Shadow Love (Yu Jin Chang An)

Prologue

In the dim dungeon, a disheveled man was bound by his limbs and hung against the wall. His body was covered in bloodstains, making it impossible to distinguish where his wounds ended and where the trickling blood began.

Outside the cell stood several graceful women. The one at the forefront wore a veil that concealed her entire face, yet it was clear her gaze was fixed intently on the man inside the cage.

She listened attentively to his labored breathing—each breath longer and weaker than the last. Her hand clenched tightly. "Go in. Draw his blood," she ordered, her voice shockingly hoarse and rough, like that of a ninety-year-old crone.

"Elder..." One of the women behind her hesitated. "We've already drawn blood today. The next extraction should be at noon tomorrow..."

Before she could finish, a sharp slap echoed through the dungeon. The veiled woman, referred to as the Elder, struck the maid across the face.

"Can't you see he'll be dead by tonight?" Her cold eyes bore into the maid, who had fallen to the ground. "If we wait until noon tomorrow, do you want all my efforts to go to waste?"

Soon, the maid clutched her face and began to wail. Her cries grew louder as she writhed in agony on the floor. When her movements finally stilled, the others could see clearly—the spot where the Elder had struck her had rotted away, revealing gruesome flesh and ghastly white bone beneath.

With two final, pitiful screams, her hands fell away from her face. She lay motionless on the ground, eyes wide open, lifeless.

"Does anyone else have something to say?"

The remaining women fell into terrified silence. Wordlessly, they cleansed their hands, unlocked the cell door, and stepped inside.

One of them opened a golden brocade box, revealing a silkworm-like creature wriggling inside. Another wiped the blood from the man's chest, while a third retrieved a golden blade and made a small incision over his heart. Fresh blood welled up, and instantly, the creature in the box became frenzied, twisting violently as if drawn by an irresistible force.

The maid placed the box over the man's chest, and the creature immediately crawled to the wound, greedily sucking his blood. With each gulp, its originally jade-white body gradually turned crimson.

Once the color had deepened sufficiently, the maid attempted to brush the creature back into the box with a soft brush. But after two strokes, her face paled.

"Elder..."

Outside the cell, the woman's voice darkened. "What is it?"

"The... the Jade Silkworm's head has burrowed into the wound. It won't come out..."

The Elder's veil fluttered as she strode into the cell. In those few steps, the maid let out a series of panicked cries. "It's going in! The Jade Silkworm is going inside him!"

By the time the Elder reached them, the creature had completely vanished from the man's chest.

Silence filled the cell. Then, from the side, another maid gasped—her peripheral vision had caught the slightest twitch of the man's fingers. He had been bound for ninety-nine days without moving. Before she could process it, another cry rang out.

"His wound...!"

His wound... was slowly... healing.

The Elder stared at the man, then reached out to touch his chest. A low, unrestrained laugh escaped her lips.

"Success. My Gu vessel... has finally succeeded!"The moment she smiled, the man suddenly clenched his fist. With two thunderous bangs , the iron chains binding his wrists shattered, the sheer force embedding the broken links into the stone wall behind him.

When his eyes snapped open, they were entirely crimson, like those of a beast. Despite his refined features, his expression was utterly terrifying.

The woman laughed heartily. "Good boy, good boy! Today, you shall become the treasure of my Lingzhang Sect! With you, my return to the Southern Border is within reach!" But before her words even faded, the man abruptly reached out and seized her throat.

His grip tightened instantly, turning her face a sickly shade of purple.

"L-let go… child… release me… I am your master."

The man paid no heed to her words. With a flick of his arm, he hurled her against the wall like a ragdoll, leaving a deep crater in the stone.

A roar tore from his throat, akin to the howl of a beast in the dead of night. In an instant, the dungeon was awash with blood.

Time blurred. As dawn approached, he staggered out of the dungeon, stumbling through the forest. In the distance, the desolate watchtowers of the Great Jin Dynasty loomed beyond the frontier.

His ragged breaths formed puffs of white mist in the frigid night air, only to disperse as he moved.

Step by unsteady step, he trudged forward blindly. The pale light of the waning moon filtered through the skeletal branches, illuminating his blood-soaked body. A vivid, flame-like mark crept up his bare chest, stretching across his neck and face before halting just below his left eye.

An agony so intense it felt as though his soul were being torn apart wracked his heart.

Gritting his teeth, his expression twisted in torment.

Emerging from the forest, he had no trees left to steady himself. His foot slipped, sending him tumbling down a slope.

The frigid dawn of the northern frontier was merciless. Lying alone on the barren ground, frost clinging to the withered grass, he felt his muscles begin to tremble. Bit by bit, inch by inch, the pain of bones being crushed from within consumed him.

