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

The cabin was so quiet that the only sound was the rustling of a broom across the wooden planks.

Su Chang'an, his face dark, held a broom made of soul power in his hand, resignedly struggling against the broken porcelain shards on the ground.

She, a powerful quasi-emperor and the true form of a nine-tailed celestial fox, has now been reduced to serving as a maid to a rebellious son.

If this gets back to the Northern Region, won't she lose all face?

"there."

Two words drifted from the soft couch, chillingly cold.

Su Chang'an paused, following Chen Xuan's gaze. There, stuck in a crack in the wall, was a fragment of a wine jar, about the size of a fingernail.

"..."

Su Chang'an took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the urge to smear the broom on the dead man's face.

She lifted her foot, intending to kick the shard under the bed.

Zheng—

Chen Xuan tapped the spine of the broken sword lightly with his finger.

The crisp sound of a sword echoed through the narrow cabin, carrying an undisguised warning.

Su Chang'an froze.

She turned her head and saw that Chen Xuan was still sitting cross-legged, without even lifting his eyelids, but the tip of the broken sword was faintly pointing at her ankle.

This unfilial son really treats her like a thief.

"Fine, you're ruthless." Su Chang'an gritted his teeth and floated over, bent down, and used his fingers to pry out the fragment, obediently throwing it into the pile of garbage. "What's the big deal? Is it really necessary to resort to knives and guns? You have no respect for the elderly or children."

Chen Xuan ignored her rambling, but the tense, lifeless look in his eyes seemed to dissipate slightly as the cabin gradually became cleaner.

Just as Su Chang'an was about to pack up the pile of garbage and throw it away.

Knock knock knock.

A series of hesitant knocks suddenly rang out.

The air inside the cabin froze instantly.

On the soft couch, Chen Xuan's back, which had been somewhat relaxed, suddenly straightened.

That fleeting sense of peace vanished without a trace, like smoke blown away by the wind.

Instead, there was a suffocating coldness.

He slowly raised his head, and the obsession and madness he had shown when looking at Su Chang'an in his bloodshot eyes were gone, replaced by a deathly indifference.

The terrifying pressure emanating from the Transformation Realm receded into his body like a tide, and he instantly transformed into a cold, rust-covered broken sword.

Su Chang'an was taken aback by this sudden change.

She glanced instinctively toward the door, forgetting to put down the broom in her hand.

"Enter."

Chen Xuan's voice was hoarse, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

The hatch was carefully pushed open a crack, and then a young man wearing a drab gray long gown walked in.

This person looked young, only in his early twenties, and had a handsome appearance, but his eyes revealed a timidity stemming from years of being bullied.

He was carrying two jars of wine and a few oil paper packages. He hesitated at the door for a long time before daring to step over the threshold.

"Cousin...cousin brother."

The young man kept his head down, his voice barely audible, like a mosquito humming.

As soon as he entered, he was startled by the oppressive atmosphere in the cabin.

Especially when his gaze fell on the withered figure in the corner, a clear trace of sorrow flashed in his eyes.

Su Chang'an raised an eyebrow.

She recognized the clothes the boy was wearing; they were the standard long gowns worn by members of a collateral branch of the Chen family.

In such a hierarchical family, collateral relatives were no different from servants.

"What is it?" Chen Xuan didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to mechanically wipe the broken sword.

The young man named Chen Fan seemed to have long been accustomed to Chen Xuan's aloof and unapproachable demeanor.

He didn't dare get too close, but carefully walked around the spot where Su Chang'an was standing—in his eyes, it was an open space.

He placed the wine and medicine packet he was carrying on the old table, moving so gently as if afraid of disturbing something.

"Brother, this is some medicine I got from the kitchen, and two jars of wine..." Chen Fan rubbed his hands together, looking a little flustered. "I know you don't care for these cheap things, but... life on this ship is tough, a little wine to warm us up is good."

Su Chang'an stood to the side, observing the uninvited guest who had barged in with great interest.

She reached out and waved her hand in front of Chen Fan's eyes.

no response.

She leaned closer and made an extremely exaggerated face at Chen Fan's handsome face, sticking her tongue out really long.

Still no response.

Chen Fan's gaze pierced through her body and landed on the deck behind her.

"Hey, I really can't see it."

Su Chang'an was delighted.

She turned her head, raised an eyebrow at Chen Xuan, pointed at Chen Fan, then at herself, her expression one of smug satisfaction—"See? Only you can see Dad! What is this? This is fate! This is family!"

Chen Xuan paused slightly in the hand holding the sword-wiping cloth.

His gaze lingered for a moment on Su Chang'an's face, which was making a face, and his lips twitched almost imperceptibly before he quickly looked away, returning to his deadpan expression.

