The night wind outside Plantain Cave carried a faint fragrance of damp earth and mountain herbs, drifting past the carved stone windows and brushing gently against the silk curtains. Inside the inner chamber, the candles had burned low, their warm light pooling over the bed where Princess Duan—Tie Fan, in private—pressed herself into Raj's arms as though afraid he would vanish with the dawn.
"Honey… you won't abandon me, right?" her voice trembled, barely louder than the whisper of candle flame.
Raj exhaled softly, brushing his hand through her hair. "If the day ever comes when I don't love you," he said, voice steady, "then I must already be dead."
Something in Tie Fan cracked wide open at those words. She didn't answer verbally; she simply leaned in, eyes shimmering, and initiated what came next on her own, hands moving with deliberate resolve.
The room filled with the sound of unsteady breaths and a heartbeat that seemed to echo against the walls.
And then—
Ah—
A soft sound, involuntary, broke the stillness of the night. A trace of crimson stained the white silk beneath her, like petals falling on snow. Tie Fan froze for half a second, then hid her face against his neck in pure embarrassment.
But the Heartbond Eternal Spring Sutra had no intention of letting the moment be gentle. It was a technique that grew stronger with sincerity—and Tie Fan had far too much of that. By the time she finally understood the deeper meaning of the final line written by her late master—
"Once joined, devotion blooms without restraint"
—it was already too late. The technique overwhelmed her, pulling her into a tide she could neither resist nor escape.
If Tie Shan, who had been blatantly eavesdropping outside the chamber, hadn't panicked and rushed in near the end, Tie Fan privately suspected she might have become the only woman in the Journey to the West world to ascend and die simultaneously due to sheer exhaustion.
Even with both sisters joining forces, they didn't stand a chance against Raj's stamina—something Red Queen had once clinically called "biologically improbable yet statistically consistent."
Raj held nothing back, but he never crossed the line into cruelty. The Heartbond Sutra was meant for mutual growth; taking without giving would twist it into something corrupted. He would never do that to either of them.
He cared too much.
Far too much.
THE NEXT MORNING
A soft groan escaped Tie Fan as she opened her eyes, sunlight slipping past her lashes. Memories rushed back immediately—a flood so intense her toes curled beneath the blanket.
She remembered losing control, more than once. She remembered thinking absurd thoughts like wanting to kneel and sing a victorious ballad out of sheer overwhelmed surrender. She remembered Tie Shan bursting in like a heroic rescue party, then awkwardly joining the chaos instead of stopping it.
She remembered everything.
Her cheeks turned scarlet.
Raj lay beside her, breathing slowly, the golden morning light catching on his face. Tie Fan reached out and gently traced the line of his jaw with a fingertip.
This man… is my world now.
That thought wasn't forced. She didn't even notice how naturally it came.
The Heartbond Eternal Spring Sutra had seeped into her like spring rain, quiet, subtle, impossible to resist. It didn't change who she was—it amplified what she already felt. There was no coercion, no breaking of her will. Only deepening, intensifying emotion.
She sighed, half in embarrassment, half in warmth.
Raj stirred from her touch. His fingers twitched before his eyes opened, gaze sharpening instantly—and Tie Fan felt a sudden warmth inside her chest. The Sutra's link was faint but unmistakable: for a moment, she felt what he felt. His softness toward her. His affection. His protective instinct.
"Morning," Raj murmured, stretching slightly. "You look like you barely slept. Was yesterday too much?"
"Honey…" Her face burned. "Don't tease me."
She burrowed into his chest like someone trying to hide her entire body inside his heartbeat.
Then a pair of arms circled Raj's back from the other side. "Brother-in-law," Tie Shan mumbled sleepily, her cheek pressed to his shoulder. "I want attention too. Sister hogged everything yesterday. That's unfair."
Tie Fan shot her younger sister a look halfway between scolding and mortified disbelief. Tie Shan had practically sprinted into the room last night, claiming she came to help. But the only thing she helped with was making everything more chaotic.
Still… Tie Fan was Tie Fan. Beneath the sternness, she worried for her sister—worried she might one day fall for someone unworthy. So letting Raj take responsibility wasn't a terrible idea.
With a tiny sigh, she shifted her body and gave her sister space in Raj's embrace. Tie Shan gleefully slid in, curling at Raj's side. Raj raised a brow. "So this is how mornings are now?"
Tie Fan hid her face. "You caused it. Now take responsibility."
Raj chuckled, pulling both women closer. "Fine. From today on, we're family."
Both sisters hummed in agreement, melting into his arms like they were made for the space there.
