Chapter Three

The Soul Emperor returned to his body.

The feeling was strange. It was like someone who had been in someone else's room for too long finally returning home, only to find everything unfamiliar. He looked down at his hands, long and strong with distinct knuckles—they were his own hands. He moved his fingers, feeling the familiar power flowing through his meridians. Yes, this was his body, the body of the Soul Clan Chief, a being at the very pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent.

But he felt a certain unease.

This body was too hard. Too rough. He subconsciously touched his collarbone—there were no hickeys there. There was no faint pressing sensation on his chest, and no strong arms encircling his waist. His body was whole, independent, and belonged to him alone.

But why did he feel a moment of loss?

The Soul Emperor shook his head violently, banishing the absurd thought from his mind. He sat down cross-legged and began to examine his soul's state.

Something's not right.

His soul was too pure. So pure that it didn't seem like someone who had possessed another's body. Logically speaking, every time a soul leaves a body, there is some loss and pollution, requiring a long period of recuperation to recover. But at this moment, his soul was as clear as crystal, as if the fusion with those two bodies had not only not caused any damage, but had instead cleansed the impurities from his soul.

That's impossible.

unless--

Unless that curse truly exists.

The Soul Emperor's face darkened. He began to recall his memories, pushing them forward bit by bit, through the mists of time, back to that corner he himself had almost forgotten.

That happened many years ago.

Having just broken through to the Dou Zun realm, he was full of vigor and ambition, traveling across the continent seeking out powerful challengers. In a remote town, he met a woman. She was breathtakingly beautiful, every smile and gesture possessing an alluring charm that captivated all who beheld her. She called herself Yu Hongyan, a half-Emperor, a whole major realm higher than him.

He challenged her.

He lost. He lost completely.

At the time, he thought it was because he was not strong enough and didn't pay attention. The woman didn't kill him either. But as he left, she looked at him with her smiling peach blossom eyes and said something that he still remembers vividly: "Little brother, you have desires in your heart, but no love. One day, you will be ruined by 'love' and suffer a fate worse than death."

He scoffed at the time, turned around and left, quickly putting the matter behind him.

But now that I think about it, when that woman said those words, her fingertips clearly formed an extremely subtle hand seal. It was the starting gesture for a curse, and an extremely profound one at that, a soul curse drawn from her own life essence.

Desiring beauty, she cursed him at the cost of her own life.

The curse lurked deep within his soul, silently fermenting, until he traveled through time and encountered the word "love"—

The curse has broken out.

The Soul Emperor closed his eyes and examined his soul inch by inch. Finally, deep within the core of his soul, he discovered an extremely faint, almost imperceptible pink trace. The trace resembled a small snake, coiled around the origin of his soul, emitting a faint, sweet fragrance.

He found him. The culprit.

Once the past desires of the beautiful woman are resolved, this curse will disappear.

He took a deep breath and activated the forbidden technique once more. This time, he was even more cautious, concentrating his soul power to its limit and precisely targeting the moment before he challenged Yu Hongyan—as long as he killed that woman before the curse was cast, everything would be over.

The spacetime rift opened again, and he leaped into it.

This time, he was absolutely confident.

When the Soul Emperor regained consciousness, he found himself suspended in a silent night sky. Below him lay a small town, sparsely lit, shrouded in darkness. He determined his location—yes, it was the same town from years ago. That woman should be in that small courtyard in the west of the town.

He calmed his breathing and landed silently.

However, the moment his feet touched the ground, a sudden suction force came from the depths of his soul. This suction force was unlike any before; it did not come from the outside, but from within his soul—from that pink curse mark! It was like a lit fuse, instantly igniting all the memories and emotions in his soul related to Xiao Yan.

A flood of images came rushing in.

On their wedding night, Xiao Yan lifted his veil, revealing deep affection and tenderness in his eyes.

Xiao Yan pressed him against the rock beside the underground magma, clumsily and fiercely taking possession of him.

Xiao Yan whispered "Xun'er" and "Lin'er" in his ear, his voice filled with affection and doting.

In that instant, his soul was overwhelmed by countless emotions: hatred, shame, anger, satisfaction, longing, and something he himself dared not admit—a sweetness so suffocating it was almost unbearable.

miss.

Before he could even process the origin of this emotion, his soul was already being pulled into a massive vortex by that suction force. The surrounding scenery spun wildly, like an overturned ink painting, all the colors mixing together into a chaotic mess.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw a pair of eyes.

A pair of cool yet gentle, light brown eyes were looking down at him from above.

No, it wasn't looking down at him, but rather looking down at this body.

The Soul Emperor lowered his gaze and saw the snow-white robe, the slender waist that could not be grasped with one hand, and a strand of silver-white hair hanging down in front of his chest.

