"If you dare hurt her, I will personally peel your skin and make my bedding from that soft hide of yours. I will turn your bones into the very ingredients I use to re-forge my path.
Step back, you little beast, before I decide that your lineage ends tonight."
The voice did not ripple through the air; it vibrated through the very fabric of reality. Just as the Heavenly Frost Wolf's frost-coated claw was about to bifurcate the girl's chest, a sudden, prismatic burst of light erupted between them.
The shockwave was silent and absolute, nullifying the kinetic force and throwing the silver wolf backward like a discarded scrap of fur.
"Who…?" The Heavenly Frost Wolf scrambled to find its footing, its eyes wide with a terror it hadn't felt in eras. It sensed a suppression so ancient that its very blood began to stagnate in its veins.
Before the beast could recover, a three-meter-long spear, seemingly rusted and worn by time, manifested from the void. It levitated horizontally in front of the bleeding girl, humming a low, protective frequency that erected an invisible barrier between her and the world.
"Little girl, I am genuinely impressed by you." A voice, melodious yet sharp as a whetted blade, drifted from the weapon.
"The Young Master saved you, yet you chose not to flee. You stayed to guard his rest with your own life. For that loyalty, this lady shall grant you a future."
A spiritual form shimmered into existence, coalescing from the spear's dark aura. Xuan Ling'er appeared, her feet barely touching the blood-soaked stone. She gripped the Heavenly Guiyuan Spear, her eyes flashing with a playful yet lethal spark.
"Hmph. A mere frost wolf," she sneered, pointing the spear's tip at the beast. "Get out of my sight right now, or I shall turn your pelt into a rug for the Young Master's foyer."
The Heavenly Frost Wolf bared its fangs, its fur bristling as it prepared to lunge. But the moment its gaze locked onto Xuan Ling'er's face, the snarl died.
The icy blue light in its eyes flickered and went out, replaced by a realization so profound it looked like physical pain.
"Mi… Miss… Xu… Xuan…?" The wolf's voice was a ragged whisper. "How… why are you here in this wretched corner of the universe?"
The wolf used a paw to wipe its brow, its earlier predatory majesty replaced by an expression of abject, whimpering shock.
"Oh? You know my name?" Xuan Ling'er raised her brows, her gaze becoming clinical.
"Who are you to speak to me with such familiarity, you mangy creature?"
"I am your dog!" the wolf shouted, its voice cracking with desperation.
"Hey! You beast worse than a dog, how dare you attempt to deceive me? I shall beat the spirit out of you!" Xuan Ling'er's aura flared, her patience snapping as she flew toward the wolf.
"Mercy! My Lady! I am truly that dog of yours!" The wolf ducked its head, its tail tucked between its legs.
"My name is Wang Lei, Lady Xuan! Do you not remember? I was the pup who ate the spiritual leftovers from your table in the Eternal Realm!"
Xuan Ling'er froze in mid-air. The murderous energy around her didn't dissipate; it became heavy, pressurized by a majesty that had been buried since the fall of the clan. Her eyes turned a deep, resonant red.
"Wang Lei? The protector pup assigned to the garden?" Her voice carried the weight of a decree.
"You bastard! If you are Wang Lei, how dare you raise your fangs against your Master? Do you wish to initiate a rebellion tonight?"
She didn't wait for his answer. She threw the spear.
Whoosh!
The weapon tore through the air, a streak of purple-gold light. Wang Lei did not move. He simply looked into Xuan Ling'er's eyes with a sorrowful devotion, willing to accept the death he had nearly dealt to his Sovereign.
Swish!
The spear stopped. The rusted tip hummed just a hair's breadth from the wolf's forehead.
"My Lady Xuan, I am a sinner," Wang Lei wept.
"I did not recognize the Master's blood. It has been so long, and his aura is so suppressed. I was hunted by the Dao fragments. If the Patriarch hadn't given me a soul-shield, I would have been erased long ago."
Xuan Ling'er recalled the spear and turned toward the girl, Ying Shuang, who was now barely conscious.
