Ye Yi's soul had been sealed into the Black-Yao bracelet. For one brief moment, the nether qi inside the valley thinned—
and Youqing still didn't slow down.
She forced down the dizziness of backlash and pointed toward the Yao-carriages outside the valley.
"Sang Qi, Li Yan—carry Ling Shuo back to the carriage. Confirm his condition first!"
Sang Qi was already moving. He checked Ling Shuo's pulse at a glance, his expression turning heavy.
"His soul is back, but his body is dangerously depleted… we need to treat him immediately."
"Go."
The two of them shot toward the valley mouth like wind.
Lin Lie was the first to reach Youqing's side.
"Starfeather, you—"
He lifted a hand as if to steady her, urgency slipping through his usually controlled voice.
Youqing was about to say I'm fine when her foot softened under her. Her vision trembled—hard.
She drew a sharp breath. "...Lin Lie. Hold me. The soul-ripping just now… took too much."
Lin Lie's face tightened. He caught her elbow firmly, his grip unusually quick, unusually tense.
Luo Ye and Cang Yuan were on her immediately as well, one on each side.
Cang Yuan frowned. "That habit of forcing yourself through things… you seriously can't quit it?"
Luo Ye's jaw locked. "That backlash was vicious. And you're still pretending you're made of steel?"
Youqing lifted a hand and tapped their arms lightly, signaling she could still walk.
"If I'm not down, I'm fine."
Her voice was weak, but her certainty was the kind you couldn't argue with.
"We still have to go to the Abyssal Deep… to save Ling Dang."
She raised her eyes. Her Crimson Eyes were dimmer now, but still bright enough to cut through fog.
Cang Yuan's blade was already sheathed, yet his hand stayed on the hilt, cold and ready. "Then we move. Now."
Luo Ye's flames were pressed low, but the killing intent was a blade pointed forward. "Ling Dang… doesn't have long."
Lin Lie turned away first to prepare the Yao-carriage. "I'll drive."
Ding Yuxuan leapt down from another carriage and sprinted over. "Are you all okay? Lady Youqing—!"
Supported by Luo Ye and Cang Yuan, Youqing reached her. Her breathing was unstable, but her mind was perfectly clear.
"I'm fine. Miss Ding—take a team back to Yao Capital, immediately."
She pointed to Wan Luo in the soul-guard coffer and Ling Shuo being loaded onto the carriage.
"Wan Luo must be treated in the capital at once. Her soul-breath is too weak. Any delay and it will fracture again."
"Ling Shuo also needs the Yao Healers' Hall. Repair soul-meridians, stabilize the spirit, replenish qi. The faster, the better."
Ding Yuxuan nodded sharply and climbed into the driver's seat, hands already moving across controls.
"I understand. Leave it to me! Sister Furong, Sister Wenyun, prepare to depart!"
Li Furong gripped Wan Luo's hand. "We'll keep her alive."
Xie Wenyun followed close behind. "Don't worry, Lady Youqing! We'll get them back safely!"
Runes flared. A roar of engines—
The carriage carrying Wan Luo, Ling Shuo, Li Furong, and Xie Wenyun shot toward the valley exit.
At the same time, Youqing and the Five Yao turned to board another carriage—
—BOOM!
A turbine-like blast thundered from the valley mouth.
Luo Ye snapped his head up. "Again?!"
Cang Yuan's gaze sank. "Not nightmare shadows… that's—Yao-carriages."
The next instant—
Dust was shredded aside as three streaks of Yao-light tore in from outside like blades splitting the barren gorge.
Three carriages. Full speed.
They slammed into an emergency stop at the Trial Valley entrance, sand exploding outward.
The door of the lead carriage rose slowly.
A black boot stepped down onto the ground.
—Si Mo Heng.
He wore dark-patterned war-armor. His cloak dragged dust into a storm. His face was cold, like someone who had just walked out of a slaughterhouse. The lingering nether qi made his eyes darker still. The moment his gaze landed on Youqing, something inside him tightened hard.
