Why was Mr. Dragon here?
Mu Wanwan looked at the young man imprisoned inside the cage and felt as though needles were piercing her heart.
He should have been living freely and fearlessly, slaughtering his way through anyone who stood against him.
Her gaze fell upon the section of his ankle exposed beneath his trousers, and Mu Wanwan’s heart ached even more. She had thought that this dragon had finally managed to change into a different set of clothes.
But looking at him now, he had probably been wearing them for a very long time.
He had grown taller, yet he still had no money to buy new clothes.
Perhaps the best thing about being inside a memory was that she could freely pass through every barrier and shackle.
By the time Mu Wanwan returned to her senses, she had already walked through the cage and arrived beside the young Mr. Dragon.
Only after approaching him could she see his injuries more clearly.
His black clothing was stuck to his body with dried blood, yet he still tried to keep himself looking neat.
His horns and fluffy ears had already been hidden away. Even the tip of his tail was no longer exposed as it had been when he was a child.
He was no longer a tiny dragon hatchling.
He could already maintain his human form very well.
“Ah Tie, why is that big brother being kept in a cage by himself?”
Perhaps because she believed Ah Tie’s explanation, Ah Ling had recovered some of her energy.
There were no other cages containing slaves near them. The only one she could see was Mr. Dragon’s cage, so she naturally became curious.
If this was a game, would it not be more fun for everyone to play together?
“Ah, perhaps he prefers being alone.”
Ah Tie rubbed his sister’s head and chose a place near the female elf while keeping some distance from the other prisoners.
Perhaps seeing the dwarf siblings, who had not yet become completely lifeless and numb, restored some of the female elf’s energy.
She glanced towards Mr. Dragon. Her voice was lowered, and her eyes held both an indescribable fear and an equally complicated gratitude.
“That’s the vessel. He’s terrifying.”
Her voice was very soft, but Mu Wanwan heard every word.
A vessel?
What kind of vessel?
Why was he terrifying?
Countless thoughts passed through her mind. Her pupils contracted slightly as she saw the adolescent Mr. Dragon move.
Perhaps remaining in the same position for so long had tired him.
His bloodstained hand gripped the bars of the cage tightly as he slowly rose to his feet.
He was already slightly taller than Mu Wanwan.
His black clothes clung to his body. When he bent his back, she could see the protruding shoulder blades caused by malnutrition. They looked as fragile as the two strands of hair hanging over his forehead.
“Ah!”
When he stood up, the previously numb human cultivators in the opposite cage suddenly revealed terrified expressions, as though he were some horrifying demon.
“Monster… Monster…”
One man, already close to losing his sanity, twisted his face and muttered incoherently.
“A monster that absorbs demonic energy!”
Why were they calling him a monster?
Why were they looking at him that way?
Mu Wanwan could not understand.
Looking at the cold and expressionless young Mr. Dragon, she only felt as though countless needles were stabbing into her heart.
She slowly reached out and overlapped her hand with the one he had placed against the bars.
Her palm felt something cold and sticky.
So cold.
“Mr. Dragon,” Mu Wanwan called softly.
All she received was a cold and gloomy glance.
His eyes were dark, and there was not a trace of emotion within them.
The sky gradually darkened.
However, the atmosphere in the valley became even stranger.
The moment the sunlight vanished, the few delirious human cultivators began crying uncontrollably.
Mu Wanwan sat beside the young Mr. Dragon and watched the remaining light in his eyes gradually fade with the setting sun.
“Hehehe… Which one should we eat tonight?”
A foul-smelling wind swept through the valley.
The sinister man who had captured the dwarf siblings during the day approached with several others, looking over the people imprisoned within the cages.
“Third Brother, you’ve eaten almost everyone. Leave two for us,” Fourth Brother said with a smile. “Oh, right. I forgot to tell you—the elf is off-limits. I’m waiting to give her to Fifth Sister for her birthday in a few days.”
“Fourth Brother, you really talk too much.”
Second Brother punched him in the shoulder.
“Dwarves are so ugly that I don’t even want to eat them. Big Brother says that mixed-blood dragon is a vessel, and we have to waste so many demonic cores on him every day. There’s already barely anything left for us to eat, yet I still have to share it with you lot. Tch.”
Second Brother’s gaze swept across the trembling human cultivators.
