The Soul Binder Says One Thing and Means Another

Willful, spoiled troublemaker * Deeply devoted, loyal hound

*

On the day Wen Zhuying ran away from her wedding, she met someone.

From then on, wherever she went, she kept running into vengeful spirits.

Facing Jiang Du, the culprit behind it all, she had no qualms about ordering him to escort her to her aunt's home.

*

At some point, a cousin had appeared at her aunt's home.

The cousin was handsome, young and lively, yet thoughtful. He followed Wen Zhuying around all day, calling her "cousin" again and again.

When Wen Zhuying was hungry, he would scour the whole city to buy her favorite pastries. When she was thirsty, he would hold out a cup of tea and test its temperature over and over.

Wen Zhuying had more than once sighed, "This cousin is truly so filial!"

*

Jiang Du had bound spirits in the human realm for a thousand years, and had long grown used to being alone.

But one night, someone else suddenly barged into his formation.

At first, he thought the girl was simply noisy.

Later, when she woke him from a dream, he thought that if she was noisy, so be it. There were only a few days left, after all. Once he had safely escorted her there, he could have his peace and quiet back.

The moment he saw her cousin, he could tell that the cousin wanted to be more than just her cousin.

But what did that have to do with him?

One day, he was startled to realize that he was comparing himself to the cousin in everything.

The cousin was younger than him. The cousin was more interesting than him. The cousin was...

It was time to leave, Jiang Du thought.

But he kept putting off his departure.

He had known her before the cousin had.

They had known each other a thousand years ago.

Theme: Forgetting is not necessarily mercy, and remembering is not necessarily punishment.