Don't mess with that Miao boy, he's sickly and perverted.

A gentle breeze rippled across the surface of the pond.

A white shadow darted nimbly across the lake's surface; though large in stature, it was remarkably agile.

Every now and then, a few pieces of water chestnut skin are thrown out of the lake and land on the soil.

"Oh my, as expected of Master's crops, so crisp and tender! Before the others find out, I'll eat a few more." The sound of chewing was interspersed with his words.

Suddenly, an urgent, tearful call came from afar.

"Master Ji, Master Ji, something terrible has happened! Red Dragon is seriously injured! You must go see him quickly, he's vomiting blood, so much blood!"

The white cat raised its head and saw a small, fiery red figure standing by the spirit pool.

Without even guessing, I knew it was a pet kept by my disciple's pet.

Just like its owner.

Wu Li used his own blood to feed the red dragon, and now this stupid snake not only raises a little fox, but also gives all the cultivation he gained from slaying demons to this little guy to help it transform into human form as soon as possible.

Wu Li has been away from Jingming Terrace for several months. He went alone to search for the missing Xiao Mi girl, but there has been no news of her since.

No news is good news.

Out of affection for the creature connected to it, the white cat rushed out of the pond as soon as it heard that the red dragon was in trouble.

It had better take good care of the snake and falcon left behind by its apprentice, lest they come back and hold their master accountable.

"Quick! Take me to see this!" The white cat ran after the little fox. "Didn't I send him to Qixia Town to suppress a few wolf demons who keep stealing livestock from the people? A mere few wolf demons, and he, a mighty dragon, can't even subdue them?"

"I don't know either..." The little fox cried anxiously, "He was fine when we came back. I talked to him for a while, and suddenly he started spitting out mouthfuls of blood... It's all my fault. The red dragon transformed into a demon beast and was fighting those wolf demons. When they surrounded me, I was distracted and fell off his back. He was attacked by the wolf demons while trying to save me... Waaaaah, it's all my fault."

Inside the room, large patches of red liquid had seeped onto the floor.

The red dragon lying on the bed had transformed back into human form, but the dragon horns on its head were still there, and several crimson scales on its arms gleamed with an eerie light.

The long red ribbon that held her hair up had also come off; half of it was still hanging in her dark hair, while the other half drooped listlessly by the bed.

Upon seeing the white cat appear, he weakly called out, "Master..."

The little fox immediately jumped onto the pillow and used her tiny paws to wipe the blood from his lips. She didn't care that her white fur was stained red; her watery eyes were filled with only heartache: "Red Dragon, are you alright?"

The white cat sniffed the air and walked straight to the large patch of blood.

A glint of light flashed in the cat's eyes.

It lowered its head and leaned closer, its tongue quickly darting out to lick it.

The little fox was startled: "Master Ji?"

The white cat then raised its head, its gaze meeting the red dragon's in mid-air. The latter was making exaggerated facial expressions, its eyelids almost flapping off.

"..." The white cat was speechless with emotion.

Where did this monster learn all these sob stories? That's not blood on the ground, it's clearly mulberry juice! Only this silly little fox is easy to fool.

It was so bad that it had to rush over when it was only halfway through harvesting water chestnuts.

The cat's whiskers twitched, and it took out its whisk and flicked it: "In my opinion, there's no hope. Just wait to die."

After speaking, he walked away.

Behind him, the little fox stood frozen in place, unable to react for a long time.

"Red Silk...Little Fox..."

Hearing the red dragon's cry, it snapped out of its daze, and large tears instantly welled up, pattering onto the edge of the bed: "Red dragon, you can't die! Even if Master Ji can't help you, I will definitely find a way to save you..."

The red dragon, barely managing to prop itself up on its elbow, patted the little fox's head, its voice so weak it sounded like it might break at any moment: "You just said... when I was fighting the wolf demon, you were distracted... because you were thinking of someone?"

