"Thud!"

  A dull, heavy sound echoed in my ears.

  It was my body—smming hard against solid ground.

  Forcing my eyes open, I struggled to lift my head. Just as I tried to push myself up with my arms, something heavy pressed down on my back, forcing me back onto the ground.

  Gritting my teeth against the stinging pain in my chin, I twisted my head to the side—only to realize that draped across my back was an arm, clothed in dark purple robes. Its fingers, slightly curled at the tips, rested weakly on my right shoulder.

  My startled gaze traced up the length of that arm, nding on the figure to whom it belonged—someone lying sprawled on the ground, face obscured, long bck hair cascading over their features.

  No breath. No movement. As lifeless as a corpse.

  Dark hair gleaming with a faint purple sheen. A robe of deep violet. That hand gripping my shoulder…

  I froze, my mind still reeling from the impact, but then—suddenly—everything clicked.

  This person… this thing…

  Could it be that that cursed dragon had taken human form?!

  I blinked, then frowned. Who cares what he is? The most important thing now was to escape while he was still in this state.

  Carefully, I shifted my body, using all my strength to push at the long arm draped over me. After several attempts, I finally managed to move it aside. Letting out a breath of relief, I sat up—only then realizing that I was inside a vast cave, with its entrance directly ahead.

  Without hesitation, I scrambled to my feet, limping as I rushed toward the exit. I need to get out of here. I need to get back to Zi Miao—now.

  But just as I took my first step, a strong hand cmped tightly around my ankle.

  “You′re not allowed to leave…”

  A low, unhurried voice came from the figure on the ground—nguid, yet carrying an undeniable authority that brooked no defiance.

  I sucked in a sharp breath. The hand gripping me was as cold as ice, its chill seeping straight through my skin, freezing me to the core.

  He… He's awake?!

  Slowly, the man rose to his feet. He moved to stand before me, his towering frame casting an imposing shadow.

  With effortless dominance, he blocked the cave's only exit.

  All these years, I had never seen someone with such dark, sun-kissed skin. His sharply defined features looked as if they had been carved by a bde—every line exuding an aggressive, unyielding intensity. Yet, those eyes, which should have been gring with fury, were instead half-lidded in zy indifference. A stray lock of messy hair fell over his forehead, unable to mask the piercing light within his gaze.

  “Y-you… Who are you…?” I instinctively stepped back, wary and afraid—only to realize a moment too te how utterly foolish my question was.

  “Hah. Didn't you call me ‘ugly beast’ so smoothly before?” His voice was ft, devoid of emotion, as he looked down at me with a cold, unreadable expression.

  So, my suspicions were right after all.

  “Weren't you quite sharp-tongued earlier?” His rge hand seized my chin without hesitation, his grip rough and unforgiving. “What's wrong? Cat got your tongue now?”

  Pain shot through me. I had never been treated so violently before. In my memories, there was only another man—a gentle face, a gaze as soft as flowing water, filled with tender affection.

  “Speak!” His iron-like fingers tightened their hold, pressing into my jaw with bruising force.

  This man—this beast—wanted to break me, wanted to see me beg for mercy.

  But I would not beg.

  No matter how excruciating the pain, no matter how deep it cut, I refused to let him win.

  Anger burned away every trace of fear.

  I met his gaze head-on, refusing to flinch. His eyes were wild and untamed; mine were unyielding and defiant. The tension between us crackled in the air, as if a single spark could set it abze.

  We remained locked in that silent standoff for what felt like an eternity—until, suddenly, he released me.

  “Interesting woman—ah, no, not a woman… a yaokai.” His eyes swept over me, assessing, calcuting.

  “Killing you now would be such a waste.” He smirked, dark amusement flickering in his gaze.

  “We have all the time in the world.”

  "He will come for me!"

  I lifted my chin abruptly, my voice sharp with conviction. This arrogant fool needed to be reminded—there was someone in this world far above him, in both skill and virtue.

  Someone who had already defeated him, leaving him battered and humiliated.

  “Him?”

  The zy indifference in his eyes vanished, swept away by a surge of uncontrolble fury. His hand instinctively reached behind him, then came forward, palm open—stained with fresh, crimson blood.

  His wound was still bleeding?

  Zi Miao's arrow had struck true. The sight of it reignited a flicker of defiance in my chest, reminding me just how insignificant this creature truly was.

  “The debt of my torn scales—he will pay for it twice over.” His voice was thick with unyielding rage, the promise of vengeance ced with the bitter sting of defeat.

  "You are no match for him. You never will be." I smiled, taunting, reveling in his anger.

  "He will come for me soon. If you have any sense left, you'd run for your life while you still can!"

  The more furious he became, the more triumphant I felt.

  But then—

  A razor-sharp gaze sliced through my triumph like a bde.

  “With a beauty in his arms, he won't be coming.”

  His voice dripped with mockery, the cruel smirk on his lips like a dagger to my heart.

  Beauty. That woman.

  She had become the thorn lodged deep in my heart, a wound that ached at the slightest touch.

  Everything that had happened on Dongting Lake—the obvious, the subtle—rushed through my mind like a raging tide, drowning me in unwanted memories.

  “She's breathtaking. Any man would fall for her.” He shook his head, feigning regret and pity. “Compared to her, you don't even come close.”

  His words cut deep, each sylble ced with cruel amusement.

  “If I hadn't been trying to escape in the chaos, I wouldn't have minded admiring her a little longer.” He sighed dramatically, then smirked. “Face it. You're no longer his first choice. Before long, he′ll forget you completely.”

  "Shut up! Shut up!"

  I cmped my hands over my ears and screamed at him, furious and shaking. "You don’t know anything! He will come for me! He will!"

  But his reckless words had nded precisely where I feared most, striking with a cruel precision that left me breathless.