When exactly did he fall for Shu Yang?
Ruan Wei was not entirely sure himself. However, he knew that from the moment he caught a glimpse of him at the Dragon Trials, his gaze had never been able to move away.
Even if many said that Shu Yang was treacherous, ruthless, and devoid of human warmth, what did that matter? Ruan Wei loved him nonetheless. He loved him to the point of disregarding his own safety, rushing into peril time and time again to save him, and even transmuting a century of his own cultivation to help Shu Yang break through his limits.
Yet, Shu Yang’s heart was like stone—cold and impossible to warm. He accepted Ruan Wei’s sacrifices with indifference, treating them as if they were his due. After all, there were countless others who fawned over Shu Yang, willing to offer their cultivation on a silver platter for him to choose from. To be accepted by Shu Yang had become a badge of honor. Shu Yang possessed a unique power and destiny; he could make those who initially disliked him fall for him, to the point where even his greatest enemies would rack their brains just for the chance to fight him again.
There was never any love between Shu Yang and Ruan Wei. Their relationship was defined solely by the one who chose and the one who was chosen. Shu Yang was always the active agent, moving forward to take or retreating at will, while Ruan Wei could not. He fell into Shu Yang’s trap irretrievably, ultimately paying the ultimate price in blood.
Thinking of the cost he had paid for his love, Ruan Wei’s jaw tightened. He suddenly wished he could deny he had ever loved Shu Yang at all, and he fell into a heavy silence. No matter how Shu Yang teased him or tried to provoke a response, Ruan Wei remained resolute in his silence. Loving Shu Yang had brought him nothing but ruin from start to finish.
Seeing Ruan Wei suddenly stop speaking for no apparent reason, Shu Yang lost interest and turned away. The atmosphere grew quiet. Long after, Ruan Wei seemed to realize he had promised Shu Yang something he had failed to deliver and felt embarrassed. Not wanting to dwell on the past, he said stiffly, “You should rest early.”
Shu Yang glanced at Ruan Wei, then rolled over to lie with his back toward him. Seeing Shu Yang had stopped asking questions, Ruan Wei let out a sigh of relief. He tip-toed out of the ruined temple, transformed into his dragon form, and dove into a pool, desperate to cool his head. He thought he had been subtle, but he did not realize that his transformation had been seen entirely by Shu Yang, who had been following behind.
Is he really a dragon?
Shu Yang’s eyes were hidden behind a crack in the door. In the cold moonlight, they gleamed with a faint blue light, mingling excitement with something indefinable. Legend had it that a dragon possessed a heart-protecting scale that could repel most harm, that dragon horns could cure a hundred poisons, and that dragon meat could boost cultivation and even propel mortals directly into the Qi Refining stage.
With this thought, Shu Yang retreated into the darkness. By the time Ruan Wei returned, he had already drifted into a quiet sleep. Ruan Wei, seeing Shu Yang sleeping soundly, lay down beside him, his lower body transforming back into his dragon form. He draped his massive, icy tail over Shu Yang to keep him warm. He fell asleep quickly, never knowing that as he drifted off, Shu Yang turned to stare at his face for a long moment, his fingertips sliding from his cheek down to his chest, lost in deep thought.
To escape this realm, one had to eliminate the Sui, and since the Sui were born of resentment, they had to find the ultimate source of Shu Yang’s resentment.
But where did Shu Yang’s resentment truly come from? Was it from the young masters who bullied him?
Shu Yang’s resentment was ambiguous; he neither agreed nor denied the suggestion. To break the illusion, Ruan Wei acted decisively and killed every person who had ever harmed Shu Yang.
Whenever anyone tried to bully him, Ruan Wei would rush to kill them first. To ensure Shu Yang would have no regrets about hitting Foundation Establishment only at forty, Ruan Wei resolutely took him to the Liuxian Sect, where Shu Yang had originally studied, helping him clear every hurdle until he became the first disciple of the sect leader.
Yet, no matter how Ruan Wei helped him, as Shu Yang grew stronger by the day, the illusion only became more solid and resilient. Sometimes, Ruan Wei would find himself unknowingly brainwashed by the intangible forces of the illusion, willing to stay there forever. At first, he could resist, but the influence grew longer, until he began to forget he was in an illusion at all.
What is happening? Why did his help only make the resentment grow stronger? Why did it latch onto him, trapping him here? Ruan Wei could not understand.
One day, as he was in his room trying to manifest an artifact to break the illusion, Shu Yang suddenly burst through his door, staggering inside, drenched in blood.
“Shu Yang?!”
Seeing Shu Yang covered in blood, Ruan Wei froze, his mind going blank. He scrambled off the bed, rushing to support him. He tore off Shu Yang’s clothes to inspect the wounds, and his heart sank. Shu Yang was covered in sword cuts, some laced with lethal poison—wounds far more dangerous than the frostbite from the temple.
