Su Xuan handed the bamboo spear to Sang Dai. “Got it now?”
Sang Dai nodded. “What I see with my eyes isn’t accurate, so I need to adjust and aim a little deeper?”
“Exactly.”
“Got it.”
The sword cultivator, now brimming with determination, took a deep breath and waded toward a spot where fish were gathering.
Su Xuan didn’t move, watching as she tried on her own with the bamboo spear.
Just as he remembered, Sang Dai was quick to grasp concepts and incredibly patient. If she didn’t succeed the first time, she’d try again. If one day wasn’t enough, she’d persist day after day.
Sang Dai had always been resilient. Su Xuan admired this about her—her vitality, her strength, and her courage.
That evening, Sang Dai thoroughly enjoyed herself, catching fish after fish in a single-minded effort. Su Xuan didn’t stop her, seeing how much fun she was having.
He stayed onshore, placing the fish she threw over into a bamboo basket. By the time night had deepened, the sword cultivator ran back excitedly, bamboo spear in hand.
Her clothes were still wet, and her fair, jade-like feet stepped onto the stones as she crouched to peer into the bamboo basket.
Sang Dai beamed with joy and asked, “How many did I catch?”
Su Xuan, sitting on a stone nearby, raised a hand to indicate, “A whole basket.”
She was brilliant—once she understood the technique, she rarely missed. Before long, she was catching fish effortlessly.
Sang Dai, barefoot, crouched to count. “Seventeen fish!” Her eyes sparkled. “Didn’t Young Master Liu say he wanted crispy fish? Perfect, we can take these back and have Cui Shao make some for him.”
Su Xuan chuckled and nodded. “You caught them, so it’s your call. Do whatever you want with them.”
The sword cultivator sat down casually, grinning. “So, how are we eating them tonight? Fish soup?”
The little fox shook his head. “No pot.”
Sang Dai: “…Grilled fish, then?”
The little fox nodded. “That works.”
Sitting upright, he pulled some seasonings out of his spatial pouch, which he had apparently acquired from Liu Lixue.
“Conveniently robbed some from him.”
Su Xuan grabbed two fish from the basket and headed toward the stream with a knife.
Sang Dai asked, “What are you going to do?”
Su Xuan replied, “Kill them.”
Sang Dai: “…”
She didn’t know how to handle fish, so she sat on the riverbank and watched the little fox skillfully scale and gut the fish, cleaning them until they were spotless. Then, holding the two freshly prepared fish, he walked back toward her.
The little fox skillfully chopped down a bamboo stalk, cleaned it, and broke it into pieces to skewer the two fish.
He summoned Hellfire, and Sang Dai immediately felt a warm coziness enveloping her.
She didn’t know how to cook or grill fish, but Su Xuan knew many things. The sword cultivator obediently sat down, hugging her knees, and waited patiently.
The firelight softened Su Xuan’s features, making his usually sharp, cold countenance appear gentler.
As the water on Sang Dai’s clothes gradually dried, she rested her chin on her knees and asked, “Su Xuan, you’re a royal prince. How do you know so many things?”
A prince with exceptional cooking skills, able to pick fruit in the mountains and fish in the rivers—these were not tasks typically associated with royalty. Large, prestigious families often valued appearances, delegating such tasks to their servants.
Without raising his eyes, Su Xuan replied in a flat tone, “The royal family didn’t care about me, and my mother consort wasn’t favored from the start.”
Sang Dai’s expression froze. “I’m sorry. You’ve never talked about the royal family before.”
Su Xuan flipped the fish over on the grill and said, “There’s nothing unspeakable about it. I just didn’t bring it up before because I didn’t want to taint your hands with filth.”
Sang Dai glanced at him and carefully asked, “But I’d like to know. I want to help you, Su Xuan. Can I ask about it?”
Su Xuan lifted his gaze to her. “You want to know about me?”
“Yes. You’ve helped me so much, and I want to do something for you. Maybe I can help.”
Su Xuan was silent for a moment before nodding slightly. “…If you want to know, you can.”
Sang Dai pressed her lips together, then asked softly, “Um, your mother consort… is she still alive?”
Su Xuan had never mentioned her before. She knew his father king was still alive, but he had never spoken of his mother consort.
Su Xuan lowered his eyes, his hands gripping the bamboo skewers with the fish.
His voice was calm. “She’s dead.”
Sang Dai hesitated. “…I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize. Death is a natural part of life. For her, perhaps it was even a kind of release.”
Sang Dai didn’t speak, understanding that Su Xuan would share more of his story in his own time.
Slowly, Su Xuan began. “My mother consort was from a branch of the Nine-Tailed Fox royal family, but her bloodline was weak. She wasn’t very gifted and couldn’t become the Beast Queen, so she could only be a consort. My father was indulgent by nature, with many consorts and even more offspring. I’m his seventh son, but my father has eleven princes and seventeen princesses.”
“My mother didn’t love my father, but she was forced to marry him. After giving birth to me, she gradually became like the other consorts—learning how to fight for favor, scheme, and manipulate.”
Su Xuan paused, his voice softening. “She did it for me. She knew that if she wasn’t favored, I wouldn’t be either.”
Sang Dai understood this logic. Su Xuan was part of the royal family, and with so many consorts and offspring vying for attention, survival depended on favor.
