Sang Dai knew about the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan’s mating season. Once they reached adulthood, they experienced it once a year, lasting a full month, during which their lust and affection for their dao companion would reach the utmost extreme.
The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan would typically start forming families after reaching adulthood. Most of them would have a family before the age of twenty, and from then on, they would no longer need to endure the heat alone but instead spend it together with their dao companion in their cave dwellings.
But Su Xuan, even after reaching adulthood, had never married. For so many years, he had endured the season alone year after year. As a demon cultivator at the Grand Ascension Stage, he had suppressed over a hundred mating seasons, lasting a full month each time. Sang Dai found it terrifying just to imagine it.
“Su, Su Xuan, let go of me first. Let’s talk this through.”
Sang Dai turned her head, not daring to look at him, exposing her flushed ears to a certain demon’s eyes.
Su Xuan found it amusing and pressed her even closer. “Talk about what? Talk about how you’ll help me get through the mating season?”
Sang Dai: “…I, no!”
Su Xuan: “Then I won’t let go.”
“Let me go!”
“No.”
“Su Xuan!”
“Hmm, I’m here.”
Sang Dai turned her head to glare at him fiercely, though only she knew how much her expression contained a mix of shyness and irritation, the redness on her face clearly caused by embarrassment.
At the moment she met Su Xuan’s gaze, she heard the Beast King’s aggrieved voice.
[Dai Dai, the mating season is really unbearable. I can’t even maintain my human form, as though I’ve been thrown into a furnace.]
Sang Dai opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words to say.
The Nine-Tailed Fox Clan’s blood ran hot, and their body temperatures were high—this was especially true during the mating season. Sang Dai knew all of this.
“Su Xuan…”
Su Xuan let out a soft sigh, holding her even tighter, resting his chin at the crook of her neck.
He knew he was being a little impatient, but whenever he saw this sword cultivator, he always wanted to get closer to her. He was endlessly grateful that Sang Dai allowed his proximity, which made him feel a secret joy, though it left him even more unsatisfied.
He wanted her—to accompany her, to stand by her side as her husband.
Whether he teased her with words or got close to her physically, at its root, it was all because he wanted to see this sword cultivator show emotions and feelings. He wanted to see her like this, instead of the indifferent, stoic person who kept all her emotions buried deep inside.
He felt Sang Dai shouldn’t be that way.
He hoped Sang Dai would be radiant, someone who could blush, get angry, smile, and cry.
Su Xuan’s chin rested at the crook of her neck, his breath spreading across Sang Dai’s skin. She felt ticklish and also realized just how high the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan’s body temperature was.
She tried to struggle a little, but the fox holding her only tightened his grip, practically locking her within his embrace.
“Don’t move. Let me hold you for a moment—just hold you.”
His voice was muffled. They were too close now, so much so that Sang Dai could even feel his… change.
It was too obvious, impossible to hide. Even if she didn’t understand much, she still knew these basic physiological realities. And for the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, their strength wasn’t limited to just their stature. Sang Dai, simply from sensing it, already felt like she was about to suffocate.
Sang Dai turned her head away, took a deep breath, and asked, “You… you that… you…”
Her voice trembled, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t finish the sentence, feeling as though she had used up a lifetime’s worth of courage.
Su Xuan pecked at the soft flesh on her neck, lightly pressing against it with the tip of his nose, and asked in a muffled voice, “What’s wrong?”
Sang Dai pushed at him, “I… I mean, do you want to…”
Su Xuan’s head was already aching from holding back. Hugging her even tighter, he couldn’t make sense of what she was trying to say and asked, “What about me?”
Sang Dai: “…”
Did he really have to make her say it out loud?
Her face turned bright red. She closed her eyes and whispered softly, “You, that…”
“…”
Su Xuan lifted his gaze to look at the completely flushed Sang Dai.
He finally understood what the little sword cultivator was getting at.
Su Xuan gently bit the soft flesh of her neck, and Sang Dai’s entire body bristled as if her hair were standing on end.
“What do you expect me to do? After I turned eighteen and became an adult, I’ve endured so many mating seasons on my own.”
“…Let go of me a little.”
“Just a little longer.”
“…Ugh.”
