Shadow Love (Yu Jin Chang An)

Li Shuang wrote a letter instructing the generals to lead their troops back to the capital.

The generals who received the letter were concerned for Li Shuang's safety and were unwilling to leave just like that. Together, they went up to the Wuling Gate and saw Li Shuang. Noticing the injury on her neck, the generals immediately grew furious. These were men who had followed the Grand General through countless battles over the years, and in a way, they were like half-uncles to Li Shuang. Despite her repeated reassurances to calm them down, Fu Changqing refused to leave.

"General, to be frank, before this campaign, the Grand General repeatedly instructed us to protect you at all costs. Yet now, we’ve allowed you to fall into danger—"

"It’s nothing serious. This injury was just an accident," Li Shuang interrupted him with a headache.

"How could it be an accident? Do you take me for a blind man, General? This wound was clearly inflicted with great force, damaging your throat to the point your voice is hoarse. The attacker must have intended to kill!"

Fu Changqing deliberately raised his voice, aiming to shame the Wuling Sect members. But Li Shuang’s first reaction was to glance back at the room where Jin An was staying. Though the room was far away, Jin An was no ordinary man—his hearing was sharp, and she couldn’t tell if he had heard or not.

Li Shuang sighed. "General Fu, matters here are nearly settled. I’ve already rescued those who needed saving, and this injury truly was just an accident. I’ll catch up with the main army in two days to return to the capital. If you’re still worried, you may leave a thousand elite cavalry here—" Before she could finish, Qin Lan interjected, "This subordinate is willing to stay and guard the General."

Qin Lan was Li Shuang’s personal guard, skilled in both courage and martial arts. Though Fu Changqing and the other generals still had doubts, seeing Li Shuang’s insistence, they said no more and descended the mountain.

Watching them leave, Li Shuang finally relaxed. But Qin Lan suddenly asked, "General, was your neck injured by that man in black?"

Li Shuang was taken aback. "Why do you ask so suddenly?"

Qin Lan didn’t look at her, his gaze fixed on the distance, his expression unreadable. "No reason... I just thought that perhaps only if he had hurt you, would you defend him like this."

Out of the corner of her eye, Li Shuang noticed Wu Yin heading toward Jin An’s room, and her attention immediately shifted. Turning to leave, she replied dismissively, "He was just confused at the time. Find yourself a room to rest in. We’ll set off in two days."

With that, she walked away. Qin Lan lowered his head and looked at his hands. He had ridden hard from the capital without stopping, and his hands were covered in rope burns from the reins. The skin at the base of his thumb had cracked from dryness, revealing raw, bloody wounds—as if he had glimpsed the state of his own heart.

Li Shuang, however, didn’t notice Qin Lan’s emotions. She returned to her room only to find Wu Yin standing by the bed, staring at Jin An with a slight frown.

"What’s wrong?"

"See for yourself," Wu Yin stepped aside, revealing that he had undressed the young Jin An. The boy lay on the bed with his eyes closed, as if asleep, but the flame mark on his chest was inexplicably fluctuating in size—sometimes expanding like fire crawling up his face, other times shrinking to a tiny speck. The changes were rapid, the red mark writhing beneath his skin like a swarm of insects rapidly rearranging themselves.

Li Shuang frowned. "How could this be?""I don't know," Wu Yin replied innocently, arms crossed as he observed. "When I examined him earlier today, I noticed his pulse and breathing were somewhat unstable, but it didn't seem like anything serious, so I had him rest in his room. Just now, someone passing by the cottage told me they heard the Jade Silkworm Gu host moaning inside, so I came to check. After removing his clothes, this is what I found."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jin An let out a low groan, as if an excruciating pain in his chest was twisting his entire body into a fetal position.

Li Shuang's heart ached instantly. She sat beside Jin An, cradling his head on her lap while gently stroking his face and forehead, wiping away his sweat. "Isn't the Jade Silkworm Gu one of your Five Spirits Sect's treasures? Think of something—find out why he's suddenly like this."

Wu Yin sighed helplessly. "General, you're asking the impossible. He's completely different from all previous Jade Silkworm Gu hosts—he requires study. With no records to reference, how can I possibly... Oh, wait." He smacked his forehead. "This does resemble the symptoms of the gu rejecting its host, but that usually only happens right after the gu first enters the body."

As the evening wore on and the sunset sank behind the distant mountains, Jin An's condition seemed to worsen. The fiery patterns that had only swelled along his neck now spread across his entire body before rapidly receding. His body trembled violently, his finger joints thickened, and his frame expanded relentlessly.

His jaw clenched as if enduring soul-rending agony. Li Shuang, sitting close, could almost hear the grinding of his teeth.

