Chapter 25 Chapter 25

Chapter 25

1

Chen Gujun crossed the threshold, the chains on his feet dragging with a clatter.

Lin Chenxin watched, unblinking, and murmured, "Couldn't the shackles be taken off?"

Chen Gujun seemed not to hear, placing the medicine bowl on the table.

Seeing the carefully brewed tonic, Lin Chenxin stopped her usual complaints about it being too rich and drank it without further complaint.

As she drank, she stole glances at Chen Gujun from the corner of her eye.

In the dim light, Chen Gujun's tall, lean frame stood silhouetted, his entire face shrouded in shadow.

She couldn't see his expression clearly but could feel him watching her.

"I'm finished."

She looked away and downed the tonic in a few gulps.

Chen Gujun said nothing and took the bowl to leave.

But Lin Chenxin suddenly fixed her gaze on Chen Gujun's hair.

"Wait."

Chen Gujun's steps didn't falter.

She caught hold of his sleeve.

"I said wait!"

Chen Gujun halted, letting out a sigh.

Lin Chenxin stared intently at Chen Gujun's dry, white hair. Finally, she said, her voice hoarse, "It wasn't like this two days ago, was it?"

Before, it was pure white like snow; now, it had turned into a dry, withered yellowish-white.

Lin Chenxin reached out. The dry, yellowed white hair seemed as if even the last bit of vitality was being drained away.

She looked up at Chen Gujun's face, and found he had turned to look at her at some point.

That face still looked like it belonged to a twenty-eight-year-old.

Yet, his body was showing signs of decay everywhere.

He had always been thin, but now he seemed even thinner.

"You..."

She opened her mouth, but Chen Gujun raised his hand to cover her eyes.

"It's getting dark. Get some rest early," he said.

She pressed her lips together, about to say something, when light suddenly returned to her vision.

Chen Gujun was gone.

She balled her fists and immediately sprang up to search for the knife.

But no matter how she searched, she couldn't find the knife and bowl she had hidden earlier.

She froze for a moment, then suddenly looked toward the door.

"Chen Gujun!"

Hearing the banging, Chen Gujun—who was walking in the backyard—paused. Then he stood by the well, looking down at the dark well bottom.

A thick, oppressive yin energy rushed toward him, waves of chilling cold surging from the well's depths to envelop his entire body.

Innumerable dry bones were buried here. He, too, would one day be buried in this place.

He raised his eyes to the moon above the high wall.

A 'person' like him could not be buried in the Chen family ancestral grounds; even his memorial tablet could not be publicly displayed.

This was a curse.

Unchangeable, and impossible to change.

He closed his eyes.

But his young wife still had a better future ahead.

Wife.

He opened his eyes, softly murmuring these two words, savoring the faintest trace of sweetness within them.

Lin Chenxin kicked the door until her strength gave out but couldn't open it.

She sat on the floor leaning against the door, both angry and sad.

After a while, she looked up. From her angle, she could see the patched-up window.

Ever since the rain some time ago, she had moved the wardrobe and used wooden planks to patch that window.

It was a crude patch job, full of gaps.

Now, moonlight filtered in through those gaps, casting pools of light on the table.

She was momentarily dazed, then stood up and strode over.

The nails were driven in firmly. She pulled and banged but couldn't break the window, only exhausting herself until she was panting.

Soon, she looked around again, thinking of other ways.

But all the bottles and jars in the room were gone, and the jewelry box was locked.

The more she looked, the colder her heart felt.

Finally, she sat on the table in disappointment, leaning against the window, gazing sideways at the moonlight peeking through the gaps.

"Are you going to keep me locked up until I die?" she whispered softly.

The wind outside rustled the wind chimes.

She withdrew her gaze, sitting on the table, staring blankly ahead.

Lin Chenxin had been confined for two consecutive days.

Every day, meals were brought to her room by Chen Gujun.

Outside, Mr. Chen and Ms. Liang seemed to have sensed something, as the middle-aged woman and the man accompanying Mr. Chen had each come by separately.

They tried to open the door but soon left hurriedly.

She didn't know what was happening outside, but after that day, no one dared to approach the room again.

Lin Chenxin opened her eyes and looked at the steaming meal on the table.

Thanks to what happened last time, all the Chen household's utensils had been replaced with wooden bowls and chopsticks.

She sat at the table, focused intently on her meal.

Even while confined, she didn’t neglect eating well or sleeping soundly.

Unless absolutely necessary, she never willingly deprived herself.

As she ate, a thought suddenly struck her, and her eyes lit up.

In the study, Chen Gujun abruptly stood up, his eyes cold as ice.

In the blink of an eye, he yanked open the door and appeared before Lin Chenxin.

She saw the chopsticks broken, sharp wooden splinters stained with bright red blood.

Lin Chenxin trembled uncontrollably, her eyes reddened as she looked at him.

"It hurts so much."

Chen Gujun swept over like a gust of wind to stand before Lin Chenxin.

His eyes were red, his white hair disheveled, and his entire being emanated a chilling, bone-piercing aura.

