The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

Looking into his shocked eyes, she slowly curled her lips into a smile, a smile devoid of warmth, filled only with endless mockery and...desolation.

"These past few days, I have willingly been trapped in this Star-Picking Tower, not because I cannot leave."

She walked back to him step by step, looking down at him.

"It's nothing more than... me willingly playing a game of imprisonment and resistance with my Ah Chen for a few days."

"The game is over now."

After she finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the side of the observatory, to the room where she had lived for eight years when she was a child.

A moment later, she came out wearing a brand new red dress.

It was still a fiery red, but more elaborate and gorgeous than the previous one. The skirt was embroidered with a phoenix about to take flight in gold thread, shimmering under the starlight.

She stopped in front of him, gazing at his pure and otherworldly face for a long time—the moon that had been hers for eight long nights, and now the lock that bound her wings.

Until tears blurred her vision again—she thought she had cried all her tears, but there were still more to come.

She reached out and gently brushed her fingertips across his face, from his brow bone to the bridge of his nose, to his lips, and to his chin.

Then she smiled.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, yet she laughed with a bewitching and insane madness, like a lunatic about to sacrifice herself and drag the gods down with her.

"Si Chen..." she called to him, her voice eerily gentle, "From this moment on, you'd better behave..."

"Don't take advantage of my affection for you and keep testing my limits."

"Don't try to stop me, don't ruin my plans, and especially don't... block my path to becoming emperor. Hmm?"

She was still smiling, but her eyes were icy cold, devoid of any joy.

"If I were to become emperor, I would surely be an unprecedentedly wise and virtuous ruler, creating a prosperous era and bringing blessings to all people."

"At that time, I will marry Ah Chen as my imperial consort. I will build a magnificent palace, with ten miles of red bridal procession, and give you unparalleled honor. I will grant you a general amnesty, unify the four kingdoms, bring peace to the world, and let the people live in peace and prosperity. I will ensure that our names are recorded in history, and that our names will be praised for thousands of years."

Her voice grew softer and more dangerous, like a compassionate whisper, yet carrying a bloody prophecy:

"Of course, if my Achen... is naughty."

She paused, then pressed her fingertips slightly into his skin.

"Dare to ruin my plans and prevent me from sitting on the throne..."

She kissed his earlobe and whispered:

"I would never dare to harm my A-Chen in the slightest. But I will..."

"Slaughter all the established moral traditions under heaven, and wash the palace and the court in blood."

"With countless bones, I built the steps to your Star-Picking Tower; with endless vengeful spirits, I dyed the starry sky you guarded red."

"Let them... take the brunt of my wrath in place of my A-Chen."

Si Chen's breathing became erratic.

He knew her too well—this was no bluff or intimidation.

Eight years into the Northern Sea, she was no longer the girl he remembered who would play the zither under the moon and shed tears over a withered flower.

She is a Rakshasa who has returned from the brink of death.

"Then..." Chu Qingyue's smile suddenly became incredibly gentle, so gentle it sent chills down one's spine.

"I will go to the underworld to find you."

"Didn't you want to cultivate the path of ruthlessness? Didn't you want to sever all emotions and love, and return your soul to the heavenly realm?"

"I'm going to chase you all the way to the underworld, to cling to you, to hold you, to kiss you, so that even in death you won't find peace."

"May your soul be forever branded with my mark."

Before he could react, she ran her fingers through his cold hair, holding his head still.

Then, he kissed her.

The kiss was incredibly gentle.

She took his lips into her mouth and gently sucked, her tongue tracing the shape of his lips as if savoring the rarest wine.

She kissed him passionately, as if she wanted to pour all the longing, resentment, and unrequited love of the past seven years into this kiss.

Si Chen was unable to move and could only passively feel. He could feel the tentative touch of her tongue, taste the salty bitterness of her tears, and hear the uncontrollable heartbeats in each other's chests—he couldn't tell whose heartbeat it was.

After a long while, until her breathing became unsteady, she slowly stepped back, her lips glistening with moisture.

Si Chen's chest heaved violently, and his usually calm eyes were now churning with turbulent emotions.

"Chu, Qing, Yue, you..." His voice was hoarse, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Shh—" She pressed her finger to his lips, silencing him from saying the rest of his words.

"Ah Chen, please don't get angry anymore."

She chuckled softly, but her eyes were as dark as an abyss, her fingertips lingering on his bloodstained lips: "After all, Ah Chen's current appearance... this celestial being who should have been untouched by the world has fallen to the mortal realm because of me, his body broken, his lips stained with blood, his eyes filled with turbulent waves... he is simply... too tempting..."

She leaned closer, her breath hot, with a wicked, almost appreciative, playfulness:

"I... fear... I won't be able to control myself and will leave more marks on you, or..."

Tonight, I will consummate my marriage with Ah Chen on this star-gazing platform, letting all the stars in the sky witness—Ah Chen's four hundred years of ruthless conduct...shattered completely.

Si Chen closed his eyes and squeezed out two words from his throat:

"He's gone mad..."

She didn't argue, but simply kissed him on the forehead.

The kiss was as gentle as a butterfly's wing, yet it carried an irresistible possessiveness.

"Yes, whatever Ah Chen says is right..." Her smile was both gentle and eerie.

"I've gone mad... ever since I first saw you fifteen years ago, and ever since I was sent away for a political marriage seven years ago... I've gone mad."

"So Ah Chen, don't push me... to become even crazier."

She slowly rose, and with a flick of her wrist, the golden chains binding Si Chen moved as if alive, eventually retracting into her sleeve.

The moment he regained his freedom, Si Chen almost jumped up, but with his acupoints sealed, he could only lie on the ground and watch helplessly as she walked towards the edge of the observatory.

The night wind howled, making her red dress dance wildly, like a spider lily blooming on the edge of a cliff.

"I'm leaving."

"The acupoints will automatically release after half an hour."

She turned and walked towards the edge of the observatory.

The night wind howled, blowing her red dress and silver hair.

She stopped at the edge, turned around, and gave him one last look.

That one glance contained so much—

Seven years of hellish hatred, love that seeps into her bones, obsessive madness, and... a trace of deep-seated pain that she herself is unwilling to admit.

She added, as softly as a sigh, "Ah Chen... be good. Otherwise... everything I just said will come true."

Then, she jumped.

The red-clad figure, like a burning flame, fell from the heavens into the mortal world.

Si Chen lay on the soft couch, watching helplessly as she disappeared in the direction she had vanished.

He couldn't move because the acupoints weren't released.

All we could do was watch, watch that splash of red completely blend into the night, watch the starlight gradually dim, and watch the observatory return to silence.

I don't know how much time has passed; perhaps it was just a moment, or perhaps it has been forever.

He suddenly laughed.

The laughter was soft, yet it carried a desolation unseen in four hundred years.

"Chu Qingyue..." He gazed in the direction she had disappeared and whispered, "You are the greatest calamity in my life."