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Jiang Xiaoyu was so terrified he leaped three feet into the air, jumping up and down frantically without a moment’s pause.
The woman in the golden dress was quick with her hands; she clamped down on his shoulders and gently pressed him back onto the sofa.
Her voice was incredibly soft, as if coaxing a frightened kitten, continuously murmuring, “Brother Xiaoyu… don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, I’m here, I’m here…”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaoyu began a new round of frantic jumping.
He wrenched free of her grip, darting from one end of the sofa to the other, and then back again, screaming in exasperation, “I’m terrified because you’re here, my creepy little cousin!”
Finding no way to deal with him, the woman in the golden dress simply stopped chasing him.
She stood by the coffee table, her arms crossed over her chest, tilting her head to watch him like one would a temperamental child, a faint, almost imperceptible smile hanging on the corners of her mouth.
After quite a while, Jiang Xiaoyu finally stopped jumping.
He slumped onto the sofa, his chest heaving violently, his forehead slick with sweat, staring blankly at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.
Suddenly, he sat up and expressionlessly pulled two bottles of cola from his backpack. He kept one in his hand and offered the other to the woman in the golden dress.
“Cousin.” His voice was hoarse, carrying the total resignation of someone who had just stepped off a terrifying rollercoaster and decided to simply lie flat.
“You successfully terrified me. This feeling is exactly the same as when my glasses broke. The fear of the unknown truly sends shivers down my spine.”
He unscrewed the cap and raised the cola toward her, giving it a shake. “Take this bottle of cola, and let’s share a drink together. I’m about to pass out.”
With that, he tipped his head back and chugged, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he downed nearly half the bottle in one breath. The carbonated bubbles exploded in his mouth; he let out a burp and continued chugging.
The woman in the golden dress accepted the cola and tilted her head to look at him, her phoenix eyes filled with confusion.
“Brother Xiaoyu, we are of the Sun Clan. Wherever the sun shines and wherever our gaze falls, we can see. How could you be hindered by a pair of glasses?”
“Pfft—”
Jiang Xiaoyu nearly sprayed his mouthful of cola everywhere.
He desperately clamped a hand over his mouth and forcefully swallowed the liquid down. Then, he slowly turned his head to look at the incredibly earnest woman in the golden dress standing before him.
Here we go again! His creepy little cousin was once again spouting absolute nonsense with a totally straight face.
The Sun Clan? Wherever the light shines?
He took a deep breath, placed the cola bottle on the coffee table, and began spouting nonsense right back, mimicking the tone of the game character Dark Li Xin.
“When the first ray of flame ignites, the darkness is also our territory. Cousin, I am the Dark Conqueror of the Sun Clan. The overuse of my dark powers has caused me to lose my ability to control the light.”
The woman in the golden dress stood absolutely stunned.
Then her eyes lit up—not the glow of golden light, but a radiance exploding from the very depths of her eyes.
She clasped her hands together beneath her chin and looked up at Jiang Xiaoyu, her phoenix eyes brimming with undisguised adoration.
“Wow—Cousin, in the sparse memories I possess, there is a fragmented image of a man. He stood atop the Watchtower of the Great Wall and spoke those exact words.” Her voice trembled faintly with excitement.
The smile on Jiang Xiaoyu’s face froze.
He sat completely still, but inwardly he was screaming—The Watchtower of the Great Wall? The lineage of Light and Dark?
He had just spouted a random game quote off the top of his head—how did his cousin manage to completely flesh out the worldview for it?
It was over. The very first thing he had to do tomorrow wasn’t go to the cafeteria to eat, but call his mother and tell her that her niece’s mental state seemed a bit… off.
Clasping her hands and looking up, the woman in the golden dress was lost in her own fantasies, entirely oblivious to the speechless expression on Jiang Xiaoyu’s face.
She nodded to herself, as if confirming some crucial deduction.
“Brother Xiaoyu,” she said, dropping her hands and putting on a serious expression. “I can now confirm that you are my older cousin. The secret of the Dark Lineage is one of the greatest secrets of the Sun Clan; an outsider could never possibly know it.”
Jiang Xiaoyu raised his cola bottle and took another massive gulp.
He leaned back against the sofa, staring blankly at the swirling starlight on the ceiling, a smile of total resignation tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Sigh… I’m done. Just destroy me.”
The woman in the golden dress didn’t doubt him for a second, assuming he was merely lamenting the past events of the Sun Clan.
