Nestled within the brocade quilt, the sleeping little fox shifted slightly. Her silver-white ears twitched at the sound of a familiar movement, but she soon lapsed back into a deep, peaceful stillness.
At this moment, Shen Youran possessed a sliver of consciousness, but it wasn’t even enough to maintain basic wakefulness, let alone allow her to open her eyes.
Before her consciousness drifted back into the abyss of sleep, she felt a wave of relief. She had been right to have Huazhi take her place. If she were to vanish suddenly and reappear in the Prince’s Manor later, it would have been difficult to explain.
What she hadn’t expected was that Luo Wuyan would recognize that Huazhi wasn’t her “Sister Youran” at the very first glance.
How could a love that had seeped into one’s very marrow be fooled by a similar shell?
Hearing the commotion outside, Huazhi moved with a graceful, swaying gait, mimicking her master’s poise as she went out to greet the visitor.
“My Prince.”
With a slender waist and a captivating silhouette, she was a perfect mirror of the beauty from the day before.
Yet, with just one look, Luo Wuyan’s expression turned cold.
This wasn’t her Sister Youran. No matter how much she looked like her, she wasn’t the one.
Where did Sister Youran go? Her heart clenched in anxiety, but it relaxed slightly when she sensed a faint, familiar aura emanating from the woman before her.
This should be that silk tree branch from Sister’s home.
Luo Wuyan’s expression softened marginally. She frowned and looked at Huazhi, demanding, “Where is Sister Youran?”
Huazhi froze. Was I really exposed just like that?
While Huazhi stood there in a daze, Luo Wuyan pushed past the figure blocking the door and strode toward the inner chamber.
The moment she entered, her gaze was instantly drawn to the snow-white fur ball on the bed.
The little fox was barely larger than a palm. Her four fluffy tails wrapped around more than half of her tiny body, and those bright, spirited eyes were currently squeezed shut.
Luo Wuyan’s eyes fell upon the fourth tail, and she couldn’t look away.
So that was why Sister Youran had reverted to her original form. It was because…
Luo Wuyan leaned over slightly, her fingers trembling as they touched the soft, velvety fur of the fox. Then, applying the gentlest pressure, she carefully gathered the little fox into her arms.
The warmth against her fingertips made Luo Wuyan’s heart skip a beat.
This was her Sister Youran…
Whether she was a human or a fox, Luo Wuyan could recognize her at a glance.
Huazhi finally snapped out of her daze and moved to stop this person who had seen through her identity so easily. But as she looked up, she froze again.
When did Master end up in her hands? Uh, no, in her arms…
That wasn’t the point. The point was that Master hadn’t recovered from her injuries yet. Would this human take advantage of a fox in its time of need?
The more she thought about it, the more dangerous she felt this person was.
But she was just a silk tree branch. She had only managed to take human form with her master’s help. Could she really defeat this human who looked so incredibly dangerous?
Huazhi thought long and hard. The most powerful thing she could do right now was…
Secretly root herself in front of the human’s feet, wait for her to be distracted, and then trip her with all her might.
And then…
While she was falling, Huazhi would scoop up her master and run!
However, rooting took time, and this person wasn’t just going to stand there waiting to be tripped. What should she do? She needed answers fast; this was an emergency…
Just as Huazhi was panicking, Luo Wuyan carefully inspected Shen Youran’s newly grown tail. Finding nothing wrong, she rubbed the fox’s little ears, turned around, and prepared to leave with the little fox in her arms.
Seeing that her master was about to be carried away, Huazhi grew desperate and tried to block her path.
Luo Wuyan’s gaze swept over Huazhi’s wary, anxious little face. She smiled and explained softly, “I won’t hurt her.”
This is the person I spent so much effort to bring back. How could I ever bear to hurt her?
Luo Wuyan lowered her eyes, her gaze falling upon the fluffy little creature with tenderness and deep affection.
Since the fourth tail had grown back, Sister Youran must have refined the Kingly Aura within the prayer beads, along with the beads themselves.
Recalling the origin of those beads, Luo Wuyan’s eyes trembled, and she nearly shed a tear.
That was Sister Youran’s fourth tail…
In their past life, in order to save her, Youran had severed her tail and transformed it into a sword to repel assassins.
Afterward…
To help her quell the rebellion, Sister Youran had exhausted most of her demonic energy. The sword… had also broken.
After Sister Youran died, the broken sword wept blood. It should have faded from the world along with her.
Fortunately, Master Yujing had helped, refining the power of that one tail along with a fragment of Sister Youran’s soul to create those blood-jade prayer beads.
In a sense, those beads were Sister Youran’s fourth tail from her past life.
When she first saw Sister Youran in this life, Luo Wuyan had only been consumed with heartache that she had somehow lost a tail. The bloody wound had filled her with pain and resentment.
Once she calmed down later, she suspected that the missing tail might be related to their past life. Now, it seemed her suspicions were correct.
She only wondered… when would Sister Youran wake up?
When she did, would she remember their past life? Would she remember… her?
Luo Wuyan took a deep breath, trying her best to suppress the complex emotions swirling in her heart.
Her gaze swept over Huazhi, who was still staring at her warily, but she had no intention of putting the fox down.
She knew that when Sister Youran reverted to her true form to hibernate, it was when she was at her most vulnerable. Naturally, she wouldn’t leave her sister here alone.
While Huazhi was loyal, she lacked strength. She was fine for transforming into a human to serve tea and water, but if real danger arose, she was just a tree branch her sister used because it was convenient.
How could she possibly protect her sister?
Internally, Luo Wuyan looked down on Huazhi’s meager strength and lack of utility, but her face remained smiling and bright.
One couldn’t tell at all just how much she had envied Huazhi in their past life for being able to stay by Sister Youran’s side at every moment.
Unaware of the disdain directed at her, Huazhi looked at her master in the human’s arms, then at the human herself, and followed hesitantly.
She didn’t trust anyone. She could only feel at ease if her master was right under her nose.
Walking out with Shen Youran, Luo Wuyan noticed the footsteps behind her but didn’t stop them. She simply stroked the fox’s smooth, glossy fur idly.
It seemed Sister Youran had recovered quite well recently; she looked much better than when she first arrived at the Prince’s Manor.
However, since she had reverted to her true form to hibernate, her body likely needed “nourishment”—such as Luo Wuyan’s own Kingly Aura.
While the hairpin she gave Youran also contained Kingly Aura, it paled in comparison to her own presence.
Therefore, it was better for the fox to stay with her.
With that thought, Luo Wuyan felt even more justified as she carried her beloved little fox toward her own courtyard.
Upon returning to her room, Luo Wuyan sat on her bed, cradling the little fox. she stared blankly at the creature in her arms for a long time, her thoughts unreadable.
As for Huazhi, she was stopped before she could even enter the main courtyard.
Watching the human carry her master further and further away, Huazhi looked at the servant blocking her path. She sat on the ground in a huff and, while no one was looking, secretly rooted herself.
She would wait until the dead of night, then quietly sneak in and steal her master back while that dangerous human wasn’t looking.
[That Night:]
Huazhi: (Carefully rooting… Good, it’s safe. Sticks her head out, continues rooting, sticks her head out… Great! That hateful human isn’t here.) I’m going to steal Master away quietly.
Xiaobai: (In a raspy, loud voice) Someone’s stealing a fox! Someone’s stealing a fox!
Luo Wuyan: Let’s settle this, you little broken branch!
