The crack in the coffin wall opened wider, like stone was turning into a mouth. A long shadow hand slid through, fingers thin and cold, reaching straight for Wei Chen's throat.
At the same time, Su Mei's black-eyed lips moved again. Her voice was smooth and soft, like a lullaby that wanted to kill. "Chen Wei…"
The gold-black eye in the wall flared bright, pleased, like it could taste his name in the air.
Wei Chen's chest locked tight. The black sun brand under Lin Xue's palm pulsed hard. Cold climbed up his throat, trying to force his mouth open, trying to make him say "yes" again.
Lin Xue didn't panic. She moved like a sect elder in a war. She grabbed Wei Chen's face with both hands and forced his eyes onto hers. "Chen Wei," she snapped, shaking, "say my name. Stay real!"
Wei Chen swallowed through the pull. "Lin Xue," he forced out.
"Again!" Lin Xue demanded.
"Lin Xue," Wei Chen said louder.
The bond rope flared warm for a heartbeat. Lin Xue used that heartbeat like a shield. She leaned down and kissed Wei Chen—slow at first, then deeper, like a vow that wouldn't take no for an answer. Wei Chen kissed her back like he was starving for something real. His arm locked around her waist and pulled her tight into his lap, keeping her cold body pressed against his heat.
Wei Chen broke the kiss just enough to ask, low and clear, "Do you want me to stop?"
Lin Xue's cheeks were red, but her eyes were fierce. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Hold me. Anchor."
Wei Chen nodded once. He pressed his forehead to hers. "Tell me what to do," he whispered. "Before my mouth betrays me."
Lin Xue's voice turned into a blade. "Burn the hand," she said. "Not your throat. Burn the hand."
Wei Chen snapped his fan open and flicked it hard. The fan blade hit the shadow fingers, but metal didn't cut law. The shadow hand only slid forward again, reaching for Wei Chen's neck.
Wei Chen's jaw clenched. "Then we do it my way," he growled.
He grabbed Lin Xue's wrist and pulled her hand tighter over his black sun brand, placing her palm exactly on the crack like a seal stamp. "Stay here," he said.
Lin Xue's breath hitched at the way he moved her—firm, sure, and a little too intimate. "Chen Wei…"
Wei Chen's roguish grin flickered, shameless even now. "Ice Queen," he murmured, "you chose this."
Then he asked, clear again, "You still choose it?"
Lin Xue swallowed. "Yes," she whispered. "I choose."
Wei Chen leaned down and kissed her wrist mark—right on the painful crack there—warm and slow. Lin Xue shuddered, cheeks burning, because it felt like heat entering a wound and making it live again. Her Frozen Heart Curse hesitated for one precious moment.
Wei Chen's voice went low by her ear. "Good," he murmured. "Then don't let go."
The copy of Lin Xue watched from the blue-lit tunnel ahead, smiling sweetly. "So touching," it purred. "Kiss more. Confess more. It loves devotion."
Lin Xue snapped her head up. "Shut up."
The copy smiled wider. "Make me."
The shadow hand reached Wei Chen's throat.
Lin Xue's breath caught. "Chen Wei!"
Wei Chen's eyes went hard. He didn't dodge. He didn't run.
He chose.
Wei Chen inhaled deep and pushed his Nine-Suns fire up—stronger than before, not gentle now. Golden heat surged out of him like a sun being born. The air shook. The runes on the wall flashed.
Lin Xue felt the heat and trembled, but she pressed her frost harder around the brand, making a tight ring to protect his heart. "Stay with me," she whispered through clenched teeth. "Don't explode."
Wei Chen looked at her like she was the only real thing left. "Say it," he rasped. "Say the vow again."
Lin Xue leaned in and kissed him—deep, steady, chosen—then whispered against his mouth, "Chen Wei, I choose you."
The bond rope flared bright gold-silver.
Wei Chen's fire hit the shadow hand.
This time, the hand screamed without sound. The shadow fingers smoked, curling back like burned paper. The gold-black eye in the wall blinked, angry.
Su Mei's black-eyed mouth tried again. "Chen Wei…"
Wei Chen snapped, "No."
He turned his head to Lin Xue, voice shaking but strong. "My name is mine," he said loud.
The tunnel runes flickered.
The copy's smile thinned.
The shadow hand pushed forward again, half-burned but still alive.
Wei Chen grabbed the shadow wrist with his bare hand.
Cold bit his skin. His fingers went numb. But he held it like he was choking a snake.
Lin Xue gasped. "That's law—"
Wei Chen's grin flashed, wicked and brave. "Then I'll write a new law," he rasped.
He pulled Lin Xue closer, chest to chest, keeping her palm sealed over his brand. His heat surrounded her; her frost held him steady. Their bodies became one lock.
Wei Chen whispered, "Do you want me to stop?"
Lin Xue's cheeks burned. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Command it."
Wei Chen's eyes darkened. "Then command me," he murmured.
Lin Xue's throat worked. She hated how much that word did to him. She still said it, because survival needed it. "Obey," she whispered.
Wei Chen's breath hitched. "Yes," he said, and this time it was his real yes, clean and chosen.
The black sun brand pulsed under Lin Xue's palm.
Not cold this time.
Hot.
Like the door was deciding to open on purpose.
Wei Chen looked at Lin Xue, serious now. "If I keep it shut," he whispered, "it will keep knocking until it breaks me. So I'm going to open it… and fight it inside."
Lin Xue's eyes went wide. "Chen Wei—"
Wei Chen kissed her quickly—warm and fierce—then pressed his forehead to hers. "Say my name," he whispered. "Anchor my mouth. If I start speaking wrong… stop me."
Lin Xue's voice shook. "Chen Wei," she whispered. "Stay real."
Wei Chen nodded once. Then he lifted his chin toward the gold-black eye in the wall and spoke like a man throwing a challenge.
"Come," he said to the monster. "Not through my throat."
He placed his hand over Lin Xue's hand on his chest.
And he opened the black sun brand.
The crack spread fast like a smile.
Cold and heat collided.
The tunnel lights went white.
And from inside Wei Chen's chest, something laughed—wearing his breath like it was already his.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.