Hu Liena Had Completely Fallen

Moonlight spilled through the half-open window, cold and pale, falling across Hu Liena's wrist.

She sat cross-legged beside the window, her back against the frame. One fox tail rested across her knees, while the other five hung loosely behind her.

A mark had appeared on the inside of her wrist.

It was tiny, no bigger than her little fingernail, shaped like a sword and silver-white, embedded in her skin without rising above or sinking below it.

It was the brand left behind when the Severing Thought Sword had withdrawn into her body.

Her fingertip brushed it lightly. It felt cold—the exact same temperature as the hilt she'd gripped in the plaza three days ago.

There were no lamps lit in the bedchamber.

The moonlight was bright enough, bathing the entire room in silver. Even the bronze mirror on the vanity reflected a small patch of light.

Hu Liena stared at the Sword Mark on her wrist, rubbing it with her thumb over and over.

Three items.

It had been barely twenty days since that Purple Gold Marriage Contract had appeared out of thin air.

In those twenty days, her life had been turned upside down.

The Primordial Spirit Bead—purified the impurities in her bloodline and awakened the ancient bloodline of Green Hill. Her Martial Soul had evolved straight from a Demon Fox into a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, and her Soul Power had surged from level sixty-nine to level eighty-four.

One bead had been worth fifty years of cultivation for anyone else.

The Fate-Suppressing Cauldron—suppressed fate and solidified her foundation. Tang San's thick, almost purple Protagonist Halo had been firmly pinned down by the cauldron, and he'd spent over ten days unable to pass the Eighth Sea God Trial.

Bibi Dong was right. The cauldron wasn't helping her grow stronger; it was severing the greatest threat she'd face in the future.

The Severing Thought Sword—slashed away inner demons and cut off evil thoughts. The sword moved with her heart and fought in her place.

Three days ago, Tang San's Sea God Trident had risen to its highest point, its golden radiance less than a foot from her forehead. She'd seen her own death.

Then the heavens split open.

The Severing Thought Sword had descended, severing Tang Hao's right arm with a single stroke.

Hu Liena's thumb stopped on the Sword Mark.

Three betrothal gifts, each addressing a different aspect.

The first dealt with her bloodline and foundation, the second with her fate and fortune, the third with her Divine Soul and state of mind.

Every item's effects had been precise to the point of cruelty—precisely targeting her weaknesses, precisely filling in every one of her flaws.

These hadn't been tossed out on a whim.

Someone had studied her from head to toe, then pieced her back together, one part at a time.

Hu Liena's fingertips left the Sword Mark and touched her collarbone. Her heart beat two beats faster than usual.

What did he want from her?

She'd asked herself that same question twenty days ago.

Back then, she'd been furious—why should a marriage contract dictate her entire life?

But that wasn't how she felt now.

The anger had long since faded, leaving nothing but confusion.

A man who could call upon the power of the Heavenly Dao, a man whose very existence put even Bibi Dong to shame, a man with no records, no known origins, and not a trace to be found anywhere on the entire continent—why had he chosen her?

The Green Hill Covenant?

The union between the ancient fox clan and the Celestial Master Sect?

Even if the covenant were real, who would take an agreement made ten thousand years ago seriously?

He could simply refuse to honor it.

But not only had he honored it, he'd produced three treasures powerful enough to drive the entire continent mad and placed them in her hands, one by one.

What for?

Hu Liena couldn't figure it out.

She rested her chin on her knees and turned her head to look at the moon outside. Her fox ears poked through her hair, standing upright and translucent in the moonlight, their fine veins visible.

That indistinct silhouette surfaced in her mind again.

White robes.

They had to be white robes.

How could a Celestial Master capable of summoning the Heavenly Dao wear anything gaudy?

It had to be white—clean, pure white, untouched by dust or dirt.

His build—tall, about half a head taller than Xie Yue.

Not the burly build of a martial artist, but slender and graceful.

His face...

The tips of Hu Liena's ears began to turn pink.

She closed her eyes, trying to piece a face together in her mind.

