Jiang Xun knew it; if it were really that easy to get away, that would be great.
He was tied up, unable to move.
The golden rope bound his body like some kind of living creature, rising and falling gently with his breathing.
He looked up at Yan Qingning, trying his best to keep his voice steady:
"What do you... want to do now?"
"Are you going to do this the hard way?"
Yan Qingning didn't speak.
She simply raised her hand.
Jiang Xun's entire body floated up, half a foot off the ground, moving uncontrollably forward until he stopped in front of her.
She spoke:
"You said we aren't from the same world."
"Then I want to tell you—"
She stood on her tiptoes.
"My world has belonged to you for a long time."
The moment the last word fell, a warm softness covered his lips.
Jiang Xun froze.
It wasn't that he hadn't anticipated this possibility, but when it actually happened, his mind still went blank.
A soft sensation came from his lips, carrying her unique, cold yet slightly sweet scent.
Her kiss wasn't intense—it was even a bit clumsy—but it was exceptionally persistent, as if she were confirming something, or perhaps leaving a brand.
Time seemed to stretch out.
So long that Jiang Xun could hear his own heart drumming, and feel the slight itch of her eyelashes brushing against his cheek.
He could sense her hand resting on his shoulder, trembling slightly through the rope.
It wasn't until his breathing became difficult that she slowly pulled away.
A small gap opened between them, their breaths intermingling, warm and moist.
Jiang Xun took a breath and stared at her:
"Are you trying to force me now?"
"I want to," Yan Qingning answered bluntly, something churning in the depths of her eyes. "I should have wanted to a thousand years ago."
She reached out, her fingertips gently tracing his cheek with a movement as tender as if she were touching fragile porcelain:
"It's just that your current body won't do. Your cultivation is too low, and your Foundation is too weak. If I were to force it... your body would explode and you would die."
Jiang Xun: "..."
He suddenly felt that having low cultivation might not be a bad thing.
"Don't be in a hurry."
Yan Qingning leaned in closer, her nose almost touching his, her voice kept very low as if telling a secret.
"I will help you. Medicinal Pills, Cultivation Techniques, Spiritual Veins... a hundred years, at most a hundred years, and I can pile enough resources to get you to the Nascent Soul Stage."
She paused, the corners of her lips curving into a very faint arc:
"When that time comes, we can try a little bit."
"During these hundred years..."
She took half a step back, her gaze falling on his bound body, her tone as relaxed as if they were discussing what to eat for dinner.
"You'll just have to endure it for now."
Jiang Xun remained silent for a long time.
The rope on his body served as a reminder of his current situation.
Struggling was useless, resisting was useless, and reasoning was even more useless.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again.
It seemed he had already given up.
"Then where will I live?" he asked, his voice so calm it even surprised himself.
Yan Qingning looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled.
She raised her hand, gently cupping his face, her thumb brushing against the spot on his lips she had just kissed.
She said word by word: "From now on, wherever I sleep, you will be there too."
Jiang Xun's heart skipped a beat.
It turned out Yan Qingning's words about her world belonging to him weren't a metaphor.
They were a statement of fact.
"You have to give me some private space, right?" he tried to bargain.
"Is having me not enough?" Yan Qingning countered, her tone as natural as if she were asking if the sky was blue.
Jiang Xun was choked up.
He twisted his body, making a faint rustling sound: "Then at least... untie me first?"
"No."
Yan Qingning shook her head, her tone gentle but leaving no room for negotiation.
"You have to adapt first; for a long time to come... you will be in this state."
Jiang Xun's breath hitched.
"What do you... mean by that?"
Yan Qingning looked at him, that deep-seated obsession surfacing in her eyes again.
She reached out, her fingertips running through the stray hairs on his forehead, her movements as tender as if she were handling a cherished treasure:
"It's all because you were too heartless."
Her voice dropped, carrying a hint of grievance yet tinged with dominance:
"I was crying so hard just now, yet you didn't come to comfort me and were still thinking about leaving."
"This is..." she leaned in, her breath brushing against his ear, "a small punishment for you."
"Are you joking?" Jiang Xun asked in disbelief.
Then how was this any different from being in prison?
No, it was even more unbearable than prison.
If he really had to live in this state from now on, he would truly fall into despair.
Yan Qingning didn't answer.
She just looked at him for a long time, so long that Jiang Xun almost thought time had stopped.
Then she suddenly reached out and pulled his entire person into her arms.
It wasn't a hug; it was more like a form of confinement.
Her chin rested on his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his bound body, tightening.
Jiang Xun could feel her body heat, smell the faint cold fragrance from her hair, and hear her low murmur that was almost a whisper:
"As long as you are obedient..."
"I will grant you 'freedom' for a while."
The word "freedom" was spoken very softly, as if she were coaxing a child, yet it carried an unmistakable sense of control.
Jiang Xun closed his eyes.
He understood.
Yan Qingning's obsession with 'Dao Xun' was no longer a simple case of missing him.
It was a paranoia fermented over a thousand years of waiting, a possessiveness mixed with guilt and longing, a madness born after reason had been completely swallowed by emotion.
This emotion had always been there, constantly accumulating.
Once someone pulled out the plug...
This surge of emotion would gush out.
She loved him.
So much that she wouldn't hesitate to tie him to her side, so much that she wanted to reshape his world.
And all her tenderness, all her compromises, were built on one premise—
Being obedient.
"Yan Qingning," Jiang Xun spoke, his voice serious.
"Hmm?"
"You're crazy."
The person in his arms stiffened for a moment.
Then, Jiang Xun felt warm liquid dripping onto his neck and shoulder.
One drop, two drops, silent and invisible, yet so hot they made his skin sting.
"I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled and thick with nasal congestion. "I'm just... so afraid of losing you."
She held him tighter, so tight that Jiang Xun could almost suffocate.
"This is... the only way I could think of."
The room fell back into silence.
Outside the window, the sound of the ship piercing through the clouds came faintly, like an echo from another world.
And in this room isolated by a barrier, time seemed to freeze.
The two of them remained at a standstill like that, like two statues entangled together.
Jiang Xun kept his eyes open, looking at the plain-colored gauze curtains above.
He knew that in the short term, he wouldn't be able to escape.
After an unknown amount of time, Yan Qingning finally let go.
She took two steps back; her eyes were still red, but the tear stains on her face had already dried.
She looked at Jiang Xun with a complex expression—longing, apology, obsession, and tenderness.
"If you're tired, go to sleep," she said softly. "I'm right here."
Jiang Xun didn't speak.
He just watched her—watched her turn and sit at the desk, watched her pick up a Jade Slip and unconsciously rub her fingertips over it, while her gaze remained fixed on him the entire time.
Like a jailer guarding a prisoner.
He closed his eyes and stopped looking at her.
Deep in his consciousness, a pale blue interface silently emerged.
[Reward Obtained: proficiency x500, sound transmission talisman x1, Spirit-Severing Pill x1]