Wei Chen hit the stone altar hard.
Lin Xue hit beside him.
For one second, everything spun.
Then Wei Chen saw it.
A cage of light rose around them like a glass box. Old symbols on the altar glowed under their feet.
A woman in dark red silk stood outside the cage.
Her lips were red. Her eyes were bright and sharp.
She smiled like she already won.
"So," she said softly, "the Nine-Suns boy finally fell into my hands."
Lin Xue sat up fast, pulling her robe closed. Her eyes turned cold.
"Demon cultivator," Lin Xue said.
The woman laughed, not offended at all.
"Correct," she purred. "And you must be the ice lady. Your Yin is very clean… very tasty."
Wei Chen stood, shaky but steadying. He snapped his fan open.
"Lady," Wei Chen said, "if you planned this, you picked a bad time. I'm not in the mood."
The demoness tilted her head.
"Your mood does not matter," she said. "Your body is screaming right now."
Wei Chen's chest burned. The sun-marks under his skin pulsed.
He hated that she was right.
Lin Xue stepped closer to Wei Chen, shoulder to shoulder.
"Don't listen," she whispered. "She wants to drain you."
The demoness tapped one finger on the cage.
The light rang like a bell.
"I can hear you," she said with a grin. "And yes, I do want to taste his Yang."
Lin Xue's eyes narrowed.
Wei Chen lifted his fan.
"Try," he said.
The demoness smiled wider.
"I like boys who bark," she said. "They taste brave."
Wei Chen's eyebrows lifted.
"That is the creepiest compliment I've ever heard."
Lin Xue almost made a sound—almost like a laugh. But she stopped it fast.
The demoness watched them both.
Then she sighed like she was bored.
"Listen," she said. "I did not build this altar. I found it. It catches prey."
Wei Chen frowned.
"It caught us," he said.
"Yes," she replied. "Because your mixed Yin–Yang aura lit up the mountain like a torch."
Lin Xue's jaw tightened.
Outside the cage, snow still fell. Wind screamed along the cliff.
But inside the cage, the air felt heavy and warm—too warm.
Wei Chen felt sweat on his neck.
Lin Xue's breathing turned thin.
Lin Xue's curse did not like heat.
Wei Chen noticed right away.
"Lin Xue," he whispered, "are you okay?"
Lin Xue forced a calm face.
"I am fine," she lied.
The demoness leaned closer to the cage.
Her eyes slid to Lin Xue's chest, then to Wei Chen's wrist mark.
"Ah," she said. "A fresh bond seal. Cute."
Wei Chen's grip tightened.
"Don't talk about it like it's a toy," he snapped.
The demoness shrugged.
"Everything is a tool," she said. "Even love."
Lin Xue's eyes hardened.
Wei Chen's voice dropped.
"What do you want?" he asked.
The demoness smiled like she was waiting for that.
"I want a deal," she said.
Wei Chen did not answer.
He waited.
The demoness lifted one finger.
"One: I open this cage."
Wei Chen's eyes narrowed.
"You can?"
"I can," she said. "But not for free."
Lin Xue whispered, "No."
The demoness lifted a second finger.
"Two: I hide you from the people hunting you."
Wei Chen's face went cold.
"You know about them?"
The demoness smiled.
"I smelled their fear," she said. "Also, I saw them above. That pretty snake boy with clean robes… he threw a beast lure."
Lin Xue's eyes flashed.
"Han," Lin Xue hissed.
Wei Chen's jaw tightened.
The demoness lifted a third finger.
"Three: I take a small payment."
Wei Chen's fan pointed at her.
"How small?" he asked.
Her smile turned slow.
"A taste," she said. "Not a meal. A taste of your Nine-Suns Yang."
Lin Xue snapped, "No!"
Wei Chen raised a hand to stop her.
He looked at the demoness.
"If I give you that," he said, "you might get greedy."
The demoness placed her palm on the cage.
The light shivered.
"Then we set rules," she said.
Wei Chen blinked.
"Rules?"
The demoness nodded.
"Yes," she said. "A truce seal. If I break it, my qi bites me. If you break it, your qi bites you."
Lin Xue stared.
Even she respected that kind of rule.
Wei Chen's eyes narrowed.
"You can make a truce seal with demon qi?"
The demoness smiled.
"Of course," she said. "I am not stupid. I like living."
Lin Xue leaned close to Wei Chen, whispering fast.
"She is dangerous," Lin Xue said. "But the cage is heating up. My curse is shaking."
Wei Chen felt Lin Xue's hand tremble slightly.
He understood.
If the heat kept rising, Lin Xue could collapse.
And if Lin Xue collapsed, their bond would break.
Then Wei Chen's Nine-Suns would explode.
The demoness watched him think.
Her eyes glittered.
"Choose quickly," she said. "The altar likes suffering. It will squeeze you both."
As if to prove it, the cage suddenly tightened.
The light pressed inward.
Wei Chen felt pressure on his ribs.
Lin Xue gasped.
Her face went pale.
Wei Chen stepped in front of Lin Xue without thinking.
His voice turned sharp.
"Stop!" he shouted at the cage.
The cage did not care.
The demoness sighed.
"See?" she said. "It wants you to panic."
Wei Chen breathed hard.
He looked at Lin Xue.
She tried to stand tall, but her knees shook.
Wei Chen's eyes softened.
"I protect you first," he whispered.
Lin Xue looked at him, surprised.
Then her eyes turned angry—because she didn't want to feel anything right now.
"Don't be heroic," she whispered. "Be smart."
Wei Chen nodded.
Then he looked back at the demoness.
"What is your name?" he asked.
The demoness blinked like she didn't expect manners.
Then she smiled, amused.
"Su Mei," she said. "Remember it."
Wei Chen nodded once.
"Su Mei," he said. "If I agree, you swear three things."
Su Mei tilted her head.
"Speak."
Wei Chen counted on his fingers.
"One: You do not touch Lin Xue."
Su Mei smirked.
"I can agree."
Wei Chen continued.
"Two: You do not take more than what we set."
Su Mei's eyes glittered.
"Fine."
Wei Chen's voice became harder.
"Three: If I say stop, you stop."
Lin Xue's eyes widened slightly.
Su Mei stared at him for a long second.
Then she laughed softly.
"You're funny," she said. "A shameless boy who still asks for consent."
Wei Chen didn't smile.
"I'm not playing," he said.
Su Mei's smile turned smaller.
"Good," she said. "Neither am I."
Su Mei lifted her hand.
A thin red-black mist formed around her fingers like silk.
It swirled and shaped into a small seal mark in the air.
"Truce seal," she said. "Say yes, and we bind it."
Wei Chen looked at Lin Xue.
Lin Xue's breathing was worse now. Frost gathered on her lashes again.
The cage pressed tighter.
Wei Chen's sun-marks burned hotter.
He had no time.
Wei Chen took Lin Xue's hand.
The bond mark warmed, like it was begging him to act.
Wei Chen looked at Su Mei.
His voice was low, clear, and final.
"I accept the truce," he said.
Su Mei's eyes flashed with joy.
The red-black seal flew toward the cage—
And at the same time, far above on the cliff, a loud shout echoed down:
"I FOUND THEM!"
Young Master Han's voice.
Wei Chen's blood went cold.
Because the cage light suddenly changed color.
Not gold.
Not white.
But black.
Like the altar had switched from trap… to execution.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.