His muffled voice sounded, “Just helping my treasure relax.”
Sang Dai, panting, asked, “Aren’t you… not in your mating season yet?”
“Almost there, in a few days. Let’s practice a little first.”
Sang Dai: “…”
Hadn’t he practiced enough already?
She became dazed from his kisses, unaware of when Su Xuan had removed her undergarments.
When she regained awareness, the little fox had already leaned close to her.
Sang Dai snapped awake and tried to sit up and push him away. “Su Xuan!”
Su Xuan held her waist firmly, making it impossible for her to move.
He took a moment to say, “You’ve just bathed. Dai Dai, you’re clean everywhere. Just a little kiss.”
He suddenly seemed more assertive, using his spiritual energy to keep her still. The sword cultivator quickly lost her strength and could only surrender to his actions.
Sang Dai’s hands unconsciously gripped the brocade quilt tightly. Su Xuan’s fox tail made an appearance, and Sang Dai grabbed it as if it were a lifeline. Her hand landed on the tip of the tail, gripping it firmly. Su Xuan shuddered, feeling a wave of pleasure.
The little fox enjoyed it immensely when the sword cultivator touched his tail, especially since she sometimes even hugged his fluffy tail to sleep.
He paused, breathing heavily, and called softly, “Dai Dai…”
Sang Dai’s gaze was unfocused, her cheeks flushed deep red, and tears glistened in the corners of her eyes. Her tears were the best encouragement for him. Seeing that she was too weak to resist, the little fox decisively continued.
In the end, Sang Dai began kicking him with effort. Seeing that she truly couldn’t take it anymore, the little fox finally stopped.
He straightened up and kissed her face, gently wiping away her tears. Just as he leaned down to kiss her lips, Sang Dai turned her head and slapped his face.
“Su Xuan, don’t kiss me…” she said.
Su Xuan froze. Sang Dai buried her face in the brocade pillow, pulling his tail to cover her face.
The little fox chuckled, lazily wiping his lips. “Our Dai Dai smells so nice. I don’t mind at all—why are you minding yourself?”
Sang Dai gritted her teeth and scolded him, “Shut up! I didn’t let you kiss me there!”
“But Dai Dai, we’ve been apart for three days. Those three days felt like three years to me.” Su Xuan kissed the base of her ear, his voice soft. “During my tribulation, all I could think about was you. Dai Dai, I wanted so much to see you. After seeing you, I didn’t want to leave, so I was a bit forceful earlier. Don’t be mad at me, alright?”
At this moment, his heart was filled entirely with her. He only wanted to be close to her. This tribulation had brought their hearts closer together.
Sang Dai had clarified her own path, and Su Xuan had found his own.
Kissing the sword cultivator’s collarbone, he whispered, “When Immortal Lord Yinghteng wakes up later, I’ll confess everything to him and formally propose. Dai Dai, you won’t have the chance to back out.”
Sang Dai said nothing, curling up like a turtle in her retreat.
Su Xuan intertwined their fingers, their spiritual energies blending together and calming the surging energy within them both.
“Dai Dai, now that you’re feeling better, will you help me this time?” he asked.
—
As night fell, the little fox lifted the bed curtains.
He fetched a basin of water to clean her up.
Sang Dai muttered, “I want to bathe. I feel sticky all over.”
Su Xuan kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll fetch the water. Wait for me, alright?”
Sang Dai gave a small nod.
When Su Xuan returned with hot water, he carried her, and the two entered the hot spring pool together. She sat in his arms, her chin resting on his shoulder.
At that moment, regret filled her heart. If she had known, they could have bathed together earlier—it would have ended up this way anyway.
After helping her bathe, the little fox didn’t immediately carry her out. Instead, he leaned back against the edge of the pool, his neck tense, veins faintly visible, and his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed.
Sang Dai asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
In a hoarse voice, Su Xuan replied, “Give me a moment.”
