“No, I can’t live without you.” The little fox kissed the corner of her lips. “Dai Dai, we still have thousands and thousands of years, we both must live on.”
Sang Dai tilted her head and kissed the corner of his lips. “Mm, I promise you.”
She would live on. She didn’t want Su Xuan to die.
“Tonight, I will go to the Ghost Market’s Manxiang Pavilion. Hua Ling said I must go alone.”
Su Xuan didn’t respond, as if he were lost in thought.
Sang Dai poked his face and smiled softly to reassure him. “Are you worried about me?”
The little fox nodded. “I’m worried.”
Before Sang Dai could reply, he continued, “But I also trust you. Dai Dai is very strong. She can’t be killed.”
Sang Dai tugged at his silver hair, playing with it. “Su Xuan, I’ll go into the Manxiang Pavilion myself, you…”
She raised her gaze to meet Su Xuan’s. “You go find Wu Hanshu.”
Su Xuan asked, “You still want to investigate him?”
“Investigate the events of the Heroes’ Conference from back then,” Sang Dai said. “I thought about it carefully. The Heroes’ Conference had been held for a thousand years, but it was suddenly stopped three hundred years ago. My master, Wu Hanshu, my parents, and Master Tan Huai’s parents all attended that Heroes’ Conference. After that gathering, they barely saw each other. They were clearly close friends, but they avoided each other. Why?”
“This time, let’s just take action. I feel that Wu Hanshu is collaborating with the mastermind, but he doesn’t want to harm my master. So if I ask him directly, perhaps we can get an answer. I don’t want to waste any more time with them.”
Su Xuan nodded. “It is indeed suspicious. I’ll go find Wu Hanshu to investigate the Heroes’ Conference. As for you going to the Ghost Market alone… maybe you should have Tan Huai accompany you?”
Sang Dai smiled. “Master Tan Huai probably doesn’t have the time. He has his own things to take care of.”
Su Xuan only needed to think for a moment to understand what Sang Dai meant.
He embraced the sword cultivator and asked, “If you go by yourself, will you be able to handle it?”
Sang Dai nodded. “It’s nothing more than a fight. But… I actually think Hua Ling has something to tell me. If I don’t return after a day, come and find me.”
“Alright.”
The little fox kissed her forehead, his hand resting on the sword cultivator’s back gently stroking.
“Wear the Nine-Ring Hairpin. If something happens, I can locate you immediately.”
“Okay.”
“If we find the Chunying Sword, its sword spirit can sense its master’s location. That will make finding Lord Ying Heng much easier. Dai Dai, it’ll be over soon.”
Sang Dai nestled in his arms, inhaling the faint herbal scent on him, feeling the scorching warmth of his body enveloping her.
“Hmm, Su Xuan.”
The journey had truly not been easy. She had searched for Ying Heng for nearly a hundred years, wandering aimlessly, holding onto the possibility that Ying Heng might truly be dead.
Now, it seemed like they might finally meet. It seemed like she might really find Ying Heng.
What happened back then could all be clarified as long as she found Ying Heng.
None of them knew where that mastermind was hiding now. Since Shi Yao had worked with that person, what was she up to now? Along the way, it felt like traps had been laid out one after another, waiting for Sang Dai to fall into them.
Sang Dai tilted her head slightly. The little fox had his eyes closed, but his palm continued to gently pat her back.
In the past, she had investigated Ying Heng’s matter alone. Since a few months ago, he had been by her side.
No matter where they went, Su Xuan was always with her.
Sang Dai pursed her lips and smiled faintly, reaching out to touch his cheek. The sword cultivator’s hands bore the faint calluses left from sword practice, and the sensation was a bit ticklish. Su Xuan opened his eyes with a smile.
“What is it? Taking advantage of me?”
Su Xuan held her hand, rubbing his cheek lightly against her palm.
Sang Dai chuckled softly and asked, “Am I not allowed to?”
Su Xuan’s heart felt warm and soft. Sang Dai had truly changed so much from before. The old her lived like a rigid little scholar, and would never have said something so playful.
The little fox kissed her wrist. “You’re allowed to. Touch away, anywhere you want.”
Sang Dai’s face reddened, and she withdrew her hand. “No need.”
Su Xuan rolled over, pinning her down, and whimpered like a spoiled child. “Darling, can I kiss you a little longer?”
“Wasn’t the poison already suppressed?”
“It’s not because of the poison. I just want to kiss you.”
Sang Dai said nothing, but Su Xuan didn’t give her a chance to speak. He pinned the sword cultivator down and kissed her thoroughly.
She felt a little dazed, her neck slightly arched, sweat forming and then being wiped away by him. Her panting was soft and alluring. At times like this, the sword cultivator was very obedient, making her easy to coax.
As the little fox kissed her tender spots, he asked softly, “Will you stay with me?”
“…Mm.”
“Will you marry me?”
“…Mm.”
“Do you want to do it with me?”
“…Mm.”
“After we get married, I’ll do it with you.”
Su Xuan lightly bit down. Hearing the soft whimper of the sword cultivator, she pushed his shoulder and murmured in confusion, “It hurts.”
The little fox quickly let go, then picked her up and held her in his arms, gently kissing her while wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Dai Dai, just like this. If it hurts, tell me. If it feels good, tell me too. I want you to be happy. Don’t endure it for my sake.”
