Zhu Xian: They've all been reborn

The room was eerily quiet.

Only Jiang Xiaochuan's soft, even breathing rose and fell slowly between the two of them, like an invisible but taut string.

Moonlight slanted in through the window, leaving a cold, frosty trail on the muddy floor, dividing the room into two halves of light and shadow.

Lu Xueqi held Jiang Xiaochuan in her arms, standing in the dim light at the doorway.

His figure seemed to blend into the night behind him, only his eyes, astonishingly bright and chillingly cold, were fixed on the moonlit halo on the bed.

Nailed to Little White.

Xiao Bai was still leaning back, his posture unchanged, but under that languid mask, every inch of his skin was taut, like a bow ready to be drawn.

The moisture on her silver hair shimmered with a faint, cold light under the moonlight, clinging damply to the snow-white skin of her neck before meandering into the shadows of her loosely draped clothes.

The white undergarment that belonged to Jiang Xiaochuan was far too big for her; the neckline was askew, revealing one of her rounded shoulders and half of her delicate collarbone, which shone brightly in the moonlight.

She wasn't wearing shoes or socks either; her bare ankles were delicate, and her toes were slightly curled.

Neither of them spoke first.

The air was filled with the chill of the mountain night wind emanating from Lu Xueqi.

The warm, moist air after Xiaobai's bath.

There's also the familiar scent left behind by Jiang Xiaochuan, who lived in this house for many years, a mixture of faint soapberry, sunlight, and the clean smell of a young boy.

They collide and merge silently, yet stand in stark contrast.

Lu Xueqi's gaze slowly moved down from Xiao Bai's stunningly beautiful yet provocative face.

The gaze swept over her disheveled clothes and exposed skin, finally settling on the wooden bed beneath her, the one Jiang Xiaochuan had slept on for over ten years, covered with a worn blue sheet.

Her fingertips tightened almost imperceptibly at the back of Jiang Xiaochuan's knee, causing the fabric to creak slightly.

"Get out." Lu Xueqi said, her voice not loud, even calmer than usual, but every word seemed to have been pulled out of an ice cave, carrying a chill that could freeze a person.

Xiao Bai's lips slowly curled up, and the smile looked somewhat eerie in the moonlight.

She didn't move, but instead lowered the hand that was supporting her head and used her elbow to support her body, a position that made her neckline open even wider.

She tilted her head, looking at Lu Xueqi, and also at Jiang Xiaochuan, who was sleeping soundly in her arms. A complex and unreadable emotion flashed in her eyes, which was then replaced by a deeper mockery and a sharp, confrontational look.

"Go out?" Xiaobai repeated, her voice slightly hoarse from her recent shower, languid and like a feather scratching at the eardrum.

"Why should I? This place seems to be my territory. Or rather," she paused, her gaze sweeping meaningfully over Jiang Xiaochuan's quiet face.

"This is our territory."

"Your territory?" Lu Xueqi took a step forward and stepped into the moonlight.

The cold moonlight shone on her face, and her beautiful face was expressionless, with only her eyes filled with an unyielding ice.

"He is a disciple of the Qingyun Sect's Dazhu Peak, and this is his room. Who do you think you are? You dare to talk about 'territory'?"

These words were barbed and merciless. Xiao Bai's smile faded slightly, and his eyes turned cold.

"Who I am is none of your business. Lu Xueqi, don't act like you're the empress. Just because you're holding him in your arms doesn't mean you're truly his. Don't forget, I was the one who found him first, I was the one who stayed by his side for one year, two years, three years... and now, nine years."

She stretched out her slender fingers and made a light gesture in the air, as if calculating the long passage of time, or as if emphasizing some indisputable ownership built by time.

"Nine years. He chopped bamboo, and I stayed with him. He stumbled while practicing his martial arts, and I watched him. He had nightmares and talked nonsense, and I listened. He bathed, changed clothes, and went to sleep..."

