Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

The vast lake surface was as calm as a mirror, without a ripple.

A person walks by as the water and sky blend into one.

"Young man, you've come again."

Lady Santu sat languidly, her slender eyes filled with a smile, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

She looked him up and down.

I thought to myself, this is completely different from the last time.

That time, he was dressed in a bright red wedding gown, full of vigor and high spirits.

At this moment, all that remained in his eyes was dejection and languor, filled with world-weariness, as if only a sliver of obsession was supporting his body.

Wu Li asked blankly, "Do you know why I've come?"

"Of course I know." Lady Santu looked up at the tree behind her. At the highest point of the tree's canopy, the little daisy was nowhere to be seen. "You are looking for your wife."

The most painful thing in life is the separation of life and death.

He had experienced both death and separation.

He wanted to exchange his immortality for his beloved, but when he woke up again, his lover had vanished without a trace.

Wu Li looked up, following her gaze.

Looking at that empty spot on the branch, it seemed like a piece of his heart was missing.

"What can I give to reunite with her?"

"I've heard that your Miao witchcraft tribe has a sacred tree that's been worshipped for ten thousand years, capable of predicting the past and future." The Goddess of the Three Paths smiled slyly. "Perhaps the answer you're looking for can be found there."

A fleeting glimmer of light finally appeared in those dejected and gloomy eyes.

"Thank you." Wu Li's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. "What do you want me to offer in exchange? Just name it."

Upon hearing this, the Goddess of the Three Paths couldn't help but chuckle. She rested her chin on her hand, looking at him with interest: "I was just saying it casually; I didn't actually give you anything. Why should you offer anything in return?"

"Even though I am an evil god, I don't do unethical business without reason."

Beneath her light, misty dress, her hand seemed to be gently kneading something furry.

Wu Li didn't ask any more questions, and his departing figure only showed his eagerness.

Until he quickly blended into the seamless blend of water and sky, as if swallowed up by the vast lake.

The Three Paths Goddess slowly lifted her skirt.

A small, fiery red, furry head suddenly peeked out from inside. The little fox had its round eyes wide open, and there was still some incense ash on the tip of its nose. It had obviously been suffocated for a while and was shaking its ears in dissatisfaction.

"Hehehe, you naughty little thing." Lady Santu held it in her arms and said with a smile, "That person just now, did he look somewhat familiar?"

The little fox blinked, thought seriously for a while, and honestly shook its head.

"He's practically an old friend of yours," the Goddess of the Three Paths said, her smile deepening. "Do you know why I didn't demand any compensation from him?"

The little fox tilted its head and honestly shook its head.

It has been following this goddess for the past two days and has seen everything very clearly.

The business she runs is the most unscrupulous!

Yesterday, when the debtors from the gambling den came to demand their gold and silver jewelry, she had them exchange their lifespans for it; the day before yesterday, a woman hoping her husband would change his mind asked her for guidance, and she took half of her memories.

In every single matter, she was never seen to be soft-hearted or merciful.

But today, she pointed out a path to this young man for nothing, without taking a single penny in return.

Could it be because she's good-looking?

The little fox couldn't understand, so it scratched her palm with its paw, looking puzzled.

Looking into its watery eyes, the Goddess of the Three Paths was reminded of the pair of clear, firm almond-shaped eyes she remembered.

"Because a young girl once came to pray for her husband's peace and happiness. How could I possibly ask anything of her, the one who asked for it?"

She remembered that the little girl came in a hurry that day.

The figure swept into the Sanzu Temple like a gust of wind and knelt down in front of the statue with a thud.

The stone steps of the mountain path were covered with moss. She must have tripped and fallen while running too fast. Her skirt was covered in mud, but she didn't seem to notice. She clapped her hands and kowtowed three times earnestly.

"You must be the Goddess of the Three Crossings?"

She spoke quickly, "I'm in a hurry, the ship is about to leave, so I'm speaking a bit fast. Please don't mind!"

The goddess of the Three Crossings inside the statue was stunned. She had been sitting in the temple of the Three Crossings for so many years, and this was the first time she had ever encountered someone saying to the statue, "Don't mind if you speak fast."

"My husband has suffered so much, so much so that I feel God is unfair. But it doesn't matter, I have tasted all kinds of sweetness in this world. So, I am willing to give him all the sweetness I have in the future, all of it, without holding back a single bit. May he be safe, happy, and always smiling from now on."