The little fox blinked its wet eyes blankly, tilted its head, and thought for a while: "I don't know why. It's just that when I saw you being surrounded by a group of wolf demons, a picture of black pieces surrounding a white piece suddenly appeared in my mind. Then, for some reason, a blurry figure appeared. It was a man, and he seemed to be calling me... Little... Little..."

"Xiaoxiao!" the red dragon exclaimed hastily, a glint of light flashing in its eyes. "It's Xiaoxiao! That's what I called you when we were husband and wife. You've forgotten?"

"Heartbreaking, true heartbreak isn't about making a scene..." Before she could finish speaking, a few more drops of crimson blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, dripping down her chin onto the pillow.

"Stop talking!" the little fox cried anxiously, frantically wiping the blood with its paws, but the more it wiped, the more blood appeared. He had just returned and was talking about this when he vomited blood, and now he was vomiting again; he must be angry that it had forgotten the past.

It seems we should never bring it up again!

The little fox bit her lip, swallowing back all the questions that welled up in her mouth, and just nodded frantically: "Okay, okay, Xiaoxiao, it's Xiaoxiao. I remember, I remember everything, please don't vomit blood, please."

The red dragon weakly closed its eyes. "That's more like it. Don't get it wrong next time. That's how my two masters call each other, two reduplicated words, Li Li and Mi Mi. It sounds really nice."

As he spoke, he opened his eyes again.

Her fine eyelashes fluttered twice, then she froze, her eyes suddenly reddening.

"I miss them so much," he muttered softly, his voice bitter and aggrieved as if he had a sour plum in his mouth. "I don't know if I'll ever see them again in this life. Those two heartless owners, they just threw away their snakes like that. They'll regret it in the future."

After a moment of silence, he suddenly turned his head, looked at the small, fiery red shadow beside his pillow, and tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Thanks to you for being with me, otherwise I would be a lonely snake. Thank you, Xiaoxiao."

The little fox was lost in thought.

Ji Fangshi said that Hongjiao's life was coming to an end. If Hongjiao couldn't hold on, wouldn't he never see the person he wanted to see again in this life?

A few days later, the little fox suddenly disappeared.

The red dragon searched the entire Sword Sect but could not find that small, fiery red figure.

Jingming Terrace is divided into the Sword Sect, Medicine Sect, and Profound Sect, situated on several mountains. He learned that Hongxiao was last seen in the Medicine Sect, and immediately transformed into a dragon, soaring into the sky.

When a giant monster poked its mouth through the doorway, Su Yun was caught off guard, and the feather fan in her hand almost turned into a weapon to attack. Only after recognizing it as a dragon did she breathe a sigh of relief and glare at it with annoyance.

"How dare you! Our Medicine Sect is a sacred place of immortals; how can we tolerate such reckless behavior?"

No wonder he was raised by that boy, he has absolutely no manners!

The red dragon transformed, the white mist dissipated, and a handsome young man landed before them. However, his eyes held none of their usual liveliness, only anxiety: "I've come to find my little fox. Have you seen it? Someone said they saw it in the Medicine Sect's alchemy hall."

"Oh, you mean that little fox named Hongxiao?" Su Yun suddenly realized.

This fox was allowed to stay at Jingming Terrace by Master Ji's tacit permission. It had been there for several months, and everyone had come to know it.

"Look, it's inside." Su Yun casually pointed to the alchemy furnace with her feather fan.

The true essence flames flickered and burned brightly through the hollowed-out gaps around the furnace.

Red Dragon was stunned for a moment.

His gaze slowly shifted from Su Yun's nonchalant face to the fire in the furnace.

"...What do you mean?"

His voice suddenly became very soft, as soft as a string stretched to its limit. His pupils turned crimson, and a beastly ruthlessness surged from the depths of his eyes.

"You mean," he said, emphasizing each word with a trembling incredulity, "you...refined it into a pill?"

"Yeah, it chose it itself." Su Yun shrugged, her tone nonchalant. "You were about to die, so it came to me begging, asking if I had any life-extending pills. I told it that it could exchange its life for yours; by refining it into a pill, it could save your life."