Little Fairy Doctor.

His soul descended upon Xiao Yan's woman for the third time.

At this moment, Little Fairy Doctor's body was leaning against the stone wall of a cave. The surroundings were filled with a strong aroma of herbs, some detoxifying, some toxic, and a strange sweet fragrance, like the lingering scent of some aphrodisiac herbs after they had burned.

Footsteps could be heard outside the cave.

The Soul Emperor's heart sank suddenly.

Then, he felt it.

Deep within his soul, Xiao Xun'er's love for Xiao Yan and Cai Lin's dependence on him were like two rivers that had been suppressed for too long, finding an outlet the moment he entered Xiao Yi Xian's body. The emotions were too intense, too fervent, carrying the deep affection and infatuation of the two women for decades, like two towering waves crashing against the dam of his soul.

The dam collapsed.

His soul was shattered by those two emotions, and his will and reason, which originally belonged to him, were completely overwhelmed at this moment. He became a vessel filled with love, longing, desire, and attachment that did not belong to him, but were extremely real.

He heard his own voice coming from Little Fairy Doctor's throat, tinged with sobs and a slight tremor.

"Xiao Yan..."

The moment those two words left his lips, the Soul Emperor's last shred of reason crumbled completely. His consciousness began to blur, as if he were being drawn into a gentle yet deadly vortex, sinking involuntarily.

At the entrance of the cave, a staggering figure appeared.

It was Xiao Yan. The young Xiao Yan, who had only recently met Little Fairy Doctor. He was clearly injured; there was blood on his clothes, and his face was pale, but his eyes still lit up the moment he saw Little Fairy Doctor.

"Little Fairy Doctor? What are you doing here?"

His voice was filled with concern and doubt as he walked over unsteadily.

The Soul Emperor wanted to speak, to tell him to leave quickly, to tell him that a demon resided within his body, intent on killing him. But when he opened his mouth, what came out was—

"I...I came to gather herbs...and encountered a monster...You...what happened to you?"

The voice was gentle and concerned; it was Little Fairy Doctor's tone, her words, and the kind of things she would say to Xiao Yan at this stage. The Soul Emperor's soul roared silently within Little Fairy Doctor's body, but his body was completely controlled by those two emotions, and all his reactions were those of "Little Fairy Doctor."

Xiao Yan sat down beside her, shaking his head with a wry smile: "I ran into a little trouble, but it's nothing serious. How about you? Are you alright?"

He looked at her with concern and noticed the blush on her face and her slightly trembling body.

"What’s wrong with you?"

He reached out and touched her forehead. The boy's palm was large and warm, carrying the unique heat of cultivating fire-attribute techniques, as it touched her forehead.

In that instant, the Soul Emperor's soul seemed to be ignited.

Little Fairy Doctor's body was already extremely sensitive to temperature due to the Calamity Poison Body; any slight temperature change would be amplified countless times within her. Xiao Yan's palm, for this body, was like a warm volcano. The warmth spread from her forehead throughout her body like a warm current, melting away all her tense nerves.

Even more deadly was that the two emotions deep within the Soul Emperor's soul were surging wildly at this moment. They yearned for Xiao Yan's touch, for his warmth, for being held in his arms, for being—

"Um……"

A soft moan escaped from Little Fairy Doctor's lips. Upon hearing this sound, the Soul Emperor's last line of reason completely collapsed. He felt his body lean forward slightly, nestled into Xiao Yan's embrace, felt his hands climb onto Xiao Yan's shoulders, and felt his lips press against the corner of Xiao Yan's lips.

"Little Fairy Doctor...you..."

Xiao Yan's voice carried surprise and a hint of bewilderment. At this moment, he was not yet the Yan Emperor who would later be so adept; he was just a teenager. Faced with a girl who suddenly threw herself into his arms, his reaction was awkward and flustered.

But the two emotions within the Soul Emperor's soul were too intense, so intense that even Xiao Yan could feel the overflowing love and longing. The young man's body stiffened slightly amidst Little Fairy Doctor's soft form and rich medicinal fragrance, then slowly relaxed, reaching out to carefully encircle her waist.

"Are you... poisoned?" Xiao Yan's voice carried a hint of worry, but more so a youthful unease.

The Soul Emperor wanted to nod, to accept this opportunity to back down and escape this awkward situation. But his body wouldn't listen to him. Little Fairy Doctor's hands began to undress Xiao Yan, her movements clumsy yet urgent, filled with an almost desperate yearning.

Those two emotions were driving her—no, driving him—madly to touch the boy, to possess him, to be possessed by him. The desire was so intense that the Soul Emperor's consciousness was completely overwhelmed, and he could only watch helplessly as his body performed those extremely audacious actions.

