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

The Imperial Preceptor's residence didn't resemble an official's residence; it was more like a graveyard.

Once inside the gate, there wasn't even a living person guarding it. There were only a few paper effigies of boys and girls standing under the eaves. When the wind blew, the paper bodies rustled, and the two patches of red rouge on their faces looked eerie in the night.

Su Qing frowned as soon as she entered. The atmosphere here was too clean, so clean that there wasn't even a single insect. Instead, it felt deathly still.

"Miss Su, please wait."

Upon reaching a waterside pavilion, the paper figure leading the way suddenly turned around, its mouth opening and closing, emitting a hoarse, friction-like sound: "Grand Preceptor, you only see Young Master Gu."

Su Qing raised an eyebrow, twirling the folding fan in her hand: "What, afraid I'll eavesdrop?"

The paper figure didn't speak; it simply stood firmly in the middle of the road.

Gu Xiang felt uneasy and tugged at Su Qing's sleeve: "Miss Su... why don't you wait outside? I'll be right back."

Su Qing glanced at the dark pavilion, then at Gu Xiang's cowardly appearance, and scoffed, "Fine, go ahead. If you lose even a single hair, I'll tear this dilapidated mansion down and burn it for firewood."

After saying that, she plopped down on the railing, swinging her legs around like a rogue.

Gu Xiang swallowed hard and followed the paper figure into the waterside pavilion, steeling himself against the odds.

There were no lights in the room, only a luminous pearl emitting a faint, cold glow.

The Imperial Advisor stood with his back to the door and by the window, his black robe almost blending into the night.

"sit."

The voice was ethereal and could not be discerned as male or female.

Gu Xiang sat down cautiously on the prayer mat. The moment his bottom touched the ground, he heard the Imperial Preceptor ask, "What is the purpose of studying?"

This question is familiar to Gu Xiang.

He straightened his back, instinctively about to recite: "To establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages..."

"That's what the sage said. I'm asking you." The Grand Preceptor turned around, his bronze mask gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen under the light of the luminous pearl. "You carried two taels of silver, wore tattered straw sandals, and traveled a thousand miles to the capital, just to recite these empty words?"

Gu Xiang choked.

He wanted to say that he wanted to seek justice for the fox demon and to bring honor to Gu Family Village, but when the words came out, he felt that he would seem too petty in front of this important person.

"In order to... reason with them." Gu Xiang stammered out this sentence after a long pause.

"Reasoning?" The Imperial Advisor seemed to chuckle. "In this world, might makes right. Look at Zuixianju today; if it weren't for that Miss Su's strong fist, you'd be eating rotten food in the Divine Capital Guard's prison right now. Can your reasoning save you?"

Gu Xiang's face flushed red: "As the sage said, 'If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening.' The truth is there, and it's right whether anyone listens or not!"

"Pedantic."

The Imperial Advisor uttered two words indifferently, walked to the table opposite Gu Xiang, and sat down.

"I heard you came from Luofeng Slope?"

Gu Xiang's heart skipped a beat, and her palms began to sweat: "Yes...yes."

"Then you should have heard that story." The Imperial Advisor tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a soft tapping sound. "Three hundred years ago, there was a scholar named Bhikkhu who fell in love with a white fox. In order to help the white fox overcome her tribulation, he cut out his own exquisite heart with seven orifices."

Gu Xiang lowered his head, staring at his toes: "I...I've heard of it. It's just something storytellers made up, don't take it seriously."

"Made up?"

The Imperial Advisor's voice suddenly lowered, carrying an indescribable eeriness, "Then how do you explain that the heart in your chest beats slower than normal, yet louder?"

Gu Xiang suddenly looked up, his pupils contracting sharply.

It’s over.

That old monster really knows!

He instinctively clutched his chest and shrank back, saying, "Your Excellency is joking. I am just a mortal with flesh and blood; there's nothing special about me."

"Whether it's worldly desires or not, you'll know just by looking."

The Imperial Advisor raised his hand and reached for the mask on his face.

"Click".

