Chapter 7

“Did you run into anyone on the street?” Fu Lan Cen poured herself a cup of cool tea as well, took a small sip, and asked in a manner that betrayed no hint of ulterior motive.

The nine-tailed fox clan possessed an acute sense of smell. Earlier, she had detected faint, unusual traces of a scent on Lu Xi.

That aroma was the fox clan’s most distinctive tracking fox charm. It required refinement from the fur on a nine-tailed fox’s final tail and emitted different fragrances depending on the individual fox. In essence, it served as a means of communication among nine-tailed foxes.

And the tracking fox charm on Lu Xi…

“You know about it?” Lu Xi glanced at Fu Lan Cen, noticing how the woman’s delicate nose twitched slightly, as if she were inhaling deeply to catch some subtle note.

Lu Xi lifted her own arm and sniffed her sleeve. “You smelled it?”

Moments later, Lu Xi recounted in detail her encounter on the street with the man and the woman. Seeing the thoughtful expression on Fu Lan Cen’s face, she added wistfully, “The scent on that woman was very similar to yours… and it seemed like she noticed that I’d picked up your aura.”

“So they’re from Qingqiu? Here to drag you back?”

Dusk was falling, and the dim light cast shadows across the radiant young woman’s face, lending her expression a hint of inner turmoil.

Lu Xi didn’t like the way Fu Lan Cen looked shrouded in shadow. She waved her hand toward the wall, igniting the wall lamps overhead. Warm orange candlelight spilled down, giving Fu Lan Cen’s complexion a healthier glow.

“I’m your savior, after all,” Lu Xi said, deliberately softening her voice to sound gentler. “You don’t need to be so guarded around me.”

A flicker of strange emotion passed through the beautiful fox’s eyes, and she stared unwaveringly at the woman who had lowered her stance before her.

“If they’re here to take you back too, then we can just leave this place. Your wounds are mostly healed by now.” Lu Xi leaned back casually, allowing Fu Lan Cen to scrutinize her at leisure. “Besides, I don’t want to see you dragged off like that.”

Her gaze was clear and frank, without a trace of ill intent.

Fu Lan Cen’s fingers tightened within her sleeves, and that peculiar sensation stirred in her heart once more. She had always believed no one did good for another without reason, yet Lu Xi’s presence had plunged her into profound contemplation. What exactly was this woman after with such kindness?

Those eyes sparkled with fine glimmers, reflecting Fu Lan Cen’s own image within them. Fu Lan Cen averted her gaze silently. After a long hesitation, she voiced her lingering doubt once again.

“What do you want by saving me?”

She had asked this question more than once.

This time, Lu Xi smiled patiently all the same.

Just as Fu Lan Cen expected her to repeat the old excuse—that life had grown too dull and monotonous after so long, so she had saved her on a whim to liven things up—the woman’s clear voice rang in her ears: “Because I came here to save you.”

Fu Lan Cen: “…”

If this person had been a man saying such sappy words, she might have chalked it up to being captivated by her beauty.

But this one was not a man. Moreover, when she looked at Fu Lan Cen, her eyes held only admiring praise, nothing remotely lascivious.

Even so, hearing those words from Lu Xi made Fu Lan Cen’s heart quiver uncontrollably for an instant.

She lowered her head, her half-lidded eyes concealing the faint shadows at the bottom of her gaze. Slowly, she began to reveal the identities of the pair.

“The two you met are probably my cousin and her senior brother.”

Her cousin?

Lu Xi felt a twinge of surprise, recalling how the female supporting character in the original story had her identity swapped by her own cousin and ended up married into the Ninth Heaven as God Venerable Qi Ran’s wife.

Just as Lu Xi regarded her with sympathy, unsure how to offer comfort, Fu Lan Cen spoke in a cold tone: “My cousin is called Bai Qing Yuan. Her elder sister, Bai You Ran, the true one… is already the wife of a god venerable in the Heavenly Realm…”

Her voice trailed off toward the end, laced with a note of regret.

Lu Xi watched her covertly, wondering if Fu Lan Cen harbored feelings for Qi Ran, and that was why she seemed so troubled.

After a moment’s consideration, she asked, “Are you in love with him?”

Fu Lan Cen paused, then slowly shook her head. “I’ve known since childhood that he would be my husband, so naturally, I paid him more attention than others.”

As the words left her mouth, her thoughts grew hazy.

Why had she explained her doubts to this woman so candidly and without hesitation? Their relationship didn’t really warrant such clarity.

She didn’t dwell on it. By now, the initial distrust had faded, and Fu Lan Cen simply told Lu Xi about how her betrothal had been usurped.

“…I knew my cousin adored God Venerable Qi Ran. Though her actions humiliated me and filled me with anger, I never wished her dead. But she… pressed me relentlessly, imprisoning me in the Back Mountain Forbidden Ground to drain my essence blood and fuel her own cultivation…”

“Now that I’ve escaped, without my essence blood to nourish her, her cultivation can’t advance. She’ll do anything to capture me and haul me back to Qingqiu.”

At this point, Fu Lan Cen’s expression—whether sorrow or fury was unclear—held a slow ripple in her long, alluring eyes as she fixed them on the woman beside her. “So Bai Qing Yuan must be here on orders to drag me back.”

“The man with her is from the Dragon Clan, with profound cultivation that even I can’t match. Escaping will be incredibly arduous. With that in mind… do you still want to stick with me?”

This was no small matter. Fu Lan Cen had no desire to drag innocents into it—especially not Lu Xi, who had treated her decently. She shouldn’t get entangled in such a vortex.

Silence stretched through the room. Outside, the wind gradually died down, thick clouds parting to reveal a slender, luminous crescent moon climbing into the sky.

Cool moonlight filtered through the doorway, brightening every corner.

Lu Xi set down her teacup and gazed at the young woman, whose beauty seemed even more striking in the lunar glow. A smile tugged at her lips. “Perfect timing. It’s been ages since I crossed paths with the Dragon Clan. This trip gives me a chance to spar with them and see if the younger generation is still the tough, resilient punching bags they used to be.”

Fu Lan Cen: “…”

The odd atmosphere shattered in an instant. She pressed a hand to her forehead and turned away silently, resolving not to discuss such things with Lu Xi anymore.

What a mood killer!

Even so, reassured by Lu Xi’s stance, she stayed on in the town to recover fully.

…

Two months passed. Autumn was drawing to a close, and the early winter chill had set in.

With her injuries fully healed, Fu Lan Cen packed the few belongings they had acquired over the previous months. She and Lu Xi prepared to depart together.

The sky hung heavy and overcast that day, thick clouds blanketing the town and pressing down until it was almost suffocating.

Having gathered their luggage, the two were about to check out of the small courtyard when they pulled open the door. On the otherwise empty street stood a man and a woman, gazing leisurely with composed expressions, as if they had been waiting for them.