Yet his raised hand was cautious, not daring to touch her.

Bright red blood trickled down Lin Chenxin's fair forearm.

She covered the wound with one hand, afraid to stem the flow.

The unrelenting pain and the fear of having cut her own skin left her trembling all over.

She didn’t know how she had dared to do it.

It was just an impulse, and she had slashed it forcefully.

Now, coming to her senses, she felt weak from the intense mental strain.

"Don’t waste it," she said, taking a deep breath and looking up at Chen Gujun, her lips pale.

Chen Gujun’s breathing was somewhat rapid, his eyes holding back turbulent waves.

He closed his eyes for a moment, his sharp nails gleaming with a dark, cold light, clenched tightly in his palm.

Lin Chenxin couldn’t tell whether Chen Gujun’s reddened eyes were due to anger or an uncontrollable change triggered by the blood—perhaps both.

She raised her hand, staring intently at Chen Gujun, and said, "Hurry."

Chen Gujun opened his eyes, gazing deeply at her with those terrifying, crimson eyes.

"Why must you do this?" he rasped.

Lin Chenxin was still trembling.

Right now, Chen Gujun’s words were pointless.

She extended her bloodied hand toward him, her lips pale as she said, "No more nonsense."

She let go of the wound, and bright red blood immediately flowed from her forearm down to her elbow.

Just as the blood was about to drip, Chen Gujun grasped her arm.

Chen Gujun’s hand was cold, his grip firm but didn't hurt her.

His deep eyes stared straight into hers.

Then, Chen Gujun slowly lowered his head, running his tongue from her forearm down to her wrist.

Lin Chenxin’s breath hitched.

She felt as though she were sinking into Chen Gujun’s gaze, her trembling shifting to a different kind of tremor.

Chen Gujun’s entire body was cold.

But his tongue carried the warmth of a normal human.

He seemed human, yet not quite human.

Lin Chenxin finally remembered to breathe, but it was somewhat hurried.

She stared into Chen Gujun’s eyes, unable to look away, while his reddened eyes remained locked on her.

Until Chen Gujun lowered his gaze and placed a kiss that carried the scent of blood on her wrist, her heart trembled, and her eyelashes fluttered uncontrollably.

Perhaps because she had drunk Chen Gujun’s blood, she felt as though her own blood carried a hint of his essence.

No more blood flowed from her hand, and the wound seemed less painful than before.

Chen Gujun held her arm, his sharp black nails contrasting with her fair skin, still stained with traces of blood.

Those reddened eyes turned to her, but his gaze became deep and gentle.

Lin Chenxin’s heart suddenly settled back into place, beating clearly and powerfully.

"It doesn’t hurt anymore," she said.

Chen Gujun’s lips were stained with blood, accentuated by his pale skin and crimson markings, making him look even more like a blood-sucking monster.

He stared at her without saying a word.

After a long while, he lowered his head, slowly kissing away the remaining traces of blood on her hand.

Her heart beat uncontrollably in response.

This stirred her heartstrings even more than when he had licked her forearm.

She watched Chen Gujun's every move without blinking.

As Chen Gujun bent down, his white hair fell onto her arm, brushing against her skin with a faint, tingling itch as he moved.

She was frozen in place, seemingly incapable of any movement save for pressing her lips tightly together.

After who knows how long, Chen Gujun lowered his eyes and said, "You are not to do this again."

To Lin Chenxin, the slightly forceful tone didn't sound very intimidating.

She looked at Chen Gujun's face, parted her lips, which had gained a faint blush from being pressed so tightly, and asked softly, "Do you feel a little better now?"

Chen Gujun's expression stilled for a moment as he lifted his gaze to look at her.

The redness in his eyes had faded considerably.

Lin Chenxin breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes bright as she smiled and said, "It really worked."

Chen Gujun's grip on her arm tightened, then just as quickly loosened, and he looked at her, saying, "I told you, don't..."

Lin Chenxin looked at him with a smile, her eyes curved like crescents.

He hesitated, then averted his gaze.

"Don't do such dangerous things anymore," he said, softening his voice.

Lin Chenxin smiled. "But I don't think it's dangerous, and it doesn't hurt that much..."

"It hurts me."

Chen Gujun said, his face still averted.

A moment of silence hung in the air.

Her words died instantly.

In the wordless quiet, she looked at Chen Gujun with her bright, luminous eyes, then quickly lowered her lashes. A beat later, her eyes found his face again before falling once more, words failing her.

After a while, she withdrew her hand behind her back, lowered her head, and gently pressed her lips together.

And Chen Gujun turned his head back and watched her for a long time.

——

In the dead of night, Mr. Chen stood beneath towering ancient trees, looking down at the only two fallen leaves on the ground with a strange smile.

"I've always said, every sacrifice serves its purpose in the end."

Ms. Liang, standing nearby, said nothing.

She was entirely shrouded in the shadow of the leaves, like a pitch-black silhouette.

"This method won't hold for long. We need Xiaozhi to produce a child, and quickly."

Mr. Chen's low voice rang out, and Ms. Liang, standing in the darkness, lifted her head.