Su Yu slowly combed her long hair in the faint glow of the pot of “Moonlit Moss” on the small table.
The Moonlit Moss had been brought by You Li a few days ago, planted in a small black jade bowl no larger than a palm. It was a fluffy cluster that emitted a soft, non-glaring bluish-white cold light.
It required no soil, surviving solely by absorbing the damp moisture in the dungeon and the occasional drops of diluted Demon Spring that You Li added. In the perpetual gloom of the cell, this faint glow became the only source of light and Su Yu’s sole companion during her waking hours.
She used the peachwood hairpin to loosely tie up her hair at the back of her head. Her movements were somewhat more practiced than before, but a few unruly strands still escaped, brushing against her pale cheeks and slender neck. After securing it, she habitually smoothed her temples with her fingertips—an unconscious, yet telling gesture of her former upbringing.
Then she stood up—an action that no longer required much effort—and walked, within the limits allowed by her chains, to the only ventilation window in the dungeon, a stone opening no larger than a palm. This was the “brightest” spot, where the bluish-white glow of the Moonlit Moss intertwined with the occasional Dark Red light seeping in from somewhere in the demon palace outside, creating an eerie yet sufficient halo for her to see her own blurred reflection.
She gazed at the rough, uneven area on the stone wall, which glistened faintly from years of moisture seepage. The reflection was blurry and distorted, but clear enough to discern its outline.
What was reflected there was no longer a withered, dying prisoner.
Though still slender, the gaunt, skeletal appearance had faded, replaced by a delicate, graceful frame. The hollows in her cheeks had gradually filled with a soft curve. Her skin, pale from long confinement without sunlight, revealed faint blue veins beneath, yet strangely, it did not appear sickly. Instead, it carried a fragile, exquisite quality.
The bluish-white cold light of the Moonlit Moss cast upon her face, outlining her elegant nose, beautifully shaped lips, and the faintly trembling long lashes. The dark red Blood Mark Pact no longer looked ferocious under the cold light; instead, it resembled some mysterious dark pattern, adding an eerie, fragile, and strangely alluring charm.
She simply stood there quietly, gazing at her blurred reflection, her eyes somewhat vacant, as if looking at a stranger.
Yet this tranquility, this remnant of grace and rekindled vitality unintentionally revealed in the depths of despair, set against the dungeon’s gloom and faint light, held a beauty that was both broken and reborn.
Like a plant that, after being broken, had somehow sprouted tender shoots and bloomed with eerie flowers in the pitch-dark underground, nourished by twisted sustenance.
She herself was unaware of it.
But You Li, who pushed open the door and entered, was abruptly rooted to the spot.
You Li, as usual, carried the morning broth in one hand, while the other held a newly found, ancient leather scroll about the star patterns of the Demon Realm. The moment she pushed open the cell door and looked up, her breath caught almost imperceptibly.
Su Yu stood sideways to the entrance, slightly tilting her head as she gazed at the reflection on the stone wall. The cold light of the Moonlit Moss enveloped her like a thin veil, tracing the smooth lines of her shoulders and neck, her slender waist, and the waterfall-like dark hair that remained strikingly vivid even in the dimness.
The peachwood hairpin loosely held her bun, slightly disheveled with a few strands of hair falling down, swaying with her gentle breaths. The Warm Jade Silk clung closely to her body, shimmering with a dark, flowing luster under the faint light. The Blood Mark Pact patterns, like living things, snaked across her chest, collarbone, and arms, appearing not terrifying but rather like some ancient, mysterious tattoo.
She was too quiet, quiet as an ancient painting forgotten by time in the darkness. Yet the person in that painting was slowly, gradually becoming vivid again, becoming… dazzling. Even in the deepest darkness of this dungeon, even wearing prisoner’s clothes and bearing the humiliating chains.
The tray in You Li’s hands trembled almost imperceptibly, the liquid in the soup bowl rippling slightly. Deep within her crimson eyes, something contracted sharply, then suddenly ignited into a complex flame.
