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

Forgetful Town.

This is a mortal town at the foot of the Tai Shang Wang Qing Sect mountain. Built against the mountain and protected by the sect, it has not been harmed by demonic beasts for hundreds of years and lives a peaceful and prosperous life.

Today happens to be the temple fair, and the streets are crowded with people, with vendors calling out their wares.

Su Chang'an held two strings of candied hawthorns in his hands, taking a bite from the left and a bite from the right, his cheeks puffed out like a squirrel.

She had long since changed out of the ill-fitting blue robe and was now wearing a moon-white silk skirt that Chen Xuan had just bought from a tailor shop. The cuffs were embroidered with a few inconspicuous mimosa flowers, and a pale pink ribbon was tied around her waist, making her waist appear incredibly slender.

Her silver hair was casually tied up with a wooden hairpin, with a few stray strands hanging down beside her ears, swaying as she chewed.

Chen Xuan followed half a step behind her, carrying large and small bags in his hands.

There were freshly baked osmanthus cakes, braised pork hock from Li Ji in the west of the city, and several boxes of unidentified cosmetics.

The dignified chief disciple of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect, and the leading swordsman of the younger generation in the Northern Region, was now like a follower.

"That one! I want that one!"

Su Chang'an suddenly stopped and pointed to a dough figurine stall in front of him.

Chen Xuan followed her finger and looked over.

The stall owner was a skillful old man who could quickly sculpt a lifelike monkey from a lump of dough in his hand.

"purchase."

Chen Xuan spoke succinctly, took out his silver, and paid.

Su Chang'an didn't want the monkey. Instead, he pointed to a fox dough ball that hadn't been colored yet and said, "I want this one. Make it plump, and give it a big tail."

The old man happily agreed, his fingers flying across the paper, and in no time he had sculpted a round, white fox.

Su Chang'an took it, held it in his hand and looked at it from left to right, finally curling his lips in disgust.

"Not as good-looking as my real self."

After saying that, she opened her mouth and bit off half of the fox's head.

Chen Xuan looked at the headless dough figurine, and his lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

"What else do you want?"

Su Chang'an swallowed the dough in his mouth, his eyes darted around, and finally landed on a teahouse not far away.

"If you're tired from walking, let's take a rest."

We said we were just taking a break, but actually we were drawn in by the aroma of tea and melon seeds.

Chen Xuan had no objection and carried the things upstairs with her.

The teahouse was quite crowded, mostly with traveling merchants and idlers who gathered together to chat and boast.

The two found a seat by the window and sat down.

The waiter quickly brought over a pot of fine tea and several plates of melon seeds and peanuts.

Su Chang'an didn't stand on ceremony. She grabbed a handful of melon seeds and started cracking them open, her movements as practiced as a street thug, without the slightest hint of the demureness of a celestial woman.

Chen Xuan poured her a cup of tea and pushed it to her side.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

Su Chang'an rolled her eyes at him.

"What do you know? This is called the warmth of everyday life. After staying in that shabby place for so long, your mouth would be so bland it would taste like bird droppings."

Chen Xuan didn't say anything, but silently placed the peeled peanuts on the plate in front of her.

In the middle of the lobby downstairs, there was a simple raised platform.

A storyteller in a long gown was banging his gavel loudly, spittle flying everywhere.

"...Speaking of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it's quite something now!"

"Ever since Prime Minister Gu took power three years ago, the government has been clean and efficient, and the country is peaceful and prosperous!"

Su Chang'an suddenly stopped cracking sunflower seeds.

Prime Minister Gu.

Gu Xiang.

She instinctively pricked up her ears.

Downstairs, someone started grumbling: "Old Zhang, tell me, what exactly is this Prime Minister Gu capable of? I heard he's a scholar, weak as a chicken, how can he possibly control those arrogant and fierce soldiers?"

The storyteller chuckled and unfolded his folding fan.

"You just don't understand."

"Although Prime Minister Gu is a scholar, he doesn't just study books blindly. He studies with a righteous spirit that even ghosts and gods cannot harm!"

"I've heard that back then, the capital was plagued by demons, and the gods in heaven wanted to use us mortals to make medicine. It was Prime Minister Gu who, with his mortal body, single-handedly drove back those demons and monsters!"

"Now, within the Great Zhou territory, demons have vanished, and the people leave their doors unlocked at night. This is all thanks to Prime Minister Gu!"

Su Chang'an lowered his head, his fingers unconsciously stroking the rim of the teacup.

They drove away the demons.

That's what she got at the cost of her life.

That foolish scholar, in the end, did it.

"However..."

The storyteller changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat wistful.

"Although this Prime Minister Gu holds a high official position, he is a devoted lover."

"I heard that he has never married and doesn't even have a concubine in his household. He spends his days either attending court and handling state affairs or staring blankly at his deceased wife's memorial tablet."

"Some people say that Prime Minister Gu has gone mad, often talking to thin air, and that his wife is not dead, but has just gone on a long trip."

"Alas, what is love in this world that makes people willing to die for it..."

A sigh rippled through the teahouse.

Su Chang'an felt a tightness in his throat.

The sunflower seeds in my hand suddenly didn't taste good anymore.

She remembered the scholar who warmed her hands in the dilapidated temple, the fool who dared to curse the heavens for her sake, and the resolute way he ripped out his heart at the end.

Even if she lied to him, even if she ended up playing the villain.

He still couldn't forget.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Xuan's voice rang in my ears, tinged with inquiry.

Su Chang'an snapped out of his daze, picked up his teacup and took a sip to cover up his embarrassment, only to be burned and wince in pain.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!"

