Villains Aren't Stepping Stones!

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Bond

Luo Mingye and Xia Mengyao ventured deeper into the labyrinthine side chambers of the palace, their footsteps echoing softly until they arrived at a hall that shimmered with an oppressive, metallic brilliance.

The room was a breathtaking display of martial history. Hundreds of artifacts—swords that pulsed with elemental energy, spears that seemed to hum with the sound of wind, and armor plated in dragon-scale patterns—were displayed with a meticulous, reverent order.

Each weapon rested atop a small, glowing rock that hovered in mid-air, rotating slowly to show off every curve of the smith’s work.

On the base of these floating pedestals, glowing inscriptions detailed the artifact’s rank, its name, and the legendary master who had forged it.

”Wow~!” Mingye’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, the reflection of a dozen high ranking artifacts dancing in her pupils. ”Sister Mengyao, there are so many! Let’s split the room in half! You take the left, I take the right!”

But her excitement was cut short by a sharp, playful thwack to the top of her head.

Mengyao sighed, withdrawing her hand as she shook her head. ”I told you, Mingye. Call me ’Brother’ while I am in this form. The walls have ears, and my disguise is not just for show.”

”Owie~,” Mingye pouted, rubbing her head and playfully glaring. ”Brother Mengyao, that hurts! You’re getting meaner!”

”Is that so? I thought you had a special physique that turned pain into pleasure?” Mengyao smirked, throwing her own words back at her.

”Why would I feel pleasure from that? It’s not like you’re Young Master Shen,” Mingye countered with a huff, crossing her arms.

Mengyao paused for a second, her lips twitching as she leaned in and whispered under her breath, ”As expected... it really is a special kink.”

”Hey! What is a ’special kink’ anyway? I’ve been asking since earlier!” Mingye demanded, stomping her foot.

”And I told you, I have no idea,” Mengyao lied smoothly, already walking toward the far end of the hall where the spiritual pressure felt densest.

Mingye followed close behind, her fleeting annoyance replaced by a happy hum as she bypassed Rank 5 and 6 artifacts without a second glance, only stopping for a brief moment to admire rank 6 and rank 7 artifacts.

At the very end of the chamber, they found the centerpiece: a grand silver altar etched with celestial runes, and above it, two swords—one as white as a winter moon, the other as black as a starless night—hovered in a perfect, rotating embrace.

Mengyao stepped forward to read the ancient script carved into the silver base. ”... this is the language from Exlipse Emperor Era that ended 33 thousand years ago.”

”Can you read it?” Asked Xueli.

Mengyao nodded as she read, ”Gan Jiang and Mo Ye: The Married Swords representing Yin and Yang.”

”Why does that sound like someone’s name? Not like a name you’d give to a sword.” Said Mingye.

Mengyao ignored her friend as her voice grew solemn as she read further. ”Forged by the great artificer Gan Jiang during the Eclipse Emperor Era. It reached Saint Grade through human sacrifice, with his wife jumping into the furnace in front of the man she loved to meld the Essence of the Five Mountains and the Metals of the Six Heroes.”

Mingye’s eyes grew serious. This artifact that uses human sacrifice already borders on being a demonic artifact.

Probably the only reason why this artifact didn’t give off demonic aura was because the human who sacrificed herself loved her husband so much it completely erased any trace of demonic aura that would’ve formed when the forging had happened.

She continued, ”Individually, they are Rank 9 Saint-Grade Artifacts. However, if used together by two individuals, their resonance allows them to reach the power of a Rank 10 Saint-Grade Artifact.”

”Holy shit!” Mingye exclaimed, her heart racing.

A Rank 10 Saint-Grade weapon was nearly an Imperial Grade artifact; it was a treasure that could sustain a Second-Rate sect for ten thousand years.

Their Luo Clan doesn’t have one, and in the entire Blue Wind Kingdom, only the Royal Family has one, an Imperial Artifact passed down since the founding of their kingdom.

”Brother Mengyao, what do you say? We can’t just leave them here. Let’s take one each!” Suggested Mingye. ”We’re best friends, we can totally bring out its full power!”

”Alright,” Mengyao nodded, her own heart thumping with anticipation. ”I’ll take the black sword, Gan Jiang as it matches my cultivation path.”

