chapter 14:a fury unleashed
Xu Nuan was in her private courtyard, carefully grinding rare herbs when the doors to her chamber slammed open.
The sharp crack of wood against stone echoed through the room, but she did not flinch. She had been expecting this.
Li Feng stood in the doorway, his presence a storm barely restrained. His dark robes swayed with his swift movements, his expression carved from ice, but his eyes—his eyes burned with cold fury.
Susu, startled by the intrusion, immediately dropped to her knees. Xu Nuan, however, merely set down her mortar and pestle with practiced calm, wiping her hands with a silk cloth before turning to face him.
"Your Highness," she greeted smoothly, her voice steady.
Li Feng did not return the courtesy. Instead, in a single stride, he closed the distance between them, his fingers gripping her wrist in an iron hold.
"What did you do to me?"
His voice was low, deadly.
Xu Nuan met his gaze without fear. "I saved you."
His grip tightened. "Saved me? Or bound me?"
She did not answer immediately. There was no point in denying it—he already knew.
"You were dying," she said at last, her voice quiet but unwavering. "The Heart-Sinking Venom has no cure. But I was not going to let you die."
His eyes flashed dangerously. "So you decided to shackle me to you like a prisoner?"
Xu Nuan's lips curled into the barest hint of a smile. "I prefer the term 'lifeline.'"
With a sharp tug, he pulled her closer, their faces mere inches apart. "And if I refuse to accept this so-called lifeline?"
Her voice was calm, but there was a steel edge to it. "Then die, Your Highness. But you will take me with you."
Silence.
For the first time, something flickered across Li Feng's expression—not just fury, but something deeper. Something he could not name.
Xu Nuan was not pleading for his understanding. She was not seeking forgiveness. She had made her choice, and she had done so with the full knowledge of the consequences.
Li Feng released her wrist abruptly, as if disgusted by his own reaction.
"You are reckless," he said, voice cold. "And I do not need your pity."
"Pity?" Xu Nuan exhaled a soft, almost mocking laugh. "Your Highness, if I pitied you, I would have let you die."
Another heavy silence. The tension between them was a blade, sharp and waiting to strike.
Li Feng turned abruptly, his robes swirling around him. "This does not mean I will trust you."
"You do not have to," she replied smoothly. "But from now on, Your Highness… you cannot ignore me, either."
He paused for only a heartbeat before striding out of the chamber, the door snapping shut behind him.
Xu Nuan watched his retreating form, her own expression unreadable.
He was furious now. But fury was proof that he was alive.
Late into the night, Li Feng stood alone in his chambers, staring at his reflection in the bronze mirror. His fingers traced his wrist—where once there had been only weakness and pain, now there was strength.
His body no longer burned. His breaths were no longer short.
And yet, instead of relief, there was rage.
Xu Nuan had made a choice for him. A choice he had never given her permission to make.
His grip tightened into a fist. He could not allow this bond to exist.
If she thought she could control his fate, she was wrong.
He would find a way to sever the connection, even if it meant turning to the same forbidden methods she had used.
In the hidden depths of her apothecary, Xu Nuan worked tirelessly, her hands moving swiftly over parchment as she scribbled new formulas.
She was not a fool—she knew Li Feng would not accept this fate quietly.
He would seek a way to break the bond, even if it put him at risk. And that, she could not allow.
The elixir had only halted the poison. If he tried to sever their connection carelessly, it could cause an imbalance—one that might awaken the venom's full force.
She needed a countermeasure.
Her fingers paused over a rare, blood-red herb, its properties known only to the most dangerous alchemists.
"If I cannot cure him… I will ensure that not even he can undo what I have done."
Xu Nuan was in her private courtyard, carefully grinding rare herbs when the doors to her chamber slammed open.
The sharp crack of wood against stone echoed through the room, but she did not flinch. She had been expecting this.
Li Feng stood in the doorway, his presence a storm barely restrained. His dark robes swayed with his swift movements, his expression carved from ice, but his eyes—his eyes burned with cold fury.
Susu, startled by the intrusion, immediately dropped to her knees. Xu Nuan, however, merely set down her mortar and pestle with practiced calm, wiping her hands with a silk cloth before turning to face him.
"Your Highness," she greeted smoothly, her voice steady.
Li Feng did not return the courtesy. Instead, in a single stride, he closed the distance between them, his fingers gripping her wrist in an iron hold.
"What did you do to me?"
His voice was low, deadly.
Xu Nuan met his gaze without fear. "I saved you."
His grip tightened. "Saved me? Or bound me?"
She did not answer immediately. There was no point in denying it—he already knew.
"You were dying," she said at last, her voice quiet but unwavering. "The Heart-Sinking Venom has no cure. But I was not going to let you die."
His eyes flashed dangerously. "So you decided to shackle me to you like a prisoner?"
Xu Nuan's lips curled into the barest hint of a smile. "I prefer the term 'lifeline.'"
With a sharp tug, he pulled her closer, their faces mere inches apart. "And if I refuse to accept this so-called lifeline?"
Her voice was calm, but there was a steel edge to it. "Then die, Your Highness. But you will take me with you."
Silence.
For the first time, something flickered across Li Feng's expression—not just fury, but something deeper. Something he could not name.
Xu Nuan was not pleading for his understanding. She was not seeking forgiveness. She had made her choice, and she had done so with the full knowledge of the consequences.
Li Feng released her wrist abruptly, as if disgusted by his own reaction.
"You are reckless," he said, voice cold. "And I do not need your pity."
"Pity?" Xu Nuan exhaled a soft, almost mocking laugh. "Your Highness, if I pitied you, I would have let you die."
Another heavy silence. The tension between them was a blade, sharp and waiting to strike.
Li Feng turned abruptly, his robes swirling around him. "This does not mean I will trust you."
"You do not have to," she replied smoothly. "But from now on, Your Highness… you cannot ignore me, either."
He paused for only a heartbeat before striding out of the chamber, the door snapping shut behind him.
Xu Nuan watched his retreating form, her own expression unreadable.
He was furious now. But fury was proof that he was alive.
Late into the night, Li Feng stood alone in his chambers, staring at his reflection in the bronze mirror. His fingers traced his wrist—where once there had been only weakness and pain, now there was strength.
His body no longer burned. His breaths were no longer short.
And yet, instead of relief, there was rage.
Xu Nuan had made a choice for him. A choice he had never given her permission to make.
His grip tightened into a fist. He could not allow this bond to exist.
If she thought she could control his fate, she was wrong.
He would find a way to sever the connection, even if it meant turning to the same forbidden methods she had used.
In the hidden depths of her apothecary, Xu Nuan worked tirelessly, her hands moving swiftly over parchment as she scribbled new formulas.
She was not a fool—she knew Li Feng would not accept this fate quietly.
He would seek a way to break the bond, even if it put him at risk. And that, she could not allow.
The elixir had only halted the poison. If he tried to sever their connection carelessly, it could cause an imbalance—one that might awaken the venom's full force.
She needed a countermeasure.
Her fingers paused over a rare, blood-red herb, its properties known only to the most dangerous alchemists.
"If I cannot cure him… I will ensure that not even he can undo what I have done."