The ruins of the Demon Capital—Abyssfall—lay under a ceiling of perpetual gloom.
A place the light of the Yao Realm could never reach.
Nether miasma pooled thick in the air; soul-currents ran wild and disordered. Once, it had been Ye Yi's ideal hunting ground—where he stole souls and poisoned hearts—back when the Nether Domain was still a lawless sprawl, before You Nian unified it.
Long ago, the people of the Nether Domain had sheltered here. But Ye Yi's Soul-Seizing Art ravaged the land, draining soul energy until it was nearly bled dry. In the end, Abyssfall became abandoned—ownerless ruins. You Nian regarded the place with taboo caution, and so Nether folk rarely set foot here.
Outside the stone hall, the wind sounded as if it rose from the bed of the Nether River itself—cold beyond temperature. Black pillars lay toppled and broken. The ground was carved with shattered fragments of a stolen-Yao array. At the city's heart yawned a vast pit, known as the Soul Well—the place where Ye Yi once harvested souls and cultivated the Rift-Yao.
When Ye Yi pushed open the hall doors, the small figure inside was curled in a corner, knees hugged tight. At the sound, she snapped her head up.
Those eyes—like a startled little animal.
Ye Yi had expected her to run, to cry, to shake until she couldn't form words.
But instead, she clutched the outer robe Ling Shuo had left behind, pressed her lips together, and asked softly,
"Y-you're back… Are you… hungry?"
Ye Yi paused. His brows drew together.
He knew she was afraid—
trembling, shoulders hunched, breath uneven—yet she still asked if he was hungry.
Ye Yi replied coldly, "Are you… concerned for me?"
Ling Dang flinched, but her voice remained small. "...If this body starves and weakens… my brother will suffer."
Ye Yi laughed.
It was cold—mocking—yet threaded with a hesitation even he didn't notice.
"You really are an idiot."
He walked toward her, step by step. Ling Dang curled tighter, her thin shoulders folding inward as though she could disappear into her own chest.
But she didn't run.
Ye Yi looked down at her.
She was close to tears, yet stubbornly—clumsily—she still treated Ling Shuo as her anchor… even though the one standing before her was the demon who had stolen her brother's body.
"I am not him," Ye Yi said lowly—half reminder, half warning.
Ling Dang's lashes trembled.
"I know…"
She knew.
But her eyes still looked like a child in darkness catching sight of a faint lamp—unable to stop herself from drifting closer.
In that instant, something inside Ye Yi felt as if it had been poked—lightly.
Not pain.
Something else. An irritability without name. A ripple he didn't recognize.
He leaned in, looming.
"Little thing," he murmured. "Are you stupid?"
Ling Dang thought about it with solemn sincerity. "...I think… I might be, a little…"
Ye Yi froze for half a beat.
For the first time, the corner of his mouth seemed to move.
Mockery?
Amusement?
Impatience?
It was hard to tell.
Annoyance flared in him without warning.
She was just a fragile, meaningless girl—yet her pointless dependence made him… uncomfortable.
He turned away, his steps suddenly brisk.
Behind him, that small voice chased after him.
"Y-you… be careful… The wind outside is really cold…"
Ye Yi stopped.
For the first time, he understood—
this is what it felt like, when someone said be careful to him.
Irritating. Disordering.
And yet, somewhere in his chest, it felt like something had been pricked—softly.
—She was an idiot.
But for once, he didn't say it aloud.
[Ling Dang — POV]
Nights in the ruins were always too long.
Ling Dang clutched the sleeve of Ling Shuo's robe and buried her face in it. The scent had faded, but she couldn't let go.
She knew the one standing before her wasn't her brother.
Her brother's eyes were always gentle; Ye Yi's eyes held nothing but darkness.
But—
This body was still the brother she'd chased after since she was small.
When Ye Yi drew near, the familiar outline, the way his shadow fell over her, made her heart go soft in an instant.
She was terrified of Ye Yi.
And yet whenever he even paused, her heart lunged forward on its own.
When he entered the hall, her heartbeat went wild.
She was afraid—afraid he'd drag her away, afraid he'd be angry, afraid he'd suddenly… disappear.
But more than anything, she was afraid something would happen to her brother's body.
That was why she asked that question she herself thought was stupid:
—Are you hungry?
It made her blush so hard she wanted to vanish.
What if he got angry?
What if he flung her aside?
But she still asked.
Because…
Because as long as he stood there, she wanted to be closer.
She didn't know if that counted as betraying her brother.
She only knew this: if this body collapsed, then her real brother… would never come back.
Ye Yi called her stupid. She agreed.
And still, when he turned away, she couldn't stop herself from whispering, "Be careful… the wind outside is cold…"
The moment the words left her mouth, her heart nearly leapt into her throat.
Ye Yi's steps halted.
Ling Dang held her breath—
sure he would turn around, curse her, warn her not to meddle.
But he said nothing. He simply stood there for a long moment… and then walked away.
