When Su Xuan noticed that Sang Dai was missing, a certain sword cultivator had already left the Beast Hall.
She walked alone on the streets of the main city.
Without wearing the Nine Ring Hairpin, and having also taken off the Silver Feather, Su Xuan could not find her trace. Sang Dai did this on purpose, leaving the Nine Ring Hairpin behind to make the little fox panic.
That fox had really made her extremely angry today.
Sang Dai arrived at Liu Ying’s tomb, squatting down to wipe the tombstone clean.
It wasn’t really dirty, there was a barrier left by Su Xuan here, but Sang Dai still used a silk handkerchief to wipe away the non-existent dust bit by bit.
She took out the osmanthus cake and fruit tea that Su Xuan had given her earlier from her Qiankun pouch.
“I don’t know if you like these, but there is no other food in my Qiankun pouch.”
Sang Dai placed the tray in front of the tomb, swept the ground casually, and sat down on the floor.
She sat cross-legged, took the pot of tea, poured it into two cups, placing one next to the cake and the other in front of herself.
Su Xuan probably didn’t expect her to come here. He might have gone to the protective river of the Beast Realm, or perhaps to the city tower they had visited before, or maybe to the Divine Healer Valley. But he would never expect her to secretly come to Liu Ying’s tomb.
Sang Dai sat cross-legged, took a sip of tea.
“Lady Liu Ying, Su Xuan is still the same as when he was a child, arrogant and proud.”
She seemed to find this funny and smiled, her eyes curving: “When I first saw him, that little fox was only thirteen, so badly injured yet still coldly saying he was fine, his blood had stained several of my clothes.”
Su Xuan always remembered that when he was young, he had promised Sang Dai to compensate her for the clothes, so when he ascended the throne, the first gift he gave her was a skirt. Even though it was torn by her, even though Sang Dai never wanted to look at him, Su Xuan still made countless skirts for her.
“I know he cares about me.” Sang Dai lowered her head slightly, her voice growing softer: “I’m actually very scared, I know the Heavenly Dao wants to kill him, his thunder tribulation is the same as mine, I can actually guess the reason why the Weisheng family was exterminated.”
If it were for any other reason, Su Xuan would not have hidden it from her. The little fox would have certainly investigated it with her.
He secretly investigated the Weisheng family’s matter with Liu Lixue, but refused to tell her in person. Even when she was angry, he remained tight-lipped. Sang Dai could certainly see why.
The reason must be related to her.
“I know it’s because of me, because of that inexplicable ability of mine to be immune to the erosion of the Four Sufferings. Lady Liu Ying, actually, many things I can guess, although Su Xuan always lies to me, it’s always because I let him.”
“I know why he lies to me, I know everything is related to me.”
“I actually know everything.”
Her voice grew fainter, until it was completely drowned in the silence.
It was very quiet. Liu Ying’s tomb was rarely visited by anyone, and now there was only the sound of wind and the chirping of insects in the forest.
It wasn’t hard to guess; the extermination of the Weisheng family might have been because of her.
Senior Ling Yin said that Guixu would eventually be destroyed by Sang Dai. When Sang Dai crossed her tribulation, she heard something in the Weisheng contract seal:
— The Four Sufferings poison, the destruction of Guixu.
The Four Sufferings had eroded Guixu, and Sang Dai was the only cultivator immune to the Four Sufferings, so whatever happens in the future would lead to Sang Dai destroying Guixu.
If she destroyed Guixu, the Four Realms would kill her. Guixu was the foundation of the cultivation world; without Guixu, the Four Realms would soon face destruction.
Sang Dai’s identity may have been known by someone even before she was born, or perhaps when she was just born. The extermination of the Weisheng family might also be because of her—someone wanted to kill her, while the Weisheng family tried to protect her.
“Lady Liu Ying, if you were here, would you blame me for dragging Su Xuan into this mess? He could have lived well as the Beast King, but he got involved in all this because of me.”
This question couldn’t really be answered.
Sang Dai had never met Liu Ying, but from Su Xuan’s description, she could guess what kind of person Liu Ying was.
A gentle and lovely woman.
Sang Dai had never met her own mother, nor did she know what Weisheng Xuan looked like, whether she was like Liu Ying or not.
But she felt that Weisheng Xuan, like Liu Ying, loved her child deeply.
Weisheng Xuan also loved her.
She sat quietly for a long time, seemingly lost in thought.
In the blink of an eye, several hours passed.
It had been too long, and now the sky was already bright.
Sang Dai let out a self-mocking laugh: “Lady Liu Ying, now that he’s already involved, I’ll risk my life to protect him. Don’t worry.”
