The shadow-chain touched Lin Xue's wrist, and her whole body jerked like she was shocked. Frost flashed across her skin. Her breath came out sharp and white.
Wei Chen slashed with his fan.
The chain did not cut.
It wrapped around the fan like a living rope and yanked hard. Wei Chen stumbled forward. The black pillar in the center hummed, pleased, like it just tasted a secret.
Lin Xue tried to pull back, but her legs shook. Her curse fought inside her like a frozen animal. Her eyes locked on Wei Chen, wide and scared.
Su Mei's purple ring flickered around them, weak now. She cursed under her breath and threw violet qi at the chain. It burned for a second, then the chain drank it and grew thicker.
The eyes in the dark brightened. The voice purred, sweet as poison. "Branded one… say yes. Accept me. I save her forever."
Wei Chen's black sun mark pulsed cold, and the whisper in his blood pushed again. Say yes. Let me in.
Wei Chen gritted his teeth. "Shut up," he growled.
The chain tightened on Lin Xue's wrist. A thin black line crawled up her arm like ink. Lin Xue gasped and almost fell.
Wei Chen moved fast and caught her. He pulled her against his chest, firm, protective. "Look at me," he said.
Lin Xue's breath shook. "Wei Chen…"
"Rules," Wei Chen said, voice low and steady. "Stop means stop."
Lin Xue swallowed. "Stop means stop," she whispered.
"And you choose," Wei Chen said. "I can't fix this by force. Do you trust me?"
Lin Xue's eyes trembled. Pride fought fear in her face. Then she nodded once, hard. "I choose you," she whispered. "Do it."
Wei Chen's chest tightened. Even now, he couldn't stop himself from being naughty. He brushed his thumb near her wrist mark and murmured, "After we live, I'm collecting that kiss you promised… and I'm not letting you pretend you hate it."
Lin Xue's cheeks flushed, angry and alive. "Wei Chen, focus!"
Wei Chen smiled. "Yes, ma'am."
He turned his head and kissed her—slow, deep, like a vow he couldn't take back. Lin Xue's fingers grabbed his collar and held him there, not forced—chosen. Their bond marks flared gold and silver, bright enough to glow through their sleeves. Heat and frost met like steam. Lin Xue's shaking eased for one breath.
Su Mei stared, half annoyed, half impressed. "You're using romance as a technique," she muttered.
Wei Chen broke the kiss just enough to whisper, "Jealous?"
Su Mei's eyes narrowed. "I'm practical," she snapped. "Hurry, boy."
Wei Chen nodded once. He lifted his fan, still wrapped by the chain, and pressed the fan's spine to his own chest, right beside the black sun brand. Pain stabbed, cold and sharp.
The altar voice laughed. "Yes… open yourself."
Wei Chen ignored it. He spoke to Lin Xue instead, clear and simple. "Say yes again," he told her. "Say you accept my heat. Say you accept this vow."
Lin Xue's eyes stayed on his. "I accept," she whispered. "I choose this. I choose you."
The moment she said it, the bond mark between them burned brighter. Wei Chen felt it click into place, like a lock turning.
Wei Chen drew a small circle in the air with the fan tip. Golden lines formed. Lin Xue added a thin frost line without even thinking. Their qi mixed, not fighting, but joining.
Wei Chen spoke the vow out loud so the world could hear it. "My fire warms you," he said. "Your ice steadies me. We leave this place alive—together. No altar owns us."
The black sun brand screamed inside his skin, like it hated being denied. The chain around his fan shook. The chain on Lin Xue's wrist tightened once more—
Then the vow seal flared.
Gold and silver light snapped down the chain like a whip. The black ink line on Lin Xue's arm cracked and shattered. The chain recoiled, smoking.
Su Mei didn't waste the moment. She slammed her palm into the smoking link and hissed, "Demon Bite Seal!"
Violet qi bit deep.
The chain snapped.
Lin Xue sucked in a breath like she was coming back from drowning. She clung to Wei Chen's shirt, shaking.
Wei Chen held her close and whispered, "You're safe."
Lin Xue looked up at him, furious and soft at the same time. "Don't you dare die," she whispered.
Wei Chen gave a pained grin. "Not until you pay what you owe."
Su Mei groaned. "He's flirting again."
The pillar in the center shook like it was angry. Cracks spread across it. The eyes in the dark widened, and the voice turned cold. "Vow-maker… you resist me."
Wei Chen lifted his fan. The chain stain on it hissed, but the fan was still his. "Yes," Wei Chen said. "I resist."
The stone ceiling rumbled. From far above, Han's men shouted again. Metal scraped rock. They were breaking through another way.
Su Mei's head snapped toward the sound. "They're coming," she warned. "And the altar is not finished."
The pillar split open with a loud crack. A black doorway appeared behind it, breathing warm darkness. Wind rushed out like a sigh.
Lin Xue stiffened. "That door… feels wrong."
Su Mei's eyes glittered. "That's deeper," she said. "That's where it wants him."
Wei Chen's black sun brand pulsed, tugging at his ribs like a hook. The whisper returned, sweeter. Come. I will give you everything.
Wei Chen spat on the floor. "You'll give me chains."
The room shook harder. Dust fell. A chunk of stone crashed near them. Han's voice echoed through cracks, excited and cruel. "He's down there! Break it!"
Then a second sound crawled in—wet and scraping.
The shadow-creature.
Its empty mouth hissed from the darkness of a side tunnel, drawn by the brand and the fear.
Lin Xue grabbed Wei Chen's hand. "Wei Chen…"
Wei Chen squeezed back. "Stay close," he said. Then, because he was still Wei Chen, he leaned near her ear and whispered, "If we survive, I'm kissing you until you stop pretending."
Lin Xue's breath hitched. "I'm not pretending," she whispered, then looked shocked at herself.
Wei Chen's grin flashed. "Good."
Su Mei rolled her eyes. "Both of you—move!"
The shadow-creature lunged. Han's men broke stone above. The altar doorway breathed harder like it was sucking them in.
Wei Chen pulled Lin Xue with one arm and grabbed Su Mei's wrist with the other. "Jump!" he shouted.
They dove through the black doorway.
The world flipped.
The door slammed shut behind them like teeth.
They landed in a new hall of black stone, filled with old symbols and cold light. At the center was a giant sealed coffin wrapped in chains.
Wei Chen's black sun brand pulsed so hard it hurt.
And a voice rose from the coffin, quiet and happy.
"Vow-maker," it whispered. "Now I will test your vow… by taking what you love most."
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
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