° As Ziek pulled away, Bing Shi tightened her arms around him, sensing that she might be the root of his turmoil.

° She smiled weakly at the man who would overreact at the smallest thing regarding her. "It wouldn't be spicy without a little bit of pain, right?" She pinched his cheek, "I'm not a porcelain doll."

° ♡ "Mm..." He hugged her tight, towering over her with his body, hiding his face in her chest, licking her nipple in apology, "I love you. I love you so much."

° He hated himself. He really, really hated himself. As he slowly regained his senses while sucking on her breast, she caressed his hair until he fell asleep.

° Bing Shi couldn't do much but wait for him to find a way out by himself. Memories of her traumatic past lurked at the edge of her mind. They would occasionally resurface when stress mounted, though time had dulled their intensity.

° Nothing could be compared to the pain she felt when she lost Xuan Mu. Yes, she was tortured and abandoned by her family for being sullied, but she never thought of committing suicide — Instead, she fantasized about shattering the world that had been so cruel to her.

° Bing Shi pushed back her past and focused on what mattered the most — balancing her feelings for the good of herself, others, and her mission. Unlike him, she refused to be consumed by self-hate.

° In contrast, Xuan Mu didn't have the luxury of emotional detachment. His past was a vivid tapestry, each memory intricately woven into his present. The clarity of his memories hindered his ability to heal, to move forward.

° Despite all the muscle cramps, he caused her with his weight, Bing Shi held her position. Feeling his warm breath against her chest, she tried not to fall asleep, afraid of waking him up.

° From the day he was born, Xuan Mu felt the weight of societal expectations. Phrases like "men don't cry," "take it like a man," and "man up" filled the air whenever he faltered. Sitting idle was not an option; a man who didn't strive was seen as useless.

° For Ru Quan, the stakes were even higher. Shaped by traditional beliefs, the idea of a woman shielding him was unthinkable. His struggles to redefine himself for Bing Shi led to sleepless nights and a weariness that penetrated his soul. Above all, his internal battle with his identity took a toll on his well-being far more than he would admit.

° But what if these chains were broken? Bing Shi couldn't imagine the limit of his potential. What she knew was that she wanted to help him in all ways possible.

° ♡ Covering her mouth, Bing Shi held her laughter, gazing at the man who woke with her nipple in his mouth. "Good morning, my sugar baby ♪♫," she wished teasingly, "Bwahaha."

° Realizing he'd been laying on her, Ru Quan quickly propped himself up. "Why didn't you wake me? Go back to sleep," he said, hands beginning to knead the knots from her tense muscles.

° "I had too many energy drinks. I need to deplete my energy."

° Seeing Bing Shi groping her breast sheepishly and winking at him as if taunting him, Ru Quan looked away for a few seconds, laughing at her absurdity.

° Two things were perfect in this world: the concept of 'perfect' itself and their laughter. It was as if their mirth could cut through the gloom, lighting up the world around them.

° Turning back, Ru Quan cupped Bing Shi's cheeks and slipped his tongue into her mouth, silencing her addicting laughter. He took in the awful sweet taste of the energy drink, giving his devotion in exchange.

° "Mm...ah..."

° Her hand settled on the back of his neck as she met his kisses. Warmth flooded her veins, a visceral reminder that she wasn't alone.

° Ru Quan was living proof that someone could endure hellish trials and still emerge a hero—her hero. He introduced her to a world where joy and pain coexisted, intertwined like vines.

· · ───────── · ⊱❈⊰· ───────── · ·

° Deciding they'd cuddled enough, they swapped their casual attire for training robes and quietly left the inn to embrace the night.

° When Fei Lan wondered what Bing Shi would do without the golden tight — Zhao Rong, the answer was simple. Bing Shi was a golden tight herself. She bought a whole arsenal of weapons and didn't get a chance to put it inside her ring yet.

° Ru Quan caught the direction of her gaze and chuckled. "Would you like me to help you?"

° "If you wouldn't mind," she said, suddenly feeling conscious of her previous struggle with the space ring.

° The inn, conveniently located on the city's edge, served as a starting point for their moonlit adventure. After Ru Quan sent everything inside his ring, they dashed together into the forest, the moonlight casting ethereal patterns through the leafy canopy.

