"Sisi..."
The mountain valley lay quiet beneath a bitter, bone-chilling wind. Qian Daoliu struggled awake through pain that felt like his flesh and bones were being torn apart.
But the pain in his body was nothing compared to the fear and despair churning in his heart.
He paid no heed to his injuries. Almost on instinct, he lurched upright and wrapped both arms tightly around the unconscious woman in his embrace.
Her hair was disheveled, her sea-green brows drawn together. Her face was pale and bloodless, her body cold and still. All the vitality she once carried had vanished.
Qian Daoliu probed Bo Saixi's body with his spiritual power and found Vengeful Spirits invading her spiritual sea, devouring her life force, Soul Power, and spiritual power.
He desperately wanted to summon his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul to help Bo Saixi purge the Vengeful Spirits. But even with a ninth-grade Defensive Soul Tool protecting him, he was gravely injured, his meridians badly damaged. He couldn't muster his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, and every inch of his body was weak and racked with pain.
"Sisi... don't sleep..."
Qian Daoliu's throat was dry and hoarse, his voice trembling with helpless panic. His fingertips shook as he gently brushed her cold cheek, and a sudden pain stabbed through his chest.
The valley was desolate and bleak. Cold wind swept through the leaves beneath the vast, empty sky. Only he and the woman he loved remained, surrounded by bone-deep chill.
Regret surged over him like a tidal wave, drowning him in an instant.
He clutched her tighter, his arms closing around her. His eyes burned red, filled with remorse and lingering fear.
If he had listened and left sooner, Bo Saixi wouldn't have been gravely wounded protecting him. She wouldn't now be unconscious, her life hanging in the balance.
His stubbornness had dragged down the only tenderness, the only love, he had ever known.
"Sisi... I'm sorry... I was wrong..."
Qian Daoliu buried his face in her cool hair, stifling sobs that echoed through the valley.
He wanted to roar and vent his anguish, but he had no strength to make a sound. He wanted to circulate his power and heal, but his Soul Power was spent. He was utterly helpless.
The proud, haughty heir to the Angel Inheritance was now reduced to a wretched state, consumed by regret and helplessness.
All he could do was hold the unconscious Bo Saixi tight and whisper her name over and over, each syllable steeped in pain.
Just then, Bo Saixi's eyelashes, resting against his chest, trembled almost imperceptibly. Her consciousness slowly returned.
Pain wracked her entire body. With great effort, she lifted her eyelids. Her vision was blurred, cold sweat beaded on her forehead, yet she immediately recognized the familiar figure.
Her feeble voice came softly, as faint as a thread: "Qian Daoliu..."
With every word she spoke, countless Vengeful Spirits gnawed at her life force and spiritual power.
Even the slightest movement aggravated her injuries. Pain pierced her to the bone, and she could no longer rise.
Only by resting quietly in Qian Daoliu's arms, feeling the sacred, radiant nature of his power, could she gather enough strength to speak. In a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, Bo Saixi said, "Qian Daoliu, you have to live well and fulfill our vow to eradicate the Evil Soul Masters together."
After speaking, she could no longer withstand the Vengeful Spirits' biting. She lost consciousness once more.
"Sisi!"
Just as Qian Daoliu held the unconscious Bo Saixi, despairing beyond words, a calm voice rang out. Its tone was gentle, yet impossible to identify as male or female.
"Universe Love Inquiry, True Heart Adventure. Begin!"
The mysterious voice broke through the valley's deathly silence and jolted Qian Daoliu's scattered thoughts back into place.
He forced down the agony tearing through his body and his searing regret. Tensing his battered frame, he used his God-Tier Spiritual Power to examine his surroundings. The area was empty, with not a sign of movement.
Qian Daoliu focused his mind and stood on guard, waiting quietly for the unknown Universe Love Inquiry adventure to descend.
The next moment, however, Qian Daoliu fell silent. To his astonishment, a gold-and-silver screen had appeared before his eyes.
At the same time, golden light rose from the circular platform beneath him, enveloping his body.
He slowly rose until he was more than three feet above the ground. Then the emotionless voice from earlier sounded in his ear:
"Do you have a beloved?"
Qian Daoliu's heart jolted. Still thinking about the predicament before him, he had no intention of answering.
"Do you have a beloved? If you fail to answer after being asked three times, the penalty is death."
Qian Daoliu frowned slightly. Then he glanced at Bo Saixi lying in his arms and answered without hesitation, "I do!"
"Who is your beloved?" the emotionless voice continued.
"Bo Saixi!" Qian Daoliu answered without the slightest hesitation this time.
"Is it the person in your arms?"
Golden light flashed across the circular platform, pulling Bo Saixi out of Qian Daoliu's embrace.
"Sisi!" Qian Daoliu tried to stop them from taking her away.
"Ah!"
Separated from Qian Daoliu, Bo Saixi had to endure the Vengeful Spirits' devouring bites alone. A pained cry escaped her.
Qian Daoliu fought with all his strength to break free of the golden light, but every attempt was futile. He could only watch as it forced him and Bo Saixi apart.
The next moment, the golden light placed Bo Saixi on a circular platform not far from Qian Daoliu's.
Perhaps her cries of pain moved the mysterious voice to pity. Another beam of golden light shot up from beneath the platform, and Bo Saixi's trembling body finally grew a little still.
"Sisi!" Qian Daoliu couldn't help calling out to Bo Saixi.
Bo Saixi, too, came out of her pain enough to call his name. "Qian Daoliu!"
Just then, the emotionless voice interrupted them.
"Do you have a beloved?"
The emotionless voice spoke again, this time asking Bo Saixi.
Bo Saixi looked at Qian Daoliu across from her, not far away, and answered without hesitation, "I do!"
"Who is your beloved?" the emotionless voice continued.
"Qian Daoliu!"
Bo Saixi answered without a second thought.
Qian Daoliu's eyes reddened slightly. Tears shimmered there, on the verge of spilling over.
Through the golden light, Qian Daoliu called to Bo Saixi, "Sisi, I love you too!"
Weary, Bo Saixi answered him through the golden light, "Qian Daoliu, I love you too..."
As Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi exchanged their heartfelt confessions across the golden light,
the emotionless voice rang out again.
"Only one of you can survive!"
"Which of you will you choose to live?"
Qian Daoliu answered without hesitation, "Bo Saixi!"
Bo Saixi likewise answered without hesitation, "Qian Daoliu!"
The emotionless voice abruptly asked, "Why?"
Qian Daoliu answered calmly, "Because she's the woman who would die for me! And I'm just as willing to die for her!"
Bo Saixi's answer was much the same. "Love doesn't have that many 'whys.' When death is staring me in the face, the first person I think of protecting is the one I love. I believe Qian Daoliu would do the same!"
Neither made any earth-shaking vows of eternal love. Their actions, standing together in life and death not long ago, had already proved everything.
This time, the emotionless voice fell silent for a while.
When it spoke again, it said, "Universe Love Inquiry, first trial, the Sincerity Trial: passed!"
"Second trial: waived!"
The emotionless voice paused.
At that, Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi felt the tension in their hearts ease somewhat.
"Third trial: begin!"
Before they could fully relax, they heard the emotionless voice again.
Golden light flashed beneath Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi. The circular platforms below them began moving away from each other, carrying them farther and farther apart.
"Sisi!" Qian Daoliu cried out as he watched Bo Saixi recede.
"Qian Daoliu!" Bo Saixi called back to him.
Seeing this, Qian Daoliu roared at the surrounding space, "I don't care who you are! If you dare hurt Sisi, I swear by the name of the Angel God that I will never forgive you!"
Before you continue