Hu Liena Completely Falls

Moonlight leaked through the half-open window, cold and white, falling upon Hu Liena's wrist.

She sat cross-legged by the windowsill, her back against the frame, one fox tail draped over her knees while the other five hung loosely behind her.

A mark had appeared on the inside of her wrist.

It was tiny, no larger than a fingernail, silver-white and shaped like a sword, embedded into her skin, neither raised nor sunken.

That was the brand left behind after the Severing Thought Sword was drawn into her body.

Her fingertips brushed over it lightly; the sensation was ice-cold—the exact same temperature as when she had gripped the hilt in the plaza three days ago.

The bedchamber was unlit.

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

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

Three items now.

It had been barely twenty days since that Purple Gold Marriage Contract descended from thin air.

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

Primordial Spirit Bead—purifying the impurities in her bloodline, awakening the ancient bloodline of Green Hill, evolving her martial soul directly from Demon Fox to Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, and causing her soul power to skyrocket from level sixty-nine to level eighty-four.

A single bead was worth fifty years of bitter cultivation for anyone else.

Fate-Suppressing Cauldron—suppressing destiny and stabilizing foundations. Tang San's protagonist luck, which was so thick it turned purple, had been held firmly in check by this cauldron, causing him to fail his Eighth Sea God Trial for over ten days straight.

Bibi Dong was right; this cauldron wasn't just helping her grow stronger, it was severing her greatest future threat on her behalf.

Severing Thought Sword—severing inner demons, cutting off evil thoughts, the sword moving with the heart, fighting on behalf of its master.

Three days ago, Tang San had raised his Sea God Trident to its peak, the golden radiance of the weapon less than a foot from her forehead. She had seen her own death.

Then, the sky tore open.

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

Hu Liena's thumb stopped on the Sword Mark.

Three betrothal gifts, three dimensions.

The first governed bloodline and foundation, the second governed luck and destiny, and the third governed the soul and state of mind.

The efficacy of each was precise to the point of being harsh—precisely targeting her weaknesses, precisely filling every single one of her flaws.

This wasn't something thrown out at random.

This was someone who had studied her from head to toe, piecing her together bit by bit.

Hu Liena's fingertips moved away from the Sword Mark and touched her collarbone; her heart skipped two beats faster than usual.

What exactly is he after?

She had asked herself this question twenty days ago as well.

Back then, it was anger—why should a piece of marriage paper pin her life down?

It wasn't that way anymore.

The anger had long since vanished, leaving behind only confusion.

A man who could command the power of the Heavenly Dao, a being that even Bibi Dong felt inferior to, a man who didn't exist in any records, whose origins were unknown, and who left not a single trace across the entire continent—why choose her?

The Green Hill Covenant?

A marriage alliance between the ancient fox clan and the Celestial Master Sect?

Even if the covenant were true, it was a promise from ten thousand years ago; no one would take that seriously.

He could have easily refused to acknowledge the debt.

Yet not only did he acknowledge it, he brought out three supreme treasures that would drive the entire continent mad, stuffing them into her hands one by one.

What for?

Hu Liena couldn't figure it out.

She rested her chin on her knees, tilting her head to look at the moon outside the window. Her fox ears poked out from her hair, standing upright, translucent in the moonlight, revealing the fine blood vessels within.

That blurry figure in her mind surfaced once again.

White robes.

It had to be white robes.

How could a Celestial Master capable of invoking the power of the Heavenly Dao wear anything flashy?

It must be white, that clean, pure white that didn't touch dust or grime.

His build—tall, the kind that was half a head taller than Xie Yue.

Not the brawn of a martial artist, but the lean, slender kind.

His face...

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

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

What should the brows look like?

What color should the eyes be?

When he spoke, was his voice deep or clear?

The Sanskrit chant when the Primordial Spirit Bead descended was very gentle.

The Sanskrit chant when the Fate-Suppressing Cauldron manifested was very heavy.

The Sanskrit chant when the Severing Thought Sword appeared was very sharp.

Three chants, three flavors. None of them were his true voice—they were conveyed on behalf of the Heavenly Dao.

What about his own voice?

Would it be very soft at times, soft enough to be spoken only for her to hear?

Hu Liena snapped her eyes open, driving the thought from her mind.

The tips of her ears had already burned from pink to red, scorching hot.

She reached up to cover them, held them for two seconds, then gave up. No one was watching anyway.

The moon outside the window hung high, perfectly round without a single flaw, its light spilling onto the glazed tiles of the eaves in the quiet night.

Thump, thump, thump.

A knock at the door.

Hu Liena's Six Fox Tails bristled all at once, her ears swiveling toward the door.

She quickly brushed her hair over to cover her burning ear tips and pressed down the tail curled over her knees.

"Who is it?"

"Guess."

Xie Yue.

Hu Liena let out a breath, raising a hand to adjust her collar.

"Come in."

The door pushed open.

Xie Yue squeezed in sideways, his gait more cautious than usual—his chest was wrapped in bandages, three ribs still not fully healed, and any large movement pulled at the pain.

He held a porcelain bowl in his hands, white steam drifting upward.

"White fungus and red date soup."

He set the bowl on the windowsill and found a spot to lean against the wall, moving sluggishly, though he still couldn't help but hiss when he finally sat down.

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

"Idle is idle; lying in bed has made my bones go soft."

Xie Yue tilted his head, eyeing her for a moment.

The moonlight shone on his sister's face.

The scratch on her cheek had already scabbed over, a thin line that would fall off in another two days.

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

But her overall state was much better than during the day.

Her complexion was radiant, her breathing steady, and the way she sat in the moonlight even looked a bit... dazed?

Xie Yue's gaze shifted downward.

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

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

Xie Yue said nothing.

He shifted his weight, finding a position that didn't press against his ribs.

"It won't taste good if the soup gets cold."

Hu Liena gave a soft "mm," picked up the bowl, and took a sip.

It was sweet, the white fungus boiled until soft, the fragrance of the red dates rich and thick.

The two remained silent for a while.

Xie Yue spoke first.

"Thinking about that Celestial Master again?"

She nearly lost her grip on the bowl.

Hu Liena steadied the rim, not looking up.

"No."

"Who are you trying to fool?"

Xie Yue snorted, leaning against the wall with one leg crossed over the other.

"You've practically polished that Sword Mark smooth from all your touching, and the way you stare at the moon in a daze is exactly like a fifteen-year-old girl pining for her first love—"

"Xie Yue!"

Hu Liena finally looked up, glaring at him.

Under the moonlight, it was perfectly clear—two fox ears had popped out from her hair, flushed deep red from the tips all the way to the roots.

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

Even the knuckles of the hand holding the bowl were tinged with pink.

Xie Yue watched her for three seconds.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

He didn't laugh out loud; if his sister were truly angry, she wouldn't just glare, she would be whipping him with her fox tail.

The way she looked now—it was clearly because he'd hit a nerve she didn't want to admit.

"Fine, fine, I won't say anything else."

He raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.

The broken bone in his chest pulled at the movement, and he winced, shrinking back.

The soup in the bowl was still steaming.

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

There was a moment of silence.

"Brother."

"Hm?"

"...I want to see him."

Her voice was very soft.

So soft it was almost drowned out by the night wind outside the window.