Talulah, I'm still a child.

"Of course, I'll give you tutoring after dinner."

Talulah buried her head in Mei Xue's hair. Hmm, it smells quite nice. Today it's the scent of pine lily. She doesn't know why Mei Xue changes her scent every day, but she likes it anyway.

Frostnova and the others behind were speechless. Although it wasn't the first time they had seen it, they still found it hard to imagine that Talulah would have such an expression. Weren't these two being a little too intimate? If this continued, it felt like Talulah would eventually lose control.

Chapter Six: What is Love?

"Now that loneliness and winter have arrived, can spring and love be far behind?"

The room, illuminated by candlelight, felt exceptionally warm. Mei Xue quietly let Talulah hold him in her arms. He noticed that Talulah seemed to really enjoy being held like this, but he wasn't bothered and just went along with it.

"How do you feel, Mei Xue? Can you understand this poem?"

"Hmm... Sister, I understand loneliness, winter, and spring, but what is love?"

Mei Xue looked on with curiosity. Winter was as cold as a snowfield, while spring was relatively warm. Loneliness was the unpleasant feeling he had while waiting for Talulah. But the little fox was still young and did not understand what love was.

This question put Talulah in a bit of a bind. She gently buried her head in Mei Xue's tail, pondering how to explain this word to her little fox. Mei Xue was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper, which would make it easier for him to develop his personality, but it would also lead him to ask some questions that would put Talulah in a difficult position, like this one.

"Love..."

Talulah muttered to herself. She had never been in a relationship before, and her understanding of love was limited to books and stories. How was she supposed to talk to Mei Xue about this? Besides, Mei Xue was still so young. What if she became interested in love because of her and started hanging out with other girls? Where would she go to complain? No way, absolutely not!

Although her sibling relationship with Mei Xue had lasted less than a week, Talulah really valued this younger brother. She had rediscovered the feeling of being an older sister after a long time. She didn't want Mei Xue to grow up so quickly. The thought of Mei Xue laughing and talking with other men—no, other women—in the future always made her feel uneasy. And this was just a thought; if it actually happened, Talulah was sure she would explode.

However, in order to maintain her image as a good older sister, Talulah still felt that she could talk to Meixue a little.

"Love is hard to explain. There are many kinds of love, such as love between family members, love between friends, love for things, and love for a lover."

Talulah snuggled against the soft, fluffy Mei Xue, inhaling the scent of lilies emanating from him, then pointed to the apple in his hand.

“Mei Xue, you like to eat apples, that’s a love for food; Yelena and Bozokastie value each other, that’s family love; Alina and I have the love of friends, Mei Xue will gradually understand that.”

"Then, sister, what is the love of a lover?"

Mei Xue, holding his tail, looked at Talulah curiously. He had a general understanding of the so-called classification of love, but Talulah did not explain to him what this last kind of love meant. In Mei Xue's opinion, Talulah was undoubtedly erudite. She knew a lot and was familiar with many languages. Talulah had taught him the Common Language.

"This... haha, this is me..."

Talulah originally wanted to say that she didn't know, but when she saw the thirst for knowledge and curiosity in Mei Xue's eyes, she hesitated. Being an older sister these days isn't easy. Talulah pinched Mei Xue's ear and then organized her thoughts for a moment.

"Before we understand the love of a lover, we need to know what a lover is. A lover is someone who was a stranger to you, but gradually comes to like you after getting to know each other. If she gets sick, you will feel anxious; if she is gone, you will miss her or worry about her, and you will want to be with her forever. Then she is your lover."

In fact, love is not something that can be explained in a few words. Talulah herself doesn't understand love, but she has read enough books and there are couples in the camp. She can easily fool Mei Xue.

"Well……"

Mei Xue's simple little brain was working overtime. She gradually grew to like someone she didn't know before, and the person she wanted to be with forever was her lover. Based on all of this, she came to a rather strange conclusion.

"Is that sister my lover?"

Holding his big tail, Mei Xue looked at Talulah with a puzzled expression. He originally thought that he and Talulah were family because they were siblings, even if only in name. However, it seemed that Talulah's statement was the only conclusion that could be drawn.

"Ah, this is..."

Talulah was stunned. She hadn't expected Mei Xue to think that way. She had initially wanted to refute it, but then suddenly realized that her explanation perfectly matched Mei Xue's conclusion. How was she supposed to handle this? Was she supposed to admit that she and Mei Xue were truly lovers? That was just too much…

"What's wrong, sister? Are you feeling unwell?"

