Sang Dai had just stepped out the door when she saw Su Xuan waiting outside.
He was lazily leaning against the railing of the corridor. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he glanced in her direction.
The Beast King’s attire today was more subdued—a plain black robe. Compared to his previously flamboyant and ostentatious clothing, today’s outfit was indeed much simpler.
Sang Dai was surprised. “Do we have something to do today?”
Su Xuan straightened up and started walking downstairs. “We’ll be heading to the Burning Heaven Realm later.”
Sang Dai followed his steps. “Haven’t those people found the Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root yet?”
Su Xuan: “No.”
This time, only the Sword Sect and their group had withdrawn from the Burning Heaven Realm, but the Beast Realm and other sects probably hadn’t given up on the Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root and were likely still searching in the realm.
Sang Dai understood.
She thought Su Xuan was heading directly to the Burning Heaven Realm. When they reached the ground floor and were about to walk straight outside, she saw a certain fox suddenly change direction, leisurely taking a seat in the corner of the main hall.
Sang Dai: “…Su Xuan?”
“Miss Sang, come and sit down!”
Someone waved at her.
It was then Sang Dai noticed that Su Xuan was seated across from someone dressed in an eye-catching red robe. It was none other than Liu Lixue.
He seemed to be enjoying his meal, holding a drumstick in one hand while sipping porridge from a bowl with the other.
Su Xuan glanced at Sang Dai. “Sit.”
Straightforward and concise.
[Dai Dai must be hungry. You can’t enter the Burning Heaven Realm on an empty stomach. Once we return to the Beast Realm, I’ll make something delicious for Dai Dai. For now, she’ll have to make do here.]
Sang Dai: “…”
She felt helpless. In truth, cultivators could refrain from eating after severing their mortal needs. Eating was more for the pleasure of taste than necessity.
She was about to sit down when she saw Su Xuan pull a chair closer to his side.
Sang Dai: “?”
Su Xuan: “Sit here. The spot you chose will have dishes served later, which would be inconvenient.”
Sang Dai: “…Alright.”
Without a word, Su Xuan pushed the bowl of porridge in front of him closer to her and said indifferently, “If people see how thin you are, they might think I’ve been mistreating you.”
Opposite them, Liu Lixue chuckled while eating and threw Sang Dai a teasing look. Just as he was about to speak to make fun of her, Su Xuan stuffed a bun into his mouth.
The Demon Lord cast him a cold glance, and Liu Lixue immediately put down his drumstick, picked up the bun, and motioned at his mouth with his hand to show that he would remain silent.
Sang Dai stared quietly at the bowl of porridge in front of her.
“Not to your liking?”
“…No, it’s fine,” she replied softly. “I just feel like you seem to really enjoy eating.”
Back at the Spirit Beast Hall, no matter how busy he was, he would always make time to eat with her every day.
Even now, here at Bairen Alley, he hadn’t missed a single meal.
Su Xuan: “…”
Liu Lixue: “Pfft.”
Unable to hold it in, he stifled a laugh.
Meanwhile, Sang Dai had quietly finished half a bowl of porridge, her lips curving slightly upward, as though she was in a good mood.
Su Xuan’s expression froze. He shot a vicious glare at Liu Lixue, who immediately lowered his head and focused on gnawing at his chicken drumstick, suppressing his laughter.
In a gruff attempt to save face, Su Xuan muttered, “I was merely keeping you company for meals. You’re so thin—if word got out, people might say that I, the Beast Realm, am mistreating prisoners.”
Sang Dai nodded. “Alright, I understand.”
Su Xuan: “…”
It was clear to him that she hadn’t taken his words seriously.
While the Beast King was still feeling awkward, the swordsman made his move.
A chicken drumstick was suddenly placed into his bowl.
Su Xuan: “…What’s this? Do you want me to peel it for you?”
Though his tone was cold, before he even finished speaking, his body reacted faster than his brain. He picked up the drumstick and was already reaching for his chopsticks to remove the skin.
Sang Dai quickly stopped him in a soft voice. “No, no need to remove the skin.”
Su Xuan: “…What?”
Realizing how instinctively he had acted, his expression darkened again. He tossed the drumstick back into the bowl.
Damn it, his body always reacted faster than his brain whenever Sang Dai was involved.
Sang Dai pushed the bowl back toward him and said, “I gave you a chicken drumstick. You should eat more.”