The Three Generals followed immediately—
Garo, killing intent still clinging to him.
Lianyu, eyes like knives scanning every angle.
Tutan, massive shield dropping with a heavy thud.
They took in the cracked earth, the battle-scars across the Five Yao, and Youqing's pale face and unstable breath. Their expressions pulled taut all at once.
Garo spoke first. "The Imperial Daughter is injured?"
Lianyu frowned. "...No. Those marks are backlash from soul-ripping."
Tutan's eyes snapped to the Black-Yao bracelet in Youqing's hand. His pupils shrank. "...She sealed him?"
Si Mo Heng didn't answer.
He only stared at Youqing.
Not as a question. Not even as concern.
More like he was confirming—
whether she was still alive.
His silence tightened the air like a noose.
Youqing lifted her hand, about to speak—
Si Mo Heng crossed the broken stones in one stride. His hand clamped around her wrist, right where backlash had shaken the joint. He leaned in, eyes dark enough to bore holes through stone.
His voice came out low, pressed through clenched teeth—anger and pain braided together.
"Don't do things this dangerous again. My heart can't take it."
When they'd heard the Trial Valley's roar from far away, fear had clawed him raw.
His grip was hard, but the emotion behind it was harsher.
Youqing simply raised her other hand and rested it over his cold knuckles.
She exhaled once, voice weak but threaded with steel.
"I'm fine."
She looked up. Her Crimson Eyes were dim… and still shining.
"You came at the right time."
Then she turned her wrist and took his hand herself—calmly, deliberately—like she was the one soothing him.
And then—
"We leave for the Abyssal Deep right now. We're saving Ling Dang.
Get on."
Still holding him, she stepped onto the carriage platform.
That single pull dragged Si Mo Heng back from the edge inside his chest. The terror of almost losing her loosened by one thin strand—only because her warmth was there in his palm.
He didn't speak. He simply let her lead him.
Reactions, because humans are incapable of suffering quietly
The Five Yao
Cang Yuan: "...Huh? That hand-holding was way too natural."
Sang Qi blinked. "Ohhh. This development is… not looking safe for anyone's blood pressure."
Lin Lie's eyes dimmed by one degree. "…"
Luo Ye's rings clicked. "Get on the carriage. Now."
Li Yan stayed silent, but his steps grew heavier—like the ground itself felt the pressure.
The Three Generals
Garo lifted a brow. "Imperial Daughter. Very… efficient."
Lianyu murmured, "Mhm… three breaths and the Third Prince is obedient."
Tutan swung the door wide. "All personnel aboard. Protect the Imperial Daughter!"
Si Mo Heng was guided into the front seat. The moment Youqing sat down, she pressed a hand to her chest again—backlash still gnawing.
Si Mo Heng fastened the safety lock without hesitation and said quietly, "Lean on me."
Youqing paused, then a faint curve touched her mouth. She let herself rest against his shoulder.
The back row went instantly silent.
Luo Ye: "…"
Lin Lie: "…"
Sang Qi: "I feel like today I'll be diagnosing a lot of people's… heart-fire."
Cang Yuan propped his chin on his hand. "Mhm. This show? I approve."
Li Yan folded his shield away and sat like a mountain.
Engines thrummed. Runes spilled light along the hull.
Si Mo Heng's command dropped like iron. "Abyssal Deep. Full speed."
"Yes, Your Highness." The driver pushed the throttle.
The Yao-carriage howled forward, carving a bright-gold trail across the wasteland like a drawn sigil.
Youqing's breathing still trembled against Si Mo Heng's shoulder. Si Mo Heng sat perfectly still, a mask of control—yet the knuckles of his hand were rigid, white with restraint.
After a long vibration of the chassis, he finally spoke.
"...Still hurting?"
His tone was quiet. Rarely so.
