On the way, Sang Dai wondered, what kind of gift would Su Xuan give her?
Would it be the same exquisite clothing, expensive hairpins, or other rare treasures? The gifts that a certain fox always gave her seemed to be these sorts of things.
But instead, Su Xuan took her and teleported to another place.
He stood on the peak of a towering mountain, overlooking a city below. Outside the city walls, there was a powerful barrier that clearly emanated from Su Xuan’s spiritual energy.
Tonight was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and fireworks were constantly blooming over the city, which was brilliantly illuminated by countless lights.
“…Su Xuan, what is this?”
Su Xuan replied, “Yaoshan County.”
“What?”
Su Xuan turned his head to glance at her and said, “You once said you hoped for a world without war across the Four Realms.”
[So I’m giving you a place free of war.]
Sang Dai felt her throat dry up slightly. Lowering her gaze, she looked at the town at the foot of the mountain.
This city was located in the deepest part of the Beast Realm, the most heavily guarded place. Sang Dai could sense many different auras: humans, demons, devils, and ghost cultivators.
He walked ahead, leading Sang Dai down the mountain.
“Most of them fled here. The immortal realm and the Beast Realm are constantly at war. Meanwhile, the underworld, because all its spiritual veins are concentrated in Bairen Alley, has caused many internal conflicts among ghost cultivators as they vie for resources. Many people have nowhere else to go and often wander around the edges of the Beast Realm. Watching this annoyed me, so I simply brought them all here.”
Although he said it annoyed him, Sang Dai glanced at the barrier outside Yaoshan County and felt that Su Xuan’s words weren’t entirely accurate.
He was clearly protecting them.
This fox was just being overly stubborn with his words, but deep down, his heart was exceptionally soft.
Sang Dai followed him down the mountain, listening to Su Xuan introduce Yaoshan County to her.
When they reached the city gates, the guards greeted them with a bow.
“Lord, Madam.”
It seemed that not only the people of the main city but the entire Beast Realm recognized the nine-ringed hairpin on her head.
Su Xuan responded briefly without denying it and led Sang Dai inside.
Yaoshan County wasn’t small. On the contrary, it was vast and spacious. As soon as Sang Dai entered, she saw multi-story pavilions standing tall.
Sang Dai asked, “How big is this city?”
Su Xuan replied, “The area behind Yaoshan County is also part of the Beast Realm.”
In other words, if the population grew too large, they would simply extend the walls further back.
Sang Dai fell silent. What a simple yet practical approach.
Along the way, many people recognized Su Xuan. His presence was too conspicuous—his clothing and hair were particularly eye-catching. To top it off, he was accompanied by an exceptionally good-looking sword cultivator with a cool yet gentle demeanor, forming a sharp contrast to Su Xuan, who always wore a sour expression.
The residents of Yaoshan County were well aware that this place existed because Su Xuan tacitly allowed them to live here. He didn’t impose much control or many rules; the only rule was that no killing was permitted within the city. To enforce this, demon soldiers were stationed here.
Su Xuan provided them with a place to live but rarely visited himself. Most of the time, his visits were solely to strengthen the barrier. Once he finished reinforcing it, he would leave without saying a word.
This gradually eased the fears of those who had initially worried that the Beast King might have ulterior motives.
Yaoshan County had been established for ninety years. Its borders continued to expand, and the number of residents kept increasing. It was a peaceful place, free from slaughter and war.
Of course, not everyone got along perfectly. After all, humans, demons, devils, and ghost cultivators had vastly different habits. For instance, humans loved sunlight, while ghost cultivators couldn’t be exposed to it. Demon cultivators had notoriously short tempers. Thus, it was unrealistic for everyone to live in perfect harmony. Instead, Yaoshan County was clearly divided into sections.
The city was split into four areas—east, west, south, and north—where different groups lived.
But there had never been any fighting or wars.
Following behind him, Sang Dai asked, “Why did you want me to come with you?”
“To do something.”
“What is it?”
“To meet a few people.”
