A strong wind rose today.
The gale swept up the sand and dust around the Chunqiu Tower. There wasn’t much vegetation in the desert, so the winds carried the dust to engulf the entire tower.
The formation outside Chunqiu Tower was activated, shielding it from the wind and sand.
Liu Lixue stepped forward, smiling. “Young Master Qiu, what are you doing here again?”
Qiu Chengxi turned around, scratching his head. “Um, I saw my elder sister crying in the corridor yesterday, and I’m worried about her.”
Liu Lixue looked speechless. “With my lord here, your concern is completely unnecessary.”
Qiu Chengxi: “… Su Xuan has woken up?”
“Yeah, he woke up yesterday.”
Qiu Chengxi: “… Alright then.”
Liu Lixue spread his hands, gesturing for him to leave. “Why don’t you leave for now? My lord and madam are still asleep, so please don’t disturb them, Young Master Qiu.”
With many backward glances, Qiu Chengxi was pushed out by Liu Lixue.
Inside the room.
The Hellfire Array burned, making the entire bed warm and cozy.
Su Xuan frowned as he glanced outside. Those two had come to bother them so early in the morning.
The sword cultivator hadn’t slept for several days and was finally sleeping soundly.
Su Xuan covered her ears, waiting until Liu Lixue had sent Qiu Chengxi away and the outside had quieted down again.
He released his hands and looked down at Sang Dai in his arms.
She was curled up in his embrace, her forehead pressed against his chest, and her breath fell entirely on his exposed skin.
Her eyelashes were long and curved, her skin was very fair and soft, and her profile was tinged with a faint blush, warmed by his Hellfire Array.
Worried she might feel cold, Su Xuan had woken up several times throughout the night to adjust the temperature of the Hellfire Array.
He looked at her with delight, feeling as though every part of her was etched into his heart. He liked her so much that he couldn’t help but kiss the sword cultivator’s hair, then gently peck her forehead.
When the sword cultivator was asleep, she was very well-behaved. Driven by an unconscious craving for warmth, she instinctively snuggled into his embrace, stretching her arms out to wrap around his waist, clinging to him like a little kitten.
Adorable to the point of death.
Su Xuan propped his chin on his hand, watching her for a long time without feeling bored. The smile on his lips never faded. His slender, well-defined fingers brushed through her loose black hair, gently smoothing it. In his heart, he was already planning to return to the Beast Palace and prepare a whole chest of hair ornaments for her.
Dai Dai’s hair is so beautiful—it deserves only the finest hairpins.
Su Xuan kissed her forehead again.
A little fox couldn’t hide his thoughts at all. If he liked her, he had to let her know.
Back at the Sword Sect, Sang Dai had always maintained a strict routine, often waking up at the break of dawn to practice her swordsmanship.
But ever since she came to the Beast Palace, she would only get up when she’d had enough sleep. Even if she slept until the afternoon, no one would disturb her.
By the time she woke up, it was almost noon.
As soon as she opened her eyes, a fluffy tail was presented in front of her.
Sang Dai: “…”
For a moment, she thought her meridians must have gone awry again. Otherwise, why would she be hugging Su Xuan’s tail while sleeping?
But a certain fox had simply wrapped his tail around Sang Dai’s waist, coiling it tightly to bind the sword cultivator securely.
“Morning.”
The fox lazily greeted her.
Sang Dai: “… What are you doing?”
The little fox leaned closer, hugging her and cupping the sword cultivator’s face. He planted a series of noisy kisses on her red lips, pecking over ten times in a row in the blink of an eye.
“Dai Dai smells so good.”
Sang Dai covered her lips. “What are you doing!”
The little fox rested his chin against the sword cultivator’s head. “Kissing you, hugging you.”
Sang Dai asked, “Didn’t you get enough kissing and hugging last night?”
“No, it’s never enough.” The little fox nuzzled the sword cultivator’s forehead. “I want to eat you.”
That word “eat” definitely didn’t mean its surface interpretation.
Sang Dai’s face flushed red as she pushed against his chest. “Get up first. It’s already daylight.”
