Two years. That was exactly when the Guixu spiritual vein was destroyed.
Sang Dai nearly rushed forward. With one sword strike, she severed all the golden threads that pierced through Su Xuan’s body.
The two chains were made of mysterious iron, but they shattered under the sword light of the world’s number one sword, Zhiyu.
Losing the support of the chains, Su Xuan collapsed forward. Sang Dai knelt down to catch him. The boy’s chin crashed heavily into her shoulder, causing his injuries to flare up, and he let out a muffled grunt of pain.
Although he was just a young man, the Nine-Tailed Fox clan was known for their outstanding height from a young age. He was much taller and heavier than her, and Sang Dai almost had to use all her strength to hold him up.
Su Xuan didn’t even have the strength to raise his hand. Breathing in the fragrance of the girl beside him, he gritted his teeth and spat angrily: “Let go of me, go away!”
Sang Dai bit her lip and carried him: “It’s rare to see a Heaven-grade spiritual root fall to this point. If you stay here, you’ll die.”
“Why do you care?”
“Are you willing?”
The boy fell silent.
Sang Dai turned her head, her eyes red, clearly having cried for a long time.
Her expression was cold, and she spoke in a calm voice: “Are you willing? Clearly, you are a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener. You could have become a powerful being in the Four Realms, yet you’re locked up here. They cut open your body, using your blood and flesh to supply those demon cultivators with cultivation power. They take these demon cultivators to wage wars, the Beast Realm suffers heavy losses, and you die in a place no one knows about. Your whole life has been nothing but exploitation.”
“Su Xuan, are you willing? You are a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener, a gift bestowed upon this world by Guixu. No one has the right to treat you this way.”
Is he willing?
He is not willing.
Locked up here, in the days filled with darkness, only the golden threads drained his blood. Only the sharp blades constantly slashed his body. They cursed him, brainwashed him, telling him that as a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener, he should sacrifice himself for the Four Realms.
But she said he was a gift.
Su Xuan did not struggle, did not reject, and did not agree.
The girl tried time and again to lift him, but she could not move him because of his injuries.
It wasn’t until much later that Su Xuan suddenly spoke: “Take me and run. The Beast Realm will hunt you down.”
Sang Dai, covered in his blood, looked at him coldly: “But aren’t there still the other Three Realms? If not, I’ll take you to the Immortal Realm. Our Immortal Realm wouldn’t sacrifice cultivators like this.”
At that time, she trusted the Immortal Realm the most.
Su Xuan lowered his eyes, silent for a long time. After Sang Dai failed again to lift him, he shrank his body and turned into a tiny Nine-Tailed Fox cub.
Sang Dai promised, “I’ll take you away.”
She took clean clothes from her Qiankun bag, wrapped the Nine-Tailed Fox in them, and with the little fox in her arms, she rode her sword and ran at full speed.
Blood continued to flow from Su Xuan’s body, staining her clothes. Su Xuan thought, this beautiful clothing is being soiled by him. If he gets the chance, he will make it up to her.
Su Xuan didn’t like owing anyone.
Not long after Su Xuan was rescued, the Twelve Palaces sent people to investigate and discovered the escape. The elders of the Twelve Palaces were both frantic and furious, dispatching troops to hunt them down.
Su Xuan coldly said: “Put me down, I will escape on my own. You should return to the Immortal Realm.”
Sang Dai gritted her teeth, looking at the Nine-Tailed Fox in her arms: “I told you, little fox, can you shut up? Don’t you know that every time you speak, you’re spitting blood?”
Su Xuan was choked.
But Sang Dai’s expression remained calm as she changed into a new set of clothes and picked him up again.
Su Xuan awkwardly said: “No need for new clothes, your clothes are already dirty.”
Sang Dai, while running toward the Immortal Realm, said: “I may be poor, but I’m not to the point of not being able to afford a change of clothes.”
They dared not take the main roads, so Sang Dai had to lead him along winding mountain paths, leaving false traces to mislead the elders of the Twelve Palaces.
Sang Dai was too clever. The false markings she left caused the elders of the Twelve Palaces to waste time and miss them several times, buying them a lot of time.
At that time, neither of them had reached Core Formation, and they could not teleport. They had to take detours, so the Immortal Realm, which should have been reached in ten days, now took much longer.
The sword cultivator treated the little fox very well, giving him the best pills, wiping the bloodstains from his body every day, never leaving the little fox’s side.
Su Xuan said many times: “Put me down, you can go on your own.”
Sang Dai always replied fiercely: “Please shut up, I will never leave you behind.”
