The girl he had fallen for in his youth—now that he was truly close to her, every move she made was like a gentle breeze rippling across still water, stirring countless tiny waves, over and over again, making his heart flutter uncontrollably.
[“So beautiful, everything about her is so beautiful. How can someone be this beautiful?”]
Sang Dai laughed out loud this time, lifting her hand to her forehead, her shoulders shaking with mirth.
[“I really want to kiss her.”]
Sang Dai was already used to his occasional improper thoughts. She had long since become immune to them, merely finding this once-enemy of hers unexpectedly adorable.
As for him wanting to kiss her—she had long accepted it as normal.
But his next thought made her stop laughing.
[“I also want to bite Dai Dai’s ears. They’re so red, so cute.”]
The smile froze on Sang Dai’s lips. This… why was it becoming so specific?
[“I want to spend the mating season with Dai Dai even more.”]
Sang Dai: “…”
It seemed impossible for the two of them to have a serious moment together.
[“Dai Dai’s waist is so slender, her body so soft and fragrant. I want to kiss her all over, from top to bottom.”]
Sang Dai: “…………”
Her head began to ache, her mind completely filled with Su Xuan’s voice.
[“Those royal fools dare to call the Immortal Realm hypocritical, saying Dai Dai is using me. Brainless. My Dai Dai could never be like those pretentious hypocrites. Dai Dai is worried about me now.”]
[“If she worries about me today, next time she’ll feel heartache for me. After that, she’ll soften. Then we can spend the mating season together. This year, I’m bound to marry Dai Dai. Sooner or later, she’ll be this lord’s wife.”]
[“Dai Dai, Dai Dai, Dai Dai, let me kiss you!”]
Sang Dai sat up abruptly, not daring to look Su Xuan in the eye, her ears burning bright red.
“Su Xuan, I’m getting up now.”
Sang Dai lay on the inner side of the bed, while Su Xuan, with his tall figure, occupied the outer side, leaving the already small bed almost completely taken up. To get off, Sang Dai had no choice but to climb over him.
Her current embarrassment left her movements clumsy and disoriented. Without realizing it, she tried to climb directly over Su Xuan. One arm happened to press against his chest.
Their recent interactions had been far too intimate, and her actions seemed instinctive. The man beneath her let out a muffled groan.
Sang Dai quickly withdrew her hand, looking flustered. She glanced at the fox, who was clutching his chest with a slight frown.
“What’s wrong? Are you injured?”
Su Xuan reached out, grabbed the sword cultivator’s waist, and pulled her back down. Caught off guard, Sang Dai was yanked to lie beside him once more.
“This lord expended too much spiritual energy healing your injuries. My body is weak now. You pressed on me, and it hurt. This lord needs to rest for a while.”
Sang Dai: “…Stop pretending.”
Su Xuan closed his eyes and pulled the brocade quilt over himself, looking completely unbothered and immovable.
Sang Dai: “It’s time to get up.”
Su Xuan: “Wait until this lord wakes up, then you can move.”
Sang Dai: “…Just shift aside a bit so I can get out. Sleep however you want.”
“Too tired. Don’t want to move.”
“…Are you this fragile?”
“Yes.”
Sang Dai: “…”
Alright, fine. She’d officially provoked the princess.
Princess Su closed his eyes, and he might as well have written “Do Not Disturb, Sleeping” on his face.
Sang Dai looked at him with a complicated expression. After watching for a moment, she noticed his breathing become steady, as if he had really fallen asleep.
The princess’s sleep schedule, it seemed, was truly excellent.
Sang Dai tugged the brocade quilt over herself, calculated the time, and figured it was now evening. If she slept a little longer, she could go straight to dinner.
Fine, dinner it was.
She closed her eyes. Still feeling drowsy after waking up earlier, she quickly drifted back into sleep. Within a quarter of an hour, her breathing slowed as she sank into a deep slumber.
The “sleeping” princess opened his eyes, cautiously scooting closer to her until he could feel her breathing.
It was light and soft. When she slept, she was so well-behaved and quiet, not even rolling over throughout the night.
Except for that time when her meridians were in disorder—then she’d kick him several times an hour. But after he stabilized her meridians, she slept deeply and peacefully all night.
A strand of hair fell across her face. Su Xuan reached out to tuck it behind her ear.
His heart softened as he watched her. He poked her nose lightly. The sword cultivator furrowed her brows slightly and wrinkled her nose, resembling a little kitten.
Su Xuan couldn’t suppress his smile. In the end, he didn’t have the heart to disturb her and simply lay beside her, watching her sleep.
“So cute.”
—
In Bairen Alley, it was impossible to tell day from night. The place was illuminated everywhere by bright lanterns, but the hour had already reached deep night. The day was about to end.
Fu You sat cross-legged in the hall, a maidservant stepping forward to refill his snacks.
“City Lord, a total of eleven ghost cultivators’ lanterns went out today.”
Fu You raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I see.”
The maid hesitated. “Shall I prepare for the sealing?”
Whenever a ghost cultivator’s lantern went out, Fu You would usually appear before the ghost cultivator within half an hour. Facing the ghost’s terrified gaze, he would mark them with the Food Seal.
When a new “meal” emerged, every ghost cultivator in Bairen Alley would know.
