Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The wind stopped.

The reed marshes were deathly silent, with only the heavy stench of blood permeating the water, turning the originally clear water vapor murky and turbid.

Bai Yin stood in the middle of the mountain of corpses and sea of ​​blood, his feet resting on the mangled head of the wolf demon leader.

His whole body was stiff, his scarlet eyes fixed on the woman on the large blue stone in front of him, not daring to blink.

Even though his eyes were sore and blood was flowing down his forehead and into his eyes, stinging painfully, he dared not close them.

I'm afraid that if I close my eyes, the scene before me will shatter.

This must be a dream.

Bai Yin told himself this in his heart.

He's had too many dreams like this over the past few years.

Sometimes it was under the moon over Yunmengze, where she held his hand and looked at the stars; sometimes it was in that dim cave, where she fed him the Vermilion Fruit; and more often, she collapsed in his arms, covered in blood, her body growing colder and colder until she finally turned into countless specks of light and vanished.

Every time he woke up from a dream, all that remained for him was endless emptiness and cold tears on his pillow.

"Is it another inner demon...?"

Bai Yin muttered to himself, his voice hoarse as if two rough whetstones were rubbing together.

He looked down at his hands.

His hands were covered in blood, and bits of flesh were stuck under his fingernails.

The texture feels so realistic.

It was so real that he couldn't distinguish between illusion and reality.

If it's a dream, why is the blood still warm?

If it's a dream, why is my heart beating so fast, like it's about to burst out of my chest?

Bai Yin slowly raised his right hand.

That hand was still trembling uncontrollably.

He looked at his palm, a fierce and resolute glint in his eyes.

Snapped!

A crisp, explosive sound rang out across the open water.

Bai Yin didn't hold back in that slap.

He was really beating himself to death.

The force of the blow sent his face tilting to the side, his cheek instantly swelling and turning red, a trickle of bright red blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, and even his back teeth becoming slightly loose.

pain.

Excruciating pain.

A burning pain shot straight to my head, instantly dispelling the dazed and confused feeling.

Not a dream.

Bai Yin covered his face, his pupils contracting violently.

It will hurt, there will be blood, and the teeth will become loose.

This is neither a dream nor a hallucination.

Everything before my eyes is real.

The woman sitting on the bluestone, the woman with nine tails who was smiling at him, was alive.

Ecstasy was like a tsunami, instantly overwhelming his reason.

She's not dead!

She's really not dead!

Bai Yin opened his mouth, wanting to laugh out loud, wanting to roar, wanting to rush over and hug her, to meld her into his very bones, and never let go again.

He took a step.

Mud and water splashed from underfoot.

But just as his foot touched the ground, his movements suddenly stopped.

It was as if they had been frozen in place.

The elation that had just surged into his heart was instantly extinguished, as if doused with a bucket of ice water.

wrong.

Bai Yin's eyes changed.

From ecstasy came astonishment, and finally, an unfathomable gloom and tyranny.

Su Xiaojiu is dead.

He watched her die with his own eyes.

Under the sword formation of that old bastard from the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect, in order to save him, she used a substitute straw man, and in the end, she didn't even leave behind any remains, directly dissipating into nothingness.

That is annihilation under the laws of Heaven, the dissipation of the soul and spirit.

How could it possibly be here intact?

and……

Bai Yin stared intently at the woman.

so similar.

Whether it was her face, her languid demeanor, or even the arc of her nine tails swaying, everything was exactly the same as Su Xiaojiu in my memory.

Flawless.

But it's precisely because it's too perfect that it seems eerie.

There are no people who come back to life from the dead; there are only wicked people with ulterior motives.

A name suddenly popped into Bai Yin's mind—

Black Wind Ridge, the Thousand-Faced Bat King.

That was a powerful demon from the western mountains. Its true form was a vampire bat, and its greatest strengths were not killing, but illusion and mind reading.

That bat possessed a special innate ability called "Heart-Reflecting Demon".

It can see through the deepest obsessions and desires of its opponent, then transform into the most important person in that person's heart to confuse their mind, and finally take advantage of the situation to drain the opponent's brain marrow and essence.

Six months ago, Bai Yin fought with that bat in order to seize a spiritual herb.

At that time, the bat transformed into Su Xiaojiu's appearance and almost caught him.

If he hadn't smelled the nauseating stench of the bat at the last moment, his grave would probably be overgrown with weeds by now.

