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

At the edge of the ruins, the wind and snow tore at Gu Xiang's tattered blue robe. A massive wolf, its physique immense, leaped high into the air, its massive jaws stained with saliva, its pale fangs aimed directly at Gu Xiang's vulnerable throat.

Gu Xiang gasped for breath, his lungs feeling as if they were filled with ice shards. His right hand, holding the broken pen, froze in mid-air, unable to squeeze out a single trace of righteous energy from his body.

A dark shadow suddenly crashed into us from the side.

Bai Yin abandoned the two wolf cubs in front of him and pounced on them. His eyes were bloodshot, as if cracks were about to appear from the corners of his eyes.

"If you die, Xiao Jiu will cry. I'm not here to save you!"

Bai Yin forced out a hoarse curse, his broad back slamming violently against Gu Xiang.

The alpha wolf's claws slammed heavily onto Bai Yin's back. Dark red blood gushed out instantly. The old wound, which had just scabbed over, was ripped open, the deep, bone-revealing gash exposed to the extreme cold.

Bai Yin let out a muffled groan. The immense impact slammed him and Gu Xiang into the ground.

The two rolled around in the snow, which was full of ice shards and pebbles. Gu Xiang's forehead hit Bai Yin's chin, and Bai Yin's knee struck Gu Xiang's ribs. They broke through the remaining half of a wooden pillar in the ruins and finally fell into a shallow pit filled with mud and water, looking utterly disheveled.

The alpha wolf landed with a successful strike and quickly turned around. It lowered its body, growling a deep, menacing growl, preparing for a fatal blow. The other snow wolves surrounded it, their eerie green eyes fixed on the two people at the bottom of the pit.

Gu Xiang wiped the dirty snow from her face and tried to sit up. Bai Yin gritted his teeth, bracing his elbows against the frozen ground, the blood on his back leaving a glaring red trail on the snow.

Just as the alpha wolf braced itself with its hind legs, preparing to pounce again, a muffled rumble came from the heavy, icy door behind it.

The deafening creaking of machinery drowned out the howling wind and snow. The ice gate, several feet thick, slowly rose.

A bone-chilling cold, far exceeding that of the extreme northern winds and snow, mixed with the purest and most oppressive power of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox bloodline, poured out from the crack in the door.

The snow on the ground instantly froze into a hard layer of ice under the immense pressure. The wind and snow in the air were forcibly pushed aside, creating a snow-free airspace.

Su Chang'an, dressed in a simple white robe, stepped out of the Xuanbing Gate. Not a speck of mud or water clung to his robes, and his aura of cool elegance overwhelmed everyone present.

She raised her eyes, intending to intimidate the enemy, but the moment her gaze fell upon the shallow pit in the ruins, she abruptly stopped in her tracks.

The scene before her eyes exceeded the limits of her three thousand years of experience.

Bai Yin was straddling the back of a smaller snow wolf. He gripped the wolf's belly tightly with his legs and pulled hard on its tail with both hands, desperately trying to pull it backward. The wolf was being pulled so hard that its hind legs were dangling in the air, and it let out a pitiful howl.

Gu Xiang's posture was even more outrageous. This prime minister of the Great Zhou, second only to the emperor, was lying face down in the mud. He was clinging tightly to the hind legs of another snow wolf with both arms, his mouth wide open, his two rows of teeth biting hard into the fur of the snow wolf's thigh. His mouth was full of wolf fur mixed with dirty mud and blood, covering most of his face.

Hearing the commotion from the Xuanbing Sect, the two turned around at the same time.

Bai Yin still clutched a tuft of wolf fur he had ripped off. Gu Xiang had a piece of carcass, skin and flesh still attached, dangling from his mouth.

They stared blankly at Su Chang'an, who stood spotless on the steps.

A deathly silence fell over the air. Only the wind and snow swirled between the three of them.

Su Chang'an's head was throbbing with pain. In all her years, she had never experienced such an absurd and utterly predicament.

The snow wolf pack was the first to break the silence.

The Celestial Fox's absolute bloodline suppression was a fear etched into the very bones of demonic beasts. That oppressive aura swept across the bottom of the pit, and the dozens of snow wolves within the encirclement instantly went limp.

A pungent, fishy stench filled the snow. Several snow wolves that were close together immediately defecated and urinated. They whimpered, tucked their tails between their legs, and scrambled away into the depths of the snowstorm. The two wolves whose tails were grabbed by Bai Yin and whose hind legs were bitten by Gu Xiang unleashed their survival instincts, kicking and struggling to break free before disappearing into the darkness without looking back.

With their prey gone, Gu Xiang and Bai Yin were jolted awake.

The two of them sprang up from the mud pit as if they had been electrocuted.

Gu Xiang frantically spat out the wolf fur and mud from his mouth. He used his frozen, stiff fingers to pat his tattered blue shirt, trying to smooth out the bloodstains and mud on the hem.

Bai Yin grabbed a handful of hair haphazardly and pulled off the clumps of mud. He tugged at his tattered, leaky fur coat, trying to cover the scars on his chest and back.

The two straightened their backs, trying to appear nonchalant and aloof in front of Su Chang'an.

Gu Xiang slung the broken half of his writing brush behind his back and stood with his hands behind his back. He slightly raised his chin, adopting the air of the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"Qing'er, I'm just using this low-level demonic beast to... loosen up my muscles. The extreme north is bitterly cold, and sitting for a long time is not good for the circulation of qi and blood." As he spoke, his chin was still trembling uncontrollably, and his purple lips made his words completely unconvincing.