She deliberately dragged out her words, her gaze sweeping over Lu Xiaochuan before finally settling on Lu Xueqi's icy face, each word spoken with crystal clarity.

"I watched over them, stayed with them, and fell asleep."

"We've slept together more than you've spoken to him."

Xiao Bai summarized, his tone returning to its lazy yet sharp edge.

"What do you have to compare with me? Your inexplicable 'love' that came so late, who knows how many years? Or this face of yours..."

She sized Lu Xueqi up and down, her eyes critical. "A face that's even remotely presentable?"

The room became even quieter.

Even Jiang Xiaochuan's breathing seemed to weaken.

Only the occasional whistling of the wind outside the window sounded like some kind of ominous premonition.

Lu Xueqi held Jiang Xiaochuan's arm tightly, as if it were made of iron.

Her chest rose and fell slightly, but the ice on her face remained completely unbroken.

Xiao Bai's words were like poisoned needles, piercing her one by one, especially the phrase "sleep together," which carried a naked boast and provocation, enough to make any woman lose her mind.

But Lu Xueqi did not.

She simply looked at Xiaobai, at this breathtakingly beautiful, thousand-year-old, and deep-thinking nine-tailed celestial fox.

Fragments of memories from her past life surged up uncontrollably.

Xiao Bai also appeared at that time, long after she and Jiang Xiaochuan finally got together and even had a child running around.

Back then, when Xiaobai looked into their eyes, there was regret, loneliness, and blessings, but none of the... determined aggression and undisguised possessiveness she felt now.

This life is truly different.

Xiaobai arrived too early and took up too much time.

But so what?

Lu Xueqi suddenly let out a very soft and cold laugh.

The laughter was short and sharp, exceptionally clear in the silence, carrying a condescending, all-knowing understanding and... disdain.

"Sleep together?" She repeated the three words, her tone as indifferent as if discussing the weather. "Slept together for nine years, so what?"

Xiao Bai squinted.

"What do you think it means just because we sleep in the same bed?"

Lu Xueqi walked forward until she reached the bedside, just three steps away from Xiaobai.

The moonlight cast her cool, aloof figure onto the bed, enveloping half of Xiaobai's body.

She looked down at Jiang Xiaochuan's unaware sleeping face in her arms. For a moment, her eyes softened like melting spring water, but when she looked up at Xiaobai, they froze instantly.

"I understand him." Lu Xueqi's voice was steady, each word like a nail, driven into the cracks of reality.

"He knows far more than you think. Just look at his personality..."

She paused, and many images from her past life flashed before her eyes.

Jiang Xiaochuan, that silly, infuriatingly oblivious person who blushes with embarrassment when he's teased by himself, only slowly comes to his senses when he's almost "forced" into a vortex of lust.

If it weren't for her taking the initiative, if it weren't for her clinging on so tightly.

Given his mild-mannered, kind-hearted nature and unwillingness to hurt anyone, he probably would never take that step in his life and would only treat her as "Junior Sister Lu" or "good friend".

"Given his sluggish, slow-witted nature, and his inability to cross any lines..."

Lu Xueqi's lips curved into a cold smile, her eyes sharp as knives, dissecting Xiaobai's arrogance.

"Even if you share a bed with him for ninety years, he would never touch you if he didn't want to. What you call 'sleeping together' is probably no different from hugging a heater or a pillow in his eyes."

The languidness and mockery on Xiao Bai's face finally vanished completely. She stared at Lu Xueqi, her eyes darkening, her silver pupils contracting in the moonlight like those of some dangerous beast (as if she herself were a beast).

Lu Xueqi's words precisely struck a corner of her heart that she herself did not want to think about deeply.

Nine years have passed. Jiang Xiaochuan's feelings towards her have evolved from initial shock and resistance to later resigned acceptance, and now to habitual dependence and even occasional affectionate playfulness... but there has always been a barrier between them.

He treated her like a "newbie," a pet, a friend, a trustworthy partner, and even an "old monster" who needed care.

The only thing missing was that...the look of desire and possession that men give women.