Jin Tao was gone.
He wasn't just punished; he was erased. The charge of demonic cultivation, brought forward by
a rival family and "confirmed" by a high-ranking Elder, was absolute. Jin Tao's family couldn't
save him. To protect themselves, they disowned him.
He was dragged to the sect's "Stone Prison," his cultivation shattered. He was a non-entity, a
ghost.
And Ren Wei... Ren Wei was a hero.
He was the "Brave Disciple" who had, at great personal risk, "exposed" the darkness in their
midst. He was given another five hundred contribution points as a "reward." He and Li Mei were,
for the first time, not just safe, but prosperous.
He sat in their courtyard. It was quiet. The sun was warm. Li Mei was inside, humming as she
practiced a new, legitimate cultivation art he had bought for her.
Everything was... perfect.
And Ren Wei felt... empty.
He looked at his hands, the "Head" that had orchestrated this entire, perfect, dark play. He had
won. He had defeated an enemy a thousand times stronger than himself. He had protected his
partner. He had secured their future.
So why did he feel so hollow?
His old self, the 25-year-old psychology graduate, the man who believed in "do no harm," was
still in there. A tiny, screaming, moral compass.
You're a monster, it whispered. You're a manipulator. You're as bad as she is. You... you used
her. You've become... this.
He had. He knew it.
He had become a master manipulator. A liar. A cold, calculating sociopath who had framed a
man (an arrogant, cruel man, but still... a man) for a crime that would see him rot.
He had done it to survive. He had done it to protect... her.
He looked through the open door. Li Mei was sitting, her eyes closed, a faint, peaceful aura
around her. She was... happy. Truly, genuinely happy. She was safe. She was with him. Her
world was right.
The "leash" in his mind, the silken cord that bound his soul to hers, was a soft, warm, comforting
hum. It was no longer a cage. It was... an anchor.
He had spent months... analyzing her. "Fixing" her. "Handling" her. "Managing" her.
He had been treating her like a patient. A problem to be solved. A monster to be contained.
But... what if... he was wrong?
What if... she wasn't... a monster?
What if... she was just... Li Mei?
What if... this... this "yandere"... this "obsession"... this "madness"... was just... her? What if it
was the only way a person like her could love in a world like this?
This world was not modern Earth. It was a place of brutal, savage, individualistic power.
Morality... his morality... was a foreign language.
Here... her "madness" wasn't a "disorder." It was a survival trait.
Her "obsession" wasn't "unhealthy." It was absolute. Her "brutality" wasn't "evil." It was
protective.
She was... the only person in this entire world... who had ever put him... first. Absolutely.
Unconditionally.
She had killed for him. She had bled for him. She had... chained her soul to his... just to keep
him.
And he... he had used her. He had "managed" her. He had lied to her... just as much as he had lied for her.
He... he had been judging her.
A profound, sickening wave of... shame... washed over him.
He wasn't a "good" person. He wasn't a "victim." He wasn't a "handler."
He was... just as broken as she was.
He was a man who had orchestrated another's ruin. He was a man who had felt thrilled after a
murder. He was a man who was, at this very moment, enjoying the fruits of that darkness.
He... he... was the monster.
And... she... was the... only... thing... in his... monstrous... new... life... that... made...sense.
He didn't just need her. He wasn't just stuck with her.
He looked at her, humming in the sunlight, a creature of absolute, terrifying, perfect devotion.
And Ren Wei, the psychologist, the victim, the handler... stopped.
He... he loved her.
He loved this insane, broken, terrifying woman. He loved her devotion. He loved her ruthless
protection. He loved the part of her that was his and his alone.
He... he was not... a good... person.
And, as he looked at her, a real, genuine, un-faked smile spreading across his face... he
realized...
He was... finally... okay... with that.