“I’ll live and die with him. I’ll try my best to make sure we both survive.” Sang Dai raised her head and smiled. “So, I need to make him change a little.”
“He can’t put himself before me, shielding me from so many things. I want us to trust each other completely, without reservation. Su Xuan should always trust me, not hide things from me and deal with matters that I should be taking on myself. I already owe him too much.”
Sang Dai sat for a while longer, getting up only after she had nearly finished the whole pot of tea.
“His mating period is tomorrow, I’ll form a contract with him, and we’ll share both joy and hardship. Today… I just wanted to scare him. After all, this little fox lied to me, and I don’t like him hiding things from me.”
She thought of the little fox, and her previously gloomy mood seemed to lighten suddenly.
The little fox must be looking for her now, probably very anxious, but who told him to hide things from her?
“I told him before that no matter what happens, he must tell me, we have to face it together. He didn’t do it, so Lady, I think it’s only fair that I give him a little punishment.”
The sword cultivator was rarely a bit playful, her voice teasing with a rising tone.
Sang Dai bent down to say goodbye: “Lady, I’m going to buy some things now. I’ll find him after I finish, you don’t need to worry.”
She turned and left, her light blue figure gradually disappearing into the deep forest.
—
The little fox was completely panicked.
Liu Lixue was dragged out in the middle of the night, quickly dressed, and hurried to the Beast Hall, where a figure came walking hurriedly toward him.
The black robe fluttered in the wind. His steps were large, and without Sang Dai around, he didn’t slow down to wait for others. Su Xuan was naturally the kind of person who acted swiftly and decisively.
“Master.”
“Did you send someone out to search for her?” Su Xuan asked urgently. “She’s been gone for too long.”
Liu Lixue was a bit helpless. “Master, Miss Sang is a Heavenly-grade Spiritual Root Awakener and a fully realized Grand Ascension cultivator. You know, if she wants to hide, we won’t be able to find her.”
The little fox’s expression was clearly panicked: “I… No, Dai Dai can’t leave me… We promised to get married…”
He stumbled, clearly flustered, and tried to bypass Liu Lixue to run out.
Liu Lixue turned around to stop him: “Where are you going? Your mating period is coming, and Miss Sang wouldn’t leave you.”
However, Su Xuan could not take in these words at the moment: “I made her angry, I shouldn’t have lied to her, I need to find her.”
He didn’t even say “this Sovereign” anymore, he was truly panicked.
Liu Lixue quickly moved in front of Su Xuan: “Where are you going to look for her? The Divine Healer Valley isn’t an option, the protective river isn’t, and the city tower has already been searched. She’s a fully realized Grand Ascension cultivator—if she wants to hide, you’ll never find her.”
Su Xuan’s breathing was irregular, and his emotions collapsed in an instant: “What should I do then? I finally waited for her to come to me, and now I just want to be by her side for the rest of my life. If she doesn’t want me, how will I live on?”
Liu Lixue didn’t understand why it had to come down to this question of living or not, but having grown up with Su Xuan, he could clearly feel the little fox’s anxiety and panic.
“Sovereign.” Liu Lixue stopped Su Xuan: “Miss Sang is very likely just upset with you. She definitely wouldn’t leave you over something so trivial. You’re about to get married. Can you trust her a bit more?”
Su Xuan, who was about to push Liu Lixue aside and leave, suddenly stopped.
Liu Lixue nodded at him, signaling him to calm down.
By this time, three hours had already passed since Sang Dai left. Su Xuan had searched the entire Beast Hall and sent people to the places where Sang Dai was most likely to go.
They still hadn’t found her. She seemed to have disappeared completely. How could he not know that Sang Dai was deliberately hiding?
She was hiding from him.
Su Xuan felt weak all over, his heart in chaos, as if he no longer had the strength to stand.
Before he had her, he only silently thought of her, but since she came to his side, since she allowed him to be close to her, to stay by her side, how could he possibly go back to a life without her after tasting the overwhelming satisfaction and joy of having her?
Liu Lixue suddenly patted his shoulder: “Master, trust Miss Sang. Today is your mating period. She will definitely come back.”
Su Xuan looked up in confusion, his face pale and his gaze fragile. “Will she really come back?”
Liu Lixue felt a complex mix of emotions inside, never expecting that Su Xuan would panic to the point of losing his rationality.
“She will.”
They, the outsiders, could see clearly how much Sang Dai cared for Su Xuan. Although their feelings for each other might not be entirely equal, they were deep and pure. Since Sang Dai had chosen to marry Su Xuan, unless that little fox betrayed her, she would never go back on her decision. How could she possibly abandon Su Xuan, who had already sworn a life-and-death contract with her?