Ling Dang hugged the sleeve tighter, heart pounding.
—At least…
he hadn't shoved away her concern.
For her, that was enough.
The wind of Abyssfall was always cold.
The moment Ye Yi entered the hall, he could feel the familiar agitation rising from beneath the Soul Well. Wind poured through cracked windows, making Ling Dang's small, huddled shadow tremble.
She was there again.
Every day, the same.
Like a little animal waiting for warmth that would never come.
Ye Yi withdrew his gaze, irritated. He shouldn't be noticing her.
This girl was a bargaining chip. A threat. A tool to bait Luo Ye and Youqing into the trap.
Even if she died, he could simply find another way to force them to yield.
…And yet, every time he pushed open these doors, Ling Dang's reaction stirred something inexplicable in him.
Today again—she sat near the steps above the Soul Well, clutching Ling Shuo's robe, trying to smooth the messy strands at her temple. Her movements were clumsy, like a kitten grooming itself and only making the fur messier.
Ye Yi passed by her and said coldly, "Are you trying to make yourself look even worse?"
Ling Dang froze, small hands stopping at once. Her nose was red from the cold, but she still carefully flattened the robe sleeve and protested in a tiny voice, "I… I want to look a little better. Otherwise… you'll find me annoying…"
Ye Yi halted.
Annoying—that was a word he'd used before.
And this idiot had taken it to heart.
Ye Yi frowned, voice sharp enough to cut. "When I find you annoying, it's not because you're messy. It's because you're weak."
Ling Dang lowered her head. Her throat bobbed, her voice almost vanishing. "...Mm. I know."
Ye Yi had expected her to cry.
She didn't.
She only hunched her shoulders, like she was waiting for a storm—
like she was used to swallowing her hurt in silence.
That nameless agitation rose again.
Ye Yi averted his eyes, then caught sight of Ling Dang secretly pulling out a small bowl…
Soup?
He narrowed his eyes. "What is that?"
Ling Dang jolted, hurriedly hiding it behind her back. "N-nothing!"
Ye Yi lifted his hand and made a hooking gesture through the air.
The bowl flew into his palm.
…It was soup made from roots, dried mushrooms, and crushed rice. Nearly tasteless. Even the color was so pale it barely counted as broth.
Ling Dang sprang up, flustered, hands fluttering. "Th-that's… I—I cooked it for you…"
Ye Yi sneered. "For me?"
His tone turned mocking. "Trying to poison me?"
Her face flushed as if it might catch fire. "I—I just… I was afraid you'd get hungry and weaken my brother's body… If you become frail… he will…"
The bowl in Ye Yi's hand stilled.
A gust rose from the Soul Well. Ling Dang's lashes trembled. She looked at him—afraid, but painfully sincere.
It wasn't for him.
Not for Ye Yi.
It was for her brother.
That man who was no longer here.
The agitation inside Ye Yi flared like a spark catching tinder.
He set the bowl down hard. "You're protecting nothing but a shell."
Ling Dang bit her lip and shook her head fiercely. "No… I'm protecting… my brother's… last… last bit…"
Her voice shook violently.
She was terrified of Ye Yi—terrified to the point of breaking—yet she still used this stupid, stubborn way to protect someone she'd already lost.
For the first time, Ye Yi had no words.
He tapped the rim of the bowl with one finger, as if pressing down some emotion. "What's the point? He's already dead."
When Ye Yi succeeded in stealing the body, he left Wanluo and Fengmian in Trial Valley, certain neither would survive.
He didn't know they had been rescued by Youqing's group—and were recovering within Yaonan Hidden Manor.
Ling Dang's eyes reddened instantly.
She lifted her face and whispered, small but stubborn enough to be infuriating, "But you're still… using him…"
The words stabbed—sharp and precise—into the darkest corner of Ye Yi's heart.
Ye Yi suddenly smiled.
A smile without warmth. "Little thing… talking like that will get you killed."
He reached out, pinched her chin, forced her to look up.
"You're not worrying about me. You're using your foolish little method to protect someone who doesn't exist anymore."
Tears finally spilled down Ling Dang's cheeks, but she didn't close her eyes. She didn't retreat. "...But it's all I can do."
Ye Yi stared at her.
A moment later, he let go—his voice carrying something like… impatient concession.
"Bring the soup back."
Ling Dang froze, blinking up at him.
Ye Yi rolled his eyes. "I said I'll drink it."
He grabbed the bowl and swallowed the mud-bitter soup in one go.
Ling Dang's eyes widened.
Ye Yi set the empty bowl down, irritation back in his tone. "Don't cook something this disgusting again."
Ling Dang pressed her lips together and whispered, "Then… then I'll make it better tomorrow…?"
Ye Yi shot her a glare.
She shrank instantly, then hurried to add in a tiny voice, "I'll try…"
Ye Yi turned and walked away.
His pace was faster than when he had returned.
And somewhere in his chest, something about her stupid little I'll try felt… off.
He hated that feeling.
But he didn't stop it.