The Little Boy pressed her hand against his chest, her fingers moving swiftly.
Each time she finished a Hand Seal, she pressed her hand to Xu Yuan's chest, letting him memorize it through the touch of her skin.
And she was curled up in his arms. His clothes and his Flesh shielded her from every prying gaze.
Xu Yuan found it Oddity.
We've already made it here. You could go in yourself.
Why won't you?
What are you afraid of?
"It's so cold. I'm freezing to death. What should I do?"
The Little Boy spoke.
"Is there anything nearby we can use to get warm?" Xu Yuan could only play along.
"There's a furnace in the eastern Side Hall. We can use it to make a fire; it'll warm up as soon as we light it."
"Then let's go to the Side Hall first."
"Okay."
As they spoke,
she gave him all twenty-eight Hand Seals and their thirty-nine variations, intricate and exacting.
Xu Yuan walked on, silently committing the Hand Seals to memory.
By then, the two of them had reached the eastern Side Hall.
Xu Yuan was about to look for the furnace when the Little Boy laughed.
Her laugh was so desolate, so despairing, that Xu Yuan froze in shock.
"Just as I thought—"
Before she could finish,
everything around them swiftly vanished.
The Little Boy floated in midair, watching the palace walls, the white snow, and Xu Yuan fade into the vast expanse of Heaven and Earth.
Everything receded.
Then—
the Little Boy landed and instantly became Lu Yiyi.
She had returned to the hospital in the real world and stood on the rooftop of the inpatient building.
Across from her,
"Have you fallen for him?"
A distinguished-looking young man smiled.
The Black Cauldron floated beside him