By the time it was nearly the hour of Xu (around 7–9 PM), there was still no movement inside the hall.
Cui Shao stood outside the hall and knocked on the door. “Sovereign Lord, Madam, would you like me to bring in the meal?”
There was no response for a long time.
Cui Shao hesitated for a moment, recalling that Su Xuan had repeatedly instructed her before: no matter what, Sang Dai must be fed on time and must not go hungry.
But it was already mealtime… more than two hours had passed, and the two of them still hadn’t sorted things out?
Could they still be…
Cui Shao’s face flushed red. She withdrew her hand and was about to leave. She mustn’t interrupt them if they were, well, making little fox cubs.
Just as she turned around, the tightly closed door suddenly opened.
Hearing the sound, Cui Shao turned her head to look.
Her lord had changed into a different set of clothes, no longer the black robe he wore upon returning. His silver hair was loosely tied into a half-up style with a hairband, and the half of it hanging down was still dripping water.
Su Xuan had no habit of drying his hair, but within a quarter of an hour, his body temperature would dry it naturally. He must have just finished bathing.
Behind his tall figure, there seemed to be someone else. The person was obscured by her lord, visible only by the hand that her lord was holding.
“Sovereign Lord, Madam.”
Cui Shao immediately bowed in salute.
Su Xuan nodded. “Go have your meal. After eating, rest directly. No need to wait for our return.”
Cui Shao: “…Ah?”
Sang Dai peeked her head out and said, “We’re going somewhere. We might be back late. Cui Shao, rest early.”
Cui Shao nodded blankly. “Oh, alright. Then this servant will take her leave.”
As she turned to leave, she tilted her head slightly, feeling puzzled.
Madam’s hair looked different, as if it had been undone and then redone, adorned with only a single nine-ringed hairpin. The strands of hair falling in front concealed her neck, but she thought she glimpsed something on Madam’s neck…
Suddenly realizing what it was, Cui Shao’s face turned beet red, and her footsteps quickened.
Her figure disappeared in an instant.
Sang Dai noticed her abrupt haste and knew she must have misunderstood.
She raised the fox paw held tightly by a certain fox and said, “Lord Beast King, can you let go?”
Su Xuan glanced at her, frowning. “No.”
He held Sang Dai’s hand and led her out.
“Su Xuan, you just promised to give me some time to sort out my thoughts.”
“It’s just holding hands.”
“…”
Fine, she had nothing to say to that.
The little fox contentedly held onto his sword cultivator.
In just a few short months, what had once seemed impossible for him had gradually become simple and pleasant—Sang Dai allowed his closeness.
He was very, very happy.
“You said you would take me to a certain place. Take me there now.”
Sang Dai retorted, “Aren’t you already pulling me there?”
From the moment she mentioned her special spot, Su Xuan had been preoccupied with it. Sang Dai had said he would be the first person she brought there, so the little fox was full of anticipation.
Su Xuan snorted twice, pridefully leading his sword cultivator out.
Along the way, the demon attendants they passed all saluted, each loudly exclaiming, “Greetings to Madam!”
Su Xuan tilted his chin slightly, unable to hide the smile at the corner of his lips.
He glanced back at the exquisite nine-ringed hairpin adorning his sword cultivator’s hair and nodded in satisfaction.
[So beautiful. This hairpin suits my Dai Dai perfectly. Let’s kiss Dai Dai.]
Sang Dai: “……”
So that was why he had undone her hair earlier, only to redo it and insist she wear this particular hairpin?
The little fox loved his sword cultivator and wanted the whole world to know it.
In the Beast Realm, everyone recognized the nine-ringed hairpin, just as they recognized the silver feather of the Beast King. However, the silver feather now hung from the sword cultivator’s side, and the nine-ringed hairpin adorned her hair. Her identity was practically self-evident.
Sang Dai let him be. After all, the fireworks display she had set off back then had already spread the news of her relationship with him across the four realms.
Su Xuan led her to the outside of the Beast Palace and asked, “Where are we going?”
Sang Dai replied, “To Zui Meng Stream.”
Su Xuan: “…How do you know about that place?”
Sang Dai began walking slowly with Su Xuan, her voice calm. “When I was fifteen, Madam Shi was seriously injured during a training expedition. She was poisoned and needed a specific medicinal ingredient. But I couldn’t find it anywhere. At the time, I was deeply saddened and terrified. Then one morning, I woke up to find a bamboo stick stuck in my window. It told me there were many spiritual herbs at Zui Meng Stream, and if I had the ability, I should go and retrieve them.”
Back then, Sang Dai still regarded Madam Shi as her own mother and was especially devoted to her. She hadn’t even considered the possibility of a trap and ran off to the location indicated on the bamboo stick in the middle of the night.
It was a bamboo forest with a gently flowing stream, distant misty mountains, and an extremely remote location at the border of the demon and celestial realms. There was only a small village, with no more than a few dozen residents.
In the depths of the village, atop the mountain range behind it, lay a place called Zui Meng Stream.
It was said that thousands of years ago, a pair of lovers eloped to this place to escape their families’ pursuit. They carved out a home in the mountains, distancing themselves from the mortal world. They fished by the stream and lived freely, naming the place Zui Meng Stream.
