I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

"Deputy Commander Gu! Miss Pei is recovering very well. The medical officer said she can already get out of bed and walk around."

"Would you like to go see her?"

Gu Yan nodded and walked towards Pei Yuran's ward.

Her ward was on the other side of the medical area, separated from Pei Youyi's by two corridors.

When he pushed open the door, Pei Yuran was standing by the window.

She wore a plain white dress, her long, jet-black hair tied back with a silver ribbon, and a long, ice-blue sword hung at her waist.

Her face was still somewhat pale, but the light had returned to her eyes, like two lakes that had refreezed.

"You've arrived."

She didn't turn around, but looked at him through the reflection in the windowpane.

Gu Yan stopped a few steps behind her.

"I heard you can get out of bed now."

I came to see you.

"He won't die."

Her voice was still cold, but the ending note floated up slightly.

"I've heard about it."

"Shanglu is lost."

"Commander Wei is dead."

"Old Master Fu and Senior Zhuge are also dead."

She finally turned around, her icy blue eyes staring straight at him.

"You are very sad."

"Um."

Gu Yan did not deny it.

I'm not very good at comforting people.

She lowered her eyes, her fingers tracing the hilt of the sword very lightly.

"But I can tell you one thing."

"I had many dreams during the days I was in a coma."

"In my dreams, there is you, there is my mother, there is that idiot Lin Jinyu, and there is Kuroshio."

I dreamt that you died.

"I stand in the snow with my sword, but I can't find you."

"When I woke up, my pillow was wet."

"I never used to cry."

"But for the past three years, it seems like I can never stop crying."

She looked up and gazed into his eyes again.

Her expression remained cold, but Gu Yan could see that the water beneath the ice was gently swaying.

"So you can't die."

"Gu Yan, did you hear that?"

"You are not allowed to die."

She paused, her voice so soft it seemed to drift from a great distance.

"I have practiced swordsmanship for so many years, and I have killed many calamities and defended many lines of defense."

"But you must remember, every time I draw my sword, the one I want to protect the most is you."

Gu Yan stood in the ward, the light from the window falling on Pei Yuran, making her white dress appear somewhat transparent.

She looked at him, her icy blue pupils as still as two frosty lakes.

She talked a lot, about her dreams, her tears, and how every time she drew her sword, the person she most wanted to protect was him.

Gu Yan remained silent for a long time, so long that she herself felt somewhat uncomfortable and looked away.

"Yu Ran".

He spoke, his voice a little hoarse.

"Do me a favor."

Pei Yuran looked at him again.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she waited for him to continue.

"I need to become stronger."

"You help me."

Gu Yan's words were vague, but his gaze towards her was direct and unwavering.

He took a step forward, and the distance between them suddenly shrank to only half an arm's length.

His breath gently brushed against her forehead.

Pei Yuran did not back down.

She simply looked up at him, and a very faint blush slowly rose on her cool face.

"How can I help?"

"Making love."

Gu Yan said.

He looked at her, his voice very soft, as if afraid that those two words would scare her away.

"Have sex with me."

"Your ice-type spiritual power is very strong, and... is that alright?"

"I know this request is unreasonable."

"But this is the only way for my Mirror Flower Seal to become stronger quickly."

"I want to protect you."

"Protect everyone."

By the end, his voice was hoarse.

He knew how absurd the request was.

She is Pei Yuran, a sword immortal, an ice queen who would frown even if someone touched her too much.

He thought she would refuse, would get angry, and would hold a sword to his neck like before.

But she didn't.

Pei Yuran looked at him quietly for a long time.

Her face was very red, the redness spreading from her ears all the way down to her neck, but her eyes remained fixed on her.

She slowly raised her hand and touched his cheek very lightly with her cool fingertips.

The movement was very light, like a snowflake falling on his skin.

"When I was a child, my ice-type superpowers always went out of control."

"It was you who was beside me, using your mental power to suppress those chaotic spiritual energies little by little."

"You held my hand for hours on end."

"Once I woke up and saw you sleeping by the bedside, your hand still holding mine."

"From that moment on, I thought, I will never let this person leave me in my entire life."

Her voice was very soft, so soft that it sounded like she was talking to herself.

"So, Xiao Yan can do whatever she wants."

"As long as it's you."

Gu Yan looked at her.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, her lips were pressed into a line, but her eyes were firm.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Her body was very cold, like a piece of jade that had been left out in winter for a long time.

He lowered his head, his lips gently touching her forehead, then her nose, and finally her lips.

Her lips were also cool, with a very faint scent of cedar.

She stiffened in his arms for a moment, then slowly relaxed, her arms wrapping very lightly around his waist.

He carried her to the bed.

Her long hair was scattered on the white sheets, like an inky river.

Her fingers gripped his clothes tightly, her knuckles turning white.

He untied her skirt sash, and the plain white dress slipped off her shoulders.

Her skin was strikingly white, gleaming softly in the dim room.

She turned her head away, not daring to look at him, but her body did not flinch.

He leaned down and kissed her collarbone, kissed her shoulder, and her body trembled slightly beneath his lips.

She bit her lower lip to keep herself from making a sound, but her breathing was already erratic, and her chest was heaving rapidly.

"Yu Ran".

He called her name, his voice hoarse and barely audible.

"Um."

Her response was so soft it was almost inaudible.

"It will hurt a little."

"Just bear with it."

She turned to look at him.

There was a very thin layer of mist in her eyes, but her gaze remained firm.

She reached out, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him down.

"I'm not afraid."

"As long as it's you."

A gentle breeze blew in through the window, causing the curtains to sway slowly.

Her first time was so painful that her brows furrowed, but she didn't utter a single cry from beginning to end.

Her fingers gripped his back tightly, her nails digging into his skin, leaving several faint red marks.

Her tears fell silently and slid into the pillow.

He stopped and asked her if she was in a lot of pain. She shook her head, buried her face in the crook of his neck, and said in a muffled voice.

"Don't stop."

I want to help you.

After it was over, she curled up in his arms, her breathing gradually calming down.

Her face was still streaked with tears, but the corners of her mouth curved into a very faint smile.

She fell asleep, sleeping soundly.

Gu Yan held her, feeling the ice-type spiritual energy that had just surged into his body.

The purity of that power was astonishing, like the first meltwater flowing down from a snow-capped mountain—clean, crisp, and without any impurities.

His spiritual power began to surge wildly the moment he came into contact with this spiritual energy.