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

The bone gate slammed shut with a thud, the dull friction sound quickly swallowed by the wind and snow of the far north. Su Chang'an stood before the Xuanbing Gate, her white robes fluttering in the cold wind, yet not a single snowflake could get within three feet of her. The invisible aura of a peak Great Saint Realm expert flowed around her, effectively isolating her from the swirling snow.

Gu Xiang and Bai Yin stood on either side, about ten feet apart, both silent.

The life force from the Heavenly Fox's blood, forcefully infused into her meridians, had not yet subsided, and a faint pain still lingered as it flowed through her bones. Gu Xiang's eyes were downcast, her blue robe tattered, and her barely tied-up hair was disheveled by the wind. Bai Yin's broad shoulders were slightly tense, and the newly scabbed wounds on his back were faintly visible beneath his tattered coat.

Both of their gazes were fixed on Su Chang'an's face.

It wasn't an examination, nor an interrogation. It was more like a drowning person finally grabbing onto a piece of driftwood, but not daring to pull hard, fearing it was just an illusion created by a snowstorm.

Su Chang'an did not look at them.

Her gaze passed beyond the mysterious ice passage, reaching the depths of the far northern ice plains. The vast snowline merged with the gray clouds, blurring the lines between heaven and earth.

She stood there for a long time.

So long that Gu Xiang began to cough softly, covering her mouth; so long that Bai Yin's stiff neck made a soft crack. Both of them endured the deathly silence.

Su Chang'an finally spoke.

"My name is not Su Qing."

The voice was extremely calm, as if it were a casual conversation.

"Neither is Su Xiaojiu."

Gu Xiang's fingers paused slightly, gripping the tattered cloth in his sleeve tightly.

A very soft groan rolled through Bai Yin's throat, as if his chest had been torn open, but he swallowed it back down.

Su Chang'an then turned his head.

His gaze swept over the two of them, without apology or flinching. There was only calm, like a frozen lake in the far north, where a stone thrown in leaves no ripple.

My name is Su Chang'an.

Those three words struck with a force heavier than wind and snow.

The wind and snow seemed to stop for a moment. In reality, it was the two of them breathing simultaneously, the deathly silence amplified infinitely on the vast, icy plain.

Gu Xiang took the lead.

He let out a bitter laugh, his voice dry and hoarse, like withered wood striking each other [Reason for revision: The original phrase "overwhelmed inkstone" was too modern and cumbersome; it has been changed to a classical image]. He raised his hand and carefully straightened the collar of his shirt, which was already torn into strips of cloth.

"Qing'er," he said in a low, husky voice, "such jokes are not to be taken lightly. A name is just a title. If you like the name 'Chang'an,' I will call you Chang'an from now on. I acknowledge the kindness of Luofengpo, every single word of it, and it has nothing to do with my name."

He spoke very quickly, as if he wanted to forcefully plug the crack before the dust settled.

Bai Yin was not that roundabout.

He interrupted gruffly, his voice booming like thunder, yet tinged with inexplicable agitation: "I don't care what your name is! In Yunmengze, you're my Xiao Jiu, and in Guanghan Palace, you still are. Anyone who dares to say otherwise, I'll tear them apart!"

He bit down hard, his bloodshot eyes filled with the stubbornness of a trapped beast.

Su Chang'an watched the two of them quietly.

Gu Xiang was building steps, Bai Yin was constructing high walls. One was a scholar, the other a warrior; neither dared to listen.

She did not follow their lead.

"Don't you understand yet?" Her voice remained steady, tinged with a weariness born of experience. "Whether it's Su Qing, who accompanied you on your studies at Luofeng Slope, or Su Xiaojiu, who released lanterns at Guanghan Palace—"

She paused, letting the crack tear open completely.

"These are all avatars that I created from my own soul in order to break the deadlock."

Gu Xiang's smile froze, like frost covering water.

Bai Yin clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white and his tiger's mouth cracked and bled. He had nowhere to release his strength, so he could only let it backfire on himself.

Su Chang'an continued, each word like a knife.

"The incarnation is mine, the memories are real, and the affection is real. But when Su Qingguan saw you gouge out your heart, and Su Xiaojiu waited bitterly for Guanghan—my main soul was being chained through the heart and trapped in seclusion in the far north."

Her gaze remained fixed on the two of them.

Gu Xiang's eyelashes trembled suddenly.

The dignified prime minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the one who held half the country in his hands, revealed his utterly broken heart with this barely perceptible tremor.

Bai Yin stared intently at her, as if trying to find the slightest flaw in her lie on her face.

Unable to find it. Su Chang'an's eyes remained calm and still.

"What you treasure as your past is nothing more than a gamble for survival to me."

Gu Xiang suddenly turned his head to the side.

This Confucian scholar, who was as steady as Mount Tai in front of all the officials, dared not look her in the eye at this moment.

"I took advantage of your sincerity," Su Chang'an said frankly. "That's the truth, and I have no way to deny it."

Bai Yin's Adam's apple bobbed, his lips opened and closed several times, and finally he squeezed out three words from between his teeth: "Su, Chang, An".

Every word was written in blood.

Su Chang'an's gaze swept over him, then fell back into the void.

"I still have a deadly situation to face." Her tone was slightly heavy, with an undeniable determination. "I must find my original body. Li Changgeng's grand formation could detonate three thousand years of evil energy at any moment. I must reclaim my physical body and stop this calamity."

After speaking, she slowly closed her eyes.

With his arms hanging naturally, the aura of the Great Sage Realm dissipated completely, like a long sword being sheathed, leaving him completely defenseless.

"Once this matter is settled, this soul, this life—you may kill or torture it, extract its soul and refine its spirit, it is all up to you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind and snow intensified.

Her white robe fluttered in the cold wind. She stood with her eyes closed, her face showing no pity, no pleas, and no stirring of heroic sacrifice.

Only a lone tree, rooted in the frozen soil, remains, enduring the wind and snow without flinching or retreating.

Gu Xiang turned his gaze back to her lowered and unguarded hands.

It felt as if a heavy object was constantly falling into my chest, sinking deeper and deeper into an abyss. There was no thunderous rage as I had expected, nor any lengthy, incisive discourse from a great scholar; only a profound desolation remained.

Bai Yin's tiger claw, suspended in mid-air, trembled, trembled, and finally came to a standstill.

They didn't know how to act, nor where to begin. She had settled all accounts, laid everything bare, and was ready to be dealt with—this frankness left them more bewildered than any sophistry or escape.

Bai Yin stared at the calmness in her eyes, his mind in turmoil, like a hoarse beast that wanted to howl but could only groan softly in its throat.

The wind and snow howled, sweeping across the Xuanbing Gate and raising fine ice shards on the frozen ground.

There was no clash of energies, no heart-wrenching curses.

Gu Xiang covered her lips, letting out a muffled cough that was extremely suppressed, causing a sharp pain in her chest, but she never let go. Bai Yin's tiger claws hung in mid-air, unable to advance or retreat.

The killing intent of the two peerless experts vanished mysteriously when they touched Su Chang'an's closed-eye face.

There was no external force to dispel it, nor any reason to persuade it.

Silence remained.