She took two steps forward, her hands clasped behind her back, leaned over, and brought her face close to Jiang Xiaoyu’s. With a light laugh, she said, “Cousin, I can help improve your eyesight.”
She paused, locking her phoenix eyes directly onto him, her tone turning serious. “But I have one condition.”
Resting his head on the cushion, Jiang Xiaoyu waved a hand dismissively. “Help away, help away. Whatever act you want to play, your older cousin will play along. We’ve been playing for this long, one more won’t hurt.”
The woman in the golden dress nodded with a smile, looking into his eyes as she stated her condition, word by word.
“I will be your eyes, and you will take me out of this prison. After that, I will decide whether to stay or go; you cannot restrict my freedom. Deal?”
“Which prison?” Jiang Xiaoyu asked.
“Room 1314,” she replied.
Jiang Xiaoyu offered a bitter smile. “Alright, deal. Cousin, begin your performance.”
The woman in the golden dress nodded and stood up straight.
Her expression suddenly grew solemn. Her hands formed rapid seals in front of her, her ten fingers fluttering like butterflies. Wherever her fingertips passed, streaks of golden light trailed in the air.
These streaks didn’t dissipate; instead, they intertwined and overlapped before her, layer upon layer, weaving into an increasingly complex array of light.
Countless tiny motes of golden light drifted from the formation, dancing through the living room like fireflies, growing more and more numerous, denser and denser.
The great array burned brighter and brighter, until it finally resembled a miniature sun suspended above the coffee table, illuminating the entire living room as if it were broad daylight.
Jiang Xiaoyu felt a wave of scorching heat. The blast of warmth hit his face, jolting him into a sitting position. He squinted, mouth agape as he stared at the dazzling radiance in front of the woman in the golden dress: “This… this… where did this electric heater come from?”
The moment his words fell, the woman’s voice resonated from the center of the light. It was no longer the ethereal sound of bells from before, but a far more solemn tone, as if thousands of people were chanting in unison. Every word carried a lingering resonance, every syllable stirring ripples of gold in the air.
“Today—Xiaoqi and Jiang Xiaoyu, pledge the ancient Light Covenant of the Sun Clan.”
“The Light Lineage grants the eyes forged from its origin to the Dark Lineage. Wheresoever the sun shines, your gaze shall reach.”
“The Dark Lineage shall protect the Light Lineage for all eternity.”
“Should the Light Lineage decide to depart, the Dark Lineage shall not obstruct, granting them total freedom.”
“Both sides are equal.”
As the chant concluded, the golden light abruptly收敛 (retracted). All the dancing golden specks surged together, transforming into two thin beams of light that shot from the center of the array straight into Jiang Xiaoyu’s eyes.
The woman in the golden dress gave a faint smile. Then, her body began to fade. The golden dress, the molten-gold hair, those distinct phoenix eyes—layer by layer, they turned into transparent light, growing lighter and thinner, until her entire form dissolved into a streak of light and vanished into the air.
Jiang Xiaoyu blinked. Then he blinked again. He sprang up from the sofa. The world before him—it wasn’t just clear; it was clearer than it had ever been. The river of stars on the ceiling was no longer a blur of light spots, but individual, distinct specks of brilliance. He could see the shape of each one, trace their flowing paths, and witness the silver trails they carved through the air. The textures on the walls, the cracks between the floor tiles, the cola bottle on the coffee table—he could even see the tiny fine print on the label clearly. His 1,500-degree myopia was gone.
“I can really see!” He spun in a circle, like a child who had just received his first bicycle. “My god, this is too magical! Cousin? Cousin, where are you?”
A giggle drifted from an incredibly close distance.
Jiang Xiaoyu jumped in alarm, frantically looking around. There was no one in the living room, no one behind the sofa, no one under the coffee table.
“Brother,” the voice came from the location of his glasses, giggling, “I’ve turned into your glasses.”
Jiang Xiaoyu slowly raised a hand to touch the bridge of his nose. A pair of glasses. The frame was warm, as if it had been baked in the sun. He took the glasses off, held them up, and squinted to examine them closely. The frames were a pale gold, glowing with a faint radiance under the starlight. The left lens flashed—as if someone behind the glass were secretly winking at him.
Jiang Xiaoyu clutched the glasses, so terrified he collapsed back onto the floor in a heap.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, The Only Ice Flower is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : The Only Ice Flower
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