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

The wind was cold inside the ancestral hall.

The once festive red candles now had a pale green flame, swaying wildly in the wind.

Su Qing stood in the center of the ancestral hall, her bright red wedding dress appearing eerily dark under the green light.

Gu Xiang sat on the cold floor, looking at the woman who had just bowed to heaven and earth with him.

"Gu Xiang, the play is over."

Su Qing's voice was cold, devoid of any warmth.

Gu Xiang opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

He felt as if there was a wad of cotton stuck in his throat, making him feel uncomfortable.

Su Qing took a step forward, her embroidered shoes making a crisp sound as they stepped on the broken porcelain shards.

"Do you really think I'd be interested in a poor scholar like you?"

"Besides that stinking aura of righteousness, what else do you have that I would want?"

Su Qing sneered and waved his right hand.

On the walls of the ancestral hall, the blood-red runes began to writhe, emitting a foul stench.

"I've been with you for the past three years, accompanied you to the capital, and helped you get married in this dilapidated village, all for the sake of the heart in your chest."

Su Qing raised her hand, her fingertips pointing at Gu Xiang's chest.

"The medicine is most potent when the heart, with its seven orifices fully open, is stirred by the deepest emotions."

"Now, it's ripe."

Gu Xiang looked into Su Qing's eyes.

Those once lively eyes have now turned into golden vertical pupils, the indifference of a wild beast.

"Wife, where are Grandpa and the others?"

Gu Xiang asked a question, his voice terribly hoarse.

Su Qing frowned impatiently.

"I've taken it. If you don't obediently hand over your heart, I'll refine all one hundred-plus people in Gu Family Village into blood pills and eat them."

Gu Xiang lowered her head and looked at her hands.

His hands were still trembling; it was from instinctive fear.

"Hurry up, don't dawdle. If you do it yourself, you'll at least have a whole body. If I do it myself, your body won't be safe."

Su Qing urged, her tone full of disdain.

Gu Xiang suddenly laughed.

His laughter was very soft, yet it stood out clearly in the deathly silent shrine.

"What are you laughing at?"

Su Qing's heart skipped a beat, and that feeling of unease grew stronger.

Gu Xiang stood up and patted the dust off his backside.

He walked towards Su Qing.

Su Qing instinctively wanted to step back, but she forcibly stopped herself.

She is a powerful demon, why should she be afraid of a mortal scholar?

Gu Xiang stopped in front of Su Qing, the two of them very close.

Su Qing was so close that she could smell the faint scent of ink on Gu Xiang's body, as well as the smell of the wine he had just drunk.

"Su Qing, you're lying."

Gu Xiang said softly.

Su Qing snorted coldly and turned her face away.

"What lies would I tell? I'm a vixen; lying is my duty. You idiot, I've fooled you for three years, and only now are you realizing it?"

Gu Xiang shook his head.

"When you lie, your left index finger will unconsciously dig into your palm."

"Your hand was shaking when you said you were going to kill Grandpa."

Su Qing suddenly put her hands behind her back.

"That's the thrill of wanting to kill! What do you know?"

Gu Xiang shook his head again, his eyes so clear that Su Qing dared not look directly at him.

"Three years ago, in the woods, you could have easily killed me, but you only threatened me. You said you would eat me, but you saved the best parts for me."

"In the capital, you offended the Imperial Advisor and the Prince in order to help me. If you were only concerned with this matter, there was no need to put yourself in danger."

Su Qing gritted her teeth and raised her voice a few decibels.

"That's because I want your heart to be more perfect! I want you to become an official, I want you to be famous, all to enhance the medicinal power of this heart!"

Gu Xiang reached out, wanting to touch Su Qing's face.

Su Qing dodged it.

"Don't touch me!"

Gu Xiang's hand remained suspended in mid-air, not retracted.

"Su Qing, I have studied the classics for twenty years. The books say that evil people will stop at nothing to harm others."

"But for the past three years, I've been reading about you."

"You are not a demon, you are my wife."

Su Qing felt a tightness in her throat.

She wanted to laugh loudly at the scholar, to tell him how stupid he was, and to tell him that it was all a setup.

But she couldn't utter a single word.

"You want this heart, don't you?"

Gu Xiang asked.

Su Qing nodded, her movements as stiff as a puppet.

"Okay, here you go."

Gu Xiang spoke casually, as if he were talking about something trivial.

Su Qing was stunned, her eyes wide open.

"What did you say?"

Gu Xiang repeated it again.

"I'll give you anything. Anything you want, I'll give you."

He looked at Su Qing with eyes full of tenderness.

That gentleness frightened Su Qing and made her feel ashamed.

"You...you don't hate me? I lied to you for three years! I killed your entire village!"

Su Qing shouted loudly, trying to provoke Gu Xiang's anger.

Gu Xiang smiled.

"Why hate? This heart can help you, that's its blessing. As for Grandpa and the others, what you just transformed into was just an illusion, I can't smell blood."

Su Qing was completely speechless.

This fool is smarter than she imagined.

It was even more foolish than she had imagined.

"But after I die, could you promise me one thing?"

Gu Xiang asked.

Su Qing instinctively asked, "What is it?"

"Eat less roast chicken, it's greasy and bad for your health. Also, don't always go barefoot, the ground is cold."

After Gu Xiang finished speaking, he suddenly leaned over and kissed Su Qing on the forehead.