The little fox clutched his chest. “Hiss, I don’t know why, but this bone hurts a little.”
Hearing this, Sang Dai panicked. Su Xuan’s near-death state had truly terrified her.
She quickly pulled open his collar to check. “Here? Is the bone not healed yet?”
Sang Dai’s brows furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with worry.
Su Xuan had never dared to hope to see such an emotion in her eyes before. Whenever they met, it was always to fight, and Sang Dai had only ever shown him indifference.
He never thought there would come a day when those eyes of hers would be filled with him.
Only him.
He was utterly overjoyed.
“Su Xuan, does it hurt here?”
When she didn’t receive a response, she grew more anxious and reached out to touch the spot he was holding, using her soft fingertips to probe.
Su Xuan grasped her hand, effortlessly interlocking their fingers.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore. When you touch it, it doesn’t hurt.”
His voice was hoarse. He had only meant to tease Sang Dai, but the sword cultivator clearly didn’t overthink things—she was far too straightforward.
“Really?”
Su Xuan nodded seriously. “Mm.”
Sang Dai gently blew on his “wound” and touched it with her small hand.
Her expression was so serious, entirely devoid of any impropriety, but in Su Xuan’s eyes, everything about her seemed to naturally possess a deadly allure to him.
Her every movement stirred his desire.
“Does it still hurt? Should I call Young Master Liu?” Sang Dai used her spiritual energy to “heal” him and looked up at the long-silent Su Xuan.
[How can she be so pure?]
Sang Dai: “… Huh?”
Pure… or foolish?
Why was he insulting her? What had she done wrong just now?
[So pure, it’s adorable. She believes everything. So obedient, so cute.]
Sang Dai: “…”
Alright, she got it now.
This “pure” was not the same as “foolish.”
[I want to kiss her. Dai Dai’s lips look so soft.]
Sang Dai immediately pushed him away. “It seems the Beast King is doing just fine. I’m getting up to eat now.”
She had just lifted the quilt to get out of bed when an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back into the warm, furnace-like bedding.
The mingling scent of their bodies filled the air—intimate and suggestive.
Sang Dai’s face flushed again uncontrollably. She seemed to be blushing a lot lately.
“Su Xuan!”
“How are you going to explain what happened last night?”
Two voices rang out, one after the other.
Sang Dai froze. “…What?”
“Last night,” Su Xuan said, holding her in his arms and narrowing his eyes slightly. “Do you plan to take advantage of me for free?”
Sang Dai: “What nonsense are you talking about!”
She was so mortified that she completely disregarded whether Su Xuan was still injured and slapped his collarbone without hesitation.
Su Xuan’s injuries had healed significantly, but two-thirds of his bones had been crushed by the Bi Fang’s innate power. Even as a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener, he still needed time to recover. His collarbone, which had been shattered back then, had yet to fully mend.
The little sword cultivator hit her mark with precision, and the little fox’s face turned pale.
“Hiss, it hurts, Dai Dai.”
Sang Dai hadn’t even considered whether he might be faking it. Despite being tricked repeatedly, she still believed Su Xuan each time.
She hurriedly reached out to feel his collarbone, only to find a dent where the bone hadn’t fully healed.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. Let me heal you.”
Su Xuan lay back with a cheerful expression as the sword cultivator sat beside him and pulled open his collar. Since her spiritual energy was naturally cold, she thoughtfully warmed it before transmitting it to him.
She was a caring little sweetheart.
Su Xuan smiled brightly, not minding his injuries at all. His gaze lingered on the sword cultivator’s worried little face, and he reached out to poke her cheek.
Sang Dai dodged.
Su Xuan poked again.
Sang Dai turned to him. “Stop distracting me. I’m healing you.”
Su Xuan nodded.
Now she had turned into a stern little sweetheart.
Su Xuan rested his hands behind his head, letting Sang Dai touch and examine him all over to check for broken bones. Her nervous demeanor was so adorable it melted his heart.
Too, too, too cute!
He couldn’t hold back anymore and flipped over, pulling her into his arms.
“Su Xuan, I’m healing you!”