Sang Dai thought he was injured and quickly lifted her head to ask, “Are you feeling unwell? Did the tribulation damage your meridians?”
The little fox covered his eyes with one hand and laughed, his body trembling with each chuckle, causing Sang Dai to tremble along with him.
Frowning, she asked, “Are you really feeling that bad? Let me check for you, alright?”
Suddenly, Su Xuan lowered his hand and looked at her. Neither of them were wearing clothes. Sang Dai’s dark hair partially draped over her chest, obscuring most of her form. The half-covered, half-revealed appearance, combined with her innocent and worried expression, made her look especially captivating.
The little fox’s throat felt dry and hoarse.
She truly was impossibly pure.
【It just feels too good.】
Sang Dai: “?”
【So good that I’m struggling to recover.】
Sang Dai: “…”
She slapped him. “Can you have some shame for once?!”
Su Xuan took the opportunity to pull the furious sword cultivator into his arms, his face still wearing that irreverent smile.
“I didn’t even say anything, why are you scolding me?”
Sang Dai: “…”
Su Xuan slightly lowered his head, looked into her eyes, and said, “Darling, why do you always scold me? I clearly didn’t say anything.”
Sang Dai’s hair stood on end, and her heart leapt to her throat.
She had slipped up too many times.
Su Xuan’s glazed eyes half-squinted, and for a moment, Sang Dai thought he had really figured it out.
She hurriedly turned her head away, refusing to look at him. “No, I’m just… just a little shy… bathing together like this…”
Su Xuan let out a muffled chuckle and hugged the sword cultivator, planting a few kisses on her.
His sweetheart was just too easy to fool. She had already given herself away long ago, yet she hadn’t realized it herself.
Leaning against the edge of the hot spring, Su Xuan held Sang Dai in his arms, facing her. The little fox had one arm wrapped around her waist while the other hand rubbed her knee underwater.
Sang Dai was completely oblivious because she was too nervous.
She avoided looking at Su Xuan, but Su Xuan kept looking at her.
He had guessed a few things, things that sounded somewhat absurd.
Sang Dai could hear his thoughts, and this had started after the great battle four months ago.
When they made eye contact, she could hear his thoughts; when they didn’t, she couldn’t.
Moreover, she could only hear his thoughts. She had never been one to stare into other people’s eyes for that long.
As for anything else…
There didn’t seem to be any.
Su Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
At first, he wanted to come clean and let her confess on her own.
But now, it seemed like not confessing was even better.
He could tease her all he wanted.
He was a mischievous fox, with no sense of morality.
Sang Dai pushed him. “I want to get out…”
Their eyes met.
[So good.]
Sang Dai: “?”
[Having Dai Dai sitting on me feels so good.]
Sang Dai: “…”
[Dai Dai smells good everywhere, even there. I’ll kiss her more tonight.]
Sang Dai: “Su Xuan, you’re absolutely shameless!”
Liu Lixue came out munching on an apple, only to see their future Sovereign’s wife storming out the door, her face flushed, her black hair half-damp, and her clothing ties knotted into dead loops—seemingly thrown on in a hurry.
He was taken aback, and when he approached the door, he saw their Sovereign leisurely putting on his outer robe.
Leaning against the doorframe and biting into his apple lazily, Liu Lixue asked, “What happened to Miss Sang?”
Su Xuan, with his back to him, replied indifferently, “Nothing, I said something that upset her.”
Liu Lixue was incredulous. “Miss Sang has such a good temper—what could you have possibly said to make her angry—”
Su Xuan turned around and seriously replied, “Some sweet words.”
Liu Lixue stared at the slap mark on Su Xuan’s left cheek and fell silent.
The kind of sweet words that would lead to a slap was self-evident.
He watched as his Sovereign continued to smile, contentedly tying his hair, his peacock-like pride unmistakable.
It seemed the Beast Realm might really be under Sang Dai’s control in the future.
