The blue panel hovered above Lin Feng like a guillotine blade suspended by a single thread.
Thirty minutes.
The timer had already ticked down to twenty-eight.
Yue Li's tears had slowed to a steady drip. She no longer tried to wipe them away. They fell freely onto Lin Feng's collarbone, soaking through the torn fabric, mixing with the dried blood already there.
Xiao Qing's humming had become so faint it was almost inaudible — just the ghost of a melody trembling in her throat.
Lin Feng's eyes — half-lidded, silver light guttering — moved between them.
He could feel the system's patience thinning.
It wasn't angry.
It wasn't mocking.
It was simply waiting — the way a predator waits for prey to choose which leg to chew off first.
His fingers — cold, trembling — squeezed Yue Li's wrist once.
Then released.
Then reached — slowly, agonizingly — for Xiao Qing's small hand instead.
The little healer's eyes widened.
Yue Li's breath caught — sharp, audible, painful.
Lin Feng's cracked lips moved.
No sound.
But the intent burned clear in his gaze.
*You.*
Xiao Qing made a small, broken sound — half sob, half laugh.
She clutched his hand with both of hers — pressing it to her cheek.
Yue Li's entire body went rigid.
For one heartbeat — silence thicker than any veil.
Then she exhaled — long, shuddering — and leaned down until her lips brushed his ear.
"I understand," she whispered — voice splintering on every syllable.
"You're trying to protect me again.
Even now.
Even when you're dying."
She kissed the corner of his eye — tasting salt and blood.
"But I'm not fragile, Lin Feng.
I've watched you bleed for strangers.
I've watched you carry children through hells you created.
I've watched you choose mercy when revenge would have been easier."
Her voice cracked open completely.
"So let me carry this.
Let me see the worst parts.
Let me love you even when I know every ugly thing you've done.
Because if you give this to her instead…
if you hide the deepest wound from me…
then part of you will always be alone.
And I can't live with that."
Xiao Qing's tears fell faster.
She looked up at Yue Li — eyes shining with both fear and fierce understanding.
"I can take it," she whispered. "I'm not afraid."
Yue Li reached across Lin Feng — cupped Xiao Qing's cheek with one hand.
"I know you can," she said softly.
"But this isn't about who's strongest.
This is about who he needs to share the heaviest piece with.
And he's been carrying me in his heart longer."
She looked back down at Lin Feng.
Her voice dropped to the barest whisper.
"Choose me.
Please.
Let me be the one who sees all of you.
So there's no part left that's still hiding.
No part left that thinks it has to protect me from itself."
Lin Feng's silver vein pulsed — once — weak but clear.
His fingers — still clasped in Xiao Qing's small hands — loosened gently.
Then moved.
Slow.
Shaking.
Deliberate.
He turned his palm upward — toward Yue Li.
She caught it — pressed it to her chest — right over her own heart.
The moment their skin met, the system reacted.
The panel flared brighter.
[Choice Confirmed: Memory Offering — Target: Yue Li]
[Transfer commencing.]
Lin Feng's eyes fluttered shut.
A single tear slipped free — rolled down his temple — disappeared into his hair.
Then the memory poured.
Not gently.
Not filtered.
Raw.
Complete.
Unbearable.
Yue Li gasped — body jerking as though struck.
She saw it all.
The rain on Earth — cold, lonely, final.
The truck's headlights — blinding — the last thought *Is this really all there was?*
Waking in a body already labeled trash.
The first time Lin Hao smiled while pouring poison into their mother's tea.
The night Su Mei annulled the engagement — her hand gentle on his cheek while she said "You were never worthy."
The public whipping — the jeers — the blade falling.
The moment he threaded Scholar Wei's meridians — tasting ink and honey pastries and unfinished love.
The exact second Little Plum's ribbon would never be tied.
Every tear he had shed in secret.
Every time he had wanted to stop but kept going.
Every time he had hated himself for continuing.
Yue Li's sob tore free — loud, shattering — echoing across the silent Terrace.
She clutched his hand to her chest so hard her nails drew blood.
"I see you," she choked. "I see all of you.
And I'm still here.
I'm still choosing you.
Every broken piece.
Every stolen hour.
Every regret you think makes you unworthy."
Xiao Qing pressed closer — small arms wrapping around both of them — tears falling freely.
The silver light in Lin Feng's vein steadied — brighter — warmer.
[Ding! Quest "Anchor the Dying Light" – Completed]
[Soul integrity stabilized: 77%]
[Permanent bond deepening with Yue Li]
[Refrain of Shared Soul – Level 1 Unlocked]
Yue Li leaned down — kissed his forehead — then his lips — tasting blood and salt and love.
"You're not alone anymore," she whispered against his skin.
"Not ever again."
Xiao Qing's humming rose — clearer now — joining Yue Li's quiet weeping.
The three of them — tangled together on the cracked jade — became something the Council had never accounted for.
Not a singer.
Not a sovereign.
Not a sacrifice.
Just three people — bleeding, breathing, refusing to let go.
And somewhere deep in the silence —
a new note began.
Soft.
Steady.
Unbreakable.
The song had not ended.
It had only just learned how to carry more voices.