It was as if boulders were grinding inside him, his skeleton emitting sickening cracks . His towering frame gradually shrank until—

He had become a child.

The first light of dawn stretched over the distant mountains, casting its glow upon the desolate northern lands.

Suddenly, the sound of galloping hooves approached, carrying the metallic scent of blood and steel. In moments, the riders were upon him. His eyes remained shut—not by choice, but because he lacked even the strength to open them.

"General…" a rough male voice called out. "Look, there seems to be a child over there."

A horse halted beside him, and someone dismounted. Instinctively, he tried to assess whether the newcomer posed a threat. Summoning the last of his strength, he cracked his eyes open—only to see, silhouetted against the light, a woman clad in form-fitting red robes and silver armor.

A female… general?

That single glance drained him completely, and his eyelids fell shut once more.

Behind her stood two armored men. The deputy general, Luo Teng, gasped at the sight of the child. "Good heavens! This kid’s covered in blood! How ghastly!"

The other deputy, Qin Lan, remained calmer. "General, there’s a mark on the child’s chest.""The flame pattern is quite beautifully inked." A slightly hoarse female voice accompanied the cool touch of fingertips gently tracing the tattoo on his chest.

Where her fingers brushed, a shiver ran through him. It was as if a slumbering beast in his chest had been awakened by her touch, writhing within his heart. In an instant, he felt an overwhelming heat surge through his body, his mouth parched, and the air he inhaled carried a new scent.

The scent of blood.

Flowing from the bodies of the three people before him, rushing from their hearts, circulating endlessly within them, keeping them alive.

His sense of smell sharpened—blood held an indescribable allure.

Especially the blood of this woman before him, carrying an intoxicating fragrance...

His body burned with restless hunger, yet the three remained unaware.

"The child is quite cute," the female general patted his cheek. "Let's take him back."

"General..." Qin Lan sighed helplessly. "This child's origins are unknown..."

Luo Teng, however, was more carefree. "I’ve heard the Western Rong tribes have rituals of human sacrifice. The weather beyond the border has been especially cold and dry this year—maybe this child was an offering to pray for survival through the harsh winter?"

"Why would they abandon a sacrificial offering here, ragged and covered in blood..."

At the mention of blood, his craving intensified. His throat tightened, his mouth as dry as if scorched by fire.

"He seems thirsty. Fetch some water first," the female general called out. The cork of a waterskin popped open with a soft sound. But instead of pouring the water directly into his mouth as her straightforward voice might suggest, she carefully moistened her fingers and gently dabbed his lips with the dampened tips.

Water had no taste, yet it carried a strange, fatal sweetness on her fingertips—tainted with her scent and the aroma of blood.

When her fingers first left his lips, it was as if a starving wolf had its meat snatched away. A violent, uncontrollable fury surged in his chest. So when her fingers touched his lips again, he could no longer restrain himself—his teeth clamped down viciously on her finger.

Her skin split beneath his bite, his teeth sinking into her flesh. The metallic tang of blood flooded his mouth instantly.

The female general gasped in pain, instinctively pulling her hand back. But he refused to let go, his throat working as he greedily swallowed the blood welling from her fingertip.

The taste of blood filled his mouth, warmth spreading through his stomach like kindled flames, then surging violently into his heart, burning so fiercely it ached, setting his entire chest alight with frantic pounding.

"General!" The two men rushed forward. One gripped his jaw, trying to force it open, but he clenched his teeth with desperate strength.

The other cursed gruffly, "Ungrateful little bastard! I’ll rip your jaw off! Qin Lan, let go—I’ll handle this!" A rough hand seized his chin, but the woman snapped, "Luo Teng!"

Luo Teng froze at her command but didn’t release his grip, fuming. "General! This brat bit you!"

"Do you think I don’t know that?" she scolded, swatting his hand away in annoyance. Compared to the men, her fingers were slender, yet with just two fingers pressing against his jaw joints, his muscles weakened instantly, his clenched teeth forced apart."You'd crush his head if I let you do it," she chided, withdrawing her fingers.

Yet the spilled blood had already seeped into his body.

Though this small amount was far from enough to satisfy him, the restlessness within him seemed momentarily soothed by those few drops.

"General," the man called Qin Lan spoke with deep concern, "your hand..."

"Just a child's strength, nothing but a scratch." He had bitten her, yet she didn't release him. Instead, she hoisted him onto her shoulder. "Let's go, back to camp."

Luo Teng couldn't hold back his outburst. "General, you're taking this little wolf cub back with you?"

Li Shuang placed him on the horse. "He's just a child." She mounted as well, settling behind him and cradling his limp, seemingly unconscious form in her arms. Her tone was light, almost indifferent. "Wasn't I just the same when I was young—like a wild wolf, picked up by my father?"

At her words, no one dared to object further.