With a soft click, the clasp behind the bronze mask came undone.

Gu Xiang held her breath, staring intently at the mask.

Countless possibilities flashed through his mind: a blue-faced, fanged demon; a wrinkled old woman; or a monster without features.

The mask slipped off.

What was revealed was a face of breathtaking beauty.

It was a woman's face.

Her eyebrows resembled distant mountains, her eyes were like autumn water, and her skin was so white it was almost transparent.

If Su Qing's beauty is a flamboyant, wild fire, then the woman before me is a piece of ice that has been submerged in a deep pool for millennia.

It is beautiful, but it exudes a chilling aura that sends shivers down your spine.

Most importantly, it's her eyes.

Those are not human eyes.

His pupils were vertical, gleaming with a faint green light.

Demon!

The Grand Preceptor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a mysterious figure wielding immense power, was actually a demon!

Gu Xiang was so frightened that he sat down on the ground with a thud, his hand trembling as he pointed at the Imperial Advisor: "You...you..."

"Surprised?" The Grand Preceptor casually tossed the mask onto the table, his exquisitely beautiful face devoid of any expression. "A hundred years ago, I ate the heart of a monk. Now, I smell that familiar scent again."

She leaned forward slightly, her nostrils flaring, as if she were sniffing out some exquisite delicacy.

"It smells so good!"

Gu Xiang felt as if all the blood in his body had turned cold.

Is this the legendary, heartless vixen who devoured the scholar's heart?!

"What...what do you want to do?" Gu Xiang clutched his collar, his voice trembling with tears. "I'm telling you, Miss Su is right outside! If you dare touch me, she'll definitely tear this place down!"

"Su Qing?" The Imperial Advisor's lips curled into a playful smile. "That little fox is indeed quite capable, but she's still too green in front of me."

She stood up and walked step by step toward Guxiang.

With nowhere left to retreat, Gu Xiang's back pressed against a pillar.

"Don't come any closer! I'm not buying it! As the sage said, wealth and honor cannot corrupt, nor can power and force subdue..."

"Alright, stop reciting." The Imperial Advisor stopped three steps in front of him, looking down at him. "Don't worry, I won't eat your heart."

Gu Xiang was taken aback: "Huh?"

The Imperial Advisor turned and walked back to the window, looking at the night outside, and said calmly, "The Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart is a supreme treasure of heaven and earth. If you forcibly dig it out, it will instantly turn into a stubborn rock and be completely useless. Only when you willingly cut it out and offer it to it with both hands will it become the divine object that can make people ascend to heaven in broad daylight."

Gu Xiang breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

As long as I don't agree, my heart still belongs to me.

"Then...then why did you call me here?" Gu Xiang asked, mustering his courage. "Since I can't have any, why don't you let me go back to sleep?"

The Imperial Advisor ignored his witty remarks and suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

Do you like that Su Qing outside?

Gu Xiang's mind went blank.

This topic is jumping around way too fast!

We were just talking about horror stories about eating hearts and ripping out lungs, how come we've suddenly started talking about romance?

"I...I..."

Gu Xiang stammered for a long time, his face turning as red as a monkey's bottom.

Su Qing's image involuntarily appeared in his mind.

The Su Qing who swatted away bandits with a fan in the teahouse, the Su Qing who waded barefoot in the woods, the Su Qing who asked him if he looked good in just an undergarment in the inn.

And just now at Zuixianju, when she kicked the Second Prince away, she exuded an overwhelming aura of dominance.

"She...she's my sworn sister." Gu Xiang stammered out this lame excuse after a long pause, "We've sworn brotherhood."

"Sister-in-law?" The Imperial Advisor turned around, her emerald green vertical pupils staring at him with a half-smile. "Then why are you blushing?"

Gu Xiang wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

"Young man, don't blame me for not warning you." The Imperial Advisor picked up the mask again and slowly placed it on his face. "The fox demon clan is most adept at bewitching people's hearts. Back then, the monk did the same to you, treating that white fox as his life. And what was the result?"

