My chest is hollow. Every breath feels like swallowing broken glass.
The Village Head's son is dead on the floor, and his father's mob is already pounding on the door.
Gu Chen is looking at the body, then at me, with a gaze that says I'm officially the most expensive thing he's ever owned.
⸻
The silence in the room is worse than the screaming outside.
I stare at the boy on the cot. One word. Beautiful. That was all it took. The curse didn't even wait for a full sentence this time. It just snatched his heart and stopped it.
"He's dead," I whisper. My hands are numb. My ears are ringing so loud it's like a whistle in my brain.
"I have eyes, Lin Yue," Gu Chen snaps. He doesn't move to help. He doesn't call a doctor. He just stands there, calculating the political cost of the corpse in his room.
Body: Ringing ears. Shaking knees.
Thought: They'll kill me. They'll kill us both.
Choice: I need to hide. Or I need to run.
"They're going to break that door down," I say, my voice trembling. "If they see him here, with me..."
"Quiet." Gu Chen moves fast. He grabs a heavy tarp from a crate and throws it over the body. It's clinical. Brutal.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The iron door groans under the weight of the mob outside.
"Gu Chen! We know the girl is in there!" the Village Head's voice roars. It's thick with grief and rage. "She's killed my son! Give her to us!"
I look at Gu Chen. My only shield. My only nightmare. "Tell them I'm not here," I whisper.
"I don't lie for free," he replies. He steps toward me, backing me into a corner stacked with ammunition crates. He leans in, his shadow covering me like a shroud. "You said you'd tell me everything. Start now."
"I told you! He followed me! He was obsessed!"
"Obsessed enough to die?"
"Everyone dies for me!" I shout, then immediately bite my lip.
Gu Chen's eyes sharpen. "Is that the rule, then? Interest equals a death sentence?"
Thought: Don't tell him everything. If he knows the full rule, he'll kill you himself just to be safe.
"I don't know the rules," I lie. The lie sits heavy in my gut. "It just happens."
Gu Chen leans closer. I can smell the gunpowder and the sharp tang of his sweat. "You're a liar, Lin Yue. A dangerous, beautiful liar."
"Open the door!" the mob screams. A torch flickers through the high, barred window.
Gu Chen ignores them. He reaches out and grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him. His thumb is rough, pressing hard against my skin.
"If I open that door, you're dead," he says. "The Village Head doesn't want justice. He wants someone to burn."
"Then don't open it."
"Give me a reason."
"I... I can help you," I stammer. "You want to control this village? You want the power? I'm the only one who knows how this works. I'm your weapon."
It's a bad choice. A desperate, impulsive gamble. I'm tying myself to a man who would probably trade me for a crate of rifles if the price was right.
Gu Chen's lips curl into a shadow of a smile. It's not kind. "A weapon. I like that."
He turns and walks toward the door. He unbolts it with a slow, deliberate scrape of metal.
"What are you doing?" I hiss, ducking behind a stack of crates.
He doesn't answer. He swings the door open.
The cold night air rushes in, along with the orange glow of dozens of torches. The Village Head stands at the front, eyes bloodshot, a heavy iron crowbar in his hand.
"Where is she?" he bellows.
Gu Chen steps into the doorway, blocking the view. He doesn't pull his gun. He doesn't have to. His presence alone stops the first wave of men.
"Searching my quarters now, Elder?" Gu Chen's voice is silk over gravel. "That's a bold move, even for you."
"She killed my son! We found his horse dead, and he's missing!"
"Your son isn't here," Gu Chen says calmly. "And the girl is under military interrogation. She stays with me."
"She's a curse! She's an omen!" a woman in the back screams. "Burn the graveyard girl!"
The crowd surges. Gu Chen doesn't flinch. He steps forward, into the light of the torches.
"The next person who touches this door," Gu Chen says, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, "becomes a military target. Is that what you want? A massacre over a girl and a dead horse?"
The Village Head shakes. "My son..."
"Go home, Elder. I'll find your son. But if you interfere with my work again, I'll assume you're part of the sabotage."
It's a bluff. A massive, iron-balled bluff.
The crowd wavers. Fear of the curse is strong, but fear of the military is older. Slowly, one by one, they start to back away. The Village Head looks at the door, his eyes filled with a hatred that I know will never fade.
"This isn't over, Soldier," he spits.
They retreat into the darkness.
Gu Chen slams the door and bolts it. He leans his head against the iron, taking a long, slow breath.
I come out from behind the crates, my legs shaking so hard I have to hold onto the wall. "You saved me."
"I protected an asset," he corrects, turning around. He looks exhausted, but his eyes are still sharp. "There's a difference."
"I hate you," I whisper.
"I know. You've said it with every look you've given me since you woke up."
I walk toward him, fueled by a sudden, jagged spike of anger. "You're using me. You're waiting for me to slip up so you can see how the curse works. You don't care about the people dying."
"Care?" Gu Chen laughs, a dry, hollow sound. "In this world? Care gets you a shallow grave, Lin Yue. I'm interested in results."
"Well, here's a result," I snap, stepping into his personal space. I'm acting on pure adrenaline now, pushing him away rudely, my hands hitting his shoulders. "Stay away from me. Don't touch me. Don't look at me. I don't want your protection if it means being your toy."
I turn to walk toward the back of the room, anywhere to be away from him.
"Lin Yue."
His voice stops me. It's different. Lower.
I turn back.
Gu Chen is standing by the cot, his hand resting on the tarp covering the dead boy. He looks at me, and for the first time, the predatory heat in his eyes is gone. It's replaced by something cold. Something that hurts worse than his grip.
"Don't flatter yourself," he says. His voice is flat, devoid of any interest. "I only kept you here because I need a witness to pin this on the saboteurs."
I blink. "What?"
"You think I'm tempted by you? You think I'm going to be the next one to die because I 'like' you?" He steps closer, his gaze raking over me with total indifference.
"I don't like you, Lin Yue. I don't even find you particularly interesting anymore."
My heart stutters. It's a stupid, human reaction. I should be happy. If he doesn't like me, he won't die. I'm safe. He's safe.
But the way he says it—like I'm a piece of broken furniture—stings like lye.
"Good," I say, my voice cracking. "Then we understand each other."
"Perfectly," he says. He turns his back on me, walking toward his desk to light a cigarette.
"And just so we're clear," he adds, the smoke curling around his head, "I never liked you anyway."
⸻
The relief should be huge—but the only man protecting me just made it clear I mean nothing to him.