After tidying himself up, Su Xuan prepared to chase after his little sword cultivator but doubled back as he passed Liu Lixue.
The peacock asked, “Does the Sovereign have something to say?”
The little fox replied, “Send the order back: prepare the Bond-Forming Ceremony according to what we previously discussed. Make it as grand as possible, and invite all the big names from the Four Realms.”
The peacock asked, “Has Miss Sang agreed?”
The little fox, looking extremely proud, said, “She agreed!”
The peacock gave him a thumbs up.
In just four months, he had accomplished what he hadn’t managed in a hundred and twenty years.
Their Sovereign truly was efficient—a vixen had to have the skills of a vixen.
—
Sang Dai knocked on the door.
After a long moment, the person inside responded, “Come in.”
Sang Dai pushed the door open and entered.
Ying Heng had just woken up not long ago. His black hair was disheveled, and the injuries on his body had been bandaged by Liu Lixue. He was wearing a set of new clothes, which must have been purchased by Liu Lixue.
“Dai Dai?” Ying Heng said with a smile. “Chunying said someone was knocking on the door, and I guessed it must be you.”
Sang Dai looked at the sword cultivator sitting on the chair.
He was still the same as before, yet noticeably thinner. The white robe he wore hung loosely on him, whether because he had lost weight or because the clothes were too big.
Sang Dai walked forward and crouched slightly in front of him, asking softly, “Master, did you sleep well?”
Ying Heng reached out and gently patted her head.
“Master slept very well—it was the best sleep I’ve had in days.”
Sang Dai held his hand and pressed her cheek to his palm.
Even though Ying Heng had no sensation in his hands, relying entirely on Chunying’s guidance in his sea of consciousness, her tears fell, landing on his palm. “Master, I’ve been looking for you for so long.”
The smile on Ying Heng’s lips faded slightly.
Sang Dai continued to communicate through sound transmission: “They all bullied me—poisoned me, took my blood, tried to strip my spiritual root, and threw me onto the battlefield. The Immortal Alliance even issued a kill order against me. You weren’t by my side.”
She rarely voiced her grievances, as though she calmly accepted all of it.
But when she saw Ying Heng in person, her mind was overwhelmed with all the bitterness she had endured.
It was like when she would tell Su Xuan about her grievances and injustices. Once the person she trusted appeared, she found her sense of security.
Ying Heng’s voice was hoarse. “Dai Dai… it’s Master’s fault…”
But he remembered nothing—he didn’t remember why he left Sang Dai, didn’t remember if it was he who destroyed the Guixu Spiritual Vein, didn’t remember who killed everyone at the Cangwu Daoist Temple.
That man in black had told him he couldn’t meet Sang Dai, that his presence would bring her calamity.
Yet after hearing from the man in black about everything Sang Dai had suffered over the years, he had sat alone in the cave for a long time.
He thought for a long time.
He wondered if his departure, which was meant to protect his disciple, had truly been the right thing to do if it had still led her to suffer so much.
He thought that perhaps he could just take a look at Sang Dai—from a distance, just a single glance. Once he confirmed she was doing well, he would leave.
But he hadn’t expected Sang Dai to be surrounded and attacked.
In such a moment, Ying Heng could not leave her.
“Master.” Sang Dai rested her cheek on his knee and whispered, “I will help you recover the memories you’ve lost. I will clear your name. In the past, you protected your disciple; now it’s your disciple’s turn to protect you.”
Ying Heng, unaware of himself, did not realize that tears had fallen from his eyes, nor that his disciple was crying as well.
He knew Sang Dai was very strong now—strong enough to stand on her own.
Ying Heng responded with a faint smile, “Alright, then Dai Dai will protect her master.”
Sang Dai wiped away her tears and raised her head to look at Ying Heng’s hollow eyes.
Her heart ached, but at the same time, it felt full.
He had truly returned—her last remaining family member.
Sang Dai lifted a smile and said, “I told him I would bring him to meet you, Master. Earlier, there wasn’t a chance to speak. Are you willing to meet him now?”