He casually pointed at one of the men.
“Him. He has more meat.”
“No! Don’t eat me!”
The male cultivator’s expression twisted with terror. He hid behind a female cultivator beside him.
“Eat—eat my junior sister instead! Her flesh is more tender than mine. My talent is poor, so eating me won’t benefit you at all!”
He roughly dragged the numb female cultivator in front of him.
He had completely forgotten how passionately he had confessed his love for her before they left their sect on this mission.
“Hehehehe.”
Third Brother was not surprised at all.
He had witnessed scenes like this among humans countless times, and they always delighted him.
To these demonic birds, humans were nothing more than food.
Watching their food struggle desperately before death was a form of entertainment.
Unfortunately, the woman’s mind had already collapsed. It would not be amusing to make them kill each other now.
“Eat him! Eat that vessel! He’s a dragon, so his flesh must taste delicious! Please, don’t eat me! Don’t eat me! I want to live!”
Second Brother clearly had no patience left.
He was already hungry.
He opened the iron gate and directly dragged out the male cultivator who had wet himself in fear.
Ah Ling also realised that something was wrong. The young dwarf girl clutched her brother’s sleeve tightly.
Mu Wanwan watched everything before her.
She heard those men casually talking about demonic cores and vessels. She watched a man betray his companion simply to survive one more day.
Her hands and feet went weak.
However, those men had no intention of cleaning the human cultivator before eating him.
Under everyone’s horrified gazes, they transformed into enormous demonic birds.
“Ahhh—!”
A scream tore through the valley.
Large pools of blood covered the ground, gradually soaking into the soil.
The sound of bones being crushed between their beaks was painfully clear.
Mu Wanwan’s stomach churned.
She instinctively reached for Mr. Dragon’s sleeve beside her, but her hand passed through his thin body.
Even when she closed her eyes, all she could see was blood.
Across from her, Ah Tie and Ah Ling stared blankly.
The female cultivator remained numb.
The elf, however, revealed a smile, perhaps because she had escaped death for another night.
After devouring the male cultivator, the three enormous birds were still unsatisfied.
Their foul, bloodstained beaks violently gnawed at the bars of Mr. Dragon’s cage.
Blood and saliva dripped down.
The terrifying stench and their hunger-filled roars made Mu Wanwan retch uncontrollably.
Although she existed only as a spirit within the memory, her nausea was no less severe.
There was simply nothing she could vomit.
Everything felt like a nightmare.
Only after those creatures finally left did Mu Wanwan slowly recover.
The inside of the young Mr. Dragon’s cage was now filthy.
Foul-smelling blood and saliva covered his body.
Mu Wanwan watched him frown deeply.
He took a handkerchief from his pocket, considered it briefly, then tore off a small section and began meticulously cleaning himself.
But no matter how much he wiped, he could not remove the heavy stench.
Still, he stubbornly continued, again and again.
A hatred that had yet to be unsheathed was restrained within his dark eyes.
It was an expression Mu Wanwan had never seen before.
Yet she was not afraid.
All she felt was heartache.
She only hated that she had not been able to remain beside him when he was still weak.
Even if all she could have done was help him wipe the filthy blood from his long hair, it would have been enough.
She would not fear him.
She would never fear him.
Mu Wanwan sorrowfully looked at Ah Tie and Ah Ling, who had become unable to speak.
Then she thought about the adult Mr. Dragon, whose whereabouts in reality remained unknown, and the pain in her heart deepened.
However, this was far from the end.
The following days were equally oppressive and hopeless.
On the fifth day, when only a few human cultivators remained in the cages, the Big Brother and Fifth Sister mentioned by Third Brother returned.
They were an androgynously handsome man and a seductive woman.
Unlike the other demonic birds, who lacked all refinement and spoke constantly about eating, the demonic bird called Big Brother ignored the other captives.
Instead, he brought Fifth Sister directly to Mr. Dragon’s cage.
“It has only been a few days, yet you’ve already absorbed all the demonic cores we fed you.”
His eyes were filled with obsession.
He looked at Mr. Dragon as though he were gazing at his future self.
“What an excellent body for possession,” Fifth Sister added. “Although he’s only a mixed-blood dragon and his bloodline isn’t particularly pure, his talent is outstanding.”
“After Big Brother fed him for two weeks, he gradually became capable of absorbing demonic cores.”
