Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The man’s sword-like brows swept back toward his temples, framing deep, narrow eyes. His amber pupils were vertical slits, currently narrowed like unfathomable pools in the dead of a cold night.

Beneath a high, straight bridge of a nose, his thin lips were pressed together, the corners of his mouth curled in what seemed like a mocking smirk. Between his long, powerful fingers, he held the Pawn Ticket that had previously been pinned under the Black Coffin, idly waving it back and forth.

Was he angry?

Was he furious because I had chosen the teal sedan chair earlier and nearly left with the Fox Lord?

It made sense.

He had used his own Merit to protect me for twelve years. If I had followed the Fox Lord tonight without a second thought, wouldn’t I truly be an ungrateful wretch?

“Seventh Master…”

I struggled to prop myself up, taking two frantic steps forward, desperate to explain.

But my feet had long since gone numb, feeling as though they didn’t belong to me. I stumbled, my body pitching forward uncontrollably toward the ground.

The expected pain never came. A broad palm suddenly clamped around my waist, catching me steadily.

A cool, sweet bead was immediately pressed into my mouth. It dissolved instantly, its essence seeping into my limbs and bones, dispelling the ghostly chill that had been enveloping my body. In an instant, I felt as if I had been brought back to life.

But before I could even catch my breath, the scorching heat inside me-no longer suppressed by the frigid chill-erupted like a wildfire, ravaging my body.

My blood felt as if it had reached a boiling point in an instant. Waves of metallic, bloody air surged up toward my throat.

In that moment, the yellowed Pawn Ticket was thrust into my hand. The man’s cold voice rang out: “The grudges and debts of Wufu Town have nothing to do with you. You are an adult now. I am returning the Pawn Ticket to you. While there is still time, run for your life.”

With that, he turned and walked back toward the Black Coffin.

I stood there in a daze, one hand clutching my chest where the blood was churning, the other holding the Pawn Ticket.

What… what did he mean by giving it back to me?

Was he giving me my freedom?

But for someone like me, born under the shadow of a calamitous fate that brings ruin to myself and others… can I really have a free life?

For a moment, my heart was a whirlwind of emotions, unsure whether to feel joy or sorrow.

I craved freedom. I longed to live a normal, ordinary life like my classmates.

I had just turned eighteen; I should have a bright future ahead of me.

But… *ugh…*

A spray of crimson blood erupted from my mouth without warning, staining the Pawn Ticket in my hand.

I lowered my head, staring at the ticket, but my eyes burned with an agonizing heat. My vision was a blur of red; I couldn’t see anything.

It felt as if a knife was relentlessly gouging and flaying the skin between my shoulder blades. The pain made my entire body tremble. I collapsed onto the ground, half-slumped, coughing up blood continuously.

In that moment, I could clearly feel my life force draining away.

The man, who already had one foot inside the Black Coffin, whipped his head around. His pupils constricted the moment he saw the faint bloody light emanating from my back.

He strode toward me and yanked open the collar of my bright red bridal robe, revealing a broad expanse of my pale skin.

I didn’t know what he saw, but I could feel his icy fingertips tracing my back as if he were outlining a pattern.

His fingertips trembled as much as his voice did: “Little Fire Fox, it really is you.”

“Back then… what exactly happened to you? Who turned you into this?!”

I looked at him in confusion, blood still trickling from the corners of my mouth.

He stared at me with an incredibly complex expression-joy, heartache, scrutiny, and hesitation…

I didn’t know what he was thinking, but I understood one thing: if I left the Pawnshop, if I left him, I would almost certainly die.

He… he had always been the only lifeline I could grasp.

I shoved the Pawn Ticket back into his hand. “Seventh Master, I’m not leaving. I… I belong to you. You can’t just abandon me.”
The man’s eyes instantly darkened. He supported me with one hand around my waist while the other wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth. His vertical pupils fixed on me as he asked, “Who are you?”

“Xiao Jiu,” I replied subconsciously. Then, remembering the signature on the Pawn Ticket, I added, “Jiang Wantong.”

He asked again, “And who am I?”

“Seventh Master,” I answered.

The man was not satisfied. “Who is Seventh Master?”

I hesitated for a moment, then summoned my courage to reply, “Liu… Liu Junyan.”

As soon as the words left my lips, he lowered his head and lightly bit my lip. It was a brief nip before he let go.

However, the large hand pressing against my waist did not loosen. He lowered his head until our foreheads touched. As our breaths mingled, his gaze deepened. “Xiao Jiu, you were the one who provoked me first this time. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t take it.”

“Tonight was supposed to be our wedding night, after all.”

With that, he leaned down and swept me up into his arms, carrying me toward the East Room.

The lock on the door fell away at his touch. This room, which I had never entered before, was spotless, as if it were cleaned regularly. The East Room was divided into inner and outer chambers by a carved partition. With a hurried glance, I saw only a set of rosewood furniture, elegant and ancient.

In a daze, I was carried into the inner chamber and placed onto a large Canopy Bed. I was so nervous that my toes curled, and I instinctively rolled over to face the wall.

With a wave of Liu Junyan’s hand, the door shut, blocking out the faint glow of the Eternal Lamp. The room was plunged into total darkness.

I felt him lean in close, peeling away the layers of my heavy red bridal gown. His cool lips pressed against me, kissing every inch of my aching back.

In the darkness, without sight, my other senses became more acute.

My entire body trembled. My hands gripped the bedding beneath me, and I couldn’t stop a sob from escaping.

“Are you afraid of me?”

His broad chest pulled back as he let go, seemingly considering something.

I froze, realizing that Liu Junyan might be changing his mind about keeping me. In a moment of heat-headedness, I sat up and proactively threw myself into his embrace.

A soft chuckle escaped him; he was clearly satisfied with my reaction.

He brushed aside the white hair at my temples, and a flurry of kisses fell upon me once more. “Don’t be afraid, Xiao Jiu. With me here, you won’t die.”

That night was a blur of rising and falling, as if I were in a dream. I felt surges of overbearing energy flow into my veins through Liu Junyan’s intimacy, soothing the explosive heat and pain within my body.

Through the latter half of the night, Liu Junyan was tireless.

It wasn’t until the first cockcrow that rain began to fall outside. The droplets were heavy, pattering loudly against the back window. Liu Junyan paused his movements, kissing my sweat-soaked temples.

By then, I was so exhausted I didn’t even want to lift an eyelid. I heard the man’s raspy voice whispering in my ear.

“It’s a rainstorm, Xiao Jiu.”

“Mhm…” I murmured groggily. The temperature in the room seemed to drop significantly, and I instinctively huddled closer into his chest.

“The thirty-year Sacrifice has been broken. What must come will come. Xiao Jiu, I have to leave.”

I was startled, but before I could react, I felt his finger press against the center of my brow. Immediately after, I drifted into sleep.

I didn’t sleep for long before I heard a familiar voice calling me.

“Xiao Jiu, Xiao Jiu, wake up…”

I snapped my eyes open to see a shimmering figure wrapped in a golden light hovering by my bedside, looking at me with an anxious expression.

It was Granny!