Two Stubborn People

A frigid night.

Goose-feather snow swept down, filling the sky. Dripping water froze into ice; heaven congealed, earth sealed shut.

Gu Changqing curled up in a corner of the cave.

He felt that he might freeze to death.

With his sword cultivation gone and one arm broken, surviving a fall from such a height was already nothing short of a miracle.

But miracle or not, having lost his cultivation, he could no longer endure such bitter cold.

In his haze, Gu Changqing seemed to feel a ball of flame draw close.

Instinctively, he wriggled over and pressed himself tightly against that warmth.

Daylight blazed bright.

Gu Changqing felt an itch on his cheek and subconsciously reached up to scratch it.

Yet he caught a tuft of fur.

He slowly woke, only to discover that he had actually fallen asleep in the little fox's embrace.

"You... can't take human form, can you?"

The question slipped from Gu Changqing's mouth as if possessed.

The little fox was startled by his question. A hint of humanlike shyness seemed to flash through her eyes.

Then she vaguely changed the subject. "You're still very weak. Stay here for now. I'll go outside and see whether there are any fruit left."

For several months, Gu Changqing remained in this cave.

Whenever he was hungry, the little fox brought him fruit in her mouth.

Whenever he was cold, the little fox used her own body to keep him warm.

Yet his body remained frail, and his injuries showed no sign of improving.

His Sword Heart had been destroyed, his Dao foundation shattered.

Gu Changqing had long since battered this body of his into a state riddled with holes. Now he had even lost an arm. His young body was like a candle flame swaying in the wind—if the wind grew any stronger, it would snuff out every trace of life within this body.

During this time, the little fox repeatedly used her own demon blood to nourish his shell of a body.

But it was merely drinking poison to quench thirst, forcibly keeping one last breath alive.

"Forget it. I've already tortured this body of mine beyond recognition. Now it's nothing but an empty shell. Even if you gave me every last drop of your bloodline, you still couldn't save me."

Gu Changqing gazed intently at the weakened little fox lying beside him, deeply moved.

He did not believe that anyone in this world would treat another well for no reason.

Yet when he thought about it, it seemed that he no longer held any value for her either.

Whenever he could not understand it, Gu Changqing would ask the little fox why.

But the little fox always gave the same answer: "Since I met you, I don't want to watch you die."

The little fox seemed not to hear Gu Changqing's persuasion.

She said with intense stubbornness, "It will work. There will be a way."

After resting for a long while, the blood gradually returned to her jewel-like fox eyes. "Wait here for me."

"Where are you going?"

The little fox ignored Gu Changqing. With a few quick leaps, she sprang out of the cave.

She raced across the wilderness and swiftly vanished from Gu Changqing's sight.

For three whole days, Gu Changqing did not see the little fox again.

He thought to himself, Maybe she came to her senses and left.

But on the fourth day, just as Gu Changqing felt he was about to die suddenly, that white figure appeared in his sight once more.

She had returned after all.

Only, her snow-white fur was stained with dried blood.

Her body was covered in sharp, blade-like wounds.

"Sword wounds?"

As a former sword cultivator, Gu Changqing was intimately familiar with such injuries.

This was clearly Sword Qi.

Traces of sword intent still lingered in those wounds.

"You went to the Heavenly Secrets Sect?"

Gu Changqing looked somewhat agitated.

There were no other sects nearby, only the Heavenly Secrets Sect. And that was clearly the sword intent of the Old Sword Saint's lineage.

The little fox did not answer. She merely opened her mouth, and several pills thick with blood qi rolled out with a gurgle. "Eat these."

"Get lost!"

Gu Changqing's emotions suddenly flared, and he roared at the little fox.

The little fox still ignored him. Raising a forepaw, blood was still flowing from her forelimb. With her other paw, she pressed down on Gu Changqing's forehead.

No matter how Gu Changqing struggled, she fed the blood from her forelimb into his mouth.

"Don't waste it."

she said.

Gu Changqing struggled at first, but later simply clamped his mouth shut. He did not move at all, only stared fixedly at her with a pair of unyielding eyes.

The little fox had never seen anyone so stubborn.

Clearly, she was saving him—so why was this fellow so stubborn?

Gu Changqing had never seen such a stubborn demon either.

They had merely met by chance. It was one thing for her to save him with her own bloodline, but why had she risked going to the Heavenly Secrets Sect to steal pills?

What kind of place was that?

A place that planted chess pieces throughout the powers of the heavens, making every being across the Northern Profound Continent wary of it!

She was risking her life!

"Why are you doing this?"

"I don't like owing people. If you don't tell me why, then even if I die, I will never accept your kindness again."

Gu Changqing stared at her without blinking.

"I'm dying,"

the little fox said.

After dissolving Cao Yuwei's attack this time, Mei Gongzi did not rush to counterattack. She merely stood where she was without moving.

Cao Yuwei's brow furrowed slightly. Was this little girl's perception truly so keen? After he had formed armor from flames, he still had other methods at his disposal. If Mei Gongzi had followed up with an attack, he was confident he could use that method to restrain her. But Mei Gongzi had not stepped forward, forcing the ability he had been gathering in readiness to be interrupted.

His war blade slashed out once more, its powerful blade intent several degrees stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with the blade, man and saber becoming one as he charged straight at Mei Gongzi.

The Heavenly Secret Plume in Mei Gongzi's hand unleashed the Heavenly Mysterious Circle once more, and with an instant teleportation, she shifted her position. While neutralizing her opponent's attack, she also dissolved his lock-on. The next instant, she was already elsewhere. A golden-red gleam flashed across Cao Yuwei's body; had she not evaded so swiftly, another ability would undoubtedly have descended upon her.

A battle of attrition! It seemed she intended to fight Cao Yuwei in a contest of endurance.

Yet no one doubted the origin of this ability. After all, the Peacock Demon Race's greatest innate talent had always been Stellar Transposition. Her technique possessed the same wondrous effect through a different path as Stellar Transposition.

After dissolving Cao Yuwei's attack this time, Mei Gongzi did not rush to counterattack. She merely stood where she was without moving.

Cao Yuwei's brow furrowed slightly. Was this little girl's perception truly so keen? After he had formed armor from flames, he still had other methods at his disposal. If Mei Gongzi had followed up with an attack, he was confident he could use that method to restrain her. But Mei Gongzi had not stepped forward, forcing the ability he had been gathering in readiness to be interrupted.

His war blade slashed out once more, its powerful blade intent several degrees stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with the blade, man and saber becoming one as he charged straight at Mei Gongzi.

The Heavenly Secret Plume in Mei Gongzi's hand unleashed the Heavenly Mysterious Circle once more, and with an instant teleportation, she shifted her position. While neutralizing her opponent's attack, she also dissolved his lock-on. The next instant, she was already elsewhere. A golden-red gleam flashed across Cao Yuwei's body; had she not evaded so swiftly, another ability would undoubtedly have descended upon her.

A battle of attrition! It seemed she intended to fight Cao Yuwei in a contest of endurance.