"Look down," Wang Xiao said.
She frowned, and then blinked. The blade was fading. Its brilliance bled away. Its edge dulled, its glow died, until only a rusty, broken sword remained in her hands.
Xue Hanqin's eyes widened. "What…?" She was a Great Lord, and yet even she could not hold its power.
Wang Xiao plucked the sword casually back.
"…" Xue Hanqin stared at him, lips twitching into a reluctant smile. "Anything else you haven't shown me yet?"
"Yes," Wang Xiao smirked. "Our deal… might have to wait a couple of years."
"!!"
Her eyes widened, then burned with sudden fury. "You dare go back on your word? Do you think that sword alone will protect you?"
The space warped as her aura exploded outward, pressure flooding the river. From the beginning she had extended the deal, he had refused.
But last time, he had accepted: accompany her into the Netherworld, do what she could not do herself. A simple arrangement, dressed in sweet words.