“Don’t move. I will find a healer.”
Afraid of delay, Ruan Wei jumped off the bed. But Shu Yang suddenly grabbed his hand, his grip unnaturally strong. “No need.”
Despite his pain, Shu Yang held on so tightly that Ruan Wei could barely break free, crying out in agony: “Shu Yang!” Ruan Wei’s eyes turned into blood-red vertical slits in his fury. “Let go of me!”
Seeing Ruan Wei’s eyes change, Shu Yang’s excitement grew. He pressed forward, pinning Ruan Wei to the bed, and laughed softly: “Why find a healer when you are right here?”
He tore Ruan Wei’s clothes into shreds. As the fabric fell, Ruan Wei’s pupils contracted. Instinctively, silver-white scales sprouted across his skin—warm as jade yet cold to the touch, hard as iron, ready to repel any harm or, perhaps, easily broken.
Shu Yang smiled as he looked at Ruan Wei, who was pinned beneath him. He leaned down, pressed his lips to Ruan Wei’s ear, and bit down hard. As Ruan Wei groaned, Shu Yang whispered with a cold laugh: “You love me, don’t you?”
“You say you hate me, but you protect me so fiercely. If that is not love, what is?”
Ruan Wei did not know what Shu Yang intended; he could only clench his teeth and glare: “Let go of me!”
“Let go?” Shu Yang sneered coldly, his expression shifting into a flat, emotionless line. “Why should I let go? I am injured. Shouldn’t you do something about it?”
Ruan Wei struggled, his dragon horns beginning to protrude as he tried to buck Shu Yang off. “I said I would find you a healer!”
“Healers are too slow. I want something that cures all poisons.” Shu Yang looked down at him, pulled a dagger from his sleeve, and struck.
Crack.
With a clear snap, Ruan Wei’s dragon horn fell. Sharp pain radiated from his crown, and he screamed. Shu Yang, as if he had not heard, continued his work, hacking off the other horn. Ruan Wei was in agony. He nearly blacked out, his cries turning into dragon wails, until he involuntarily transformed into a small, silver-white dragon, curling into a tight ball on the bed.
But Shu Yang did not stop. He located Ruan Wei’s heart-protecting scale and ripped it out. The feeling of scales and flesh separating was visceral. Ruan Wei was in too much pain to scream; he shrank down to the size of a man’s arm. He did not know why Shu Yang was cutting off his horns and stripping his scales, but before he could ask, Shu Yang turned the dagger toward his chest.
He wanted his dragon heart. Eating a dragon heart could allow one to break through boundaries and transform one’s essence. Shu Yang truly intended to kill him!
Ruan Wei crawled off the bed like a snake, trying to flee. But Shu Yang pursued him with the wind. Ruan Wei could not use magic in the illusion, so he was no match for Shu Yang’s speed. Eventually, he was cornered in a bamboo forest, his snow-white form standing out starkly against the green leaves. He curled himself around a dense bamboo stalk, trying to shrink his size to hide from the pursuit.
But Shu Yang was not so easily deceived. He hovered in the air and easily located him. He turned the wind into a blade and struck.
Finished!
As the wind blade grew closer, the fear of death washed over Ruan Wei like ice water. He stood stiff, unable to speak, watching Shu Yang raise the blade and swing it down.
Clang!
The sound of the blade striking a hard object made Ruan Wei squeeze his eyes shut. But the pain he expected never arrived. Instead, a shockwave from colliding spiritual energies nearly blew him off the bamboo.
What happened?
Ruan Wei opened one eye cautiously. A man in blue stood before him. Though veiled, the eyes that looked at him were hauntingly familiar. The stranger traded blows with Shu Yang, and after a while, Shu Yang seemed annoyed, cast a glance at Ruan Wei, dispelled his magic, and rode the wind away.
However, Ruan Wei did not relax. The masked man hovered in front of him, staring for a long time, before reaching out and plucking Ruan Wei from the bamboo.
He did not know who the man was and remained playing dead. The stranger carried him to a bamboo hut and tossed him onto the table. The stranger seemed indifferent to his identity as a dragon, walking into the back room to change clothes stained by Ruan Wei’s blood. Ruan Wei endured the agony and crawled off the table, hiding near the wall to peek into the inner room.
He did not expect that the moment he looked up, the stranger had finished changing and had even removed his veil.
Ruan Wei fixed his gaze on the man’s face.
As the veil drifted to the floor, exposing the man’s features, Ruan Wei’s pupils shrank. He looked at the face, trembling uncontrollably, and in a voice filled with utter disbelief, let out a single word: “Shu Yang?!”
How? How can there be another Shu Yang?