It was not mere possessiveness, nor the thrill of control, but something deeper, more twisted… awe, followed by an almost violent urge to destroy.
She wanted to claim this beauty for herself, to lock it firmly in the depths of this dungeon, where only she could see it.
She also wanted… to shatter it. Because this beauty did not belong to her, nor even to the Su Yu of the past. It had grown distorted under her imprisonment, her torment, and the carefully concocted “nourishment” she had provided.
It was both an affirmation of her work and a silent mockery—look, even trampled into the dust, she could still bloom with a radiance you could never have anticipated.
Two diametrically opposed impulses clashed within her chest, freezing her in place at the doorway, momentarily forgetting to move.
Perhaps it was the intensity of You Li’s gaze, or perhaps the complex aura that leaked out in that instant, but Su Yu seemed to sense something and slowly turned her head.
Her gaze met You Li’s squarely.
In that moment, the air in the dungeon seemed to freeze.
Su Yu’s eyes were initially vacant, tinged with a faint confusion at being disturbed. Then, she saw the turbulent, almost overflowing dark emotions in You Li’s eyes—awe, possession, destruction, obsession… all mingled together.
Instinctively, she took half a step back. This subtle movement broke the stillness and jolted her out of her brief, self-reflective daze. She lowered her gaze, avoiding You Li’s piercing stare while also concealing the flicker of panic in her own eyes.
You Li finally moved. She stepped into the cell, her footsteps heavier and slower than usual. She placed the tray on the small table with a somewhat forceful motion, the soup bowl clinking sharply against the jade surface.
Instead of immediately urging Su Yu to drink the soup as she usually did, she walked up to Su Yu and stood still. The distance was close, so close that Su Yu could smell the unique, cold fragrance emanating from her.
You Li reached out, not to touch Su Yu’s face, but to pick up a strand of hair that had fallen beside her neck. The hair was cool and smooth, winding around her fingertips.
“Your complexion has improved quite a bit.”
Su Yu’s body stiffened slightly, offering no response, simply allowing her to toy with her hair.
You Li’s gaze slowly shifted from her hair to her cheeks, then to her neck. Her eyes felt tangible, carrying a scorching heat, and wherever they passed, Su Yu’s skin involuntarily trembled with fine shivers.
“This outfit… suits you well.” You Li spoke again, her fingertips sliding down along the hair, lightly brushing against Su Yu’s earlobe—cold meeting faint warmth.
Su Yu’s eyelashes trembled violently, the tips of her ears visibly flushing red. She wanted to pull away, but her body seemed nailed in place, without even the strength to move a finger. It wasn’t out of fear, nor was it due to Gu poison, but because of the look in You Li’s eyes and the aura she exuded at that moment—carrying an unprecedented, intensely aggressive pressure.
“Much more fitting than that hypocritical sacred robe.” You Li’s fingers continued downward, caressing the side of Su Yu’s neck, lingering at the edge of the Warm Jade Silk collar, her fingertips faintly brushing against the dark red Blood Mark Pact. “See, this is the real you… beautiful, fragile, belonging only to darkness, belonging only to me.”
Her voice was hushed, like a whisper between lovers.
Su Yu’s breathing grew rapid. She could feel the Blood Mark Pact beneath the Warm Jade Silk warming slightly from You Li’s touch, could feel her own heart beating uncontrollably faster in her chest. Shame, fear, and a strange, unsettling tremor she refused to examine closely—all mingled together, assaulting her fragile nerves.
You Li seemed quite pleased with her reaction. The dark flame deep within her crimson eyes burned even brighter. She leaned in closer, her nose almost touching Su Yu’s forehead.
“Do you know?” Her breath brushed against Su Yu’s face, cold yet carrying a hint of scorching heat. “The way you are right now… makes me want to…”
She left the sentence unfinished, but the unspoken implication was more threatening, and more ambiguous, than any direct words.