"In the end, I lost my heart and my life."

Gu Xiang felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Although Su Qing usually likes to tease people, is fierce and violent, and is also greedy and lustful (crossed out), she has protected me all the way, and that is genuine.

"Miss Su is different," Gu Xiang retorted softly. "Although she has a sharp tongue, she has a kind heart. She has saved my life, and more than once."

"Kind-hearted?" The Imperial Advisor seemed to have heard a joke. "A demon is a demon, how could she have a kind heart? She's protecting you, perhaps just because the time isn't right yet."

"What do you mean?" Gu Xiang frowned.

"A heart with seven orifices of exquisite beauty can not only help people achieve immortality, but also... save lives." The Imperial Advisor's voice came through the mask, sounding somewhat muffled. "If one day she had to choose between you and herself, what do you think she would choose?"

Gu Xiang was stunned.

He wanted to say that Su Qing would definitely choose him, but he swallowed the words back.

After all, they've only known each other for a few days.

"Go back." The Imperial Advisor waved his hand, issuing an order to leave. "The waters of this capital are far too deep. Your little bit of righteous spirit isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap. If one day you come to your senses and want to cut out your heart to change your future, or something else, come find me anytime."

"My prices are fair."

Gu Xiang stood up groggily, feeling as if he had just woken up from a dream.

He walked to the door, but couldn't help looking back one last time.

The figure in black robes still stood by the window, as lonely as a tomb.

"Um... Your Excellency, Imperial Advisor," Gu Xiang asked almost involuntarily, "when that scholar gave you his heart back then, did he regret it?"

The Imperial Advisor's figure stiffened slightly.

After a long while, a very soft sigh was heard in the air.

"roll."

……

When Gu Xiang walked out of the waterside pavilion, Su Qing was idly tugging at the hair of the paper figure.

The paper figure was almost falling apart from her antics and dared not move.

"You're out?" Su Qing saw Gu Xiang emerge unharmed, threw down the paper she was holding, jumped over the railing, and asked, "That old hag didn't do anything to you, did she? You don't look too good; did you pee your pants in fright?"

Looking at Su Qing's bright and beautiful face, Gu Xiang felt that strange feeling well up in his heart again.

The Grand Preceptor's words were like a thorn stuck in his heart.

A demon is a demon.

If one day they were truly faced with a life-or-death decision, would Su Qing eat him?

"No...it's nothing." Gu Xiang shook his head, forcibly suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind. "The Imperial Advisor just asked about my family situation and advised me to study hard."

"Tch, boring." Su Qing rolled her eyes. "I thought she was going to promise you some high-ranking official position, dangdang. Let's go, I'm starving. We didn't even finish those two roast chickens before they were all ruined."

The two walked out of the mansion.

The moonlight stretched their shadows long.

Su Qing walked ahead, her steps light and quick, occasionally kicking a pebble away.

Gu Xiang followed behind, watching her back, and unconsciously touched his chest.

There, the heart is beating strongly.

Boom, boom, boom.

"Miss Su."

"What?" Su Qing asked without turning her head.

"If... I mean, if..." Gu Xiang hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "If one day you needed to eat human hearts to survive, would you eat me?"

Su Qing stopped and turned around.

She looked at Gu Xiang as if he were an idiot, then reached out and flicked him hard on the forehead.

"collapse!"

"Ouch!" Gu Xiang cried out in pain, clutching his forehead.

"Are you sick in the head?" Su Qing snapped, annoyed. "Your heart is hard and sour, full of cheap paupers. Even a dog wouldn't eat you. If I were to eat someone, it would be a delicate, pretty boy, understand?"

Gu Xiang rubbed his forehead and grinned.

"I understand, I understand, I'm not worthy."

"Good to know." Su Qing snorted, turned around and continued walking. "Hurry up, go back and tell the waiter to bring the dishes again. This time I want braised pork knuckle, and I want to drink!"

"Alright! Miss Su, whatever you want to eat is fine, it's on me!"

"Do you have money?"