What would his brows look like?

What color would his eyes be?

When he spoke, would his voice be low and deep, or clear and bright?

The Sanskrit chant that had accompanied the Primordial Spirit Bead's descent had been gentle.

The chant when the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron appeared had been weighty.

The chant that came with the Severing Thought Sword had been sharp.

Three chants, three different flavors. None had been his real voice—the Heavenly Dao had spoken on his behalf.

What was his own voice like?

Could it be soft, sometimes, so soft that he spoke only for her to hear?

Hu Liena's eyes snapped open. She chased the thought from her mind.

The tips of her ears had gone from pink to crimson, burning hot.

She raised a hand to cover them, held it there for two seconds, then gave up. It wasn't as if anyone could see.

The moon hung high beyond the window, round and flawless. Its light fell quietly across the glazed tiles on the eaves.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked.

All six of Hu Liena's fox tails shot up at once, and her ears swiveled toward the door.

She quickly swept her hair over her burning ears, then pressed down the curled tail resting on her knees.

"Who is it?"

"Guess."

Xie Yue.

Hu Liena sighed in relief and straightened her collar.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Xie Yue slipped in sideways, moving more carefully than usual. His chest was wrapped in bandages, and three ribs hadn't healed yet. Any sudden movement tugged at them painfully.

He carried a porcelain bowl in his hands, white steam curling upward.

"White Fungus and Red Date Soup."

He set the bowl beside her on the windowsill, then found a place to sit against the wall. He lowered himself slowly, but still couldn't stop a hiss of pain when he finally sat down.

"Brother, your injuries haven't healed yet. Stop running around."

"I'd go stir-crazy lying in bed all day. My bones are about to turn to jelly."

Xie Yue tilted his head and looked her over.

Moonlight fell across his younger sister's face.

The cut on her cheek had scabbed over, a thin, long line. It would probably peel off in another couple of days.

Her left shoulder was wrapped in gauze, a strip of white visible at the edge of her collar.

But she looked much better than she had during the day.

Her complexion was rosy, her breathing steady. Sitting there in the moonlight, she even seemed a little...distracted?

Xie Yue's gaze drifted down.

Her right hand rested on her knee, her thumb repeatedly rubbing the inside of her wrist.

That spot—he knew it was where the Sword Mark had been left after the Severing Thought Sword merged into her body.

Xie Yue said nothing.

He shifted his bottom, finding a position that didn't press on his ribs.

"The soup won't taste good once it's cold."

Hu Liena murmured, "Mm," then picked up the bowl and took a sip.

It was sweet, the white fungus cooked until soft, with the rich fragrance of red dates.

The two sat in silence for a while.

Xie Yue spoke first.

"Thinking about that Celestial Master again?"

The bowl nearly slipped from her hands.

Hu Liena steadied its rim without raising her head.

"No."

"Yeah, right."

Xie Yue snorted, leaning against the wall and crossing one leg over the other.

"You've rubbed that Sword Mark so much, it's about to get polished smooth. And the way you're staring at the moon—just like a lovesick little girl at fifteen—"

"Xie Yue!"

Hu Liena finally looked up and glared at him.

In the moonlight, it was plain as day: two fox ears had sprung out from her hair, red from tip to root.

Her face had turned red too, the color spreading down from her cheekbones.

Even the fingers holding the bowl were tinged pink.

Xie Yue watched her for three seconds.

One corner of his mouth twitched.

He didn't laugh out loud. If his sister really got mad, she wouldn't just glare at him—she'd whack him with her fox tails.

The way she looked now made it plain she'd been called out and didn't want to admit it.

"All right, all right. I'll stop."

He raised both hands in surrender.

The broken bone in his chest twinged again at the sudden movement, and he grimaced as he shrank back.

The soup in the bowl was still steaming.

Hu Liena lowered her head and took a big gulp, using the rim to hide most of her face.

They sat quietly for a while.

"Brother."

"Yeah?"

"...I want to meet him."

Her voice was tiny.

So tiny it was almost swallowed by the night breeze outside.