Talulah, I'm still a child.

Mei Xue was still dreaming, a dream that felt both unfamiliar and incredibly familiar to him.

“Come here, Ah Wu, look at this bell. This was left to me by my mother. Isn’t it beautiful? It’s a pity I never met my mother. I only heard about her from my grandfather. But my grandfather died of a stone disease a few years ago.”

A young hunter dressed in animal skins sat under a plum tree, with a white snow fox nestled beside him. As if sensing his sorrow, the fox gently licked the boy's scratches.

"Hahaha, it's so itchy, stop it, ouch."

The young hunter held the snow fox in his arms and fed it all the berries he had gathered. The little fox ate happily, and the young man was happy too. He smiled sincerely, blood streaming from the corner of his mouth.

"Huh?"

"It's nothing, I just tripped and fell while hunting and hit my chest on a rock."

While gently soothing the snow fox, the boy untied the golden bell from his wrist, intending to lightly hang it around the little fox's neck. However, he remembered that the villagers had been planning to go up the mountain to capture Awu these past few days, because they had heard that Awu was a fox spirit, and that eating its flesh and blood would grant immortality. But the boy thought it was just a joke. This silly fox didn't look like a spirit at all; he could easily trick it with a little food.

Thinking of this, in order not to let the bell reveal the little fox's location, the boy put the bell away. He shouldn't die so soon, and his body wasn't in as much pain as before, which was a good thing.

"Aww, you're so stupid it's worrying."

Gently stroking Awu's head, the boy couldn't help but sigh. However, the little fox wouldn't listen to such words. It raised its paw and slapped the boy twice, making his dirty face look even more disheveled. But at this point, the injury was negligible.

"Alright, alright, it seems you're quite clever. Then remember this well: you must escape when the time comes, and it would be best to leave here now."

"Huh?"

"I'll pass. I can't go very far in this state. I might as well stay and cover your escape route. It's a real pity... I was all prepared to leave here with you, but I won't be able to see the outside world."

The boy gently stroked it, and the little fox reached out its paw and scratched the golden bell on his wrist. The clear and melodious sound spread all around. The little fox found this very interesting and kept scratching the bell with great pleasure.

"Looks like you like this too. Well, here you go. And remember me, my name is Mei Xue, Mei as in plum blossom, Xue as in falling snow. Remember my name."

That day, nothing seemed to have changed. There was still only one Mei Xue, only one little fox, and only one bell. Later, a village was reduced to ruins overnight. It is said that some people could see ugly and vengeful spirits wandering around when they passed by on the night of the full moon. Some people tried to investigate the truth, but in the end, they either returned empty-handed or no one survived.

Chapter 31 Talulah is going to "eat" the fox.

"What's wrong, Mei Xue? You seem a little distracted."

After finishing her afternoon training, Talulah carried her food back to her room and walked over to the little fox. Ever since Meixue woke up at noon today, she had been somewhat absent-minded, which made Talulah subconsciously worry that what she had done in the early morning might have exposed the little fox's bad mood.

"Sister, hug me."

Upon seeing Talulah approach, Meixue immediately opened her arms and hugged her. The little fox's face was filled with unease and worry, and Talulah suspected that he was having a nightmare.

Didn't you sleep well?

"No, Mei Xue slept very well."

Mei Xue gently shook her head and leaned against Talulah's chest. In the past, such a hug would have made Talulah happy for a long time, but now she was more concerned about her younger brother's situation. The little fox was the apple of the eye of the entire Reunion Movement.

"So you're worried about going to Lungmen?"

"Ugh... it's not that one either."

"Let me think about it..."

Talulah held the little fox, stroking its tail as she pondered what could have caused Mei Xue such a troubled expression. Since it wasn't a nightmare or fear of the future, could it be…?

"Who confessed their feelings to you?!"

Blazing flames erupted from Talulah's feet, yet wisely avoided the little fox's fur, merely demonstrating Talulah's pride as a Drak, ensuring she would never harm Meixue in the slightest. Having ruled out all other possibilities, this was the only one Talulah could think of. She didn't know why, but today, no matter who she looked at, she felt they might attack Meixue; it was truly bizarre.

"Ah, no, no, that's not true."

The little fox quickly stopped Talulah's rage, then gently patted her shoulder, helplessly hugging its tail as it looked at Talulah.

"Sister, if you keep acting like this, you might not be able to find a boyfriend in the future, as Alina said."

"Then let's not look for it anymore."