”I’ll take Mo Ye then! It’s so pretty,” Mingye said, reaching out.

Simultaneously, the two of them grasped the hilts of the hovering blades.

But the moment their fingers closed around the grips, a massive, glowing Yin Yang symbol erupted above their heads, bathing the entire armory in a blinding black-and-white radiance.

The swords didn’t stay in their hands, but actually dissolved into pure spiritual light and surged into their bodies, settling directly into their respective Dantians.

However, the transformation didn’t stop there as a shimmering, ethereal Red String of Fate appeared, winding around Mengyao’s wrist and stretching across the space to bind itself tightly to Mingye’s hand.

”What the-!?” Their eyes widened in shock.

The strings glowed with a brilliant crimson light for a few seconds before fading into invisibility.

Suddenly, their minds were flooded with memories that didn’t belong to them.

Mengyao saw Mingye’s childhood—her tantrums, her secret lessons, her first crush.

While Mingye saw Mengyao’s life—the burden of being a ”Heaven’s Chosen,” the secrets of her gender, the loneliness of the Flower Mountain Sect.

Through the karma of the swords, their souls had been permanently linked.

”W-What was that!?” Mingye shrieked, clutching her wrist as if she could still feel the thread. ”That red string... did those swords just... marry us!?”

Mengyao’s face was pale.

She ignored Mingye’s shouting and began to frantically circle the altar, looking for any further messages left behind by whoever placed these swords here.

Finally, she found it. Carved in tiny, cheeky script on the very back of the silver base was a final note; so small it can barely be seen.

”The only way to take these swords is for two people to touch them together. But be warned: the swords will bind the two people together for eternity, effectively marrying them off in the eyes of the Heavens. So make sure to bring your Dao Companion with you! ✌️”

Mengyao felt her cheek twitch, and the ”Peace Sign” at the end of the message was specifically, and incredibly annoying.

”What the hell!? Why is such an important message written at the back where nobody can see it!?” Mingye screamed, reading over Mengyao’s shoulder.

”I guess the Bright Silver Emperor was a bit of a troll,” Mengyao sighed, rubbing her temples.

”Troll? How is the Emperor related to those ugly, barbaric creatures from the northern swamps?” Mingye asked, genuinely confused.

”Ah, not that kind of Troll. A ’troll’, well, just think of them as people who enjoy watching others make fools of themselves. People who set traps just to hear the snap,” Mengyao explained, her voice dripping with exhaustion.

”Oh.” Mingye nodded, her eyes welling with tears. ”Then this Emperor is a massive troll!”

Mengyao sighed, looking at her hand. ”Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now. The bond is sealed in our Dantians.”

”No! No! We need to do something!” Mingye wailed, her panic reaching a crescendo. ”You can feel it, right? If we try to marry someone else, or if we betray this bond, the swords will riot inside us and cripple our cultivation! I don’t want that! I’m not interested in girls, Mengyao! I want to get married to a handsome man! I want a wedding!”

She began to cry pitifully, the reality of being ”spiritually married” to her best friend sinking in.

Mengyao watched her for a moment, her mind racing through the logic of the bond.

If the swords required a ”pair” to function and demanded loyalty to the ”unit”... then the only solution was to ensure their future was tied to the same destination.

”Then...” Mengyao suggested, her voice hesitant but calculating, ”how about we just... marry the same person?”

Mingye paused, her eyes widening by the second.

”...huh!?”

”Hear me out!” Mengyao raised her hand, ”Technically speaking, if we both marry the same person, then we wouldn’t be betraying the bond, we’re just adding another person into our lives...right?”

”...That makes so much sense I’m speechless.” Said Mingye.

Mengyao straightened her back, ”That’s why, if you have any suitors, or if you have someone you like, bring them to meet me first. I’ll just if they are worthy of the two of us.”

Mingye scratched the back of her head, ”But Sister Mengyao, you’re literally the most talented person in Central Region, and my granpa is the best Zither Arts Practitioner in Central Region! Who even in the Central Region can be worthy of the two of us?”

”...perhaps those from the Imperial Capital?” Mengyao frowned, deep in thought.

”...like young master Shen?” Asked Mingye.

The two immediately went silent.