A quarter of an hour later, Sang Dai finally understood what Su Xuan meant.
He had brought her to the outskirts of the city. It was late at night, with fireworks blooming one after another. Laughter rang out crisply from within a spacious courtyard.
Su Xuan pushed open the gate and stepped inside. A female cultivator squatting in the courtyard, helping children weave lanterns, raised her head.
“…Lord?”
Though she addressed him as “Lord,” she was human.
“Mm.”
Sang Dai was completely stunned, staring in disbelief at the courtyard full of children.
The oldest looked to be no more than eleven or twelve—about the same age she and Su Xuan had been back then—while the youngest were still in swaddling clothes.
“Su Xuan?”
“Come in.”
Perhaps because Su Xuan always wore a stern expression, his unsmiling face gave him an intimidating air. Coupled with his tall stature as a nine-tailed fox, he appeared overwhelmingly imposing to the children. The courtyard, previously filled with clear laughter, instantly fell silent.
The female cultivator in charge of watching over the children stood up and bowed to Su Xuan. “Lord.”
Su Xuan had only been here twice before, both times during a severe cold spell in the Beast Realm, when he came to set up a protective array against the cold. Since then, only spirit stones and food were delivered monthly by others. Su Xuan himself rarely appeared, so his sudden arrival tonight caught everyone off guard.
Sang Dai happened to meet the gaze of a child—a little demon cultivator. The demonic aura around him wasn’t particularly strong, and his blood-red eyes quietly observed her.
Sang Dai had never been stared at by a demon cultivator like this before. Most of the demon cultivators she had encountered in the past had tried to kill her. But this little demon cultivator, perhaps having grown up here, carried none of that murderous intent. Instead, his gaze was as pure as that of countless other children.
She smiled gently at him, and the little demon cultivator blushed, clutching the female cultivator’s waist and hiding behind her. However, one eye peeked out, as if secretly watching her.
“This is Hua Ying, responsible for taking care of the children,” Su Xuan explained in his usual calm tone to Sang Dai, then addressed Hua Ying. “It’s the Mid-Autumn Festival tonight. I brought someone to keep them company for the holiday.”
Hua Ying was stunned and glanced at Sang Dai.
“This is… Madam?”
Sang Dai hesitated. “Uh, well, this…”
“Greetings to Madam!” Hua Ying said loudly, bowing.
Some children, playful by nature, followed suit, bowing clumsily and echoing in clear voices, “Greetings to Madam!”
Sang Dai’s cheeks burned with embarrassment as she hastily tried to explain, “No, no, you don’t need to bow. I’m not your—”
Su Xuan didn’t give her a chance to explain. He stepped forward, took the swaddled baby from Hua Ying’s arms, and handed it directly to Sang Dai.
“Hold.”
Sang Dai: “…”
Hua Ying: “…”
The baby in the swaddle opened its small eyes and met a pair of cold, glass-like ones.
After a moment of silence, the baby erupted into loud wailing.
Sang Dai, as if holding a firecracker, anxiously asked, “Why is she crying?!”
Su Xuan, seemingly just as bewildered, called out hastily to Hua Ying, “What are you standing there for? Comfort her!”
Hua Ying’s lips twitched as she stepped forward, skillfully took the baby back, and gently patted her. In no time, the baby was soothed again.
Sang Dai, embarrassed, said, “Sorry, I must have held her wrong.”
The sword cultivator was excessively polite, casting an apologetic glance at Hua Ying, who in turn looked toward Su Xuan.
Hua Ying muttered under her breath, “Madam, actually, it wasn’t you who made her cry…”
Sang Dai: “Ah… really?”
Su Xuan: “…”
He gritted his teeth. “Ungrateful little brat. All my effort, wasted.”
Sang Dai couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Under Hua Ying’s guidance, she took the baby again. This time, the baby didn’t cry, instead staring at her with big, dark eyes, chewing on her fingers with saliva-covered hands.