Youqing's breath steadied a fraction. She shook her head. "Just backlash. It'll pass."
Two beats of silence.
Then Si Mo Heng tilted slightly, letting her rest more securely.
"That technique you used…" He paused, voice low like a blade held down.
"If you'd been even a little slower to stop, it wouldn't have been 'pain.'"
Youqing lowered her gaze. "I know."
His eyes tightened. "If you know, then you—"
Youqing lifted her hand and pressed it over his.
Light as wind. Final as a lock.
"Mo Heng," she said, looking at him. "If I didn't do it that way… you know Ye Yi would never leave the body on his own."
Si Mo Heng fell silent.
He did know.
If Ye Yi's soul wasn't ripped free, he wouldn't release Ling Shuo's body. If Ling Shuo wasn't freed, Wan Luo would break. And everything after would collapse.
But that wasn't the point.
He leaned in and rested his forehead gently against the side of hers, crushing everything he wanted to say into a single act.
His voice came out like a vow whispered into bone.
"Who you want to save, I'll follow."
"Who you want to kill, I'll do it for you."
"Where you want to go, I'll go."
His breath brushed her temple.
"But you have to live. That's my only demand."
Youqing closed her eyes and took a slow breath.
"…I will."
Just two words.
And somehow, they lowered half the blade inside him.
He didn't speak again. He only lifted his hand and rested it lightly against her shoulder—like he needed proof she was still here.
No more words passed between them—
but the pressure inside the carriage sank, deep and heavy.
Cang Yuan quietly tugged the curtain open a finger-width, caught the scene, and—
"...Ow."
Luo Ye snapped. "What 'ow'?"
Cang Yuan: "Front row has entertainment."
Sang Qi clicked his tongue. "Tch. He really knows how to talk. Did you hear that line just now—"
Lin Lie, flat and cold: "Shut up."
Li Yan rumbled, low. "...Quiet."
Tutan muttered, "His Highness is… unusually expressive today."
Lianyu replied, "Obvious."
Garo: "Focus. Prepare for war."
The rune-hum climbed higher.
Front row silence like deep water.
Back row silence like blades laid against skin.
Everyone understood: Si Mo Heng's "live" wasn't romance. It was an order. A vow. A promise that every debt of blood would be collected later.
Lin Lie said quietly, "Abyssal Deep… won't let us walk in."
Luo Ye tightened his rings, sparks jumping at his fingertips. "Then we burn a road through."
Sang Qi: "My medicine is ready. I can't heal dead people. Anything else, I can."
Cang Yuan: "Ling Dang is still alive. I can feel it."
Li Yan fastened his shield strap. His voice was iron. "Then we bring her back."
The Three Generals followed, one after another:
Garo: "I know the terrain."
Lianyu: "I break kill-formations."
Tutan: "I guard the Imperial Daughter."
The killing intent inside the carriage rose silently toward a breaking point—
until Youqing shifted slightly, and Si Mo Heng's voice lowered again.
"Sleep. I'll wake you when we arrive."
Like a blade suddenly punched into the air, turning every ounce of killing intent sharper.
The Yao-carriage surged faster—
like a beast finally unchained—charging straight toward the Abyssal Deep.
The golden trail it carved across the wasteland wasn't decoration. It was a line drawn toward retrieval.
Si Mo Heng's shoulder became Youqing's only harbor. His fury was for her recklessness. His gentleness was for her survival.
The back row's killing intent and the front row's quiet reliance fused into the hardest kind of defense.
The Abyssal Deep waited ahead.
And this time, they weren't going to fight just to win.
They were going to bring back the soul that had been lost in the dark.
Si Mo Heng: "If you dare put yourself in danger again, I'll burn this world down until there's no one left for you to save."
Youqing, softly: "Mo Heng… don't be afraid. I'm back."
Luo Ye: "Abyssal Deep… ready for Fire Yao's wrath?"