Seeing that Talulah did not respond, Mei Xue gently placed his hand on her face, his face full of concern and worry. He was genuinely worried that Talulah was feeling unwell.

"No, I'm fine, I just spaced out, don't worry."

Talulah gently nuzzled Mei Xue's hand. She was still thinking about how to correct the mistake in her words. No, was it a mistake? Strictly speaking, what she said just now wasn't wrong, it was just not deep enough, and Mei Xue was too naive to understand.

"Is your sister hungry?"

Mei Xue took out an apple and handed it to him, but Talulah smiled and put it back in his hand, shaking her head to indicate that she wasn't hungry.

"Shall we go to sleep? Meixue will use her tail as a pillow for her sister."

"Then you won't be able to sleep."

Talulah reached out and ruffled Mei Xue's hair, then gently hugged him and snuggled against him. With Mei Xue by her side, she felt much less pressure from all sides. This child was simply a great gift from heaven. No matter what Talulah said or complained about, Mei Xue would listen to her. He would try his best to make Talulah feel at ease and comfortable, but without making her feel embarrassed or annoyed.

"It's getting late. I'll teach you the rest tomorrow. Let's go to sleep together."

Talulah gently touched Meixue's ear and felt a little sleepy, probably because Meixue was so comfortable to hold.

"Oh, goodnight, sister."

Mei Xue curled up obediently next to Talulah, looking like a white ball of fur. Talulah couldn't resist reaching out and poking her, then smiled and snapped her fingers to extinguish the candle, before peacefully falling asleep together.

Neither of the two, fast asleep, noticed that several butterflies had appeared on Mei Xue's tail, emitting blue or purple light. They fluttered gently, scattering dappled light throughout the room, before ignoring the walls and flying off to other people's rooms.

At this moment, Talulah was dreaming. She dreamed again of the day she was kidnapped, forced to separate from her own sister, and becoming the so-called heir to the Duke of Koschche. The snake must have left something on her. Talulah knew that it was hidden in her heart. If she did not restrain herself, she would be corrupted and degenerate into a new black snake sooner or later.

But tonight's dream subtly changed. Talulah dreamt that she saw her sister again and then walked towards a better tomorrow with her companions. This made her feel much better, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. Then she hugged the bundle of plum blossoms in her arms even tighter.

Chapter Seven: Talulah's Jealousy

It was a new day, and Talulah and the others were about to go out again. Mei Xue handed each of them a few apples, then walked up to Talulah, took her hand and placed it on her head, letting Talulah stroke her hair and fox ears. She squinted her eyes, looking somewhat enjoying herself.

"Remember to eat properly."

"Ah."

"Remember to listen to Alina."

"Ah."

"Remember to get along well with other children."

"Ah."

Talulah would say something, and Mei Xue would respond. This subtle scene left Frostnova and the others speechless. It was just a short trip, and they would be back in the afternoon. It wasn't like they were going to be gone for ten days or half a month. Was it really necessary to do this?

"Remember..."

"Oh dear, let's hurry up and go, you silly sister. If we delay any longer, we won't be able to set off until spring."

Froststar grabbed Talulah by the collar in an annoyed manner, pulled her aside, and then squatted down to face Mei Xue. She reached out and rubbed his head, feeling completely healed.

"Meixue, be good and wait for us to come back."

"Ah."

Mei Xue instinctively protected her tails. Although Mei Xue knew that Froststar wouldn't eat her, Froststar's evaluation of her three tails that day still frightened her. This small action was obviously noticed by Froststar. A trace of disappointment and apology flashed in her eyes, and then she got up to leave.

"that……"

Mei Xue gently tugged at Froststar's cloak, and seeing her slightly surprised expression, he took a carrot from his tail and handed it to Froststar.

"Sister, remember to come back soon."

Talulah instantly turned ashen. What had she just heard? Meixue called Frostnova "sister"? Was there no law? Calling her Frostnova "sister" or Yelena "sister" was fine, but why call her "sister" directly? That was Talulah's exclusive title!

Frostnova felt Talulah's sharp gaze, as if it wanted to burn her to ashes. This gave Frostnova a strange feeling. On one side was the cute, gentle, and slightly socially awkward little fox, and on the other side was the unreasonable and annoying dragon girl. Frostnova was happy to see Talulah suffer, and even happier to see her jealous and angry but having to hold back.

"I will. From now on, you'll be my younger brother too."

Frostnova reached out and hugged Mei Xue to her chest, not to upset Talulah, but simply to respond to the little fox's affection. She wanted to grab Mei Xue's tail to test its feel, but that might scare him, so she just pinched Mei Xue's ear. Hmm, she was quite fond of it.