Su Xuan pulled her by the waist, setting her down to sit at the edge of the hot spring pool. “This way, you won’t feel uncomfortable. Let me hold you—don’t move.”
He slid between her knees, resting his face back in the crook of her neck and inhaling her scent.
With her legs split to either side of him, his breath tickled her skin. Instinctively, she curled her leg slightly, her knee brushing against his waist—where she felt something that shouldn’t be there.
“You… you were wearing pants after all…”
Su Xuan chuckled in a low voice. “What’s this? Does Miss Sang feel disappointed? If you want to see, I’m certainly willing.”
The moment he knew she was behind the screen, Su Xuan had immediately grabbed the pants he’d just removed and put them back on.
He dared to be presumptuous with her because Sang Dai was a timid little turtle. If he wasn’t proactive, he’d never catch his wife in this lifetime. But he also didn’t dare to cross the line.
Until she truly agreed, overly indecent behavior would only offend her.
Sang Dai lightly coughed, closing her eyes and not daring to look at him. “No… I didn’t…”
She was simply too adorable. Su Xuan thought that teasing her like this was something he could happily do all day.
She was so shy and so easily flustered. Every word she said stumbled out like she was enduring great suffering, and in the end, she still couldn’t say it outright. Fortunately, he knew her well enough.
Worried that the little sword cultivator might get stuck in her own head, Su Xuan explained:
“Sang Dai, I’m a man.”
“I… I know that…”
Although it was difficult to connect the adult Su Xuan with the youth in her memories after regaining them, Sang Dai often found herself in a daze. It turned out that 120 years had passed, and the slender boy in her memories had grown into a tall, imposing young man, someone who could truly stand on his own.
Su Xuan added, “The act of intimacy is also a way for dao companions to express their love. So these things are very normal. You, too, will have normal desires.”
Sang Dai retorted, “I… I don’t need it. I’m not like you, so… so…”
“So what?”
“…Improper.”
Su Xuan let out a low laugh again, his chest vibrating, causing Sang Dai to tremble slightly along with him.
As expected, Sang Dai couldn’t bring herself to say anything too vulgar.
Su Xuan laughed as he said, “How is this improper? I’m already an adult. At my age, my father already had several children. Sang Dai, didn’t the Sword Sect teach you these basic things?”
“…No, they didn’t. They don’t care about this sort of thing.”
Even matters like her monthly cycle had been something she had to figure out and understand on her own.
Su Xuan fell silent for a long time, holding her without saying a word. The surrounding atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
Sang Dai smelled the rich scent of grass and wood on him and felt his burning body temperature.
He was so quiet that it felt abnormal. She nudged the fox resting in the crook of her neck.
“You… what’s wrong with you…”
Could it be that this sort of thing left unresolved would cause him to faint?
The fox murmured, “It’s fine. For the things they didn’t teach you, I will teach you in the future.”
Sang Dai: “…”
She pushed him hard. “Who wants you to teach me?!”
Su Xuan didn’t budge an inch and refused to let go. “If I don’t teach you, who will? Do you want someone else to teach you?”
“I don’t want anyone else to teach me either—wait, why do I even need to learn this sort of thing?”
Sang Dai’s face was so red it looked like it might drip blood.
Su Xuan lifted his head to look at her, suddenly curling his lips into a smile. “Right, there’s no need to learn it.”
[You don’t need to take the initiative. I’ll take care of it. After enough practice, you’ll naturally understand.]
Sang Dai: “Get off me!!!”
Su Xuan whined, “Let me hold you a little longer.”
“I don’t want to hold you anymore!”
“But I still want to hold you.”
“You don’t!”
“I’m still suffering, though.”
“You figure it out yourself!”
No matter how hard Sang Dai pushed, she couldn’t move him. She didn’t dare use her spiritual power either, afraid of accidentally hurting him.
Her hands pushed at him clumsily, and though the muscles under her palms didn’t make her feel embarrassed, when she accidentally pressed against his left shoulder, the strange protrusion made her pause abruptly.
Su Xuan hadn’t yet noticed her change in demeanor. Sensing the sword cultivator in his arms had stilled, he closed his eyes to suppress his burning desires. He held her quietly, intending to send her away soon. Tonight’s closeness had already gone too far. He had managed to close the distance between them significantly, but he couldn’t rush things—she would really get angry if he did.