“In another month or so, once he breaks through to the fourth rank and falls into the weakness of his tribulation, Big Brother can seize his body. A fifth-rank soul will naturally suppress his weak fourth-rank soul completely.”
“When that happens, Big Brother will finally escape the limitations of your natural talent. Even ascending to godhood may not be impossible.”
The androgynous man was clearly pleased by her subtle flattery.
He smiled at her and spoke in a pinched voice.
“Where are the demonic cores?”
Fifth Sister laughed seductively and took the spoils of their latest hunt from her spatial pouch.
There was one fourth-rank demonic core and three cores from third-rank demonic beasts.
Mu Wanwan looked at the demonic cores in the man’s hand, each radiating dense demonic energy, and felt cold throughout her entire body.
Half of Mr. Dragon’s body was concealed in shadow, leaving only his thin, pointed chin visible.
A sharp light flashed through the androgynous man’s eyes.
His head distorted into an ugly bird’s head, while his arms transformed into wings.
A fierce wind swept past.
Mu Wanwan and the young Mr. Dragon were blown against the side of the cage.
She watched black mist wrap around his body.
She watched helplessly as sharp fangs emerged from his mouth and his golden eyes blazed with hatred.
He was forced to swallow the demonic cores.
The power contained inside a fourth-rank demonic core was far beyond what he, still only at the third rank, could endure.
Mu Wanwan watched him remain fully conscious while collapsing to the ground in agony.
The androgynous man spoke gently.
“My future body, adapt to it properly.”
“You haven’t eaten in a long time. I’ll give you these two dwarf siblings as a snack.”
Mu Wanwan watched him smilingly throw the terrified Ah Tie and Ah Ling into Mr. Dragon’s cage.
Hearing Ah Ling’s already hoarse sobs, Mu Wanwan became so furious that her mind went blank.
She desperately wanted to kill every last one of these beasts.
In the next instant, the cage began shaking violently.
Mu Wanwan instinctively turned around and saw blood gradually seeping from the young Mr. Dragon’s handsome face.
Blood covered his lips.
The demonic energy within the fourth-rank and third-rank cores erupted, tearing through his meridians, splitting open his skin, and surging wildly from his body.
The young Mr. Dragon’s dark eyes gradually turned gold.
The horns and fluffy ears he had kept hidden emerged once more.
Two sharp fangs extended from his lips, while his hands and feet uncontrollably transformed into claws.
Demonic energy clouded the mind and created a craving for blood.
Mu Wanwan watched her adorable young Mr. Dragon bite a piece of flesh from his own arm.
She watched him bleed in agony.
He bared his fangs and looked even more frightening than the evil dragons in illustrated storybooks.
Then he spoke to Ah Tie and Ah Ling in a cold, hoarse voice.
“Get away.”
Ah Tie seemed to return to his senses.
Holding his stunned sister, he desperately squeezed himself against the edge of the cage.
Mu Wanwan’s eyes filled with tears.
Again and again, she helplessly tried to embrace Mr. Dragon and cover the skin that continued splitting open and bleeding.
Maintaining his human form was too difficult.
But if he transformed into a dragon, he would almost certainly kill the dwarf siblings.
Mu Wanwan could do nothing.
She could only watch as he lost every trace of dignity and rolled across the ground in pain.
Dark demonic energy dripped from his eyes like tears.
Yet even though he refused to harm the others, the terrifying demonic energy pouring from his wounds still swept through the cramped cage, striking Ah Tie and Ah Ling.
One or two waves were not enough to tear through the dwarves’ clothing or their relatively tough skin.
However, after more than a dozen strikes, wounds gradually appeared across their bodies.
Every additional wound on Ah Tie caused Mu Wanwan’s spiritual body more pain.
Being struck by the demonic energy did not merely hurt.
Whenever a wave swept over her, her mind first became numb, followed by pain that gradually intensified until it became unbearable.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
But Mr. Dragon must have been suffering far more than she was.
His pain must have been infinitely worse.
The torture continued for an entire day and night.
When it finally ended, Mr. Dragon’s entire body was covered in blood.
Although Ah Ling had been protected within Ah Tie’s arms, she had still suffered severe injuries and was barely breathing.
Ah Tie was also covered in wounds.