Ying Heng asked warmly, “That child?”
“Mm,” Sang Dai replied. “The person I like.”
At first, Ying Heng thought they were already married, but then Sang Dai told him they hadn’t formed a bond yet.
He patted Sang Dai’s head and said, “Let him in. Master will meet him.”
“Alright, he’s just outside.”
Sang Dai stood up and opened the door. The little fox stood somewhat nervously outside.
She had already sensed his presence earlier.
The sword cultivator was still sulking about him, especially after his shameless behavior earlier. Now, Sang Dai could only avert her gaze and avoid looking at him.
“Come in,” the sword cultivator said softly.
Su Xuan hesitated, torn between coaxing his precious darling first or greeting her elder.
But as Ying Heng’s hollow gaze, guided by Chunying, turned toward him, the answer became clear.
He had to meet this elder first.
Hurriedly straightening up, Su Xuan stepped inside and stood before Ying Heng.
“Greetings, Immortal Lord.”
Sang Dai raised an eyebrow, her gaze silently questioning him: Didn’t you call him ‘Master’ so smoothly before?
The little fox’s ears turned red: I don’t dare—I’m afraid it would be disrespectful.
It was the first time Sang Dai had seen Su Xuan so timid, and her anger toward him suddenly dissipated.
Ying Heng smiled faintly and reached out, groping to find him. Sang Dai was startled and instinctively looked at Su Xuan.
She remembered that Su Xuan disliked being touched by others.
The little fox, however, took the initiative to half-crouch, allowing Ying Heng to smoothly place his hand on his shoulder.
Ying Heng patted his shoulder like an elder, saying, “I know. Dai Dai told me. You’re Su Xuan, the Beast King and an awakened Heaven-grade fire spiritual root cultivator.”
Su Xuan replied, “I am.”
“How long have you known Dai Dai?”
“One hundred and twenty years.”
“…That long? And how long have you two been together?”
“Well…” The little fox glanced at Sang Dai, looking a little guilty, and said, “Not long… a little over a month.”
Counting from their first kiss at the Chunqiu Pavilion, it had been a little over a month.
In Su Xuan’s mind, the first kiss naturally marked the start of their relationship.
Ying Heng seemed surprised at how short it was and paused for a moment. Both Sang Dai and Su Xuan grew nervous, worried he might find something inappropriate.
Then Ying Heng suddenly chuckled and asked, “A little over a month… have you both decided to spend your lives together?”
Faced with an unexpected question, Sang Dai and Su Xuan were momentarily stunned.
Ying Heng continued, “Bond-Forming isn’t something to agree to blindly in the heat of passion. Do you truly understand each other? Can you walk hand in hand for a lifetime? A cultivator’s life is long, and many things can happen along the way. Can your relationship withstand the test of time?”
“It can!”
Before Ying Heng could finish, Su Xuan responded decisively.
Sang Dai turned to look at him.
Su Xuan took a deep breath to steady himself, then knelt before Ying Heng, clasping his hands and bowing deeply.
“This junior promises you: for my entire life, I will stay by her side. I will never waver. No matter what the future holds—be it life or death—I will be with her. If she lives, I live; if she dies, I die. I’ve already stayed by her for a hundred years, and I can continue for thousands upon thousands more.”
Ying Heng was stunned. “Child, you…”
“This junior wishes to formally ask for your disciple Sang Dai’s hand in marriage. My bride price is the entire Beast Realm. I can swear a life-and-death contract, ensuring I will never betray her, that I will live and die with her, and grow old together.”
Su Xuan lowered his head and knocked it firmly against the green bricks in a solemn kowtow.
Sang Dai looked at him in a daze. Su Xuan had never bowed to anyone before.
The little fox, with a serious demeanor, had shed his usual playful attitude. His silver hair fell loosely over his shoulders.
“Immortal Lord, I ask for your permission to marry her.”