Skinwalker Belle – Chapter 575 – Your punishment: sleep outside tonight!

Long Yan’s breath hitched.

“I know what you’re thinking right now.” Long Ningshuang’s fingertip traced lightly across his brow, her tone carrying a hint of amusement. “You’re definitely wondering who I really am, aren’t you?”

This smile.

This tone of voice.

Even the sensation of fingertips brushing against skin—it was all exactly like the figure buried deepest in his memories.

But precisely because of that, Long Yan’s fury only burned hotter.

“Shut up!”

He roared, his golden dragon might surging outward, blasting the hand caressing his cheek clean away.

“Don’t use that face to say such things!”

He could accept that Ning Shuang was gone.

He could also accept that the one he had fallen for was Lei Jie, who had accompanied him under Ning Shuang’s identity.

But what he absolutely could not tolerate was someone daring to use the most sacred image in his heart to pull off such a deception!

“Brother Long Yan, please don’t be like this!”

Su Rou beside him was nearly in tears, tugging at Long Ningshuang’s sleeve as she looked timidly at Long Yan.

“Sister Ning Shuang really is Sister Ning Shuang!”

Long Ningshuang gave Su Rou a reassuring smile, then turned her gaze back to Long Yan.

In those golden vertical pupils, there was not a trace of anger at being offended—only boundless tenderness and ache that would not disperse.

“I know it’s hard for you to believe.” Her voice was soft when she spoke, not loud, but it reached Long Yan’s ears with perfect clarity. “Because in your mind, Ning Shuang is already gone. Isn’t that right?”

Long Yan said nothing, merely staring at her with bloodshot eyes.

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“She truly is gone.”

Long Ningshuang’s next words froze Long Yan mid-motion.

“In the Mist Forest, to save you, she cut open her own body and pulled out her Dragon Bone to give to you. The her from that moment onward was already gone.” Long Ningshuang spoke slowly, her tone flat, as though she were telling someone else’s story.

“The one who stayed by your side afterward was another truly remarkable woman.”

Long Yan’s body went rigid.

“Then… who are you?” His voice was dry, and the knuckles of the hand gripping his blade audibly cracked.

“Me?”

A somewhat complicated smile crossed Long Ningshuang’s face.

“I’m the fool who died in that Mist Forest.”

She looked at Long Yan and continued.

“A white-haired goddess woke me from a place of nothingness. She said that in this world, there was a foolish boy even more foolish than me, who had been waiting for me all along.”

“She said she had deceived that foolish boy before, and now, it was time to give everything back to him.”

Long Ningshuang stepped forward, paying no mind at all to the Runic Longblade radiating dangerous aura in Long Yan’s hand, and took his hand of her own accord.

Her hand was warm.

Then, she guided Long Yan’s stiff hand and pressed it directly against her chest.

Through the black-gold fabric of her robes, Long Yan could clearly feel the heartbeat beneath—steady and strong.

What made his world spin even more was that, following the location of that heartbeat, he could clearly sense it.

The Dragon Bone there… was truly missing a section.

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The size of that gap, its position—it matched perfectly, down to the last detail, the Dragon Bone pulsing within his own body!

He understood.

Everything became clear.

When Ning Shuang had exchanged her bones, she had truly already been gone.

It was Lei Jie… the woman who had become a deity, who had brought Ning Shuang back to life after she had died back then.

The person before him was not an illusion, nor a disguise.

It was his Ning Shuang.

It was the one and only Ning Shuang he had lost.

She had returned.

“Clatter!”

The Runic Longblade fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Long Yan could no longer stand steady.

He stumbled forward a step, using every ounce of strength he had, and pulled the woman before him tightly into his arms.

He buried his face deep into her neck, his shoulders shaking violently.

The longing, pain, self-blame, and the wild joy of having her back—all suppressed for far too long—finally shattered every last defense he had in that moment.

“Ugh…”

This man, who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, who hadn’t taken a single step back even against Long Hao, was now crying uncontrollably, completely losing his usual composure.

Long Ningshuang simply held him quietly, letting his tears soak her collar.

She raised her hand and gently patted Long Yan’s broad back, again and again.

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After a long while, she finally spoke softly, a hint of teasing amusement in her tone.

“My Long Yan-gege never used to cry before.”

…

Half an hour later.

Long Yan had finally calmed down. Though his eyes were still frighteningly red, he had at least regained his usual composed demeanor.

He sat by the table, one hand tightly holding Long Ningshuang’s, the other holding a teacup, yet his gaze refused to leave her face for even a second, as if he wanted to make up for all the years he hadn’t been able to see her.

Long Ningshuang felt a little embarrassed under his stare, her cheeks flushing as she shot him a glare of feigned annoyance.

Long Yan chuckled, utterly delighted.

It was only then that he remembered there was another person in the room.

He turned his head and looked at Su Rou, who had been sitting obediently by the side the whole time, nibbling on fruit.

“Su Rou.” Long Yan’s expression turned serious.

“Hm? Long Yan-gege, what’s wrong?” Su Rou looked up, half a piece of honeydew melon still stuffed in her mouth, making her words a bit muffled.

Long Yan looked at her, a hint of guilt in his eyes.

He took something out from his storage pouch.

It was a small cloth shoe, with dried mud and bloodstains still on the surface, clearly showing its age.

“This…” Long Yan held the cloth shoe out to Su Rou, his voice low, “is the one that fell off when you stood in front of me to save me back then.”

Su Rou froze for a moment when she saw the shoe.

“I’ve kept it all this time.” Long Yan looked into her eyes and said, word by word, “Su Rou, you saved my life. I will take responsibility for you.”

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The moment those words came out, the atmosphere in the room turned a bit strange.

Su Rou blinked her big amber eyes, looking at Long Yan, then secretly glanced at Long Ningshuang, who had a smile on her face.

“Long Yan-gege,” she said with a mischievous grin, deliberately drawing out her words, “aren’t you afraid… that Ning Shuang-jiejie will get angry?”

Long Yan’s cheeks flushed slightly.

He glanced at Long Ningshuang and spoke very seriously.

“I owe Su Rou a life. You know about this too.”

Hearing this, the smile on Long Ningshuang’s face grew even more pronounced.

She reached out and ruffled Su Rou’s fluffy hair, speaking gently.

“I’ve always treated Xiao Rou as my own little sister. You saved my Brother Long Yan, so I can’t thank you enough.”

Hearing this, both Long Yan and Su Rou breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Long Ningshuang’s golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly as she fixed her gaze on Long Yan.

“But then again…”

She spoke slowly.

“Brother Long Yan, you’ve just finished being all cozy with me, and already you’re thinking about charming other women…”

“How should we settle this score?”

Long Yan’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately sat up straight, ready to explain himself.

But Long Ningshuang didn’t give him a chance to explain. She simply delivered her verdict.

“As punishment, you’ll sleep outside tonight!”