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

The cave became quiet.

Moonlight streamed in through the catalpa window, illuminating the edge of the stone platform. Su Xiaojiu sat with her back to Bai Yin, her long hair tied back with an old hairband, a few stray strands falling beside her fox ears.

Her hand was still pressed against Bai Yin's palm.

The little fox mark was still warm against her fingertip. Bai Yin held the bone comb, not letting go immediately, his gaze following her long hair down to her neck, lingering for a long time.

It was fair and clean there, without any scars.

But he remembered that when his murderous aura went out of control, the tiger's claws were only half an inch away from her neck. He also remembered that in the Moon Palace, she was covered in blood, and even her nine tails were suppressed by the sacrificial array and couldn't be lifted.

These old stories are like broken knives, hidden in the cracks of the bones, motionless most of the time, but when disturbed, they pierce deep into the heart.

Bai Yin's fingers tightened around the bone comb.

A faint cracking sound was heard.

Su Xiaojiu's fox ears twitched, and she turned to look at him.

"What are you brooding over now?"

Bai Yin avoided her gaze and placed the bone comb on the stone platform.

"It's nothing."

"Every time you say it's nothing, you end up causing trouble the next minute."

Su Xiaojiu looked at his tense jaw and said, "Speak."

Bai Yin remained silent for a moment before withdrawing his hand that she had been holding.

"Yunmengze is in too much chaos right now."

He bent down and gathered his torn clothes to cover the fox mark on his chest.

"If I keep this malevolent metal aura around, it will be a disaster sooner or later."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the cave.

Su Xiaojiu did not stop her.

She sat there, watching that broad figure disappear into the night, her fox ears slowly drooping down.

Outside the cave, reeds swayed in the wind, and the sound of water came in waves. Bai Yin did not go to the front of the mountain, but instead bypassed the cave and followed the stone path to the cold pool at the back of the mountain.

Su Xiaojiu lowered her eyes, her fingertips brushing against the little fox in her palm.

The mark was faintly hot.

"Just when I learned not to stop people, I learned to secretly die."

She got up and followed him out.

The icy pool lies hidden beneath the mountain, its surrounding stone walls perpetually covered in frost. The water is deep and black, and the moonlight falling on its surface casts only a thin layer of white light.

Bai Yin stood by the pool and took out a broken knife.

The blade was now only three feet long, its edge riddled with nicks and chips. This blade had accompanied him on his rampage against the demon court and had drunk the blood of countless demons; now, its malevolent aura still lingered deep within its spine.

He sat down cross-legged, placed the broken sword across his knees, and formed the Gengjin Xuan Gong with both hands in reverse.

The malevolent energy in the meridians then reverses.

The first wisp of Geng metal evil energy was forcibly forced into the demon core, and Bai Yin's chest trembled violently. The fox mark shone with a dark red light through his clothes, so hot it felt like it would burn through his flesh.

He gritted his teeth and didn't stop.

The malevolent energy surged against his heart, and the old wounds on his shoulders and back, which had only recently healed, simultaneously reopened. Fresh blood flowed down his spine and dripped into the icy pool.

a drop.

Another drop.

The dark pool water quickly spread out in large patches of red.

Bai Yin's breathing grew heavier, and veins bulged on his forehead. He pressed the broken sword against his heart, the tip pointing directly at the demon core.

"Whether it's a demon saint or good fortune, I don't want it."

He spoke in a low voice, as if talking to himself.

"As long as Xiao Jiu can live safely."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a soft sound of footsteps breaking thin ice behind him.

Bai Yin's body stiffened.

Su Xiaojiu stood a few feet away, her white robes flowing down her back, her nine tails slowly unfurling behind her. She glanced at the blood-stained pool, then at the broken sword pressed against Bai Yin's heart, her face devoid of any smile.

Bai Yin seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Xiao Jiu".

He looked up and actually smiled at her.

"You won't be bothered by the mad tiger anymore. I've destroyed this murderous aura, and I won't force you to stay in Yunmeng Marsh anymore."

Su Xiaojiu walked up to him in one step.

Before Bai Yin could say anything, she had already kicked the side of the broken knife.

when!

The broken sword spun and flew out, crashing into the stone wall before falling into the icy pool.

Bai Yin was stunned.

The next moment, his collar tightened abruptly. Su Xiaojiu grabbed him and pulled him forward, while her nine tails pressed down, shoving him into the icy pool.

The icy pool water instantly filled my mouth and nose.

Bai Yin instinctively struggled, and just as he raised his right hand, he saw Su Xiaojiu leaning over him and pressing down on him. Her hair fell to the water's surface, her eyes were red at the corners, but her hand on his chest was frighteningly steady.

