Chapter 53 (Part 2) – Don’t Leave Me

When Yu Zhengzheng burst through the window, Rong Shang was using a shard of porcelain to cut his arm. His cold, white skin was marked with countless wounds, thick blood trickling down to the floor.

She furrowed her brows tightly and snapped coldly, “Rong Shang?!”

Upon hearing someone call his name, his gaze slowly lifted. When his eyes met hers, his fingers holding the shard of porcelain trembled slightly. “Get out…”

He lowered his head and weakly commanded, “Leave—”

If he had spoken to her this way in the past, she might have tucked her head and left immediately. But now, she was no longer the same Yu Zhengzheng as before.

She wiped the rainwater from her face haphazardly and, ignoring his repeated shouts, lifted Rong Shang from the ground and carried him into the hall’s hot spring pool.

One had to admit, Xiao Bichi had quite the penchant for luxury. Every sleeping hall on this sacred mountain came equipped with a hot spring that provided warm water 24/7.

Thankfully, or else she wouldn’t have known where to find warm water in this weather.

Rong Shang’s body was cold to the point of terror, like a popsicle just taken out of the freezer. She placed him into the steaming hot spring and tore a clean layer from her inner skirt to roughly bandage his arm.

When she finished dressing his wound, she looked up and met his gaze. She didn’t avoid it, but he instinctively turned his head away.

Yu Zhengzheng sniffed and bluntly stripped off his outer robe. “Do you even feel pain?”

Rong Shang didn’t respond to her. His eyes lowered, his dark pupils fixating on the misty water, which faintly reflected her slender figure.

Every rainy night, the curse carved into his back by the Donghuang priest would flare up. The pain of having his dragon tendons removed seared through his spine, and his blood, boiling as if it were set ablaze, surged within him as though trying to rip him apart.

When he had his divine power, he could barely endure the agony. But now that his powers were gone, the pain magnified a thousandfold, as if countless venomous insects were gnawing at his flesh and blood.

The more he tried to focus, the harder it was to bear. He could only suppress the excruciating torment through pain.

He feared she might come. He feared she would see him in such a wretched state.

So he had locked the hall door, never expecting her to break through the window to get in.

The rain outside was heavy, her dark hair clinging to her skin in strands, and her trembling lashes were dotted with raindrops. Her delicate face, washed clean by the rain, glowed softly under the dim light.

Rong Shang closed his eyes, his body sinking lower and lower into the pool until the warm water covered his neck. Yet he didn’t stop.

He lived in a purgatory of his own making, his hands stained with countless innocent lives. Everyone feared and hated him, trying desperately to bring about his end.

But he was never afraid.

In truth, nothing in this world had ever frightened him.

Until today, when Yu Zhengzheng told him she never wanted to have anything to do with him again.

That scared him.

If one has never known light, one will never fear darkness.

But once you’ve possessed even a single ray of light, how can you endure returning to the endless void of night?

He wouldn’t let her leave.

“Rong Shang, if you want to drown yourself, can you at least pick a deeper pool?”

Yu Zhengzheng jumped into the hot spring and dragged him up again.

She looked displeased with him, or perhaps indifferent to his life or death. Yet her trembling arms betrayed the panic hidden beneath her demeanor.

Rong Shang reversed her grip and pulled her into his embrace, pressing his chin against her neck. “Don’t leave me.”

His hoarse voice carried a faint quiver, and his arms tightened around her back as if he were a puppy about to be abandoned by its owner.

Yu Zhengzheng’s arms hung stiffly by her sides, her entire body frozen, unsure how to respond.

She had only come to check on him and pass along Xiao Yuqing’s warning.

“Rong Shang, you’re not a child anymore.”

After a long silence, she sighed and gently pried his hands away from her back. “You should understand by now, there’s no way for us anymore.”

She paused for a moment before continuing, “I came to tell you, Xiao Yuqing is actually your younger brother. He already knows where your soul essence is hidden. Tomorrow night, he will invite you to a moon-viewing banquet, where he plans to join forces with the Heavenly Emperor to seize your soul essence.”

Rong Shang stared at her, his dark pupils shimmering faintly. “Xiao Yuqing told you this?”

Yu Zhengzheng nodded, then hesitated before shaking her head. “I won’t lie to you. I know a dream-entering technique. He said these things to me, but I didn’t believe him. So, while he was unconscious, I used my technique to probe his dreams.”

After speaking, worried that he might not believe her, she emphasized, “I really can enter dreams. I’m not lying. Take my advice: find another place to hide your soul essence as soon as possible. When the rain stops, run far away. Whatever you do, don’t go to that banquet.”

Rong Shang’s fingers lightly brushed her chin, his gaze darkened. “You’ve entered my dreams too.”

It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.

Yu Zhengzheng: “…”

Why did he always focus on the strangest things?

