The wound on his chest bled quietly, crimson spreading over the torn fabric of his old battle robe. Yet he smiled—weak, warm, and filled with a tenderness that belonged to another lifetime.
The spear of ice that pierced him had vanished with just a wave of Lu Wei's trembling hand, but its memory still lingered in the cold air between them. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes stayed fixed on the blood. It was thick, vivid, and terrifying in its silence.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as her voice cracked under the weight of long-buried sorrow.
"Do you know," she said, almost choking on the words, "when our daughter asked me where her father was... I had no answer. Do you know what it feels like to lie to your child—to say her father is a hero who had no choice but to leave, when I didn't even understand why myself?"
Her voice shook. "Should I have told her that he just disappeared?"
The man—once a warrior of terrifying strength, now bleeding and gentle—reached up and touched her cheek. He didn't flinch from her tears.
"You don't hate me, Lu Wei," he whispered. "You're just hurting. And I deserve that. That's why... I let your spear strike me. If you needed to take that pain out on someone, let it be me."
Her eyes, filled with a storm of conflict, shifted between his gaze and the wound on his chest. Her hands glowed with pale blue light as she worked to close the injury. Ice energy, normally so cold and sharp, became soft in her touch—soothing, healing.
"Why didn't you protect yourself, you fool?" she said through clenched teeth. Her tone tried to be stern, but the way her fingers trembled gave her away. "You just stood there and took it—like always. You never think about how it makes me feel."
He gave a breathless chuckle, one that pulled at the torn flesh of his chest. "If I'd defended myself, you might have thought I still didn't trust you. That I was here to argue, not to ask for forgiveness." His hand gently brushed her tears away. "Besides, this wound… it's nothing compared to the years I spent missing you."
Lu Wei's heart twisted.
She wanted to stay angry. She wanted to shout, to remind him of every lonely day, every fearful night spent hiding from the people who wanted to use their daughter. But instead… she leaned closer. Her arms encircled his shoulders, and the coldness between them began to melt.
"You're always like this," she whispered bitterly, "laughing like a fool while I'm trying not to fall apart."
He gave a warm sigh, leaning his forehead against hers. "And you're always the strong one… even when your heart's breaking. That's what made me fall in love with you."
There was a pause. The wind blew gently between them, carrying the scent of snow and mountain flowers.
He pulled her gently into his arms, and she resisted at first. But the resistance was weak, half-hearted, like a storm that had lost its strength. Slowly, she rested her head against his chest—listening to the heartbeat beneath the wound she had caused.
For the first time in years, there was silence between them—not empty, but full.
"Lu Wei," he murmured, stroking her hair like he had done long ago, "I don't deserve your forgiveness, but... I want the chance to explain."
Her voice was tired, her eyes closed against the pain. "Then explain. I want to know why you left me and our unborn child behind."
She stayed close as she used her ice qi to numb the area around the wound. Her movements were precise, gentle. The same hands that had once held weapons of war now moved like a healer's. His body relaxed under her touch—not just from the relief of pain, but from the peace that came with being seen again after years of absence.
A soft smile lifted his lips. "You're still the same," he whispered. "Strong, beautiful… kind, beneath the ice."
"Don't flatter me," she murmured, but her cheeks warmed.
"Do you remember," he asked suddenly, "when we entered the Death Realm for the sect's competition?"
She blinked, surprised by the memory. "Of course, I do. It was chaotic. So many of us didn't make it. And in the middle of all that… you proposed."
He laughed softly. "The timing was terrible."
She smiled for the first time that day. "It was. But you were trembling more than I was, and that made it kind of perfect."
The past—so long hidden beneath duty and anger—crept back in with that smile. And in that moment, for a heartbeat, they were just Lu Wei and the man she loved. Not warriors. Not fugitives. Just two people who had found each other once in the middle of death…
and maybe, just maybe, could find each other again.