The Frost-Eater's shadow face rose into the coffin crack, and the tunnel got colder, like the world forgot how to be warm. Its gold-black eye stared at Wei Chen's throat like it was staring at a cup it wanted to drink.
Wei Chen's mouth opened a little.
A "yes" rose to the edge of his lips like poison.
Lin Xue moved faster than thought. She slammed her palm over his mouth and whispered, fierce, "No. Not that yes."
Wei Chen's eyes flickered gold-black, and his throat tightened like the word was trying to force itself out anyway. Lin Xue could feel the fight inside him through his breath against her hand.
"Chen Wei," she said, voice shaking, "look at me. Choose."
Wei Chen's eyes found hers. They were wild for a beat, then stubborn, then real. He nodded once, small.
Lin Xue's chest broke with relief and fear at the same time. She pulled her hand away just enough to speak the anchor rule. "Say my name. Stay real."
Wei Chen swallowed hard. "Lin Xue," he rasped.
"Again," Lin Xue demanded.
"Lin Xue," he said louder, and the bond rope in her mind flared warm—thin, wounded, but alive.
The Frost-Eater's eye blinked slowly, amused. "Yes," it whispered again, soft as ice. "Say yes."
Wei Chen's throat jumped.
Lin Xue grabbed his face with both hands, forcing his attention to stay on her. Then she leaned in and kissed him—deep, fierce, chosen—because when his mouth was busy with her, it couldn't belong to the monster. Wei Chen kissed back like a drowning man grabbing air. His arms locked around her waist, pulling her close into his lap, heat pressing into her cold like a shield.
Wei Chen broke the kiss just enough to ask, rough but clear, "Do you want me to stop?"
Lin Xue's cheeks burned. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Hold me. Keep me here."
Wei Chen's roguish grin flickered for half a second, naughty even in terror. "Bossy," he murmured.
Lin Xue pinched his side hard. "Idiot. Focus."
A sharp scrape cut through them.
Su Mei's black-eyed body still had a grip on Wei Chen's fan, fingers tight on the blade like she didn't feel pain. She yanked the fan toward her and stepped in close, reaching her other hand for Wei Chen's chest-brand again.
Wei Chen snapped, "Stop!"
Su Mei didn't stop.
Lin Xue's blood went cold. "She's not her," she whispered.
Wei Chen's jaw clenched. "I know."
He twisted the fan in Su Mei's grip and kicked her knee lightly, not to break her, but to unbalance her. Su Mei stumbled one step, still calm, still black-eyed, still reaching.
The Frost-Eater pushed farther through the crack. Shoulders were fully in now. A chest-shaped darkness followed. It didn't walk like a human. It slid like a rule being written across the floor.
Lin Xue's Frozen Heart Curse surged, excited by the cold. Her breath shook. She pressed her forehead to Wei Chen's. "Chen Wei," she whispered, "stay real."
Wei Chen's breath hitched. "Lin Xue," he whispered back. "Stay with me."
Lin Xue's hand slid down to his throat, feeling the pulse there, feeling the monster's hunger wrapped around it. Her voice turned into a command. "Bite the word," she whispered. "If 'yes' rises, bite it."
Wei Chen's eyes flashed. "That will hurt," he rasped.
Lin Xue didn't look away. "Better than losing your name," she whispered. Then, because it mattered, she asked clearly, "Do you want me to keep holding you like this?"
Wei Chen's gaze dropped to her lips for one hot heartbeat. "Don't stop," he said. "Please."
Lin Xue's cheeks warmed hard. She leaned in and kissed him again—slower this time, hungry but steady—while her fingers stayed at his throat like a reminder: this voice is yours. Wei Chen's hand slid into her hair, gripping gently, holding her close like he was afraid she'd vanish.
The Frost-Eater's eye narrowed.
"Pretty," it whispered. "But mouths are doors."
Wei Chen's throat tightened again. The "yes" rose like a snake.
Wei Chen did exactly what Lin Xue told him.
He bit his own lip.
A sharp sting. A taste of iron. A small line of blood.
The word broke apart inside his mouth.
Wei Chen gasped, eyes clearing for a heartbeat, then he laughed once—low and rough—like pain was still better than losing. "Good," he rasped.
Lin Xue's heart slammed. She touched his lip with her thumb, trembling. The sight of his blood made her curse hesitate, confused, like it didn't know whether to run to cold or stay with heat.
Wei Chen caught her wrist and kissed her thumb—warm, shameless, intimate. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, voice husky.
Lin Xue's face burned. "Don't stop," she whispered. "But don't bleed again."
Wei Chen's grin flashed. "Then seal my mouth," he murmured.
Lin Xue went still. "How?"
Wei Chen's eyes held hers, fierce and honest. "A vow," he said. "A mouth-seal vow. Your words become my lock."
Lin Xue's breath caught, because that sounded too intimate to say in a tunnel with a monster watching. And yet… it was the only clean weapon they had left.
The Frost-Eater slid another inch out of the crack. Its shadow hand lifted, reaching again for Wei Chen's throat.
Su Mei's black-eyed hand reached again for Wei Chen's chest-brand.
Lin Xue made her choice.
She cupped Wei Chen's face and spoke right into his mouth like she was engraving words on his tongue. "Chen Wei," she whispered, "your mouth is yours. Your yes is yours. If a 'yes' is not chosen, it dies in your teeth."
Wei Chen's breath shuddered. His eyes widened.
Lin Xue swallowed and added the last line, voice shaking but clear. "And when you need to speak to live… you speak after you hear me say: 'Go.'"
Wei Chen stared at her like she just put a collar made of trust on his throat.
Then, because consent still mattered, he asked, low and clear, "Do you want me to accept that vow?"
Lin Xue's heart pounded. "Yes," she whispered. "I choose."
Wei Chen nodded once. "Then I accept," he said.
The bond rope flared bright gold-silver for a heartbeat, even wounded.
The Frost-Eater hissed like it hated the light.
Su Mei's black eyes widened slightly, like something inside her noticed the new rule.
The monster's shadow hand snapped for Wei Chen's throat again—
and the black sun brand on Wei Chen's chest pulsed like it was about to open wide in answer.
Lin Xue's palm slammed onto his chest, frost sealing fast. "Black sun—stop!"
Wei Chen's lip bled again as he clenched his teeth.
And in the coffin crack, the Frost-Eater's shoulders shifted like it was preparing to step fully into the tunnel—
with Wei Chen's true name sitting right on its tongue.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.