Instead of pondering how to deal with Xiao Bichi and the Heavenly Emperor, he had the time to dwell on this?

She looked at him, at a loss, and awkwardly changed the subject. “Where’s your medicine? I’ll apply it to your back.”

Rong Shang glanced at her and responded perfunctorily, “I didn’t bring it.”

Yu Zhengzheng frowned. “Didn’t bring it? How could you not carry something so crucial?”

He said nothing, his gaze lingering quietly on her.

The steamy mist turned her cheeks a soft pink, and droplets of water slid down her neck, tracing over her alabaster skin, which glowed like a freshly peeled egg.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “There’s another medicine that can help.”

Feeling suffocated from being in the water, Yu Zhengzheng stood up and headed toward the pool’s edge, completely unguarded. “Then stop dawdling and take it out so I can apply it for you—”

Before she could finish, her body froze.

At some point, he had pulled at her robe’s sash. As she stepped forward, the sash came undone.

That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that after bathing earlier, she hadn’t bothered to put on undergarments beneath her robe. With the sash undone, there was nothing left underneath.

One end of the sash was in Rong Shang’s hand, while the other trailed into the steaming pool. Turning back or lowering her head felt equally impossible for Yu Zhengzheng.

She gritted her teeth, clutching her robe tightly. Just as she was about to climb out of the pool, he seized her ankle.

Rong Shang didn’t apply much force, just enough to keep her immobilized.

Through clenched teeth, she hissed, “What do you want?”

He didn’t answer, but his fingertips, which were slowly inching upward, provided the reply.

Yu Zhengzheng wanted to land a kick on his head to snap him out of it, but as she raised her other leg, he leaned in and caught it with his hand.

Instead of injuring him, her actions only seemed to make things easier for him.

The loose white robe hung precariously on her shoulders, the open front revealing a hint of her skin. Rong Shang leaned forward, slowly capturing the warmth of her softness.

Yu Zhengzheng gritted her teeth and shouted, “Rong Shang, let go of me!”

Although her tone was angry, under the circumstances, it carried an inexplicable hint of coquettishness.

Rong Shang gently bit down as if oblivious to the searing pain emanating from his scarred back. He continued what he was doing, ignoring her protests.

Seeing that he wasn’t responding, Yu Zhengzheng became truly furious. She was now in the Golden Core stage—how could she not defeat him?

Clenching her fists, she unexpectedly struck at his face.

Rong Shang dodged swiftly, but in the process, his teeth didn’t release their grip. The sudden tug made her wince, causing her to tumble back into the pool.

He caught her and pulled her out of the water. Coughing and gasping, her small face scrunched up as he turned her over and patted her back gently, seemingly helping her breathe.

Seeing that he at least had some conscience, the blazing anger within her subsided slightly. She was about to say something when she felt a sudden tightness behind her.

He had gripped her wrist, moving with deliberate slowness under the warm water.

Her breath grew heavier, her voice breaking like scattered beads: “You… you repay kindness with this kind of behavior…”

Rong Shang’s gaze followed the graceful curve of her back. Beads of moisture—perhaps sweat or condensation—slid down her smooth, snowy skin. “A drop of kindness deserves a spring in return,” he murmured.

Yu Zhengzheng fumed. “Return your head! Let me go now!”

Pressing a finger to her lips, he softly hushed her. “Don’t speak. I’m transferring the primordial spirit.”

Outside the pool, the candlelight flickered, casting their shadows against the screen. Amidst the swirling mist, it seemed like a scene out of a dream.

He muttered under his breath, unclear whether he was speaking to himself or her: “This will be the last time…”

She didn’t catch what he said and was about to ask when he silenced her with a kiss.

Rong Shang gave her no chance to speak again. Their scattered locks of damp hair clung together as the quiet hall filled only with faint, uneven breaths.

It was unclear when the rain had stopped. Yu Zhengzheng drifted in and out of consciousness countless times. When she woke again, the sky outside was streaked with orange and yellow.

Staring blankly at the sunset, her sluggish mind slowly began to work again.

Hurriedly, she scrambled to put on her robe, panic setting in. She rushed out, calling Rong Shang’s name, but no one answered.

She no longer cared about being angry with him. Fear gripped her heart as she prayed he had left Qingcheng Mountain and wasn’t headed to the moon-viewing banquet.

After searching the entire sacred mountain, she realized that not only was Rong Shang missing, but everyone else was gone too.

Xiao Bichi, Xiao Yuqing, the Heavenly Emperor, An Ning—everyone had vanished as if they had evaporated.

She finally ran into a maid sweeping the courtyard.

Grabbing the servant girl, she demanded, “Have you seen the Ghost King? What about Master Xiao and the others?”

The maid pointed downhill. “The Ghost King and the others went to the outskirts of the outer city to view the moon. They left over an hour ago.”