The night was thick as ink. Frost clung to the bamboo leaves, and the twin moons drifted in and out of clouds, casting their cold radiance upon the earth.
Ye Lan stood in the courtyard, sword tip grazing the stone, her figure solitary and severe. The twin streams of yin and yang still churned violently in her chest, threatening to tear her apart. She had always guarded her heart with ice, yet in this moment, an unfamiliar weight pressed down upon her.
Across from her, Luo Mingyao stood in silence. Her white robe stirred with the night wind, silver eyes deep and fathomless, so calm it seemed all emotion would vanish within them.
"You saved me," Ye Lan said at last, her voice low and sharp, like steel drawn across frost. "But do not mistake this—I owe no one."
Luo Mingyao lowered her gaze, her tone even."It was not I who saved you. It was your qi, bound to my blood."
Ye Lan's brows hardened, her aura flaring cold and sharp. "What do you mean?"
"The pact is sealed." Luo Mingyao lifted her eyes, silver light piercing the dark. "In that moment, your blood entwined with mine. Should you lose control, the twin forces will devour you. Should I withdraw, your life will be torn apart."
Ye Lan's grip on her sword tightened, the blade trembling with suppressed fury. She loathed shackles, yet here she was, hearing a judgment heavier than chains.
"So, I am your prisoner?" Her lips curved in a dangerous smile, sharp as a blade.
"No." Luo Mingyao stepped closer, her sleeve brushing the moonlight. Her voice was soft, yet unshakable. "You are my equal. Bound not in prison, but in coexistence."
Silence. The wind threaded through the bamboo, carrying whispers like unseen voices.
In Ye Lan's chest, the twin currents writhed—but as Luo Mingyao approached, they stilled, calmed by a presence she could neither resist nor deny.
"Coexistence?" Ye Lan's tone was low, her eyes flashing with perilous light. "Or a cage?"
Luo Mingyao held her gaze, silver irises reflecting the cold moon. "It is forbidden."
Ye Lan froze for a moment, then let out a sharp, mocking laugh, proud and dangerous."A forbidden pact, then. Very well. Let us see how long these chains will hold me."
Her sword lifted slightly, a fleeting shimmer of cold light before fading again. Her back was proud, aloof—yet beneath the moonlight, her shadow and Luo Mingyao's fell side by side.
The twin moons broke free of the drifting clouds, pouring down their brilliance. Two figures, one clad in black, one in white, stood together upon the stone steps—an eternal mark written by fate.
From this night forth, their destinies were sealed.Not by choice.Not by mercy.But by a forbidden pact beneath the twin moons.