Su Qing froze completely.

It was a very light kiss, carrying Gu Xiang's body temperature.

It was heavier than any powerful spell.

Before Su Qing could react, Gu Xiang suddenly thrust his right hand, fingers together, into his own chest.

"Pfft!"

Fresh blood spurted out instantly.

The blood splattered on Gu Xiang's bright red wedding robes made it impossible to distinguish between blood and silk.

It also splashed onto Su Qing's face, warm and carrying a faint fragrance.

Su Qing cried out in surprise, her voice changing tone.

"Gu Xiang! What are you doing!"

Gu Xiang's face turned deathly pale instantly, devoid of any color.

He groaned and fumbled in his chest cavity with his fingers.

His body was trembling violently, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"You...you wanted a heart, didn't you? I...I'll get it for you myself."

Gu Xiang spoke haltingly.

He pulled hard.

He ripped out a heart that radiated a seven-colored light.

That heart is still beating, and with each beat, it carries a strong sense of righteousness.

Gu Xiang extended his hand to Su Qing.

His hands were covered in blood, and thick blood dripped down between his fingers.

"Here you go...take it."

Looking at the heart, Su Qing felt as if she could stop breathing.

In my mind, the system's notification sounds were ringing out frantically.

[Warning! Target's health is rapidly decreasing!]

[Affection level surpassed 100%! Reaching the point of undying devotion!]

Su Qing wanted to take that heart, but she didn't dare to.

Gu Xiang's body began to fall backward.

Su Qing rushed over and hugged him tightly.

The two of them collapsed onto the red carpet.

Gu Xiang lay in Su Qing's arms, her lips trembling, wanting to speak.

"Su Qing...don't cry."

Su Qing then realized that her face was covered in tears.

The tears mixed with Gu Xiang's blood, blurring her vision.

"Who's crying! I'm a vixen, I have no feelings! I'm laughing! I finally got the heart!"

Su Qing shouted, but her voice was full of sobs.

Gu Xiang laboriously raised his hand, wanting to wipe away her tears.

But his hand had only risen halfway when he lost his strength and slid heavily to the ground.

"I believe you... I've always believed you..."

Gu Xiang's voice grew softer and softer until it became a barely audible murmur.

His eyes slowly closed.

That exquisitely beautiful heart lay quietly in his palm, its light gradually dimming.

Su Qing held Gu Xiang in her arms and felt his body temperature rapidly disappearing.

"Gu Xiang! You idiot! You moron! Why do you believe me?!"

Just then, the void above the ancestral hall suddenly distorted.

A boastful laugh rang out.

"Excellent! What a brilliant and insightful mind!"

"Fox, you certainly haven't disappointed me!"

On the black spirit boat, the figure of True Person Xuan Yin slowly descended.

He looked at Gu Xiang on the ground, his eyes filled with greed.

Su Qing suddenly looked up.

Her eyes had turned blood red, a sign of extreme anger.

Nine enormous phantom fox tails danced wildly behind them, blowing the roof off the entire ancestral hall.

"roll!"

Su Qing let out a fierce roar that shook the entire capital.

Xuan Yin Zhenren, however, was not afraid at all. He landed in the courtyard, put his hands behind his back, and looked down at Su Qing.

"What? You can't bear to part with it?"

"Don't forget your true identity. You are just a fox, and this scholar is merely a catalyst."

"Bring me your heart, and I will reward you handsomely."

Su Qing looked down at Gu Xiang in her arms.

Gu Xiang was already dead.

When he died, there was still a faint smile on his lips.

It was as if he wasn't going to his death, but rather fulfilling a wish.

Su Qing reached out and gently closed Gu Xiang's eyes.

Then, in front of Xuan Yin Zhenren, she grabbed the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart.

"You want this heart?"

Su Qing stood up, her red dress fluttering in the wind.

Master Xuan Yin nodded.

"Give it to me."

Su Qing suddenly opened her mouth and swallowed the heart whole.

Master Xuan Yin's expression changed instantly.

"You beast! How dare you!"

Su Qing wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and revealed a cruel smile.

"What wouldn't I dare to do?"

An unprecedentedly terrifying aura erupted from Su Qing.

The entire earth veins of the capital city were trembling, and countless golden rays of light rose from the ground.

That's the great formation of the capital.

Su Qing used herself as a medium to forcibly take over the formation that had protected the Great Zhou Dynasty for three hundred years.

Her cultivation level was rising rapidly.

Transformation, Profound Mystery, Great Sage...

Thunderclouds filled the sky, as if the end of the world had arrived.

Xuan Yin Zhenren finally revealed a look of fear.

"You're insane! Forcibly increasing your cultivation level will result in your complete annihilation, body and soul!"

Su Qing ignored him.

She only glanced back at Gu Xiang, who was lying on the ground.

"Idiot, wait for me a minute."

That red figure stood out starkly against the lightning.

In the ancestral hall of Gujia Village, only Gu Xiang's cold body remains.

And there were remnants of red petals scattered all over the ground.

A gust of wind blew, carrying away several pieces of red silk ribbons that drifted into the distance.

Years later, when storytellers mention this day again, they will all recite it.

Red silk stained with blood to commemorate youthful beauty, a scholar digs out his heart to exchange for the evening glow.

Do not say that the fox spirit is untrustworthy; the city is full of golden armor protecting their enemy.