° Ru Quan paused, drawing Bing Shi's attention. "Time for a field test," he announced, a gleam of confident curiosity in his eyes.

° Her eyes were on Ru Quan's ring-adorned finger as he focused his intent. There was no struggle, no moment of doubt. Instead, the space near his hip seemed to waver for just a fraction of a second, like a heat mirage and an elegant sword appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

° It rested snugly in a scabbard that now hung from his belt, the metal of the blade glinting as if in approval under the moonlight.

° Bing Shi wanted to cry when she saw that, "That looked too easy for you."

° "It's a matter of understanding the principles, really," Ru Quan responded, his eyes filled with a combination of pride and satisfaction. "The ring responds to a focused mind. It's basic spatial manipulation."

° Excited but nervous, Bing Shi took off her own space ring and attempted to mimic Ru Quan's technique. "Okay, let me try this out."

° She concentrated, her face scrunching in thought as she envisioned a vial of her favorite lipstick materializing beside her. Her intent was strong, but all that appeared was a faint flicker in the air, like a candle struggling to stay lit.

° She shook her head, frustrated. "Why is this so difficult?"

° Ru Quan watched her, his eyes softening. "It's not about forcing it to happen. The ring resonates with clarity of mind, not intensity of desire."

° "But I'm clear on what I want," Bing Shi protested, casting a glance at Ru Quan, then back at the ring, "I've managed to store and retreat some items before, but it's always such a laborious process."

° "Instead of trying to control the ring, why don't you try asking it?" Ru Quan suggested gently, "Sometimes, it's not about commanding, but communicating." He retreated a few objects from his space ring.

° Intrigued, Bing Shi focused on the ring as if deep in thought. She imagined asking the ring to take in the pile of weapons Ru Quan just pulled out —daggers, arrows, small vials filled with mysterious liquids.

° He glanced at her and then back at his ring. "I've been thinking. While it's convenient to use Fei Lan's space ring, I'd feel more secure if I could create one myself, or at least modify this one to be safer."

° "Safer?" Bing Shi asked, her eyes widening, "I never thought of putting anything important inside. I just wanted it for research purposes. Like, won't the ring turn against us one day?"

° "Indeed," Ru Quan's face grew serious. "Relying on something without understanding it is a weakness. I'd much prefer a soul-binding with the space ring like I did with Baby Shiro."

° "Why's that?" Bing Shi asked, "You don't want to end up soul-bound to something that could potentially turn on you or cause unforeseen problems, do you?"

° "Nothing is foolproof, but the closer the bond, the harder it is to break or manipulate. That's why I'd still prefer the soul-binding over a simple blood contract. It's just...safer that way, even if it isn't entirely without risks."

° Ziek's words broke through the contemplative silence, or more like a translated version of his words, "I could bind it to Baby Shiro instead. We can add extra safety measures, like authentication runes or a secondary soul-signature lock. That way, both of us could use the space ring."

° "A soul-signature lock?" Bing Shi's curiosity was piqued. Besides studying souls in order to bond with her, Ziek had tried to work on a few projects with the space users, (nagging Fei Lan here and there together with other space users). But before he could take his research further, they both 'died'.

° "Yes," Ru Quan elaborated, his mouth twitching slightly as he filtered all the cussing in his head, "Think of it as a two-factor authentication for magical artifacts. Even if someone were to overcome the initial soul-binding, they'd still need to mimic our unique souls to manipulate the ring. And mimicking a soul is no small feat; it's like forging the essence of a person."

° Bing Shi nodded, impressed by the layers of protection he had envisioned. "Will this ensure that the ring will be entirely free from Fei Lan's influence?"

° Sensing her need for further assurance, he went on, "Should anyone attempt to hijack the ring and use it against us, Baby Shiro will serve as an early-warning system. It would immediately alert our consciousness, buying us the vital moments we'd need to either break the connection or neutralize the threat."

° Bing Shi marveled. "You've got yourself quite the magical engineering project ahead. I hope you're not biting off more than you can chew."

° 'Hell, if I didn't have something this damn complicated to work on, I'd probably end up driving the Ancient Relic fucking nuts with my backseat driving in his head. So yeah, this project is saving all of us from a mental smackdown.'

° Ru Quan nodded, a slight smile curving his lips.