"It's you again..."

Bai Yin lowered his head, letting out a low growl.

His muscles began to tense, and veins bulged out like writhing dragons.

Murderous intent.

An even more frenzied killing intent than when he slaughtered the demon soldiers erupted from his body.

That damn bat.

How dare it?

How dare it desecrate her time and time again?

Su Xiaojiu is a taboo in Bai Yin's heart, the only pure land in his life.

That was a sacred existence that he wouldn't even dare to touch in his dreams.

But this filthy bat dares to wear her skin and use her face to play tricks here!

"You're asking for it!!!"

Bai Yin suddenly looked up.

Those eyes, which had just regained their clarity, were now once again filled with crimson.

That was the rage that followed being provoked.

……

On the large blue stone.

Su Xiaojiu almost burst out laughing at the scene before her.

What is this silly tiger doing?

Do you breathe on her?

First, he stared at her blankly, then suddenly slapped himself hard; it sounded painful.

Before she could even feel sorry for him for two seconds, his expression changed again.

From shock to ecstasy, and now... anger?

This was the first time Su Xiaojiu had ever seen someone change so many faces in an instant.

Especially his swollen cheeks, paired with that bitter and resentful expression, created a strangely comical effect.

"puff."

Su Xiaojiu couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh out loud.

When she smiled, her eyebrows curved, and her nine tails trembled wildly behind her; her innate charm was irresistible.

"Fool."

She scolded him softly, but her tone was full of doting affection.

I originally just wanted to tease him and see if this little tiger had improved over the years.

I didn't expect him to still be so simple-minded.

He can't even tell the difference between real and fake, and yet he beat himself up like this.

Su Xiaojiu shook her head, just about to explain.

But her smile, in Bai Yin's eyes, became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

fling in teeth.

That damn bat is mocking him!

It mocks his infatuation, his foolishness, and that he could actually fall for an illusion!

Xiao Jiu would never laugh like that.

Xiao Jiu's smile is warm, mischievous, and carries a touch of arrogance.

It's definitely not this kind of condescending, mocking attitude, as if you're watching a clown!

"Shut up!"

Bai Yin was completely enraged.

He couldn't stand the way that face looked.

This is the greatest insult to Su Xiaojiu!

"You're not allowed to smile with her face on your face!"

boom!

The ground beneath Bai Yin's feet instantly shattered.

He transformed into a blood-red afterimage, charging towards the woman on the large blue stone with a world-destroying aura.

They held nothing back.

There was not a shred of pity.

At this moment, in his eyes, the woman sitting on the rock was not the lover he longed for day and night, but a demon disguised as his lover.

He wants to tear it apart.

Tear off this hypocritical mask, drag out the bat hiding inside, and crush its bones inch by inch!

"roar--!"

A tiger's roar that shook the mountains and forests, mixed with endless grief and murderous intent, exploded in the sky above Yunmeng Marsh.

The terrifying sound waves surged up into massive waves, instantly leveling the surrounding reed beds.

Bai Yin's figure leaped into the air.

Behind him, a huge white tiger image loomed in and out, radiating a suffocating aura of killing intent.

The blood-stained claw, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that tore through the void, headed straight for Su Xiaojiu's throat.

"Show me your true form!"

……

Su Xiaojiu's smile froze.

She looked at the murderous man who seemed to want to devour her alive, and a question mark slowly appeared on her forehead.

This script is wrong.

According to the usual pattern, shouldn't it be a long-awaited reunion where the two embrace and weep, pouring out their hearts to each other?

At the very least, shouldn't he have cautiously approached, confirmed the truth, and then wept with joy?

Why would they unleash such a powerful move at the drop of a hat?

Do you want her to reveal her true form?

She's exactly what she looks like now!

"That silly tiger..."

Su Xiaojiu's lips twitched.

As the sharp claw, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, was about to grab her face, she could even feel the overwhelming stench of blood and killing intent emanating from it.

If this is caught red-handed, this avatar that was painstakingly created will probably be destroyed on the spot.

"Bai Yin!"

Su Xiaojiu couldn't sit still any longer.

She suddenly stood up, put her hands on her hips, and focused her energy in her lower abdomen.

He disregarded any pretense of imperial demeanor and immediately adopted the same aura he had when training that little tiger.

"You dare touch me?!"

