Yu Xuanhe closed his hands around Ji Youyou’s neck.
He forced her face to face with him.
Their breaths mingled.
Fingers like chilled jade pressed into the beating veins beneath her skin.
Ji Youyou felt nothing but revulsion toward him now.
He was no longer the Yu Nu who had cherished her so tenderly.
She began to pull away.
Then icy spiritual energy flooded her throat.
It numbed her tongue.
Show me.
He undid her sash with a touch of his fingers.
It was his first time being close to any woman.
Yet with this evil cultivator every movement came to him as if he had done it a thousand times before.
It felt as though in some deep remembered place he had loosened this very sash every day.
The sash fell away.
Her robes slipped loose.
She still wore her inner garments so she was not exposed.
Yet wide stretches of fair skin were laid bare.
Pale moonlight filtered through the small window from outside the pagoda.
It gilded her shoulders with a soft and sinful glow.
The sight of her skin drove him wild.
His primal essence was bound to her.
Demonic longing surged within him.
He burned with a heat that threatened to consume him.
He lunged and pressed close.
His face remained cold and impassive.
But his eyes swam with hunger and something savage.
A crimson whirlpool deep in his gaze threatened to drag him under.
A voice kept urging him from within.
Bite her.
Claim her.
Devour her.
He leaned in and kissed the curve of her shoulder.
He looked less like a leader of the immortal path and more like a starved beast.
Let go of me.
Ji Youyou arched away in terror.
What are you doing?
There is nothing between us anymore.
You stand married today yet you come here to humiliate me.
You kiss me with the same mouth that kissed him.
It makes me sick.
I loathe you.
I loathe you.
She wanted to retch.
All she could see was the image of Yu Xuanhe and Xie Lin exchanging vows and sharing a kiss beneath the pagoda earlier that day.
The thought turned her stomach.
She fought against him with every limb.
Her struggle broke through his haze just enough.
Be good.
Yu Xuanhe was past caring.
He was already hard and ready.
He pinned her wrists and caught her ankles.
He held her fast as one might hold a fluttering fledgling.
Let go.
You are repulsive.
The closer he drew the more vividly she recalled that kiss.
Was he treating her as nothing more than a plaything?
Naughty ones must be punished.
His gaze turned cold.
He seized her head and kissed her hard.
Ji Youyou wanted to scream.
She wanted to spit.
She wanted to curse him.
She could not.
His mouth was forced over hers.
His tongue swept inside seeking and taking.
She could not pull away.
Tears slipped from her closed eyes.
She tried to bite him.
But the spiritual energy woven into her neck had numbed her jaw and robbed her of strength.
Then a sound rang out sharp and clear.
Applause echoed through the chamber.
How unfortunate that I should interrupt.
The great pillar of the immortal path must resort to force to win a woman.
So it proves.
A million years will not make your kind decent.
Yu Xuanhe pulled away.
He fastened her sash quickly and stood between her and the intruder.
Ji Youyou drew breath at last.
She felt a flicker of gratitude toward Fan Moxi.
Fan Moxi kindled a ghostly flame.
He watched Yu Xuanhe with eyes full of malice.
Yu Xuanhe saw clearly who stood before him.
This was one sealed by heaven’s own command.
He did not know the man.
But he knew he was marked for imprisonment not death.
Who goes there?
Your ancestor.
Yu Xuanhe did not rise to the bait.
He had expected some mindless beast.
Instead he saw a man reaching for Ji Youyou’s hand to lead her away.
Let go.
Where are you taking me?
Ji Youyou cried out in alarm.
She feared being taken away by him.
If he had forced a kiss upon her what else might he do next.
Fan Moxi’s eyes glinted dark and sharp.
He moved to block Yu Xuanhe’s path.
Do you think you can carry her off before my eyes?
I am older and wiser than you.
Your immortal path prides itself on honor and rectitude.
Where is the honor in forcing a prisoner?
And you.
You are newly wed yet you sneak away to another woman.
Does your bride know what you do?
Fan Moxi’s words were cruel and cutting.
Most would have been enraged.
Yu Xuanhe’s face remained calm.
He offered a faint and cold smile.
That is none of your concern.
He stepped forward.
And remember this.
You are a prisoner here.
In my eyes you are no better than the dust.
Yu Xuanhe would gladly have struck him down.
But Fan Moxi was bound to heaven’s will.
He dared not act without cause.
He turned and led Ji Youyou past.
Fan Moxi watched him go.
One day you will speak to me with respect.
Do you truly believe heaven placed me here only as a prisoner?
Yu Xuanhe paid him no heed.
He pulled Ji Youyou forward toward the seal.
She struggled all the way.
As he reached the opening a figure emerged from the light.
It was Xie Lin.
Yu Xuanhe released Ji Youyou’s hand at once.
What are you doing here?
Xuanhe why are you here so late at night?
I could not sleep alone.
I came looking for you.
Xie Lin spoke softly and sweetly.
He lingered on the words to sound as though they shared a perfect marriage.
Before Yu Xuanhe could reply Xie Lin added more.
We are husband and wife now.
Surely such duties need not fall to you alone.
You work too hard.
And I was afraid.
You hurt me just now.
He spoke with deliberate care.
He meant to plant suspicion and disgust in Ji Youyou.
Ji Youyou felt sickened indeed.
She understood now.
He had been unsatisfied in his marriage bed so he had come to her.
She wanted nothing more than for him to leave.
She turned to Xie Lin.
I wish you both happiness.
May I be left in peace?
I am a prisoner yes.
But I too have dignity and I need rest.
I have no wish to hear the intimacies of your marriage.