"Uh...it seems the Imperial Advisor didn't give me a red envelope just now..."

"waste!"

The two walked away, arguing and bickering.

In the pavilion of the Imperial Preceptor's residence, the figure in black robes still stood by the window, watching the direction the two had left.

She removed her mask, revealing a face of unparalleled beauty.

But at this moment, tears were already streaming down his face.

"Fool."

She murmured softly, clutching a weathered jade pendant tightly in her hand.

"If you've lost your heart, what's the point of regretting it?"

……

It was already late at night when I returned to Zuixianju.

The shopkeeper had already received the news and cleaned the top-tier courtyard spotlessly. Even the captain who had been shoved into the wall by Su Qing was brought out and the area filled in.

Gu Xiang had experienced a rollercoaster of emotions that day and was completely exhausted. He collapsed onto the bed and slept like a log.

Su Qing, however, couldn't sleep.

She sat on the rooftop, holding a jug of wine, staring blankly at the moon.

The aura emanating from the Imperial Preceptor made her very uncomfortable.

It was the scent of its kind, yet mixed with a nauseating, rotten smell.

Moreover, the way that imperial advisor looked at Gu Xiang was too strange.

It wasn't like looking at prey; it was more like looking at another person through Gu Xiang.

"System, just who is this Imperial Advisor?" Su Qing asked in his mind.

[System notification: Insufficient permissions to query. The difficulty of the Divine Capital dungeon has been increased to Hell level.]

"Nonsense." Su Qing took a swig of wine. "I know it's much more difficult. It's a miracle that the Great Zhou Dynasty hasn't fallen yet, with an old hag at the Cave Profound Realm serving as the Imperial Advisor."

Just then, a very faint whooshing sound came from outside the courtyard.

Su Qing's ears twitched, and her eyes instantly turned cold.

Another fearless individual has arrived?

She put down the wine jug, and in a flash, disappeared from the rooftop.

The next second, she appeared on a big tree outside the courtyard wall.

Several people dressed in black were seen sneaking into the courtyard.

Judging from his movements, he doesn't seem like an ordinary江湖草莽 (jianghu caomang, a term referring to outlaws or thugs) but rather a well-trained assassin.

"Is this never going to end?"

A hint of ferocity flashed in Su Qing's eyes.

I've been holding in a lot of anger at the Imperial Preceptor's residence today, and I'll just use these unlucky guys as a practice target.

She was about to make a move when she suddenly stopped.

Because she saw that the assassins did not enter Gu Xiang's house, but instead crept towards the neighboring yard.

Who lives next door?

Su Qing thought for a moment.

Oh, right.

The younger sister of that gullible Third Prince Li Yu seems to live next door.

"interesting."

Su Qing withdrew its paws and sat back on the branch, looking like it was ready to watch a good show.

"Royal power struggles, I love watching this drama."

She pulled a handful of sunflower seeds from her bosom and started cracking them open while keeping an eye on what was happening below.

Anyway, as long as Gu Xiang isn't killed, it doesn't matter to her who dies.

However, just as the assassins were about to break through the window, one of the leaders suddenly made a hand gesture.

The group stopped, took out black spheres from their pockets, and quietly placed them in the corner.

Su Qing narrowed her eyes.

That's... Thunderfire Pill?

Its power was enough to blow half of the inn into the sky.

Holy crap!

Su Qing was so startled that she dropped the melon seeds in her hand.

These guys are insane!

If this explodes, will Gu Xiang next door still have a complete corpse?

"I don't eat beef, but I don't want to become a roasted fox!"

Su Qing cursed, and his figure instantly transformed into a blur as he rushed down.

As the poem says:

Paper offerings welcome guests in the eerie night, bronze faces remove makeup, deep blue eyes.

The foolish child discusses the ways of sages and saints, while the sorcerer alone remembers the heart of the monk.

Upon his return, he jokingly inquired about the disembowelment incident, and while drunk and asleep, he was suddenly startled by the sound of thunder and fire.

I intended to watch the tigers fight from my vantage point, but the explosives showed no mercy.