After a pause, she added, “Don’t foxes like chicken?”
That’s what Sang Dai had heard.
Nine-tailed foxes were still foxes, so they should like chicken, right?
Liu Lixue couldn’t hold it in any longer. He burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as his voice rang out loudly.
Fortunately, Su Xuan had reserved the entire inn. At the moment, the building was occupied only by their small group.
In the past, Su Xuan might have lost his temper, but today was different.
Amid his silver hair, two ears suddenly popped out, twitching with excitement. His hand, resting on the table, curled into a fist.
For a moment, Sang Dai’s mind went completely silent—so quiet it made her uncomfortable.
She thought she must have said something wrong.
“Su Xuan, do you not like it? Sorry, then I’ll eat it.”
As she spoke, she reached out to pick up the chicken drumstick from his bowl to place it into hers. Before her chopsticks even touched it, a loud voice reverberated in her mind.
[Dai Dai!!!]
Sang Dai’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled.
[Dai Dai gave me a chicken drumstick! Is this just a chicken drumstick? No, this is Dai Dai’s love!]
Sang Dai: “I…”
[Even though I don’t like chicken, this isn’t just any chicken. This is chicken chosen by Dai Dai! Dai Dai, Dai Dai, Dai Dai—I love it so much, I want to kiss her!]
Sang Dai turned her head away, her cheeks burning hot. “I’m eating now. If you’re not going to eat it, just throw it away.”
She buried her head in her porridge, completely ignoring Su Xuan. She didn’t dare to meet his eyes, afraid that his thoughts might once again veer into an unmentionable direction.
The world finally quieted down, leaving only Liu Lixue’s barely-contained laughter.
Su Xuan, for once, ignored him, appearing indifferent as he picked up his chopsticks.
“I paid for this. Why would I throw it away? Does Miss Sang not know how hard money is to earn and how precious food is?”
Yet the pair of fox ears atop his head twitched happily, giving away his true emotions.
Sang Dai: “…”
Clearly, he could afford meals worth thousands of spirit stones, lavish feasts spread across large tables, and yet here he was, saying such things. She didn’t know how to respond.
She continued eating in silence, while Su Xuan quietly finished the “love” placed in his bowl by the swordsman.
The meal progressed slowly as always. Sang Dai was a naturally slow eater, which in turn slowed down both Liu Lixue and Su Xuan.
Half an hour later, Sang Dai finally put down her chopsticks and took out a silk handkerchief to dab at the corners of her mouth.
“Are we going to the Burning Heaven Realm now?”
Su Xuan also set down his chopsticks. “First, we’re going somewhere else.”
Sang Dai: “…Where?”
Liu Lixue snapped his fingers. “We’re going to chat with an old acquaintance.”
Sang Dai: “An acquaintance?”
—
Half an hour later.
Standing outside a familiar iron gate, Sang Dai tilted her head back, looking at the gate and the trembling ghost cultivators guarding it. She fell silent.
She understood Su Xuan’s intentions.
“You want to question Fu You?”
“Mm.”
At this moment, Sang Dai had also pieced together Su Xuan’s plan.
The Soul-Seizing Technique inflicted significant damage on the divine soul, especially after Su Xuan ascended to the Grand Ascension Stage. The Soul-Seizing Technique he cast became even more powerful. Last night, Sang Dai hadn’t been able to ask many questions before Ji Cang succumbed to the damage to his soul and fell unconscious, leaving her with no further answers.
However, Su Xuan managed to extract more information. Using his spiritual power, he sustained Fu You’s soul, preventing him from passing out and forcing him to remain conscious for questioning.
It turned out that the Immortal Velvet Grass and the Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root were indeed auctioned off in Bairen Alley by Fu You and Ji Cang of their own accord, but they had done so under someone’s instructions.
Su Xuan explained, “Last night, I cast Soul-Seizing on Fu You. He revealed that Ji Cang attacked the Immortal Realm because of the Kongsang Realm. He was searching for something there—namely, the Immortal Velvet Grass and the Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root.”
He lowered his gaze to look at the swordsman beside him. “But it wasn’t as we initially thought. We assumed Ying Heng appeared in the Kongsang Realm and that Ji Cang extracted Ying Heng’s Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root and Immortal Velvet Grass.”
Sang Dai replied, “So, someone else extracted my master’s Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root, took away the Immortal Velvet Grass, and then placed them in the Kongsang Realm, informing Ji Cang and Fu You about it?”