Su Yu closed her eyes, her long, delicate lashes casting fragile shadows on her pale cheeks. She seemed to have given up resisting, or perhaps was awaiting the final judgment.
But You Li did nothing more. She merely maintained that extremely close distance, watching Su Yu for a long while, then very lightly pressed a cold kiss to her forehead.
Not on the lips, just a brief touch of foreheads, fleeting.
Yet it shook Su Yu’s heart and mind more profoundly than any intimate contact.
Then, You Li withdrew. She resumed her usual slightly aloof demeanor, walking to the small table to ladle soup as she always did, her tone returning to its usual flatness: “The soup is getting cold.”
As if the scene filled with aggression and eerie tenderness had never occurred.
Su Yu slowly opened her eyes, her body still somewhat stiff. She watched You Li’s calm profile, her elegant stirring of the soup spoon, as if the gaze that had nearly devoured her and that cold kiss were merely illusions.
But she knew they were not.
The faint chill on her forehead remained, the spot on her neck where she had been touched still felt slightly warm, and her heart continued to beat irregularly.
Slowly, step by step, she moved to the small table, sat down, and accepted the soup bowl You Li handed her. When their fingertips brushed, she felt that You Li’s fingers were colder than usual.
She lowered her head, taking small sips of the soup. The soup was still warm, rich in flavor, but today, it carried a strange, indescribable taste.
The dungeon was utterly silent, save for the faint sound of Su Yu’s quiet sipping.
You Li sat across, not reading or handling affairs as usual, merely watching Su Yu drink her soup quietly. Her gaze was no longer as aggressive as before, yet remained unsettlingly focused, as if admiring an artwork she had personally carved that was finally beginning to radiate brilliance.
Under that gaze, Su Yu could hardly taste her food. She could feel her cheeks burning, could feel You Li’s gaze lingering tangibly on her brows, eyes, nose bridge, lips…
She finished the soup, set down the bowl, and kept her head lowered.
You Li reached out, gently wiping the corner of Su Yu’s mouth with a silk handkerchief. The motion was natural, as if done countless times. But this time, her fingertips lingered a moment longer at the corner of Su Yu’s lips.
“There’s sun today,” You Li suddenly said.
Su Yu was taken aback, raising her eyes in confusion.
You Li had already stood up and walked to the wall. Triggering some mechanism, the stone window no larger than a palm slowly opened a crack about a finger’s width outward.
An extremely faint yet real, warm ray of light shot through the gap, landing precisely on the ground before Su Yu, forming a small, hazy patch of light.
It was not the Dark Red sky common in the Demon Realm, but… pale golden, genuine sunlight from the outside world. Though faint, though only a sliver, it instantly dispelled some of the heavy gloom and darkness in the dungeon.
Su Yu stared blankly at the small patch of light on the ground, at the extremely fine dust dancing within it. She could no longer remember how long it had been since she had seen real sunlight.
“On the ninth level of the demon palace, there is a skylight where direct sunlight shines for a moment at noon,” You Li said calmly, her back turned. “I had the mirror array adjusted to divert a strand here.”
Su Yu said nothing, only watching that strand of sunlight, watching the light dance on her pale fingers. Warm, faint, yet real.
You Li did not turn around or offer further explanation. She simply stood there, blocking most of the light, her figure forming a slender, blurred silhouette against the backlight.
“Watch for a quarter of an hour. Any longer would be bad for your eyes.”
Then, she walked out of the cell, leaving Su Yu alone, sitting in that small patch of precious sunlight.
Su Yu reached out, her fingertips carefully probing into the light. The warmth spread from her fingertips, faint yet bringing a sense of comfort to her long-chilled body.
She looked at her fingers in the sunlight, at the flowing, dark luster of the Warm Jade Silk shimmering under the light, at her still-pale skin that seemed to hold a hint of vitality.
Then, she raised her head, gazing in the direction You Li had left. The cell door was tightly shut, leaving only her slender silhouette against the backlight and the lingering, icy fragrance in the air.