Blood trickled down my palm, dripping onto the pages of the book. It wasn't absorbed or evaporated. It just crawled slowly, circling the strokes of that string of Star Script. I stared at the blood, my mind numb, but my fingers kept moving. My nail scraped down the final stroke, as if trying to carve the character into my bones.
The Broken Chain suddenly became frighteningly hot, clinging to my chest like a piece of red-hot iron. I looked up sharply. Half of the iron grate on the ventilation opening in the roof was askew, and moonlight leaked through the gap, illuminating the Cracks on the spine of the book. Deep within the Cracks, something flashed.
I flung the book away and scrambled onto the bookshelf, gripping the edge as I climbed up. The ladder swayed violently. The Purple Mark on my arm had already burned up to my Shoulder, and it felt like needles were pricking beneath my skin, twitching their way toward my Heart Area. I bit down on my sleeve, forcing myself to pry open the iron bars of the ventilation opening and squeeze through.
The Roof Tiles were ice-cold, and the night wind felt like knives against my face. I lay on the roof, catching my breath. The Broken Chain was still scalding hot, but this time it wasn't pointing toward the Forbidden Book Pavilion; it was aimed north—toward the Sword Tomb.
I pushed myself up, but my legs gave out, and I nearly fell. As soon as I took a step, my vision went black, and I started falling down.
A hand grabbed my wrist.
I couldn't see the person clearly, only smelling a cold fragrance mixed with the scent of Rust. The person didn't speak, just yanked me up and threw me onto their back. I struggled, squeezing out a few words from my throat: "Don't... mind me..."
"Shut up," Lu Jiuxuan's voice was so low it was almost inaudible. "Move again, and I’ll leave you here."
I stopped moving. He carried me very steadily; his Footsteps were light, as if he were walking on cotton. Pressed against his Shoulder, I could hear his breathing kept very low, but his Heartbeat was abnormally fast. The Broken Chain pressed against his back, growing even hotter, as if urging something on.
As we passed the Pharmacology Hall, I heard Footsteps in the distance. He didn't stop; instead, he quickened his pace, taking the path toward the back mountain. Tree shadows swept across my face, and the cold wind made me shiver. He suddenly stopped and traced a line across my palm with his fingertip.
A drop of blood fell, mixing with mine, and seeped into that string of Star Script.
The Star Script suddenly recoiled as if burned. The Purple Mark retreated half an inch down from my Shoulder. But at that very moment, I felt a jolt in his chest—as if something had exploded inside him.
He let out a muffled groan, stumbling, nearly falling to his knees.
"Your Heart Area..." I pushed up to look, seeing a tear in the collar of his robe, revealing a sliver of a Dark Red Talisman Seal, like a scorched tree root, wrapped beneath his collarbone.
"Don't look." His voice tightened as he pulled his collar closed, but the Talisman Seal was still radiating heat, showing through the fabric.
I didn't speak, just pressed the Broken Chain against my chest. It was still vibrating, making my Heart Area go numb.
He carried me to the entrance of the Sword Tomb, and the Stone Door opened automatically. It was so dark inside I couldn't see the path, only the swords lining the walls faintly glowing, as if they were breathing in their sleep. He set me down against the Stone Slab, sat cross-legged, and reached out to grab my wrist.
"Give me your hand."
I hesitated for a moment before holding my palm up and offering it. He placed his other hand over his Heart Area, formed a hand seal with his fingertips, and muttered something under his breath.
Instantly, the Talisman Seal on his Heart Area lit up.
Red Light crawled up his Meridians toward his arm, like blood flowing backward. He gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead, but he still pressed my hand down—my palm against the Seal on his Heart Area.
Hot.
Hotter than the Broken Chain, like pressing directly onto hot coals. But that heat didn't harm me; instead, it drilled inward along the Star Script, forcing out the negative energy within the Purple Mark bit by bit.
I took a breath, my Consciousness clearing slightly.
But just then, the Rune on the Seal moved.
A Golden Thread crawled out from the Talisman Seal, spreading across my palm, outlining a string of characters—identical to the Star Script, but this time they were Golden, as if etched by light.
I recognized these characters.
On the Stone Slab in the Secret Chamber of the Library Pavilion, this phrase was written: "The Soul as the contract, the Heart as the lock."
My fingers trembled.
He noticed and didn't let go; instead, he pressed my hand tighter. "Don't move."
But the Rune kept growing. More and more Golden Threads spread until they formed a face over his Heart Area—eyebrows, eyes, nose, lips, gradually appearing. That outline... was me.
I yanked my hand back violently, but he held on tightly.
"What is this?" My voice was hoarse.
He didn't look up, his fingers still forming a hand seal, but his voice was so low it sounded like he was talking to himself. "Thirty years ago, someone gouged out your heart, and your Soul shattered. I used this Seal to lock up the part of your Soul that scattered. If I hadn't sealed it... you would have been gone long ago."
My head buzzed.
"What did you say?"
He finally looked up, his eyes terrifyingly dark. "Every time you wake up, you don't remember the previous life. But your Soul has always been with me. This Seal isn't for me; it's for you."
I stared at him, unable to utter a word.
He gave a bitter smile and released my hand. "Now you understand. I wasn't saving you; I was... returning you."
As soon as the words fell, the Sword Tomb shook violently.
All the swords on the wall simultaneously left their sheaths with a clatter, hanging suspended in mid-air, their Sword Tips all pointing precisely north.
Lu Jiuxuan stood up, his expression changing.
I felt it too—the Broken Chain suddenly stopped being hot and instead grew cold, as if it had frozen over. But it was still vibrating, causing a sharp pain in my chest.
He turned to leave, but I grabbed his sleeve. "Wait."
He turned back.
"The Seal on your Heart Area... does it loosen every time you help me?"
He didn't answer, just glanced at me. There was something in that look—I couldn't name it—like pain, yet also like relief.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "You aren't going to live long anyway, so why bother remembering these things."
I let go of his sleeve.
He turned and walked toward the Stone Door, his back perfectly straight. The swords in the chamber were still pointing north, their cold light reflecting off his silver-white hair like snow.
I looked down at my palm. The Star Script was still there, but its color had faded. The blood had dried, forming a black line.
The Broken Chain suddenly moved.
It wasn't pointing north anymore, but toward the direction he was leaving.
I raised my hand and brushed my fingertip over the Old Scar on my Heart Area—that space had been empty for thirty years, but it had actually been carefully kept by someone else.
The Stone Door slowly closed, swallowing the last sliver of light.
In the Sword Tomb, only a floor of cold light remained, and a single drop of blood suspended in mid-air, lingering before falling.