Shengyan, Don't Leave Me Alone... I'm Scared...

Gu Yuena instinctively nuzzled his palm, and the tangible sensation made her freeze slightly.

Even in a dream, this warmth felt far too real.

She tried hard to widen her eyes, attempting to make out the person before her, but her vision remained blurry.

"Is it really you..." she asked, trembling as she reached for the cold mask, yet afraid that this was only an illusion that would shatter at the slightest touch.

"The Pavilion Master ordered me to bring you food. She was afraid you'd starve to death and fetch a poor price."

Su Ling suppressed the ache in his heart and deliberately made his tone cold and distant.

He took a food box from his Soul Tool. Inside were steaming rice porridge and several delicate side dishes.

"Why..." Her voice was soaked in grievance and confusion as tears welled up again. "Why are you pretending not to know me..."

Su Ling's heart jolted. I'm clearly wearing a mask. How could she still recognize me?

He swiftly suppressed his panic, warning himself that he had to remain calm.

He absolutely could not let the Silver Dragon King's Main Body learn that he had been reborn as well.

Otherwise, with her divine indifference and that sword strike on their wedding night, she would certainly kill him without hesitation.

"You've mistaken me for someone else." He deliberately lowered his voice, carefully scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it until it cooled, and brought it to Gu Yuena's lips. "Eat first."

Gu Yuena stared intently into his eyes. Her tears blurred her vision, but could not conceal the certainty in her gaze.

Still, she opened her mouth and meekly swallowed the spoonful of porridge.

The sweet fragrance of the rice porridge spread across her tongue, and the long-lost warmth made her nose sting.

"Your hand is shaking..." she suddenly said softly, her slender fingers gently covering the back of the hand holding the bowl. "Shengyan, you can't fool me..."

Su Ling did not answer. He merely continued feeding her porridge in silence.

"Will you... leave again?" She raised her face, tears cutting two trails through the grime on her little face. "Don't abandon me again..."

Su Ling lightly tapped her lips with the tip of the spoon, signaling for her to continue eating.

"After you finish eating..." Seeing that she refused to open her mouth, Su Ling helplessly began to persuade her.

But before he could finish, a mouthful of blood surged from his throat and dripped down from the edge of his mask.

"Cough, cough... cough... Damn it, have I reached my limit..."

Su Ling turned his face away. His knuckles went white as he clenched the food box, enduring the agonizing pain raging through his body.

Gu Yuena's eyes widened as crystal tears slid down her cheeks. She panicked, utterly at a loss. "What's wrong with you?"

She struggled to rise, only for Su Ling to gently press her back down.

"Host, we must leave immediately!"

The system's cold voice rang out in his mind.

"You forcibly activated the Destruction God Armor today. Though you received treatment, your body has already reached its limit."

"If you do not leave now, not only will you die, but the Destruction God Armor's ability to conceal your aura will completely fail. At that point, the Silver Dragon King's Main Body will surely awaken."

"Furthermore, through contact with the Split Soul, she will soon discover that you have been reborn as well."

Su Ling ignored the system's warning. Trembling, he raised his hand, wanting to wipe away the tear tracks on Gu Yuena's face, but stopped halfway and slowly withdrew it in the end.

"Don't cry..." His voice was so hoarse it was nearly indistinguishable. "I'm not worth it. Eat properly and do your best to live..."

After forcing out those words, Su Ling's body began to turn transparent, as though he might dissipate into the air at any moment.

Gu Yuena grabbed his hand in terror, only to find that her fingertips passed straight through his arm.

"No! Please don't go! I'll eat... I'll eat right now... You mustn't let anything happen to you..."

In a panic, she took the bowl and began gulping down the porridge, tears continuously falling into it.

Seeing this, Su Ling halted the teleportation. He was truly afraid that this Little Silly Dragon would choke herself to death.

He silently watched her wolf down the food, a trace of heartache flickering in his eyes.

"Eat more slowly," he could not help reminding her softly, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.

Gu Yuena paused at his words and raised her Tear-Misted face to look at him, several grains of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth.

"Promise me you won't disappear..." she choked out, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of his clothes, afraid that he would cease to exist the moment she let go.

Su Ling fell silent for a moment before finally sighing. "Be good. Listen to me, let go... It's time for the dream to end..."

He endured the agonizing pain, yet his voice remained gentle.

Let this Little Silly Dragon think it was all just a dream, he thought bitterly.

He gently pried open Gu Yuena's fingers, only for her to suddenly lunge forward and embrace him at the very last moment.

"Don't go..." She lifted her little face, tears streaming down it, her eyes filled with immense fear and pleading. "Please... this time... don't leave me alone again... I'm scared..."

Her voice choked with sobs. "The cage is so dark, so cold... There are bad people everywhere outside... Sob... Without you, I can't survive at all... Shengyan... I really missed you so much..."

Su Ling's body suddenly trembled, and beneath the mask, his thin lips pressed into a tight line.

But he could only harden his heart and use his Mental Power to send Gu Yuena into slumber.

Gu Yuena felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

She desperately tried to grasp the hem of Su Ling's robe, but she could not raise her hand no matter what.

"Shengyan... no... don't... take me with you. I don't want to be alone anymore."

In the final instant before darkness swallowed her, she seemed to glimpse a tear slipping from the edge of his mask and falling onto her cheek, carrying a searing warmth.

Early the next morning, when Gu Yuena opened her eyes again, she found herself still lying inside that cold cage.

The tray that had been on the floor was gone as well, leaving behind only deathly silence.

She froze for a moment, then reached up to gently touch her cheek. It seemed that the lingering warmth of that tear was still there.

"Was it a dream?" she murmured softly, an inexplicable sense of loss rising in her heart.

Bang! The dungeon's door was kicked open, and several people who looked like Soul Masters entered. Tang Yuehua led them.

The moment she saw Gu Yuena, a trace of malice flashed through her eyes.

"You little bitch, did you sleep well last night? The chill in this dungeon must have made you suffer quite a bit, huh?"

Tang Yuehua gave a cold smile, her gaze sweeping over Gu Yuena with a hint of mockery and malice. "You bit my ear badly enough to leave a scar. We need to settle that score properly."

In truth, she wished Gu Yuena would simply die, but the auction's decisions were not entirely hers to control.

She could only use this as an excuse to make Gu Yuena suffer more.

Gu Yuena said nothing. She merely lifted her eyes slightly, her gaze passing over Tang Yuehua's face as she silently marked down this debt in her heart. One day, she would make her repay it a hundredfold.

Tang Yuehua's heart trembled under her gaze, but she quickly suppressed that inexplicable chill and sneered, "What? Not convinced? Want me to lock you back up for a few more days?"

Gu Yuena pressed her lips tightly together, her heart filled with an indescribable grievance.

Yet the dream from last night, so real it made her heart tremble, and that scorching tear—

ignited a fierce desire to live within her.

She wanted to see Shengyan of this life, even if it was only for a single glance.