"Put your things down, you can leave now," Chen Xuan coldly dismissed him.

Chen Fan did not leave immediately.

He stood there, gritted his teeth, as if he had made a great decision, and suddenly took a step forward.

"Brother!"

The shout was so loud that it startled Su Chang'an, who was blowing air into Chen Fan's ear.

"Is there anything else?" Chen Xuan finally stopped wiping his sword and looked up at him.

Chen Fan took a deep breath, and an anxiety that seemed out of place on his timid face appeared.

"Brother, you...you can't go on like this."

"I just went to deliver food to some elders and overheard their conversation outside." Chen Fan lowered his voice, his tone full of fear. "This time when you returned to Zhongzhou, the family had no intention of letting you acknowledge your ancestors."

"They're about to begin the 'Trial of the Imperial Son'!"

The moment those four words were uttered, the temperature inside the cabin seemed to drop a few degrees.

Although Su Chang'an didn't know what this trial was all about, just by hearing the name and seeing Chen Fan's tense expression, he knew it was definitely not a good thing.

"Oh." Chen Xuan's reaction was frighteningly calm, as if he hadn't heard anything of life or death, but rather what to eat for dinner.

"Brother! Don't take this lightly!"

Chen Fan panicked, disregarding all hierarchy, and took two steps forward. "That's the Imperial Son's Trial! It's like raising poisonous insects! The direct line has already set up this scheme, and those elders even said..."

He paused, glanced at Chen Xuan's bloodless face, and gritted his teeth, saying, "They say your Dao heart is broken, you're wallowing in old feelings, and you're already a cripple. We brought you back this time to serve as a whetstone for that true 'Imperial Son'!"

"They'll squeeze every last bit of value out of you, and then...and then they'll let you die in the trial!"

Su Chang'an was furious.

"Pah!"

She put her hands on her hips, floated to Chen Fan's side, pointed into the void, and cursed, "Have those old bastards in the Chen family no shame? Taking someone back to use as a whetstone? Why don't they use their own old bones to sharpen themselves?"

"A true imperial prince? Bah! Besides my rebellious son, who else deserves to be called an imperial prince?"

Su Chang'an was cursing vehemently when he turned to look at Chen Xuan and found that the brat was still half-dead.

"Give me some reaction!" Su Chang'an floated up to Chen Xuan, pointed at his nose, and yelled, "They've practically shit on your neck, and you're still pretending to be deep in thought? Are you a turtle?"

Chen Xuan's eye twitched violently twice.

He resisted the urge to look at the noisy woman waving around in front of him, but his fingers gripping the sword hilt turned slightly white from the force.

To outsiders, his appearance suggests that he was emotionally affected by overhearing his family's scheme.

Seeing this, Chen Fan thought that his words had finally moved his cousin.

His eyes reddened, and his voice choked with emotion.

"Brother, I know I am of lowly birth and my words may be presumptuous. But... I am also from a collateral branch."

"In a dog-eat-dog place like the Chen family, only we ourselves know how difficult it is for people like us without any background to live."

"Back then, you were treated like that, yet you still managed to fight your way out, shaking the entire Northern Region. You are the hope of all our collateral disciples!"

As Chen Fan spoke, tears streamed down his face. "I can't bear to see you ruined like this. Ruined by those old guys' schemes, and even more so by... ruined by your own inner demons."

Chen Xuan remained silent.

But Su Chang'an stopped cursing.

She looked at the young man crying so sincerely, and her gaze softened slightly.

The Chen family is utterly rotten, yet it's rare to find such a fine bamboo shoot growing from them.

"Brother."

Chen Fan wiped away his tears, looked into Chen Xuan's lifeless eyes, mustered the greatest courage of his life, and uttered the taboo that was absolutely forbidden in the Chen family.

"I know you can't forget that... Miss Su."

"But if your Dao heart remains cracked, you will surely die if you enter the trial!"

"Brother, I'm begging you... put it down."

"Let go of that obsession, let go of Miss Su. Only then can you survive!"

boom!

The moment the words "let go" were uttered.

A terrifying killing intent erupted from Chen Xuan's body without warning.

That was a palpable killing intent.

The tables and chairs in the cabin shattered instantly, and the two jars of wine burst open, spilling the wine all over the floor.

Chen Fan was thrown to the ground by the shockwave, his face deathly pale and his whole body trembling. He stared in horror at the black-clad youth who was slowly rising to his feet, feeling as if he were being targeted by a demon that had crawled out of hell.

Chen Xuan, carrying the broken sword, walked step by step toward Chen Fan.

Those eyes were bloodshot and swirled with a chilling ferocity.

