Shi Ying tried to speak but found her voice trapped in her throat.
She grabbed Yun Jinghe’s hand as it wandered along her neck. Realizing something had been done to her, Shi Ying glared furiously, though her silent accusations went unanswered.
A cool breeze swept through the cavern, lifting Yun Jinghe’s long hair for a fleeting moment.
“Don’t be afraid. Your voice is only temporary,” Yun Jinghe said, clasping Shi Ying’s fingers tightly in her palm. “I just think it’s better if you behave until our wedding is over.”
Shi Ying’s eyes widened at her words. She sat up abruptly, unable to believe what she had just heard.
Yun Jinghe reached out to caress her cheek, as if touching something precious and beloved.
Shi Ying turned her face away, only to realize that most of her clothes were gone another trick Yun Jinghe had played on her.
She mouthed soundlessly at Yun Jinghe: Undo this!
But Yun Jinghe acted as though she hadn’t seen. Instead, she scooped Shi Ying up from the stone bed and carried her toward the cave’s exit.
Shi Ying refused to stay docile in her arms. She struggled fiercely, even biting down hard on Yun Jinghe’s shoulder, staining the already bloodstained robe with fresh crimson.
Yet Yun Jinghe’s expression remained unchanged. She glanced down at the unruly figure in her arms and said softly, “Sleep.”
By the time you wake, everything will be better.
Shi Ying tried to resist, but the words seeped into her mind like a hypnotic spell. Unable to fight it, her eyelids grew heavy, and she slumped unconscious against Yun Jinghe’s chest.
When Shi Ying awoke, she found herself lying on a bed. She turned her head slightly and saw the flickering glow of numerous red candles casting wavering light against the walls.
Dazed, she sat up and realized she was dressed in a fiery red wedding gown, its sleeves, collar, and hem embroidered with golden phoenix feathers that shimmered under the candlelight.
For a moment, Shi Ying thought she had been transported back to that fateful wedding night. Bewildered, she took in her surroundings this room was far more elaborately decorated than the last.
The entire space was bathed in red, though it lacked the liveliness of a true celebration.
From behind a painted screen emerged Yun Jinghe, also clad in bridal attire. The vibrant hues of her robes softened the usual coldness in her eyes.
She walked steadily toward Shi Ying, stopping only when she stood before her, gazing down at her stunned expression.
Yun Jinghe reached out to cradle Shi Ying’s face. “Yingying, it’s time for us to make our vows.”
With those words, she traced two fingers over Shi Ying’s throat, lifting the silencing spell.
The sudden release of the restraint made Shi Ying gasp. She touched her neck, testing her voice. “Cough!”
The moment she confirmed she could speak again, her first act was to lash out in fury. “How dare you do this to me! I won’t marry you!”
She shoved Yun Jinghe aside and scrambled off the bed, but after only two steps, she felt a light tap on her back and then her body froze in place.
Yun Jinghe stepped forward, took her hand, and led her to the doorway. There, she knelt beneath the heavens and earth, her expression serene, as if completely oblivious to the seething anger in Shi Ying’s eyes.
“It’s alright if you don’t know what to say. Just repeat after me.”
Shi Ying couldn’t refute anything and could only kneel beside her.
Yun Jinghe turned slightly, cupping Shi Ying’s face with one hand and bringing it toward her own. Shi Ying’s clear, translucent eyes met hers.
Shi Ying could sense the aggression and danger in her gaze, sending a faint chill down her spine.
“Disciple Yun Jinghe, today I beseech the heavens above, calling upon the True Lord of the Lunar Mansion to bear witness. Here, I pledge my vow, to share a harmonious union with Shi Ying for a hundred years, to treat each other with mutual respect, to grow old together. With heaven and earth as our witness, we vow to remain together for life, never to part.”
As Yun Jinghe spoke the final words, her tone grew somber, her deep eyes like an unfathomable pool of ink, with Shi Ying as the sole glimmer of light within them.
After Yun Jinghe finished, Shi Ying repeated the words verbatim, only substituting her own name where appropriate.
From their clasped hands, two beams of light emerged, gradually merging into one before vanishing without a trace.
A faint, satisfied smile finally appeared in Yun Jinghe’s eyes as she murmured softly, “Good girl, Shi Ying.”
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away on Taicang Mountain, Yun Jinghe’s longevity tablet flickered with a faint red glow before a crimson thread suddenly coiled around the jade plaque.
The disciple guarding the shrine noticed the anomaly and rushed over, craning his neck to see. Upon recognizing the change in the tablet, his eyes widened in shock, and he immediately dashed out to report the incident.
Once the vow was complete, Yun Jinghe helped Shi Ying to her feet. As they turned, a gust of wind swept past, causing the puppet talisman stuck to Shi Ying’s back to flutter noisily.
The two approached a table draped in red cloth, laden with the dried fruits and sweets customary for weddings. A silver-gilded wine jug sat prominently at the center.