Both of them were medicinal cultivators and planted a great many herbs during their lifetime.
Sang Dai rushed to Zui Meng Stream and searched the entire area three times. Finally, she found the spiritual herb growing on a rock wall.
As she recounted this, she smiled and looked at the little fox beside her.
“I found it very peaceful there. Almost no one visits Zui Meng Stream. Whenever I felt tired from sword practice, missed my master, or got injured during training and didn’t want anyone to see, I’d retreat into the forest and stay there for days.”
Su Xuan didn’t respond, his expression somewhat peculiar.
Sang Dai laughed again. “Thinking back on it now, I still don’t know who left that bamboo stick. What a kind person they must have been.”
Su Xuan turned his head away, the corners of the little fox’s mouth twitching upward. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the teasing glint in the sword cultivator’s gaze, forcing himself to suppress his grin.
“Who knows? That person was indeed kind. Why didn’t you go look for them to express your gratitude?”
Sang Dai squinted her eyes, laughing so hard she nearly doubled over, her gaze becoming even more teasing.
The so-called kind person now felt thoroughly exposed, and it was his turn to be embarrassed.
The little fox transformed into a big fox, clamping his jaws gently around the sword cultivator’s waist and tossing her onto his back. Sang Dai nestled into his soft, fluffy fur, taking full advantage to run her hands through it with satisfaction.
“Hold on tight. I’ll take you to Zui Meng Stream.”
Sang Dai wrapped her arms around the nine-tailed fox’s neck. “Alright.”
The nine-tailed fox moved swiftly, capable of covering thousands of miles in an instant. The cold wind was blocked by the hellfire surrounding Su Xuan. Sang Dai took a deep breath, catching the faint scent of grass and wood on the little fox, and silently vowed to figure out the recipe for that fragrance.
The scent made her feel at ease. If she could burn it as incense at night, she was sure she’d sleep soundly.
Half an hour later, they arrived at Zui Meng Stream.
Sang Dai leapt off the nine-tailed fox’s back and, without hesitation, stroked his fluffy fur again. It felt so good.
Su Xuan shifted back into human form and stood beside her, naturally taking her hand in his.
“Have you really only ever brought me here?”
Sang Dai nodded. “Really. When have I ever lied?”
She had only ever brought him here.
This place, so important to her, had only ever been shared with him.
By that reasoning, it meant he was very important to her.
Satisfied with the answer, Su Xuan’s tail was practically wagging in joy.
“Then I suppose I can reluctantly follow you to take a look.”
He always acted so proud and aloof. Even though his ears remained perked up on top of his head and the smile on his lips couldn’t be hidden, he still insisted on pretending to be reserved.
Sang Dai shook her head and mentally added another label for him.
Princess Su was just a proud little fox.
Zui Meng Stream lay deep in the mountains, with no other human habitation within a hundred miles except for the small village. The villagers were all ordinary people without awakened spiritual roots, so it was a place only the sword cultivator had ever visited.
The forest was dense and tranquil. Moonlight filtered through the trees, casting shadows along the narrow path, while the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs rang clearly.
Sang Dai led him to the very heart of the area.
The bamboo houses scattered about bore a resemblance to Sang Dai’s residence in the back mountains of the Sword Sect. She had always been someone with minimal requirements for life, scraping by without much concern for luxury. Her heart was solely devoted to her swordsmanship. Simplicity and humility had become her way of life, unlike Su Xuan, who was extravagant and ostentatious.
For Sang Dai, having a place to live was enough.
The sword cultivator tipped her head back to light the lantern hanging under the eaves.
The modest bamboo house could be taken in at a glance. It had just one small room and an equally small courtyard. Sang Dai had simply set up a bamboo fence around it and considered it a wall.
In the courtyard, the only noteworthy item was a bamboo swing. Spacious and well-made, it was the most valuable thing there.
“Miss Sang, you truly know how to make do,” Su Xuan said lightly, though he couldn’t hide the trace of distress in his eyes. “Not even a few extra lamps.”
Sang Dai lit the lamp and turned back to glance at him, replying with a smile, “Yes, yes, I know. I don’t have much money, and I rarely take any from the Sword Sect. Would you, Lord Beast King, be kind enough to sit down for now?”
She was about to sweep away the fallen leaves scattered across the courtyard, but the little fox moved faster. With a wave of his hand, he cast a cleansing spell that cleaned the long-neglected yard in an instant.
“Dai Dai,” Su Xuan met her gaze. “I have money.”
Sang Dai replied, “I know.”
Su Xuan repeated, “I have money.”
[So you can spend my money as you wish. Everything I have is yours, Dai Dai. There’s no need for you to live so frugally.]
Sang Dai froze for a moment, and when she understood the meaning behind his words, she couldn’t help but laugh.
“Lord Beast King, I may not be wealthy, but I’m not destitute either. It’s just that I’m used to living modestly. As for the spirit stones, they’ve all been fed to this little treasure.” Sang Dai pulled Zhiyu out of her spatial pouch, holding up the Zhiyu Sword. She added, “You know as well as anyone that nine out of ten sword cultivators are poor. I don’t actually feel deprived. This is how I’ve chosen to live.”