“It’s not serious. I won’t die. Just hugging you makes it stop hurting.”
Sang Dai didn’t believe him. “You always say that hugging and kissing will make it better, but every time, you end up—”
Su Xuan raised an eyebrow. “End up how?”
Sang Dai stammered, her cheeks flushing crimson. It was obvious she’d thought of something else.
Knowing her so well, Su Xuan immediately realized where her mind had wandered.
He found it incredibly endearing and deliberately teased her. “Why so quiet? Has Miss Sang lost her voice?”
“…I’m not saying.” Sang Dai mumbled, “I don’t want to say. You already know.”
Su Xuan tightened his embrace around his little sweetheart, rubbing his chin against the top of her head.
“Alright, alright, I won’t press you.” He generously let her off the hook, but before Sang Dai could relax, he suddenly changed the subject. “But can you answer my earlier question? What are you going to do about last night?”
Sang Dai stammered, “I… I… you kissed me too…”
Su Xuan nodded. “Indeed, I did. I’m willing to take responsibility for you.”
Sang Dai: “…No need to take responsibility.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the room’s atmosphere noticeably chilled.
She immediately felt the little fox’s arms tighten around her, almost as if he wanted to squeeze the life out of her.
The little fox asked coldly, “What did you say?”
Sang Dai cowered. “…I didn’t say anything!”
Su Xuan, both angry and amused, pulled the little turtle curled up in his arms out of her shell and pried her hands away from her face.
“Sang Dai, what did you just say?”
Sang Dai quickly sensed that Su Xuan was upset. Although she didn’t quite know what she had said wrong, he was the patient here—and patients were to be indulged. Without hesitation, she admitted her fault.
“Sorry, I said the wrong thing.”
Su Xuan gritted his teeth. “Don’t want me to take responsibility? What do you take yourself for?”
Sang Dai blinked. “…What?”
What did he mean by that?
What exactly was he angry about?
Su Xuan pinched her small face. “Since I’ve grown close to you, it’s with the intention of taking responsibility for you. No matter how far this goes, I will take full accountability for my actions. Everything I’ve done with you has been carefully considered. I hold no disregard for you whatsoever.”
So how could she disregard herself like this? What did she mean by saying she didn’t need him to take responsibility? Did she think he was being casual about their relationship?
But Sang Dai nodded blankly. “…Mm, I know that.”
Su Xuan had always been a responsible person. Over the years, he had governed the Beast Realm exceptionally well as the Beast King.
Su Xuan: “…”
He realized she hadn’t understood him at all.
He gave the sword cultivator’s face a sharp pinch and, in a fit of frustration, declared, “I don’t care. Since you kissed me, you need to take responsibility!”
Sang Dai protested, “Su Xuan, stop being ridiculous.”
The little fox bristled. “You want to take advantage of me for free?!”
Sang Dai said helplessly, “Don’t describe our relationship in such crude terms. It’s so vulgar…”
The little fox growled, “So you’re going to take what you want and then deny it? You’re refusing to take responsibility for me?”
Sang Dai sighed. “We haven’t even done that.”
“Even if you wanted to now, I wouldn’t do it with you.” The little fox huffed angrily. “No marriage contract, no proper title—if we did it now, what would that make you?”
Sang Dai: “…”
Sometimes, she truly found Su Xuan’s train of thought incomprehensible.
She lazily pushed him, intending to make him loosen his grip since she could barely breathe from how tightly he was holding her.
But in this situation, it only made her seem more impatient, solidifying her image as a heartless woman who wanted to walk away after getting what she wanted.
The little fox, enraged, bit the sword cultivator’s earlobe. When he heard her whimper, his heart immediately softened like mush, and he carefully licked the spot.
Sang Dai suppressed a shiver and said, “Su Xuan.”
The little fox took her earlobe into his mouth, gently licking and kissing it with his tongue. Switching tactics, he coaxed her in a seductive tone, “Or do you actually want to do it? Let’s form a marriage contract, and I’ll do it with you right now.”
“Dai Dai, I’ll make you feel good—better than yesterday’s kisses. Do you want that?”
Sang Dai’s face turned crimson.