The ghost cultivator branded would then be torn apart before Fu You, consumed by terror and despair.
The maid assumed Fu You was about to rise and proceed with the branding.
But he simply nodded and said, “Let it be for now. There’s something more important to deal with at the moment.”
The maid looked puzzled. “What is it?”
Fu You stood up, casually popping a piece of candy into his mouth, and began walking leisurely outside.
In all of Bairen Alley, only Fu You’s domain did not display the soul lanterns symbolizing the lives of ghost cultivators. No one dared to hang their lanterns in his territory.
His residence did have lanterns, but they were all decorative, filled with ordinary candles.
It seemed Fu You genuinely loved lanterns.
The maid, responsible for attending to the City Lord, followed him into the wide courtyard.
“City Lord, it’s late. Shall I fetch you a cloak?”
Fu You, speaking with the candy still in his mouth, replied indistinctly, “No need. Once the fighting starts, it’ll warm me up.”
The maid was confused. “What?”
Her question was answered almost immediately as she noticed a tall shadow standing atop a distant high building.
The figure was towering, with long silver hair flowing in the night wind. His striking strands danced alongside the elaborate black robe fluttering dramatically around him.
Though too far to discern his features, the faint outline was enough to reveal an exceptionally handsome appearance.
More than that, the aura emanating from him was overwhelmingly powerful.
Fu You was still smiling. “Ah Qiao, if you stay here much longer, I may not be able to protect you.”
The maid’s expression turned to panic. “City Lord! I’ll call the guards right away!”
She ran off in haste, but Fu You shook his head lightly.
Guards?
Even if all the guards in his residence were summoned, they wouldn’t stand a chance against this individual.
Still smiling, Fu You mumbled through the candy, “Lord Beast King, what brings you here on a whim? If you’re here to scrounge a meal, you’re out of luck. I’ve already finished dinner. You can head down the mountain and take a left—there’s a tavern there.”
Su Xuan raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “City Lord, you think too much. This lord isn’t here to beg for food.”
With a flicker of movement, the figure vanished from the high building. In the blink of an eye, he materialized directly in front of Fu You, his elegant hand igniting with hellfire.
The smile faded from Su Xuan’s face, replaced by a chilling expression. “Weren’t you having a lot of fun? Why don’t you come play with this lord instead? Let’s play to your heart’s content.”
Fu You bit down on the candy, the cloying sweetness bursting across his palate. Having had it for too long, the flavor felt overly saccharine—something he didn’t particularly enjoy. He made a mental note to replace it when given the chance.
He quickly stepped back, swallowing the shattered pieces of candy.
“With the Beast King himself here, what an honor indeed.”
—
Elsewhere, Ji Cang had swapped out his face yet again, holding up a bronze mirror to inspect his new look.
The reflection showed a man with exceptionally plain features—neither ugly nor remotely attractive.
Ji Cang lazily remarked, “Tsk, absolutely stunning.”
“Amazing how, after all these years, the Demon Lord’s taste in faces hasn’t changed a bit,” a cool, feminine voice echoed within the room.
Ji Cang turned, his lips curling into a faint smile, to face a woman who had appeared without him noticing.
She looked just as remarkable as before, still bearing the same corpse-like expression as if she were incapable of ever smiling. Cold and intimidating, yet her complexion now had a healthy flush.
Though only three days had passed, she seemed entirely different from the half-dead figure he had seen last time. Back then, she had been hanging on by a thread, barely alive.
Truly, it seemed the Heavenly Dao favored her.
“Oh, your Golden Core has been restored? Congratulations,” Ji Cang said, his tone free of mockery, as if genuinely happy for her.
Sang Dai wasted no words, her cold gaze sharp and direct as she spoke. “Ji Cang, who is the one making deals with you?”
Ji Cang leaned back against the table behind him, crossing his arms with a sly grin. “This lord doesn’t quite understand. Perhaps Miss Sang should find someone else to ask?”
Sang Dai drew her sword without hesitation, pointing its tip directly at Ji Cang.
“The one who made a deal with you to take my life—who are they? What reward did they offer? And do you know who is behind the Immortal Velvet Grass and the Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Root incident?”
The sword in her hand was entirely black, its hilt dark and intricately carved, even its blade gilded—a design that perfectly aligned with a certain fox’s extravagant and ostentatious taste.
Lavish and attention-grabbing.
In Su Xuan’s hands, the sword exuded a menacing killing intent. Yet in Sang Dai’s grasp, it seemed to calm, obedient and subdued, as though she were its rightful master.
Ji Cang sneered inwardly. Su Xuan’s sword was just as spineless as its owner. In front of Sang Dai, it was no better than a lapdog—Su Xuan’s life-bound sword reduced to serving someone else without complaint.
He shifted his gaze from the blade, his lips curling into a false smile. “It’s quite late, Miss Sang. Showing up alone at my residence—what could your intentions be? The Beast King might get jealous.”
Sang Dai’s face remained expressionless. “Ji Cang, who is behind the Immortal Velvet Grass and the Heavenly-Grade Spiritual Root?”
“And my master, Immortal Lord Ying Heng—you’ve met him, haven’t you?”
The playful smile faded from Ji Cang’s lips.
“My master—is he truly dead?”