After saying this, she kowtowed three more times, then raised her head with a beaming smile, as if she had fulfilled a long-cherished wish: "Your Majesty, you must promise me!"

She stood up, dusted herself off her skirt, and was about to run away when she suddenly turned back, clasped her hands together, and added to the statue, "And I also wish you prosperous business, abundant incense offerings, and happiness every day!"

Then, they ran away.

The Goddess of the Three Paths remembered that she sat behind the statue for a long time before finally letting out a soft laugh.

This child.

Who prays to God like that?

The little fox listened intently as the Goddess of the Three Paths recounted the story of a boy and a girl praying for each other.

Finally, it heard the Goddess of the Three Paths ask it, "Do you think these two are stupid? What they are asking for brings them no benefit whatsoever."

It shook its head.

It shook it as hard as it could, its little head bobbing like a rattle drum, because it felt that they were both doing the right thing.

The Goddess of the Three Paths sighed helplessly and tapped its nose: "You silly fox, you still haven't learned your lesson. Indeed, only similar people can play together."

"Also, your mischievous nature hasn't changed. You couldn't stay in Tushan and sneaked out to see the human world again."

"So be it, your love tribulation is over anyway. Sever your ill-fated relationship, and your true love is on its way."

"Follow the direction that boy left in, but don't dawdle along the way."

It's impossible not to be playful.

The little fox ran away from Tushan just to see the world.

It didn't want to be confined to a small world; it wanted to take human form as soon as possible, to see all aspects of life, and to experience all the joys and sorrows of life.

It followed the direction the boy left in, and disappeared into a vast and deep mountain.

The mountain was full of flowers and plants, many of which were rare species that it had never seen before. It was extremely excited, sniffing here and there, and running wildly through the forest.

As it ran, its little paws stepped on something.

With a "whoosh," a powerful force suddenly pulled it up, and its limbs were instantly bound tightly by something, leaving its entire body suspended in mid-air, swaying back and forth.

It was trapped in a rope bag and could not break free no matter how hard it struggled, only able to let out a series of terrified "howls".

Two Dong hunters who had been lying in wait came out with beaming smiles.

"Wow! What a rare find! Look at that, a fiery red fox, much more valuable than that orange-red one. If we sell this pelt, our whole family won't have to worry about food for a year!"

"We heard that evil spirits haunted the territory of the Witchcraft Clan, and that all the clansmen died overnight. They warned us to stay away from this ominous place. Who knew such a rare beast was lurking here! Brother, our trip today was definitely worthwhile!"

The two men touched the gleaming knives in their hands, about to untie the ropes hanging from the tree.

Suddenly, a powerful roar came from above.

A giant monster is charging straight at us!

It was covered in red scales, with jagged horns on its head, resembling neither a dragon nor a snake, and exuding a suffocatingly fierce aura.

"Aaaaaah—run! Evil spirit! There really is an evil spirit here!"

The two hunters were so frightened that they dropped their knives and scrambled down the mountain, losing one of their shoes in the process, not even bothering to pick it up.

The little fox in the rope bag wasn't much better off.

It wanted to shout "Ahhh!" but its little voice couldn't produce a human sound, and all that came out were pitiful "whimpering" sounds.

It covered its eyes tightly with its two little paws, and the fox curled up into a ball.

It remembered hearing the sisters from Tushan describe this kind of monster as a legendary dragon, the most terrifying of all monsters, capable of devouring a small demon in one bite, crunching away without even spitting out the bones! If you see it, you must run for your life immediately!

The little fox could feel the fishy smell coming, and as it fell with the rope bag, it landed on the soft fallen leaves.

It shook even more violently.

Its paws still tightly covered its eyes, and its long fox tail flipped up to cover its head, as if it wanted to curl itself into a little fur ball that no one could see.

You can't see me, you can't see me, you can't see me...

It frantically prayed in its heart that the terrifying beast would not discover it.

A moment of silence.

There was no gaping maw as expected, nor a crunchy ending.

The little fox held its breath and gradually realized that the terrifying, cold aura in front of it had completely dissipated at some point.

"Red silk?"

Someone is talking, very close to it.

His voice was clear and bright, with an undercurrent of barely suppressed joy.