She glanced at the alchemy furnace, a slight smile playing on her lips. "It jumped in without hesitation. This fox is foolish; whose fault is it?"

The red dragon's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Nonsense, you're lying to it!" the red dragon roared furiously. If there really were a life-for-life pill, then its master would have jumped into the alchemy furnace long ago. Why would it have spent so much effort to piece together the Illusionary Color Stone?

"I'm going to kill you—"

His skin cracked inch by inch, crimson scales surged forth from beneath, fangs grew outwards, and horns pierced his forehead. His body twisted and writhed as if being torn apart between human and dragon, his ferocity rising as if into reality. "I'm going to kill you!"

Just as he was about to completely transform into a dragon

A crisp voice rang out from behind.

"A red dragon?"

The red dragon shuddered.

The overwhelming aura of hostility seemed to freeze abruptly, as if someone had suddenly grabbed its throat.

He stared blankly, then turned around.

Behind him, a woman in a red dress, her eyes sparkling, tilted her head to look at him.

"You're not dead?" He rushed over in three strides, pulling the woman into a tight embrace. "I thought you were dead! I thought I'd never eat roasted rabbit again!"

The sound muffled on her shoulder, the last syllable breaking into a sob.

Hongxiao was so tightly held by him that she could hardly breathe. She was full of doubts. This man had been lying in bed like he was on his last breath these past few days, so how come he suddenly had such great strength?

She simply reached out and gently touched his back: "I came to ask this older sister if she had any medicine that could save you, but there's no medicine here that can bring someone back to life. She said she saw that I was about to take human form, so she kindly gave me a pill to accelerate my transformation."

"I want to be able to take care of you more easily after I transform into human form. Since you cough up blood every day, I can help you clean it up promptly."

"I'm still trying to find a way. If I could really exchange my life for yours, I would be willing. You must live well and wait for the day your master returns."

"I lied to you these past few days! All that vomiting blood and weakness was an act. I just wanted you to care about me." The red dragon lowered its head in shame, its voice growing softer and softer. It had only tried it on a whim because it saw how anxious Xiaomi was every time its master was injured. It didn't expect it to work so well.

"Also, you are my pet fox. You can only die if I agree to it. Otherwise, all the cultivation I painstakingly built up for you will be wasted. If you let my efforts go to waste, I, Snake Snake, will be angry."

The boy pouted, tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes.

Hongxiao stared at that glistening liquid, her heart inexplicably burning.

She asked softly, "Do you want to eat roasted rabbit now? I have hands."

Red Dragon wiped away her tears, then suddenly smiled broadly: "I want to eat! Come on, let's go catch rabbits!"

Su Yun leaned against the door, her chin resting on a feather fan, watching the two figures run away hand in hand. She couldn't help but mutter, "What's going on lately? So many love-struck fools have come. Isn't cultivating immortality better? All they think about is love. Sigh."

Suddenly, a white cat tail drooped down from the eaves, its tip swaying leisurely.

"My child, after you have experienced many trials and tribulations, you will understand that a pure and innocent heart is the most precious thing."

The white cat lazily took a nap.

Su Yun looked up: "Uncle-Master Ji, my master has been looking for you these past two days. She wants to ask you where all the water chestnuts in the pond went?"

"Oh dear!" The white cat shuddered, its tail standing on end. "Don't you dare tell her I've been to the Medicine Sect! She's not asking me anything, she's clearly trying to beat me to death! If she finds out I've already swallowed it, she'll definitely force me to throw it all up!"

Before the words were even finished, a white figure darted away and disappeared.

Su Yun chuckled.

She had heard her master say that she and her senior uncle Ji loved to fight over food when they were children. Looking across the entire Jingming Platform, among the cultivators of the same generation, besides her senior uncle Ji, only her master had not yet ascended to immortality.

Ji Shibo was damaged because of the elixir, but her master was clearly only one step away.

She once asked her master why.

The master smiled, looked at the distant, rolling mountains, and slowly said, "Because in heaven, there is no one to compete with me for water chestnuts."