He stared at the young Mr. Dragon, who was slowly struggling to his feet, with fear and hatred in his eyes.
“Monster.”
“Monster.”
Mu Wanwan heard Ah Tie muttering the word repeatedly in despair and terror as he shrank into the corner, tightly holding Ah Ling’s small body.
The young Mr. Dragon remained silent.
He staggered to his feet and slowly returned to the place where he had been leaning when Mu Wanwan first saw him.
Then, little by little, he slid down onto the ground.
The wound on his arm was so deep that the bone beneath it was visible.
The young Mr. Dragon extended his twisted arm and pulled the now-tattered handkerchief from his pocket.
Bit by bit, he wiped the blood from his face.
He wiped carefully and earnestly.
Yet no matter how much he tried, he could not clean himself completely.
The sky outside was dark.
Storm clouds gathered, and a fine drizzle fell upon his black eyelashes.
The rain slid across his dark eyes, carrying diluted blood into the collar of his clothes.
Mu Wanwan half-knelt on the ground.
The rain seeped into the wounds she shared through the memory, causing intense pain.
She raised her head and watched his face gradually become clean.
His wounds healed quickly, leaving only bloody scabs across his face.
She wanted to reach out and brush the wet strands of hair away from his forehead.
However, the young Mr. Dragon slowly relaxed his brows.
Mu Wanwan saw the faintest smile appear at the corners of his lips, and her heart ached unbearably.
She wanted to seize him by the collar and ask why he was so foolish and so easily satisfied.
It was only rain.
Just rain.
It was not truly clean water capable of washing away everything that had been done to him.
But he could not hear her.
He could not hear her at all.
The rain continued for three days.
Because of the lack of food and the cold, Ah Ling ultimately failed to survive.
The young dwarf girl’s body gradually became cold and stiff.
Ah Tie lost his mind.
The dwarf boy hid in the corner and stared fixedly at Mr. Dragon with hatred, resentment, and fear.
His sister was dead.
Although he knew it was not Mr. Dragon’s fault, he could not stop himself from hating him.
He did not dare hate those creatures.
So he could only hate Mr. Dragon.
“Why don’t you die?”
“You killed my sister!”
Whenever night fell and Mr. Dragon closed his eyes to rest, Ah Tie dragged his injured body towards him and cursed him repeatedly.
Mu Wanwan knew that Mr. Dragon was not asleep.
She also knew that her dragon had been consumed by guilt.
But it was not his fault.
Two days later, the elf in the opposite cage also failed to escape.
Fifth Sister devoured her.
The androgynous man was amazed by the young Mr. Dragon’s self-control.
Then, in front of Ah Tie, he ate Ah Ling’s corpse.
His true form resembled an enormous vulture.
He enjoyed fresh flesh but did not refuse carrion.
Mu Wanwan noticed that the tips of his wings had begun to rot.
He was a demonic bird approaching the end of his lifespan.
Mu Wanwan watched Ah Tie scream and cry in agony, clutching his head as he repeatedly apologised.
From that moment onwards, he never cursed Mr. Dragon again.
Another two or three days passed.
Mu Wanwan was close to collapsing under the suffocating despair surrounding her.
Yet the weather outside gradually improved.
Sunlight flooded the valley.
The earlier rain had washed away most of the blood.
The young Mr. Dragon possessed powerful healing abilities. Most of his wounds had healed, and the bloody scabs had fallen away, restoring his handsome appearance.
Mu Wanwan accompanied him as they watched the setting sun tint the clouds red.
A gentle breeze stirred his long hair, and the sunlight fell softly across his face.
The scene could almost have been called peaceful.
If not for the dying cries of pain from the slaves and the hostile voices approaching them.
“Big Brother, are you truly going to do it now?”
Second Brother rubbed his head.
“Hasn’t that dragon still not reached the verge of breaking through?”
“You don’t understand anything,” Fourth Brother said, baring his teeth. “Big Brother can’t wait any longer. It was already difficult enough to find such a suitable vessel, and he absorbed all the previous demonic cores.”
“Big Brother, don’t forget us after you break through to the sixth rank,” Fifth Sister said sweetly.
“I also want to taste a young dragon. Unfortunately, the dragon clan protects their precious hatchlings too closely.”
“After all these years, this unlucky mixed-blood dragon is the only one no one cares about.”
“Of course.”