Su Xuan nodded. “Yes.”
“Does this mysterious third party know where my master is?”
“Correct.”
But it seemed that only this third party held that knowledge.
Sang Dai found another point puzzling. “Why did Fu You and Ji Cang put the Immortal Velvet Grass and Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root up for auction? And why did they obey the orders of that shadowy figure? After all, both of them possess Heaven-Grade Spiritual Roots—they have no need for these items. Why start a war with the Immortal Realm over them, causing so much death and destruction?”
From the side, Liu Lixue chimed in, “Miss Sang, that’s something we’ll have to ask them ourselves.”
He was the first to step inside, dressed in bold red robes, striding flamboyantly as the ghost cultivators on guard didn’t dare to stop him.
Su Xuan said, “Fu You couldn’t hold out last night and eventually passed out. Let’s go in and ask him.”
“Alright.”
As they entered Fu You’s residence with Su Xuan, the remnants of destruction greeted their eyes—collapsed stone walls, shattered pavilions, and the charred remains of tree branches. What was once a serene and elegant estate now resembled a battlefield, littered with ruins.
Seeing this, Sang Dai could immediately tell that Fu You must hate Su Xuan to death.
This man was utterly obsessed with wealth, and the losses caused by Su Xuan burning everything to the ground must have cost an astronomical sum to repair.
Following Su Xuan, they made their way to the innermost courtyard of the estate. The multi-story pavilion that once stood there had been blasted to ruins, with scorch marks from hellfire still visible on the ground.
In one corner of the yard crouched a figure. Behind him stood a ghostly maid dressed in servant attire, staring at them with terrified eyes.
“City… City Lord… t-they, they, they’re here again!”
Liu Lixue unfolded his fan with a swish, smiling as he spoke, “We, we, we, we… what? We’ve simply come to have a chat with the City Lord. Just a friendly visit between old friends.”
The maid looked as if she were about to cry. “City Lord, they’re back again!”
It was then that Sang Dai noticed who was crouching in the corner.
Fu You.
His clothing, once worth thousands of high-grade spirit stones, was now in tatters, torn to shreds by Su Xuan’s assault. His wounds still flickered faintly with ghost flames.
And this Heaven-Grade Spiritual Root possessor, a mighty expert in ghost cultivation, and the City Lord of Bairen Alley…
At this moment, he was crouched in the corner, in front of a shattered porcelain jar, cradling…
…a fish?
Well, grilled fish was still fish, after all.
It seemed… the fish had been burned by Su Xuan’s hellfire last night.
Sang Dai paused for a moment.
There was a faint voice in the air, intermittent and faintly audible.
Sang Dai furrowed her brows, as though she caught bits of it.
“Silver-Patterned Autumn Carp… my Silver-Patterned Autumn Carp… I haven’t even eaten it yet…”
Sang Dai: “…”
The Silver-Patterned Autumn Carp was even more expensive than the South Sea Winter Fish she had once eaten. Due to its rarity and its ability to enhance cultivation, it was highly sought after by those preparing to undergo tribulations. A single fish could sell for tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones.
That roasted fish… was clearly the Silver-Patterned Autumn Carp Fu You had purchased.
Su Xuan said nothing, standing there coldly, watching as Fu You cradled the fish and silently wept, his expression particularly indifferent and emotionless.
Liu Lixue shook his head and stepped behind Fu You, rolling up his sleeves.
…And pulled out a bottle of seasoning.
He leisurely unscrewed the lid, sprinkled a generous amount of spices over the fish, and sighed. “Since our Sovereign Lord is here, and it hasn’t been dead for long, you might as well reheat it. Cold food is bad for the stomach.”
Fu You: “…”
He could only watch, helpless, as chili powder was sprinkled liberally over his prized Silver-Patterned Autumn Carp.
With quick hands, Liu Lixue grabbed the fish and walked over to Su Xuan, holding it out to him.
“Sovereign Lord, Miss Sang, this is highly nourishing and incredibly valuable. Care for a bite?”
Su Xuan glanced down. “It’s cold. I don’t eat cold food.”
Sang Dai: “Sorry, I don’t eat spicy food.”
Liu Lixue sighed dramatically. “Ah, then I suppose I’ll have to make the sacrifice myself.”
Just as he was about to take a bite, a cold gust of wind swept past him from behind. Liu Lixue swiftly dodged to the side.