Talulah looked indifferent, then happily hugged Mei Xue and rubbed her face against him. The little fox's skin was amazing. Perhaps because of her special constitution, Mei Xue's skin was always the envy of others. It was smooth, elastic, and quite fair. If they were close, they would give each other a kiss, and if they weren't too close, they would pinch each other for fun.

"At worst, I'll just wait until the future and spend the rest of my life with my adorable little brother. No, I mean the next life and the life after that!"

Just like everyone says, Mei Xue is practically Talulah's personality switch. When he's around, Talulah is a silly, brother-obsessed older sister, and when he's not around, she's an extremely charismatic leader, impeccable in every aspect, whether it's combat power, command ability, or anything else.

"What does Meixue think?"

"Okay."

The little fox wagged its tail and snuggled gently into its sister's arms, its mood instantly improving. The little fox was very easy to coax.

"As long as you're willing, I'll stay with you forever. But what if Meixue isn't Meixue anymore?"

This inexplicable question left Talulah bewildered. What did she mean by "Mei Xue isn't Mei Xue"? If she wasn't Mei Xue, then who was she? Was the little fox thinking about the past, not the present and the future?

The perceptive Talulah immediately realized the crux of the matter. In the end, no one knew anything about Mei Xue's origins, and Mei Xue herself had no memories of the past. The only thing the little fox remembered was this name, which was why he was called Mei Xue. Talulah gently hugged him, thinking about how to answer this question.

"My dear brother, do you know the meaning of your name?"

"I don't know."

The little fox wagged his tail. He didn't quite understand those profound philosophical theories yet. Talulah gently rubbed his ears and then kissed him on the cheek.

“A name is a symbol. Everyone has a symbol. No matter what a name is, it is only used to distinguish us from one another, but it cannot represent all of us.”

Talulah sat on the bed with Mei Xue in her arms, trying to extract some useful points from the black snake's twisted logic to tell the little fox. She knew Mei Xue was easy to fool, so there was no need to worry about her words being exposed as flawed.

“Look, my name is Talulah, Frostnova's name is Yelena, and Patriot's name is Bodracasti. These are all our names. But if we changed our names to Alice, do you think I would still be your older sister?”

"Of course, no matter what, my sister will always be Meixue's sister."

"That's right."

Talulah instinctively hugged the little fox's neck and kissed him on the lips. Talulah was taken aback at first, but after seeing that Mei Xue did not react, she breathed a sigh of relief and then hugged him and rubbed against him.

"So, who you are has nothing to do with your name. Whether your name is written in the Great Yan language or the Ursus language, whether you are Volper or Philin, you are my brother, and you are the most precious and cherished part of me."

Talulah gently soothed the little fox's emotions. Her words clearly had an effect, and the little fox calmed down a lot. He nestled in Talulah's arms and rubbed against her, seemingly wanting to cry but unable to.

“How about this, Mei Xue, I’ll give you a name, like… Yuno, yes, Yuno Atrias, the same surname as me.”

This was actually Talulah's own little scheme. After all, people with the same surname aren't just family members. This was like labeling Mei Xue with her own name in advance. Talulah hugged the little fox tightly, and the smile on his face seemed to indicate that she was quite satisfied with the name.

Do you like it?

"Yes, I like it very much, thank you, sister."

"Shouldn't we do something to show our gratitude?"

Hmm... apple or watermelon?

The little fox subconsciously thought that her older sister wanted food, but Talulah gently shook her head to indicate that it wasn't like that. Her food was still laid out beside her, and eating fruit after finishing her meal would be about the same. Besides, the little fox was much tastier than fruit.

"Could it be..."

"Yes, I want to eat plum blossoms!"

Talulah smiled and flipped over, pinning the little fox to the bed. Looking at Mei Xue, who was flustered and had nowhere to escape, Talulah gently stroked his face. Then she reached into her chest pocket and took out a necklace. It wasn't anything valuable; it was just a red cord with a black scale strung on it.

"These are scales that I shed from my tail on the day I came of age. I'm giving them to you as a gift."

While wrapping the dragon scale necklace around Mei Xue's hand like a bracelet, Talulah's tail also gently intertwined with the little fox's tail. She guessed that everyone was busy eating at this time and no one would disturb her and Mei Xue's time alone. She could take advantage of this time to do something.

"Sister...would you like some plum blossom snow?"

"Hmm, you want to eat my favorite little brother, but not the kind you're thinking of. Come on, let me teach you something else, another way of saying 'eat'."