Sang Dai leaned against his shoulder, sitting in his arms, panting.
“…Mm.”
She noticed the little fox’s hand moving downward and was about to stop him, but then heard him whisper softly into her ear.
“I washed my hands. Let’s try again, okay? You should get used to it. This year, my mating season will be intense, and I’m afraid of hurting you.”
“The night is still young, Dai Dai. Stay with me?”
Sang Dai bit his shoulder, her body trembling. He had placed a luminous pearl in the bedchamber, just bright enough to illuminate the face of the sword cultivator.
Su Xuan turned his head to look at Sang Dai, who was leaning against his shoulder. Her eyes were closed, her chest heaving rapidly. When he applied pressure, she instinctively raised her hips to avoid it; when he was gentler, she whimpered and trembled.
So obedient, so pure—especially adorable.
“Does it hurt?”
“…Don’t ask.”
“Dai Dai, speak.”
“…It doesn’t hurt.”
If it didn’t hurt, then it must have been pleasurable enough to make her cry.
He gradually figured out some patterns—for example, where to touch to make the sword cultivator feel good, so he could please her better.
And what kind of strength would hurt her, so he could avoid it.
Su Xuan leaned down to kiss her lips, his hands never stopping. Sang Dai’s panting was swallowed by him.
The cold and aloof sword cultivator, once detached from worldly affairs, had been pulled into the dust by him. Su Xuan felt no guilt about it; instead, he was overjoyed.
The heights were too cold. His Dai Dai shouldn’t live up there all alone.
When Sang Dai reached the peak of ecstasy in his hands, her tears wouldn’t stop flowing, and her body felt powerless. She weakly sat in his arms, her two slender legs trembling as they wrapped around his waist.
Su Xuan chuckled, grabbed a nearby inner robe, and casually wiped his hands. In a soft voice, he said, “Our Dai Dai is so pure, so sensitive.”
Sang Dai wanted to argue that it was because of his endless tricks, but she didn’t even have the strength to speak. She could only glare at him “fiercely.”
“So beautiful. Even glaring at me, you’re this cute.”
His shamelessness left Sang Dai at a loss for words. She turned her head away, frustrated.
She couldn’t outargue him, nor could she bring herself to hit him. Sang Dai found herself completely helpless against him.
Su Xuan kissed the shell of her ear, his voice soft and gentle: “Dai Dai, I will take responsibility.”
Sang Dai said nothing.
“For everything I’ve done, I will take responsibility. As soon as you agree to marry me, I’ll send out invitations and have Liu Lixue organize the ceremony. We’ll immediately merge our fates.”
The back of Sang Dai’s head faced him, but her gaze fell on the small garment thrown to the side.
From her undergarments to her outerwear, everything had been prepared by him. Su Xuan had always been meticulous in taking care of her.
Sang Dai herself lived in a muddled and careless way, taking life as it came, but Su Xuan had always treated her with the utmost care, never once slacking. It was as if he was making up, bit by bit, for everything she lacked at the Sword Sect.
She suddenly turned around and locked eyes with Su Xuan.
Her face was still noticeably flushed, and tears, forced out earlier by Su Xuan, still shimmered at the corners of her eyes.
He gently wiped them away for her.
Sang Dai suddenly spoke: “Su Xuan, I like you too.”
Although not as much as Su Xuan liked her, Sang Dai still liked him—very much.
She touched his face, her fingers lingering over his features.
“I won’t let you die. I will change everything. Su Xuan, you have to stay by my side always. I will soon give you a satisfactory answer. The feelings between us will definitely be fair.”
Su Xuan laid her on the bed, leaned over, and kissed her reddened lips.
Sang Dai wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back in small movements.
His silver hair fell onto her body, his ears stood upright on his head, and Sang Dai grabbed and rubbed them a couple of times.
The little fox struggled to breathe, biting down hard on her neck.
“Dai Dai, give me an answer faster. My mating season is really almost here. Without you this year, I will die.”
“…Alright.”
“Baby, help me just one more time, okay?”
“…I want to sleep.”
“It’ll only take a little while.”
“…Really?”
“Mm, really.”
An hour later, Sang Dai kicked him hard.
She was always being tricked by Su Xuan, yet the next time he acted spoiled, she’d immediately believe him again—tricked repeatedly, believing repeatedly, deceived again and again.
The little fox happily hugged Sang Dai, his tail wagging under the embroidered quilt, as if he wanted to wag it so much that it bloomed right in front of her.
“Dai Dai is so good, Dai Dai really cares for me.”
Sang Dai ignored him and muttered softly, “I’m going to sleep now. I still have things to do at midnight tonight.”
Su Xuan lightly pecked along her spine, then hugged Sang Dai from behind, using his tail as a cushion under her head.
“Sleep. I’ll stay with you.”
Sang Dai fell asleep quickly. When she felt safe, her guard would lower, and her heart would settle down almost immediately.
Su Xuan, however, felt no trace of sleepiness.
In just a single day, he and his sword cultivator had progressed to this point. Except for the final step, they had done everything. Su Xuan had previously thought it might not be possible to marry her this year, but now…
He glanced at the person in his arms.
This year, he would definitely marry her because Dai Dai was too soft-hearted.
The little fox held the person in his arms even tighter, unable to suppress the smile on his face.