Lin Feng took my hand and laced his fingers through mine, murmuring a spell.
When I opened my eyes, we were in a secret realm.
The landscape was breathtaking: we stood in a forest, and above us towered a snow-capped mountain. Cold air swept over us, but I didn’t feel cold at all. The most astonishing thing was a waterfall halfway up the mountain, its water flowing upward instead of down—something I’d never seen in the human world.
“Wow!”
Lin Feng squeezed my hand.
“Are you cold?”
I shook my head.
“Is this where you grew up? It’s beautiful! And that waterfall—how is it flowing up?”
He stared at the waterfall, then suddenly tightened his grip on my hand.
“Mei Chen, let’s go back.”
He started chanting again, but I stopped him.
“What are you thinking? We just got here!”
He looked nervous, slowly letting go of my hand.
“Lin Feng… are you hiding something from me?”
“No.”
“I’m just thinking… those priests are evil. They’ll use any dirty trick. The two of us might not be enough.”
“Don’t joke. You were going to come alone just now.”
A bad feeling crept over me. I stared at my hands, voice trembling.
“Is it because I’ll hold you back?”
“No… Mei Chen, actually I—”
Before he could finish, a thick wave of demonic energy swept over us.
Giant black spiders crawled toward us, yellow pus dripping from their jaws.
Why would such vile creatures be in a place as sacred as Bailing Mountain?
They screeched at us, and in the next moment, sticky black webs shot from their mouths, wrapping me up.
“Mei Chen!”
Lin Feng grabbed my hand, but the webs pulled me in.
“Lord Lin Feng. You sure kept us waiting.”
The spiders transformed into the black-cloaked figures from before.
The leader walked up to Lin Feng.
“We thought you’d broken your promise.”
He glanced at me, wrapped in webs, and gave a strange smile.
“Surely you haven’t let some human woman slow you down?”
What did that mean? I looked at Lin Feng, confused.
He just stared at me, expressionless.
“Let her go. I can use my powers now.”
His voice echoed in my mind.
“Then let’s talk terms,” the leader rasped, dark energy swirling from his body.
“You’re three days late, and your actions in the human world cost us dearly. We lost an entire team.”
“What do you want?” Lin Feng asked coolly.
“Half your demon heart.”
“Ha… you’ve got guts. No way.”
The leader walked over to me and pulled out a black lotus arrow.
I recognized it instantly—a human weapon. Once it pierces flesh, the tip blooms inside, releasing poison. The only way to remove it is to yank it out, tearing your flesh apart.
“Lord Lin Feng, this human woman seems important to you. What would happen if I stabbed her with this?”
“Not my problem,” Lin Feng replied coldly.
His words froze my heart.
“Whatever you do to her has nothing to do with me.”
Suddenly, his tail whipped out, coiling tightly around the leader’s neck.
“But I hate when people act up in front of me. Put down that arrow, or I’ll splatter your brains all over the ground.”
The leader just laughed.
“Interesting!”
“Let’s make a deal, Lord Lin Feng. I don’t want your demon heart anymore. Instead, I’ll give you half my spiritual power.”
“But I want her life.”
Lin Feng’s tail slowly released him.
“Half your power…”
The leader grinned, pressing the arrow against my left shoulder.
“Not a bad trade, right? With that power, you could become a dragon again…”
“Shut up!”
Lin Feng’s tail slammed the leader to the ground.
“Dragon? Lin Feng… what does he mean?” I asked, trembling.
The leader, sprawled on the ground, smirked at us.
“Lord Lin Feng, you’re not being honest. Does this human girl know nothing? Did you just use her?”
I looked at Lin Feng, but he avoided my gaze.
“Lin Feng… look at me. Tell me you didn’t lie to me. Please…”
The leader slowly got up.
“Silly girl, your precious Lin Feng was banished to the demon realm by the gods. He’s a dragon.”
“No! That’s impossible! Lin Feng is my snake demon!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face.
“He only submitted to you because the gods cursed him, turning him from a dragon into a snake. Only by absorbing human essence can he regain his power and transform back. Then he can return to the heavens.”
“He was just using you. It could’ve been anyone.”
Every word cut into my heart like a dull knife.
“Lin Feng… is it true?”
“Look at me! Please… if you say it’s not, I’ll believe you…”
Lin Feng’s face was ashen. He pressed his lips together, then finally spoke, voice like ice:
“Yes. It’s true.”
“I’m a dragon.”
“I used you.”
“But… aren’t you my demon? We have the mark… was that fake too?”
My own trembling voice echoed in my ears.
“It was just a minor spell… Even low-level demons can do it. There was no real contract.”
Of course. He was a dragon—he’d calculated everything perfectly.
My arms fell to my sides. I stopped struggling.
“Lin Feng, I meant every word I said to you…”
He looked away.
“Your feelings mean nothing to me.”
“Okay… okay…”
Nothing. Nothing meant more than those four words.
“Shhk!”
A searing pain exploded in my left shoulder—the lotus arrow had pierced me.
“If that’s what Lord Lin Feng wants, I’ll take this human’s life,” the leader sneered.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“Mei Chen!”
A blast of dark wind shredded the webs binding me. I collapsed to the ground, my heart aching more than my wound.
The leader grabbed me and soared into the sky.
I slumped on his back, agony radiating from my left shoulder. I looked down—my blood vessels were turning black, the poison spreading fast.
Lin Feng followed close behind. His tail, once green, now shimmered gold in the sunlight.
Why was he still following? I was useless to him now. He’d known my fate from the start.
Oh, right. He still needed his power—of course he’d follow.
The leader landed by the waterfall halfway up the mountain.
Suddenly, a surge of spiritual energy slammed him into the rocks.
The next moment, Lin Feng pulled me into his arms.
“Mei Chen… I’m sorry…”
I pushed him away with all my strength.
Being in his arms now just made me sick.
I tried to pull the arrow from my shoulder, watching as bits of flesh came out with it. The barbed tip was stuck in my shoulder blade—I couldn’t get it all out.
The pain was excruciating, black blood pouring from the wound.
I knew my body was done for.
Lin Feng grabbed the arrow, pouring spiritual energy into me, but it barely helped.
I closed my eyes and let him try to heal me.
“Mei Chen… open your eyes. I’ll give you anything you want. I’m a dragon—I can help you.”
“You can’t even return to the heavens. How can you help me?”
I opened my eyes and met his gaze, full of guilt.
“Lin Feng, am I just a joke to you?”
“No wonder… no wonder you acted like that at first.”
“I thought you didn’t accept me because I was weak. Turns out, I was just a pawn to you.”
“Stop it!”
Lin Feng’s lips trembled. He didn’t know why he felt so panicked.
“I… I can heal you, then send you back to the human world.”
Somehow, we’d ended up at the edge of the waterfall.
I stared at the water flowing upward, my heart finally empty.
If I’d never met Lin Feng, maybe I’d never have seen a place like Bailing Mountain.
Maybe… this life was enough.
I turned my back to him, facing the waterfall.
“It hurts so much… but after this, I won’t hurt anymore.”
Lin Feng’s heart clenched. He grabbed my right hand, but I easily slipped free.
“Mei Chen! What are you doing…?”
“It’s all wrong… Let me go home, okay?”
I didn’t look back. I jumped.
The icy water crashed over me, the force pushing me upward.
As the pain faded, so did my consciousness.
Chapter 07
*
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