"You're awake."
Qiu'er sat beside his bed. She was not wearing her battle armor, only a simple underdress, and the Golden Dragon Spear was nowhere in sight. Her golden hair fell over her shoulders. She looked quieter than she had on the tournament stage—and more dangerous.
"Where's Dong'er? Dong'er still hasn't woken up?" Huo Yuhao's voice was hoarse.
Qiu'er's heart ached. Even his first words after waking were still about Dong'er, but she answered him gently. "No. She hasn't woken up yet. Jiang Nannan is taking care of her."
"You shouldn't be here." Huo Yuhao turned his face away, hesitation in his voice.
"I know." Qiu'er continued to look at him quietly.
Huo Yuhao raised his eyes to look at her. The backlash from his Spirit Eyes made his vision go dark in waves, yet he still noticed a trace of blackish-red ash on Wang Qiu'er's cuff—it was Blood Baleful Intent residue that had splashed out when the Evil Soul Nail was shattered by the Golden Dragon Spear on the tournament stage.
He vaguely sensed that something was off with the window frame as well, but his injuries had greatly weakened his spiritual power, leaving him unable to use Spirit Detection over its usual range. When he lightly swept his senses over it, he caught only a speck of silver dust, so tiny it was nearly invisible, in the darkest crack of the frame.
—But it was not dust at all. It was a piece of Sun Moon Empire soul-tool craftsmanship, designed specifically to disturb the mind.
The room fell quiet. The night wind passed outside the window, and the soul-tool lamp flickered faintly.
Wang Qiu'er noticed none of the silver dust. All her attention was on Huo Yuhao. She raised her hand, and golden destiny power flowed from her fingertips. A fine, utterly pure ripple of spiritual energy slipped beneath Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes.
Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes throbbed faintly. He felt the comfortable sensation of his Soul Power and spiritual power gradually recovering. He let out a muffled groan, his fingers suddenly gripping the edge of the bed as his body tensed beneath the Soul Power Qiu'er was giving him.
As the pain in his Spirit Eyes was slowly suppressed by Qiu'er's Soul Power, another, more embarrassing heat rose from the depths of his spiritual sea.
It was not merely surprise and joy at seeing Wang Qiu'er. It was the terror left behind by battle, the pull of having his life saved, the weakness caused by his injured Spirit Eyes. The emotions he had forcibly suppressed were magnified bit by bit, along with the aura around Wang Qiu'er that he could no longer pretend was unfamiliar.
Huo Yuhao pushed himself up and slowly leaned against the bed. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Qiu'er, stop."
Qiu'er watched cold sweat roll down from his temple, and the gold in her eyes dimmed inch by inch. "If I stop, your Spirit Eyes will keep hurting tonight."
"Even so, it can't be like this."
"Because of Dong'er?" Qiu'er had long seen through the inner world Huo Yuhao refused to face, the one he kept buried in his heart.
Huo Yuhao said nothing. Wang Qiu'er stepped closer, her voice heavy with bitterness and pain. "Huo Yuhao, I saw it. I saw the look in your eyes when you carried Wang Dong'er away."
Huo Yuhao's throat tightened.
Wang Qiu'er continued, "I know how you feel."
She fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly sighed softly. "But Huo Yuhao, I can't ignore you. I never wanted to come back. It was my destiny power that sensed you were in mortal danger... I didn't want you to die."
"I had only planned to do what I could, then return to the Star Dou Great Forest. But when I truly saw you, I no longer had the courage to leave alone."
"I'm still not that free and easy."
Huo Yuhao knew Qiu'er was not acting cute, nor was she fighting for anything. She was simply taking out the grievance of having kept her feelings for him buried deep inside, along with her determination to bow out and fulfill his happiness, and placing it before him.
Huo Yuhao said quietly, "Qiu'er, I promised Dong'er."
"I know."
Qiu'er continued to gently press against the center of his brow. Golden energy kept flowing into his Spirit Eyes, though it was gentler than before. Her fingers slowly brushed over his forehead and eyebrows. Looking at him, her voice suddenly lowered.
"So, if you push my hand away now, I'll leave immediately."
Huo Yuhao raised his hand, intending to move hers away. Yet the instant he truly touched her hand, his own slowly fell.
"Huo Yuhao, you don't want me to leave."
"Mm."
Upon hearing that affirmative reply, Wang Qiu'er stopped caring about anything else. The sharpness in her eyes suddenly shattered, becoming an almost ferocious sense of grievance and unwillingness. She no longer waited for him to think. Leaning down, she kissed him. The kiss was deep, her tongue pressing forcefully forward with wild, scorching possessiveness. Huo Yuhao stiffened at first, one hand braced against her shoulder as he tried several times to push her away. But Wang Qiu'er did not retreat. While using her Soul Power to suppress the backlash in his Spirit Eyes, she used that stubborn kiss to force him to admit it.