Bai Yin wasn't about to back down. He vigorously wiped the wolf fur and blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, then put his hands on his hips: "Little Jiu, I thought this wolf meat was plump, and I was planning to catch it and make you some roasted meat. Who knew these beasts were so easily frightened, running faster than rabbits."

As he spoke, he hid his bleeding back in the shadows, trying to conceal the severe injury inflicted by the alpha wolf.

Su Chang'an stood on the steps, looking at the two men who were trying to maintain a facade.

She had prepared a whole host of reprimands. She wanted to scold them for overestimating themselves, for trying to be tough even after losing all their cultivation. But the words caught in her throat as she looked at the details before her.

Gu Xiang's blue robe could no longer be called clothing; strips of fabric fluttered in the wind, revealing skin covered in frostbite and scratches left by snow wolves. Bai Yin's hands were a bloody mess, fresh wounds from when he shielded Gu Xiang from the bites.

Their lips were frozen purple, and their joints were twisted and stiff from the extreme cold and strenuous exercise. They were covered in mud and wounds, yet they still tried their best to maintain an appearance so as not to worry her.

Su Chang'an's eyes stung slightly.

She didn't speak, but lifted the hem of her wide white robe and walked down the steps of the Xuanbing Gate. Her military boots made a soft, crunching sound on the icy snow.

She walked between the two, ignoring the mud and blood on their bodies, and reached out her hands. With her left hand, she took Gu Xiang's frozen wrist, and with her right hand, she grasped Bai Yin's scarred forearm.

The gentle spiritual energy that had just been unblocked in her meridians flowed into both of their bodies without reservation through her palm.

Pure vitality flowed through the meridians of Gu Xiang and Bai Yin. That warmth dispelled the chill that had seeped into their bones and soothed the spasms in their muscles.

Gu Xiang and Bai Yin both felt the warmth emanating from the palm of his hand.

The two had been glaring at each other, trying to kill each other with their eyes. But the moment they touched that warmth, they both froze.

All that feigned pride, all that pretense of nonchalance, crumbled in the face of this real, tangible feeling.

They fell silent instantly, like completely tamed young animals.

The wind and snow continued to rage, but their eyes simultaneously welled up with tears.

Gu Xiang didn't mention the noble character of a great Confucian scholar again, and Bai Yin didn't shout about the majesty of a great sage. Neither of them spoke, but they simultaneously twisted their wrists and gripped Su Chang'an's hand tightly and forcefully.

Their knuckles turned white from the force, and their nails almost dug into Su Chang'an's skin.

It was a manifestation of extreme insecurity. They were afraid, afraid that this was just an illusion in the snowstorm, afraid that if they let go, the person in front of them would once again turn into countless specks of light and disappear into the void of the far north.

Su Chang'an let them hold her hand without breaking free. She quietly divided her spiritual energy equally between the two of them, maintaining this fragile balance.

However, the warmth lasted only three breaths.

With the infusion of spiritual energy, the vital energy within Gu Xiang and Bai Yin began to recover.

Gu Xiang's gaze passed over Su Chang'an's shoulder and fixed on Bai Yin's chest. There, guided by Su Chang'an's spiritual power, a blood-red fox mark was slowly lighting up. The mark emitted a demonic energy fluctuation of the same origin as Su Chang'an's, dazzling and ostentatious.

Bai Yin's gaze also passed over Su Chang'an, fixing intently on Gu Xiang's chest. Within Gu Xiang's slender chest, a delicate heart, radiating a soft golden light, was beating strongly. The frequency of that heartbeat perfectly matched Su Chang'an's aura, conveying a bond of life and death.

The two of them gripped Su Chang'an's hands tightly at the same time.

The brothers who had just been huddled together for warmth in the snow, and the fallen powerhouses who had just been shielding each other from harm, all felt their hostility surge exponentially upon seeing this mark that represented absolute possession and bond.

Gu Xiang's eyes sharpened, the decisive and ruthless nature of the Great Zhou Prime Minister returning to his gaze. Bai Yin's pupils narrowed to pinpoints, the territorial instincts of the Geng Metal White Tiger erupting completely.

The two turned their heads at the same time, their eyes meeting on Su Chang'an's face.

They stared intently at Su Chang'an, their facial muscles twitching slightly with jealousy and anger.

"Who will you choose?!"

Gu Xiang and Bai Yin spoke in unison. Their voices were hoarse from the cold and excitement, and their gritted teeth revealed an undisguised interrogation.

Su Chang'an stood between the two, feeling the almost bone-crushing force on her wrists. She looked at Gu Xiang's face, twisted with stubbornness, and then at Bai Yin's bloodshot eyes, filled with violence.

The righteous energy and the malevolent energy that had just been suppressed in the meridians seemed to be showing signs of rebellion again.

Su Chang'an had a splitting headache. Her temples throbbed, and her mind was a complete mess.

She opened her mouth, trying to find the perfect excuse. She wanted to say that they were all good brothers, that this was just a temporary measure to save her life.

She even recalled a line from a popular folk tale.

"You are all my wings."

Su Chang'an silently recited this sentence in his mind, preparing to use this most shameless words to smooth things over and try to calm down these two madmen who might start fighting again at any moment.