Su Xuan didn’t approach again, perhaps afraid of scaring the child once more. Instead, he found a spot in the corner of the courtyard and sat down by himself.
A bold child stared at him. Su Xuan tapped the stone table with one hand and asked, “What, does this lord look good?”
A child nodded honestly, “Good-looking.”
Su Xuan burst out laughing, then cast a mock-angry glance at the distant sword cultivator and muttered under his breath, “What’s the point of making you all think I look good? Making her think I look good is the real skill.”
But the sword cultivator had been captivated the moment she arrived. Holding the baby, she seemed to have found a new source of joy, her lips curving into a smile as she teased the child in her arms. She chatted happily with Hua Ying nearby, completely forgetting about a certain fox.
Su Xuan didn’t feel angry—instead, his heart felt warm and soft.
He chuckled lightly and beckoned to the children nearby.
“Come here, I’ll teach you how to make lanterns.”
Having grown up with Liu Lixue, he was the kind of person who climbed trees for fruit and fished in rivers. As a result, Su Xuan had picked up many skills. He knew how to weave lanterns, craft flower lamps, and even make grasshoppers from grass. With practiced ease, he wound the rattan strips around his glowing white hands, quickly producing an exquisite lantern.
A chorus of exclamations rose from the children.
“Wow! Lord, your lantern is so big! Why didn’t the rattan snap?” one child asked.
Su Xuan tilted his chin slightly, answering with a proud tone, “A secret technique. I’ll barely teach you.”
Hearing the commotion, Sang Dai turned to look.
By the stone table in the corner, a group of children had gathered. A young man in a loose black robe sat calmly beside them. On the table were bundles of rattan strips, which he deftly bent and secured with a quiet focus.
The normally aloof Su Xuan wore no particular expression, but the gentle atmosphere surrounding him softened his usual stern demeanor, making him seem much more approachable.
The children crowded around him, unaware of what “keeping a respectful distance” meant or what the title of “Lord” represented. To them, he was just someone playing with them, much like the female cultivators who cared for them.
Some children clung to Su Xuan’s arm to get a closer look. Others leaned against his legs, their heads practically in his lap as they tried to see what he was doing. From Sang Dai’s perspective, it looked like he was completely surrounded by children.
If it had been anyone else, Su Xuan would likely have kicked them out of the Beast Realm with one swift move, sending them flying for days before they landed.
But now, his expression was serene, showing no signs of irritation. He let the children cling to him or gather around as they pleased.
The baby in Sang Dai’s arms raised her tiny hand and wiped her drool across Sang Dai’s face, snapping her back to reality.
Hua Ying quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, Madam. This child is still so young—she didn’t do it on purpose.”
As she spoke, she moved to take the baby back, but Sang Dai avoided her with a smile, adjusting the baby in her arms. “It’s fine. She’s just too little.”
Even as she said this, Sang Dai’s gaze drifted toward Su Xuan in the distance.
She rarely saw this kind of tenderness from him—not just a fleeting trace of kindness in his voice, but the essence of a gentle person.
Hua Ying said softly, “The Lord rarely comes here, or even to Yaoshan County, but the spirit stones and supplies he sends every month are always on time, if not in excess. Most of the children here were picked up by the demon soldiers outside or wandered to the borders of the Beast Realm on their own. The child in your arms was found two months ago during the immortal-devil war when the demon soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield. She was barely alive at the time.”
Two months ago. That was the same war between the immortal and Demon Realms in which Sang Dai had fought.
It was clear that this child’s parents must have perished in battle. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been left alone on the battlefield.
Sang Dai lowered her gaze to the baby in her arms, who was still drooling and gurgling happily.
Hua Ying smiled as she reached out to touch the baby swaddled in Sang Dai’s arms. “I never imagined that, as someone from the immortal realm, I’d end up in the Beast Realm caring for these children.”
She stroked the baby’s head and said to Sang Dai, “But my husband died in battle, and my child was stillborn. Back then, I was out of my mind with grief. It was the Lord who asked me if I was willing to come here and care for these children.”