“My mother wasn’t very clever and lacked guile. She only got further entangled in the royal family’s schemes. But she was beautiful, and my father gradually favored her more. As a result, I too began to be noticed.”
Sang Dai said, “Your mother treated you very well.”
Su Xuan’s voice turned cold. “She was kind. She was good in every way—except for giving birth to an unworthy child.”
Sang Dai frowned, immediately refuting him. “But you’re amazing! You’re a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener, strong and intelligent. You’re a blessing to the world bestowed by the Dao.”
Su Xuan glanced at her, his expression calm, yet there was an inexplicable sadness in his gaze that Sang Dai couldn’t ignore.
“Dai Dai, do you know? Many years ago, the Beast Realm was ruled by the Twelve Palaces, and the royal family’s power accounted for less than one-third. The real authority lay in the stewards of the Twelve Palaces.”
Sang Dai nodded. “I know.”
Su Xuan continued, “But when I was seven, I awakened a Heaven-grade spiritual root.”
Sang Dai’s brows knitted slightly, grasping the implications in his words. Her heartbeat quickened.
Su Xuan smiled faintly. “A prince of the royal family awakening a Heaven-grade spiritual root meant that, if I grew up, the Twelve Palaces’ status would be threatened. Naturally, they would have to kill me first.”
By this point, she could already guess the rest of the story.
“My mother consort was terrified and hid it, hiding it from everyone, including my father. She became desperate for power, thinking that if she were favored, she could negotiate with my father to protect me and stand against the Twelve Palaces. But she was too naive. My father was a coward all his life. He would never stand up to the Twelve Palaces for my sake. It would have been like an ant trying to shake a tree.”
“The deeper she got involved, the more the royal court’s schemes consumed her. By the time I turned eleven, the Guixu spiritual vein was destroyed, and the spiritual veins of the Beast Realm withered. The Twelve Palaces discovered that I was a Heaven-grade spiritual root awakener. They imprisoned me and used my flesh and blood to nourish the Beast Realm’s spiritual veins.”
Sang Dai blinked, her breath catching painfully. “Su Xuan, stop.”
Su Xuan lowered his gaze and revealed the final outcome. “My mother consort took the wrong path to save me. She conspired to rebel but was caught by my father and executed. But her greatest mistake was giving birth to me.”
Su Xuan spoke calmly, as if recounting someone else’s story.
The fish began to burn. Su Xuan hadn’t turned it over for a long time.
Sang Dai reached out and took the fish from his hands, flipping it herself.
In a soft voice, she asked, “So, even after you eliminated the Twelve Palaces, you didn’t take action against the royal family. Was it because of your mother consort?”
Su Xuan wasn’t someone who cared about blood ties. He valued sincerity above all else. In the royal family, only his mother consort had treated him with genuine care. Yet he hadn’t eradicated the royal family, even as they secretly conspired against him. There had to be a reason.
The only reason he would hesitate was his mother consort.
The little fox’s deep, glassy eyes gazed at Sang Dai as he smiled. “Yes, because my mother’s body is in their hands.”
Sang Dai froze, her hands pausing as she grilled the fish.
Su Xuan leaned back, resting his arms on the ground, and tilted his head to look at the moon.
“My mother’s body is in their hands, but I can’t find it.”
The night wind rustled through the forest, carrying the little fox’s hoarse voice.
“Dai Dai, I can’t find her.”
Sang Dai clenched the fish in her hand tightly.
She knew Su Xuan so well. He was far less composed than he appeared.
The surroundings fell silent. Time stretched on, and the little fox remained motionless, his head tilted upward, as if searching for something in the sky.
Perhaps he didn’t want her to see his tears.
Sang Dai suddenly spoke. “Su Xuan.”
The little fox turned his head away, wiping at the corners of his eyes. When he looked back, he was smiling again.
“It’s all in the past. There’s no use talking about it now. Let’s eat the fish first.”
He was about to take the fish from Sang Dai’s hands when the sword cultivator suddenly pulled back, placing the grilled fish to the side.
Her dark eyes quietly looked at him, their shoulders brushing as they sat close. Their gazes met.
Sang Dai said, “If I were a mother, I would want to be my child’s shield, not the weak point others use to threaten them. I wouldn’t want my existence to become a tool for someone to manipulate him. I would hope that even without me, he could live proudly, confidently, and with self-reliance.”
“Your mother was remarkable. The courage she showed to fight for you back then means she wouldn’t want her body to become a bargaining chip used to restrain you after her death. She wouldn’t want you to be shackled.”
Su Xuan didn’t speak, motionless as he met her gaze, the emotions in his eyes deep and impenetrable.
“Death is irreversible. One day, I too may die. Su Xuan, if my death ever becomes something that threatens you, I hope you can abandon everything and fight freely, for yourself and yourself alone.”
Sang Dai clasped his hand, her eyes curving into a smile. Her expression was relaxed, her brows slightly raised, yet the words she spoke were as resolute and trustworthy as ever.
“Su Xuan, it’s just a royal family. I’ll help you overthrow it.”
—
Author’s Note:
The couple is about to go full-on teamwork! Actually, this is a story of mutual salvation (shy.jpg). The royal family matters will uncover some of the foreshadowing laid out earlier—it’s still very exciting and closely tied to the upcoming plot!