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

Time flies.

The wounds on Bai Yin's body had scabbed over, and new flesh had grown out, its pinkish color standing out starkly against his bronze skin.

This tiger is a restless creature.

On the very first day he was able to walk, he disappeared into the forest.

Su Xiaojiu sat at the cave entrance, basking in the sun, playing with the Thunderfire Pearl in her hand.

Half an hour later, a rustling sound came from the bushes.

Bai Yin emerged.

He was carrying a huge wild boar in his hand. The boar had protruding tusks and looked fierce, but at this moment it was limp with its head hanging down, and there was only a bloody hole the size of a finger on its neck, clean and simple.

"You're back?" Su Xiaojiu put away the Thunderfire Pearl.

Bai Yin threw the wild boar downwind, about ten zhang away from the cave entrance.

He didn't rush over, but squatted by the river and repeatedly washed his hands.

Only after the faint trace of blood on his hands was completely washed away by the cold water did he walk up to Su Xiaojiu.

"We're having meat tonight."

He pulled a handful of wild fruit from his pocket and handed it over like a treasure.

Su Xiaojiu took the fruit, took a bite, and her gaze fell on his hands, which were washed white.

He's been like this for the past few days.

He avoided her when killing.

He stayed far away from bloody jobs like skinning and dismembering.

Even when grilling meat, he would take off his smoky coat, grill it shirtless, and let the smell dissipate before daring to approach her.

He carefully hid the "Tiger Demon," leaving Su Xiaojiu with only a clumsy and docile "Little White."

Su Xiaojiu chewed on the fruit and brought up the system panel.

[Target: Bai Yin]

Current Affection Level: 90 (Bound by Life and Death)

[Status: Self-repression/Extreme low self-esteem]

its stuck.

Ever since that day when she fed him the Vermilion Fruit, and his favorability rating soared to 90, that number seemed to be welded to the spot, and no matter how much Su Xiaojiu tried to provoke him, it wouldn't budge.

"noob."

Su Xiaojiu called out.

Bai Yin was skinning the wild boar when he heard the sound. He paused in his bone knife and turned around.

"come over."

Bai Yin put down his knife, wiped his hands on the grass, and jogged over.

"I want to wear flowers," Su Xiaojiu said, pointing to the wildflowers blooming on the distant hillside.

Bai Yin paused for a moment, then nodded.

He turned and rushed up the hillside.

This powerful demon, who was decisive and ruthless on the battlefield, was now crouching in the flower bushes, its two large, fan-like hands clumsily pinching the delicate flower stems.

I used too much force and the flower stem broke.

If you don't have enough strength, you can't weave it tightly.

His brows were furrowed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead; he was even more nervous than when facing the sword formation of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect.

After a long while, he returned carrying a flower crown.

The flower crown was woven crookedly, with red flowers and green leaves, and a few foxtail grasses mixed in; its aesthetics were a disaster.

"Help me put it on." Su Xiaojiu lowered her head.

Bai Yin held his breath and carefully placed the flower crown on her head, his fingers trembling, afraid of damaging a single strand of her hair.

Su Xiaojiu looked up and winked at him.

"Is it pretty?"

Bai Yin was stunned.

In the sunlight, the girl's bright eyes and white teeth made even the ugly flower crown on her head look somewhat more pleasing to the eye.

"nice."

His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice dry, "More beautiful than a fairy from heaven."

[System notification: Target's heart rate is increasing. Affection level... remains unchanged.]

Su Xiaojiu's smile froze for a moment.

Didn't move again?

Is this tiger made of stone?

She didn't believe in superstitions.

Over the next few days, Su Xiaojiu used all the "green tea" tactics she had learned in her life.

Pretend to twist your ankle while walking and ask him to carry you.

She cried out that she was cold while sleeping and wanted to snuggle into his arms.

Even when changing his dressing, she deliberately drew circles on his chest with her fingertips, implying dual cultivation.

Bai Yin accepted everything.

He carried her on his back, hugged her, and let her tease him.

But in his golden eyes, besides the intense, unyielding love, there was always an invisible wall standing between them.

He held onto the last line of defense, refusing to cross it no matter what.

Su Xiaojiu was a little annoyed.

The sun was shining brightly that afternoon.

Su Xiaojiu carried a basin of clothes to the riverbank.

That was Bai Yin's tattered Taoist robe, covered in blood and mud.

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing two sections of her fair arms, and vigorously scrubbed them.

Bai Yin squatted on a tree branch not far away.

He held a leaf in his hand, but didn't blow on it; he just stared intently at the figure on the riverbank.

The nine-tailed fox spirit who should have been sitting on a cloud, worshipped by thousands, was now squatting in the mud, washing his clothes stained with sin.

He felt that none of this was real.

It felt like a stolen dream.

When she wakes up, she will fly away and return to that clean world.

And he can only rot in this quagmire.

Su Xiaojiu keenly noticed that gaze.

She hung the washed clothes on the rocks to dry, then turned and waved to the tree.

"Get down."

Bai Yin jumped down and landed silently.

"The clothes are washed." Su Xiaojiu shook the water droplets off her hands. "Don't wear such dirty clothes in the future, I don't like it."

Bai Yin lowered his head, staring at his toes.

"Um."

"noob."

Su Xiaojiu walked up to him, looked up at him, and said, "After we get out of here, shall we get married?"

The air suddenly became quiet.

The wind stopped, and the sound of flowing water seemed to disappear as well.