MAID ROUTINE
Time blurred. Eventually, the chamber curtains lifted and Chunhua and Qiuyue entered—Princess Duan's personal maids. Xiayu and Dongxue followed, attending to Tie Shan. Behind them came over a dozen more servant girls; Plantain Cave had never lacked manpower.
The maids gasped lightly at the scene but recovered quickly. Working for the princess meant adapting to unpredictable circumstances.
Tie Fan and Tie Shan dressed with their maids' help. Raj nearly failed to get his robes on until Chunhua stepped in, exasperated.
"If Young Master Raj goes out like this, the palace might think you escaped from a laundry basket," Chunhua muttered under her breath as she straightened his collar.
Raj could only helplessly surrender his dignity.
After grooming, Tie Fan and Tie Shan attempted to help Raj with makeup. The attempt lasted exactly three minutes before both women kicked him out, claiming he had no sense of "artistic restraint." Raj sat obediently while Chunhua combed his hair.
He stared at himself in the bronze mirror—long hair, gold-embroidered robe, faint glow on his skin courtesy of the Sutra's aftereffects. He sighed. "I miss short hair."
Chunhua, cheeks faintly pink, whispered, "Young Master Raj looks elegant like this. If you walk outside… a lot of noble ladies may lose sleep."
Tie Fan's voice cut in from behind the curtain. "Young Master Raj, we're going shopping today—"
She stopped short when she saw him.
"…You got even more handsome," she said, sounding almost offended.
Raj shrugged. "Don't blame me."
"Your skin is whiter, your aura lighter, and you look like someone touched by a divine script," Tie Fan said, circling him as if inspecting a suspicious artifact. "The Heartbond Eternal Spring Sutra must have affected you too."
"Lucky me," Raj muttered.
He slipped the Sutra manual into his space ring. The ring flashed faintly as it secured the item.
Tie Fan nodded approvingly. "Keep it safe."
Raj tapped the ring. " always."
Tie Shan perked up. "Brother-in-law, where's my ring?"
Raj blinked. "Ah—right."
He pulled Tie Shan closer, tied a strand of her hair around a second ring, and bound it to her.
Understanding flooded Tie Shan's expression immediately. "So this is storage magic?! Sister, we can buy all the cosmetics in the world now!"
Tie Fan exhaled slowly. "One day, your priorities will frighten even the immortals."
Raj simply waved a hand. A mountain of gold bars materialized in the room. The maids screamed. Tie Shan's eyes sparkled like stars.
Tie Fan kissed Raj's cheek with a soft, grateful hum. "You always give me too many surprises."
"Go wild," Raj said, patting her hip. They didn't need to be told twice. The sisters divided the gold neatly, stored everything in their rings, then grabbed Raj's hands and practically dragged him out the cave mouth.
Riding the clouds between two women felt surreal. Red Queen's voice crackled in Raj's mind.
"Speed is approximately 110 km/h. Suboptimal compared to modern transportation, but adequate for local standards."
Raj snorted. "Thanks, GPS."
Tie Fan didn't hear the exchange. She was too focused on the wind and the warmth of Raj's arm around her waist. Tie Shan leaned against his other side, humming a tune entirely out of key.
Halfway through the flight, Raj asked: "Duan—how do you collect rent here? You don't build houses and lease them out, right?"
Tie Shan answered first. "Of course not. Too troublesome! Everyone within a hundred-mile radius just brings tribute to my sister."
"…Why?"
"Because she protects them." Tie Shan said it like it was obvious.
Raj stared at them. "So… you're basically collecting protection fees?"
Tie Fan stiffened. "That sounds rude when you say it like that."
Red Queen whispered in his mind: "Correction: Their system qualifies as decentralized protection taxation with spiritual enforcement."
Raj sighed. "That sounds even worse."
Tie Fan bit her lip, suddenly anxious. "Raj… do you think I'm doing something wrong?"
There was genuine worry in her eyes—fear that he would judge her. Raj softened. "No. But maybe we can refine the system so it doesn't look like extortion."
Tie Shan raised a hand. "Can we still charge them?"
"Maybe," Raj sighed. "But with rules. And transparency. And less intimidation."
Tie Fan brightened instantly and squeezed his hand. "As long as you guide me, I'll listen." She meant it. The Heartbond Sutra pulsed faintly between them.
Raj looked ahead at the cloud-covered horizon. "This world is bigger than we think," he murmured. "We'll change things one step at a time."
Tie Fan leaned into him. Tie Shan hugged his arm.
And Plantain Cave—once a minor footnote in a legend—felt like the beginning of something much larger.