Lin Tian barely had time to settle Xueya onto the bed before everything in her body shifted again.
Her breathing sharpened.
Her fingers curled so tightly around the blanket that her knuckles turned white.
A thin frost spread beneath her palms, cracking softly across the sheets.
"Xueya?" he whispered.
She opened her eyes only halfway, and even that looked painful. Her eyelashes trembled. Cold gathered at the corners of her lips.
"Tian…" Her voice broke. "It's… getting worse…"
He was already beside her, sliding an arm behind her back to help her sit upright. The moment her body touched his, the trembling slowed—but only slightly. Her forehead pressed weakly against his chest, and he could feel her breath shaking against his skin.
"You're freezing," Lin Tian murmured.
She tried to give a small, strained smile. "I said I was fine… didn't I…?"
Another wave hit her mid-sentence.
Her spine arched, her breath caught, and she stifled a cry against his shoulder.
"Xueya!" he called, tightening his hold.
She curled inward, clutching his robe, struggling to breathe through the cold flooding her meridians.
"I can't… hold it… Tian… don't let go…"
"I'm right here."
He wrapped both arms around her, pulling her fully against him. Her robe slipped off one shoulder, exposing pale skin dusted with frost. When his warm hand touched her bare skin, she gasped—sharp and breathless.
"T-Tian… your hand…" she whispered, voice shaking not from shame but from sensitivity.
"Am I hurting you?"
She shook her head quickly, pressing closer. "No… it's… warm…"
Her cheek rubbed weakly against his throat. Her breaths were shallow, desperate.
Lin Tian swallowed. He could feel the cold around her chest, her waist, her lower abdomen—all tightening painfully.
"Tell me where it hurts the most."
She hesitated before guiding his hand down her side, fingers trembling as she moved his palm to her lower stomach.
"Here… it feels like I'm… breaking apart…"
His heart tightened.
Before he could say more—
A violent surge tore through her body.
Her back arched again, her thighs pressing together involuntarily. Her robe slipped further open, exposing the top curve of her breasts. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, nails scraping lightly as she tried not to scream.
"Tian—!" she gasped, body curling into him. "It's too much— I can't—"
Lin Tian held her tighter.
"Xueya, breathe. Stay with me."
Her forehead pressed desperately to his neck, lips brushing his skin as she tried to control her breath. Everything in her trembled—arms, legs, even her voice.
A sharp chill ran over him—
Then the system triggered.
[ Partner's Yin qi unstable ]
[ Condition: Critical ]
[ Meridians at risk of damage ]
Lin Tian clenched his jaw.
"Xueya… listen to me. You're losing control."
She shook her head in denial, but her body betrayed her. Cold pulsed out of her core in panicked surges. She couldn't even sit upright anymore—her body collapsed against him, thighs trembling violently.
"Tian… please… don't leave me…" Her breath hitched. "I'm scared…"
Those words cut deeper than anything he had ever heard.
"I'm here," he whispered, sliding a hand up her back, feeling every tremor. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Her fingers fisted the front of his robe and pulled weakly, as if trying to anchor herself with the only warmth she could feel.
Her robe slipped dangerously.
Lin Tian caught the fabric before it fell fully open, holding it to her chest without letting go of her.
She leaned harder into him. "I don't care… j-just stay close…"
Another wave hit.
She gasped—high, breathless—pressing her body to his for warmth. Her thighs tightened around nothing, seeking support. Her breathing turned uneven, desperate, almost intimate in how helpless she sounded.
Lin Tian fought the heat building inside him.
'This isn't desire… she's hurting. Focus.'
But Xueya wasn't making it easy.
Her lips brushed his jaw accidentally as she struggled through another cold pulse. Her breath hit his skin, warm and shaky. Her hands tightened around him, pulling his body closer with instinctive need.
"Tian… please… help me…" she whispered, barely audible.
He lowered her back to the bed gently, supporting her head. She clung to his sleeve, refusing to let go even for a moment.
"You won't fall," he whispered.
But she was collapsing anyway.
Her entire body shook—small at first, then violently. Her legs buckled. Her head fell into his chest again.
"Tian—!" She cried out softly. "It hurts… don't let me—"
"I've got you."
He slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back, lifting her carefully. Her robe slipped again, revealing more pale skin, but she didn't even seem aware of it anymore.
Her body curled against his instinctively, seeking warmth, breath hitched and desperate against his neck.
He could feel every tremor.
He held her tighter.
Then the system struck harder—
[ Yin qi overload: Severe ]
[ Collapse risk: Imminent ]
[ Only effective remedy: Dual Cultivation ]
Lin Tian froze.
His breath slowed but his heartbeat didn't.
Dual cultivation.
He looked at her.
Her flushed face. Her trembling lips. Her robe slipping helplessly. Her fingers knotted painfully into his clothes. Her entire body collapsing from the cold tearing through her.
She wasn't thinking about shame or propriety anymore. She couldn't. All she could do was cling to him and beg him not to let her break.
"Tian…" she breathed, voice raw, "…help me… please…"
Lin Tian gathered her closer, lifting her fully into his arms. Her legs hung weakly over his lap. Her forehead pressed to his shoulder. Her body was cold, trembling, vulnerable.
He whispered softly into her hair.
"I won't let the worst happen to you."
And he carried her toward his room—
toward the only path left.
End of Chapter 16