The androgynous man narrowed his eyes, although his tone remained gentle.
“In a moment, I’ll remove the Dragon-Locking Stone. He’ll definitely resist.”
“When that happens, all of you stand at the four corners of the cage and help me maintain the formation. Once the formation activates, I’ll begin seizing his body.”
“You’ll have to work hard,” the androgynous man continued. “All the slaves who remain alive in this valley will also need to be sacrificed in blood.”
“What are you talking about, Big Brother?” Hook-nosed Third Brother said.
“We agreed on this long ago. You traded your accumulated treasures for these thousand or so slaves. Of course we’re willing to help.”
They spoke smugly, treating the lives of the cultivators, beastmen, and elves as though they were worthless.
Mu Wanwan clenched her fists tightly.
She watched them establish the formation and furiously kicked and punched the ugly birds, even though none of her attacks could touch them.
What gave them the right to bully her dragon?
Was it simply because no one stood beside him?
Because no one protected him?
But she loved him.
She stood on his side.
Thinking about the foolish adult dragon whose life and death remained unknown, while the young Mr. Dragon was still being tormented here, made Mu Wanwan’s eyes sting.
But no matter how much she objected or struggled, the formation gradually took shape.
The clouds at the horizon were as red as dripping blood.
The demonic birds excitedly transformed into their true forms.
Black lines spread from the formation in every direction, reaching the slaves imprisoned within every cage in the valley.
“I’m beginning. Remember to suppress him.”
The androgynous man spoke to the four demonic birds that had already transformed.
They released excited cries.
Then the androgynous man slowly opened Mr. Dragon’s cage.
As the four demonic birds dived towards him, Mu Wanwan saw a vicious smile distort the androgynous man’s face.
“There weren’t enough demonic cores.”
“Yours will be perfect!”
Dense demonic energy erupted from his body.
He transformed into a half-rotted demonic bird, and his powerful aura instantly wrapped around the other four.
“Die for me.”
Shrill cries tore through the valley.
The four demonic birds were only at the fourth rank and were trapped inside the formation. They could not possibly defeat their “Big Brother.”
A mist of blood exploded across the air, raining down as filthy blood saturated with demonic energy.
The entire world before Mu Wanwan turned crimson.
Then she saw her young Mr. Dragon gradually grow larger.
This was the first time she had clearly seen his true form.
His body was even more enormous than the demonic birds’.
His scales were a mixture of gold and white.
A fifth claw remained curled against his abdomen.
His powerful tail swept behind him. His fierce horns were filled with aggression, while his fluffy ears had grown countless times larger.
He rose into the air before her, stirring up a rain of blood.
His figure seemed to occupy her entire world.
The wind and the remaining sunlight buffeted Mu Wanwan until she could barely remain upright.
The sound of falling rocks thundered around her.
Scales and feathers passed through her body, obscuring her vision.
She did not know how much time passed.
Suddenly, severe pain tore through her legs, and the sound of an enormous body striking the ground filled her ears.
Mu Wanwan struggled to open her eyes.
Floating halfway in the air, she saw the blood-covered dragon release a low, rumbling cry.
Countless cages shattered.
The shockwaves from the battle killed many of the weaker captives.
Amid the endless rain of blood, he gradually transformed back into the indifferent young man.
He raised a hand and wiped the blood from his face, golden light flashing within his eyes.
He merely glanced coldly at the slaves who had never cared about him.
Then he flew away.
The memory gradually blurred.
Mu Wanwan saw Ah Tie, whose legs had been crushed by falling rocks during the battle.
Remembering the thick animal hides that covered Uncle Tie’s legs and the dark scars across his body, she vaguely understood that his memories were reaching their end.
She remained behind, watching the young Mr. Dragon’s figure fly farther and farther away.
Soon, she would no longer be able to see him.
Don’t go.
Don’t leave.
Don’t abandon me.
Mu Wanwan struggled desperately, trying to chase after his disappearing figure.
But in the next instant, dizziness seized her mind.
The world before her abruptly changed, and it felt as though she had fallen from the sky.
Mu Wanwan’s eyes flew open.
Bright daylight filled the room.
She looked at her empty hands.
The crystal sphere had disappeared.
Mengmeng’s anxious chirping filled her ears, accompanied by Hongye knocking against the door.
“Madam, are you not planning to go out today?”