"I'll bring you a gift when I get back."

Now Frostnova understands why Talulah likes to hug Mei Xue. This feeling is really addictive. She actually felt warmth again after a long time. Even though her body temperature is much lower than normal, Mei Xue did not resist her because of the cold when she was hugged like this. He could directly feel that Frostnova had no ill intentions towards him when they were close together, so he rubbed Frostnova's palm and nodded.

She let go and stood up. If looks could kill, Frostnova would have been burned to ashes by Talulah by now. She looked at Talulah, who was extremely displeased and furious, and smiled smugly before walking to the front of the group. Talulah ran over without saying a word and gently patted Mei Xue's body, as if to clean up the marks Frostnova had just left.

"Is my sister angry?"

Mei Xue looked at Talulah curiously. He could smell the anger emanating from her, but there shouldn't be anything that made her angry.

"……No."

Saying one thing and meaning another—that was what everyone except Mei Xue and Talulah thought. Talulah didn't seem angry at all. She nuzzled Mei Xue's face and then led the group on their journey.

In fact, Talulah herself didn't understand. It was normal for her to be angry, but it wasn't normal either. It was normal for her to be angry because her position as the older sister was being challenged. What was abnormal was that when she saw Mei Xue not rejecting Frostnova's hug, she should have been happy that Mei Xue was starting to accept others, but she actually hoped that Mei Xue would push Frostnova away, push her away, and then run into her arms and hug only her.

(What's wrong with me?)

Talulah asked herself this question as she left. Mei Xue watched their figures disappear into the snowstorm. He didn't understand why Talulah was angry, but he thought Alina must know what to do, so he went to find Alina.

————————————————————————————

On the other side, on a mountainside among the mountains of Da Yan, a group of people dressed in red robes walked along a mountain path. Unlike the harsh environment of the Ursus snowfield, the mountains, which had just entered autumn, had a unique beauty amidst their desolation, but none of the three had any intention of stopping to admire them.

Is it here?

"According to the records, it's just ahead. Although we don't know what the remaining ruins look like a thousand years later, we should still be able to see some things using the Tongtian Mirror."

"Lin Qingyan, you are the key to this operation. Remember, no matter what you see, don't take it seriously, just tell us!"

"understood."

As soon as Lin Qingyan finished speaking, the three of them stopped in their tracks. They took off their hoods, revealing a kind-looking, honest-looking man with plump hooves, a woman with long golden hair resembling a Qilin, and a young man carrying a long box. They all stopped and looked at an open space not far away.

Calling it an empty space doesn't quite fit; it's not simply empty, but rather contains some dilapidated ruins, showing that this used to be a village.

"This is it... According to the information we have, this is the place where He last appeared. Uncle Taihe, prepare the ceremony."

"Yes, son."

The Fengti man, known as Taihe, put down his box and took out an ancient and mysterious bronze mirror. Behind the mirror were traditional Bagua and Taiji symbols.

"Lin Qingyan, the rest is up to you."

She bit her finger and drew a Tai Chi symbol on the front of the mirror. Taihe then handed the Tongtian Mirror to Lin Qingyan. She took the bronze mirror and sat cross-legged. Taihe and the young master stood a little further away to protect her. Lin Qingyan held the mirror in her hands and muttered incantations.

"Heaven and earth have their cycles, the universe is turned upside down, the Five Thunderbolts decree..."

As Lin Qingyan chanted the incantation, the mirror in her hand emitted light, and an ancient star map appeared beneath her. Raising her hand and pointing the mirror at the sky, Lin Qingyan turned the mirror counterclockwise, and the starry sky in the mirror began to reverse rapidly, with night and day alternating repeatedly, finally taking her into the mirror.

"They're here! Be careful, young master!"

Taihe frowned, and the surrounding light suddenly dimmed. A mist rose from the ground, and they heard a wail and cry. Then they both saw writhing chunks of flesh emerging from the mist.

"As expected, it's those inhuman, ghostly creatures again. Looks like we didn't come to the wrong place."

On the other side, Lin Qingyan in the mirror world found herself under a tree. It was winter, with heavy snow and the fragrance of plum blossoms. There were two people in front of her, no, only one person.

The brown-haired Volper boy, dressed in tattered and filthy clothes, stood in stark contrast to the adorable white fox with five tails in front of him.

But the boy's face was filled with joy, and his eyes were filled with indescribable excitement. The fox in front of him was only curious, wondering when this human had appeared in front of him. He should have been hiding very well.