"Take care of the Young Master," Ling'er commanded Wang Lei. "Use the Law of Life. If he wakes and finds you lacking, I will not stop him from skinning you."
The moonlight had reached its zenith, bathing the summit in a silvery, ethereal glow.
"The Law of Duality: Absolute Cessation. Primal Regression."
Xuan Ling'er's voice became an incantation. She pointed a finger at Ying Shuang, and a white ray entered the girl's chest. The jagged wounds began to seal; the blood flow reversed. Nearby, Wang Lei crouched over Shen Xuan, channeling a soft green radiance into the boy's chest.
Within a dozen breaths, Shen Xuan's eyelids flickered.
He opened his eyes. He found himself looking at a small, silver wolf. There was no panic in his gaze, only a deep, glacial calm. He raised his hand, noticing the blood-stained paper in his fingers.
Just as he was about to unfold it, Wang Lei collapsed onto his chest, his energy spent.
Shen Xuan sat up, his movements slow and regal. He gently pushed the little wolf aside as if it were a common pillow. He looked at Xuan Ling'er, then at the girl he had saved.
His brow remained unruffled. He stowed the letter in his storage ring without reading it and stood up. He walked toward the girl, his bare feet never truly touching the stone.
"Are you okay?"
The question was not one of warmth, but of assessment. His void-gray eyes were like frozen mirrors, reflecting her broken state without a hint of pity.
"Tsk, tsk," Xuan Ling'er teased. "Young Master Shen Xuan truly is a man of culture. He forgets about his loyal weapon spirit the moment a beauty is in distress."
"Ling'er, be silent," Shen Xuan said, his voice flat. He looked at Ying Shuang. "You are severely injured. Your meridians are a ruin, and your Chaos Seed has been compromised. To survive this is a miracle; to cultivate again is an impossibility."
Ying Shuang looked up at him. Her face was pale, covered in drying blood, yet her blue eyes burned with a defiant light. "I know," she whispered. "But I thank you. You saved me from a fate worse than death."
"Do you want to live?" Shen Xuan asked.
He didn't wait for her to answer. To him, her desire to live was irrelevant; his decision to let her live was the only thing that mattered.
Ling'er broke the spell with a deliberate cough.
"Haha," Ying Shuang laughed weakly. "What is the point of living as a cripple? With this face and no power, I would only be a plaything. If I cannot stand at the top, I would rather return to the cycle."
Shen Xuan stared at her, his expression unchanged. He didn't offer comfort. He didn't offer a hand.
Suddenly, Ying Shuang reached out, grabbed his collar, and pulled him down toward her.
Mmmh!
She kissed him. It was fierce, desperate, and held the taste of iron.
Shen Xuan did not resist, nor did he respond. He allowed the act to happen with the detached indifference of a mountain being pelted by rain. His eyes remained open, cold and analyzing, watching the girl's desperation.
After a long moment, she pulled back, her breathing ragged.
"I know a man like you will have the world at his feet," she whispered. "If I die now, I will be nothing but a footnote. Tell me your name, savior."
"Shen Xuan," he replied. The name felt like a heavy stone dropped into a deep well.
"And I am Ying Shuang." She raised a trembling hand, pointing toward the river. "Please. I am filthy. Help me to the water."
Shen Xuan did not speak. He swept her into his arms, carrying her like a piece of luggage toward the cleansing flow. He entered the river and set her down.
Ying Shuang's cheeks were flushed, but she did not show it. She shed her tattered, blood-soaked outer layers. The thin inner silk clung to her body, translucent in the moonlight.
Shen Xuan stood over her. He reached out, his fingers hooking beneath her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His eyes were twin pools of ancient, frozen light.
"Do you think your physique is a treasure?" Shen Xuan asked, his voice chillingly steady. "Yin-Yang Dao Embryo physique? To this world, it is a legend. To me, it is merely a flawed vessel."
Ying Shuang's breath hitched. The secret of her physique was her family's greatest burden.
"You... how could you know?"
"I know what the Dao hides," Shen Xuan said, his grip on her chin firm. "Now, stay silent. I do not like noise when I am working."