The voice was crisp and clear, carrying a familiar, feisty edge.

But Bai Yin, who was already blinded by rage, couldn't listen to any of that.

In his view, this was nothing more than the bat's last struggle before death, a far more clumsy imitation.

"die!"

The claws didn't pause at all; in fact, they became even faster.

Su Xiaojiu: "..."

Hopeless.

This tiger has completely gone mad.

Since they won't listen to reason, we'll have to resort to some special methods.

Su Xiaojiu sighed.

She neither dodged nor avoided it, but simply stood there, watching the sharp claw descend.

Just a moment before the claws touched her skin.

behind her.

The nine tails, which had been swaying gently, suddenly shot out like nine giant white pythons.

It was not an attack.

Instead, it is entangled.

The nine tails were incredibly agile, instantly dodging Bai Yin's sharp claws and winding their way up his arm.

In the blink of an eye.

They tied the man, who was still in mid-air, up tightly.

It looks like a white rice dumpling.

Bai Yin's offensive came to an abrupt halt. (Note: Bai Yin was reluctant to make a move, even though he thought it was just wishful thinking.)

He was suspended in mid-air, his limbs tightly bound by the soft yet tough fox tail, unable to move.

Not even a single hair of Su Xiaojiu's was damaged.

"Let me go!"

Bai Yin was still struggling, but he was reluctant to actually exert his strength, even though it seemed to him like an illusion.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he let out a beast-like growl.

"Bat demon! Kill me if you dare!"

"As long as I have a breath left, I will tear you to pieces!"

Su Xiaojiu rolled her eyes at the sound of it.

Bat spirit?

So this idiot mistook her for someone else?

No wonder you were so angry.

"Well done, you've really gotten some skills."

Su Xiaojiu walked up to Bai Yin, who was hanging in mid-air.

She stretched out a finger and poked Bai Yin's swollen cheek.

"Does it hurt?"

Bai Yin stared intently at her, his eyes so fierce they seemed to want to devour her, without giving her a single answer.

Su Xiaojiu wasn't annoyed.

She leaned closer until their noses almost touched.

She could see the bloodshot in Bai Yin's eyes, smell the strong stench of blood on him, and sense the fear hidden beneath his murderous intent.

He is afraid.

I'm afraid of losing it again.

I'm afraid it's all just a scam.

Su Xiaojiu's heart suddenly softened.

She sighed and dropped her nonchalant expression.

"Silly tiger."

She reached out and gently cupped Bai Yin's face in her hands.

The movements were incredibly gentle.

A faint white light shone from her fingertips; it was the healing demonic power unique to the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.

As she stroked him, the redness and swelling on Bai Yin's face subsided at a visible speed.

"Look carefully."

Su Xiaojiu's voice was very soft, yet it clearly reached Bai Yin's ears.

talking.

She released a small amount of her primordial energy.

It was a faint, delicate fragrance, like the scent of gardenias in bloom.

unique.

Unforgettable.

That was a taste that Bai Yin could never mistake in his entire life.

Bai Yin's struggle suddenly stopped.

He stared blankly at the face so close to his.

Feeling the warm touch on my cheek.

I could smell that familiar fragrance on the tip of my nose.

The rage that had fueled his madness was extinguished instantly, as if the fuel had been drained.

Instead.

It was a kind of bewilderment that almost suffocated him.

"Really...really?"

His voice was trembling.

It's shaking even more than before.

Su Xiaojiu loosened her tail.

Bai Yin fell to the ground with a thud.

But he didn't stand up. Instead, he just knelt in the mud, looking up at her like a child who had done something wrong.

Su Xiaojiu looked down at him.

then.

She lifted her foot and gently kicked his knee.

"What are you still standing there for?"

"Didn't you say you were going to catch fish for me to eat?"

"I've been starving for years."

This sentence.

It was like a key that completely unlocked Bai Yin's long-sealed memories.

once.

Right here.

She kicked his knee in the same way, and said she was hungry with the same self-righteousness.

Tears.

The dam burst open without warning.

[Chapter Summary]

When an old friend returns, I wonder if it's a dream; my palm is red and swollen, the blood still flowing.

Deeply ingrained inner demons make it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake, mistaking the true form for a bat spirit.

Thunder roars in fury, its nine tails lightly binding the tiger as it moves.

The fragrance of gardenias soothes the wounded soul, revealing the possibility of rebirth in this world.