160 Forced Possession

"Duan Nanyu, impossible! It is impossible!" Yun Xueyan shrieked with all her remaining strength. There was no future left between him and her—none at all. Why was he still lingering on the past, refusing to face reality? She knew the torment of the past, and he had felt it too.

Yet why would he still not let go?

"Nothing is impossible! As long as it is something I, Duan Nanyu, desire, nothing is impossible!" His voice boomed louder, drowning hers out as he captured her lips, drinking her in desperately as if he meant to devour her whole.

She was his! She had been in the past, she would be in the future, and she would be forever!

Yun Xueyan struggled, biting down on his lower lip. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably, and a few teardrops hung from her eyelashes. Why, oh why would he not release her?

She had fought her way out of the shadows he had cast over her, yet he intended to bind her in chains once more. Her heart tore apart in bitter agony; the pain was too much to bear, and she could no longer shoulder the crushing weight of his love.

The taste of blood and salt filled his mouth, snapping Yun Xueyan back to her senses. She parted her teeth to dodge away, but he kissed her again.

His hands wandered restlessly into the collar of her robe, inching downward. Before they could brush against her soft skin, Yun Xueyan began to struggle frantically.

He lifted his head to look at her, his gaze shadowed with pain, yet dark and chillingly cold.

When his eyes met her tear-filled gaze, it felt as though a knife had been violently driven into his heart. His body shuddered with the impact of the pain. Had he... hurt her again?

"Yan'er," his voice turned sorrowful. How desperately he wanted her, and she could only ever belong to him... "I want you."

His hands clamped around her slender wrists, pinning them above her head, and he pressed her petite form down beneath him. "Yan'er, come back to me. You are mine. Yan'er..."

He kissed her, and she did not resist. He tore at her garments, and she allowed it. She offered no fight, her whole body stiff and frozen like ice. The tent was warm, yet she felt a bone-chilling cold.

A faint chill brushed against her exposed shoulder as he pressed fervent, lingering kisses along her skin—inch by inch. He wanted to melt her, using this foolish method to force her to stay by his side once more.

Her hollow, numb gaze pierced deeply into his soul. She deliberately looked away, and he continued to strip away her outer robes...

"Duan Nanyu..." Her voice caught, raspy and strained from the constriction in her throat. "Have you... have not I suffered enough? Can the price I have paid still not make you stop?"

Her voice dropped to a terrifyingly low pitch, causing Duan Nanyu's hand to jerk violently. His grip slackened, and his movements came to an abrupt halt.

He looked down at her, unable to squeeze out a single word—neither anger nor sorrow remained. Her words had wounded him to the core.

He collapsed limply beside Yun Xueyan, his entire body turning abruptly cold. He was powerless against her; could he truly never keep her with him?

Shame and guilt washed over him, yet nothing could undo what was done.

"Yan'er..." Outside the tent, Feng Xilou’s gentle voice rang out. His footsteps on the snow drew closer to the tent step by step...

Yun Xueyan scrambled to adjust her clothes, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and forced a reasonably convincing smile as she looked toward the person lifting the tent flap and stepping inside. "Xilou, you're back."

Taking in the scene before him, Feng Xilou’s brows furrowed for a fleeting second, only to smooth out just as quickly, as if he had never made the motion at all. "I just got back and came to see you. Nanyu is here too."

He deliberately overlooked everything to spare Yun Xueyan any further heartache, though he understood the situation entirely.

The figure lying beside her abruptly sprang up. Glancing sharply at the two of them, fuming in his private anger, he strode past Feng Xilou. As he neared, his provocative gaze clashed with Feng Xilou’s mild, gentle eyes. "Prime Minister Feng, since your terrain survey is finished, you should be heading off to other tents to discuss military strategy!"

Feng Xilou looked at him, far from angered, a gentle smile curling the corners of his lips. "I'm on my way." With that, ignoring the heavy breathing behind him and the furious snap of the tent curtain, he took a few strides forward to stand before Yun Xueyan. "Yan'er, let us go as well."

She smiled gratefully, smoothed down her garments and hair, and walked out alongside Feng Xilou.