Should we make him let it go?

Make him forget her?

Who gave him the guts?

"You're asking for death..." Chen Xuan's voice sounded like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a strong smell of blood.

"fart!"

A furious curse, sharper than any murderous intent, suddenly exploded in Chen Xuan's ears.

Su Chang'an put her hands on her hips and stood in front of Chen Fan, even though she knew Chen Fan couldn't see her and couldn't block her, she still stood in front of him.

She tilted her head back, spitting as she looked at Chen Xuan's murderous face.

"Why should you abandon me?"

"I raised you with such difficulty, I sacrificed my life for you, I risked my life for you! And now you think you can just let it all go?"

"Chen Xuan, you heartless bastard! If you dare listen to this brat's nonsense and forget about me, believe me, I'll smash your skull open right now!"

While cursing, Su Chang'an raised his hand and made the classic "brain-slapping" starting gesture.

"You dare lay a finger on this honest kid?"

"Someone kindly brought you medicine, and you're going to attack them? Where did you learn this awful temper from?"

"Put your sword back!"

Chen Xuan stopped in his tracks.

The murderous intent that threatened to overturn the entire cabin froze strangely when it saw the hand raised in mid-air and heard the barrage of curses.

He stared intently at Su Chang'an.

His chest heaved violently.

The urge to kill and the frustration of being scolded by his "own father" were battling fiercely in his mind.

Chen Fan, lying on the ground, was terrified.

He closed his eyes, thinking he was definitely going to die here today.

However, the expected excruciating pain did not come.

Thank you.

The two words were harsh and dry, like the sound of two stones rubbing together.

Chen Fan suddenly opened his eyes.

The clansman who had been so murderous had now sheathed his sword. Although his face was still terrifyingly pale, his deadly killing intent had indeed dissipated.

Chen Xuan looked at Chen Fan, or rather, at the woman in front of Chen Fan who was threatening him with her hand raised.

He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his anger.

Leave your belongings behind, and leave.

Chen Fan was stunned for a long time before he realized that he had been given a second chance at life.

Although he didn't know why his cousin had suddenly changed his personality, he didn't dare to stay any longer. He scrambled to his feet, bowed to Chen Xuan, and then rushed out of the cabin as if his life depended on it.

boom.

The hatch closed again.

The cabin fell silent once more.

Chen Xuan stood there, maintaining that posture for a long time.

Only after confirming that Chen Fan had gone far away did he feel as if all his strength had been drained, and he sat heavily back on the soft couch.

That cold, hard mask he wore for outsiders vanished in an instant.

He rubbed his temples wearily, then looked up, his gaze piercing through the void and landing precisely on Su Chang'an.

His eyes were complicated.

There was helplessness, annoyance, and a deeply hidden... sense of relief.

fortunately.

Fortunately, this "inner demon" is fierce and unreasonable enough.

Otherwise, with that sword strike, the only person in the world who was truly good to him might have been gone.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a beautiful woman before?"

Su Chang'an felt a little uneasy under his gaze, and guiltily withdrew his hand that was about to flick his forehead. He pretended to tidy his hair and said, "I was saving you! He meant well. If you had really killed him, who would bring you drinks in the future?"

Chen Xuan remained silent.

He pointed to the mess on the ground, a mixture of wine and sawdust, and then pointed to Su Chang'an.

He can't see you.

Chen Xuan's voice returned to its usual cold tone, but upon closer listening, it seemed to have gained a bit more warmth than before.

"But I can."

"Keep working."

Chen Xuan picked up the sword-wiping cloth again, lowered his head, and stopped looking at her.

"Don't even think about slacking off."

Su Chang'an: "..."

Looking at the mess on the ground, and then at her unfilial son who was acting like a big shot again, she was so angry that her teeth itched.

"Chen Xuan, you son of a bitch!"

Su Chang'an raised his foot and kicked the broken pieces of the wine jar on the ground hard.

The toes passed through without any hindrance.

"Let anyone do this backbreaking work! I'm not doing it!"

Despite her fierce curses, she resigned herself to her fate, squatted down, and used her soul power to gather the fragments together little by little.

no way.

Who can blame us when it's our own kid?

Even if it's a rebellious son you raised, you still have to serve him, even if it's with tears in your eyes.

only……

While working, Su Chang'an secretly glanced at Chen Xuan on the soft couch.

The Emperor's Trial?

Whetstone?

A cold glint flashed in Su Chang'an's eyes.

Those old fogies in the Chen family seem to be tired of living.

Does she really think that if Su Chang'an dies, this rebellious son will have no one to protect him?

just wait.

Once my true form breaks free from its seal, I'll smash all of your old bastard shells and feed them to the dogs!