Chapter 121: Primal Instinct

Lieyin guided Ru Yi away from the others, her hand firm but gentle around her wrist. She feared Ru Yi might disappear into the dark if she let go.

She led her toward the small tent they had set up earlier, its low silhouette barely visible in the dim firelight.

It was a simple structure, practical and unadorned. Made from thick canvas stretched over a central ridge line, the fabric pulled taut into a narrow triangular shape and anchored into the ground with wooden stakes and ropes.

The entrance was nothing more than a folded flap tied loosely to one side, offering just enough privacy to separate them from the rest.

Lieyin pushed the flap aside and guided Ru Yi inside, ducking slightly as she entered. The confined space wrapped around them, the faint scent of dust and smoke lingering in the air.

There was barely enough room for the two of them to sit comfortably. Dim light from outside filtered through the fabric, casting soft, shifting shadows that made the space feel smaller and intimate.

"Sit down," Lieyin said quietly.

Ru Yi obeyed without protest, lowering herself onto the bedroll as if her strength had finally begun to give way.

Lieyin knelt down in front of her, movements careful and deliberate as she reached for the torn edges of Ru Yi’s robe.

Her fingers paused for a moment—asking Ru Yi for permission without using any words.Ru Yi didn’t stop her.

The fabric came down slowly, piece by piece, the damage more visible now in the dim light.

Lieyin’s jaw tightened as she worked, her expression controlled but untouched by what she saw. She reached for a clean robe, helping Ru Yi slip into it with the same steady care. She adjusted it around her shoulders and tied it securely.

Her touch was gentle...grounding...which was a complete opposite to the intensity she always carried with her.

When Lieyin finished, she hesitated only briefly before standing up. She wanted to give Ru Yi some much needed space.

"I’ll be out—"

"Do you hate me more now?"

The question stopped Lieyin.

She went still, her back half-turned as she looked over her shoulder at Ru Yi. Her expression shifted almost immediately, something firm and certain replacing the quiet focus she had held moments before.

"I never hated you," Lieyin answered.

There was no hesitation in the response. No doubt.

The words landed with a weight Ru Yi had not been prepared for. She thought of all the times Shen Lieyin had called her a lowly maid, and had looked at her with nothing but anger and contempt.

Before Ru Yi could stop herself, the tears came...quiet and impossible to hold back. Her shoulders trembled as she lowered her head, her hands gripping the fabric of her robe as if trying to steady herself.

Lieyin turned back fully, the distance she’d begun to create disappearing as she stepped closer again. Though this time she gave Ru Yi a little space, as much as she could bear.

"Yexue wouldn’t even look at me," Ru Yi said through unsteady breaths. Her voice broke despite her effort to keep it composed.

Still...the hurt and confusion could be heard.

It mirrored the expression on Lieyin’s face. Of course, everything led back to Yexue. She was the one Ru Yi truly cared about. She had to stop forgetting that little fact.

"She just needs time to come to terms with what happened," Lieyin replied quietly.

Ru Yi wiped her face, though the tears kept streaming down her cheeks. After a moment she looked up at Lieyin through wet lashes.

"How did you know?" Ru Yi asked. "That I was in danger."

Lieyin was silent for a second before answering. "I felt it."

Ru Yi’s brows drew together faintly.

"From the bond," Lieyin added. "I can feel everything you feel because my core energy is in you. When you were afraid...I felt it."

Ru Yi opened her mouth but no words came out.

"And not just that," Lieyin continued more quietly now, her eyes holding Ru Yi’s as if weighing whether to say the rest. "I feel everything you feel. Whether it’s joy...sadness...fear..." Love.

The air in the tent seemed to shift.

Lieyin’s fingers curled slightly at her side before she spoke again, her tone softening in a way that was almost unfamiliar.

"Your affection," she continued, the words careful and measured. "And your love for Yexue."

Ru Yi’s breath caught.

The silence that followed was not empty. It was full of things neither of them could put into words.

Lieyin let out a small breath, her gaze drifting for just a moment before returning, steadier now. Though something vulnerable slipped through.

"Sometimes," she admitted, her voice quieter than before, "I want to be selfish."

Ru Yi didn’t move.

"Sometimes I pretend your feelings are not for her," Lieyin continued. Her expression was calm but her words carried an intense honesty that was difficult to ignore. "That they belong to me."

The confession lingered between them, fragile and unhidden.

Ru Yi’s lips parted slightly, but no words came.

Lieyin held her gaze for another second, then shifted. Like she was pulling herself back from the edge of something she shouldn’t have let come to the surface.

"When you stood in front of Lin Guowei, back in Tiacheng," Lieyin’s voice turned distant. "When you took the blade for me."

Ru Yi’s eyes flickered with something unreadable.

"Why did you do it? Why did you sacrifice yourself for me?" It was a question that had kept her up for nights.

Why would someone she’d shown nothing but disregard put her life above their own?

Ru Yi hesitated, her fingers tightening in her lap as she searched for an answer that felt true. Something that wasn’t too complicated.

"It was instinct," she said finally.

Lieyin watched her closely. "Instinct?"

Ru Yi nodded faintly. "In that moment I felt a blinding pain, and before I could process it my body was already moving...like its only job was to keep you alive."

Lieyin said nothing at first. She lowered herself until they were no longer separated by even that small distance.

Her gaze was steady but not demanding. "Am I allowed to give into my own instinct?" she asked, eyes slowly drifting to Ru Yi’s lips.