Mu Wanwan froze.
Had the day for her next trip outside already arrived?
She dressed, wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, and glanced at the empty bed.
Then she forced an ugly smile.
“Chirp, chirp!”
Mengmeng had been terrified.
Now that she had awakened, it desperately rubbed its head against her face.
“I’m all right.”
Mu Wanwan stroked the little fluffball’s head.
“Be good and wait at home for me.”
She left some spirit stones and fruit for Mengmeng, quickly gathered her belongings, put on her veiled hat, and went outside.
Hongye sighed in relief upon seeing her.
“Madam, why didn’t you come out earlier? I’ve been waiting for more than two hours. It’s almost noon.”
“I overslept.”
Mu Wanwan did not feel like speaking.
Hongye did not press her.
This trip outside felt entirely like completing a chore.
Mu Wanwan mechanically visited Xianqing Pavilion and met Jiu Qing.
Jiu Qing had become slightly more beautiful.
She said that Bai Shuiyao would soon be dealt with. She also gave Mu Wanwan a beautiful hairpin and forced her to wear it.
Uncle Zong and Auntie Yun were also doing much better.
The pills Mu Wanwan brought this time earned her one high-grade spirit stone and five mid-grade spirit stones.
From Uncle Zong, Mu Wanwan also learned that Uncle Tie had left to travel.
She remained worried that the dragon might return while she was away, so she left as soon as her business was complete.
She spent only a few hours at the market.
When she returned to the courtyard, everything remained exactly as it had been when she left.
Mu Wanwan removed her veiled hat and set down her basket.
She took the note Mr. Dragon had left from inside her clothes.
In the end, she could not bear to tear it apart.
She merely threw it onto the floor in a fit of anger.
After leaving enough food for the spirit-chicken chicks, she carried Mengmeng into the study.
She would never think about that terrible dragon again.
She did not want to acknowledge him anymore.
She would refine countless pills and keep herself too busy to think.
The large fluffball was very obedient.
Unlike a certain dragon.
Mu Wanwan locked herself inside the study and refined pills, trying to forget the hateful dragon who had broken his promise.
She piled all her spirit stones around herself.
There was a constant supply of seeds beside her.
She no longer possessed the patience to wait for the spirit plants to grow naturally. Instead, she crudely forced them to mature before refining them into pills.
She repeated the same mechanical actions, as though doing so could numb her mind.
In truth, it worked.
The sun rose and set outside. The weather shifted between clear skies and rain.
None of it had anything to do with her.
What dragon?
What promise to return in three to five days?
She no longer expected anything.
Whenever her spiritual energy was exhausted, she absorbed more from the spirit stones.
She forced plants to mature and refined pills day and night.
The time that had once passed so slowly while she waited now seemed to race by.
But why did her chest hurt so much today?
Mu Wanwan rubbed her exhausted brow.
An unbearable tearing pain and exhaustion spread from the depths of her soul.
Why did the pill furnace floating in front of her seem to be drawing closer?
Why did she feel so terrible?
“Chirp!”
“Chirp, chirp!”
The world before her seemed to spin.
Mu Wanwan’s forehead struck the scorching pill furnace, and her vision turned blood-red.
Mengmeng was frantic.
It did not know what had happened.
Seeing the blazing alchemical flames, it recalled some of the information that had appeared in its mind over the past few days.
It opened its tender yellow beak and swallowed all the alchemical fire into its tiny mouth.
Then it released a fiery burp.
Its head spun, and it collapsed onto the floor.
“Mengmeng…”
Mu Wanwan reached out, trying to catch the fluffball that had suddenly fallen.
Through her half-open eyes, she saw the tightly closed door open.
Blood dripped from beneath a torn robe that had been stained entirely crimson, scattering spots of red across the ground.
Her eyelashes trembled.
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
All the exhaustion and pain she had previously ignored surged through her at once.
She hurt.
It hurt so badly.
She could not see clearly enough to know whether it was truly him.
She could only hear footsteps approaching.
The scent of blood filled her nose.
She did not know whether it belonged to her or him.
“Mr. Dragon…”
Mu Wanwan’s cracked lips moved, producing only a faint sound.
“It hurts so much…”
A pair of cold, damp hands stained with blood gently cupped her face.
Then she heard his hoarse voice.
“I’m back.”
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