“After we share this cup of nuptial wine, our ceremony will be complete,” Yun Jinghe said as she poured two full cups.
As time passed, Shi Ying felt the effects of the puppet talisman on her back gradually weakening, allowing her slight control over her movements. So when Yun Jinghe raised the cup to her lips, she pressed them tightly together, refusing to open them. Her stubborn, restrained expression made her seem pitiable.
Seeing Shi Ying’s refusal, Yun Jinghe instead tilted her head back and drained the cup herself. Then, wrapping an arm around Shi Ying’s waist, she leaned in close.
With a deft press of her fingers against Shi Ying’s jaw, she forced her mouth open, transferring the now-warmed wine into it.
The sharp, spicy taste made Shi Ying grimace, but she couldn’t push Yun Jinghe away.
Yun Jinghe captured her lips, gently deepening the kiss.
Her movements were somewhat unskilled, betraying inexperience, but she carried them out with utmost sincerity.
Once the wine was swallowed.
The girl’s silk-like black hair had become slightly disheveled, and a few droplets of wine stained her collar. She gasped for breath, her lips red and teeth white, her delicate features now strikingly vivid.
Yun Jinghe lightly traced her fingertips along Shi Ying’s neck, her gaze lingering on the slightly swollen lips. She bent down to brush them with her own, warm breath ghosting over them.
“Now, only one final step remains,” she murmured before scooping Shi Ying into her arms and swiftly carrying her toward the canopy bed draped in red silk.
Shi Ying didn’t understand what she was referring to, but she could clearly sense it might not be anything good. She struggled desperately against the loosening puppet talisman on her back.
Finally, as Yun Jinghe placed her on the soft bedding, Shi Ying broke free from the restraint. The force binding her suddenly dissipated, and she half-collapsed onto the mattress, gasping for breath before turning her head to glare at the culprit responsible for all this.
Though her limbs had regained movement, the demonic energy within her was nearly depleted, and her throat remained voiceless once more.
It seemed only the puppet talisman’s effect had vanished.
Shi Ying pressed her lips together lightly, her palms slightly damp with sweat.
Warily, she watched Yun Jinghe, who stood before her with downcast eyes. Bracing her hands behind her, she prepared to crawl away at the first opportunity.
But her slender ankle was abruptly seized by Yun Jinghe, who dragged her forward, forcing her back into place.
The crimson wedding dress fanned out like peonies around her, enveloping Shi Ying in a display of delicate fragility.
A rare flicker of panic crossed Shi Ying’s face, but the demon-sealing curse around her neck rendered her mute. She could only shake her head helplessly, lips parted in silent protest.
Yun Jinghe braced one hand beside Shi Ying, looming over her. A few strands of hair fell beside her cheeks as her grip on Shi Ying’s ankle shifted, her fingers trailing upward in a slow, deliberate path.
Shi Ying instinctively glanced at the strange sensation on her leg, where the woman’s long, strong fingers glided over her calf, nails smooth and clean, the faint outline of tendons visible on the back of her hand.
“Yingying, didn’t I tell you not to run away again?” Yun Jinghe’s voice was clear, laced with a soft, lingering tone.
Her hand finally settled in place, lightly stroking the tender skin of Shi Ying’s inner thigh through the fabric.
The candlelight flickered in the room, casting a hazy glow through the red gauze.
Yun Jinghe gazed down at the woman beneath her. Shi Ying’s eyes were bright as if washed by water, yet a faint flush colored her cheeks perhaps from the wine earlier.
Mustering what little strength she had left, Shi Ying lashed out, kicking at Yun Jinghe’s waist while grabbing whatever she could to hurl at her.
Yun Jinghe tilted her head, dodging the thrown pillow, while the hand on Shi Ying’s thigh tightened abruptly. Her other hand tangled in Shi Ying’s disheveled hair, gripping the nape of her neck to tilt her head up before sealing their lips together.
Shi Ying thrashed even more fiercely, but Yun Jinghe pinned her relentlessly to the bed.
Though her grip was unyielding, the kiss itself was gentle.
The hand at Shi Ying’s nape shifted slightly, a thumb pressing against her jawline.
Soft lips pressed together, a tongue slipping past teeth, this was Yun Jinghe’s one-sided conquest.
At first, there was a hint of inexperience, but Yun Jinghe, ever quick to learn, soon found her rhythm.
Shi Ying’s breath grew ragged as the air in her mouth was steadily stolen away. She tried to turn her head, but her chin was held firmly in place, leaving her no choice but to submit.
Her attempts to push back only entangled her tongue further, trapping her inescapably.
For some reason, the wound on her calf began to burn, the heat gradually spreading throughout her entire body.
Shi Ying frowned uncomfortably, her slender neck tilting slightly as the sound of swallowing came from her throat. What couldn’t be swallowed in time trickled down from the corners of their entangled lips.