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The sudden fire nearly burned down half of Huashan City.
Yan Jinglou sat atop his horse, gazing down at the ruins of the city. Cloaked in black robes, his face was obscured by a hood, making his expression unreadable.
The air reeked of scorched flesh, and his demeanor was no better than the surrounding chaos.
Not long after, Shao Jun returned on horseback. “My Lord, this person has information about them.”
Shao Jun casually tossed someone forward.
It was an old man—the same centipede demon who had carved tables for Ji Hengyu.
Yan Jinglou looked down at him from above.
The old man’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
“Have you seen them?”
He held up a portrait.
In the portrait, a woman’s eyes were strikingly beautiful, like a fully bloomed crimson begonia.
“Y-Yes... I’ve seen them,” the old man stammered, not daring to meet Yan Jinglou’s gaze. “There was also a generous young master with her. They went to the arena afterward, but it caught fire...”
“We’re leaving!”
Before the old man could finish, Yan Jinglou tightened the reins, and his horse trampled over him as they galloped away.
________________________________________
Da Yanjing carried the two of them out of Huashan City, but eventually collapsed from exhaustion in a deserted wilderness.
It reverted to its original form, leaning weakly against a rock to rest.
Sang Li rummaged through the bag of treasures she had gathered earlier, pulling out a few bottles of medicinal elixirs and feeding them to Da Yanjing.
After taking the medicine, Da Yanjing regained some strength.
“Gurrrr...” As soon as it felt better, Da Yanjing immediately began rubbing against Sang Li affectionately.
It was no longer the small creature Sang Li could easily handle.
A beast’s playful nuzzle nearly knocked her off balance.
Sang Li barely steadied herself and looked Da Yanjing up and down.
Its body was covered in dense wounds, and its size made it impossible to associate with the tiny Da Yanjing she once knew. However, she had seen what adult Mirror Demons looked like.
They were tall, sturdy, and nothing like Da Yanjing, whose thin frame was almost skeletal.
It had endured immense suffering, yet its bright eyes only made Sang Li feel more sorrowful.
Holding back tears, she felt both heartache and a sense of relief. “Da Yanjing, you’ve grown up.”
“Guru.” Da Yanjing nodded, its tail wagging wildly.
Its tail was also bony.
Only then did Sang Li notice that all the scales on its tail were gone, leaving bloody, raw flesh as if they had been forcibly ripped off.
It seemed to feel no pain, shaking its tail vigorously back and forth.
The more Sang Li looked, the more her heart ached. She poured out a few demon cores she had acquired from the Demon Lair and offered them. “Here, eat these, and you’ll get stronger.”
Da Yanjing hesitated, its eyes flickering toward Ji Hengyu.
“It’s fine; he’ll agree.”
Da Yanjing still shook its head, pointing to some wildflowers nearby.
Sang Li paused. “If you eat them, I’ll make you a flower crown.”
The little Mirror Demon cheered up, swallowing the demon cores in one gulp, just like when it was young, eagerly waiting for Sang Li to weave a flower crown for it.
She gathered a large bunch of wildflowers.
As she wove, it obediently watched by her side.
Unable to hold back, Sang Li asked, “How did you... end up here?”
“Guru.”
The little Mirror Demon’s vertical pupils expanded, emitting a series of low growls.
This time, Sang Li understood the meaning behind its sounds.
“Home... gone. Three hundred years... waited for you, searched for you.”
Its speech was fragmented and disjointed, but Sang Li understood its meaning nonetheless.
She stopped weaving, her voice thick with astonishment. “You... waited for me for three hundred years?”
“Guru.”
It nodded.
A wave of immense bitterness, like indigestible dry grass, lodged itself in her throat. She couldn’t utter a word, only a deep, sour ache spreading throughout her throat.
At this moment, Ji Hengyu glanced over, his expression calm and quiet.
She opened her mouth. “Your home is gone too?”
“Thunder... terrifying.” The little Mirror Demon spread its arms wide. “So big... boom—!”
“Was it those thunderbolts?”
“Guru.” Its expression turned somber and pained. “Family... sent me, Heavenly Gate... family... died.”
It drooped its head dejectedly, its tail no longer having the strength to lift.
Sang Li suddenly understood.
Time flowed differently in Wanshui Dujun compared to the Heavenly Realm. Her six months equated to three hundred years for the little Mirror Demon.
Three hundred years...
Yet it still hadn’t forgotten her.
