The snow had stopped falling.
By midmorning, the Glacierfang Mountains shimmered under a cold sun, serene and deadly—like the woman walking beside him.
Yan Yue hadn't said a word since the battle.
Shen Li didn't press her.
Something had shifted between them. The shared flame link had connected more than their power—it had brushed the edges of their inner selves.
Pain, grief, and something far more dangerous: longing.
[Flame Bond Progress: 42%][Next Trigger: Emotional Vulnerability or Voluntary Affection]
He glanced at her.
She was walking slightly ahead, daggers sheathed, shoulders straight—but her hands trembled just slightly. Not from the cold. From what they'd both felt when their souls touched.
She wasn't used to letting anyone in.
Neither was he.
They reached the base of the mountains just before dusk. The air turned warmer, the terrain softer. Green replaced white. The distant banners of civilization fluttered on the horizon.
The Crimson Orchid Sect.
Yan Yue stopped walking. "We're not going there."
"You know it?" Shen Li asked.
Her voice dropped. "They trained soul harvesters. My master was one of them. He branded me when I was thirteen."
Shen Li's breath caught.
"I killed him after the Flame Tower chose me," she continued. "But they never knew. They still think I'm dead."
[Emotional Vulnerability Detected – Flame Bond 51% Synced][New Flame Trait: Shared Pain – Increases resonance during trauma recall]
"You want revenge," Shen Li said quietly.
She nodded.
"But the Tower's trials won't guide you toward destruction," he said. "They reward growth. Healing. Love."
Her gaze snapped to his. "I don't want love."
"No," he said. "But maybe it wants you."
She turned away again.
At the foot of the valley, smoke curled into the air.
They approached cautiously.
Dead bodies.
Disciples in Crimson Orchid robes—faces pale, lips blackened. All of them young. Poisoned, not slain in combat.
Yan Yue knelt beside one. "No wounds. They didn't even fight back."
Shen Li examined the blood on the ground—dark, clotted with spiritual corrosion.
"Spirit-marked venom," he murmured. "I saw this at the Southern Wastes. It's spread by corrupted cultivators. It eats qi and binds the soul to a parasite."
Yan Yue stood. "Then the sect is compromised."
"Or someone's targeting them."
[Optional Trial: Investigate Spiritual Corruption in Mortal Sects][Reward: Key to Second Flame Candidate]
He met her eyes. "Will you walk away?"
She hesitated.
"…Not yet."
They followed the smoke trail to a ruined shrine at the edge of the valley.
There, among broken statues and shattered offerings, stood a child. No older than ten. Dressed in red silk robes, face streaked with soot and tears.
She looked up. Her eyes—were not her own.
Pitch black. Void-filled. Screaming silently.
"Get back," Shen Li said, stepping forward.
Too late.
The child opened her mouth, and a howl erupted from her chest—a wave of spiritual pressure that cracked the stone under their feet.
"Demonic parasite," Yan Yue hissed, drawing her blade. "It's using her as a beacon!"
Three corrupted disciples burst from the ruins, eyes empty, blades drawn.
Shen Li pushed Yan Yue back. "We can't kill the child. But we need to break the link."
"How?"
[Trial Directive: Use Emotional Resonance to Cleanse Innocent Vessel][Eligible Flame Partner: Yan Yue][Condition: One partner must act as anchor while the other channels Flame into Host]
He looked at her. "Can you hold the others?"
She blinked. "What about you?"
"I'll link with her spirit. Try to sever the parasite."
Her jaw clenched. "If the bond collapses, you could lose your soul."
He smiled faintly. "Then don't let it collapse."
The moment he touched the child's forehead, the world fell away.
He plunged into black fire.
A sea of whispers clawed at him—regret, pain, hunger. The parasite had rooted deep into the girl's spirit, using her despair to grow stronger.
In that abyss, Shen Li felt his own wounds open.
Mu Yiran's betrayal. His shattered sect. His stolen pride.
The parasite tried to feed on it.
But then—light.
A single thread of ice wove through the darkness.
Yan Yue's presence.
Cold. Steady. Anchoring him with her strength.
[Flame Link Engaged – Dual Channeling Active][Status: Parasite Cleansing in Progress]
He reached into the void, pouring warmth into the girl's core.
"Hold on," he whispered. "You're not alone."
Outside, Yan Yue fought like a tempest.
The corrupted disciples were fast—but not faster than her rage. Each move was clean, final. Her eyes remained fixed on Shen Li, whose body began to tremble with strain.
"He's burning too hot," she muttered. "Damn it…"
She sprinted to his side and knelt.
"I'll stabilize the channel myself," she growled.
Her hand closed over his chest—skin to skin.
The reaction was instant.
Flames surged between them, pushing into the child, driving the parasite into the open.
It screeched—a black serpent of qi bursting from the girl's chest. Shen Li's eyes snapped open, golden with flame.
Together, they struck.
Ice and fire met in a spiral that consumed the parasite in a single flash.
The child collapsed, breathing shallow, but safe.
[Trial Complete: Flame Cleansing][Bond Strength Increased: 61%][New Flame Trait Gained – Twin Core Pulse]
As night fell, they built a small camp near the ruins.
The girl lay sleeping, peaceful.
Shen Li sat near the fire, exhausted but alive. Yan Yue sat beside him, arms wrapped around her knees.
"…You risked everything for someone you didn't know," she said quietly.
"So did you."
"I killed without hesitation my whole life," she continued. "But today… I didn't. Because of you."
He turned to her. "The Tower isn't just giving us power. It's giving us choice. A new path."
Silence stretched between them.
Then softly, she said, "When this is over… will you leave?"
He looked at her, surprised.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But right now, I'm not going anywhere."
She didn't respond—but she didn't move away when he shifted closer, their shoulders touching beneath the stars.
And for the first time, she let the silence linger.
Not out of fear.
But hope.