The kitten was completely oblivious.
It ran ahead.
The thick mist almost completely concealed its form.
Xiao Xiao followed the kitten into the alley.
The light ahead grew dimmer and dimmer.
Hm?
Xiao Xiao's nose twitched slightly.
That smells good.
He caught a very fragrant scent.
A familiar one, too.
This was...
The scent of white magnolia.
Xiao Xiao quickly figured out where the scent was coming from.
A short while later, he saw it for himself.
In the dim, rainy weather, the white magnolias covering the tree seemed to glow.
They lit up people's eyes.
And filled them with wonder.
So beautiful.
Xiao Xiao looked at the white magnolia tree some distance away.
And it smelled wonderful, too.
He slowly breathed in.
Hm?
Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow.
Besides the kitten, there seemed to be... something else up ahead...
The kitten slowly came to a stop.
Xiao Xiao slowed his pace as well.
As they drew closer, the outline of the large dark shadow gradually came into focus.
A flicker of surprise crossed Xiao Xiao's eyes.
The figure before him...
Was both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar.
"Xuan Gui..."
Xiao Xiao murmured softly.
He had encountered a Xuan Gui not long ago.
But compared with this one, that Xuan Gui had been a miniature version of a giant.
That was right.
The Xuan Gui before him was enormous.
Lying on the ground, it nearly reached from one side of the alley to the other.
Several white magnolia petals lay on the ground around it and on its shell.
They formed a striking visual contrast with its black and red body.
The kitten meowed at the Xuan Gui again and again.
"Meow~"
"Meow~"
"Meow~"
The kitten