She would never, ever, abandon her friend.
Sang Dai kept saying this.
The little fox was the first friend of the sword cultivator.
At first, Sang Dai carried the little fox as she ran, but gradually, the little fox’s injuries healed on their own, and he transformed into a tall young man.
His bare upper body was smooth and toned, with flowing silver hair like silk. After being nurtured by the sword cultivator for nearly half a month, even his hair had become shinier, and most of his wounds had scabbed over. As a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener, his self-healing abilities were exceptional.
Sang Dai, with a flushed face, tossed her clothes to him: “You… you wear them—”
Su Xuan smiled mockingly and took a few steps closer to her: “You want me to wear your clothes? Do you think they’ll fit me?”
Sang Dai turned her head away, her ears burning red. Sensing his closeness, she instinctively pushed him: “I’ll go buy you clothes!”
Her palm landed on his chest, right over his heart. She could distinctly feel his warm body temperature and the rapid, irregular beating of his heart.
Both of them froze.
Sang Dai: “I didn’t mean to!”
She quickly withdrew her hand, opened the window, and then jumped straight out from the third floor.
“Sang Dai!”
Su Xuan was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He quickly leaned over the window, only to see her figure disappearing into the crowd, running away like a rabbit.
It’s fine, it’s fine, he thought.
He let out a breath of relief, but as the cold wind blew against him, he suddenly became aware of the chaotic beating of his own heart—and the two silver ears that had sprouted on his head.
The little fox thought, the sword cultivator is really…
…cute.
The sword cultivator bought clothes for the little fox, and he changed into a spirited young man. His silver hair was tied into a ponytail, and his handsome, striking features made him impossible to ignore.
He looked so good.
Sang Dai gulped down an entire pot of water, while Su Xuan, seemingly oblivious to the sword cultivator’s shyness, sat down beside her.
The little fox awkwardly said: “The people from the Beast Realm haven’t caught up yet. My spiritual power has recovered a lot, so I can fight alongside you. You… you can rest easy. I’ll keep watch from now on.”
The sword cultivator buried herself in the blanket, responding with a muffled voice: “If anything happens, you have to wake me up.”
The little fox took a sip of water and nodded: “Mm.”
The sword cultivator remained silent for a moment, then said: “Good night, little fox.”
The little fox responded: “…Good night.”
The boy glanced at the bulging quilt on the bed. After a long while, he suddenly lowered his head and smiled softly.
His voice was very quiet:
“Sang Dai.”
Good night.
The next morning, the sword cultivator and the little fox set off again on their journey of escape.
The road to the Immortal Realm was far, far too long, so the little fox transformed into a large fox and carried the sword cultivator on his back.
“You can sleep. I’ll carry you home.”
Sang Dai held tightly onto his tail, reassured: “Alright, then wake me up when you’re tired, and I’ll use my sword to carry you.”
“Alright.”
In truth, Su Xuan never once woke Sang Dai, whether it was during the night watch or while traveling during the day.
The journey home was long, but fortunately, the people from the Beast Realm never caught up.
They didn’t find it strange; they just thought they had shaken off their pursuers and were relieved.
At that time, they were both too young, not understanding what scheming meant, not knowing what—
Waiting for the rabbit by the tree stump.
The sword cultivator and the little fox traveled together, awkwardly yet carefully taking care of each other.
On the thirtieth day, they finally entered the borders of the Immortal Realm.
Sang Dai looked at the towering mountains in the distance, shrouded in mist, her emotions so overwhelming that she almost teared up.
“Look, that’s Tianque Mountain, the territory of the Sword Sect. I am the young lady of the Sword Sect. Trust me, I will protect you!”
“The Immortal Alliance is fair and reasonable. You haven’t participated in the war between the Beast Realm and the Immortal Realm, and as a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener, the matter of sacrificing spiritual veins will not be tolerated by anyone. They will surely protect you.”
“Once you join the Sword Sect, we can fight evil together. I hope there will be no more wars in this world, and that your Beast Realm will never fight with our Immortal Realm again.”
Everything seemed so beautiful.
During that month, Su Xuan heard her speak countless times about how just the Immortal Alliance was, how kind the senior brothers and sisters of the Sword Sect were to her.
He also trusted the Immortal Realm.
Sang Dai held his hand and brought him to the inn at the foot of the mountain. After settling him in, she said: “The Sword Sect has protective mountain formations. You, as a demon, cannot enter. Wait here while I go inform my parents. Mid-Autumn is in a month, we can go together to celebrate. How about that?”