
"The nine suns are waking fully," he said. "If I don't balance it… I will burn from the inside."
Lin Xue pressed a hand to her own chest.
"And my Frozen Heart Curse is eating me," she whispered. "It keeps taking more of my warmth."
Wei Chen's eyes lowered to her pale lips.
"You need heat," he said.
Lin Xue's gaze snapped up.
"And you need cold," she said.
Wei Chen swallowed.
They both knew what it meant.
Lin Xue spoke first.
"Say it clearly," she demanded. "What do you want?"
Wei Chen forced his breathing slow.
He spoke in simple words, so there was no confusion.
"I want to share qi with you," he said. "Touch. Breath. A bond exchange."
Lin Xue's cheeks flushed—this time not from anger, but from shame.
She looked away.
"We will not do it like animals," she said quickly.
Wei Chen's eyes softened.
"We won't," he promised. "We do it like cultivators. Like a vow."
Lin Xue took a shaky breath.
Then she looked at him again, colder than before.
"If you break my rules, I will cut you," she said.
Wei Chen lifted his fan slightly.
"And if you freeze to death," he said, "I will be very sad."
Lin Xue stared.
Wei Chen added, very quietly, "And I don't want you to die."
Lin Xue's throat moved like she swallowed something hard.
The cave was silent again.
Only their breathing.
Only the storm outside.
Then Lin Xue stood.
She walked to him, slow.
Each step looked like it cost her pride.
She stopped in front of him.
Her voice was low.
"Look at me," she said.
Wei Chen lifted his eyes.
Lin Xue's gaze was sharp.
"Say it again," she said. "Say what you want."
Wei Chen's mouth was dry.
He spoke anyway.
"I want you to choose me," he said. "Not because you're forced. Because you decide."
Lin Xue's fingers curled into her sleeves.
Her voice trembled, tiny, like a crack in ice.
"I choose this," she said.
Wei Chen's chest loosened, like someone untied a rope inside him.
He nodded once.
"Then we do it right," he said.
Wei Chen placed his fan on the ground between them.
He opened it fully.
The nine suns faced up.
He traced a small circle around it with one finger.
A warm golden line appeared, very faint.
Lin Xue added frost marks around it.
Their two powers met and didn't fight this time.
They clicked into place.
Like two puzzle pieces.
A simple Yin–Yang Balance Seal formed.
Lin Xue sat beside Wei Chen.
Not in front.
Beside.
Equal.
Her hand hovered near him.
Wei Chen did not touch her first.
He waited.
Lin Xue looked at him, eyes hard.
Then she reached out and grabbed his collar.
She pulled him close.
Wei Chen's breath caught.
Lin Xue's voice was almost a whisper.
"Don't make me regret this," she said.
Wei Chen replied, just as quiet:
"Tell me if you want me to stop."
Lin Xue's eyes flashed.
"I won't stop," she said.
Wei Chen's lips found hers.
Slow at first.
Then deeper.
Not playful.
Not joking.
Like a vow he couldn't take back.
Lin Xue made a small sound—angry and broken at the same time.
Her cold hands gripped his waist.
Wei Chen's warm hands slid to her back.
He held her like he was holding the last piece of heat in the world.
Her robe loosened at the collar.
His belt shifted under her fingers.
Nothing was shown.
But everything felt close.
Too close.
Their breaths mixed.
Hot and cold.
Wei Chen felt his nine suns shiver.
Lin Xue felt her frozen heart crack.
A soft light rose from their joined hands.
The half-sun, half-snowflake seal pulsed.
Their meridians hummed.
The cave filled with trembling, sacred heat.
Lin Xue's lips broke from his for a second.
Her forehead rested against his.
Her voice was shaking.
"Wei Chen," she whispered. "Say my name back."
Wei Chen's eyes were heavy.
"Lin Xue," he said. "Stay with me."
Lin Xue's fingers tightened on his collar.
The last of her restraint snapped—quietly, completely.
The seal on Wei Chen's chest pulsed.
Lin Xue's Yin answered.
The formation scripts on the floor ignited.
The candle they didn't have… felt like it was dimming anyway.
The world narrowed to breath, heat, heartbeat, and choice.
And when it would have gone further—
The seal flared bright.
The cave filled with white light.
And the world—mercifully—cut away.
Wei Chen woke to pale morning light.
His hair was a mess.
His throat was dry.
His body still felt hot, but not deadly hot.
Like a fire under control.
He blinked and sat up slowly.
Lin Xue was beside him.
Her silver hair spilled over her shoulder.
Her face looked softer in sleep.
Not cold. Not strict.
Just… tired.
Wei Chen looked down.
A mark glowed faintly on his wrist.
A tiny symbol.
Half sun.
Half snowflake.
He touched it.
Warm.
He looked at Lin Xue's wrist.
Same mark.
Wei Chen's eyes widened.
"We really bound," he whispered.
Lin Xue stirred and opened her eyes at once—sharp, alert, trained.
She sat up fast, pulling her robe tighter.
Her cheeks were pink.
"Do not stare," she snapped.
Wei Chen lifted both hands.
"I'm not staring," he lied.
Lin Xue glared.
Wei Chen coughed and changed the topic fast.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
Lin Xue paused.
She pressed a hand to her chest.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"The curse… it's calmer," she said.
Wei Chen nodded.
"My overload… it's not trying to kill me right now."
Lin Xue looked at the mark again.
"This seal," she said, voice tight, "is not a small thing."
Wei Chen's grin returned a little.
"So we're married now?"
Lin Xue grabbed a small rock and threw it at his head.
Wei Chen caught it with his fan and laughed.
Lin Xue's face stayed cold… but her ears turned red.
Then—
The warning seal at the cave entrance stung.
A sharp, icy pulse.
Lin Xue's head snapped toward the entrance.
Wei Chen's smile vanished.
Someone was coming.
Not the shadow from the forest.
This felt… human.
Organized.
Hunting.
Wei Chen leaned close to the cave crack and listened.
He heard boots.
Many boots.
He heard voices.
A male voice said, "The trail is here. The aura is still warm."
Another voice, smooth and cruel, laughed softly.
Wei Chen's blood ran cold.
He knew that voice.
Young Master Han.
Han's voice came again, closer now:
"Search the cave. I want Wei Chen alive."
Lin Xue's eyes widened.
"They followed you," she whispered.
Wei Chen's grip tightened on his fan.
"No," he said, voice low.
"They followed the seal."
The boots stopped right outside.
A hand touched the stone at the entrance.
And a bright light began to form—like a breaking spell.
Wei Chen looked at Lin Xue.
Lin Xue looked back.
They were still weak.
Still newly bound.
Still trapped.
And the cave entrance started to open.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.