"Xiao Yan..."

He heard his own voice as soft and charming as a pool of spring water.

"Hold me tight...please..."

His reason screamed, but his body pressed even closer, embedding himself completely in Xiao Yan's embrace. Xiao Yan's breathing became heavy, and the boy's self-control finally crumbled under this onslaught.

The aroma of herbs in the cave grew stronger, mingling with the two men's rapid breathing, like an ancient and primal melody. Water droplets seeping from the stone walls shimmered in the firelight, like countless fallen stars.

When Xiao Yan entered his body, the Soul Emperor's consciousness was completely blurred. He couldn't distinguish who he was, whether it was Little Fairy Doctor's body, Xiao Xun'er's, or Cai Lin's. He only knew that the feeling of being filled was too familiar, too intoxicating, so familiar that it even gave him a sense of security—

That's Xiao Yan.

That's Xiao Yan, the one who, no matter how many times he travels through time and space, no matter how many bodies he changes into, will always possess him in a way that is either gentle or domineering.

He found peace in hatred.

This contradictory feeling caused his soul to writhe painfully within Little Fairy Doctor's body, yet also to unfold in the tidal wave of pleasure. He heard himself crying, heard himself groaning, heard himself calling Xiao Yan's name again and again in a broken voice.

This young Xiao Yan didn't quite know how to please a woman. His movements were clumsy and eager, carrying the recklessness and passion unique to youth. But it was precisely this unrefined, primal possession that allowed this sensitive body to experience the purest impact.

The Soul Emperor's soul rose and fell repeatedly in the impact, like a leaf swaying in a storm.

Xiao Xun'er's memory says: He is the person I have been waiting for since I was a child.

Cai Lin's memory says: He is the only person who has ever made me willingly set aside my queenly dignity.

Now, Little Fairy Doctor's memories are also starting to surface: he was the first person to be kind to me, the first person to not despise my afflicted poisonous body.

Three memories and three kinds of love intertwined and merged in his soul, turning into a vast net that captured him firmly.

Soul Emperor's consciousness struggled within that net, but each struggle only dragged him deeper. He felt Xiao Yan's lips lingering on his neck, felt the boy's burning hands caressing his waist, and felt the increasingly violent impacts that shattered his entire being.

"ah--"

He heard himself let out a long, trembling groan, the signal that his climax was coming. His body trembled violently in Xiao Yan's arms, like a small animal caught in a trap, desperate and helpless, yet with a strange sense of satisfaction.

Then he sensed that Xiao Yan had also reached his peak. As the boy's body was released within him, their souls seemed to resonate with each other once more. He felt Xiao Yan's innocent affection for "Little Fairy Doctor" at this stage, his cautiousness, and his cherishing and tenderness.

That feeling was different from the deep affection he felt for Xiao Xun'er or the fervor he felt for Cai Lin; it was a pure liking with the shyness and timidity unique to young people.

At that moment, the Soul Emperor broke down in tears.

He didn't know why he was crying. Was he crying for his own downfall, for his own powerlessness, for falling into the same trap time and time again, or was he crying—

He himself couldn't even tell whether his feelings for Xiao Yan came from the memories of those women or from his own heart.

Xiao Yan was startled by his sudden crying and quickly let go of him, looking at his tear-streaked face helplessly.

"Little Fairy Doctor? What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

The boy's voice was filled with panic and self-blame as she hurriedly wiped away his tears.

Looking at that young, bewildered face, and those eyes that still held the clarity of a teenager, the Soul Emperor suddenly smiled.

That smile was both poignant and desperate.

"It's okay," he heard himself say in a hoarse voice, with the gentleness and vulnerability unique to Little Fairy Doctor, "It doesn't hurt...it feels very comfortable."

His reason completely shattered the moment he finished speaking, vanishing into nothingness.

He knew.

He's completely finished.

The next morning, the Soul Emperor broke free from Little Fairy Doctor's body and left the cave in a disheveled state. He dared not look back at Xiao Yan's sleeping figure, dared not face the boy's reaction upon waking, and dared not confront the lingering attachment deep within his heart.

He wandered aimlessly across the wilderness, his soul fragmented, like a stray dog.

He had found the cause of the curse of Desire for Beauty, and even a way to break it. But suddenly he was uncertain—was the "curse" he had truly found really the curse of Desire for Beauty?

Or perhaps, from the moment he first traveled through time and entered Xiao Xun'er's body, something more terrifying than a curse had already taken root and sprouted deep within his soul?

Even more terrifying, he discovered—

When he thought he might never see Xiao Yan again, his first reaction wasn't relief, but rather...

Reluctance.