Dark clouds gathered as howling winds whipped the sea into three-tiered waves. Silver sand crashed against the cliffs like layered mountains, each thunderous roar echoing like distant lightning—a suffocating tension thickening the air.

*Huff... huff...*

Mu Yue Ran stood tall, her steady steps carrying her to the cliff’s edge. Before her stretched the **vast ocean**, the crashing waves vibrating through the rock beneath her feet.

This path to the sky’s edge was her final stop—tigers at her back, no escape ahead. A tragic end seemed inevitable.

Seeing Mu Yue Ran cornered exactly as planned, the House of Yu guards exhaled in relief. This costly chase had finally ended in their victory.

They spread out, blocking every path off the cliff, staring in disbelief at the woman before them. Delicate beauty. Captivating eyes. An unassuming frame. Yet this seemingly ordinary girl had toyed with their elite guards like puppets.

Even now, with her trapped, they dared not relax. They stood frozen, locked in silent standoff, waiting for orders.

Time crawled. Tension coiled tighter. Only then did Madam Yu emerge slowly from the rear. Guards parted for her. Hunched and heavy-footed—as if each step weighed like lead—she took an eternity to reach Mu Yue Ran.

Mu Yue Ran hadn’t moved. She simply watched, looking down at the exhausted woman before her. *Who’s truly cornered here?* she wondered, seeing Madam Yu’s bowed head.

*Pathetic.* To outsiders, Mu Yue Ran probably looked more like the boss.

Amused by her own thought, Mu Yue Ran snorted. Her gaze turned mocking. She even whistled, teasing.

"Shut up! Shut your mouth, you bitch!" Madam Yu shrieked, fury boiling over. All pretense of grace vanished. She wanted only to shred this woman and feed her to dogs.

"Do you have any idea what we sacrificed to catch you?"

"What right do you have to take what belongs to House Yu?!"

Her words sounded righteous, yet her eyes never once flickered toward Yuchuge. Her real rage? This girl had ruined House Yu’s marriage alliance—and humiliated *her*.

Mu Yue Ran flicked her wrist, letting the blade in her hand hang loosely at her side. "‘Right’? ‘Right’? How tiresome," she drawled, bored. "Next time you take a dump, ask your toilet bowl if it’s *worthy* too."

*Delicious.* Using this pretty face to spew toilet humor felt oddly satisfying.

"You—!" Madam Yu jabbed a finger, sputtering, unable to curse. The guards’ watching eyes cooled her rage. *Why argue with trash? I hold all the cards.*

She waved her hand. Guards surged forward, forcing Mu Yue Ran back—centimeters from the cliff’s edge.

"Hand over Yuchuge. This farce ends now."

Mu Yue Ran glanced at Yuchuge beside her. Sometime during the standoff, the girl had gone quiet. She clung to Mu Yue Ran’s arm like a drowning woman grasping driftwood, head bowed in silence.

After a long pause, Mu Yue Ran’s eyes slid toward Madam Yu. "Aren’t you curious why I ‘kidnapped’ your heiress?"

Madam Yu sneered. "You’ll beg to tell me later. Cooperate now, and you might keep some dignity." She crossed her arms, towering. "But if you insist on talking—I’ll listen." *Mercy? For this bitch? Never.*

Mu Yue Ran only smiled, pulling Yuchuge closer. Her lips brushed the girl’s ear, her voice cutting through the roar of waves and shouts:

"We’re eloping."

"My doll bride won’t marry anyone else."

Madam Yu’s temple throbbed. *Another joke!* Her face twisted into a demon’s snarl as she signaled her guards forward.

Mu Yue Ran sighed, glancing at the dizzying drop behind her. *Time to fight—*

Suddenly, her right arm lifted.

She turned. Yuchuge had seized her wrist, pressing the blade’s edge against her own pale throat. Mu Yue Ran froze, panic flooding her. She yanked back—but Yuchuge’s grip was iron, her face flushed with effort, refusing to let the knife shift an inch.

Madam Yu halted. For the first time, she truly *saw* Yuchuge. "Yuchuge! What are you doing?!" she roared.

Yuchuge ignored her. She tilted her head, gazing calmly at Mu Yue Ran. "Kidnapper," she whispered, "I still have value. Let’s... escape like this."

Mu Yue Ran’s lips trembled. Grief darkened her eyes. She stopped struggling, terrified the blade might nick that fragile skin.

"Song’er... I hate this."

"I know."

"I know," Yuchuge repeated softly. "But I won’t let them hurt you."

"Just like you freed me back then... let me free you now."

A smile bloomed on Yuchuge’s face—bright as the sunbeam piercing the storm clouds above them. For the first time, Mu Yue Ran saw her smile. In that moment, the doll gained a soul. Though her body remained wood, her thoughts snapped free of their strings.

"If we escape this place..." Yuchuge murmured, "...I want to see the sea with you again."

Madam Yu clutched her chest, voice raw with betrayal: "Yuchuge! Ungrateful wretch! Remember your place—you’re a doll! I hold you up as art. Drop you, and you’re just sawdust!"

"Seize them! Keep her alive—she can still be fixed!"

As guards charged, Yuchuge jerked her neck toward the blade—but Mu Yue Ran gently covered her eyes from behind. Her breath warmed Yuchuge’s ear:

"If we can’t escape..."

"...will you stay here with me? Just to watch the sea?"

Without hesitation, Yuchuge answered: "Yes."

Mu Yue Ran smiled. She stepped back. Turned. Hand in hand with Yuchuge, she ran—once, twice—then leapt into the void.

Sunset painted the cliffs gold as the two girls soared through the air on the wind.

The scene froze there.