“Then...” Sang Li pursed her lips, tentatively asking, “How did you get captured?”
Da Yanjing pointed to the unfinished flower crown in her hand. “Dropped, got caught.”
“...”
Because the flower crown accidentally fell, it inadvertently fell into a trap.
Da Yanjing didn’t think much of it, even puffing out its chest and solemnly promising Sang Li, “Next time... won’t drop.”
Her nose tingled, and tears instantly overflowed.
The little Mirror Demon froze, unsure of what it had said wrong. Anxiously, it circled around Sang Li, nudging her face repeatedly with its nose.
The more it did so, the more her heart ached.
It was only a fleeting encounter, an offhand promise, yet it had remembered her for three hundred years.
Three hundred years—how long that was.
That flower wreath, which should have long since withered, had finally crossed the seas of time and bloomed anew at her fingertips.
Sang Li wiped away her tears, quickly finished weaving the flower crown, and placed it atop the little Mirror Demon’s head.
But it had grown up.
When it wore the flower crown as a child, it could barely pass as cute. Now, fully grown, it only looked out of place.
The little Mirror Demon loved it, wagging its tail happily without pause.
She rubbed her teary eyes. “Do you still want to touch my ears?”
“Guru?” Da Yanjing tilted its head.
Ji Hengyu glanced over at the sound.
Sang Li closed her eyes, and within a glow of white light, she gradually revealed her true form.
This was likely Ji Hengyu’s first time seeing her original form.
It was a very small, very tiny white fox.
Its chubby body, snow-white paws, and pink, eye-catching paw pads were exposed as it moved.
A strange sensation immediately spread through his heart, and his gaze couldn’t help but wander up and down.
Sang Li had also revealed her ears and tail when she fainted before.
But her true form’s ears were smaller, whiter, and… cuter.
So was her tail.
Nine tails gathered together in a fluffy bundle.
Upon closer inspection, the tips of her tails were pink, and even the mark on her brow was a soft pink.
—Too cute.
Ji Hengyu’s limbs went limp, and his fingertips began to tingle.
His eyes almost glued themselves to her, uncontrollably yearning to touch her.
However, the next moment, he saw Sang Li leap into the arms of the little Mirror Demon.
The grotesque lizard-like creature cradling a ball of pure white fur pierced his eyes painfully.
And that ugly thing was touching the fox’s ears.
The little fox didn’t care, lazily swaying its tail, using all its might to comfort the homeless and tormented Mirror Demon, playing freely without giving him a second thought.
She didn’t even notice him standing alone under the tree.
Ji Hengyu’s breathing grew erratic, his blood boiled, and a fierce, savage energy coursed through him. Like a beast stalking prey it couldn’t reach, his entire demeanor turned menacing.
Sang Li sensed something amiss and instantly turned her head.
He stood under the tree, half his body cloaked in shadows like drifting ash, not reaching his eyes. His expression carried an indescribable cold sorrow, but soon, this gloomy ferocity vanished, leaving behind only an inscrutable coldness lingering on his brows.
No, something was wrong.
His expression looked… as if he were about to go mad?
Ji Wu’s voice chimed in at just the right moment: [Restrain yourself. Beware of karmic backlash.]
Ji Hengyu’s throat bobbed.
Ji Wu’s reminder brought him some semblance of calm, but the more he tried to suppress it, the more uncontrollable the restlessness became.
Karmic obstacles arose, swirling around his heart.
Thoughts deeply buried resurfaced, growing wildly under the influence of these karmic obstacles.
He wanted to be with the little fox, wanted her to roll around and play in his arms.
Why could that ugly thing do it?
Why couldn’t he??
Ji Hengyu’s shoulders trembled uncontrollably as he faced away from Sang Li.
Sang Li couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Reassuringly, she patted Da Yanjing’ claw, then leapt down, her furry tail trailing behind her.
Step by step, leaving fox paw prints behind, she approached Ji Hengyu, crouching down and patting his foot with her paw.
Then she tilted her head up—
“My Lord, are you unwell?”
Ji Hengyu looked down, meeting a pair of fox eyes.
Those eyes were like a tranquil lake washed clean, utterly pure, making his own thoughts seem all the more filthy.
He didn’t speak, his gaze gradually darkening.
Seeing this, Sang Li shrank back slightly. “My Lord, your eyes… they’re red?”
Not metaphorical redness.
But—
His eyes were actually red!!
A crimson mist spread like a spider web, covering both eyes.
Involuntarily, Sang Li shivered.
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