"Bai Yin".

Across the water, she asked, word by word:

"Are you trying to take another life and make the decision for me?"

Bai Yin froze.

Sensing the threat, the uncontrolled Geng metal energy within the body retaliated with a roar. A wave several feet high surged up from the icy pool, the surrounding stone walls cracked, and rubble fell in a shower.

Su Xiaojiu did not back down.

Nine fox tails covered the surface of the pool, firmly suppressing the surging evil energy. She pressed her palm against the fox mark, pinning Bai Yin to the icy water and forcing him to open his eyes and look at her.

"If you destroy the demon core and die here, who will catch fish for me?"

"Who will comb my hair?"

"Who will keep watch over that broken lamp at the cave entrance, waiting for my return?"

A string of bubbles rose from Bai Yin's lips, and the bloodshot in his eyes gradually faded.

Su Xiaojiu pulled him out of the water.

Bai Yin lay by the pool, coughing violently, water and blood streaming from the corner of his lips. He tried to speak, but Su Xiaojiu still gripped his collar, preventing him from escaping.

"say."

Bai Yin lowered his head, his long, wet hair obscuring his eyebrows and eyes.

After a long silence, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice:

"I'm not afraid of evil spirits."

His hands were braced on the ice, his fingers tightening little by little.

I'm afraid of losing you again.

"I'm afraid that one day you'll die in front of me again, and I'll turn back into that monster who only knows how to kill."

Bai Yin raised his eyes, his eyes filled with barely suppressed fear.

"I think that as long as I disable your power, I won't be able to hurt you anymore."

After hearing this, Su Xiaojiu raised her hand and slapped him on the forehead.

It was a loud, clear snap.

Baek In was photographed with his face turned to the side.

"This is not called protection."

Su Xiaojiu stared at him, "This is forcing me back to the past, making me watch you die again."

"Do you think I'll feel at ease if you ruin yourself?"

"Bai Yin, you're being far too considerate of me."

The last sentence was spoken softly, yet it was colder than a frozen pool.

Bai Yin's Adam's apple bobbed, and he could no longer speak.

Su Xiaojiu pulled him out of the pool and pressed him down to sit on the bank. Her palm landed on his chest, pressing down on the burning hot fox mark.

The essence of the celestial fox flowed into his palm.

A dark red light pierced through Bai Yin's meridians, pulling the reversed Geng metal evil energy back onto its proper course. The two forces collided outside the demon core, causing Bai Yin's shoulders and back to tense in pain, yet he still couldn't break free from her grasp.

Listen carefully.

While dispelling his malevolent aura, Su Xiaojiu coldly established the rules.

"If your evil energy becomes chaotic in the future, come find me."

"If your swordplay isn't steady, practice it again."

"If you can't cook well, just keep cooking."

With a sudden surge of power from her palm, she forced the last wisp of malevolent energy that was rushing against her heart meridian back into her dantian.

"Destroying demon cores is forbidden, blood sacrifices are forbidden, and sacrificing one's life to prove one's will is forbidden."

Bai Yin looked at her.

The moonlight from the pool fell into her eyes, and the blush had not completely faded.

He finally understood that what she wanted was never for him to die in her place.

It was he who left it behind.

Bai Yin slowly dissipated the Reversal Mystic Art, reaching into the icy pool to retrieve the broken blade. The blade still carried a chill when he touched it, but the uncontrolled malevolent energy clinging to it gradually subsided.

He slung the broken sword behind his back and stood beside Su Xiaojiu.

"it is good."

This single word was written with great emphasis.

Bai Yin raised his hand and pressed it against the fox mark on his chest, looking at her solemnly.

"From now on, I won't use this life to die in your place."

"I'll use it to keep you company while you live."

"Practice knife skills, catch fish, cook."

He paused, then added in a low voice:

"I'll comb your hair too."

The crimson hue in the cold pool gradually faded.

Su Xiaojiu gave a soft snort and raised her hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips.

"Let's put cooking later."

"The fish you grilled last time, even the wild dogs in Yunmengze didn't eat it."

Bai Yin looked down at her, and finally his lips twitched slightly.

"Then I'll redo it."

"What if you can't do it well?"

"Keep going."

Su Xiaojiu withdrew her hand and turned to walk back to the cave.

Bai Yin, carrying the broken sword, quietly followed beside her. Their shadows, stretched long by the moonlight, crossed the broken ice by the pool and disappeared into the depths of the reeds.

The cold pool behind them became clear again.

The lights of Yunmengze were still on, waiting peacefully for them to return through the night fog.