Wu Yin's initially amused expression gradually turned serious. "Bring the tempered steel chains," he called outside.

Li Shuang shot him a glance but didn't object. "Chain me to him."

"General, this is no joking matter."

"I'm not joking." Li Shuang held Jin An's head as he transformed into a fully grown man, wearing only loose trousers around his waist that hadn't torn. Gritting his teeth, he emitted a bestial growl from his throat.

She wasn't joking. First, she trusted Jin An wouldn't harm her. Second, she feared that if he lost control, with no cage to contain him, he might vanish without a trace.

The steel chains arrived. Qin Lan, hearing the commotion outside, entered and froze at the sight.

Jin An now looked utterly terrifying—like a creature from legend. The crimson patterns on his body pulsed incessantly. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, each a different color: one blood-red, the other pitch-black like the night.

Li Shuang took the chains and moved to bind herself to Jin An. But just as she fastened one end to his wrist, before securing the other to her own, Qin Lan rushed forward and grabbed her arm.

"General, you—"

Before he could finish protesting, Jin An—still held in Li Shuang's embrace—lashed out with his free hand, striking Qin Lan squarely in the chest. Li Shuang had no time to stop it.

Caught off guard, Qin Lan was sent flying back three paces, crashing into a table before collapsing in a heap. With a shudder, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Wu Yin's face darkened. "This is bad," he muttered before shouting to those outside, "Everyone—flee down the mountain now!"After speaking these words, he suddenly felt a heat on the back of his neck—someone had seized him by the nape. Wu Yin, agile as ever, dodged Jin An's grasp with a swift sidestep. Li Shuang quickly fastened a steel chain to her own wrist behind him and yanked Jin An backward. Jin An, who had been about to give chase, was abruptly pulled back by Li Shuang.

Wu Yin managed to escape the small hut, while Jin An was dragged back by Li Shuang, collapsing on top of her.

The colors in his eyes shifted incessantly—one moment black and red, the next entirely crimson, then wholly black—but no matter how they changed, the reflection of Li Shuang in his pupils remained constant. He lay atop her, his breathing heavy, motionless for a long while.

Li Shuang called his name: "Jin An." She gazed at him, hoping to calm him as she had in the dungeon before.

He gave no response. But when Qin Lan, who had been knocked into a table, rose unsteadily from the ground, Jin An turned his head at the sound. Red patterns writhed chaotically across his face, his teeth grinding audibly, as if he were about to lunge and tear out Qin Lan’s throat.

"Calm down," Li Shuang said.

Jin An didn’t move, but Qin Lan, clutching his chest as he stood, spoke instead: "General, unfasten the chain. I’ll hold him off—you go first."

Those words locked Jin An’s pupils into a deep, unyielding red. His strength surged, and for a moment, he disregarded Li Shuang entirely, dragging her along as he stepped outside, intent on attacking Qin Lan. Gritting her teeth against the pain of the chain grinding into her wrist, Li Shuang forced Jin An to a halt, shoving him into a corner of the room.

"Get out!" she barked at Qin Lan.

Qin Lan saw the blood already dripping from Li Shuang’s chafed wrist. His jaw clenched tightly. Outside, Wu Yin had led the Five Spirits Sect members away and now returned to drag Qin Lan out of the hut without another word. "If she says go, then come with me!"

Qin Lan couldn’t bear to leave Li Shuang, glancing back anxiously.

Jin An, too, strained to break free and tear Qin Lan apart, but Li Shuang wrapped her arms around his waist, locked eyes with him, rose onto her toes—and bit his lip.

Li Shuang shut her eyes tightly. She didn’t know how to kiss, but she knew how to transfer more of her breath into Jin An’s body. So she licked his parched lips, then pried open his mouth.

His temperature was scorching, dizzying. Pressed fully against him, she pinned him to the corner, refusing to let him move even an inch.

The restless twitching of Jin An’s muscles and the ever-shifting crimson patterns on his skin seemed to still at last. He yielded to her kiss, accepting her deepening, consuming possession—or perhaps… solace.

Jin An’s tense body gradually relaxed. His eyes half-lidded, like a man caught between waking and drunken haze.

One of his hands, still bound to Li Shuang’s, was guided behind his back. The other, unprompted, as if instinctive, rose to cradle her face, tracing her skin, tilting her chin up to find a more comfortable angle.

Then he closed his eyes. Nothing else mattered now—just the warmth between them.

What color his eyes became, how the patterns settled on his skin, who stood outside, whether they were still watching… none of it mattered anymore.He only knew that he surrendered to her, and to her kiss.