Yun Ruoyan stood by the entrance to Li Mo’s rooms, not daring to enter. In the end, just as she had made up her mind to walk in, Li Mo spoke.

“You’re back?”

“Yes, I’m back.”

“What’re you standing there for? Aren’t you tired after these few days of running around?” Li Mo put down his book, then raised his head to meet her gaze.

“I heard you were angry, and I was scared,” Yun Ruoyan lowered her head, smiling winningly. After she had removed her fake birthmark as a disguise during the brothel infiltration, she hadn’t made a new one. Instead, she had put on a gauze patch over her right cheek.

Her full day and night of riding had caused her hair to become somewhat tousled. Because she hadn’t consumed much food, her jaw looked far more pointed, and her skin wan and sallow. 

“And here I thought you weren’t afraid of anything,” Li Mo replied coolly.

Looks like he’s really mad. 

She carefully walked over to his side. “Are you really mad?”

“Shouldn’t I be?” His brows were arched, his nose slightly upturned, his lips barely pursed.

“You should be,” Yun Ruoyan sighed. “How can I make you feel better?”

Yun Ruoyan swept a strand of hair behind her ear, looking frustrated. Li Mo sighed and was just about to say something when Yun Ruoyan leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. Her soft lips were cold, like the dew on a winter morning.

“Are you still mad?” Yun Ruoyan had only briefly touched her lips to his before breaking the contact, and her large, expressive eyes were focused on Li Mo. 

So quickly she had almost missed it, Yun Ruoyan saw an icy blue gleam flash through Li Mo’s pupils, and then she was grabbed in a tight embrace, her lips overwhelmed by Li Mo’s.

If Yun Ruoyan’s lips were icy dew, then Li Mo’s were an ardent fire, one that could make her lips boil. She had accepted the kiss, but as Li Mo became more and more demanding, Yun Ruoyan tried to push him away. She could feel an iron tang by her lips, but she didn’t know whether it came from her or Li Mo.

Her lips turned numb, and the kiss no longer seemed gentle or sweet. All she could sense was Li Mo’s fury, as clear as day.

“Li Mo, you’re making me hurt.” Yun Ruoyan pushed against his shoulders, murmuring, “Let go of me!”

The moment Li Mo did so, she stumbled backwards, but Li Mo caught her by the arm.

“Li Mo, it looks like you really are mad at me.” She wiped at her lips and found a red smear on her fingers. “I’ll wait until you’ve had some time to cool down before coming back.”

She was about to leave when Li Mo grabbed onto her even more tightly than before.

“Yan’er…”

“Yes?”

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have displayed my anger so, and I definitely shouldn’t have hurt you in the process. But…” Li Mo took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t be so angry if I didn’t care about you so much.”

Goodness, was Li Mo really trying to flirt with her? Awkwardly and in an easily misinterpreted manner, but…

Given his usual cool, aloof demeanor, Yun Ruoyan found herself particularly affected by his words. She didn’t doubt the strength and truth of his feelings at all.

“I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t have left without letting you know and causing you to worry, but there were some things that I had to accomplish on my own. After all, I can’t be relying on you all the time, can I?”

“And why not?” Li Mo frowned. “Why can’t you just keep relying on me? If I didn’t always want to be able to support you, why would I marry you? I want to protect you, to make sure that you’re shielded from pain!”

“Li Mo, I know you have good intentions.” She sat down by his side, choosing her next few words with care. “I’ve experienced quite a bit of trauma before meeting you, and although I’ve been trying to forget these terrible memories, they’ve left a scar on me.”

Yun Ruoyan leaned her head against Li Mo’s shoulder and continued, “Before all that happened, my biggest dream was to find a man whom I could count on. Afterwards, however, what I realized was that the only one who’ll always be there for you… is yourself.”

“Yan’er, can’t you let me support you? Just like how you’re leaning against me now.”

Yun Ruoyan chuckled bitterly and shook her head. “Perhaps one day, when we’re free of these mortal bindings.”