He let out a long breath, the veins on his forehead twitching, his body aching unbearably. Still, he stood up and let go of the sword cultivator.
“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Are you cold? I’ll dry your clothes—”
Before he could finish, he noticed Sang Dai’s vacant gaze. She was staring straight at his bare chest, her expression completely unguarded.
Su Xuan frowned slightly and followed her gaze.
The scar on his shoulder plunged them both into silence.
That scar on Su Xuan’s shoulder was far too prominent. His skin was pale, making the scar appear even more ferocious and jarring.
It was from many years ago when they had fought, and she had stabbed him with her sword. Su Xuan, caught up in the responsibilities of the Beast Realm’s royal affairs, hadn’t properly tended to the injury, and it had left a scar.
A Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener possessed extraordinary self-healing abilities. However, Sang Dai’s sword was a renowned sword of the world, different from ordinary weapons. If such an injury wasn’t carefully tended to, it was certain to leave a mark.
She had only glanced at it briefly before, but seeing it this close now, the scar—three fingers in length—was frightening and hideous, stretching across his shoulder and almost reaching his chest.
The residual warmth and tension in the air were instantly doused as though by a bucket of cold water. Su Xuan suddenly covered her eyes, no longer daring to tease her. “Sang Dai, it’s all in the past. Don’t look.”
Sang Dai, however, grasped his hand and gently pried it away. She stared unwaveringly at the scar on his shoulder, which spanned nearly to his chest.
Seeing her like this, Su Xuan felt a twinge of regret. He had forgotten about this. If he had remembered, he wouldn’t have teased her.
“Sang Dai, close your eyes. Don’t look.”
Su Xuan grabbed the robe that had fallen into the hot spring and was about to drape it over himself, but Sang Dai suddenly reached out, her soft fingertips brushing against his scar.
“Su Xuan, I’m sorry.”
The robe in Su Xuan’s hand fell back down.
Her fingers were slender and fair, tracing gently around the scar. The sword cultivator’s lashes drooped, her gaze fixed on the wound.
Su Xuan grasped her hand and said, “I told you, you never need to apologize.”
“…At the time, I thought you would go back to heal properly.”
“It was my fault. I didn’t take care of myself. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t apologize.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Sang Dai, this is the last time you’ll apologize to me. Don’t ever say such words again.”
Sang Dai didn’t move, her eyes still locked on the scar on his shoulder.
Su Xuan sighed softly and leaned down to look into her eyes.
She wasn’t crying, but her eyes were red.
“Sang Dai, it’s all in the past. We need to look forward.”
Sang Dai raised her eyes, meeting his gaze.
Su Xuan’s eyes were filled with tenderness and heartache.
[Dai Dai, don’t cry. I shouldn’t have teased you.]
Sang Dai rubbed her eyes and said softly, “Su Xuan, I won’t hurt you again.”
Su Xuan reached out to wipe the tears from her eyes, his voice gentle as he comforted her, “I know. I already know.”
They were no longer who they had been in the past. The Su Xuan of today could approach Sang Dai, and Sang Dai allowed his closeness. She no longer pointed her sword at him.
The opposing positions of the past had changed; the things that had happened before would never happen again.
Worried that seeing his scar might make Sang Dai feel guilty, Su Xuan summoned his hellfire to dry her clothes.
“Do you want to go out?”
Sang Dai nodded. “Yes.”
Su Xuan closed his eyes and nuzzled the crook of her neck, inhaling the faint fragrance on her body. His voice was hoarse as he said, “I won’t send you out. Go on your own. I’ll come out for dinner once I’ve… sorted myself out.”
Sang Dai felt the heat of his breath and suddenly realized something. Muddled and flustered, she replied, “Mm.”
Su Xuan let her go. “Go on.”
He turned his back to her, his long hair dripping water, his ears bright red. From this angle, Sang Dai could see the veins on his forehead and neck, evidence of how much he was restraining himself. For the first time, she directly faced Su Xuan’s desire for her, and unable to look at him, she quickly scrambled to her feet.