She stuck out her tongue, tears welling up in her eyes.

Chen Xuan frowned slightly, reached out and pinched her chin, then leaned closer to take a look.

"Stick your tongue out."

"Well……"

Su Chang'an was forced to open her mouth, revealing her pink tongue.

Chen Xuan glanced at it and saw that it was only a little red and had not blistered, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

"How old are you? Don't you know to test the temperature of your water before drinking it?"

His tone was reproachful, but his movements were gentle as he poured her a glass of iced tea.

"Keep it in your mouth."

Su Chang'an obediently took a sip of her cold tea and mumbled indistinctly, "It's all because that storyteller was too noisy and scared me."

Chen Xuan glanced down at the storyteller downstairs who was still chattering away.

"Don't you like listening?"

"I don't like it." Su Chang'an swallowed the water in his mouth. "He's talking nonsense, what kind of devoted lover is he? I think he's just an idiot."

Chen Xuan looked at her.

In those beautiful peach blossom eyes, there was a trace of emotion he couldn't understand.

But he didn't ask.

Everyone has secrets.

As long as she's sitting across from him now, eating the peanuts he peeled and drinking the tea he poured, that's enough.

"Then I won't listen."

Chen Xuan stood up and left a piece of broken silver on the table.

"Come on, I'll take you to the east of the city to see the variety shows."

Su Chang'an felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and quickly grabbed the remaining half bag of sunflower seeds and followed him outside.

When we left the teahouse, it was already dark outside.

Red lanterns were hung on both sides of the street, casting a dim and ambiguous glow on the bluestone pavement.

Su Chang'an walked ahead, his pace quick, as if he wanted to leave the story about the Great Zhou and Gu Xiang behind.

Chen Xuan followed at a leisurely pace.

He suddenly stopped as he passed a jewelry stall.

The stall displayed some silver hairpins and jade bracelets. The workmanship was not exquisite, but the styles were unique.

Chen Xuan picked up a wooden hairpin.

The hairpin was carved from peach wood, with a cute little fox lying down and sleeping on the top.

"Boss, how much is this?"

"Young master has excellent taste! This was carved by my own hand, and it's only ten coins."

Chen Xuan paid the money, held the hairpin in his hand, and quickly caught up with Su Chang'an ahead.

"Feed".

He shouted.

Su Chang'an turned around, looking bewildered: "What?"

Chen Xuan walked up to her, reached out and pulled out the loose wooden hairpin from her hair, replacing it with the one he had just bought.

"Don't move."

His voice was deep, and his fingers ran through her hair, his movements a little clumsy but extremely earnest.

Su Chang'an stood frozen in place, not daring to move.

The hustle and bustle of the street seemed to fade away at that moment.

She could smell the faint, cool fragrance emanating from Chen Xuan, the aura of cold iron accumulated from years of sword practice, mixed with the sweetness of the osmanthus cake she had just bought.

It doesn't smell bad.

On the contrary, it makes people feel at ease.

"alright."

Chen Xuan withdrew his hand and looked at it with satisfaction.

The little wooden fox perched on her dark hair, as if it had found its den.

"It's so ugly."

Su Chang'an raised his hand and touched it, feigning disgust, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

"It looks better than the previous one."

Chen Xuan said casually, taking the bag of sunflower seeds that was about to fall from her hand.

"Let's go, there are fire-breathing monsters ahead."

The two walked side by side down the dimly lit street.

The shadows were stretched long by the lamplight, overlapping each other and indistinguishable from one another.

Su Chang'an secretly turned her head and glanced at the boy beside her.

His features were cold and hard, his eyebrows and eyes sharp, and when he didn't speak, he was like a sword drawn from its sheath.

But this sword, now carrying bags and bags of snacks, will also buy her a wooden hairpin for ten coins.

"Chen Xuan".

"Um?"

"I want to eat that."

Su Chang'an pointed to a small stall selling wontons by the roadside, where steaming white mist rose into the night.

"Didn't you just eat osmanthus cake?"

"That's a snack, this is a meal. They're different."

Chen Xuan sighed helplessly and resignedly walked over.

"Boss, two bowls of wontons."

"Okay!"

The two sat at a small table by the roadside, waiting for the wontons to be cooked.

Su Chang'an rested her chin on her hand, watching Chen Xuan wipe the table clean with a handkerchief, even wiping the chopsticks twice before handing them to her.

"Chen Xuan".

"What's wrong now?"

"If you ever run out of money, you can go and perform for money. I think your skill at serving people is better than your swordsmanship."

Chen Xuan paused, raised his eyelids, and gave her a cool look.

"Shut up."

"Eat your wontons."

The steaming hot wontons were served, with thin wrappers and generous fillings, topped with bright green scallions and seaweed.

Su Chang'an scooped one up, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

The delicious broth bursts on your tongue.

She squinted her eyes and let out a satisfied sigh.

As Chen Xuan watched her eat with such satisfaction, the icy coldness in his eyes gradually melted away.

He didn't touch his chopsticks; he just watched quietly.

If this is the kind of everyday life she wants.

So he stayed there, guarding the fireworks.

A Night Visit to Forget-Love Town

The hustle and bustle of the city is chaotic, but sugar-coated red berries soothe the foolish and angry.

Suddenly, in the teahouse, I heard tales of a bygone dynasty; the prime minister was now only a figure in a painting.

A wooden hairpin gently holds back the disheveled black hair, a bowl of hot soup warms the departing soul.

Snowflakes swirled as I walked home along the mountain path, my beloved still on my back.