Bai Yin suddenly raised his head, his golden pupils contracting sharply.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but something blocked his throat.

In that instant, Su Xiaojiu saw the burst of ecstasy in his eyes.

But the next second, that ecstasy was overwhelmed by immense panic.

He took a step back.

"No...no."

Su Xiaojiu narrowed her eyes. "Why not? Don't you like me?"

"no!"

Bai Yin, his face flushed and neck red with anxiety, cried out, "I like it! I... I can give you my life! But..."

He lowered his head, looked at his hands covered in calluses and scars, and then at Su Xiaojiu's untouched feet.

"I'm too weak."

The voice was so low it was like a mosquito's hum.

"I've killed many people, I've eaten people. I'm a demon, a beast, and I'll be slain by those immortals. But you are...you are..."

He is a toad in the mud, she is the moon in the sky.

A toad can look up at the moon, but it can't drag the moon into a mud pit.

Su Xiaojiu's anger flared up instantly.

That stubborn tiger!

She stepped forward and grabbed Bai Yin's collar.

Bai Yin was afraid of hurting her, so he didn't dare to struggle and bent down following her force.

"Bang!"

Su Xiaojiu pushed him hard, slamming him against the ancient tree behind him.

The leaves trembled, and a few withered leaves fell.

"Bai Yin, listen to me carefully."

Su Xiaojiu stood on tiptoe, her nose almost touching his, and stared fiercely into his eyes.

"I don't care who you killed or what you ate in the past. You are mine now, Su Xiaojiu's person."

"If I say you deserve it, then you deserve it!"

Bai Yin's body was stiff, his back pressed tightly against the tree bark.

He looked at the girl so close to him, smelling her sweet milky scent, and his reason was teetering on the brink of collapse.

He wanted to hug her.

I want to meld her into my very bones.

But he dared not.

He was afraid that the smell of blood on his body would offend her, and that he would lose control of his animalistic instincts and hurt her.

"Little Nine..."

His voice trembled, with a hint of pleading, "Don't force me."

"So what if I force you?"

Su Xiaojiu leaned in and bit his lips hard.

The rusty taste spread in my mouth.

Bai Yin groaned, gripping the tree trunk beside him tightly with both hands, his fingernails digging deep into the wood, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

He closed his eyes, his whole body trembling.

He was holding back.

He endured it until the veins on his forehead bulged and his whole body spasmed.

Su Xiaojiu opened her mouth, and seeing his expression, the anger in her heart suddenly dissipated.

This tiger was insecure to the core.

He praised her too highly and belittled himself too much.

This psychological defense cannot be broken down by a few sweet words or a few intimate encounters.

"Coward."

Su Xiaojiu cursed, loosened his collar, and turned to leave.

Bai Yin leaned against the tree, panting heavily, watching her departing figure, his eyes filled with pain and struggle.

……

into the night.

The moon over Yunmengze is always shrouded in a hazy mist.

Inside the cave, Su Xiaojiu stood with her back to the entrance, breathing evenly.

Bai Yin sat at the cave entrance, guarding the bonfire that was about to go out.

He was afraid to sleep.

The moment I close my eyes, all I see is Su Xiaojiu's words from earlier that day: "Get married."

He took out the piece of bark he hadn't finished eating from his pocket and slowly chewed it.

The bitter taste spread in his mouth, making him a little more awake.

"Oh, the moon..."

He raised his head, looked at the waning moon in the sky, and murmured to himself.

"I am a sinner."

"My hands are stained with too much blood. The Taoist priest at Qingfeng Temple that year, the hunter in Qinghe County the year before last... I remember them all."

"A monster like me will go to the eighteenth level of hell after I die."

He turned his head and greedily glanced at the sleeping Su Xiaojiu.

"She is good. She is the cleanest thing in the world."

"I ask for nothing else. Even if it costs me a hundred or a thousand years of my lifespan... I just pray that God won't take this dream away so soon."

"Let me stay with her for a few more days. Just a few more days."

"Once I get her out of here, I'll die. I'll give my life back to God."

Su Xiaojiu lay on the straw mat, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

She didn't sleep.

Listening to the silly tiger's monologue, she felt a mix of emotions.

[System notification: High-energy reaction detected.]

[Warning! The Enforcement Elder of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect has located the host, less than 100 li away. Expected arrival in half an hour.]

[Enemy Composition: One late-stage Cave Profound Realm cultivator, three peak Casting Cauldron Realm cultivators. Danger Level: SS.]

Su Xiaojiu suddenly opened her eyes.

coming.

It was faster than expected.

She sat up and looked at the desolate figure at the cave entrance.

Conventional methods are no longer effective.

The tiger locked itself in a cage called "Unworthy," and swallowed the key.

Gentleness alone is not enough to break this cage.

We have to smash it.

We must smash this cage, along with his heart, and then put it back together.

Su Xiaojiu stood up and tidied her somewhat messy long hair.

Since you feel you don't deserve it, then let you experience what it's like to lose it completely.

Only when faced with real death and separation will you understand that the so-called "worthiness" is nothing but a fart in the face of "loss".

"noob."

Su Xiaojiu called out.

Bai Yin was startled, hurriedly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and turned around.

"Awake? Are you hungry? I'll go heat up some meat for you..."

"Don't bother."

Su Xiaojiu walked to the cave entrance and looked at the dark mountains and forests in the distance.

There, several powerful auras were rapidly approaching, startling a flock of birds into flight.

She turned her head, looked at Bai Yin, and a poignant smile appeared on her lips.