Talulah gently stroked Mei Xue's face, her fingers moving downwards, first to his neck, then gently unbuttoning his clothes, and then to his shoulders. The little fox unconsciously displayed his fragility, which instead aroused Talulah's innate possessiveness and desire for control. For Talulah, who had only tasted a little soup in the early hours of the morning, this piece of meat was really delicious.

But the most troublesome one was the little fox. He was clearly at a loss, not knowing whether to resist or obey Talulah. Tears welled up in his eyes, making him look particularly pitiful. Faced with such a Mei Xue, most people would only have two thoughts: either they couldn't bear to bully her, or they wanted to bully her even more. Talulah was originally the former, but the little fox said something extra.

"Sister, be gentle~"

At this point, the last thread of reason that had bound the Dragon Girl to her snapped.

Chapter 32 Talulah, prepare to die!

"Oh, Talulah, why is your face so swollen?"

"I fell down by myself."

Talulah answered with a wry smile. Alina frowned. She couldn't believe that a fall could cause such a commotion; it looked more like she had been hit. But who would hit Talulah?

Frostnova? That's not right. She and Talulah were evenly matched, and she didn't seem like she would go all out. Could it be Borocaster? That doesn't make sense either. What kind of combat power does Patriot have? He could easily knock Talulah's head off with one slap.

(Could it be Mei Xue? No, that's impossible. How could Mei Xue possibly lay a hand on Talulah?)

Alina shook her head. It seemed that, just as Talulah had said, she had indeed fallen, but at least she must have fallen onto the shield.

Sometimes the most unlikely things are actually the truth, because Talulah's face was indeed swollen from Mei Xue's beating—no, to be precise, it was swollen from the black snake's beating. At that time, Talulah had already peeled the little fox open like an onion, but before she could even open her mouth, Mei Xue's left tail suddenly sprang to life like a spring and slammed into Talulah's face. It was at that moment that Talulah realized that the little fox's tail might not be thinking the same way as her brain.

However, Talulah really didn't expect Mei Xue's tail to be so powerful, directly breaking through her defenses. Now her face is swollen and she doesn't know how to face anyone. Fortunately, the thoughtful little fox asked Frostnova for some ice to help with the ice pack, otherwise the redness and swelling would probably take several days to subside.

"Oh right, where's Mei Xue?"

"Oh... he's in the vegetable garden, saying he wants to learn how to talk to the plants, hiss..."

The sound of her talking pulled at her muscles, causing Talulah to gasp involuntarily. However, she didn't regret it. After all, she had enjoyed herself at that time, so it wasn't a bad deal!

"Talking to plants, you mean those weird and wonderful things?"

"Ah."

"Then I'll go take a look."

Alina shook her head helplessly at Talulah's state. Meixue was leaving for Lungmen the day after tomorrow, and she had come specifically to tell the little fox to pack her things first.

As fate would have it, plans can't keep up with changes. The relocation from the snowfield was already ahead of schedule, but the things agreed upon with Longmen also had to be brought forward. Originally, I could have stayed with Meixue for a while longer, but the underground black market sent word that they would strengthen security and strictly regulate management next month, making it much harder to enter Longmen. The operation had to be moved up.

Of course, none of this had much to do with Mei Xue. For him, all he needed to do was follow everyone's arrangements. No matter what his sisters said, the little fox would do it. He himself focused on developing his abilities with Miss Black Snake.

It must be said that although she is a bit arrogant, Black Snake is indeed a good teacher. She can accurately judge how Mei Xue uses her abilities and understand the various advantages and disadvantages. She can then explain these to Mei Xue in clear language. At the same time, relying on her own characteristics as a spiritual entity, she can also act as an intermediary translator.

However, Mei Xue had her own principles. The little fox felt that since she would need to rely on the power of these plants in the future, she needed to improve her communication skills. So when Alina came to the vegetable garden, she saw the little fox obediently squatting in front of the Destruction Mushroom, its silver tail twitching restlessly. With the guidance of Miss Black Snake, the little fox learned to speak the language of these plants.

"Waibibabu?"

The language was a bit strange, but it had a certain charm when it came out of the little fox's mouth. Well, even if Mei Xue just howled a couple of times, it would still sound like that. It was good for nothing except being cute.

However, the Destruction Mushroom clearly understood what he meant; its eyes flashed and its body swayed slightly.

"Waabi waabi!"

Mei Xue seemed very happy, but Alina really didn't understand what the little fox meant. All the other crops in the vegetable garden were still seedlings. The Destruction Mushroom seemed to like this place, but particularly hated shovels and hoes.