Admit that he had thought of her.
Admit that when he saw her descend from the sky, he had felt more than relief.
Admit that during the gap when Dong'er was not by his side, he had thought of her too.
Huo Yuhao finally let out a low, ragged breath and no longer pushed her away.
Qiu'er's fingers suddenly clenched his collar, as though she had grasped an answer that had come too late. She completely settled into his arms, her body pressed tightly against his. Her supple yet powerful waist rubbed lightly against him, and their hurried breaths mingled. Even through their clothes, he could feel the searing heat of her body.
"Qiu'er... stop..." Huo Yuhao still did not want to continue.
Qiu'er gave a quiet whimper, yet kissed him even more actively. Her hand slipped beneath his collar, her palm pressing against his burning chest. Her fingertips scraped hard across his skin, as if she wanted to carve her presence into his body bit by bit.
Huo Yuhao's breathing fell completely into disorder. At that moment, the silver dust by the window frame began to flash. While neither of them noticed, it drifted into Huo Yuhao's ear. His Spirit Eyes lit up, and a seductive voice seemed to whisper beside him: "Huo Yuhao, you coward who cannot face his own heart." In an instant, Huo Yuhao rolled over. He lowered his head and bit her earlobe, directly stripping away their clothing. Qiu'er was startled by his sudden initiative and the pain beneath her, yet still let out an uncontrollable gasp. Golden energy surged wildly along their entwined breaths like a scorching, tyrannical flame, burning freely through his torn spiritual sea.
"Huo Yuhao..." Wang Qiu'er's voice was already hoarse, yet she stubbornly whispered by his ear, "Yuhao, do you... still want me to leave?"
Huo Yuhao did not answer. He only sealed her words with a deeper kiss. His palm slid from her waist to her chest, kneading hard through the last thin layer of fabric. Wang Qiu'er trembled violently, yet held him even tighter.
Warning calls from the tournament grounds after the match could still be heard faintly in the distance outside. In the Sea God Pavilion infirmary, Wang Dong'er had yet to awaken.
It was too late.
When they woke the next day, daylight had already fallen across the window. Seeing the disheveled clothes and the lingering golden aura, unease rose heavier and heavier in Huo Yuhao's heart.
Huo Yuhao lay with his eyes open for a long time without moving. Wang Qiu'er lay beside him, already awake before him. They were so close that none of last night's loss of control could be lightly dismissed with the word "treatment." Huo Yuhao's fingers twitched, but he did not know where to put them.
He had never felt so lost before.
Qiu'er looked at him, the golden light in her eyes much dimmer. "Do you regret it?"
Huo Yuhao closed his eyes, his voice low and hoarse. "I don't know."
Huo Yuhao sensed that something had been abnormal last night, but he also understood that the emotional temptation had merely given him a push. He should not place all that blame on Wang Qiu'er alone, so he did not tell her what had happened.
After all, what had happened had happened.
Huo Yuhao continued, "I shouldn't have betrayed Dong'er."
The moment those words fell, Wang Qiu'er's face went pale.
Her heart hurt as if it were bleeding, yet she neither cried nor returned to that sharp, guarded demeanor. She simply sat up, gathering her messy long hair behind her shoulder. Her voice was so soft that it carried almost no emotion. "Since you are so troubled by guilt..."
Huo Yuhao looked at her, and Wang Qiu'er looked back at him.
"I'll return to the Star Dou Great Forest."
Huo Yuhao's pupils constricted slightly.
Wang Qiu'er continued, "Besides, I don't want to become the mistake you can never speak of."
She rose to leave.
Almost instinctively, Huo Yuhao grabbed her wrist. Wang Qiu'er fell back into his arms, her shoulders stiffening for an instant. She did not break free from his embrace, only lowered her head to look at his arm. Huo Yuhao's throat tightened, and after a long while, he finally said, "Don't go."
Wang Qiu'er did not turn around.
"Do you know what you're saying?"
Huo Yuhao pulled her back.
It was not because he could say it with conviction, nor because he had finally figured out how to face Dong'er. He was simply afraid. The words "return to the Star Dou Great Forest" stabbed into him like a blade, making him realize for the first time that he could no longer bear for Wang Qiu'er to truly leave.
"I know I made a mistake."
"But I can't lie to you, and I can't lie to myself."
The tears she had stubbornly held back in her reddened eyes finally fell.
The dangerous line between the three of them, already so precarious, was secretly given a push by the people of the Sun Moon Empire, and it finally broke beyond recognition.
When Wang Dong'er woke up, everyone would have to face it.
Before you continue