At such a critical moment, during Su Xuan’s mating period.
The panic in his heart eased a little, and Su Xuan immediately felt weak. He staggered and nearly fell, hastily grabbing onto a nearby stone table.
“Sovereign Lord!”
As Liu Lixue’s fingers lightly brushed against Su Xuan’s wrist, he immediately felt the little fox’s surging spiritual energy.
The peacock, who had just been relaxed, suddenly turned cold: “Your mating period has arrived.”
Su Xuan had just realized it—what should have been a later eruption of his mating period had completely exploded after he found out that Sang Dai had left.
He tried to suppress it, but once he understood that Sang Dai wouldn’t leave him because of these things, the intense heat surged up powerfully, and he couldn’t control it at all.
The flush of red quickly spread across Su Xuan’s pale face, his eyes no longer clear, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, and the veins on his neck bulging.
“Sovereign Lord!”
Liu Lixue quickly used his spiritual energy to suppress the boiling meridians in Su Xuan’s body.
Su Xuan gasped for breath, “Dai Dai…”
His mind was filled with thoughts of Sang Dai. His mating period had arrived, and she had promised that she would form a contract with him during his mating period.
She had promised to be his wife and bind him with a twin soul marriage contract.
He seemed delirious, and Liu Lixue was anxious, fully aware of the severity of Su Xuan’s current mating period.
The Jiexin Herb had intensified his lustful energy. Forcefully suppressing it would backfire, especially since it had been suppressed for over a century.
“Master, you should go to the cave dwelling. I’ll immediately send people to search for Miss Sang!”
Su Xuan couldn’t even maintain his human form anymore. His silver hair was messily draped, and two furry ears stood upright on top of his head.
“Will she come back?” Su Xuan lifted his head to look at Liu Lixue, his voice full of desperation. “Will she really come back?”
Liu Lixue’s pupils trembled.
He answered firmly: “She will. She will definitely come back.”
Su Xuan was too scared and panicked. Any uncertainty was magnified in his mind.
But Liu Lixue knew, Sang Dai would absolutely come back. She would never abandon Su Xuan.
Su Xuan could no longer hold himself up, and Liu Lixue supported him: “Master, go to Zhenhua Crossing and wait for her. She will definitely return.”
The little fox was dazed and helpless, his body burning with boiling meridians, his vision spinning, and the road before him seemed to split into dozens of paths.
He turned and looked at the empty main hall.
A long time ago, here, Sang Dai had told him that she would always be by his side.
She had also promised him in front of Liu Ying’s tomb that she would treat him well.
Su Xuan staggered with each step, his mind growing more and more confused, but the words she said were still exceptionally clear.
— Su Xuan, always stay by my side. I will never leave you.
She had said that.
Sang Dai never lied.
—
The sky was just beginning to brighten, and there had been light rain that day.
Sang Dai went to a small hidden shop in an alley.
“Uncle Chen.” Sang Dai called several times at the door: “I’d like to buy some osmanthus cakes!”
She remembered that the old man had trouble hearing, as Su Xuan had once told her, so Sang Dai raised her voice.
She called seven or eight times, and finally, someone slowly emerged from the workshop inside.
Uncle Chen leaned closer to look, his graying brows slightly raised. “Ah, it’s Madam.”
Sang Dai didn’t expect him to remember her, and she smiled and nodded. “It’s me. I’m here to buy some osmanthus cakes.”
Uncle Chen opened the wooden barrier blocking the door and led her inside. “Madam, come sit for a while. The osmanthus cakes aren’t ready yet, you’ll have to wait a bit.”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
The shop was small but very clean, and Sang Dai could smell the rich fragrance of osmanthus.
She sat in the corner while Uncle Chen prepared the osmanthus cakes in the back.
Through a curtain, Sang Dai could see Uncle Chen’s busy figure.
She asked, “Uncle Chen, do you always open the shop this early?”
Uncle Chen smiled and replied, “Recently, it’s the Master’s mating period. Every year during his mating period, he comes to buy a lot of osmanthus cakes. I never know when he’ll come, so I’ve been staying here for the past few days, and my son helps me out. He’s gone home to rest now.”
Sang Dai was silent for a moment, surprised by the answer.
Uncle Chen continued, “Madam, the Master really likes you. The first time he came to my shop, he was only sixteen. At that time, he tried one of my osmanthus cakes, bought a whole bag, and left. A few days later, he suddenly came back and said he wanted to learn how to make them. I couldn’t bear to refuse.”
Sang Dai smiled and asked, “How did he do?”
“Master is very smart. Since Lady Liu Ying likes snacks, the Master was skilled with his hands from a young age, and his temperament is good.”