The pavilion atop Silent Moon Peak had stood for centuries—an ancient stone structure shaped like an open lotus, cradled between sheer cliffs and clouds that never parted. It was meant for meditation.
Today, it played host to something far more chaotic.
Emotionally volatile resonance detected.
Bound Entity: Yue QianlanTether Surge Risk: ModerateCurrent Tether Sync: 72.4%
Recommend: Controlled proximity. Stabilize emotional fluctuation.
Xian Lei exhaled and stepped onto the pavilion floor.
A familiar presence waited at the edge of the cliff, standing against the wind—robes like snow, hair like silver flame.
Yue Qianlan.
No guards. No formality.
Just her.
And silence.
He stopped five paces behind.
"…You came," she said without turning.
"You summoned me."
"I meant," she said slowly, "you could've declined."
"Would you have?"
She finally looked at him.
For a moment, the air felt thinner. Colder.
Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes—
They were searching.
Why do you feel so close?Why do I keep dreaming in your aura?Why do you burn like ice in my chest—?
"…We haven't spoken," she said, voice softer than he expected. "Not truly."
He nodded. "But we've felt."
That made her flinch—barely.
A hint of flush bloomed along her cheekbones, quickly hidden.
"I want to know something," she said.
"I'll answer if I can."
Her eyes narrowed. "Why do I feel like I know you?"
Xian Lei's heartbeat faltered.
A simple question.
A dangerous one.
System Prompt: Truth Response Risk – HIGH
Tether resonance may spike unpredictably if past life knowledge is revealed.
Suggestion: Speak around the truth. Not through it.
He bowed his head, choosing his words carefully.
"…Because I know what it's like to be watched. Feared. Misunderstood."
"Sympathy?"
"No," he said. "Reflection."
She stepped closer.
The space between them thinned, tension coiling like spring-loaded blades.
"You project my aura," she said. "My cultivation resonated from you during your duel with Jin. That's not coincidence."
"I never said it was."
She stared at him. "Then explain it."
He met her gaze directly.
"I don't know how or why this happened. But our fates are tied. I feel what you feel. I grow when you rage. I fall when you suffer."
She didn't speak.
Didn't blink.
Just… listened.
And slowly, she asked:
"Are you my weapon?""My shadow?""…Or my jailer?"
He could've answered with charm.
With lies.
With flattery.
But he didn't.
"I'm the one who will keep you standing when the world tries to break you again."
That shook her.
Because deep in her—buried beneath years of frost and silence—
Was a memory.
A night when no one stood for her.
No one stayed.
No one said they would bear the cold for her sake.
Until now.
System Spike: Emotional Resonance EscalatingBound Entity Emotion: Shock → Vulnerability → Suppressed Longing
Tether Sync: 72.4% → 74.6%
Temporary Buff Activated: Shared Equilibrium
Spiritual pressure between Host and Bound Entity stabilizes. Qi cultivation rate increased by 12% when near each other.
Yue turned away sharply, as if fleeing something unseen.
"Words like that come with hooks," she whispered.
"No hook," he said. "Just a vow."
A gust of wind lifted her hair.
She exhaled slowly.
"…You confuse me."
"I get that a lot."
"I'm not used to this. To… being understood."
He tilted his head. "You led massacres. Cultivated forbidden techniques. Ascended with blood under your feet."
A pause.
Then: "You believe all that?"
"I lived through it."
She didn't hear that last part.
Didn't need to.
But some part of her felt it.
The silence stretched long.
Not awkward—but heavy.
Then, she asked:
"Tell me… how do you truly see me?"
He stepped closer, his voice low, without reverence or fear.
"You're the cold that wakes a man from dreams.""The flame beneath glacier glass.""The sorrow of power born too soon in a world that only bows to violence."
Her breath caught.
He's dangerous.
He sees too much.
And yet… I want to know what he sees next.
System NotificationDeep Tether Recognition Achieved: "First Connection of Equals"
Emotional Bridge Unlocked – Tier I
Host may now feel low-level emotional echoes from Bound Entity during non-tethered interactions.Bound Entity now recognizes Host as a potential anchor.
Side Effect: Emotional Pull – Mild. Bound Entity may experience unconscious attraction or discomfort in prolonged proximity.
She backed away half a step, eyes wide for a moment.
Then she recovered her poise.
But not her balance.
"You should go," she said. "This place… isn't for people who speak like that."
He bowed—but not mockingly.
Not submissively.
Just respectfully.
"I'll leave," he said.
"But I'll return."
She stiffened. "Why?"
He looked over his shoulder as he walked.
"Because this peak isn't silent anymore."
As he vanished into the cloud-misted path, Yue Qianlan stared at the horizon.
Her heart—usually a frozen mirror—beat too loudly.
And somewhere deep inside her core…
A whisper rose:
His fire is mine now.And my ice… is no longer enough to stop it.