“Yan’er, sometimes I really don’t understand you.” Li Mo kneaded her shoulders. “You’re only fourteen. Except for your trip to Kongming Academy, this is the first time you’ve left the capital. Your age and experience are both lacking, but sometimes you give me the impression that you’ve seen it all. And those words just now—it’s lucky I was the one you were talking to. What sort of expression would someone else have upon hearing something like this from a fourteen-year-old girl, I wonder?”

“Li Mo, let me tell you a secret.” Yun Ruoyan’s voice was suddenly solemn. “My soul was reborn. The reason I sound so world-weary is because I’ve already lived out one life. I died a terrible death, brought on by my own incompetence. Both the Yun and Lin families were dead to the last, all because of me! This time, I swear I won’t be a weakling again.”

“Yan’er.” Li Mo turned around and glanced equally seriously at Yun Ruoyan. “Your fibs have grown remarkably believable in just a few short days.”

“You don’t believe me?”

Li Mo shook his head. “Of course not! Is what you said true?”

“Of course… it’s fake,” Yun Ruoyan laughed mischievously. “Perhaps it’s simply because I had to mature early. My last few years in the Yun household haven’t been a pleasant experience, as you know. My mother passed early, my father doesn’t like me, my brother wasn’t by my side… I grew used to having to fend for myself, and it’s a habit I can’t change. If you really want to marry me, please accept me as I am.”

“Of course, Yan’er,” Li Mo replied immediately. “However, I do wish that there weren’t so many secrets between us—after all, we’re about to be husband and wife. If we’re still hiding things from each other left and right, does our marriage really have any meaning?”

Yun Ruoyan thought for a moment. “Li Mo, my past experiences have made it very difficult for me to trust others, even those closest to me. I won’t reveal my secrets before you do yours, but I’ll certainly reciprocate.”

Li Mo stood up. He walked up to a window and turned toward the pond of lilies outside, causing a heavy silence to descend on the room. “I’ve been thinking about this exact matter during the few days you were gone. The reason I was unwilling to reveal all my secrets to you was because I didn’t want to drag you into the danger that surrounds me. If we’re to be married, however, then I can’t shield you from that danger any longer.”

“The secrets that I’ve sworn to protect with my life—I’ll reveal all of them to you.”

Li Mo had already informed Yun Ruoyan of his identity, but after having been together for so long, Yun Ruoyan could sense that he hadn’t told her the full story. For example, why did Li Mo frequently vanish for a few days at a time? Who was the madam that she had overheard him talking about back in the southern tower?

Although Yun Ruoyan wouldn’t ask Li Mo these questions directly, that didn’t imply that she wasn’t concerned or that she didn’t want to know. She was simply waiting for an opportunity for Li Mo to tell her about everything herself, and now was the best time for doing so.

“Before revealing this secret to you, I have to show you two places.” Li Mo extended a hand to her.

Yun Ruoyan took his hand, and Li Mo brought her outside the living room. On his sword, they soared toward the Yueli Mountain. 

Four hours later, they stopped near the top of a valley, below which Yun Ruoyan could see a few dozen wooden cottages: a little settlement, complete with livestock and laborers.

“Everyone living in this settlement was a beastkin slave that I saved in the past, as well as a new batch that was rescued from the Yue kingdom not ten days ago. Now, there are over two thousand people living here,” Li Mo explained. “I might not be able to recreate the beastkin kingdom, but I wanted to at least give them a life free of discrimination and strife.”

“Do they know that it was you who saved them?”

“Only a rare few,” Li Mo replied. “Most of them are like Zhuo Yifeng, thinking of me as their mortal enemy.”

“Li Mo, there’s been a question I’ve never found the answer to. Did you really slaughter that army of a hundred thousand beastkin that fateful day?”

“Yes!”

“Why?”

“Because they were all infested with a demonic parasite. If I hadn’t killed them, they would have become bloodthirsty demons.” Li Mo’s knuckles had turned white. “Only a rare few were able to overcome the corruption, and they’ve mostly become my guards. The rest of them, sensing the demonic energies coursing through their bodies, begged for death, and I had no other recourse.”

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